The Weekly Watch
Musical Chairs
I'm in Florida this weekend with my folk festival buddies here on the banks of the Suwannee River. The festival isn't being held this year due to COVID, but we're all vaccinated and decided to just have our own minifest. In addition to playing music, we'll canoe, swim, hike, and bike around.
We all travel a musical journey as we age and are exposed to different genre. I like almost all music, and can appreciate most of it. So today I thought it might be fun to look at my journey and perhaps you might share your music foray into your favorite pieces.
I really like these “playing for change” compilations.
As a child and teen of the 60's there were many influences through that decade. In my childhood home there was primarily big band and jazz music...pieces like this (still a favorite).
It was about 1960 when kids transitioned from 45 RPM records to 33.3 LP stereo records.
In the early 60's I got caught up with the Beatles. Though popular in the UK, they burst on the US scene in '64 on the Ed Sullivan show: https://findyourbetterlife.com/the-true-story-of-the-beatles-success-211...
I think they will be the Beethoven or Mozart of my age. Every time they came out with a new record, I would think they lost it. But the more you listened the more you realized their excellence. They were not static, and churned out hit after hit and even movies. Their musical journey was really quite amazing, and Beatlemania was rampant from '64 to their break up in 1970. https://theculturetrip.com/europe/united-kingdom/articles/a-brief-histor...
They have so many excellent songs that is is difficult to select just one. So as a representative, here's one I still sing and play from their last album released after their break up, “Let it Be”
As a kid my parents would visit a family up the road, and I would hang out in their study with the stereo. They had a great selection of folk music and I think that is where my roots as a musicain grew. My grandmother taught piano and violin and I grew up in the playpen next to her as she gave lessons. That planted the music making seed, but it was the neighbors record collection which created my tastes and preference. That was my introduction to Bob Dylan, who contines as a influence to this day. His recording history of so many great songs make it difficult to select and representative song, but here's one I still sing and play.
They also had Simon and Garfunkel records
Classic song from 1969 written by Canadian Ian Tyson (Ian & Sylvia) and performed by Judy Collins. She is backed by Buddy Emmons/pedal steel guitar; James Burton/electric guitar; Jim Gordon/Drums; Chris Ethridge/bass; Stephen Stills/guitar and Van Dyke Parks or one of two others on piano.
I can't remember how I was introduced to Pete Seeger, perhaps through Judy. Here they are singing Pete's song together.
Here's one of Pete's that I often play. He took a boat mans tune and wrote these words to fit.
I took his magazine “Sing Out” for a couple of years, and had his book “The Incomplete Folk Singer”. He was a huge influence on me in many ways. I started working at summer camp, and his songs and many more were standard camp fare because they are sing a longs. Things like “if I had a hammer” Performed here by another influential group in the neighbors record collection.
Sometime in the 60's 8-track tapes were introduced. I never did go for them. I didn't like the way songs were interrupted as they skipped from track to track.
The popularity of the 8-track tape was relatively short from 1968-1975. There were problems with the 8-track tape. Perhaps the biggest problems were that the tapes were unreliable, sound quality diminished over time and they were more expensive.
…
Finally, cassette tapes became more affordable and the quality was better longer. By 1980, 8-track tapes were obsolete thanks to the much cheaper, more reliable cassette tape. After a brief moment of popularity, the cassette was replaced by the CD and then iTunes and mp3s.
https://hchm.org/8-track-tapes/
I did go for cassette tapes and have years worth of live recordings from concerts, festivals, and sessions. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/lou-ottens-inventor-audio-...
A few years back I bought a set of archive boxes and organized all the tapes in them. Now they sit neglected on a shelf by the stereo. Perhaps they will have some historical relevance to someone in the future.
