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Song of the day
"Freight train" Elizabeth Cotten, written 1906-1912, recorded 1958 by mike seeger
Elizabeth cotton composed freight train while she was just a teenager, inspired by the trains that ran past her home in north Carolina
Suggested Song
"900 Miles" Terry Callier, 1968
origins under the cut
the origins of this song are a bit unclear. No one knows who first wrote it or some specifics with its origins. 900 miles is related to the traditional southern song, "Reuben's train," written sometime after 1860, based on the Reuben Wells Locomotive.
the earliest example of the song in print (that i could find anyway) was in 1913, from the journal of American folklore. somewhat similar to the song that Terry Callier covers. I've seen some references to the song being dated to the very early 1900s and late 1800s, so this song is older than 1913.
the first recording of the song (that i could find) was in 1924 by Fiddlin' John Carson "I'm Nine Hundred miles from home"
and in 1927 by Henry Whitter and G. B. Grayson "train No.45"
a common title for this song is Train No. 45 (which is usually just the instrumental version for the reuben train song), which is confusing because the reuben wells is actually referred to as no. 35, but maybe they changed it in the 20s because that was when the California Western Railroad No. 45 was built. I'm not really sure.
Many of the folk artists who covered this song and the music anthologists who collected have credited to hearing it from black singers originally like woody guthrie and Alan Lomax (p.245). Alan Lomax talks about its different versions in different southern states and its history as a labor song for Sharecroppers and convicts who were both white and black.
and Folklorist Norm Cohen talks about its use and connections to black folklife here (p. 502-518).
and it's featured here in the album, "Before The Blues Vol. 2 (The Early American Black Music Scene) 2016"
based on Alan Lomax's account, it seems that the 900 mile version was popularized because of Woody Guthrie's version in 1944
This song is incredibly famous and has been covered by many other traditional and revival folk artists, including: Cisco Houston (1950-1953), Odetta (1963), Barbara Dane (1961), Richie Havens (late 1960s?) and Bob Dylan (1967).
one of the most popular versions of the song "500 miles" was written in 1961 by Hedy west and is a much newer adaptation of the traditional song, it also has a much more cheery melody and fast tempo compared to the somewhat sullen "900 miles". it has been covered many times by country and folk revival artists like: the journeymen (1961), The Kingston Trio (1962), Peter Paul, and Mary (1962), and the Brothers four (1963).
the version by Terry Callier was recorded in 1965, but his folk album wasn't released until 3 years later in 1968. when he released his first album, "The New Folk Sound of Terry Callier." 900 miles was the first song on the tracklist and the album combined elements of traditional folk/blues as well as jazz. he takes traditional songs and re-imagines them with a fresh pair of eyes that makes this folk album stand out from the multitude of others at the time. While it's considered a cult classic today, it seems like it may have not performed very well monetarily considering how long it took to release and how every other Terry Callier release is completely different.
still, even though this was only his first album, and his genre and style diverged pretty heavily from this first album, it remains to me, one of the best things to come out of the folk revival scene, and 900 miles by Terry Callier will remain the best cover of the traditional labor song.
for user @paulkleefishmagic
my plan is to post aesthetic pictures of Bob dylan for fellow queers to reblog to lure them into following my blog, where they will have to learn the history of folk music as a a traditional tool for protest and labor and the many leftist origins of folk and the ways this is often overlooked and erased especially when it comes to black artists
oh hey, unrelated, check out this cool song by paul robeson in 1924 :)
or this rendition of Strange Fruit by Josh White (1964)
or this song by Odetta in 1957
or this song by lead belly in 1936
or this Gospel song by the Freedom Singers in 1961
or this song 1961
or this song by Nina Simone in 1965
Nina Simone - Symphony Hall, Boston, Mass. - 1969, Smithsonian Institution
Song of the day
"Free and Equal Blues" Josh White, 1940s
this song was also covered by Earl Robinson here in 1957
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, 1941
Leadbelly and Josh white
Furry Lewis (1893-1981) c.1960s
Hi! Your "talking about wheelchair blues" post made me curious if you know any disabled folk singers?
Yea, there are actually tons!
in the early blues, there were many blind artists.
Blind Blake (1896-1934) Blind Willie Johnson (1897-1945) Blind Lemon Jefferson (1893-1929) Blind Willie McTell (1898-1959) Bo Carter (1893-1964) Sleepy John Estes (1899-1977) Blind Boy Fuller (1907-1941) Cortelia Clark (1906-1969) Rev. Gary Davis (1896-1972) Roosevelt Graves (1909-1962) Sonny Terry (1911-1986)
there's also cisco houston, whose eyesight was so poor that it rendered him legally blind by the end of his life.
and then, of course, there was woody guthrie who suffered from Huntingtons disease.
A LOT of traditional folk singers were disabled but that fact about them was not mentioned or only mentioned as an afterthought, or it isn't considered a disability. it would be very hard to compile all of these people.
and, as classic artists like pete and peggy got and get older, they both talked more about disability rights and how they affect them, peggy seeger is 89 currently and still making music. both she and Pete have either performed songs like disability in solidarity with disabled people or made music about how being disabled relates to them.
