September Birthdays of Folk Musicians
2 Paul Bellows
4 David Broza
4 Joel RL Phelps
5 Mary Ellen Bernard
5 John Stewart
5 Louden Wainwright III
6 Peter Mulvey
8 Jimmie Rodgers
10 Terry Kitchen
11 Leo Kottke
13 55 Don Conoscenti
14 Dougie MacLean
16 Maura O'Connell
17 48 Michael Hough Mustard's Retreat
19 Keith Grimwood Trout Fishing in America
19 41 Mama Cass Elliot
20 60 Dave Hemingway Beautiful South
23 Ani Difranco
23 4 Bruce Springsteen
26 Eddie Hartness Eddie From Ohio
29 07 Gene Autry
-Lee Larcheveque
Friday, August 31, 2007
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Thanks to Dan Riles and Broadside Electric
http://www.broadside.org/contents.html
A contemporary band out of Philadelphia PA
who playing some of my fave music with great gusto!
A contemporary band out of Philadelphia PA
who playing some of my fave music with great gusto!
Sunday, August 26, 2007
English Folk -video suggestions from 2007 backwards
http://youtube.com/watch?v=EbdTHqlZMZI
http://youtube.com/watch?v=mEMjZ_fCb4k
below Eliza Carthy and the Ratcatchers at the Wath Folk Festival 2007 and more
"This was videoed at Maidstone in 1970 just behind my old school at Oakwood Park. I was in the audience and several kids from my school can be seen dancing. How young we were.
I've renamed this as I hope to upload the rest of the video in parts. Part is here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4_Qna..."
http://youtube.com/watch?v=mEMjZ_fCb4k
below Eliza Carthy and the Ratcatchers at the Wath Folk Festival 2007 and more
"This was videoed at Maidstone in 1970 just behind my old school at Oakwood Park. I was in the audience and several kids from my school can be seen dancing. How young we were.
I've renamed this as I hope to upload the rest of the video in parts. Part is here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4_Qna..."
Looks like a "home video" Steeleye Span and Martin Carthy
Here they are playing in someone's living room-1970
English folk - where to start
For information on the English Folk Revival, a HUGE topic take a look at http://eds.efdss.org/
English Dance & Song exists to interest, inform and stimulate the membership of the EFDSS, as well as the wider folk music and dance community.
The range of interests include traditional song, traditional dance (social, display, ceremonial), traditional music, custom and children's games. The geographical spread is not confined to England, but may also include Scotland, Wales and Ireland; as well as the USA, and other areas of the world which may be appropriate.
Some names to check out: Maddy Prior, June Tabor, Ceilidh Minogue, Lau, the Musical Tradition’s Meeting’s a Pleasure CDs, Mary Humphreys & Anahata, Cyril Tawney, Alison McMorland & Geordie McIntyre, Fernhill, All Jigged Out, The Watersons.
The ‘rediscovery’ of English folk song has taken place in two (not entirely discrete) waves. The first gathered momentum in the last decades of the nineteenth century and flourished in the early part of the twentieth. This ‘first’ revival arose out of a desire to collect and preserve what was held to be archetypically English song. The ‘second’ (post-war) folk revival has made extensive use of the materials collected in the first revival, but has also in part been a reaction to the way in which the earlier collectors selectively edited their material and arranged it for a more middle-class audience.
Information on the post-war revival can also be gleaned from the pages of magazines such as Folk Review, Sing, Spin, and more recently Folk Roots and The Living Tradition.
English Dance & Song exists to interest, inform and stimulate the membership of the EFDSS, as well as the wider folk music and dance community.
The range of interests include traditional song, traditional dance (social, display, ceremonial), traditional music, custom and children's games. The geographical spread is not confined to England, but may also include Scotland, Wales and Ireland; as well as the USA, and other areas of the world which may be appropriate.
