This Song Is So Laid Back And Soft Compared To Every Other Woody Song, I Didn't Even Recognize It At

this song is so laid back and soft compared to every other woody song, i didn't even recognize it at first?

it feels really vulnerable and sad. Honestly, i haven't heard anything else like it by him.

Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, 1941

Leadbelly and Josh white

Suggested Song

(do you want the history of your favorite folk song? dm me or submit an ask, and I'll do a full rundown like here)

"Plastic Jesus" Tia Blake, 1971

Plastic Jesus was originally written by George Cromarty and Ed Rush in 1957 and performed live in 1962 at the San Francisco State College Folk Festival, where it was recorded and released later that year in their duo band The GoldcoastSingers.

the back of their debut Album reads

"On a foggy Sunday afternoon in March of 1962, THE GOLDCOAST SINGERS clambered on stage at San Francisco State College before an unsuspecting audience of 1,000 or so. After they were introduced as the final performers at the San Francisco State Folk Festival, people in the audience mumbled, "Who?". This query was followed by shouts of "More!". The reaction was, to say the least, wild. After five encores, breathless and perspiring like pigs, they came on for one last "song," entitled "Plastic Jesus." This ode flattened the audience. All through the performance people had been walking out of the auditorium grumbling, "Mis-guided youth" and "Whippersnappers," but the finale was too much for those whose soft spots had not yet been touched. A dozen (actually twelve) marched up the aisles in righteous indignation. The remaining nine hundred some odd rose in a tremendous ovation. Fortunately that concert was taped, and this record is the product"

I think that the truth is stretched here a bit, and like with the song "Plastic Jesus," it is meant to be comedic.

This is the only album produced by The Goldcoast Singers, but George Cromarty would continue to produce music as a solo artist.

later, in 1964, the song was recorded and performed by Ernie Marrs and was mentioned in Vol. 14, no. 2 in "Sing Out! Magazine.

with Ernie Marrs being credited with writing the lyrics.

Later, in 1967, the song was featured in the movie "Cool Hand Luke", performed by Paul Newman. Interesting for taking the satirical and comedic song and reimagining it as somber. this movie is likely what popularized the song in addition to its feature in the magazine.

in 1971, Tia Blake released what is effectively her only album in France, which led to it being mostly forgotten until it was re-released in 2011. Since then, it has become more well-known. This makes me very happy because i love this album! i think all the songs on it are beautiful and wonderfully made. It's a shame she didn't record more.

I think something very interesting happened with the song, and these 4 covers effectively tell a story with how they each re-imagine it.

the original lyrics by The Goldcoast Singers are biting with satire and are funny if not a bit mean-spirited. We, as the audience, are not meant to relate with the person with the plastic Jesus bobblehead.

then, ernie marrs' version doesn't have the intro of the original duo, and shortens the lyrics a bit, but like other works that Ernie Marrs helped write like "The People are Scratching" and "What a Friend we have in Congress" (1966) and (1963)

the humor and satire are a bit more gentle and more subtle. To me, it feels like if you aren't really paying attention, you could miss it. it's comedic, but it could pretty easily be remembered as a charming fun folk song rather than a satire on Christian commercialism and a way of making fun of rednecks.

the movie version song is completely different. I'll be honest, i have not seen this movie, but it seems like this song is 1. completely genuine and devoid of sarcasm, and 2. very, very sad. the song morphs into bitter melonchy. it is the farthest thing from funny.

Tia Blake's version returns the song to its roots. kind of. Her version is certainly happy, but it's also painfully genuine. It is also the only song in her 1971 album that i would describe as happy, the rest being mournful, spooky, or full of longing. plastic Jesus is an odd choice. AND, her cover is my favorite. I think there is something beautiful and whimsical about the story presented in the song, about having so much joy come from a mundane object. Its a cheerful and hopeful song in an otherwise tragic album.

the first time i heard the song by tia blake was in a folk punk playlist. i didn't understand why it was on there at first, but i do now. there is a sort of revolutionary optimism in finding hope from the mundane in the midst of hopeless circumstances.

for @ruzqtx

these pictures of phil ochs 💔

Joan Baez & Bob Dylan "With God On Our Side" Newport Folk Festival, July 25, 1964.

Joan Baez, Isle of Wight, August 30, 1970 © Ken Beken.