A happy Sunday & a happy Boxing Day. Although it was much delayed, it’s now time for the last run on the Old-Time Holiday Train, so let’s get on board with a couple of great tunes!
The Memphis Jug Band: K.C. Moan (1929)
Is there anything quite like jug band music? A sound that hovers between the blues & hot jazz, with any number of other elements thrown in—& to top it off, a “homemade,” “do it yourself” aesthetic that can rival even the most punk of punk rock bands. After all, by definition, jug bands use “found” instruments , starting with the jug itself, & continuing thru washboard bass, tissue & comb kazoo, bones, & even homemade guitars, mandolins & banjos. Gus Cannon of Cannon’s Jug Stompers learned the banjo on an instrument made from a frying pan & a raccoon skin, & while Cannon played a more conventional instrument by the time he was a known musician, there are records of jug band musicians playing pie plate banjos & gourd guitars.
The Memphis Jug Band was a very loose confederation of musicians gathered around Will Shade, who sang, wrote songs, & played guitar & harmonica. The group at various times included musicians who also had significant solo careers, such as Memphis Minnie & Casey Bill Weldon. “K.C. Moan” is a wonderfully straightforward blues song that was later covered by the Jim Kweskin Jug Band.
Charlie Poole & the North Carolina Ramblers:White House Blues (1926)
Speaking of a tune that mixes genres, we end this season’s holiday train tour with the “White House Blues.” These days the “White House Blues” is considered a “bluegrass” or “old-time” tune, in the sense that it comes thru the Euro-American old-time tradition. But structurally, “The White House Blues” is as much a “blues” as “K.C. Moan,” even if it isn’t given the syncopated inflection we generally associate with blues & other forms of African-American music. It wouldn’t be hard to adapt the song to that kind of treatment, however, especially given the underlying 12-bar blues structure.
“The White House Blues” is itself an adaptation of an earlier song, “The Battleship of Maine.” The latter is a satirical song of Spanish-American War vintage, & it provided the melody for its equally topical descendant. For those who are interested, the New Lost City Ramblers covered “The Battleship of Maine,” & you can hear a live version of that here.
Charlie Poole & the North Carolina Ramblers were a popular string band of the 1920s, & their music certainly has an eduring appeal. Poole played banjo & developed a three-finger picking style that provided rhythmic drive to the band. By the way, in banjo (& guitar) terms “three-finger” means “thumb, index & middle fingers”—despite what your 1st grade teacher told you about the “thumb not being a finger.” Although modern bluegrass banjoists use three-finger patterns based on those developed by Earl Scruggs, Poole’s patterns were less syncopated.
Hello, folks—the train’s running behind time this morning, which is more than a little appropriate to the two songs. Fortunately, no actual wreck seems imminent. Also: apologies to aficionados of Harry Smith’s Anthology of American Folk Music, who will see that today’s pairing comes straight off the first “Ballads” record of his compilation. The pairing of “Engine 143” & “Kassie Jones” was just too good to pass up.
Carter Family: Engine 143 (1929)
The Carter Family from southwestern Virginia have had a profound impact on U.S. popular music, from country & folk to gospel & even rock (rockabilly in particular). Perhaps the greatest single influence on future musical styles came from the guitar-playing of Mother Maybelle Carter.
In the 1920s the guitar was still primarily a rhythm instrument. Even if we look at the great blues guitarists of that time, we don’t hear much in the way of “lead” playing such as we’d think of the thing nowadays. The rhythmic backgrounds could be quite intricate—they could be contrapuntal, both in terms of harmonic lines & actual rhythm—but they didn’t tend to be break out into “melody.” At least in terms of what would later become country music, Maybelle Carter’s playing changed this, as she perfected a style that incorporated melody with rhythmic playing. This style is called “Carter picking” or “Carter scratch” in her honor.
Although most folks nowadays play Carter style using a flatpick, Maybelle Carter played with a thumbpick & a fingerpick on her index finger—in this, her style was closely related to what is called “two-finger” banjo picking (she also played banjo, in fact, which she learned from her mother). There has been some controversy as to how much influence African American musician Lesley Riddle had on her playing, but her connection to the banjo means at the very least that her innovative guitar style had some deep roots.
Furry Lewis: Kassie Jones, parts 1 & 2 (1928)
Furry Lewis was, quite simply, an amazing singer & fingerstyle guitar player, equally adept at playing music from ragtime to blues. His roots go way back. He was born some time in the 1890s—the exact date is uncertain, as he gave various dates over the course of his life—& he had some success as a traveling musician in the ‘teens & early 1920s. But apparently with an eye on some financial stability, Lewis took a job as a Memphis city street sweeper for his main source of income—a position he held from 1922 until he retired in 1966. Fortunately for us, he had a brief but fruitful stint making records for Vocalion & Victor in 1927 & 1928; he might have even continued as a recording artist, but the Great Depression had a major impact on the recording industry in general, & so-called “race records” in particular.
So again, as with a number of artists, Lewis was re-discovered in part because of Smith’s Anthology, as well as by the interest in his 78 sides from within the 1950s & 60s folk movement. He had a second musical career in his retirement that included recordings & a number of live appearances—for instance, opening for the Rolling Stones & appearing on Johnny Carson!
Lewis played an old-style form of fingerpicking that in its own way is also closely related to banjo playing. In fact, it would be hard to over-state the influence of the banjo on all forms of old-time music, even the blues where the banjo itself rarely was featured.
You’ll notice that Kassie Jones in appears in a part one & a part two. The reason for this is actually quite simple. The standard size ’78 rpm record was 10 inches, & this record held approximately three minutes per side. If a song was longer than three minutes, there was a part one & a part two—another well known example is Robert Wilkins’ great blues song “Rolling Stone.”
Happy Saturday, folks! The Old Time Holiday train is pulling into the station (just a bit behind time) with two more great tunes for your enjoyment.
Critic Greil Marcus wrote about Harry Smith’s Anthology of American Folk Music as portraying the “weird old America.” Today’s two examples are definitely from that same place, tho neither song is found on the Anthology (Dock Boggs, who performs “Danville Girl” is found on two songs on Smith’s magnum folk opus, however).