THEN, there's the Disabled In Action (DIA) singers. much like the Freedom Singers of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), the Disabled in Action singers were a musical group that made and covered songs that were about disability rights and disability made upof members with from the DIA organization. the DIA is a grassroots civil rights organization focused on ending discrimination against Disabled people, founded in 1970, in NYC.
the folks of the Disabled in Action Singers were not very well known, and the only one who was, was Sis Cunningham, who joined the group in her eighties.
luckily for us ! they have all their recordings available on their website.
here's some fun live performances i found as well of songs either by the DIA singers or by other people about disability
There is definitely more and I'll reblog this whenever I find more disabled folk artists. if anyone knows any contemporary disabled folk artists feel free to reblog this as well. I know that people in the folk-punk scene have been making music about disability.
Song of the day
"Ol' Man River" Paul Robeson, 1936
originally written in 1925 by Oscar Hammerstein II, featured in the 1927 musical "Showboat" here
later, the musical was turned into a musical film in 1936 with Paul Robeson playing the character Joe
Old Man River always sends chills down my spine; the depiction of the exploitation of black people and the toiling of black workers, and the contrast between the uncaring and unfeeling river, lead to a haunting song.
Ralph Rinzler Collections, Smithsonian Institute
jimmie strothers and Joe Lee, 1936
Song of the day
do you want to know the history of a folk song? submit an ask or dm me and I'll cover it
"Irene (Goodnight, Irene)"
Lead Belly, 1933
this song was covered by many artists, but my favorite is the most notable cover: this one by the Weavers
The Weavers' version is incredibly important to the history of folk music, as it was their most popular song in 1948 (and the first no. charting single in the folk music genre), and helped kick them off into popularity before they were blacklisted just 2 years later.
Elizabeth Cotten - Euphoria Tavern, Portland, Oregon, February 19, 1975
American genius Elizabeth Cotten was born at the tail-end of the 19th century, but she thankfully lived a long life. And in 1975, at the age of 82, she was in Portland, playing her guitar and banjo and singing her classic songs for a small-but-very-appreciative crowd. Originally broadcast on KBOO-FM, this show features plenty of Cotten's hugely influential fingerpicking, charmingly rambling monologues and singalongs that will bring a smile to your face and a tear to your eye.
Elizabeth Says: I just loved to play. That used to be all I’d do. I’d sit up late at night and play. My mama would say to me, “Sis, put that thing down and go to bed.” “Alright, Mama, just as soon as I finish—let me finish this.” Well, by me keep playing, you see, she’d go back to sleep and I’d sit up thirty minutes or longer than that after she’d tell me to stop playing. Sometimes I’d near play all night if she didn’t wake up and tell me to go to bed. That’s when I learned to play, ’cause then when I learned one little tune, I’d be so proud of that, that I’d want to learn another. Then I’d just keep sitting up trying. I tried hard to play, I’m telling you. I worked for what I’ve got. I really did work for it.
PS - A snippet of this performance was released a while back on a 7-inch with the great Marisa Anderson on the flipside. Go grab the digital version to support KBOO!
Song of The Day
"Kisses Sweeter Than Wine" The Weavers, 1951
"Kiss Sweeter Than Wine" is based on a traditional Irish folk song first published between 1858 and 1881(?) called "Drimindown" which is about an Old man and his cow. Lead Belly, another prolific folk singer, heard his Irish friend sing this song and made his own version of it, adding blues rhythm and techniques to the traditional song, and titled it "If It Wasn't for Dicky" in 1937.
After the Weavers' Success with "Goodnight Irene " (another one of Leadbelly's songs), they decided to look for more inspiration. Pete Seeger liked "If It Wasn't For Dicky" and he and Lee Hays wrote new lyrics for the melody.
Pete Seeger remarks about the song and the nature of copyright and credit here:
"Now, who should one credit on this song? The Irish, certainly. Sam Kennedy, who taught it to us. Lead Belly, for adding rhythm and blues chords. Me, for two new words for the refrain. Lee, who wrote seven verses. Fred and Ronnie, for paring them down to five. I know the song publisher, The Richmond Organization, cares. I guess folks whom TRO allows to reprint the song, (like Sing Out!, the publisher of this book) care about this too."
(Where have all the flowers gone 1993)
Nina Simone, Miles Davis.
University of Massachusetts Archives, 1963
Nina Simone Flier
Song of The Day
"Salty Dog Blues" Mississippi John Hurt, 1965 (?)
Salty dog Blues is a song that had existed comfortably in the public domain in the early 1900s (I couldn't find any research of it being a traditional song however) until it was first recorded in 1924 by Papa Charlie Jackson. Which was.. adapted for Broadway?
The Interesting thing about this song is its versatility. It has been performed in a plethora of related but distinct genres. Like:
Bluegrass (Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs, 1967) Blues (Clara Smith 1926) Country 1 (Morris brothers 1937) Country 2 (Johnny Cash 2000) Jazz 1 (Freddie Keppard's Jazz Cardinals 1926) Jazz 2 (Pat Hawes 2000)
The meaning of salty dog in this context is unclear. It could be a sexual innuendo, a term for a sailor who has been at sea for too long, or even a local beverage, maybe even a combination of all 3.
I like Mississippi John Hurt's cover the best, his voice is very relaxing and soothing which adds another layer to the fun song.