This space is dedicated to the proposition that we need to know the history of the struggles on the left and of earlier progressive movements here and world-wide. If we can learn from the mistakes made in the past (as well as what went right) we can move forward in the future to create a more just and equitable society. We will be reviewing books, CDs, and movies we believe everyone needs to read, hear and look at as well as making commentary from time to time. Greg Green, site manager
Showing posts with label new lost city ramblers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label new lost city ramblers. Show all posts
Click on title to link to YouTube's film clip of the New Lost City Ramblers performing "Man Of Constant Sorrow" on Pete Seeger's "Rainbow Quest" television show.
CD Review
Washington Square Memoirs: The Great Urban Folk Revival Boom, 1950-1970, various artists, 3CD set, Rhino Records, 2001
"Except for the reference to the origins of the talent brought to the city the same comments apply for this CD. Rather than repeat information that is readily available in the booklet and on the discs I’ll finish up here with some recommendations of songs that I believe that you should be sure to listen to:
Disc One; Woody Guthrie on “Hard Travelin’”, Big Bill Broonzy on “Black , Brown And White”, Jean Ritchie on “Nottamun Town”, Josh White on “One Meat Ball” Malvina Reynolds on “Little Boxes”, Cisco Houston on “Midnight Special”, The Weavers on “Wasn’t That A Time”, Glenn Yarborough on “Spanish Is A Loving Tongue”, Odetta on “I’ve Been Driving On Bald Mountain”, The New Lost City Ramblers on “Don’t Let Your Deal Go Down”, Bob Gibson and Bob Camp on “Betty And Dupree”, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott on “San Francisco Bay Blues”, Peggy Seeger on “First Time Ever I Saw Your Face”, Hoyt Axton on “Greenback Dollar” and Carolyn Hester on “Turn And Swing Jubilee”."
The New Lost City Ramblers on “Don’t Let Your Deal Go Down”. John Cohen and Tom Paley, two of the original members of this group were already waiting when the young folk wannabes arrived in New York City. They had already done the ground work by going out in the field and getting the traditional music that formed the backdrop to the revival. Why? Well, that’s easy, because they thought that it was important that our common heritage get transmitted to the new eager devotees. And they were right. Kudos.
“Don't Let Your Deal Go Down”
Well, I've been all around this whole wide world
Been down to sunny Alabam
My mama always told me, Son
Never let your deal go down
Don't let your deal go down
Don't let your deal go down
Don't let your deal go down
Till your last gold dollar is gone
Well, the last time I seen that gal of mine
She was standing in the door
She said honey I'll be a long time gone
You'll never see your gal no more
Well, I'm going sown the railroad track
Gonna take my rocking chair
If there doggone blues don't leave my mind
I'm gonna run away from here
Click on title to link to YouTube's film clip of Hedy West performing "Cotton Mill Girl" on Pete Seeger's "Rainbow Quest". That show and this performer are prime examples of the 1960s folk revival down at the base of that revival.
CD Review
Folk Song America: A 20th Century Revival, 4 CD set with booklet, Smithsonian Collection Of Recordings, 1991
In various parts of America this year (2009) marks the 50th anniversary of the formation of many of the folk song societies that, organizationally, drove the folk revival of the early 1960s. That, I know is true for New England, although the genesis of such groups in other sections of the country I am not as sure of. The CD under review, Folk Song America: A 20th Century Revival, was produced and released by the Smithsonian Collection Of Recordings in 1991 and therefore is not directly related to any anniversary celebrations. It nevertheless, in spirit, represents that same long ago taken on ambition by the various local folk song societies to chronicle the history of roots music in America. Forty plus years on we just have a wider selection of items to pick and choice from.
And that is the rub. This 4 CD set has attempted to do two things, and I think has done so successfully. First it has highlighted the starting of roots music with such early influences as The Fisk Jubilee Singers, Buell Kazee, John Jacob Niles, Leady Belly, The Almanac Singers (that included Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger among others), John and Alan Lomax and others who were uncovered in some very strange and interesting ways. Then the set moves on to the interim post World War II figures of Pete Seeger, The Weavers, The New Lost City Ramblers and the like. Those two influences then got assimilated and extended by the early 1960s folk revivalists whose work makes up the bulk of the material here. Such names as Peter Paul and Mary, Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Tom Paxton, Dave Van Ronk, Jim Kweskin and the Jug Band and many others who I have reviewed in this space over the past couple of years and who now get a new life here as “the old fogies” that will influence the next generation of folk revivalists.. To finish off this series there are several later post folk revival tracks from the likes of Taj Mahal, Sweet Honey in the Rock and Magpie.
The second task of the series is to act as the magnet for any future interest in folk music. To aid that task, as is to be expected from the Smithsonian as a premium historical music collection provider, there is an incredibly informative booklet available by Norm Cohen. Hey, I know a lot about and lived through most of the 1960s folk revival and I still learned a lot of stuff from this booklet. But here is the really nice part. In the future there will be no need of some young musicologist like Alan Lomax, Harry Smith or Pete Seeger to go into the field to recover our common roots music. This is now your first stop. That will leave more time for singing and creating new songs. Nice, right?
Below is sampler of the lyrics to some folk songs in this set.
"Blowin’ in The Wind"
How many roads must a man walk down
Before you call him a man?
Yes, n how many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand?
Yes, n how many times must the cannon balls fly
Before theyre forever banned?
The answer, my friend, is blowin in the wind,
The answer is blowin in the wind.
How many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky?
Yes, n how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes, n how many deaths will it take till he knows
That too many people have died?
The answer, my friend, is blowin in the wind,
The answer is blowin in the wind.
How many years can a mountain exist
Before its washed to the sea?
Yes, n how many years can some people exist
Before theyre allowed to be free?
Yes, n how many times can a man turn his head,
Pretending he just doesnt see?
The answer, my friend, is blowin in the wind,
The answer is blowin in the wind.
Misc, Big Rock Candy Mountain Tabs/Chords
Looking for Misc Lyrics? Browse alphabet (above).
Artist: Misc
Song: Big Rock Candy Mountain Misc Sheet Music
Misc CDs
Send “Big Rock Candy Mountain” Ringtone to Cell Phone
Peter Lurvey had requested this song. I don't know if it's the same one,
because this is an old one that my sister, Val Heiserman, transcribed MANY
years ago. I don't know who the original artist was, and since I haven't
seen the movie that it's in now, I don't know who's doing it now. Anyway,
here goes.
"Big Rock Candy Mountain"-Harry McClintock
C F C
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains, there's a land that's bright and fair,
F C Am G7
For the doughnuts grow on bushes, and there's lots of cookies there,
C F C
For the dogs and cats are happy, and the sun shines every day,
F C F C
There are birds and bees, and the bubble-gum trees,
F C F C
by the lemonade springs, where the whippoorwill sings
G7 C
in the Big Rock Candy Mountains.
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains, the houses are built of blocks
And the little streams of sody pop come trickling down the rocks,
The soldiers there are made of lead, and they are very brave,
There's a lake of stew, and ice cream too
You can paddle all around in a paper canoe,
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains.
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains, the frogs have wooden legs
And the bulldogs all have rubber teeth,
and the hens lay hard boiled eggs
There's chocolate pie in all the trees, and jam in all the lakes,
Oh, I'm going to go where the wind don't blow,
there's a big free show, and candy snow,
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains
RAMBLIN' BOY
Tom Paxton
He was a man and a friend always.
He stuck with me in the bad old days.
He never cared if I had no dough,
We rambled round in the rain and snow.
So here's to you my Rambling Boy,
May all your rambling bring you joy.
So here's to you my Rambling Boy,
May all your rambling bring you joy.
In Tulsa town we chanced to stray,
We thought we'd try to work one day.
The boss said he had room for one,
Said my old pal we'd rather bum.
So here's to you my Rambling Boy,
May all your rambling bring you joy.