In old-time music, we often hear about “modal” songs—songs that are built less on the harmonic structure of chord changes & more on the use of a certain scale. In particular the modal songs tend to use either a variation of the minor scale called the “Dorian mode” (what Pete Seeger called “mountain minor” in reference to a banjo tuning used for playing in this mode) & the “Mixolydian mode,” which is a more or less major scale with one tone altered. If you have a piano, you can hear an example of the Dorian mode by starting on a D note & playing all the white notes in ascending order until you reach the next D; you can hear an example of the Mixolydian mode by starting on a G note & then playing all the white notes in ascending order until you reach the next G.
What may not be quite as well known is that the blues also ventured into modal territory, particularly in the Mississippi Delta & environs, & particularly in the hands of slide guitar players. While we tend to think of blues songs having a very defined chord structure (the “12 bar blues”), in fact a fair number of early blues songs relied much less on those changes & only hinted at them. On to the songs themselves!
Dock Boggs: Danville Blues (1927)
Dock Boggs was an extraordinary banjoist & singer who made some records for Brunswick back in the 1920s. He sang with a raw emotion & urgency that really seems to come from some weird old world, & his style of 3-finger banjo picking was intricate & beautiful. As with many of the old-timers, Boggs used banjo tunings that accomodated his music’s modal character. For “Danville Girl,” he tuned the banjo to #fDGAD, a series of open string notes that allow him to hover between major & minor modes. If you know the song “Danville Girl” from its later major chord incarnations, you won’t even recognize this version.
King Solomon Hill: The Gone Dead Train (1932)
Not very much is known about King Solomon Hill. He was born Joe Holmes in 1897 (at least that’s generally accepted, tho it’s not certain), & took his later stage name from his address in Mississippi: King Solomon Hill Baptist Church. We do know that his playing was memorable & powerful, tho unfortunately he left behind only 8 tracks (a total of six songs, with two takes each of “Whoopee Blues” & “Down on Bended Knee”); we do know that the tracks were recorded for Paramount in Grafton, WI in 1932.
Hill played slide style guitar & favored the open D tuning (in other words, the 6 strings of the guitar, when unfretted, will sound a D major chord). Because of the way open tunings typically work on a guitar, however, it’s pretty easy to make the sound drift between major & minor in true bluesy fashion. As far as the guitar part goes, Hill essentially stays on the D chord throughout, & any hints at chord changes come thru in the vocal & chord fragment riffs.
You may be interested to know that King Solomon Hill used a cow bone as a slide!
Two things I like a lot: old-time music & trains. I say, why not combine them? Especially when you consider the fact that the most popular post all-time on Robert Frost’s Banjo was one of the segments from last year’s Blues Christmas Train series.
So you can understand why I’m returning to a similar series this year. Except this time around, I’m not sticking simply to the blues—nor am I sticking to what generally falls under the rubric of “old-timey” music—namely, old-time country & fiddle tunes. Instead, I’ll be looking at songs from the 1920s & 1930s, & in each post comparing & contrasting a selection from the “hillbilly” genre (as it was known at the time) with one from a “race” record—again, using the parlance of the day. The fact is, even these early attempts at genre creation were to a large degree dictated by the biases & tastes of the recording companies & the field recorders. In fact, the lines between “hillbilly” music & “race” music were often crossed by the musicians themselves—we need only look to Jimmie Rodgers, the “father of Country Music” to find a hillbilly musician who played the blues, while there’s documentary evidence that a number of African-American blues musicians—including such luminaries as Robert Johnson & a young Muddy Waters—crossed over into cowboy music in the 1930s when their audiences demanded it—see Elijah Wald’s Escaping the Delta: Robert Johnson & the Invention of the Blues.)
Today, we start with two classics!
Delmore Bros:Blue Railroad Train (1933) What was there about brother acts in old-time country music? In addition to the Delmore Brothers, there were the Blue Sky Boys, Bill & Charlie Monroe, the Stanley Brothers, & later on, Jim & Jesse McReynolds & the Louvin Brothers. All of these acts had distinctive sounds, & the Delmores were no exception. Alton & Rabon Delmore came out of Alabama to become early stars of the Grand Ol’ Opry. In addition to their smooth harmonies, the Delmores were also notable for using the tenor guitar (played by Alton), a somewhat uncommon instrument, especially in country music. The tenor guitar is tuned like a tenor banjo in fifths (C-G-D-A) & was a transitional instrument in some hot jazz bands as the sound began to steer away from banjos toward the more mellow guitar.
The more mellow sound of the Delmores’ certainly constrasted with the more strident sounds of mountain music recorded in the 1920s—think of Dock Boggs, Uncle Dave Macon or Charlie Poole. But particularly like Boggs (in this way & perhaps no other), they did inject a blues feel into the music—flatted thirds, a certain “bent note” inflection in the vocals. The Delmore’s had what Bill Monroe would late call “the high lonesome sound.” It sure sounds good on “Blue Railroad Train.”
Tommy Johnson: Cool Drink of Water (1928)
Tommy Johnson was a singularly talented musician & one of the most memorable of the first generation of Delta bluesmen. He recorded only 16 songs in two recording sessions, one in Memphis & one in Grafton, Wisconsin, but every one of those is a classic. Johnson’s guitar playing is intricate & powerful—sometimes paired, as in this song, with Charlie McCoy’s mandolin playing—& then there’s his voice—
for my money, he had the most compelling falsetto in old-time blues—a sound that brings to mind the great “high lonesome” voices of Appalachian or “hillbilly” music—that tingling sense of existential despair that rings true whether it’s sung by a white banjoist from the mountains or an African-American guitar player from the Mississippi Delta. Of course, the “high lonesome sound” was actually used by a number of blues singers: just think of Robert Johnson’s vocal on “Hellhound on My Trail,” or any number of vocals by Skip James, just to name to well-known bluesmen.
“Cool Drink of Water” is one of the best old-time songs, whatever the genre. Enjoy!
Happy Monday, everyone! It’s a Musical Monday on Robert Frost’s Banjo, & a special one at that, as I’ll be writing about some truly superlative & inspirational musicians, the Carolina Chocolate Drops.