Some names to check out: Maddy Prior, June Tabor, Ceilidh Minogue, Lau, the Musical Tradition’s Meeting’s a Pleasure CDs, Mary Humphreys & Anahata, Cyril Tawney, Alison McMorland & Geordie McIntyre, Fernhill, All Jigged Out, The Watersons.
The ‘rediscovery’ of English folk song has taken place in two (not entirely discrete) waves. The first gathered momentum in the last decades of the nineteenth century and flourished in the early part of the twentieth. This ‘first’ revival arose out of a desire to collect and preserve what was held to be archetypically English song. The ‘second’ (post-war) folk revival has made extensive use of the materials collected in the first revival, but has also in part been a reaction to the way in which the earlier collectors selectively edited their material and arranged it for a more middle-class audience.
Information on the post-war revival can also be gleaned from the pages of magazines such as Folk Review, Sing, Spin, and more recently Folk Roots and The Living Tradition.
Friday, August 24, 2007
Notes from AUG 23rd More video for PP&M
Thanks for the calls and emails.
We are having a blast doing this show and
appreciate your support. Someone asked about the Willie Dixon quote I mangled:
“The blues are the roots and the other musics are the fruits. It’s better keeping the roots alive, because it means better fruits from now on. The blues are the roots of all American music. As long as American music survives, so will the blues.”
Willie Dixon (bass, vocals; born July 1, 1915, died January 29, 1992)
Willie Dixon has been called “the poet laureate of the blues” and “the father of modern Chicago blues.” He was indisputably the pre-eminent blues songwriter of his era, credited with writing more than 500 songs by the end of his life.
And "Love Has No Pride" covered so beautifully by Bonnie Raitt and Linda Ronstadt
was written by Eric Kaz and Libby Titus
Here are the links for PP&M videos:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=R0bFTq0Ivgk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPnLK1WnXxg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iw4xAvm_DXE
We are having a blast doing this show and
appreciate your support. Someone asked about the Willie Dixon quote I mangled:
“The blues are the roots and the other musics are the fruits. It’s better keeping the roots alive, because it means better fruits from now on. The blues are the roots of all American music. As long as American music survives, so will the blues.”
Willie Dixon (bass, vocals; born July 1, 1915, died January 29, 1992)
Willie Dixon has been called “the poet laureate of the blues” and “the father of modern Chicago blues.” He was indisputably the pre-eminent blues songwriter of his era, credited with writing more than 500 songs by the end of his life.
And "Love Has No Pride" covered so beautifully by Bonnie Raitt and Linda Ronstadt
was written by Eric Kaz and Libby Titus
Here are the links for PP&M videos:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=R0bFTq0Ivgk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPnLK1WnXxg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iw4xAvm_DXE
Saturday, August 18, 2007
PP&M sing Dylan @ the Newport Folk Festival 1964
Some fabulous video on youtube, just type in Peter Paul and Mary.
Peter Paul and Mary - today and early days
Latest info from wikipedia
The trio broke up in 1970 to pursue solo careers, but found little of the success they had experienced as a group, although Stookey's "The Wedding Song (There is Love)" (written for Yarrow's marriage to Marybeth McCarthy, the niece of senator Eugene McCarthy) was a hit and has become a wedding standard since its 1971 release.
In 1978, they reunited for a concert to protest nuclear energy, and have recorded albums together and toured since. They currently play around 45 shows a year.[1]
The group was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999.
In 2004, Travers was diagnosed with leukemia, leading to the cancellation of the remaining tour dates for that year. She received a bone marrow transplant and is recovering. She and the rest of the trio resumed their concert tour on December 9, 2005 with a holiday performance at Carnegie Hall.
Peter, Paul and Mary received the Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award from Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2006.
The trio sang in Mitchell, South Dakota, George and Eleanor McGovern Library and Center for Leadership dedication concert on October 5, 2006.