So here's to you my Rambling Boy,
May all your rambling bring you joy.
Late one night in a jungle camp,
The weather it was cold and damp.
He got the chills and he got 'em bad.
Try took the only friend I had.
So here's to you my Rambling Boy,
May all your rambling bring you joy.
So here's to you my Rambling Boy,
May all your rambling bring you joy.
He left here to ramble on,
My rambling pal is dead and gone.
If when we die we go somewhere,
I bet you a dollar that he's rambling there.
So here's to you my Rambling Boy,
May all your rambling bring you joy.
So here's to you my Rambling Boy,
May all your rambling bring you joy.
Once Again Haunted By The Question Of Questions-Who Represented The “Voice” Of The Generation Of ’68 When The Deal Went Down-And No It Was Not One Richard Millstone, Oops, Milhous Nixon
By Seth Garth
I have been haunted recently by various references to events in the early 1960s brought to mind by either seeing or hearing those references. First came one out of the blue when I was in Washington, D.C. on other business and I popped in as is my wont to the National Gallery of Art to get an “art bump” after fighting the dearies at the tail-end of the conference that I was attending. I usually enter on the 7th Street entrance to see what they have new on display on the Ground Floor exhibition areas. This time there was a small exhibit concerning the victims of Birmingham Sunday, 1963 the murder by bombing of a well-known black freedom church in that town and the death of four innocent young black girls and injuries to others. The show itself was a “what if” by a photographer who presented photos of what those young people might have looked like had they not had their precious lives stolen from them by some racist KKK-drenched bastards who never really did get the justice they deserved. The catch here, the impact on me, was these murders and another very disturbing viewing on television at the time, in black and white, of the Birmingham police unleashing dogs, firing water hoses and using the ubiquitous police billy-clubs to beat down on peaceful mostly black youth protesting against the pervasive Mister James Crow system which deprived them of their civil rights.
Those events galvanized me into action from seemingly out of nowhere. At the time I was in high school, in an all-white high school in my growing up town of North Adamsville south of Boston. (That “all white” no mistake despite the nearness to urban Boston since a recent look at the yearbook for my class showed exactly zero blacks out of a class of 515. The nearest we got to a black person was a young immigrant from Lebanon who was a Christian though and was not particularly dark. She, to my surprise, had been a cheer-leader and well-liked). I should also confess, for those who don’t know not having read about a dozen articles I have done over the past few years in this space, that my “corner boys,” the Irish mostly with a sprinkling of Italians reflecting the two major ethic groups in the town I hung around with then never could figure out why I was so concerned about black people down South when we were living hand to mouth up North. (The vagaries of time have softened some things among them for example nobody uses the “n” word which needs no explanation which was the “term of art” in reference to black people then to not prettify what this crowd was about.)
In many ways I think I only survived by the good graces of Scribe who everybody deferred to on social matters. Not for any heroic purpose but because Scribe was the key to intelligence about what girls were interested in what guys, who was “going” steady, etc. a human grapevine who nobody crossed without suffering exile. What was “heroic” if that can be used in this context was that as a result of those Birmingham images back then I travelled over to the NAACP office on Massachusetts Avenue in Boston to offer my meager services in the civil rights struggle and headed south to deadly North Carolina one summer on a voting drive. I was scared but that was that. My guys never knew that was where I went until many years later long after we had all gotten a better gripe via the U.S. Army and other situations on the question of race and were amazed that I had done that.
The other recent occurrence that has added fuel to the fire was a segment on NPR’s Morning Edition where they deal with aspects of what amounts to the American Songbook. The segment dealt with the generational influence of folk-singer songwriter Bob Dylan’s The Times They Are A-Changin’ as an anthem for our generation (and its revival of late in newer social movements like the kids getting serious about gun control). No question for those who came of political age early in the 1960s before all hell broke loose this was a definitive summing up song for those of us who were seeking what Bobby Kennedy would later quoting a line of poetry from Alfred Lord Tennyson call “seeking a newer world.” In one song was summed up what we thought about obtuse indifferent authority figures, the status quo, our clueless parents, the social struggles that were defining us and a certain hurried-ness to get to wherever we thought we were going.
I mentioned in that previous commentary that given his subsequent trajectory while Bob Dylan may have wanted to be the reincarnation Plus of Woody Guthrie (which by his long life he can rightly claim) whether he wanted to be, could be, the voice of the Generation of ’68 was problematic. What drove me, is driving me a little crazy is who or what some fifty plus years after all the explosions represented the best of what we had started out to achieve (and were essentially militarily defeated by the ensuing reaction before we could achieve most of it) in those lonely high school halls and college dormitories staying up late at night worrying about the world and our place in the sun.
For a long time, probably far longer than was sensible I believed that it was somebody like Jim Morrison, shaman-like leader of the Doors, who came out of the West Coast winds and headed to our heads in the East. Not Dylan, although he was harbinger of what was to come later in the decade as rock reassembled itself in new garb after some vanilla music hiatus but somebody who embodied the new sensibility that Dylan had unleashed. The real nut though was that I, and not me alone, and not my communal brethren alone either, was the idea that we possessed again probably way past it use by date was that “music was the revolution” by that meaning nothing but the general lifestyle changes through the decade so that the combination of “dropping out” of nine to five society, dope in its many manifestations, kindnesses, good thought and the rapidly evolving music would carry us over the finish line. Guys like Josh Breslin and the late Pete Markin, hard political guys as well as rabid music lovers and dopers, used to laugh at me when I even mentioned that I was held in that sway especially when ebb tide of the counter-cultural movement hit in Nixon times and the bastinado was as likely to be our home as the new Garden. Still Jim Morrison as the “new man” (new human in today speak) made a lot of sense to me although when he fell down like many others to the lure of the dope I started reappraising some of my ideas -worried about that bastinado fate.
So I’ll be damned right now if I could tell you that we had such a voice, and maybe that was the problem, or a problem which has left us some fifty years later without a good answer. Which only means for others to chime in with their thoughts on this matter.
I am devoted to a local
folk station WUMB which is run out of the campus of U/Mass-Boston over near
Boston Harbor. At one time this station was an independent one based in
Cambridge but went under when their significant demographic base deserted or
just passed on once the remnant of the folk minute really did sink below the
horizon.
So much for radio folk
history except to say that the DJs on many of the programs go out of their ways
to commemorate or celebrate the birthdays of many folk, rock, blues and related
genre artists. So many and so often that I have had a hard time keeping up with
noting those occurrences in this space which after all is dedicated to such
happening along the historical continuum.
To “solve” this problem
I have decided to send birthday to that grouping of musicians on an arbitrary
basis as I come across their names in other contents or as someone here has
written about them and we have them in the archives. This may not be the best
way to acknowledge them, but it does do so in a respectful manner.
Click on title to link to a classic "Songcatcher"-type song from deep in the mountains, "Come All You Fair And Tender Ladies". According to my sources Cecil Sharpe (a British musicologist in the manner of Francis Child and Charles Seeger)"discovered" the song in 1916 in Kentucky. Of course my first connection to the song was long ago in my ill-spent youth listening to a late Sunday night folk radio show and hearing Dave Van Ronk doing his version of the song. Quite different from the Maybelle Carter effort here. I'll say.
COME ALL YE FAIR AND TENDER LADIES (A.P. Carter)
The Carter Family - 1932 The Kingston Trio - 1961 Osborne Brothers - 1962 Anita Carter - 1963 Glen Campbell - 1963 The Browns - 1964 George Hamilton IV - 1964 Makem & Clancy - 1964 Clive Palmer - 1967 The Manhattan Transfer - 1969 Dave Van Ronk - 1969 The Hillmen - 1970 Herb Pedersen - 1977 Charlie McCoy - 1978 Mary McCaslin - 1981 Gene Clark & Carla Olson - 1987 The Rankin Family - 1992 The Whites - 2000
Also recorded by: June Carter; Rosanne Cash; Merle Travis; Bread & Bones; Cherish The Ladies; Golden Delicious; Danú; Murray Head; Country Gentlemen; Pete Seeger; Ian & Sylvia; George Elliott; Black Twigs; Craig Herbertson; Tim O'Brien; The Peasall Sisters:........and others.
