Tradition Records
| Company type | Independent record label |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music industry |
| Founded | 1955 |
| Founder | Diane Hamilton (Diane Guggenheim) |
| Defunct | 1966 |
| Fate | Catalogue ownership transferred to Everest Records |
| Headquarters | New York City , United States |
Area served | United States |
Key people | Patrick "Paddy" Clancy (president), Kenneth Goldstein (advisor) |
| Products | Folk music records |
Tradition Records was a United States-based record label that focused on folk music between 1955 and 1966. The label was established and financially supported in 1956 by Guggenheim heiress Diane Hamilton (the pseudonym of Diane Guggenheim). Patrick "Paddy" Clancy served as president; he later became a member of the renowned Irish folk ensemble The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, alongside his brothers Liam and Tom Clancy and Tommy Makem. The maple leaf emblem representing the company was created by Liam Clancy. Additionally, Columbia University folklore professor Kenneth Goldstein played a role in shaping the label's initial direction, which operated out of New York City's Greenwich Village.
During the period of the American folk music revival, Tradition Records achieved commercial success with artists such as The Clancy Brothers, Odetta, and Jean Ritchie. Paddy Clancy withdrew from active management when The Clancy Brothers signed with Columbia Records in 1961. In 1966, ownership of Tradition's catalogue was transferred to Everest Records by The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, who were the label's proprietors at the time. Everest reissued the recordings sporadically and without accompanying documentation. Numerous Tradition albums have since been re-released on CD and digital platforms. In particular, after the airing of the Bob Dylan documentary No Direction Home, interest increased significantly in John Jacob Niles’ works, including two albums originally issued by Tradition.
Exclusive global rights to the Tradition Records catalogue were eventually secured by 43 North Broadway, a private intellectual property management fund, through its acquisition of the Everest Records Group.
TLP series
- TLP 501: Siobhán McKenna, John Neville, Tom Clancy: The Countess Cathleen
- TLP 1001: Isla Cameron: Through Bushes And Briars (Songs From The British Isles) (1956)
- TLP 1002: Hillel and Aviva: Songs Of Israel and Many Lands (1956)
- TLP 1003: Ed McCurdy: A Ballad Singer's Choice (1956)
- TLP 1004: Liam Clancy, Tommy Makem, Sarah Makem, Paddy Tunney, Padraig O'Keeffe: The Lark in the Morning (1956)
- TLP 1005: Paul Clayton: Whaling and Sailing Songs from the Days of Moby Dick (1956)
- TLP 1006: The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem: The Rising of the Moon: Irish Songs of Rebellion (1956)
- TLP 1007: Various artists: Instrumental Music of the Southern Appalachians (1976)
- TLP 1008: El Nino De Ronda: The Real Flamenco (1969)
- TLP 1009: John Langstaff: Sings American and English Folk Songs and Ballads
- TLP 1010: Odetta: Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues (1957)
- TLP 1011: Jean Ritchie & Paul Clayton: American Folk Tales and Songs (1956)
- TLP 1012: Norman Notley and David Brynley: Elizabethan Songs (1956)
- TLP 1013: Seamus Ennis: The Bonny Bunch of Roses (1956)
- TLP 1014: Oscar Brand: Laughing America (1956)
- TLP 1015: Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger: Classic Scots Ballads (1956)
- TLP 1016: A. L. Lloyd: The Foggy Dew and other Traditional English Love Songs (1956)
- TLP 1017: Colyn Davies: Cockney Music Hall Songs & Recitations (1956)
- TLP 1018: Kossoy Sisters: Bowling Green and Other Folk Songs from the Southern Mountains
- TLP 1019: Glenn Yarbrough: Come and Sit by My Side (1957)
- TLP 1020: Various artists: Negro Prison Songs (1958)
- TLP 1022: Oscar Brand: Pie in the Sky (1967)
- TLP 1023: John Jacob Niles: I Wonder As I Wander - Carols And Love Songs
- TLP 1024: Mary O'Hara: Songs of Ireland
- TLP 1025: Odetta: Odetta At The Gate Of Horn
- TLP 1026: Ewan MacColl and A. L. Lloyd: Blow Boys Blow (1960)
- TLP 1027: Ed McCurdy - Children's Songs (1958)
- TLP 1028: David Hammond - I Am the Wee Falorie Man: Folk Songs of Ireland
- TLP 1029: Alan Lomax - Texas Folksongs (1958)
- TLP 1030: Various Artists - Music and Song of Italy, Recorded by Alan Lomax and Diego Carpitella (1958)
- TLP 1031: Jean Ritchie - Carols of All Seasons
- TLP 1032: The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem - Come Fill Your Glass with Us
- TLP 1033: Robin Roberts - Come All Ye Fair and Tender Ladies
- TLP 1034: Diane Hamilton & Robin Roberts - So Early in the Morning: Irish Children's Traditional Songs, Rhymes and Games (1959)
- TLP 1035: Lightnin' Hopkins - Country Blues (1959)
- TLP 1036: John Jacob Niles - An Evening with John Jacob Niles (1959)
- TLP 1037: Theodore Alevizos - Songs of Greece (1960)
- TLP 1040: Lightnin' Hopkins - Autobiography in Blues (1960)
- TLP 1042: The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem - The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem
- TLP 1043: Carolyn Hester - Carolyn Hester (1961)
- TLP 1044: Tommy Makem - Songs of Tommy Makem
- TLP 1045: Peg and Bobby Clancy - Songs from Ireland (1961)
- TLP 1046: John Jacob Niles - The Ballads of John Jacob Niles (1961) (2xLP)
- TLP 1047: Various Artists - Heather and Glen: Songs and Melodies of Highland and Lowland Scotland
- Note: Ownership transferred to Everest Records at this point; main series prefixes altered to TR/STR for mono/stereo editions.