Recently the trio had to cancel several dates of their summer 2007 tour, as Mary took longer than expected to recover from back surgery. [2] They will make up at least one of the dates, at the Northfork Theatre (formerly Westbury Music Fair) in December 2007.
from http://www.classicbands.com/ppm.html
The trio of Peter, Paul & Mary were launched during an unusually creative period in popular music. Peter Yarrow, who had come to Greenwich Village with a psychology degree from Cornell, recalls that, "The Village in the early 1960s was a crucible of creativity. Involvement in music was a matter of joyous discovery, not a business. We knew that folk music was having an enormous impact in the Village, but was a couple of years away from being embraced on a national scale."
At the same time, the Village was a starting place for Noel Paul Stookey, a fledgling stand-up comic from Michigan State University. He met up with Peter and independently, Mary Travers, who was already known for her work in the "Song Swappers", a folk group that had recorded with Peter Seeger. Having grown up in the Village, the flaxen-haired singer was a familiar figure at the Washington Square Sunday singing event. The three decided to work together, encouraged by the folk impresario, Albert Grossman, who became their manager.
After rehearsing for seven months in Travers' three flight walk-up apartment, Peter, Paul & Mary premiered at the Bitter End in 1961, and then played at other seminal folk clubs like the Chicago "Gate of Horn" and San Francisco's "Hungry I". Following their appearance at the famed "Blue Angel" nightclub in New York, they embarked on a rigorous touring schedule that lasted nearly ten straight years.
1962 marked the trio's debut on Warner Brothers Records with "Peter, Paul and Mary" which brought folk music to the vast American public and to the top of the charts. As Billboard Magazine noted, "It became an instant classic. The album was in the Top 10 for ten months, remained in the Top 20 for two years, and did not drop off the Hot 100 album chart until three-and-a-half years after its release." The trio's version of "If I Had A Hammer" was not only a popular single from this LP, it was also embraced as an anthem of the civil rights movement.
This success marked the beginning of an incredibly influential time for Peter, Paul & Mary, and for the contemporary urban folk tradition which they personified. In the third week of November 1963, they had 3 albums on the Billboard Top 6. Also in '63, their recording of "Puff, The Magic Dragon" written by Peter Yarrow and Leonard Lipton won the hearts of millions, while their recording of "Blowin' In The Wind" helped introduce a fellow Village songwriter named Bob Dylan. It was folk music that was to spark the imagination and the passion of a generation intent on social change.
The song, "Puff, The Magic Dragon" was actually the center of controversy when it was first released. At the time, the drug culture was making headlines and some radio stations mis-took the lyrics and refused to play the song. Years later, Paul Stookie laughed as he explained that the song is the story of a little boy growing up and had nothing at all to do with marijuana.
But Peter, Paul & Mary did more in those times than chronicle events; they lived their songs. They stood with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Selma and in Washington. They were deeply involved in the anti-Vietnam War crusade, consistently performing at demonstrations, fund-raisers and "teach-ins." In 1969, Yarrow co-organized the March On Washington, and Peter, Paul & Mary sang before the half-million people who had come together for that landmark event.
By virtue of the trio's popularity, their recordings effectively introduced the work of important new writing talents to the American public. Their renditions of Gordon Lightfoot's "In The Early Morning Rain" and John Denver's "Leaving On A Jet Plane," engineered by the legendary Phil Ramone, helped launch an appreciation and awareness of these "new" artists. By 1970, Peter, Paul & Mary had earned eight gold and five platinum albums.
The trio broke up in 1970 to pursue solo careers, but found little of the success they had experienced as a group, although Stookey's "The Wedding Song (There is Love)" (written for Yarrow's marriage to Marybeth McCarthy, the niece of senator Eugene McCarthy) was a hit and has become a wedding standard since its 1971 release.
In 1978, they reunited for a concert to protest nuclear energy, and have recorded albums together and toured since. They currently play around 45 shows a year.[1]
The group was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999.