Come all ye fair and tender ladies Take warning how you court young men They're like a bright star on a cloudy morning They will first appear and then they're gone
They'll tell to you some loving story To make you think that they love you true Straightway they'll go and court some other Oh that's the love that they have for you
Do you remember our days of courting When your head lay upon my breast You could make me believe with the falling of your arm That the sun rose in the West
I wish I were some little sparrow And I had wings and I could fly I would fly away to my false true lover And while he'll talk I would sit and cry
But I am not some little sparrow I have no wings nor can I fly So I'll sit down here in grief and sorrow And try to pass my troubles by
I wish I had known before I courted That love had been so hard to gain I'd of locked my heart in a box of golden And fastened it down with a silver chain
Young men never cast your eye on beauty For beauty is a thing that will decay For the prettiest flowers that grow in the garden How soon they'll wither, will wither and fade away
******
ALTERNATE VERSION:
Come all ye fair and tender ladies Take warning how you court young men They're like a star on summer morning They first appear and then they're gone
They'll tell to you some loving story And make you think they love you so well Then away they'll go and court some other And leave you there in grief to dwell
I wish I was on some tall mountain Where the ivy rocks are black as ink I'd write a letter to my lost true lover Whose cheeks are like the morning pink
For love is handsome, love is charming And love is pretty while it's new But love grows cold as love grows old And fades away like the mornin' dew And fades away like the mornin' dew
Click on title to link to YouTube's film clip of the Greenbriar Boys performing "Roll On Buddy" on Pete Seeger's "Rainbow Quest". For the New Lost City Ramblers check my archives for earlier reviews.
DVD Review
Rainbow Quest, Pete Seeger, The New Lost City Ramblers, The Greenbriar Boys, Shanachie, 2005
In a year that has featured various 90th birthday celebrations it is very appropriate to review some of the 1960’s television work of Pete Seeger, one of the premier folk anthologists, singers, transmitters of the tradition and “keeper” of the folk flame. This DVD is a “must see” for anyone who is interested in the history of the folk revival of the 1960’s, the earnest, folksy style of Pete Seeger or the work of the also tradition-oriented New Lost City Ramblers made up of (early on) the folklorist and master photographer John Cohen, Tom Paley ( a valuable folk source in his own right as witness his comments in various documentaries about the New York City part of the folk revival of the early 1960s) and Mike Seeger, Pete’s half-brother (it is in the genes, right?). I have now reviewed several of these “Rainbow Quest” productions and it is clear that, kinship aside, Pete, along with his use of a whole range of folk instrumentation that gets a full workout in this presentation, is most comfortable with this group as he joyfully plays along with the boys.
Also included on this DVD is a performance by the legendary Greenbriar Boys, a group that combined urban folk aficionados and real mountain music men to take advantage of the early interest in the mountain music roots of a lot of what the 1960s folk scene was searching for, authenticity . Additionally, Pete, as an early exponent of what is now called “world music” does some lesser known traditional songs and does a hearty rendition of the classic radical labor anthem “Joe Hill”.
This DVD contains some very interesting and, perhaps, rare television film footage from two of Pete Seeger shows, packaged in one DVD, entitled “Rainbow Quest”. Each show is introduced (and ends, as well) by Pete singing his old classic “If I Had A Golden Threat” and then he proceeds to introduce, play guitar and banjo and sing along with the above-mentioned artists.
One final note: This is a piece of folk history. Pete Seeger is a folk legend. However, the production values here are a bit primitive and low budget. Moreover, for all his stature as a leading member of the folk pantheon Pete was far from the ideal host. His halting speaking style and almost bashful manner did not draw his guests out. Let’s just put it this way the production concept used then would embarrass a high school television production class today. But, Pete, thanks for the history lesson.
Click on title to link to National Public Radio's appreciation of the music of Mike Seeger, brother of folk singer Pegy Seeger and half-brother of the legendary folklorist Pete Seeger, who passed away on August 7, 2009. I have place this entry here along with reviews of Pete's "Rainbow Quest" television series from the 1960s where Mike, as part of the New Lost City Ramblers, appeared in one of the segments. Seems appropriate, right?
Click on title to link to Wikipedia's entry for Pete Seeger's 1960s television series "Rainbow Quest". Twelve of those episodes (two per DVD I have reviewed in this space today,August 1, 2009). Many of the rest can be viewed individually on YouTube. "Wikipedia" is sometimes a suspect source, especially for "hot" political topics, given its collective editorial policy but on for providing details on this subject-kudos.
RAINBOW QUEST TELEVISION SERIES (1967)
Shanachie has released selected episodes of Rainbow Quest on DVD, two episodes per DVD:
Johnny Cash and June Carter / Roscoe Holcomb with Jean Redpath
The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem / The Mamou String Band
The Stanley Brothers with Cousin Emmy / Doc Watson with Clint Howard and Fred Price
The New Lost City Ramblers / The Greenbriar Boys
Judy Collins / Elizabeth Cotten
Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee / Mississippi John Hurt
The series is no longer available on VHS. Norman Ross, who made the videos available through his companies Clearwater Publishing, Norman Ross Publishing, and Academic Microfilms, over a twenty year period, no longer produces the VHS tapes. The only current source for the series, other than the DVD's listed above, would be used copies. For historical purposes, here is a complete list of the series:
1.Tom Paxton, The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem
The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem from Ireland sing traditional and contemporary Irish songs, including "Butcher's Boy." Seeger joins Tom Paxton, a singer/songwriter, on his song "Ramblin' Boy."
2."Leadbelly"
This is a solo performance by Seeger in which he sings some of the songs composed by the famous black folksinger Huddie Ledbetter. He also performs his well-known allegorical story about the power of music, "Abiyoyo." Rare films of Leadbelly are included.
3.Elizabeth Cotton, Rosa Valentin and Rafael Martinez
Seeger and Elizabeth Cotton sing her famous song, "Freight Train" and she demonstrates her left-handed guitar playing. Rosa and Rafael sing songs from their native Puerto Rico, including "Las Popules de la Tierra" (The Poor People of the World).
4.Ruth Rubin
Ruth Rubin is America's foremost collector of Yiddish folk music and the translator of countless Yiddish songs. Here she performs several well-known Yiddish songs including "Chanuke O Chanuke" and "Tumbalalayka."
5.Jean Ritchie and Bernice Reagon
Jean Ritchie, long-time collector of Cumberland Mountain songs, sings from her extensive repertoire and plays the dulcimer. She also displays several folk toys. Bernice Reagon sings gospel and freedom songs a cappella.
6.Malvina Reynolds and Jack Elliott
Malvina Reynolds, who made up songs almost daily from stories she read in the newspapers, sings her famous "Little Boxes" among others. Jack Elliott, a protege of Woody Guthrie, sings some of Guthrie's songs including "Talking Dust Bowl" and "Talking Sailor Blues."
7.Bessie Jones and Children from the Downtown Community School
Bessie Jones and the children sing and dance a number of children's play-party songs such as "Thread & Needle" and "Drawing a Bucket of Water." Seeger sings Bob Dylan's "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" and several children's songs.
8.New Lost City Ramblers
The group includes Pete Seeger's brother Mike, his brother-in-law John Cohen, and Tracy Schwartz. Among them they play fiddle, guitar, banjo, mandolin and autoharp on such songs as "Maid of Constant Sorrow," "Cuckoo Bird" and "Arkansas Sheik." Mike shows films of a Japanese fiddle band.
9.The Beers Family
Robert Beers, his wife and daughter, sing in a hauntingly beautiful style including their own "Dumbarton's Drums." Mr. Beers plays the Psaltry, an ancient instrument that is plucked with feathers.
