Click on the title to link to a presentation of the song listed in the headline.
The year 2009 has turned into something a year of review of the folk revival of the 1960s. In November I featured a posting of many of the episodes (via “YouTube”) of Pete Seeger’s classic folk television show from the 1960s, “Rainbow Quest”. I propose to do the same here to end out the year with as many of the selections from Harry Smith’s seminal “Anthology Of American Folk Music,” in one place, as I was able to find material for, either lyrics or "YouTube" performances (not necessarily by the original performer). This is down at the roots, for sure.
THE OLD, WEIRD AMERICA
My exploration of Harry Smith’s Anthology18 “Gonna die with my hammer in my hand” by
The Williamson Brothers & Curry
The Williamson Brothers & Curry’s World
Arnold (fiddle) and Irving (guitar) Williamson were from Logan County, West Virginia, like two other Anthology artists Frank Hutchinson and close neighbour Dick Justice. They recorded a few sides in the twenties for Okeh with a banjo player named Curry (I’m pretty sure he didn’t played a five-string on this records but something like a uke-banjo or tenor). Judging by the six sides we know, they were an old-timey dance act and it’s too bad they didn’t record more because they were on of the best ever recorded in this genre. Their version of “John Henry” is, in my opinion, one of the greatest version of the song too. One can feel a strong influence of black music on all this West-Virginian musicians, in a very obvious way with Hutchinson and Justice who sang many Blues songs but also with the wild square-dance music of The Williamson Brothers.
-TRACK LIST:
1.Warfield
2.Cumberland Gap
3.The Fun’s All Over
4.Lonesome Road Blues
5.The Old Arm Chair
6.Gonna Die With My Hammer in My Hand
The John Henry Variations
”John Henry” is the most famous american folksong of all time , one of the most recorded too by musicians of all kind and it took me a long time to select my favorite versions among the hundreds recorded. After a closer look at my personnal collection of cds and lps in search of “john Henry” tracks, i completed with things found on Emusic and on the folk collections available on the internet (Max Hunter’s collection, Digital Library of Appalachia). I ended up with 100 performances coming from all the important folk and vernacular genres of 20th century America; From work songs to Blues, Old-time string band to Bluegrass, folk to jazz, etc… Black and white traditionnal music are equally represented, as the figure of John Henry and his impact on the american mind knows no boundaries of race. I think the popularity of “John Henry” is not only due to the story it tells but most important how it tells it, which melody carries the tale of this heroic man. This tune is the quintessential american melody, full of pulse and rhythm, going back and forth between the high and low notes, from a scream to a whisper… Among the many different instruments used for singing “John Henry”, the guitar used with a bottleneck to slide on the strings is the most appropriate (and one of the most widespread among blues guitarist) to render the “blue” notes and the whailing quality of the melody. The root of its pentatonic scale and syncopated rhythm is obviously an african one and was carried here by the vocal and instrumental genius of the african-american slaves that built the land. An important part of the “vitality” of american vernacular music is in fact due to known and unknown african-american musicians, who influenced white folk musicians, most strongly in the South, and left their mark on all popular music ever since.
-Lots of things have been written about John Henry and the song about him, so much that it would be too long for me and above my capacities to write down for you all this informations here. Instead i’ll give a few links that will help you explore the John Henry’s myth.
- First, there’s this great website dedicated entirely to the subject that summarize every aspect of the legend and gives a bibliography, a short discography and some different lyrics versions.
-The Wikipedia page about John Henry
-I also recommand a book about the railroad in american folksongs written by Norm Cohen called “The long,steel rail”. The chapter about “John Henry” is really excellent.
-I classified the 100 tracks under a few categories but i recommand that once you’ve downloaded the entire set to mix them as you want, make your personnal favorite list and most important have a fun and enjoyable listening experience
Part 1: Field Recordings & 78rpm records
1.Anonymous prisoners, from “Alan Lomax’s Prison Songs Vol.2: Don’tcha Hear Poor Mother Calling?”
2.Arthur Bell, from “Afro-American Spirituals,worksongs and ballads”
3.Rich Amerson, from “Negro Folk Music of Alabama, Vol. 3″
4.Willie Turner, from “Negro Folk Music of Alabama, Vol. 6″
5.Ed Lewis, from “Southern Journey Vol. 5: Bad Man Ballads – Songs of Outlaws and Desperadoes”
6.Guitar Welch, Hogman Maxey, & Robert Pete Williams, from “Angola Prison Worksongs”
7.Blind John Davis, from “Field Recordings Vol. 2: North & South Carolina, Georgia…”
8.Reese Crenshaw, from “Field Recordings Vol. 2: North & South Carolina, Georgia…”
9.Leadbelly, from “Lead Belly’s Last Sessions”
10.”John Henry Blues”, Fiddlin’ John Carson, from “Vol. 1 (1923-1924) – Complete Recorded Works In Chronological Order”
11.”Gonna Die With My Hammer in My Hand Curry”,The Williamson Brothers, from the Anthology
12.”John Henry Blues”, Two Poor Boys, from “American Primitive – Volume 2 – Pre-war Revenants 1897-1939″
13.Riley Puckett, from “Guitare Country : From Old Time To Jazz Times 1926-1950″
14.The Skillet Lickers, from “Volume 1 (1926-1927)”
15.Henry Thomas, from “Texas Worried Blues”
16.”John Henry Blues”, Earl Johnson, from “Mountain Blues”
17.Deford Bailey, from “Best of Blues Vol.1 : Harmonica Genius Deford Bailey “
18.”Death Of John Henry (Steel Driving Man)”, Uncle Dave Macon, from “Classic Sides New York 1924-1926″
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