In 2004, Travers was diagnosed with leukemia, leading to the cancellation of the remaining tour dates for that year. She received a bone marrow transplant and is recovering. She and the rest of the trio resumed their concert tour on December 9, 2005 with a holiday performance at Carnegie Hall.
Peter, Paul and Mary received the Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award from Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2006.
The trio sang in Mitchell, South Dakota, George and Eleanor McGovern Library and Center for Leadership dedication concert on October 5, 2006.
Recently the trio had to cancel several dates of their summer 2007 tour, as Mary took longer than expected to recover from back surgery. [2] They will make up at least one of the dates, at the Northfork Theatre (formerly Westbury Music Fair) in December 2007.
from http://www.classicbands.com/ppm.html
The trio of Peter, Paul & Mary were launched during an unusually creative period in popular music. Peter Yarrow, who had come to Greenwich Village with a psychology degree from Cornell, recalls that, "The Village in the early 1960s was a crucible of creativity. Involvement in music was a matter of joyous discovery, not a business. We knew that folk music was having an enormous impact in the Village, but was a couple of years away from being embraced on a national scale."
At the same time, the Village was a starting place for Noel Paul Stookey, a fledgling stand-up comic from Michigan State University. He met up with Peter and independently, Mary Travers, who was already known for her work in the "Song Swappers", a folk group that had recorded with Peter Seeger. Having grown up in the Village, the flaxen-haired singer was a familiar figure at the Washington Square Sunday singing event. The three decided to work together, encouraged by the folk impresario, Albert Grossman, who became their manager.
After rehearsing for seven months in Travers' three flight walk-up apartment, Peter, Paul & Mary premiered at the Bitter End in 1961, and then played at other seminal folk clubs like the Chicago "Gate of Horn" and San Francisco's "Hungry I". Following their appearance at the famed "Blue Angel" nightclub in New York, they embarked on a rigorous touring schedule that lasted nearly ten straight years.
1962 marked the trio's debut on Warner Brothers Records with "Peter, Paul and Mary" which brought folk music to the vast American public and to the top of the charts. As Billboard Magazine noted, "It became an instant classic. The album was in the Top 10 for ten months, remained in the Top 20 for two years, and did not drop off the Hot 100 album chart until three-and-a-half years after its release." The trio's version of "If I Had A Hammer" was not only a popular single from this LP, it was also embraced as an anthem of the civil rights movement.
This success marked the beginning of an incredibly influential time for Peter, Paul & Mary, and for the contemporary urban folk tradition which they personified. In the third week of November 1963, they had 3 albums on the Billboard Top 6. Also in '63, their recording of "Puff, The Magic Dragon" written by Peter Yarrow and Leonard Lipton won the hearts of millions, while their recording of "Blowin' In The Wind" helped introduce a fellow Village songwriter named Bob Dylan. It was folk music that was to spark the imagination and the passion of a generation intent on social change.
The song, "Puff, The Magic Dragon" was actually the center of controversy when it was first released. At the time, the drug culture was making headlines and some radio stations mis-took the lyrics and refused to play the song. Years later, Paul Stookie laughed as he explained that the song is the story of a little boy growing up and had nothing at all to do with marijuana.
But Peter, Paul & Mary did more in those times than chronicle events; they lived their songs. They stood with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Selma and in Washington. They were deeply involved in the anti-Vietnam War crusade, consistently performing at demonstrations, fund-raisers and "teach-ins." In 1969, Yarrow co-organized the March On Washington, and Peter, Paul & Mary sang before the half-million people who had come together for that landmark event.
By virtue of the trio's popularity, their recordings effectively introduced the work of important new writing talents to the American public. Their renditions of Gordon Lightfoot's "In The Early Morning Rain" and John Denver's "Leaving On A Jet Plane," engineered by the legendary Phil Ramone, helped launch an appreciation and awareness of these "new" artists. By 1970, Peter, Paul & Mary had earned eight gold and five platinum albums.
