Saturday, 11 October 2008

Diggin my potatoes




Big Bill Broonzy




Memphis Slim






Lonnie Donegan singing Whoa Buck.
Lonnie Donegan was a skiffle performer in the UK in the 50s. He copied a lot of songs from American blues artists, particularly Lead Belly, and, so I've heard, claimed them as his own.

This song was recorded by Lead Belly but also features on a very early recording of prison chain gangs in Mississippi.


Thursday, 9 October 2008

Abbots Bromley



The Abbots Bromley Horn Dance. Very old it says.


This is the tune Abbots Bromley.

Peter Trimming Plays: Abbots Bromley Horn Dance Tune

Wednesday, 8 October 2008

Cannon's Jug Stompers



Cannons Jug Stompers - Minglewood blues

Saturday, 4 October 2008

Dock Boggs

Country Blues




Sugar Baby



Dock Boggs recorded these songs in the 20s or 30s. He gave up music and went back to mine working - he'd also had a spell as a bootlegger during Prohibition.
Like a lot of those old guys, he was "rediscovered" in the folk and blues movement of the 60s and took up music again.

Wednesday, 1 October 2008

INTRO

Intro

A collection of links to video clips, music shops, tutorial clips, etc.

Mostly . . . US country / old time/rock and roll(a bit); Blues; English, Irish folk; humour and curiosities; sixties stuff



Also try my new Comedy Blog

Bukka White

Monday, 22 September 2008

intro

Intro

A collection of links to video clips, music shops, tutorial clips, etc.

Mostly . . . US country / old time/rock and roll(a bit); English, Irish folk; humour and curiosities; sixties stuff

The Sand Dance; Little Tich

Wilson and Kepler (no Betty) The Sand Dance

Little Tich

Sunday, 21 September 2008

Bits and pieces - 60s reminiscences

On the road again - Canned Heat

Going up the country - Canned Heat

A couple of songs from the 60s. I think Canned Heat are still going in some form, though Alan Wilson and Bob Hite have been dead for years. Alan Wilson wrote both these songs (on the road again adapted from old blues songs). He died of a drugs overdose at the age of 27 in the tradition of rock musicians.

The name "canned heat" came from an old song called Canned Heat Blues - a reference to drinking Sterno ( a cleaning fluid) by desperate alcoholics.




Donna Donna Donovan version
Donna Donna - lyrics
Donna Donna Wikipedia info

I remember this song from the Donovan version in '65. I didn't realise it had such a deep (but unclear) history. Some people say it was written by Itschak Katsenelson (1886-1944) in the Warsaw ghetto or actually in a cattle truck on the way to a concentration camp. The wikipedia version says that it was a Yiddish song written in Nazi Germany in the 30s and performed in a play called "Esterke" in 1940 - obviously not performed in Germany at that time.

Here comes the sun fingerstyle

Just stumbled on this one. Nice bit of fingerstyle guitar to try and copy. George Harrison wrote some good songs, didn't he?




Memphis Jug Band - On the road again


Great song (but dodgy lyrics!). Recorded in 1929. Just a photo accompanying it - what can you expect for nearly 80 years ago! I've got this song on a CD that came with a book of Bob Crumb drawings of old time American music.
Highly recommended. Yours for $20!











Days of Pearly Spencer

I also remember this from the 60s. It used to be played a lot on pirate radio. It turns out that the guy who started Radio Caroline also had a record label and this was the first release.

Mark Almond did a version in the 80s.

I was curious as to what the story behind it was. Apparently it was about a friend of David McWilliams who went down the tubes with alcohol.
David McWilliams was from Belfast and died in 2002.

Sunday, 7 September 2008

Jesu,Joy of Man's Desiring

The well-known Bach tune.


The Wikipedia page


A YouTube video of this tune played on guitar, showing both hands

It's from this site: Guitar for Beginners

Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia

In the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. A song sung by Laurel and Hardy in the film Way Out West.

Sunday, 17 August 2008

Andrew Cronshaw

My Space

Discography

Through Moorfields (audio clip)

Meg Merrilies

Meg Merrilies

Stumbled on this YouTube site. She is a Celtic harpist, but also has lots of other clips on the site.
I was actually looking for a guy called Andrew Cronshaw and I found this clip of a bike ride on the moors with moody music. Bit short though.

Sunday, 27 July 2008

Freight Train Tablature

Freight train tablature

Freight Train was written by Elizabeth Cotten in 1907 when she was 12 years old. She taught herself to play her older brother's guitar. He was right-handed, but she was left-handed, so played the guitar upside down. Despite this she became a serious player.

She stopped playing publicly for a long time, but was rediscovered by the Seegers during the 60s folk boom and her career took off again. She was still giving concerts when she was 90 years old.

Wednesday, 23 July 2008

Online Folk Music Station

The Music Well I haven't heard it yet, but it seems worth a listen.

Homespun Tapes

Homespun Tapes

Happy Traum's music tutorial website. Covers lots of instruments and styles, particularly blues and country.

Monday, 26 May 2008

Online Music Shops

Hobgoblin

Amazing variety of acoustic instruments.

Folk Instruments Collection of shops and instrument makers.


Songstones Unusual ocarinas for £12:95

The Music Room



TUTORS

Folk Revolution

Tuesday, 20 May 2008

KIng Oliver


http://www.doctorjazz.co.uk/portnewor.html#koliver

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_%22King%22_Oliver




http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/jazz/profiles/joe_oliver.shtml

Cisco Houston

Cisco Houston long gone

New York Town
http://www.ciscohouston.com/MP3s/new_york_town.mp3

Wednesday, 20 February 2008

The Blackleg Miner

Wikipedia. Background to the song

Dick Gaughan.Words

Dick Gaughan. Music. Including Midi file.

Ryan's Fancy performing a version of this song.

Collection of old mining photos backed by Steeleye Span version of this song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWA7QujvQl0&feature=related

Blue Horses Their version of this song. I saw them at the Trowbridge festival a few years ago. Wonder if they're still around.

Monday, 4 February 2008

American Banjo



Above: Donald Zepp from Zepp Music





Zepp Music

A music shop in Wendell, NC (North Carolina?) owned by Donald B. Zepp.
This is a great site. It's mostly banjos and he records them on this site to give people an idea of how they sound. Lots of great tunes to listen to. He has recorded a tune called Shady Grove lots of times. The link takes you to a video on YouTube.

One thing that strikes me is how much English/Scottish/Irish influence there is in this style of music - though of course, the Americans have given it their own distinctive sound.
Shady Groves sounds like the English folk song Matty Groves - similar name too.
Then there are more or less straight Irish tunes like Paddy on the Turnpike.


Old Hat Records

















Click on photo for link to Old Hat records.



http://www.honkingduck.com/

http://juneberry78s.com/index.html

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

http://www.ronimusic.com/

http://70.154.102.35/%7Emtsouth/ssblinks.htm

Sunday, 20 January 2008

Fifth Avenue

I bought a guitar tutoring video from a secondhand shop. It was produced by Fifth Avenue Films. I thought it was pretty good.

Wednesday, 9 January 2008

Irish Music

Irish Fiddle Welcome Page

A comprehensive guide to Irish fiddle music. Has some tunes on it using software called Scorch. Didn't work for me, although I downloaded the Scorch program.