10.Herbert Manana
South African singer, dancer, songwriter Herbert Manana sings and dances several African songs including "Zula", "Wimoweh" and "Tinasizsw" (We Africans).
11.Martha Schlamme
German-born Martha Schlamme, accompanied by Abraham Stockman on piano, sings several songs in German including the Brecht/Weill songs "Bilboa Moon" and "Pirate Jenny." She also sings several songs in Yiddish and Spanish and joins Pete in the World War II concentration camp song "Peat Bog Soldiers."
12.Doc Watson, Clint Howard and Fred Price
Three legendary figures of country folk music join Seeger with their guitars and fiddle in a long list of traditional songs, including "Old Dan Tucker" and "My Mother Chose My Husband."
13.Norman Studer and Grant Rogers
Scholar Norman Studer talks about the folklore of upstate New York and introduces composer-fiddler-guitarist-quarry worker Grant Rogers. Rogers and Seeger trade songs, including "Down by the Glenside," "Bessie the Heifer" and "My Dirty Stream," one of Seeger's recent songs about the Hudson River.
14.Pete Seeger: Solo
With his songs and a display of cartoons and unusual documents, Seeger traces the history of political satire from the early days of the U.S. He sings such songs as "John Brown's Body,", "Casey Jones," "We Shall Overcome" and his own anti-Vietnam War song "King Henry."
15.Lino Manocchia, Ralph Marino and Federico Picciano
Italian folk music is the subject of the program, including a film of a group sing in an Italian village. His guests, with two of their friends, accompanying themselves on guitars and accordion, sing songs from both northern and southern Italy, including "Eh Volla Volla" and "Manuela." Seeger sings "D-Day Dodgers," a song about the Italian campaign in World War II.
16.Mimi and Richard Farina
This program was taped a short time before Richard Farina's death in an auto accident on April 30, 1966, and contains many of the songs he wrote including "Celebration for a Grey Day," "Bold Marauder" and "Pack Up Your Sorrows." Richard plays harmonica and dulcimer (in a style all his own) and Mimi plays guitar.
17.Roscoe Holcomb and Jean Redpath
Seeger and Roscoe trade traditional American songs including "John Hardy" and "Birdie, Pretty Birdie." Jean Redpath sings several songs from her native Scotland: "The Beggar Laddie," "The Sky Fisher's Song," I Lost Ma Love" and "The Branca's Gotten Loose and Etten all the Corn."
18.Clinch Mountain Boys and Cousin Emmy
The Clinch Mountain Boys, which includes the well-known Stanley Brothers, sing a number of old-time favorites, including "Worried Man Blues," "The Clinch Mountain Backstep" and "I'm Thinking Tonight of My True Love."
19.Sonia Malkine
Ms. Malkine specializes in songs from France, especially those from the Auvergne, a mountainous area in southern France whose songs are well-known in America. She sings "Baylero", a shepherd's song, accompanying herself on an unusual 6-string lute (with a simultaneous translation in subtitles on the screen). She also provides a French rendition of Seeger's "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" and Seeger counters with a German translation.
20."Woody Guthrie"
This is a solo performance by Seeger, in which he sings some of the hundreds of songs composed by Woody, including "Philadelphia Lawyer," "Roll on Columbia" and "Put Your Finger in the Air," the popular children's song. Rare film footage and photos of Woody are included.
21.Pat Sky and the Pennywhistlers
A combination of recent and traditional songs, including Pat Sky's well-known "Separation Blues" and Seeger's "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" The Pennywhistlers perform songs from Bulgaria, Russia and South Africa in the original languages, including the original Russian song on which Seeger's "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" is based.
22.Len Chandler
Seeger and Chandler trade songs they have written, including Chandler's "Keep on Keeping On," "Beans in My Ears" and "Move on Over" and Seeger's "Walking Down Death Row," Seeger also sings such traditional songs as "Mrs. McGrath" (Irish) and "Die Gedanken Sind Frei" (Thoughts are Free) in German.
23.Donovan and Rev. Gary Davis
Donovan, the British recording star, sings a number of songs, accompanied on the sitar by Shawn Phillips, who also demonstrates the Indian instrument in detail. Rev. Gary Davis plays his guitar and sings some gospel songs including "I'm Feeling More Like Shouting" and "Oh Glory, How Happy I Am."
24.Alexander Zelkin
A young Russian emigré living in Canada, Alexander Zelkin trades songs from all over the world with Seeger. Sometimes they sing two songs to the same melody in two different languages. Seeger discusses the use of the tune to "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" in different cultures. Zelkin sings "Sylvestrik," a French song, and "Oy Tumani," and Seeger sings his song "Bells of Rhymney," which is based on a Welsh poem.
25.The Cajun Band
Descendants of the Acadians who moved to Louisiana when the British made the French leave Nova Scotia, the Cajun Band shares its traditions and music. They sing a number of songs in their native language including (titles are translated) "I Passed Your Door and Didn't See Any Light" and "While Your Mother's Not Here Let's Dance Real Close." Seeger demonstrates his style of banjo playing and sings several "play-party" songs, including "Skip to My Lou," "Big Mammoo" and "Colinda."
26.Frank Warner
Seeger and his guest Frank Warner sing songs of the Adirondack Mountains and reminisce about Yankee John and Frank Proffit. Proffit is seen in a film as he performed at the Newport Folk Festival. Included in the show are Frank Proffit's most famous song, "Tom Dooley," as well as "Little Men," "Little Phoebe" and "Hudson River Steamboat."
27.Paul Draper
Paul Draper, the famous dancer, improvises to music played by his accompanist Coleridge Perkinson and to several songs and rhythms played by Seeger. Illustrating the importance of dance to a country's musical life, Seeger shows films of schoolchildren in Samoa, Indonesia and an East African Village.
28.Penny and Sonya Cohen
The subject of this show is work songs and lullabies, the latter occasionally being the former, as when sung by a babysitter. We hear and see films of men singing as they work: boatmen in Ghana and woodsmen at Texas State Prison. Seeger welcomes to the show his sister Penny and her infant daughter Sonya, and mother and uncle sing a medley of lullabies, including "Hush Little Baby," "By and By" and "All the Pretty Little Horses." After the prisoners in the film sing "Long Gone," "Jody" and "Down by the Riverside," Seeger himself reprises "Down by the Riverside."
29.Theodore Bikel and Rashid Hussain
Israeli and Arabic music and poetry are presented in their original language and in translation. Seeger demonstrates how to make a shepherd's flute out of bamboo. Seeger on banjo and Bikel on guitar join together on the Israeli song popularized in this country by the Weavers, "Tzena,
Tzena."
30.Steve Addiss and Bill Crofut with Phan Duy
Addiss and Crofut, American folksingers who have traveled extensively in the Far East singing under U.S. Department of State auspices, together with Phan Duy, "the Woody Guthrie of Vietnam," explore the Vietnamese musical traditions. With Seeger joining in they sing several of the 350 songs Duy has written. They also sing the well-known American song "Clementine" in Vietnamese.
31.The Greenbriar Boys
The fiddle and banjo are featured instruments in the Greenbriar Boys' repertoire of Blue Grass Music. Seeger joins in with his 12- string guitar and they sing "Wabash Cannonball," "The Midnight Special," "Danville Girl," "Dink's Song," and the Mexican song "La Feria Das Flores" (The Flower Fair).
32.Judy Collins
Seeger relates three parables and then trades songs with the popular singer Judy Collins. Together they sing "Daddy You've Been on My Mind," Bob Dylan's "Fare Thee Well," "Wild Mountain Thyme," "Tim Evans" and Seeger's "Turn! Turn! Turn!" Photos made during Seeger's visit to a guitar-maker in Mexico are shown.