Thanks, all! for helping the show grow. AUG 16th
Big shout out to our friend and excellent storyteller, Libby Franck who opened up her home and extensive LP collection to the Folk Revival. Libby also has a collection of drinking songs she'd love to *gift* to anyone who would transfer them to CD or other digital media. Contact me if you are interested in this 30 volume collection. We will be able to do a Judy Collins feature and more with these valuable additions to the WICN library. Thanks Libby. http://www.libbyfranck.com/
Also a thanks is due to another great storyteller and folk enthusiast,Tony Toledo for fine collection of tunes from Island records. Tony has been volunteering at the Me and Thee Coffee house since the Salem Witch Trials ended. We will be featuring music of the British folk revival soon. http://www.tonytoledo.com/
Thanks to Magpie for an mp3 of one of my favorite songs and now our sign off song; "Its a Pleasure to Know You" and great collection of CDs of their work. http://www.magpiemusic.com/
And lastly, thanks to Klonakilty for their mp3s, from their
album Symbiosis used on our Joni Mitchell feature. http://www.klonakilty.com/
Also a thanks is due to another great storyteller and folk enthusiast,Tony Toledo for fine collection of tunes from Island records. Tony has been volunteering at the Me and Thee Coffee house since the Salem Witch Trials ended. We will be featuring music of the British folk revival soon. http://www.tonytoledo.com/
Thanks to Magpie for an mp3 of one of my favorite songs and now our sign off song; "Its a Pleasure to Know You" and great collection of CDs of their work. http://www.magpiemusic.com/
And lastly, thanks to Klonakilty for their mp3s, from their
album Symbiosis used on our Joni Mitchell feature. http://www.klonakilty.com/
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Friday, August 10, 2007
Find more about Arlo Guthrie
To find more about Arlo Guthrie check out his site: http://arlo.net/
Below: a young Arlo sings in Woodstock NY circa 1970?
Deportees - Arlo with Emmylou Harris
The words of the song are Woody Guthrie's...
"The song, as he wrote it, was virtually without music -- Woody chanted the words -- and wasn't performed publicly until a decade later when a schoolteacher named Martin Hoffman added a beautiful melody and Pete Seeger began singing it in concerts..."
Joe Klein, Woody Guthrie: A Life, London, 1981, pp. 349-350.
Below: a young Arlo sings in Woodstock NY circa 1970?
Deportees - Arlo with Emmylou Harris
The words of the song are Woody Guthrie's...
"The song, as he wrote it, was virtually without music -- Woody chanted the words -- and wasn't performed publicly until a decade later when a schoolteacher named Martin Hoffman added a beautiful melody and Pete Seeger began singing it in concerts..."
Joe Klein, Woody Guthrie: A Life, London, 1981, pp. 349-350.
Arlo Guthrie - hits the scene
Great videos available at youtube but we are not allowed to embed them here
Young Arlo sings Motorcycle song:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=g266Uwp6ZnI
And below, Arlo in 2005 sings Alice's Restaurant -
just a teaser here, the whole song is at youtube
http://youtube.com/watch?v=5_7C0QGkiVo
The son of legendary folk artist Woody Guthrie, Arlo appeared at the 1969 Woodstock festival enjoys a long career playing folk music. Discography for Arlo:
* Alice's Restaurant (1967)
* Arlo (1968)
* Running Down the Road (1969)
* Washington County (1970)
* Hobo's Lullaby (1972)
* Last of the Brooklyn Cowboys (1973)
* Arlo Guthrie (1974)
* Together In Concert (1975)
* Amigo (1976)
* The Best of Arlo Guthrie (1977)
* One Night (1978)
* Outlasting the Blues (1979)
* Power Of Love (1981)
* Precious Friend (1982)
* Someday (1986)
* All Over the World (1991)
* Son of the Wind (1992)
* 2 Songs (1992)
* More Together Again (1994)
* Mystic Journey (1996)
* Alice's Restaurant - The Massacree Revisited (1997)
* "Bouncing Around the Room" on Sharin' in the Groove (2001)
* Live In Sydney (2005)
Arlo's Alice's Restaurant Massacree is an 18 minute folk/talking blues satire on the Vietnam War draft and anti-hippie prejudice, and is based on a true story. Set 1965, it begins with Guthrie's arrest for illegally dumping garbage from the titular restaurant, and 17 minutes later, after many twists and turns, ends up being judged unfit for military service due to his criminal record. A rather amusing anecdote related to the song was that when Guthrie had heard that Richard Nixon was a fan of the song, he suggested that this explained the famous 16 and a half minute gap in the Watergate tapes.