If you’re not familiar with the Carolina Chocolate Drops, you are in for a treat—there are two videos at the bottom of the post that will introduce you to their sound. I must confess: one of the hardest things about writing this post was limiting myself to two embedded videos—the Carolina Chocolate Drops are so good & so versatile, & fortunately for all our listening pleasure, YouTube has a generous selection of clips from various live performances.
The Chocolate Drops is the trio of Dom Flemons, Justin Robinson & Rhiannon Giddens, tho they expand at times to include percussionist Sule Greg Wilson, Giddens' sister, singer & poet Lalenja Giddens Harrington, & also their mentor & inspiration, octogenarian old-time fiddler Joe Thompson. You can read more about their connection with Thompson, which is seminal to the band's existence, on their band bio page here.
In brief: the members of the band met at the Black Banjo Gathering in Boone, North Carolina in 2005, & as a result they began visiting Thompson for frequent jams accompanied by much learning about the heritage of this music—& this idea of heritage is important: in fact Heritage is the title of the Chocolate Drops’ superlative 2008 release on Dixiefrog. Pigeonholing music into “genres”—largely a maketing device of the recording industry—does many things; one of those things is create a history that folks take as being true. I once told a young banjo student of mine that the banjo is African in its origin: he was shocked, telling me he thought they’d been “invented in Tennessee.” One thing that genre creation has done to old-time music has been to create artificial divisions that are anachronistic. For instance, what do we make of the fact that Jimmie Rodgers, the “father of country music” recorded with Louis Armstrong & Lil Hardin? It’s convenient to see old time music as dividing along racial lines: what’s now called “old-timey music” (think fiddles & banjos—despite the latter instrument’s African origin) is “white,” while blues & jazz are “black.”
In fact, the real situation in “old-time” music in the old times themselves was much more complicated. I’d vaguely known that there was a strong African musical connection with old-time fiddle tunes, but hadn’t known much in detail until I read Elijah Wald’s excellent book Escaping the Delta: Robert Johnson & the Invention of the Blues (note to self: will write about this on the Banjo soon!) Wald points out that there were many African-American string bands, that African-American communities participated in square dances or “frolics,” & that the fact that African-American string bands weren’t recorded, while European-American string bands were, actually says a lot more about the biases of the early recording companies & field recorders than about the prevalence of musical styles in various late 19th & early 20th century southern U.S. communities. For instance, the band's name comes from the 1930s African-American string band, the Tennessee Chocolate Drops. The Carolina Chocolate Drops are articulate about these problems with music history, & a big part of the band’s mission seems to be raising consciousness about this heritage. However, I must stress that the Carolina Chocolate Drops are far from “mere” revivalists—as Justin Robinson has said, “Tradition is a guide, not a jailer. We play in an older tradition but we are modern musicians.” They are modern musicians indeed—not to mention being classically trained (for example: Giddens studied operatic singing at the Oberlin Conservatory); their Facebookpage lists influences ranging from the Mississippi Sheiks to the New Lost City Ramblers to the Notorious B.I.G. Robinson, for instance, can switch from hot old-time fiddle playing to beat boxing, while Giddens can move with ease from an old blues like “Wayward Gal” (see below) to her show-stopping cover of Blu Cantrell’s “Hit ‘Em Up Style.” While their repertoire is old, it comes beautifully alive in their music making. The clip of “Don’t Get Trouble in Your Mind Below” should provide all the evidence you need of both their vitality & their virtuosity.
In addition, all three band members are versatile. Dom Flemons is a wiz on guitar (typically resonators—a man after my own heart); one thing about Flemons guitar-playing: he knows that the guitar in this music is at least half percussion instrument—listen to the effects he gets on “Wayward Girl.” Amazing! As someone who has had to put a lot of effort into bringing percussion into his own blues guitar playing, I have a lot of admiration for Flemons’ technique. But his prowess doesn’t end with the guitar. He plays a unique but highly effective form of frailing on a four-string banjo, he can really blow a jug (this is no mean feat—& Robinson is also a good jug man), & play the harmonica, bones & snare drum, & he has a powerful singing voice that's comfortable in several old time styles. Giddens is an excellent clawhammer banjo player & also plays a mean fiddle; & she can really play the kazoo—if you’ve ever wondered if the kazoo is a “real” musical instrument, just check out Giddens play one on “Memphis Shakedown” or “Your Baby Ain’t Sweet Like Mine.” Her singing is pretty much transcendant. Robinson, meanwhile, plays an exquisite & energetic fiddle as well as the autoharp, & also plays the banjo occasionally, in addition to blowing the jug & beat boxing. Robinson’s vocals are always a delight, & can range from an exuberant old-time style to something as dark & soulful as "Kissin' & Cussin'" on their 2010 Genuine Negro Jig.
As was the case when I profiled the Mad Tea Party last month, I’m stuck on which of the Carolina Chocolate Drops albums to recommend if you want to check out just one as an introduction. They currently have four available, plus one (Colored Aristocracy, Music Maker) from an earlier incarnation of the band, called Sankofa Strings. The four cds are Dona Got a Ramblin’ Mind (Music Maker); Heritage (Dixiefrog); Joe Thompson and The Carolina Chocolate Drops (Music Maker); & Genuine Negro Jig (Nonesuch). I should mention that Dom Flemons also has two solo albums out—all of these can be purchased thru the band’s website, & most are available on iTunes. If pressed to give an answer, I’d narrow it down to Heritage & Genuine Negro Jig & suggest one of two things: flip a coin or decide you really need both!
This is great music—some of the most inspiring I’ve heard in a long time. Please check out the Carolina Chocolate Drops!
All Hallows is just around the corner, so this is the final installment of Graveyard Tunes; thanks everybody for being so supportive of the series—there will be another song list series coming up in December.
Eberle says I should tell you all that among my many “jack-of-all-trades” jobs, I worked for two summers at Mt Calvary Cemetery in Burlington, VT as a grave-digger/groundskeeper. While we spent the majority of our working hours mowing lawns & weed-whacking fence lines, there was actual digging involved, & we did it the old-fashioned way, with spades & shovels. It wasn’t a bad job all in all—out in the sun, & tho there was some hard work, I was a young fellow & up to the task. Did this experience give me any particular insight into the Graveyard Tunes? Probably not!
Enjoy—five videos as a grand finale!
