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Old Timey -- a thread for pre-rock country, folk, and blues

Posted on 3/25/12 at 10:07 pm
Posted by Kafka
I am the moral conscience of TD
Member since Jul 2007
141660 posts
Posted on 3/25/12 at 10:07 pm
Jimmie Rodgers -- T For Texas:
LINK

Charlie Poole& the North Carolina Ramblers -- The Highwayman
LINK

Gus Cannon & His Jug Stompers -- Walk Right In
LINK
(Yes this is the same song that was a #1 pop hit in the early 1960s and is often played on oldies stations today)

Cab Calloway -- St. James Infirmary
LINK
Not only a classic song but a brilliant piece of animation -- 50 years before MTV

Blind Lemon Jefferson - See That My Grave Is Kept Clean:
LINK

Anyone who is interested in learning more about this type of music should check out the classic compilation The Anthology of American Folk Music (1952) put together by artist and record collector Harry Smith.



Harry Smith (1923-1991)


The Anthology is arguably one of the most influential albums ever released, as it introduced this music of the 20s and early 30s -- all but unknown at the time aside from a handful of collectors like Smith -- to a new generation and thus helped inspire both the folk revival of the 50s and the blues revival of the 60s.
This post was edited on 10/31/12 at 7:22 pm
Posted by AlxTgr
Kyre Banorg
Member since Oct 2003
81604 posts
Posted on 3/26/12 at 2:01 pm to
Not sure I could name a single song pre-WWII, country or otherwise.
Posted by TreeDawg
Central, La.
Member since Jan 2005
27116 posts
Posted on 3/26/12 at 3:12 pm to
quote:

Not sure I could name a single song pre-WWII, country or otherwise.



Me either, but Kafka ain't that old either.....
Posted by AlxTgr
Kyre Banorg
Member since Oct 2003
81604 posts
Posted on 3/26/12 at 3:37 pm to
There were some Hank Williams albums in my house when I was a boy. That was about it until my sisters started buying the K-Tel stuff. Man I loved those compilations.
Posted by Kafka
I am the moral conscience of TD
Member since Jul 2007
141660 posts
Posted on 3/26/12 at 6:19 pm to
Posted by AlxTgr
Kyre Banorg
Member since Oct 2003
81604 posts
Posted on 3/26/12 at 7:48 pm to
quote:

CCR - Cotton Fields
One of my favorite songs of all time and by far my favorite CCR song.
Posted by TreeDawg
Central, La.
Member since Jan 2005
27116 posts
Posted on 3/27/12 at 10:12 am to
Point taken Kafka.........

There would not be rock and roll without those old blues guys blazing trails..........
Posted by BigBossMan
Caplewood
Member since Oct 2011
1277 posts
Posted on 3/27/12 at 1:11 pm to
Bookmarked!

Posted by Kafka
I am the moral conscience of TD
Member since Jul 2007
141660 posts
Posted on 3/30/12 at 1:19 am to
A classic track from the Harry Smith Anthology.

The Bently Boys- Down On Penny's Farm



quote:

Little to nothing is known about this '20s folk group, though their sharecropping saga "Down on Penny's Farm" (recorded in 1929 for Columbia) was enjoyed by many folk revivalists including Bob Dylan when it was included on Harry Smith's 1952 folksong compendium, Anthology of American Folk Music. Dylan borrowed the melody, arrangement, opening lines and alternate title ('Hard Times in the Country') to derive his early 'Hard Times in New York Town', and many have pointed to 'Down on Penny's Farm' as the inspiration for his 1965 offering 'Maggie's Farm'.