In recent years, Mr. Guthrie has released new music, but he's also remained true to his roots. In 1997, Rounder Records released a new version of Woody Guthrie's classic "This Land is Your Land," pairing his voice with that of his late father. The album was nominated for a Grammy Award. He also released "32¢," a compilation of Woody Guthrie tunes with special guests including The Dillards and his own children, Abe, Cathy, Annie and Sarah Lee Guthrie. Abe and Sarah Lee Guthrie will be among the musicians backing their dad at his Fairfield University performance.
Mr. Guthrie believes his audience enjoys the combination of new musical challenges and the comfort of nostalgia.
"I think most people think of me as the happy hippie of the 60's, and that's fine," he told The New York Times. "I think we stood up for the right stuff, and many of us still do."
Over the years, Mr. Guthrie has toured extensively in the United States, Canada and Europe, winning fans for both his musicianship and the thoughtful tales and wry anecdotes he folds into his shows. He has also created a program of symphonic arrangements of his own songs and other American classics that he performs with orchestras across the country.
In 1983, Mr. Guthrie launched his own record label, Rising Son Records. The label offers his complete catalogue of more than two dozen albums, including "Alice's Restaurant: The Massacree Revisited," a 30th anniversary re-recording of the original album with an updated version of the title track.
In 1991, Mr. Guthrie found another way to preserve the spirit of the song: He purchased Trinity Church, the Massachusetts setting for "Alice's Restaurant." On the consecrated site, he's created two not-for-profit organizations to honor his father, who died in 1967 of Huntington's Disease. The Guthrie Center is an interfaith church foundation dedicated to a wide range of community services, including HIV/AIDS referral, art and music classes for children recovering from abuse and a lecture series. The Guthrie Foundation addresses issues of our time, such as education, healthcare, the environment and cultural exchange.
"I was raised in a family whose philosophy was to try to make the world better, and if you can't make it better, at least don't make it worse," Mr. Guthrie told the Washington newspaper The Olympian.
Young Arlo sings Motorcycle song:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=g266Uwp6ZnI
And below, Arlo in 2005 sings Alice's Restaurant -
just a teaser here, the whole song is at youtube
http://youtube.com/watch?v=5_7C0QGkiVo
The son of legendary folk artist Woody Guthrie, Arlo appeared at the 1969 Woodstock festival enjoys a long career playing folk music. Discography for Arlo:
* Alice's Restaurant (1967)
* Arlo (1968)
* Running Down the Road (1969)
* Washington County (1970)
* Hobo's Lullaby (1972)
* Last of the Brooklyn Cowboys (1973)
* Arlo Guthrie (1974)
* Together In Concert (1975)
* Amigo (1976)
* The Best of Arlo Guthrie (1977)
* One Night (1978)
* Outlasting the Blues (1979)
* Power Of Love (1981)
* Precious Friend (1982)
* Someday (1986)
* All Over the World (1991)
* Son of the Wind (1992)
* 2 Songs (1992)
* More Together Again (1994)
* Mystic Journey (1996)
* Alice's Restaurant - The Massacree Revisited (1997)
* "Bouncing Around the Room" on Sharin' in the Groove (2001)
* Live In Sydney (2005)
Arlo's Alice's Restaurant Massacree is an 18 minute folk/talking blues satire on the Vietnam War draft and anti-hippie prejudice, and is based on a true story. Set 1965, it begins with Guthrie's arrest for illegally dumping garbage from the titular restaurant, and 17 minutes later, after many twists and turns, ends up being judged unfit for military service due to his criminal record. A rather amusing anecdote related to the song was that when Guthrie had heard that Richard Nixon was a fan of the song, he suggested that this explained the famous 16 and a half minute gap in the Watergate tapes.
