Chart toppers of 17th century revived by historians and musicians

Direct link to the website with the recorded songs:

https://www.100ballads.org

This is the best summary I could come up with:

Their 100 Ballads project has compiled song sheets, summaries, analysis and new recordings on a website, launched last week, that showcases the origins of the music industry.

Now they can be listened to again: Andy Watts, of the folk group the Carnival Band, recruited 22 musicians to record 100 of the 120 songs included on the website, which is free.

Struggling contemporary artists may recognise aspects of the business model: itinerant singers toured the country performing songs in the hope of selling the sheets, typically for a penny.

Many hits focused on relationships, especially romance, courtship and problems between husbands and wives, including a couple who swapped working roles with disastrous results.

Its success was attributed to its canny mix of romance, tragedy, warfare, history, aristocratic life and supernatural intervention.

Another song is titled: A True Relation of the Life and Death of Sir Andrew Barton, a Pyrate and Rover on the Seas.

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