Scarey Day Blues: Here’s another tale of the mojo, in this case something that Blind Willie McTell’s woman has that puts “the jinx” on him in the boudoir (as it were). At the same time, his woman seems to have certain characteristics of a freight train (shaking & wobbling, like the “Central” & the “L&N”). Although Blind Willie expresses optimism about being able to find the mojo, she “keeps it hid.” I think you get the picture. Blind Willie McTell’s playing is always amazing, as on this up-tempo number—check him out in the video below. Blind Willie McTell:The Best of Blind Willie McTell (Yazoo)
See That My Grave Is Kept Clean: This great Blind Lemon Jefferson song is one I wrote up in a feature on Just a Song—this is a much condensed version. It's no under-statement to use the word eerie when describing this song, especially in Blind Lemon Jefferson’s version. When he sings “my heart stopped beating and my hands turned cold,” it is a spine-tingling moment, as is his singing about the “church bell tone” & the “coffin sound.” Blind Lemon Jefferson had an immediately recognizable guitar style, & his flowing runs & intricate rhythms always make for good listening, even in such a chilling song. Blind Lemon Jefferson:Anthology of American Folk Music, vol. 3, Songs (Smithsonian/Folkways); also The Best of Blind Lemon Jefferson (Yazoo)
Seven Skeletons Found in the Yard: Here we move from the blues of the southern U.S. to the calypso sounds of Jamaica. The old, pre-Belafonte (& Andrews Sisters) calypso was an extremely interesting form—a mixture of lovely melodies & rhythms over which the calypsonian singer would often extemporize in verse, often describing local events or singing about political issues. In a way, calypso is “the news,” & the news Lord Executor delivers in this calypso song from the 1930s is, as the title suggests rather grisly. It may interest you to know that Lord Executor goes on to list real tragedies which, he asserts are “worse than the seven skeletons the workmen found in the yard.” Lord Executor:Calypso Breakaway 1927-1941 (Rounder)—sadly, this fine collection of vintage calypso has been discontinued.
She Moved Through the Fair: This traditional Irish song about a ghostly love has one of the most beautiful—& haunting—melodies I’ve ever heard. When that melody is sung by Jean Redpath, who is simply one of the best singers I’ve ever heard, the results are stunning. Ms Redpath performs “She Moved Through the Fair” a capella, but her voice combines a remarkable purity & clarity of tone combined with true insight in delivering the lyric. Jean Redpath:First Flight (Rounder)
Skeleton Jangle: Moving from the sublime to the…less sublime, we have a fun early jazz number from the Original Dixieland Jazz Band. The recordings made by this combo in 1917 & 1918 were among the first recorded jazz numbers, tho the music had been in existence for some years at that point. “Skeleton Jangle” was recorded in March of 1918, along with the Original Dixieland Jazz Band’s version of “Tiger Rag.” The song itself is a fun romp, as the combo’s music generally was. The “skeleton” is supplied by the drummer as he taps out time on woodblock. The Original Dixieland Jazz Band:The 75th Anniversary (Bluebird)
St James Infirmary: This song not only features a “cooling board” scene, as we experienced with Son House’s “Death Letter Blues” & Blind Willie McTell’s “On the Cooling Board,” but it also features an extravagant funeral procession—not up to the standard of McTell’s “Dying Crapshooter Blues,” but still including singing chorus girls, six crapshooters & a jazz band on the “hearse wagon.” It’s a good song—fun to perform. New Orleans great Danny Barker took it to a whole other level, however, both musically & in terms of pure lyrical surrealism. Why Barker isn’t better known baffles me—as far as I know (& I know there are a few NoLa readers, so please correct me if I’m wrong), his recordings are all out of distribution, as are those of his wife Blue Lu Barker. Barker was an exceptionally talented musician—a fantastic guitar player & banjo player, an excellent singer & a fun songwriter—how many folks realize he wrote “Save the Bones for Henry Jones”? Ah well, if you can only listen to one of today’s videos, make it the Barker version of “St James Infirmary.” There’s nothing quite like it. Danny Barker: Save the Bones (Orleans); as I said, discontinued & hard to come by.
Sweet William & Lady Margaret: I included two very different versions of this old ballad—another ghostly love song. Jean Ritchie’s full-length treatment goes from disturbingly surreal dreams filled with swine to true love knot tied between a rose & briar; Buffy Sainte-Marie’s short version is a dark tale of mad love & suicide. Both versions have great power, so do give them a listen; & speaking of excellent singers, both Ritchie & Sainte-Marie are fantastic. Jean Ritchie:Ballads from Her Appalachian Family Tradition (Smithsonian Folkways); Buffy Sainte-Marie:Little Wheel Spin & Spin (Vanguard)
Trouble Gonna Take Me To My Grave: What a way to end! Big Joe Williams of 9-string guitar fame. Yes, a 9-string guitar is that odd—I’ve never heard of anyone else playing one. In the blues, we know what the ultimate destination is, & we know trouble just hastens one on the way! Big Joe Williams is a delight, & not well known to general listeners. Tho this tune isn’t on YouTube, several are, so look him up some day when you’re in the mood. Big Joe Williams:Big Joe Williams at Folk City (OBC); this now is only available as mp3 downloads, but what the hey!
Welcome to this week’s eerie old-time eight: it’s time for Graveyard Tunes again, & this week there are some real notables examples! At least half of these have high hair-raising potential, while the rest are just plain good songs with a somewhat supernatural angle.
Enjoy!