In recent years, Mr. Guthrie has released new music, but he's also remained true to his roots. In 1997, Rounder Records released a new version of Woody Guthrie's classic "This Land is Your Land," pairing his voice with that of his late father. The album was nominated for a Grammy Award. He also released "32¢," a compilation of Woody Guthrie tunes with special guests including The Dillards and his own children, Abe, Cathy, Annie and Sarah Lee Guthrie. Abe and Sarah Lee Guthrie will be among the musicians backing their dad at his Fairfield University performance.
Mr. Guthrie believes his audience enjoys the combination of new musical challenges and the comfort of nostalgia.
"I think most people think of me as the happy hippie of the 60's, and that's fine," he told The New York Times. "I think we stood up for the right stuff, and many of us still do."
Over the years, Mr. Guthrie has toured extensively in the United States, Canada and Europe, winning fans for both his musicianship and the thoughtful tales and wry anecdotes he folds into his shows. He has also created a program of symphonic arrangements of his own songs and other American classics that he performs with orchestras across the country.
In 1983, Mr. Guthrie launched his own record label, Rising Son Records. The label offers his complete catalogue of more than two dozen albums, including "Alice's Restaurant: The Massacree Revisited," a 30th anniversary re-recording of the original album with an updated version of the title track.
In 1991, Mr. Guthrie found another way to preserve the spirit of the song: He purchased Trinity Church, the Massachusetts setting for "Alice's Restaurant." On the consecrated site, he's created two not-for-profit organizations to honor his father, who died in 1967 of Huntington's Disease. The Guthrie Center is an interfaith church foundation dedicated to a wide range of community services, including HIV/AIDS referral, art and music classes for children recovering from abuse and a lecture series. The Guthrie Foundation addresses issues of our time, such as education, healthcare, the environment and cultural exchange.
"I was raised in a family whose philosophy was to try to make the world better, and if you can't make it better, at least don't make it worse," Mr. Guthrie told the Washington newspaper The Olympian.
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Covered...songs of Joni Mitchell
Just read about Herbie Hancock's upcoming Joni tribute project. The album is titled "River - The Joni Letters" and will feature some of the biggest names in pop and jazz music. Expected release is September 25th, 2007. Meanwhile at
http://jonimitchell.com
Find out all the news and stats like how many times Joni's songs have been covered:
1) Both Sides Now (537 times)
2) Big Yellow Taxi (196)
3) Woodstock (158)
4) The Circle Game (131)
5) River (128)
6) A Case Of You (104)
7) Chelsea Morning (76)
8) Urge For Going (55)
9) All I Want (50)
10) Carey (45)
http://jonimitchell.com
Find out all the news and stats like how many times Joni's songs have been covered:
1) Both Sides Now (537 times)
2) Big Yellow Taxi (196)
3) Woodstock (158)
4) The Circle Game (131)
5) River (128)
6) A Case Of You (104)
7) Chelsea Morning (76)
8) Urge For Going (55)
9) All I Want (50)
10) Carey (45)
Friday, August 3, 2007
Urge for Going in 1966 in Canada ~ An Arrival at the Revival
In 1965 Dylan had already plugged in and dropped out and the great folk boom of the 1960s was on the wane when Joni Mitchell moved to NYC and later played at the Newport Folk Festival. To learn more check out a great fan site @ www.jonimitchell.com.
And no, I didn't know Joni was going to be a Starbucks featured artist when I planned this feature. *sigh* Simply, Joni has one of my favorite folk acoustic sounds and embodies the morph of folk into the next phase. And then there is the "visual artist" connection.
