[2] In 1938, his father's employer, The Jewish Daily Forward, commissioned the firm where Asch worked to build a transmitter for its Yiddish-language radio station, WEVD.

Harold Courlander worked for Asch as editor at the time and is credited with coming up with the name "Folkways" for the label.

[3] Although in theory a "consultant" to Folkways in its early years, Asch ran the company from its formation until his death.

magazine, that he had shipped the most precious records in his collection from San Francisco to Asch in New York.

[5] The Smithsonian acquisition of the Folkways archive was, in part, funded by the release of the album A Vision Shared: A Tribute to Woody Guthrie and Leadbelly, which featured contributions by Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, U2 and other artists.

[5] Folk Singer Dave Van Ronk said: "Moe Asch could be an exasperating man, and he would never pay you ten cents if he could get away with five, but he really loved the music.

"[6] Neil Alan Marks wrote in The New York Times in 1980: "Folkways Records was for folklorists and musicians the talmudic source for much primary material.

Its founder, Moses Asch, may have more to do with the preservation of folk music than any single person in this country.