The House Carpenter: For those of you who don’t know, “The House Carpenter” is one of the ballads Francis James Child collected in the late 19th century. Originally a British Isles song titled “James Harris,” it also became a staple of the Appalachian repertoire. “The House Carpenter” tells the story of a “daemon lover” (another of the song’s titles) who spirits the earthly woman he loves away from her husband the house carpenter & her “own wee babe.” This modal song sounds best with instruments like banjo or dulcimer, because unlike the guitar, they don’t tend to smooth its edges. Accordingly, you can’t go wrong with the versions by Clarence Ashley or Jean Ritchie. Ashley’s may be a bit spookier (they’re both pretty high in this quality), but they both make a remarkable impression. Check out Mr Ashley’s version below. Clarence Ashley:Anthology of American Folk Music, vol. 1 (Smithsonian Folkways); or Clarence Ashley:Greenback Dollar: 1929-1933 (County); Jean Ritchie:Jean Ritchie & Doc Watson Live at Folk City (Smithsonian Folkways)
I Ain’t Superstitious: This is just pure Chicago Blues fun with the man who was “300 pounds of heavenly joy,” Howlin’ Wolf. We have black cats & brooms & itchy trigger fingers & howling dogs, all under the auspices of the singer claiming that he “ain’t superstitious.” For musicians out there, the song is interesting because it breaks a bit from the typical blues chord pattern: the vocal actually begins on the IV chord instead of the root chord, as almost always happens in blues. But hey, this is nothing to get to academic about. Give it a listen, & then if you’ve got a guitar, try playing around with it! Howlin’ Wolf: His Greatest Sides, vol. 1 (Chess—this is vinyl, but it’s currently available on Geffen’s Howlin’ Wolf: The Definitive Collection, & also on other compilations)
The Lady Gay: Our second foray into the Child Ballads, this is a rather blood-curdling tale of a mother’s grief for her dead children originally titled “The Wife of Usher’s Well.” Buell Kazee’s version of the old tune—just Kazee’s amazing voice accompanied by his masterful frailing-style banjo—is truly unforgettable; as with “The House Carpenter,” the banjo’s crooked harmonic corners allow the song’s haunting modal character to come thru. The song tells the story of how the woman sends her three children away to “learn their grammarie,” how the children are stolen away by death, & how she prays that they will return. They do return, but as ghosts, telling her in an unforgettable line “Every tear that you shed for us it wets our winding sheets.” Buell Kazee: Buell Kazee (June Appal). This essential (my opinion) old-time recording isn’t available from some of the big name online retailers, but can be purchased directly from June Appal & is also usually stocked at the best all-around music store I know, Elderly Instruments.
Mojo Hand: The title doesn’t refer to the amazing fingerstyle guitar skills Lightnin’ Hopkins routinely displays in his music. A mojo hand—also called (among other things) simply a mojo or a mojo bag or a conjure bag (&, if worn by a woman, a nation sack)—is a bag containing various charms. As such, it’s part of the hoodoo belief system, which itself goes back to west Africa, & which turns up often in old blues—the “nation sack” for instance makes an appearance in Robert Johnson’s “Come On In My Kitchen.” In this case, Lightnin’ says he’s going to “Louisian” to get a mojo hand—in this case, the conjure will be to keep his woman from cheating on him. There’s also some suggestion in one version of the song that his woman may have laid some spell on him, since the word “fix” is used both for what the mojo hand will do to the woman & for what the woman has done to him. As always, Lightnin’ Hopkins’ singing & playing are top notch—just see for yourself in the video below! Lightnin’ Hopkins:Prestige Profiles (Prestige)—this is also available on any number of Hopkins’ compilations.
Oh Death: I’m a huge Dock Boggs fan—love his singing, his repertoire & just about everything about his banjo playing; & I must say that when Eberle & I first heard this song some years ago, I thought it was one of the most remarkable pieces of music I’d ever heard. In somewhat the same way as the Reverend Gary Davis’ great song “Death Don’t Have No Mercy,” “Oh Death” comes from a time & place when death was a more common occurrence in the midst of everyday life—neither the garish & gory fakery of movies & TV nor the invisible sequestered death of nursing homes & hospitals. This is a serious & moving song, chilling in its intensity & somberness—check it out below. Dock Boggs: (playing with)The New Lost City Ramblers:Old Time Music (Vanguard); also on Dock Boggs:His Folkways Years 1963-1968 (Smithsonian Folkways)
On the Cooling Board: Blind Willie McTell’s song is a graphic depiction—in terms of both emotional & physical details—of a man’s grief for his dead lover. According to Wikipedia, "A cooling board is a board used to present a dead body. In winter months it would be difficult to bury the dead due to the earth being frozen, so the body is wrapped and propped in a barn until the ground thaws out. Referred to in a number of Blues songs, for example by Blind Willie McTell.” Of course, that’s this song being referred to. The term also comes up in Son House’s “Death Letter Blues.” Blind Willie McTell: Atlanta Twelve String (Atlantic)
The Pale Horse & His Rider: A country music vision of the apocalypse, co-written by four people, including Kitty Wells! Hank Williams didn’t write this one, but his version is probably the best known; it’s a rather stark call for repentance, before the day when “the Pale Horse and his rider goes by.” You’d have to assume this was a theme that spoke to Williams, as his life, amidst his talent & fame, was severely troubled at the time he recorded this in 1951 by alcoholism, drug addiction & a failing marriage. I do know another excellent version of this tune—it’s by Freakwater, an alternative country band I’ve admired for years; they’re still performing & releasing new music, so check them out! Hank Williams:Turn Back The Years - The Essential Hank Williams Collection (Mercury Nashville); Freakwater:Feels Like the Third Time (Thrill Jockey)
Pretty Polly: For this list I’ve avoided the sort of “happy” bluegrass murder ballads like “Banks of the Ohio” or “Knoxville Girl”—I don’t care for those songs. But I am including “Pretty Polly” on the basis of its flat-out eeriness, & one of the best versions I know is by that master of old-time eeriness, Dock Boggs. Like “The House Carpenter” & “The Lady Gay,” this is in origin a British Isles ballad, & also like those songs, it’s modal in nature & thus lends itself to a banjo treatment like Boggs’. Of course, “Pretty Polly” has been covered by everybody from Burl Ives to the Byrds & from Ralph Stanley to the String Cheese Incident. An interesting side note: Woody Guthrie based the melody & harmonic structure of his wonderful song “Pastures of Plenty” on “Pretty Polly.” Dock Boggs:Country Blues: Complete Early Recordings (Revenant – sadly, this has been discontinued & doesn’t seem to be available for a reasonable price).
It’s Wednesday, so it’s time for Graveyard Tunes again—hope you enjoy reading about & listening to this week’s October octet of old-time ghastliness! But first, a bit of blog news:
1. This is (according to Blogger, which keeps track of such things) the 500th post on Robert Frost’s Banjo!
2. I’ll have limited computer access at best thru the weekend, so if I don’t respond to comments as usual it’s simply that I have no way to do so. However, there are posts scheduled thru the week: tomorrow, Women’s Art is Women’s Work with Audrey; Friday, another Halloweenesque film; Saturday, the Weekly Poem; & Dad’s Photos on Sunday.