This was the time of bluegrass festivals like Alabama's Horse Pens 40
In 1958, reporter Warren Musgrove visited the area to do a story on farming in the area. He was struck by the beauty of the natural amphitheater at Horse Pens 40 and he purchased the property and developed it as a venue for bluegrass music festivals. The park was one of the first outdoor bluegrass festival venues in the nation and was wildly successful. Some of the earliest performers at the park were Emmylou Harris and Ricky Skaggs. By the 1970s, the festival had become one of the largest bluegrass music festivals in the world, drawing upwards of 10,000 people. Many famous musicians have played there, including Bill Monroe, Marty Stewart, Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs, Charlie Daniels and Allison Krauss. Alabama-based groups including Claire Lynch and Three on a String have appeared at the park. The park gained such renown from the event that it was recognized by the Alabama State Legislature as "The Home of the South's Bluegrass Music."
http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-3223
I met many of my friends at that festival. People with whom I continue to play music.
There were so many festivals from Monterey to Woodstock to Newport that defined the sound of my youth. Here's a fun trip to the Monterey Pop Festival (42 min)
About 1970 Crosby, Stills, and Nash hit the scene. What a perfect blend of my musical background. They pushed me back toward the folk music of my youth.
When I began college, rock and roll concerts were common on campus. The Allman brothers often played in the Quad for free. Southern rock had its own unique flavor, and the twin lead guitars of the band were powerful. (11 min Fillmore East version of Whippin' Post)
This is tricky to sing and play at the same time.
It wasn't all driving rock concerts I saw many musicians that first year of college. Several British groups, Yes, ELP, Moody Blues, and even some folk musicians like Joni Mitchell
It was about this time I discovered John Hartford.
My friend and neighbor is the nerdy guy on mandolin. He got hip as he played over the years with John, here they are with Norman on guitar.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CKreEvBu_k
John was a steamboat captain and lived on the Cumberland River in Nashville.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aICsD4C-pC8 (7 min)
After writing "Gentle on My Mind" he had it made and was able to live the life he choose.
John (and some college buddies) led me down the rabbit hole of old-time music.
Groups like the Skillet Lickers
and folks like showman Uncle Dave Macon
Uncle Dave Macon, with his chin whiskers, gold teeth, and open-backed Gibson banjo, was the first real star of the Grand Ole Opry and one of the most colorful personalities in the history of the music. Macon's music is considered the ultimate bridge between 19th-century American folk and vaudeville music and the phonograph and radio-based music of the early 20th-century.
So this weekend I'm circling up with buddies and playing old time tunes, folk music, more modern singer song writer material...A mix of the music though my life. And the journey never ends as I discover new artists and material. My current favorite is Reina del Cid.
And I'll leave you with this one and hope you'll share some of your favorite artists below.
Moon River - Audrey Hepburn / Henry Mancini / Johnny Mercer cover by Reina del Cid and Toni Lindgren in honor of the lunar eclipse this Wednesday morning.
Have a great Sunday!
Comments
Good Morning
Lookout. This is a trip down memory lane for me. When I was a kid my family lived in Chicago for several years and The Studs Terkel radio show was a staple. As you know he featured a wide variety of Roots, Folk, and Blues. My parents bought a whole variety of records back then and we were a singing family. Music was a big part of our daily background.
My parents had a friend from Europe visit once and he wanted to go hear some 'real' Chicago Blues live. So they took him to Mr. Kelly's (if I remember correctly) and we got to see Muddy Waters. It must have been a weeknight because we were just about the only people in the audience. We had an excellent time, it is a great memory.
I think this is one of the tunes that Studs Terkel featured on his weekend show:
I was lucky to meet Studs
He featured one of my political mentors, Virginia Durr, in his book "Working".
Thanks for the reminder of Studs.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Have a Wonderfull
musical weekend.
Here's one more tune.
A sample of
old Studs footage:[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0va52X7a3I width:100 height:100]
Mahalia Jackson:
Great musical journey LO
Very similar as mine. Didn't have much exposure to folk, but growing up outside of Detroit the Motown sound was very influential. Supremes, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Four Tops, Temptations, etc. Much later (late 70's) I fell into the New Orleans scene -- Blues and Zydeco mostly with a heap of gospel and funky marching bands. Fun stuff.
Enjoy your reunion!
Had a great time...
The Suwanee was lovely. Got in a nice canoe trip and visited 4 springs along the river another day... plus lots of music and laughter.