33.Jim and Hazel Garland
The Garlands tell about life in Kentucky in the days when the mineworkers' union was struggling to be a force in the mines. Jim Garland, a former mineworker himself, sings his "I Don't Want Your Millions Mister." Jim plays the jews harp to Seeger's banjo on "Turkey in the Straw." Seeger sings the union song "Which Side are You on?"
34.Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee
Sonny Terry, the blind harmonica player, and Brownie McGhee, on guitar, trade songs with Seeger, including "Rock Island Line," "I'm a Burnt Child," "Down by the Riverside" and many more.
35.Bessie Jones and Children from the Downtown Community School
In this return visit, Ms. Jones and the children sing and dance with Seeger playing "Skip to My Lou," "Beans in my Ear," "Cumberland Mountain Bear Chase" and "This Land is Your Land."
36.Paul Cadwell and Mississippi John Hurt
Paul Cadwell plays several banjo solos including a cakewalk, "Georgia Camp Meeting." Mississippi John Hurt, a singer who had faded from public view, was rediscovered in his eighties and began a whole new career, sings "Lonesome Valley," "John Henry" and "Goodnight Irene."
37.Herbert Levy, K.L. Wong and Hi-Landers Steel Band
Playing their steel drums, the Hi-Landers sing songs of their native Trinidad, mostly in the Calypso tradition. Songs include "Mary Ann," "Love, Love Alone," "Yellow Bird," "Walk Around" and "When the Saints Go Marching In." Seeger shows a film on the making of steel drums from large oil
containers.
38.Buffy Sainte-Marie
Composer, singer, guitarist Buffy Sainte-Marie, through song and conversation expresses the American Indians' mixed feelings of love of country and bitterness at the unfair treatment they have received. Buffy demonstrates the mouth-bow and sings some of her own songs, "My Country 'Tis of Thy People You're Dying" and "Little Wheel Spin and Spin."
The Anniversary Of The Summer Of Love- California Dreamin’- The Music Of The Mamas And The Papas
The Best of the Mamas and the Papas, The Mamas and the Papas, SPA, 1998
Over the past couple of years I have reviewed a fair number of performers from the folk revival of the 1960s. Looking over quickly the names of those reviewed discloses a personal predilection for individual performers, although there were plenty of good to excellent groups around at the time, like the New Lost City Ramblers, The Greenbriar Boys, The Chambers Brothers, The Clancy Brothers, and other such groups who did traditional folk music.
As folk evolved, in the mid-1960s, a little away from those more traditional forms and into something like folk rock, younger groups picked up on the spirit of the movement with their own more modern lyrics and more harmonic works. The classic example in this genre would probably be Peter, Paul and Mary but the group under review, the Mamas and the Papas, also fits that description as well. Led vocally by big-voiced "Mama" Cass and with lyrics written by lead male singer "Papa" John Phillips the group had a number of hits in that folk rock moment, many of them on this compilation.
So what is still good almost half a century later? Well, "California Dreamin" still holds its own as a signature song for the foursome. As does "Monday, Monday" and "Words Of Love". The real surprise is their cover of the old Benny King classic (written by Jerry Leiber and Phil Spector), "Spanish Harlem". That song also displays the great harmonics, the feel and balance, as well as the understated performance that was the M&P hallmark.
California Dreamin' Lyrics-John Phillips, Michelle Phillips
All the leaves are brown (All the leaves are brown) And the sky is gray. (And the sky is gray). I've been for a walk (I've been for a walk) On a winter's day. (On a winter's day).
I'd be safe and warm (I'd be safe and warm) if I was in L.A. (If I was in L.A.) California dreamin' (California dreamin') on such a winter's day.
Stopped in to a church I passed along the way. Well I got down on my knees (got down on my knees) And I pretend to pray. (I pretend to pray). You know the preacher likes the cold. (preacher likes the cold). He knows I'm gonna stay. (knows I'm gonna stay). California dreamin' (California dreamin') on such a winter's day.
(Bridge)
All the leaves are brown (All the leaves are brown) And the sky is gray. (And the sky is gray). I've been for a walk (I've been for a walk) On a winter's day. (On a winter's day).
If I didn't tell her (If I didn't tell her) I could leave today. (I could leave today). California dreamin' (California dreamin')on such a winter's day, California dreamin' on such a winter's day, California dreamin' on such a winter's day.
Click on title to link to YouTube's film clip of Bob Gibson performing "Where I'm Bound".
CD Review
Washington Square Memoirs: The Great Urban Folk Revival Boom, 1950-1970, various artists, 3CD set, Rhino Records, 2001
"Except for the reference to the origins of the talent brought to the city the same comments apply for this CD. Rather than repeat information that is readily available in the booklet and on the discs I’ll finish up here with some recommendations of songs that I believe that you should be sure to listen to:
Disc One; Woody Guthrie on “Hard Travelin’”, Big Bill Broonzy on “Black , Brown And White”, Jean Ritchie on “Nottamun Town”, Josh White on “One Meat Ball” Malvina Reynolds on “Little Boxes”, Cisco Houston on “Midnight Special”, The Weavers on “Wasn’t That A Time”, Glenn Yarborough on “Spanish Is A Loving Tongue”, Odetta on “I’ve Been Driving On Bald Mountain”, The New Lost City Ramblers on “Don’t Let Your Deal Go Down”, Bob Gibson and Bob Camp on “Betty And Dupree”, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott on “San Francisco Bay Blues”, Peggy Seeger on “First Time Ever I Saw Your Face”, Hoyt Axton on “Greenback Dollar” and Carolyn Hester on “Turn And Swing Jubilee”."
Bob Gibson and Bob Camp on “Betty And Dupree”. I have promised elsewhere in reviewing a CD of a trio including Tom Paxton and Bob Gibson done in Chicago the early 1980s (I think) that knocked me to review more of Bob Gibson’s work. I have not done so as yet but this version of the old country blues classic of a man who done wrong to do right by his woman only makes me think that I had better get to it soon. Bob Gibson, the more I read and hear, is one of those seminal figures who had much more talent that he could usefully use and therefore burned himself up in other pursuits. However, along the way everybody and their brother (or sister) wanted to know every single thing that Gibson knew. Hell, I think I do too.
Betty And Dupree Lyrics: Traditional Music: Traditional
This is only listed as having been played once by the Dead, in 1966, but was probably played on other occasions then.
Betty told Dupree, honey I will be your wife Betty told Dupree, honey I will be your wife Well we will be married, be happy all of our life
Wake up Betty, see what tomorrow brings Wake up Betty, see what tomorrow brings Well it might bring sunshine, and then it might bring rain
Betty told Dupree, honey I want a diamond ring Betty told Dupree, honey I want a diamond ring Dupree said Betty, honey I'll buy you anything
Betty told Dupree, honey I will be your wife Betty told Dupree, honey I will be your wife Well we will be so happy for the rest of our lives
Wake up Betty, see what tomorrow brings Wake up Betty, see what tomorrow brings Well it might bring sunshine, and then it might bring rain
It was also recorded by Pigpen with Jorma in 1964 (Jorma on vocals and guitar, Pig on harp). Jorma/Pigpen version
Oh Betty told Dupree, I want a diamond ring Now Betty told Dupree, I want a diamond ring Dupree told Betty, Lord I'll get you most anything
He got himself a pistol, it was a forty-four He got himself a pistol, it was a forty-four Now to get that diamond ring, Lord he had to rob that jewellery store
Now the police caught him, carried him back to that county jail Oh yes the police caught him, carried him back to that county jail And they said go call your sweetheart, tell her to come and go your bail
Now Betty came to see him, but his face she could not see Now Betty came to see him, but his face she could not see And she said, mister jailer, give him this note from me
Oh babe I came to see you, but I could not see your face Now babe I came to see you, but I could not see your face You know I love you baby, just can't take your place
For completeness, here is another, fuller, traditional version. Traditional version
Betty told Dupree, "I want a diamond ring" Betty told Dupree, "I want a diamond ring" Dupree told Betty, "l'Il give you most anything"
He said, "Lie down, little Betty, see what tomorrow brings" He said, "Lie down, little Betty, see what tomorrow brings" It may bring sunshine, may bring you that diamond ring
Then he got his pistol, went to the jewelry store Then he got his pistol, went to the jewelry store Killed a policeman and he wounded four or five more
Then he went to the post office to get the evening mail Then he went to the post office to get the evening mail Sheriff caught poor Dupree and put him in that old Atlanta jail
Dupree's mother said to Betty, "Look here what you done done" Dupree's mother said to Betty, "Look here what you done done" Made my boy rob and steal, now he is gonna be hung
Betty went to the jailhouse, she could not see Dupree Betty went to the jailhouse, she could not see Dupree She told the jailer, "Tell him these words for me"
I come to see you, baby, I could not see your face I come to see you, baby, I could not see your face You know I love you, but I cannot take your place
Sail on, sail on, sail on, Dupree, sail on Sail on, sail on, sail on, Dupree, sail on You don't mind sailing, you'll be gone so doggone long
Click on title to link to YouTube's film clip of The Easter Family performing "Roses Will Bloom Again".