Dying Crapshooter’s Blues: Tales of elaborate funeral processions abound in old-time music, whether it’s the fife & drum march of “Streets of Laredo” or the jazz band on the hearse wagon in St. James Infirmary.” None of these processions can match the one the great Blind Willie McTell came up with in “Dying Crapshooter’s Blues,” however. While the song certainly owes a lot to “St. James Infirmary,” it’s a completely changed vision both musically & lyrically in McTell’s hands. Check him out in the first video below. Blind Willie McTell:Atlanta Twelve String (Atlantic)
Fixin’ To Die: Not the Country Joe MacDonald Vietnam War protest song—this is a song associated with Delta bluesman Bukka White, one of the tradition's great slide guitar practitioners. White first recorded this song in the 1930s, then recorded a re-make in the 1960s after he’d been re-discovered by the folk movement. “Fixin’ to Die” picks up on a few common blues themes—the inevitability of death (“Just as sure as we livin', just as sure we born to die”), a description of death’s physical “symptoms” (“I'm lookin' funny in my eyes and I believe I'm fixin' to die”) & concern for what will happen to orphaned children (“I know I was born to die but I hate to leave my children cryin'”). It’s an interesting tune—White plays it with a hard-driving boogie strum & subtle slide work. You can hear this is the second vidclip below. Bukka White:Fixin’ To Die (Snapper UK – an import, but reasonably priced)
Gallis Pole: What does a traditional Finnish folk tune, a British Child Ballad, bluesman Leadbelly & hard rock innovators Led Zeppelin have in common? A song variously entitled “Lunastettava neito,” “The Maid Freed from the Gallows,” “Prickly Bush,” “Gallis Pole” & “Gallows Pole”—not to mention other Swedish, German & British variations—Wikipedia lists a dozen other variant English language titles. Leadbelly was one of the first old-time blues artists I listened to, & he’s always amazing—an elemental force with his singing & his booming 12-string guitar playing. You can read the lyrics for the Leadbelly version of this song online at WikiSourcehere. In Leadbelly’s version, it's a man who’s saved from the gallows—as I understand it, the British & Continental versions usually involved a woman being saved, but in U.S. versions the condemned was usually a man. Leadbelly: Bourgeois Blues: Lead Belly Legacy, Vol. 2 (Smithsonian Folkways)
Grandpa’s Spells: Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe was born in New Orleans sometime in the 1880s—seems there’s some disagreement about the date. LaMothe later became known as Jelly Roll Morton, & by age 14 was playing piano in a Storyville brothel. Morton claimed later in life to have invented jazz—a grandiose claim, but if anyone could even begin to make it stick, Morton could. He was a virtuosic player & a prolific composer, & “Grandpa’s Spells” is a great ragtime piece, pure & simple. Morton’s connection to Voodoo itself is a bit more complicated; it’s assumed by many that Morton’s grandfather was a Voodoo practitioner—hence the title. Morton’s Uncle Henry downplayed any family connection to Voodoo when he was interviewed by Alan Lomax (see Lomax’s excellent Mister Jelly Roll (University of California Press), but Lomax noted that Uncle Henry seemed “overemphatic” in these denials. It’s also reported that Morton himself believed the illness that brought on his death in 1941 was the result of a Voodoo spell. However that may be, do check out the music in the vidclip below. Jelly Roll Morton: 1923-1924 (Milestone)
Haunted House: What more can you ask for in a Halloween song list than a tune with this title? I’ve never heard this song done by anyone but Leon Redbone, who included it on his fantastic debut album On the Track. According to the liner notes, it’s traditional (public domain); at any rate it’s a slow bluesy lament about being haunted by a dead lover. Redbone’s vocal is a sort of slurred & mumbled perfection, & as always, the arrangement of his backing musicians is first-rate. On the Track is pretty much an essential album in my book, tho I might lean toward Branch to Branch as my absolute favorite Redbone disc. Leon Redbone:On the Track (Warner Bros. Records)
Heebie Jeebies: Louis Armstrong recorded this song on several occasions, but it’s hard to beat the 1926 version with the Hot Five: Armstrong on cornet, Kid Ory on trombone, Johnny Dodds on clarinet, Lil Hardin Armstrong on piano & Johnny St. Cyr on banjo. What a line-up! This hot jazz number is really a dance tune, but I’ve always been partial to the term “heebie jeebies” to describe a sort of anxiety, & I’ve always loved this tune. Speaking of essential listening: the 4-volume Hot 5s & 7s is right up there. Louis Armstrong:Hot Fives & Sevens (this number is on vol. 1) (JSP)
Hell Hound on My Trail: I think most blues fans would agree this is one of the finest songs from the Delta blues tradition. Built around just two chords & a typical Robert Johnson “turnaround” (a musical figure that tends to lead from one chord back to the root tone), this song is beautifully conceived both in terms of melody & lyrics. Certainly “Hell Hound on My Trail” has been used as justification for the legend about Johnson selling his soul to the devil to achieve mastery of the guitar. I found the discussion of this legend on Wikipedia quite interesting (yes, I know Wikipedia is a questionable source, but this article appears pretty well documented); according to the article, a number of features from that legend were also ascribed to an earlier bluesman, Tommy “the Snake” Johnson—less well-known than Robert Johnson, but a great blues composer & performer in his own right. But for our purposes, this song has not only a “hell hound,” but also the Voodoo “Hot foot powder” that the singer’s “rider” (or “good gal”) has sprinkled all around his door. My own favorite lines are “I can tell the wind is rising/Leaves trembling on the trees." Check this one out below! Robert Johnson:King of the Delta Blues, vol. 1 (Sony), Rory Block:Gone Woman Blues (Rounder)
Henry Lee: This is the first song on Harry Smith’s great Anthology of American Folk Music, & it certainly sets the tone for what Greil Marcus would term “the Weird Old America.” A singer named Dick Justice intones “Henry Lee,” backing himself with an elementary guitar arrangement, but the effect—due in part to the quality of Justice’s tenor voice—is more than the sum of its parts. The story itself is a variation of the British ballad “Young Hunting.” In this case, the spurned lady murders her lover & then is haunted & taunted by a little bird—when she threatens to kill the little bird with her bow & arrow, the bird threatens to reveal her as a murderer. Great stuff! Dick Justice:Anthology of American Folk Music, vol. 1, Ballads (Smithsonian Folkways)
Welcome to the October feature here on Robert Frost’s Banjo. In my tradition of thematic song lists, I thought it might be fun—in a slightly ghoulish way perhaps—to think of old-time tunes that really fit the mood of Halloween. Of course, as anyone who has even a passing acquaintance with old-time music knows, the only problem in compiling such a list is keeping it to a reasonable length. There was certainly no shortage of death, destruction, murder & mayhem in traditional music.