Hope you've had a goods week!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Trip down memory lane
Thanks for this trip this morning. Grew up in much the same era and did explore a lot of the music you mentioned. My family was not much of a musical family even though we had both a piano and organ in the house. Most of the music was church hymns and not until I got to college did I learn much about music.
Lived in Austin during the days of the Armadillo World Headquarters and so got to hear a lot of great music there. There was another place in Austin called the Split Rail where on Thursday you could have great tacos and listen to Kenneth Threadgill yodeling which was new and unique to my ears. There was also zydeco music on weekends there. Lot of different musicians came through Austin and was lucky to have heard some of them.
Your reunion sounds like a great time. Have not been kayaking as much as I wish and being with old friends and playing music together must be a wonderful break for you. I know this OT today is a welcome trip away from all the news of the day!
Have a great time!
Life is what you make it, so make it something worthwhile.
This ain't no dress rehearsal!
Been to Austin once...
to play the Fire Ant dance weekend. Also played a radio show and a small bar. Wet to a great two-step dance hall on the out skirts. Anyway I enjoyed Austin and hope to return sometime. But I must admit I prefer just playing for fun these days instead of playing gigs.
All the best!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Good morning, Lookout!
You have great musical taste.
Did Jim Kweskin et al not influence you?
I didn't realize you were coming down *this* weekend. I might have come up to say hi! White Springs isn't too far.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
I don't know Jim Kweskin
but I guess I ought to look him up. We stayed on the go most of the time during the day and had some fun sessions in the evening. I feel like I'm just finding my musical feet again. Most of the musicians there felt the same. It is as strange coming out of the COVID pandemic as it did going into it.
I think Greta said something like...You say we can't change on a dime, but we did for COVID.
Take care and be well!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
More
Mahalia;
I could just listen to her....
Our Musical Journies
followed very similar tracks.
Mine did include lots of folk music back in the early sixties.
This year, this month, is Bob Dylan's 80th birthday and so I have been playing Bob non-stop.
In honor of both these traditions let me add
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38dOYW7-B0E
Odetta does Masters of War. ( I do not know how to get the song to pop up directly, sorry)
In a small expansion of Lookout's view, I think that Dylan's work will live on as JS Bach's does, because of its depth and complexity. Chimes of Freedom for example.
While The Beatles work will live on, as Beethoven's Ode to Joy does. Played everywhere, often
Total agreement on the importance of Let it Be. It is my go to song in tough moments.
In gardening in high places living let me report that the lantana are finally bloooming and glorious.
Happy days everyone.
Back with update. I could not resist----Today in Yang Against The Machine:
It must have Killed the NY Times to acknowledge what has been plain for a long time. The Times has been so busy smearing Yang I had to wonder if they had even a single toehold in reality. The picture does not show Yang's domination but the complete set of charts and info certainly do.
NYCVG
Dylan is a treasure...
He speaks in a meaningful way...most of the time. My buddy does "Farewell Angelina" which is a song wide open to interpretation. Sure is fun to play though. Thanks for coming by and dropping the Mayoral impression.
High rise garden sounds great. Our garden was very thirsty this morning. Have a good one!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Coincidentally ...
I woke up this morning with this tune playing in my head:
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_hAA4LdUno width:400 height:240]
My musical experience expanded when I moved to Tucson in '73.
There used to be this swap-meet where we used to go and stroll around of an evening.
Sometimes we'd find something cool and we still have stuff around the house that we bought there.
They also had a beer booth and this was back when I was still drinking yellow beer.
Near the beer booth was another booth selling Mexican CDs and cassettes, Yoly's Music Shop.
Every time I would visit the beer booth, which was quite often, I would hear Norteño music blasting from Yoly's.
Gradually, I formed a Pavlovian association relating pleasant evenings, beer and Norteño accordion.
Those days are long gone, of course. The swap-meet has moved, Yoly opened a shop in a strip mall and I can no longer stomach yellow beer. But my love for the music remains.
So, there's a piece of my musical timeline.
We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.