Bob Dylan - Hard Times in New York Town (1961 demo)

A recent version of "Down on Penny's Farm" by Natalie Merchant
Posted by Kafka
I am the moral conscience of TD
Member since Jul 2007
141660 posts
Posted on 3/30/12 at 10:38 pm to
Fisk University Jubilee Quartet -- "I Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray" (1909)



The Womack Brothers - "Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray"(1961)



The Valentinos -- "I'm Looking For a Love" (1962) aka The Womack Brothers under another name doing a pop rewrite of "Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray"

Both Womack tracks were produced by Sam Cooke

Some may know "I'm Looking For a Love" from the '70s remake by the J. Geils Band


Posted by baybeefeetz
Member since Sep 2009
31633 posts
Posted on 3/30/12 at 11:22 pm to
What's wrong with Blind Willie McTell? Been enjoying his stuff lately. Of course you have your Robert Johnson . . . .
Posted by Kafka
I am the moral conscience of TD
Member since Jul 2007
141660 posts
Posted on 3/30/12 at 11:27 pm to
quote:

What's wrong with Blind Willie McTell?


I know no one can sing the blues like Blind Willie McTell
Posted by TaserTiger
Houston
Member since Dec 2008
391 posts
Posted on 3/31/12 at 3:52 am to
Posted by Kafka
I am the moral conscience of TD
Member since Jul 2007
141660 posts
Posted on 3/31/12 at 4:30 am to
To Hear Your Banjo Play (1947 short film)



I admit I'm a bit over my time boundaries here, but this is a special film for those interested in the music of the period (so please don't RA me)

I don't know how much film footage exists of Woody Guthrie ("This Land Is your Land") performing, but I doubt if there's a whole lot. That's what makes this late '40s short so great, as you get to see this iconic figure in action. In one number he's accompanied by the legendary duo of Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry.


Woody Guthrie (left) in To Hear Your Banjo Play



The narration, written by archivist Alan Lomax and spoken by Pete Seeger -- both legendary figures as well -- is predictably academic and rather patronizing, but at least it treats the music and culture with respect, which was fairly rare in those days.





Cinematographer Richard Leacock -- who just died last year -- would become a major player in the cinema verite movement and shot the famous rockumentary Monterrey Pop. Co-director Irving Lerner would later direct the classic noir B movie Murder By Contract.

Posted by Kafka
I am the moral conscience of TD
Member since Jul 2007
141660 posts
Posted on 3/31/12 at 4:44 am to
Posted by TaserTiger
Houston
Member since Dec 2008
391 posts
Posted on 3/31/12 at 6:50 am to
Great thread, Kafka -

I would have liked to post some Hank Williams, Sr. - but I don't seem to have anything for him "pre-WWII" (before 1942).

Other choices (Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, et. al. seem to be big band and not your criteria of "country, folk and blues). Still, great thread!!
Posted by Nativebullet
Natchez, MS
Member since Feb 2011
5134 posts
Posted on 3/31/12 at 7:51 am to
yeah, i enjoy exploring that ole' music. Love the old Delta Blues.
Posted by Kafka
I am the moral conscience of TD
Member since Jul 2007
141660 posts
Posted on 4/1/12 at 7:24 pm to
The Shelton Brothers -- "Just Because" (1935)



The Sheltons were a hillbilly band out of Sulphur Springs, Texas.

The song "Just Because" would become best known when Elvis cut a rockabilly version for Sun twenty years later:

Elvis Presley -- "Just Because" (1955)
Posted by Kafka
I am the moral conscience of TD
Member since Jul 2007
141660 posts
Posted on 4/2/12 at 7:46 pm to
Another Shelton Brothers classic:
"Aura Lee"

This song was originally written around the time of the Civil War. Elvis later sang it with rewritten lyrics:
"Love Me Tender"
Posted by Kafka
I am the moral conscience of TD
Member since Jul 2007
141660 posts
Posted on 4/4/12 at 5:48 am to
I'm cheating again, since this track is pop rather than roots music. But it popped (no pun intended) up in my YouTube recommendations and besides it lets me link to the second track.

Cliff "Ukulele Ike" Edwards -- "I'll See You In My Dreams" (1930)

Mark Knopfler & Chet Atkins -- "I'll See You In My Dreams"
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