Graveyard Tunes will be posted every Wednesday in October, so enjoy these & stay tuned for more!
Bury Me Under the Weeping Willow: One of the most common conceits in old time tunes is the spurned lover who “dies for love.” How common this was in practice may be open to question, but many of us may have felt like doing so at one time or another—especially in the passions of youth. It would be hard to overstate the influence the Carter Family had on country music, & in particular Mother Maybelle Carter, for whom the guitar playing style “Carter picking” is named. Interestingly, tho most folks these days use a flatpick for “Carter style” playing, Mother Maybelle herself used a thumbpick & a fingerpick on her index finger—so called “two-finger picking,” which goes back to banjo playing. Check them out below! The Carter Family:The Complete Victor Recordings - "Anchored in Love" 1927-1928 (Rounder)
Country Blues: This is a song I wrote up on Citizen K’s fine music blog, Just a Song—so you can check out the “full story” (including a vidclip) here. Besides the “haunted” jailhouse where the rounder finds himself, there’s the gothic burial scene in the last two verses, so "Country Blues" most certainly qualifies for our list. It also bears repeating (a point I made in my Just a Song post) that Boggs was able to take a stock lyric like “when I’m dead & buried & my pale face turned toward the sun” & make it completely his own in an immediate & chilling way. This is something that the really great traditional singers can do—Skip James (see below) is another singer who has this gift. Of course, much of Dock Boggs’ music tended toward the eerie—after all, his banjo was usually in the so-called “Graveyard Tuning.” Dock Boggs: Country Blues: Complete Early Recordings (Revenant – sadly, this has been discontinued & isn’t available for a reasonable price; not sure how to come by all the old Dock Boggs—this & a few others are available on The Anthology of American Folk Music)
Crossroad Blues: Even folks who don’t know blues music probably have heard of Robert Johnson & his song “Crossroad Blues.” It’s been covered by lots of people (yours truly included)—perhaps most famously by Eric Clapton with Cream; Rory Block also does a fine version. But the song is a hallmark of Johnson’s because it’s often interpreted in light of the legend that Johnson sold his soul to the devil at the crossroads to gain his mastery on the guitar. It’s true that Johnson sang about the devil rather famously in “Me & the Devil,” & by implication in “Hellhound on My Trail”; but as we’ll see in the course of this month’s song lists, various forms of magic came up in a number of old blues songs; it wasn't unique to Johnson. Check out Mr Johnson in the clip below. Robert Johnson:King of the Delta Blues Singers (Sony), Rory Block:Best Blues & Originals (Rounder)
Cypress Grove: Folks talk about the “high lonesome” sound of Bill Monroe, but we could also speak of Skip James’ “high haunted” sound—which derived from James’ falsetto, as well as his proclivity for playing in a minor tuning—but most importantly derived from his own vision of the blues: a stark & ghostly landscape. “Cypress Grove” is a bit of a twist on the “died for love” motif—in this case, the singer would “rather be buried in some cypress grove than to some woman, Lord, that I can’t control.” This is a fairly common blues conceit, but James’ playing & singing make what could be a rather stock scenario into something remarkable. Of course his songwriting skills are crucial as well—the last verse is particularly chilling: “When your knee bone's achin' and your body cold/Means you just gettin' ready for the cypress grove.” Rory Block also does a gorgeously haunting version of this tune—you can check out Skip James below. Skip James:The Complete Early Recordings of Skip James (Yazoo), Rory Block: Gone Woman Blues (Rounder)
Death Don’t Have No Mercy: If you’re looking for a combination of instrumental skill & vocal urgency, it’s really hard to find anyone who can surpass Reverend Gary Davis. As such, this harrowing story about death’s inevitability is a perfect vehicle for his considerable musical strengths. This is another song I’ve written about on Just a Song (the link is here—there’s also a vidclip of the song performed live at Newport by the Reverend in the mid 60s); if you haven’t checked it out Just a Song is a blog I recommend highly, & certainly not solely for my contributions—there are several other regular contributors covering a pretty wide range of musical genres. “Death Don’t Have No Mercy” is a traditional song that’s been covered by many folks, but in my mind it’s always Reverend Gary Davis’ tune; his voice & his guitar bring a gravitas to the song that’s really hard to approach as a player, but which make for extraordinarily compelling listening. Reverend Gary Davis:Harlem Street Singer (Prestige/Bluesville)
Death Letter Blues: This post is really cross-referenced, isn’t it? If you’re curious &/or missed it the first time around, you can hear Son House singing this song right here at my post about the great bluesman. This tale of receiving a “death letter” telling the singer to “Hurry, hurry, because the gal you love is dead.” The feeling here is visceral & stark, the emotions raw & vivid, & House’s playing & singing are—as always—full-bore; he doesn’t hold anything back. Son House: The Original Delta Blues (Sbme Special Mkts.); also live on Delta Blues & Spirituals (Capitol)—the latter is discontinued but available.