DVD Review
We Are Family, various artists from the Easter and Lewis families, Daywind Records, 2008
Sometimes when reviewing roots music CDs and DVDs you come across material that you are both somewhat unfamiliar with and that does not fit easily in the various known categories of roots music. That is the case here with the combination of bluegrass and white gospel presented by the Easter Brothers and their family, very extended family as its turns out. A regular reader of this space might be somewhat puzzled by this remark. Of course, particularly over the last few months, I have reviewed reams of bluegrass music from the old days with the likes of Roscoe Holcombe, Ralph Stanley and the like.
Certainly the bluegrass folk revivalists of the 1960s, like the New Lost City Ramblers and The Greenbriar Boys, have gotten plenty of space. Moreover, one cannot really review Harry Smith’s “Anthology Of American Folk Music”, as I have in this space without running into plenty of bluegrass and gospel music. What is rather startling in this presentation these days is that combination, present here, of true believers in the gospel who bring their message through their bluegrass concerts for the folks. Frankly, I am much more comfortable with a secular group like The Bluegrass Gospel Project, who belt out the old tunes with fervor but not fever. .
Nevertheless, despite my befuddlement and a natural inclination to write this stuff off, this group, or rather real life extended family (I never did really get all the relationships down), knows how to sing this white gospel bluegrass music. Not enough to make me jump up and run out and get their albums but enough to appreciate that this Georgia -based group had something to say. That certainly is the case with a couple of songs, “Roses Will Bloom Again” and “I Need You”.
Roses Will Boom Again
Written by Marsha Henry performed by Jeff and Sheri Easter From the album, “By Request”
Verse 1
I planted a little rose bush I tended it with care It’s buds began to blossom Their fragrance filled the air But when winter came it withered, The petals drooped and fell to the ground My heart sank as it faded But I’d forgotten who had made it
Chorus Roses will bloom again Just wait and see Don’t mourn what might have been Only God knows how and when that Roses will bloom again
Verse 2 Rose was his only sweetheart A loving wife for forty years Cherished every day they had And held memories oh so dear He never dreamed he’s bury love And go to live alone But he lay his Rose to rest Looked up to heaven and tried his best To believe that
Chorus Roses will bloom again Just wait and see Don’t mourn what might have been Only God knows how and when that Roses will bloom again
Verse 3 The precious Rose of Sharon Broken and bruised in cruel shame Stained on the cross of Calvary So that men might be saved Oh, satan cheered as He died While Mary and the others cried Then God raised Him up from that sleep And kept a promise only He could keep
Chorus Roses will bloom again Just wait and see Don’t mourn what might have been
Click on title to link to YouTube's film clip of Maybelle Carter accompanied by the New Lost City Ramblers on "The Storms Are On The Ocean" Sorry, I could find any Ginny Hawker material on YouTube.But you will agree this is not a too shabby substitute.
CD Review
Bristol-A tribute to the music of the original Carter Family , Ginny Hawker and Kay Justice, Copper Creek Records, 1999
Okay, you say, enough of the Carter Family, Enough of mountain music reviews from a guy who gets nervous when he gets even a couple of miles away from the bright lights of the big city. Well, fair enough. And under most circumstances I couldn’t agree with you more. But you see, I have just done a review of one of the singers here, Ginny Hawker, concerning her duos with old New Lost City Ramblers member Tracy Swartz. So, naturally, somebody then tells me about this CD and there you have it. So, in the end I am merely a victim of circumstances. Sounds about right, right?
But enough, let me just say that there is no shortage of those who have covered the original Carter Family material (including later combinations of Carters and Cashes), there is no shortage of wannabe Maybelle and Sara –type harmony combinations and there is no shortage of those who (now) know the importance of May belle‘s guitar work in creating the Carter Family sound. Nevertheless this pair on harmony, on the manner in which they arrange the songs selected to fit their skills and on the simple instrumentation that does not clutter up the harmonies stepped right out of the pages of Clinch Mountain. Outstanding in that regard are “Gently Lead Me”, “Waves of the Sea”, “I Never Loved But One” and the super-Carter classic “Amber Tresses”. Nicely done.
AMBER TRESSES TIED IN BLUE
The Carter Family
Far away in sunny mountains Where the merry sunbeams play There I wandered thru the clover Singing to a village maid
She was dearer than the dearest Ever loving kind and true And she wore beneath her bonnet Amber tresses tied in blue
Fact decreed that we be parted Ere the leaves of autumn fell Then two hearts were separated That had loved each other well
She was all I had to cherish Every loving king and true Now I see in every vision Amber tresses tied in blue
"The Storms Are On The Ocean"
I'm going away to leave you love I'm going away for a while But I'll return to see you sometime If I go ten thousand miles
The storms are on the ocean The heavens may cease to be This world may lose it's motion love If I prove false to thee
Oh who will dress your pretty little feet And who will glove your hand Oh who will kiss your rosy red cheeks When I'm in a foreign land
Papa will dress my pretty little feet And Mama will glove my hand You may kiss my rosy red cheeks
When you return again
Have you seen those mournful doves
Flying from pine to pine
A-mournin' for their own true love
Just like I mourn for mine
I'll never go back on the ocean love
I'll never go back on the sea
I'll never go back on my blue-eyed girl
'Til she goes back on me
Click on the headline to link ota "YouTube" film clip of one of the fiddlers on the CD under review, J.P. Fraley. Sorry, I could not find "Annadeene's Waltz" mentioned below for you to hear here.
CD Review
The Art Of Traditional Fiddle: From The North American Tradition Series, Rounder Records, 2001
Over the past couple of years my interest in mountain music, the music that formed part of my parental heritage, has increased as a quick search of such entries in this space attest to. Those reviews have run the gamut from the famous, and important, work of the various Carter Family combinations (and generations) to the "discovery" by the folk revivalists of the 1960s of the likes of banjo player Roscoe Holcomb to the interest by urban folk artists of that period like the Greenbriar Boys and The New Lost City Ramblers. One of the driving forces of that simple, plain music is the banjo; another is, as under review here, the fiddle.
Today, in this space, I am also reviewing a tribute album celebrating the 10th Anniversary of Appleseed Records (2007), now a fixture in preserving folk and protest music. I mentioned there that certain record labels have gained a niche for themselves in music history by establishing, driving, or preserving certain traditions. That is the case here with Rounder Records who for over forty years has put together off-beat, but extremely valuable, compilations of traditional music from the shores of Cape Breton to Appalachia to Western America.
In the Appleseed review I noted that for the history of the label there is a more than informative booklet that came with that 2-disc CD set, including plenty of discology-type information about each track. For this CD there is also a very informative booklet (as is usual with Rounder products), also including plenty of discology-type information about each track. That leaves the final question of what is good here. That is a harder question than usual in that everything here is an instrumental featuring the fiddle so it is driven more by mood than anything else. The mood, as described in the headline- mountain breezes and lonesome fiddles. And you should think of this compilation that way as well, especially as some of the pieces are very short. The one that you MUST listen and that kind of evokes everything I am trying to describe is J.P. Fraley's "Annadeene's Waltz". Heaven by fiddle.