Sounds fantastic (except for the yellow beer).
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
I only came to that style of music in the last decade or so
Great stuff! I have been in LA and the Cajun music scene, but the Mexican style is another thing entirely. I see why you're enamored. Thanks for coming by and dropping the great clip!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Good morning Lookout. So much there and so many similarities
but a some of differences too. All the same, I evolved very eclectic tastes in music. My folks and their music collection was mostly swing, jazz (including lots of Satch and dixieland), western swing and some classical and the 50's pop music aimed at their generation. My older brother (born in '42) did the early rock and roll and r&b appropriate to his age, which was pretty early stuff, a bit of "modern jazz" and "bop" and, from out of almost nowhere, flamenco. As a result, I was into that a bit early for somebody my age (born in '46). The flamenco was a bit of a crossover since we were a border town and there were many Mexican stations, mariachis in old town and all like that. My brother also got me into blue grass early and, tangentially, folk/protest, and, major influence, The Johnny Otis Show.
So, I'm in my early teens alternating between Bo Diddley, Ike Turner Revue, Dave Brubeck, Thelonious Monk, bluegrass, Leadbelly et. al. 50s rock and roll (lots of good instrumentals), mariachis and Carlos Montoya. It was weird. A bit later surf music (the real stuff, NOT the beach boys and like that) hit and, the real stuff had a lot of interesting influences and then the Beatles and Motown. By high school I was also hitting coffee houses where there was, again, a very eclectic mix. That all combined to set me up for when I wandered north at 18 and ran into this:
which morphed into this
Phil Ochs, Sandy Bull, John Fahey, and, of course, these guys:
And one memorable 3 am on a balcony overlooking University Av listening to this
and after that it was madness with all the brits vs the sf scene and butterfield et al and one just couldn't keep up and still can't.
EDIT: Forgot to mention that in the late 60s Arhoolie Records opened shop in nearby El Cerrito
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
I knew you had a wide range of musical tastes...
because of your OTs. Thanks for all the variety you provide in your comment here, and on a regular basis around the site. Music is a way the unite people and we sure need more of that.
Take care and be well!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Til age 16 I had exposure only to classical music
then I had to listen to the Beatles only at a girl friend's house. I remember my father getting cutesy dancing the twist, when we heard the first time
[video:https://youtu.be/eh8eb_ACLl8]
I may have been around fifteen.
Then I heard Edit Piaf a lot, aside of "Je ne regrette rien", i liked "La vie en rose"
[video:https://youtu.be/0feNVUwQA8U]
I listened to Joan Baez a lot the last two years in German highschool.
[video:https://youtu.be/B_K6z3HiRAs]
I listened a lot to Miriam Makeba back in the days.
[video:https://youtu.be/Q1UID0vEeqI]
and to Mahalia Jackson here live in Hamburg in 1961. Was fascinated with her ever since.
[video:https://youtu.be/rtpBJRBfXfk]
Ray Charles, Bob Marley, Otis Redding came into my life. You know all their songs. Here are some older ones I remember having listened to.
[video:https://youtu.be/W1GEpg0c1fw]
[video:https://youtu.be/gAFbYTvXXyY]
[video:https://youtu.be/yyhL0ioST_U]
Lordy, later I got to listen to Leonard Cohen. Back in the days I loved this one
[video:https://youtu.be/n_56ep729TE]
Wow, Lookout, you made me think back to the old days. Thanks for that and the wonderful musical chairs in your Weekly Watch.
So, now have a nice remainder of the Sunday. Be well, all. And thank you for C99p, I am happy to be able to frequent this "etablissement" over and over again.
Cheers.
PS I don't know how to choose the 'best' versions of the songs, so I chose the oldest ones because that's the way I heard them.
That is a lovely musical journey...
My grandmother played classical music primarily, but she loved watch Laurence Welk too.
They were pretty hokey https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lOSQi-kSoQ
Thanks for the memories.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
What I watched my parents dance to, causing the whole dance
floor to clear:
And:
Later, TV:
Beatles, The Doors, Led Zeppelin, anybody anti-war...
