{"product_id":"cleveland-francis-beyond-the-willow-tree","title":"Cleveland Francis\t- Beyond The Willow Tree","description":"\u003cp\u003eBeyond The Willow Tree is a hauntingly beautiful anthology of folk songs chronicling the experience of a young black man growing up in the segregated\u003cbr\u003esouth. A balanced mix of covers and originals, Cleveland Francis’ body of work seamlessly blends deep, soulful vocals with the stripped down acoustic\u003cbr\u003einstrumentation of folk. In the late 60’s Francis coined the term “soulfolk”, playing his genre bending music across college campuses and coffee shops while\u003cbr\u003eearning a medical degree at William \u0026amp; Mary.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThese songs serve as a missing link between soul and folk music, suppressed by the harsh political landscape of a music industry heavily influenced by racial\u003cbr\u003estereotypes. “If you were black, you played blues or soul music … I wanted to play folk music,” Cleveland professed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIncluded in this double LP set is Cleveland Francis’ entire 1970 self released album Follow Me, featuring the original artwork and liner notes printed inside\u003cbr\u003ethe gatefold. The second LP takes you Beyond The Willow Tree with unreleased demos recorded in 1968 along with one 45 only single recorded in 1970.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“These recordings are a look into my soul through a long and lonely journey to understand feelings of my childhood, poverty, racial segregation, bigotry, war, love and hope. It represents my attempt to express and come to terms with all that I have seen and felt as a Black man growing up in America.” - Cleveland Francis\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Forager Records","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48857204785306,"sku":null,"price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0471\/5036\/6874\/files\/A.FRONT.jpg?v=1785347575","url":"https:\/\/club.insheepsclothinghifi.com\/products\/cleveland-francis-beyond-the-willow-tree","provider":"In Sheeps Clothing HiFi","version":"1.0","type":"link"}