Click On Title To Link To YouTube's Film Clip Of Dock Boggs Performing "Sugar Baby".
CD Review
Friends Of Old Time Music, various artists, 3CD set, Smithsonian/Folkways Recordings, 2006
Okay, maybe the now somewhat eclipsed mountain music and country blues revival of the early 2000s driven by George Clooney’s “Brother, Where Art Thou?” and “Songcatcher” revived some names from those traditions like The Stanley Brothers, Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys and Maybelle Carter (although her connection with the Carter Family and Johnny Cash probably would have made her well-known in any case). But how about Kentucky banjo/fiddler (and much else) Roscoe Holcomb? Or Hobart Smith? Or Dock Boggs? Or…. I could go on but, hopefully, you get my drift.
What I am talking about is the lesser lights of these genres and the acknowledgement of their proper place in the American Songbook. That, my friends, comes from the “rediscovery” of these last-mentioned performers as part of the general trend back to roots music that drove the overall folk revival of the early 1960’s. The producers of this outstanding three-disc compilation are at pains to separate these genres out from the other doings of that time such as the search for the roots of the blues and the creation of a new up-to-date folk idiom by a wave of singer/songwriters who were thick as fleas in those days crowding New York City for recognition. One name, Bob Dylan, can, arbitrarily, serve as the symbol for that trend.
For lack of a better term, Friend of Old Time Music (FOTM), served as a transmission belt to bring this particular form of music to the roots hungry, urban young longing for a different musical sound. From personal knowledge this reviewer, and many from his generation, were desperately seeking music not provided in the precincts of Tin Pan Alley and other safe havens that had emasculated the rockabilly and rock and roll that drove our teen years. We may not have been able to articulate it exactly that way but we knew we did not want a continual diet of Sandra Dee and Bobby Vee.
This three disc compilation (including an incredibly informative booklet giving a mother lode of material, including photographs, about the how, when and why of bringing the mainly Southern, mainly rural talents to New York City in the early 1960s) will give the new generation and many older aficionados, in one place, a primer of great value. If you want to know the details of this part of the folk revival puzzle you certainly have to start here. For the beginner or the aficionado this is a worthwhile addition to the store of our common musical heritage.
Rather than repeat information that is readily available in the booklet and on the discs I’ll finish up here with some recommendations of songs that I believe you should be sure to listen to:
Disc One: Dock Boggs on “The Country Blues," Mississippi Fred McDowell on “Going Down The River,” Roscoe Holcomb on “East Virginia Blues,” Hobart Smith on “Soldier’s Joy,” Mississippi John Hurt on “Coffee Blues,” Maybelle Carter on “The Storms Are On The Ocean,” and Jesse Fuller on “Buck And Wing”
Disc Two: Maybelle Carter on "Foggy Mountain Top” and “Bury Me Under The Weeping Willow,” Jesse Fuller on “San Francisco Bay Blues,” Roscoe Holcomb on “John Henry,” and Bessie Jones and the Georgia Sea Island Singers on “Before This Time Another Year”
Disc Three: Jesse Fuller on “Guitar Lesson” and “Cincinnati Blues,” Maybelle Carter on “He’s Solid Gone" and “Sugar Hill," Roscoe Holcomb on “Rising Sun Blues,” Mississippi John Hurt on “Frankie And Albert,” and The Clarence Ashley Group on “Amazing Grace”.
Note: I should mention that all five of Maybelle Carter’s tracks on this compilation have made my recommendations list. I might add that her performances here (in 1965, and accompanied by members of The New Lost City Ramblers) make me wonder out loud, very out loud, what the heck she was doing all those years as merely one member of the Carter Family trio. Off these performances I now know who held that operation together musically. Not just her well-regarded and influential country guitar work and her use of the auto harp but her finely-etched voice that comes out very nicely on something like “Bury Me Under The Weeping Willow”.
"The Storms Are On The Ocean"
I'm going away to leave you love I'm going away for a while But I'll return to see you sometime If I go ten thousand miles
The storms are on the ocean The heavens may cease to be This world may lose it's motion love If I prove false to thee
Oh who will dress your pretty little feet And who will glove your hand Oh who will kiss your rosy red cheeks When I'm in a foreign land
Papa will dress my pretty little feet And Mama will glove my hand You may kiss my rosy red cheeks When you return again
Have you seen those mournful doves Flying from pine to pine A-mournin' for their own true love Just like I mourn for mine
I'll never go back on the ocean love I'll never go back on the sea I'll never go back on my blue-eyed girl 'Til she goes back on me
"Hello Central, Give Me Heaven"
Hello central give me heaven For I know my mother's there And you'll find her with the angels Over on the golden stair
She'll be glad it's me a speaking Wont you call her for me please For I surely want to tell her That we're sad without her here
Hello central give me heaven For I know my mother's there You will find her with the angels Over on the golden stair
Poppa dear is said and lonely Sobbed the tearful little child Since momma's gone to heaven Poppa dear you do not smile
I will speak to her and tell her That we want her to come home You just listen while I call her Call her through the telephone
I will answer just to please her Yes dear heart I'll soon come home Kiss me momma it's your darling Kiss me through the telephone
Click On Title To Link To YouTube' Film Clip Of Woody Guthrie Performing "Hard Travelin'".
CD Review
A number of the more important or famous performers on these CDs will get a reprieve here by having separate entries under this same headline
Washington Square Memoirs: The Great Urban Folk Revival Boom, 1950-1970, various artists, 3CD set, Rhino Records, 2001
Okay, let’s go through the geography of this seemingly endless review of folk revival of the 1960’s tour that I have been conducting over the past year or so. I have gone down the byways and back alleys of Bleeker Street. I have tipped my hat to McDougall Street and its “mayor” (the late Dave Van Ronk). I have been positively 4th Street more times that I can shake a stick at (Bob Dylan’s old haunts). So now to round out this tour of a few square blocks of lower Manhattan that made some musical history in the early 1960’s that I am reviewing, make that proudly reviewing, I am, hopefully, finishing up with this compilation entitled “Washington Square Memoirs”. And this is an apt place to wind up the tour because, in a sense, this is the place where it all got hashed out before it got to the coffeehouses, other venues and those hard sought after recording contracts. If you couldn’t make it as a musician in the park (an, at times, not very high bar to get over) then you had better take your act elsewhere. Like, maybe, East Orange, New Jersey.
I mentioned in a recent review of “Friends Of Old Time Music”, a CD featuring mountain music, another separate strand of the folk revival that ran through New York City in the early 1960’s, the following:
“This three disc compilation (including an incredibly informative booklet giving a mother lode of material, including photographs, about the how, when and why of bringing the mainly Southern, mainly rural talents to New York City in the early 1960s) will give the new generation and mainly older aficionados, in one place, a primer of great value. If you want to know the details of this part of the folk revival puzzle you certainly have to start here. For the beginner or the aficionado this is a worthwhile addition to the store of our common musical heritage.”
Except for the reference to the origins of the talent brought to the city the same comments apply for this CD. Rather than repeat information that is readily available in the booklet and on the discs I’ll finish up here with some recommendations of songs that I believe that you should be sure to listen to:
Disc One; Woody Guthrie on “Hard Travelin’”, Big Bill Broonzy on “Black , Brown And White”, Jean Ritchie on “Nottamun Town”, Josh White on “One Meat Ball”, Malvina Reynolds on “Little Boxes”, Cisco Houston on “Midnight Special”, The Weavers on “Wasn’t That A Time”, Glenn Yarborough on “Spanish Is A Loving Tongue”, Odetta on “I’ve Been Driving On Bald Mountain”, The New Lost City Ramblers on “Don’t Let Your Deal Go Down”, Bob Gibson and Bob Camp on “Betty And Dupree”, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott on “San Francisco Bay Blues”, Peggy Seeger on “First Time Ever I Saw Your Face”, Hoyt Axton on “Greenback Dollar” and Carolyn Hester on “Turn And Swing Jubilee”.
