2014 23rd installment of the award-winning "Classic" series. Classic African American Songsters traces the complicated yet rich history of the "songster," featuring celebrated artists like Big Bill Broonzy, Brownie McGhee, Lead Belly, Peg Leg Sam, Mississippi John Hurt, John Cephas, and more. The collection spans seven decades, and touches on everything from ragtime, country, and Tin Pan Alley to pre-blues, blues hybrids, and old-timey string band though 21 classic tracks - including five previously unreleased.