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The Master of Smithsonian Folkways

Jeff Place

You probably haven’t heard of Jeff Place, but it’s likely that you’ve heard his work. Over the past three decades, Place has been the central figure researching, organizing and ultimately releasing the recordings represented in one of the world’s most important collections of 20th-century music. The Rinzler archives includes the 12 record labels now collectively known as Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, with the original Folkways acquisition featuring the key works of Guthrie, Pete Seeger and, of course, Lead Belly.

Read More: From Woody to Lead Belly, the master of Smithsonian Folkways – The Washington Post.

Joe Hill Roadshow in Chicago May 1st

joe-hill-roadshow

The Joe Hill Road Show kicks off its tour in Chicago on May Day to celebrate the music, life, and legacy of martyred IWW labor songwriter Joe Hill (1879-1915). The legendary Hill was judicially executed by firing squad in 1915 on a trumped up murder charge in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Join Chicago musician Bucky Halker and emcee Paul Durica, as well as musicians Anne Feeney, Jan Hammarlund, and JP Wright for a night of Joe Hill songs and readings. Alexis Buss joins them for a presentation about a new Joe Hill memorial songbook.

Click here for more information.

Song Ideas for May 7th

Here’s where you can submit ideas in the comments (or email me to noebie@gmail.com) and I’ll add them to the list.

If you have links to lyrics, chords, videos or what-have-you please include those.

I’ve put together another Evernote to hold lyrics sheets, and here’s the YouTube Playlist. We’ll add to both of those as new material comes in.

As always, as we go around the circle folks will be able to lead or suggest songs that don’t make this prep list, but I’d encourage you to submit ideas here if possible, so we can get some familiarity with the songs ahead of time.

Come sing with us on May 7th!

Song Ideas for April 2nd

Here’s where you can submit ideas in the comments (or email me to noebie@gmail.com) and I’ll add them to the list.

If you have links to lyrics, chords, videos or what-have-you please include those.

I’ve put together another Evernote to hold lyrics sheets, and here’s the YouTube Playlist. We’ll add to both of those as new material comes in.

As always, as we go around the circle folks will be able to lead or suggest songs that don’t make this prep list, but I’d encourage you to submit ideas here if possible, so we can get some familiarity with the songs ahead of time.

Come sing with us on April 2nd!

Song Ideas for March 5th

Here’s where you can submit ideas in the comments (or email me to noebie@gmail.com) and I’ll add them to the list.

If you have links to lyrics, chords, videos or what-have-you please include those.

I’ve put together another Evernote to hold lyrics sheets, and here’s the YouTube Playlist. We’ll add to both of those as new material comes in.

As always, as we go around the circle folks will be able to lead or suggest songs that don’t make this prep list, but I’d encourage you to submit ideas here if possible, so we can get some familiarity with the songs ahead of time.

Come sing with us on March 5th!

Solidarity Forever 100th Anniversary

solidarity-forever

 

On a windblown, gray Chicago day 100 years ago, January 17, 1915, Ralph Chaplin left his home on the South Side for a raucous, poor person’s rally at the city’s famous women’s center, Hull House. He asked a visiting friend he’d met organizing coal miners with Mother Jones to listen to the lyrics of a new tune he had been working on.

It is now one of the most beloved of all Union Hymns.

Solidarity Forever is also a beautiful example of the Folk Process. The melody was originally a camp meeting song, with lyrics “Oh, Brother will you meet me on Canaan’s happy shore.”

It was then borrowed for the marching song John Brown’s Body during the American Civil War, and then refined as The Battle Hymn of the Republic.

The tune is now known and sung worldwide as a rallying inspiration for working people. When we sang it at the Labor Notes conference last Summer, it was in multiple languages simultaneously, and one of the most beautiful things I have ever heard.

Read the article: ‘Solidarity Forever’ Written 100 Years Ago, Today | Labor Notes.

Song Ideas for February 5th

Michael Costanza and several others have suggested that we share some ideas in advance of the singalongs so that singers can get familiar with the melodies and players can learn the chords.

I figured I’d set up a page for each month, and you can either submit ideas in the comments or email me to noebie@gmail.com and I’ll add them to this post.

If you have links to lyrics, chords, videos or what-have-you please include those.

We will still go around the circle in turn on the night of the gathering, and people should still feel free to suggest or lead other songs as the spirit moves them that night, but this may help us enjoy the ones we identify early a little bit more.

I’d also like to find a volunteer to start keeping track of the songs we play at each gathering from start to finish. That way we can begin to create our own “repertoire” of memorable songs that we especially like. Please let me know if you’re interested in helping with that.

Here’s a link to an Evernote note that has lyrics and chords for everything suggested so far. Here’s a YouTube Playlist of the songs.


Here’s a song I’d like to sing: Joe Hill, by Phil Ochs.
Lyrics and Chords
Note: I don’t capo this – just play it in C.
YouTube Video: Joe Hill by Billy Bragg
The song tells the true story of IWW member Joe Hill, who was executed by the State of Utah one hundred years ago. Phil wrote the lyrics to the tune of Woody Guthrie’s song Tom Joad, which Guthrie wrote to the tune of a traditional West Virginia Folk song John Hardy.


From Hannah: I Have Made Mistakes, by The Oh Hellos
Lyrics and Chords:  http://www.keycitysingalong.com/wp-content/uploads/i-have-made-mistakes.pdf
YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czFgKa7YcIQ.


Here’s another from Brian: The Preacher and the Slave, by Joe Hill
Lyrics, chords and sound file are on Wikipedia.


From Anne: Bottle of Wine and Shall We Gather at the River, both of which are in Rise Up Singing


From Brother Jesse: Ripple by the Grateful Dead – Here are the lyrics and chords.


From JC: The TitanicHere’s the PDF.


Need some help learning to strum?

The Child Ballads

child-ballad-illustrationOur gathering on January 8th, 2015 will be an introduction to the songs documented by Francis James Child.

Child was the first professor of English at Harvard University. He had already edited several influential volumes of English poetry when he turned his attention to English and Scottish Folk Ballads (and their American variants) in the 1880s.

Although Child wasn’t the first to gather such a collection, The Child Ballads were organized in such a way that they became seminal  to the new generation of American Folk musicians who came of age in the 20th century. Child helped us to understand the Folk Process by placing newer variants of songs in the context of their roots, and like the work of folklorists John and Alan Lomax who came after him, he offered a treasure trove of material and inspiration to the Folk Revival.

You can download some of Child’s volumes for free at Project Gutenberg.

Matthew Grimm in Kankakee November 22nd

Matthew Grimm

One of my favorite Cowpunk singers is coming to town.

Matthew Grimm

7 PM Saturday 22 November 2014

Feed Arts and Cultural Center

Downtown Kankakee

Matthew messaged me on Facebook awhile back to say that he was hitting the road for a “low key acoustic tour.” Kankakee will be the first stop as he travels south from his home base in Madison.

Matthew first came to my attention during the Wisconsin Rising, with his sublime anthem One Big Union. His music ranges from the overtly political to wry and wistful reflections on life and love in the 21st Century.

Come join us for an evening of fun and inspiration with one of the most original voices of his generation.

Reserve your ticket now on Feed’s Website.