Before she was Joni Mitchell she was Joni Anderson of Saskatoon, the fair young maid of Canadian folk music singing on the Oscar Brandt hootenany show, Let's Sing Out. "Born to Take the Highway" is unreleased elsewhere, as far as I know. Glimpses of the late Dave Van Ronk, Tom and Harry Chapin and the now octogenarian Oscar Brandt are found here. Oscar still hosts a radio show every week out of New York .
And no, I didn't know Joni was going to be a Starbucks featured artist when I planned this feature. *sigh* Simply, Joni has one of my favorite folk acoustic sounds and embodies the morph of folk into the next phase. And then there is the "visual artist" connection.
Before she was Joni Mitchell she was Joni Anderson of Saskatoon, the fair young maid of Canadian folk music singing on the Oscar Brandt hootenany show, Let's Sing Out. "Born to Take the Highway" is unreleased elsewhere, as far as I know. Glimpses of the late Dave Van Ronk, Tom and Harry Chapin and the now octogenarian Oscar Brandt are found here. Oscar still hosts a radio show every week out of New York .
Joni Mitchell, singer songwriter
from
http://jonimitchell.com/
1968-1970 Emerging Popular Artist
I came to the city
And lived like old Crusoe
On an island of noise
In a cobblestone sea
And the beaches were concrete
And the stars paid a light bill
And the blossoms hung false
On their store window trees...
http://jonimitchell.com/
1968-1970 Emerging Popular Artist
 |
| Photo by Mark Roth |
And lived like old Crusoe
On an island of noise
In a cobblestone sea
And the beaches were concrete
And the stars paid a light bill
And the blossoms hung false
On their store window trees...
Joni Mitchell moved to New York City in 1967, and took up residence in the arty Chelsea district. She met Elliot Roberts in the fall and he began to manage her career, helping to open up the circuit for her in New York City.
While performing at a club in Florida, Joni met ex-Byrds member David Crosby, who was quite taken with her. David was a great help in convincing the record company to agree to let Joni record a solo acoustic album without all the folk-rock overdubs that were in vogue at the time.
His clout earned him a producer's credit in March 1968, when Reprise records released her debut album. She continued her steady touring to promote the LP, and that stimulus, in addition to the performers who were covering her songs and exposing her to bigger and bigger audiences as a major "songwriter," was causing a major buzz. At Elliot's suggestion, she moved to southern California late in 1967, and moved in with David, who became an enthusiastic promoter of Joni's and had her play at the homes of his Hollywood friends, where she got noticed by press and radio people, who in turn wrote and spoke of her talent.
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| Joni with David Crosby and Eric Clapton |
She played the Troubadour in L.A., getting raves from the crowds and critics; she was also a big hit in London at the Royal Festival Hall in September, and at the Miami Pop Festival on the last weekend of 1968. Accompaning her at the fest was Hollies singer-songwriter Graham Nash, whom Joni had met through their mutual friend, David Crosby.
Also in December of '68, Judy Collins version of "Both Sides Now" peaked in the national music charts top ten, and brought Joni "lots of those little royalty pennies." This songwriting success helped create an eager anticipation for Joni's second LP, "Clouds", which was released in April '69. It contained Joni's own versions of songs already recorded and being performed by other artists; "Chelsea Morning,""Both Sides Now", and "Tin Angel."
Joni's concert at Carnegie Hall in February, and a later show in Berkeley, CA were recorded for a live album, but the project was shelved in favor of a third LP of original studio performances.
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| Promotional Headshot from Elliot Roberts' Ashley Famous Agency, Inc. |
I've looked at life from both sides now
From win and lose and still somehow
It's life's illusions I recall
I really don't know life at all...
She moved to Laurel Canyon, L.A. with Graham, purchasing a small house where they lived with "two cats in the yard..."
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