It's My Way!

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This article is about the Buffy Sainte-Marie album. For the Dizzy Gillespie album, see It's My Way (Dizzy Gillespie album).
It’s My Way!
Buffy Sainte-Marie-Its My Way.jpg
Studio album by
Buffy Sainte-Marie
ReleasedApril 1964[1][2]
GenreFolk
Length40:35
LabelVanguard
ProducerMaynard Solomon
Buffy Sainte-Marie chronology
It’s My Way!
(1964) 		Many a Mile
(1965)

It's My Way! is the first album by folk singer Buffy Sainte-Marie, released in April 1964 by Vanguard Records.[1][2] It was released in Britain in the spring of 1965 by Fontana Records.[3][4] Though the album did not chart it proved influential in the folk community. It is most famous for two widely covered folk standards, "Universal Soldier" and "Cod'ine", as well as "Now That the Buffalo's Gone", a lament about the continued confiscation of Indian lands, as evidenced by the building of the Kinzua Dam in about 1964. The cover features a mouthbow, which was to be a trademark of her sound on her first three albums.

In 2016, It's My Way! was inducted by the Library of Congress into the National Recording Registry.[5] In 2020 the album was named as one of two jury vote winners, alongside Main Source's Breaking Atoms, of the Polaris Heritage Prize at the 2020 Polaris Music Prize.[6]

Reception[]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic5/5 stars[7]

Writing for Allmusic, music critic William Ruhlman gave the album 5 of 5 stars and wrote "This is one of the most scathing topical folk albums ever made ... Even decades later, the album's power is moving and disturbing."[7]

Track listing[]

All tracks are written by Buffy Sainte-Marie, except where noted.

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Now That the Buffalo's Gone" 2:45
2."The Old Man's Lament" 3:55
3."Ananias"Adapted by Buffy Sainte-Marie2:35
4."Mayoo Sto Hoon" 1:19
5."Cod'ine" 5:01
6."Cripple Creek"Folk song1:45
7."The Universal Soldier" 2:15
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
8."Babe in Arms" 2:30
9."He Lived Alone in Town" 4:35
10."You're Gonna Need Somebody on Your Bond"Traditional2:45
11."The Incest Song" 4:11
12."Eyes of Amber" 2:16
13."It's My Way" 3:29

Personnel[]

  • Buffy Sainte-Marie – vocals, guitar, arrangements
  • Patrick Sky – second guitar on "He Lived Alone in Town"
  • Art Davis – bass on "Now That the Buffalo's Gone"

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b Editorial Staff, Billboard (11 April 1964). "New Album Releases". Billboard. The Billboard Publishing Co. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b Editorial Staff, Cash Box (4 April 1964). "It's My Way" (PDF). The Cash Box. The Cash Box Publishing Co. Inc., NY. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  3. ^ Fontana Records (April 1965). "Fontana New Releases (advertisement)". Sing. London: The London Youth Choir.
  4. ^ Editorial Staff, Gramophone (May 1965). "It's My Way!". The Gramophone. Compton Mackenzie.
  5. ^ https://www.loc.gov/today/pr/2016/16-056.html
  6. ^ "2020 Slaight Family Polaris Heritage Prize Winners Named". FYI Music News, November 16, 2020.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b Allmusic review
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