Devil Got My Woman: Skip James: As I understand, this Skip James’ song has an autobiographical basis—it certainly plays that way, with James’ hair-raising vocal & brilliantly mournful guitar. Lately I’ve been pretty obsessed with this song—not for any personal reasons, I hasten to assure you!—& have been working on versions both with the banjo & the guitar (think I’ve settled on the latter). There are some interesting issues surrounding the song “Devil Got My Woman,” & I’ve written about this song today on Just a Song, where you can also listen to a video clip of James’ performance; here's the link to that post. Skip James:The Complete Early Recordings of Skip James (Yazoo), Rory Block: Gone Woman Blues (Rounder)
The Devil is a Busy Man: This week’s list has had its share of powerful singers, & Sunnyland Slim doesn’t have to take a backseat to anyone in that regard. "The Devil is a Busy Man" is a cautionary tale, & Slim’s energetic vocal is vigorously supported not only by his own piano playing, but also by a Hammond organ & a great horn section—featuring King Crimson on tenor sax. Although this recording is more “recent” than most of the others we’ll consider thru the month, Sunnyland Slim’s old-time status is as rock-solid as his piano playing; born in 1907, Sunnyland Slim played with Ma Rainey in Memphis in the 20s, then later in Chicago with the likes of Muddy Waters & Howlin’ Wolf. Sunnyland Slim: Slim’s Shout (OBC – this has been discontinued but is still available used or as mp3 downloads)
I don’t know for sure who first described Joseph Spence as “the folk guitarist's Thelonious Monk”—it may have been Mark A. Humphrey, who wrote the All-Music Guideentry for this Bahamian guitar player. In any case, the phrase seems to pop up regularly on the internet when you're searching for Spence; it has the virtue of not only being catchy, but also descriptive in a helpful way. As such, I’m happy to continue its proliferation right here on Robert Frost’s Banjo.
What are adjectives you could use to describe Monk’s music? Consider these two sentences from Wikipedia’s entry on the great jazz pianist:
His compositions and improvisations are full of dissonant harmonies and angular melodic twists, and are impossible to separate from Monk's unorthodox approach to the piano, which combined a highly percussive attack with abrupt, dramatic use of silences and hesitations. Monk's manner was idiosyncratic. Compare this with the opening of Humphrey’s piece:
Born on the island of Andrus in the Bahamas, Spence created an idiosyncratic (and inimitable) guitar style rife with percussive and improvisatory vamps around staid hymns and such "square" standards as "Coming in on a Wing and a Prayer."
I'd add the adjective "playful" to describe both men's music. One thing I can say with some certainty: if you’ve never heard Joseph Spence, there’s really no one to compare him to, in the sense that you could say, “his guitar playing reminds me of so-&-so” (actually, he has some notable points in common with Costa Rican guitarist Walter Ferguson, but Ferguson is probably more obscure than Spence). In fact, I must tell you that the first time Eberle & I heard him play, we were not only entirely captivated, but also overcome with fits of hysterical laughter, especially during his unforgettable rendition of "Santa Claus is Coming to Town." Despite the laughter, we were completely convinced that we were listening to an incredible musician; the laughter came from delight combined with a sense of how foreign this was to our conception of exceptional musical performance.
Unlike other guitarists featured in this series, Spence is not a blues player; in fact, he claimed that even after being exposed to the form while working as a stonemason in the U.S. during the 30s, the blues never “grafted to my head.” His repertoire was in fact extremely eclectic & as idiosyncratic as his playing & singing. He sang old standards (see “Coming In On a Wing & a Prayer”); Bahamian folk songs (see “Good Morning Mr Walker”) & even the occasional calypso (“Jump in the Line” is an epic guitar tune when played by Spence!) in addition to lots of hymns, children’s songs &, in essence, whatever struck his fancy (including an unforgettable rendition of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” which you can find on YouTube—& which I expect to post during the upcoming holiday season). Spence played almost exclusively in what’s commonly known as “drop D” tuning—this means simply that the lowest sounding string on the guitar isn’t tuned to an E as in standard tuning, but down to a D; & it also should be noted that his guitar is "out of tune" by common standards. But as Jack Viertel points out in his liner notes to Good Morning Mr Walker, “There is no sloppiness in this. He tunes very precisely by playing the same figures over & over until he is satisfied, & the guitar is always tuned to the same pitches.”
Spence’s guitar playing involves complex improvisations & a whole lot of counterpoint; "chords" per se are less important than "voices." In this regard, Spence is especially renowned for his bass runs. When Ry Cooder was asked about the origins of his own playing, he said:
It all started with Joseph Spence when I was a little kid. He was one of my all-time great inspirations. When he did those bass runs, I didn’t understand it. I was so mad all the time.
A lot of guitar players—myself included—have been inspired by Spence’s playing; Taj Mahal & John Renbourn are two other well-known players who, like Cooder, acknowledge Spence’s influence. Guitarists who'd like to see what this looks like "on paper" can check out Happy Traum's excellent book of transcriptions Traditional & Contemporary Fingerpicking Styles for Guitar (Oak Publications). The book contains a transcription of "There Will Be a Happy Meeting" from Music of the Bahamas, vol. 1 (Folkways-Smithsonian). I'd also agree with traum's statement that Spence's recordings are "essential listening for anyone interested in fingerstyle guitar." Although Spence's playing as an entire package is pretty much inimitable, you can learn a whole lot about what's possible on the instrument.
Spence’s playing has another unique feature, & that’s his voice. You may notice that on Arhoolie’s Good Morning Mr Walker Spence is credited with “guitar & vocal sounds.” What Spence does isn’t singing as we commonly understand the term. Viertel said, “His voice, also inimitable, is used as a secondary instrument more than as a means of communicating words. It provides a solid, if somewhat gravelly, base for the guitar’s fluid lines to play off of.” In fact, Spence often forgot the words to songs & would simply vocalize syllables like “la dee dee” over the guitar’s flurry of notes.
Spence was first recorded by Sam Charters for Folkways in 1958, & he toured in the U.S. in the 1970s. Like Reverend Gary Davis, Elizabeth Cotton & Son House (& many many others) he was a “discovery” of the folk movement. Of course, all of these folks had been making music right along—the “discoveries" were akin to Columbus’ discovery of the Americas: it’s not like they suddenly appeared out of thin air. Spence worked his entire life as a stonemason, but was still a guitarist of the very highest order in his later years.
If you’re looking for an introduction to Spence’s music, you might consider Living on the Hallelujah Side (Rounder), Arhoolie’s Bahamian Guitarist: Good Morning Mr Walker, The Spring of Sixty-Five (Rounder Select) or the out-of-distribution but still available Complete Folkways Recordings, which are the nine tracks issued from Charters’ 1958 recordings.
Hope you enjoy listening to this truly unique & inspiring musician!