All the while, I played piano for choirs and competitions, heard this live in Houston, although the video is of the encore played in Russia:
(This is the song I played nightly for my parents as they went to sleep. I was always the last person to head to bed.
Then, disco, Willie and Waylon, Irish music, and a chance to see the Man sing this in Houston, 1982 or 1983:
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Lots of Glen Miller in my childhood too
as well as Tommy Dorsey. For some reason Elvis never was an influence. Saw his movies, but didn't really listen to him on the regular.
On an entirely different topic, I caught a peak prosperity on Allergies and vaccines which might interest you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1nf5Mb50eg
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/safety/allergic-react...
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/recommendations/speci...
https://www.latimes.com/projects/covid-19-vaccine-safety-side-effects-ri...
Hope A & B are doing well.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
I am flabbergasted by the hypocrisy!!!
a headline and a quote
Politico: "U.S. condemns Belarus for forcing down passenger plane to arrest foe"
in the article, "Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday condemned Belarus for forcing down a civilian airliner over its airspace in order to arrest a dissident on the flight."
Because they believe we don't remember Morales' plane being forced to land because the US thought Snowden might be on board.
You certainly have got that right.
rules don't apply to the US, Israel or their allies.
https://www.rt.com/russia/523956-regime-change-belarus-prank/
Doesn't surprise me...
...just like , We have to stay in Afghanistan because of women's rights, but nary a word of Saudi women in prison for wanting to drive a car. Or China is mistreating it's Muslim population as we drone, bomb, and literately destroy Muslim communities around the world and sit silent as Apartheid Israel kills the Palestinians.
The US the master of hypocrisy!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Cheers Lookout, for the impetus to draw
a personal musical history.
Latin and Caribbean rhythms - anything my parents could cha-cha or rhumba to were my introduction to music and sounds that resonated.
My mother had a major crush on Harry Belafonte. I have always enjoyed him too.
[video:https://youtu.be/7OO38fYjpoM]
I joined two clubs in all my school years. One was the jazz club in 10th grade with my only new friend (having just moved to a new location with my family) whose father was instrumental in the production of the Newport Jazz Festival.
My most memorable jazz experience though was at a tiny, smokey, underground club in Boston where I sat just feet away from Roland Kirk blowing his horns.
[video:https://youtu.be/b4RgOoHKw_s]
Then there was Richie Havens, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan and Bob Marley. Oh, and the Temptations.
[video:https://youtu.be/IEazNNJEcm0]
James Brown on a small stage at a college campus, while I was in High School was definitely also very impressionable.
[video:https://youtu.be/t5CAQU6KsMI]
It goes on ...
I'm glad you've had this wonderful opportunity.
Excellent experiences ...
James Brown was a helluva performer. When he would turn to a band member and show them an open hand, he was docking them $5 for a dropped beat or some such mistake. Became a joke in my old band, to hold up an open hand when someone screwed up.
Thanks for sharing your journey!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Kate Wolf and Norton Buffalo
They're dead now, so have not become zeroes. They will always be who they were, and not what they've become. right on. Norton Buffalo was "The Valley of the Moon" guy. "Where the wine and water flow" LOL omg yeah they are the lucky ones, that's what I think.
Kate Wolf - Across the Great Divide
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2Kn3j7o2yY width:420]
Used to be the intro to the Robbie Osman Show on KPFA, maybe still is. I don't listen to KPFA anymore but it is fun to go back in the archives, they are big and go back to a time before, and the time before that.
https://kpfa.org/archives
---
Across the Great Divide (Live)
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvH9tOaOOh0 width:420]
---
Today is Judi Bari Day in Mendocino, and Oakland where she got her ass blown up and subsequently framed by the fucking FBI. Fuck those guys. Long live Judi!
Workers of the World Unite!
https://archive.iww.org/history/biography/JudiBari/1/
Peace and Love
I sing that song of Kate's
Such fun. Thanks for the reminder. Would have done it the weekend had it come to mind.
Wasn't aware of Judi
Gotta love the activist musicians.
Hope you're doing well and feeling good!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”