Disc Two: Dave Van Ronk on “He Was A Friend Of Mine” and You’se A Viper”, The Chad Mitchell Trio on “Last Night I Had The Strangest Dream”, Hedy West on “500 Miles”, Ian &Sylvia on “Four Strong Winds”, Tom Paxton on “I Can’t Help But Wonder Where I’m Bound”, Peter, Paul And Mary on “Blowin’ In The Wind”, Bob Dylan on “Boots Of Spanish Leather”, Jesse Colin Young on “Four In The Morning”, Joan Baez on “There But For Fortune”, Judy Roderick on “Brother, Can You Spare A Dime?”, Bonnie Dobson on “Morning Dew”, Buffy Sainte-Marie on “Cod’ine” and Eric Von Schmidt on “ Joshua Gone Barbados”.
Disc Three: Phil Ochs on “I Ain’t Marching Anymore”, Richard &Mimi Farina on “Pack Up Your Sorrows”, John Hammond on “Drop Down Mama”, Jim Kweskin & The Jug Band on “Rag Mama”, John Denver on “Bells Of Rhymney”, Gordon Lightfoot on "Early Morning Rain”, Eric Andersen on “Thirsty Boots”, Tim Hardin on “Reason To Believe”, Richie Havens on “Just Like A Woman”, Judy Collins on “Suzanne”, Tim Buckley on “Once I Was”, Tom Rush on “The Circle Game”, Taj Mahal on “Candy Man”, Loudon Wainwright III on “School Days” and Arlo Guthrie on “The Motorcycle Song”
"Hard Travelin'" -Woody Guthrie and Cisco Houston
I've been havin' some hard travelin', I thought you knowed I've been havin' some hard travelin', way down the road I've been havin' some hard travelin', hard ramblin', hard gamblin' I've been havin' some hard travelin', lord
I've been ridin' them fast rattlers, I thought you knowed I've been ridin' them flat wheelers, way down the road I've been ridin' them blind passengers, dead-enders, kickin' up cinders I've been havin' some hard travelin', lord
I've been hittin' some hard-rock minin', I thought you knowed I've been leanin' on a pressure drill, way down the road Hammer flyin', air-hole suckin', six foot of mud and I shore been a muckin' And I've been hittin' some hard travelin', lord
I've been hittin' some hard harvestin', I thought you knowed North Dakota to Kansas City, way down the road Cuttin' that wheat, stackin' that hay, and I'm tryin' make about a dollar a day And I've been havin' some hard travelin', lord
I've been working that Pittsburgh steel, I thought you knowed I've been a dumpin' that red-hot slag, way down the road I've been a blasting, I've been a firin', I've been a pourin' red-hot iron I've been hittin' some hard travelin', lord
I've been layin' in a hard-rock jail, I thought you knowed I've been a laying out 90 days, way down the road Damned old judge, he said to me, "It's 90 days for vagrancy." And I've been hittin' some hard travelin', lord
I've been walking that Lincoln highway, I thought you knowed, I've been hittin' that 66, way down the road Heavy load and a worried mind, lookin' for a woman that's hard to find, I've been hittin' some hard travelin', lord
Click On Title To Link To YouTube's Film Clip Of The New Lost City Ramblers Performing "The Soldier And The Lady".
CD (Plus Booklet Of Photographs) Review
There Is No Eye: Music For Photographs, music by various performers and photographs by John Cohen, Smithsonian/Folkways (Of course), 2001
Recently I was asked by a commenter on one of my blog sites how this current rash of reviews of mountain music, roots music or what have you that I have been frantically writing relates to the general theme of my work, reviews and comments on the history of the left in America and our current propaganda tasks. Good question. Hidden away in the recesses of trying to understand our common plebeian political history and why we have been on the political defensive for almost one hundred years now in our efforts to bring some social justice to this beleaguered country and establish some sense of working class consciousness is a rich, if underappreciated, body of cultural work, including musical, artistic and literary work, trying, one way or another, to do just that thing.
Those cultural efforts may not have always been, consciously or not, on the order of what is necessary to turn the capitalist regime out. They may not have always been made to order for our more thoroughly thought out theories of social struggle. And, certainly, the works and their creators or performers may not have always been “politically correct” and we may be forced to create an every day policy akin to the American military’s policy on the question of gays in the service- “don’t ask, don’t tell” in regard to some of the musical characters that are given space here but this is our common history- warts and all. The point to move on from there.
All of the above is by way of introducing a very interesting piece of Americana put out in 2001 by, one could almost say naturally, by Smithsonian/Folkways. As the headline to this review indicates this CD combines roots music and photographs by John Cohen of the performers in question to accompany that music. For those not familiar with the folk revival of the 1960’s John Cohen was already waiting at the gate for the young folkies to arrive at Greenwich Village. He, along with Tom Paley and Mike Seeger (venerable Pete’s half-brother), had already formed The New Lost City Ramblers who were an important catalyst in finding and “discovering” much roots music- just because they thought it was important to keep that tradition alive. Well, what do you think about that?
Almost every one familiar with roots music knows of the work of Pete Seeger’s father in going out into the field to record or listen to roots music back in the day. As many, perhaps, know of Pete’s own work in this area. Moreover, it is almost impossible to be interested in this genre and not know the work of John and then his son Alan Lomax (and to a much lesser extent Harry Smith). Many fewer, including this reviewer, knew of the field work of John Cohen, as least in taking pictures of musicians in the field. There is a 36 page booklet that accompanies this CD filled with liner notes and some of those photographs. This, my friends, is part of our history. Yes, part of our American left history.
For those non-believers let me just give a few examples to whet your appetite. How about Reverend Gary Davis, a country blues guitar virtuoso who has been the subject of more than one review in this space doing.” If I Had My Way”. Of course from the urban blue genre an early Muddy Waters doing “I Can’t Be Satisfied”. Or a very young Bob Dylan doing a song (on a radio show) that even an aficionado like me had not previously heard, “Roll On John”. How about Roscoe Holcomb, another name mentioned more than once in this space, doing “Man Of Constant Sorrow”. He is a man of Appalachia who I was thinking of when I mentioned that don’t ask, don’t tell policy above. You just know that he is one of those God-fearing good old boys. The same with Eck Robinson here doing the classic (and much covered) “Sally Goodin”. Needless to say no compilation in the modern era can skip over the work of North Carolina’s Elizabeth Cotten here performing “Oh Babe , It Ain’t No Lie”. Or, for that matter Woody Guthrie (whose pensive, I think as I am not sure of the date of the picture, photograph graces the cover of this CD) doing “Ramblin’ Round”. Of course, as mentioned above Brother Cohen gives a nod, rightly so, to his own work with The New Lost City Ramblers here doing “Buck Creek Girl”.
Now if all of this is not enough to make my point about the interconnection between our leftist sensibilities and our common musical roots heritage then this last point will have to do. One of the selections here seems out of kilter. That is a modern jazzy piece by the David Amram Quartet doing a scat called ‘Pull My Daisy”. For those, again, not familiar with the New York scene in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s this is also the name of film that “Beats” Jack Kerouac, Neal Cassidy (the model for the Dean Moriarty character in Kerouac’s “On The Road”) and Allen Ginsberg wrote, acted in, and produced. One may question the leftist (or any political) credentials of the ‘‘beats” but one cannot gainsay their seeking for American roots. There is a definite line from the Walt Whitman of “Leaves of Grass” arguably the first serious literary search for an American road to the “‘beats”. That, however, is best left for another day. Enough for now, except roots music and photos. Kudos Brother Cohen. Better check this one out.
