60s Folk - Tumblr Posts
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
Song of the day
(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)
"Don't Think Twice, It's Alright" Bob Dylan, 1963
"Don't Think Twice, It's Alright " was first written in 1962 and was first released in 1963. It's based on Paul Clayton's song, "Who's gonna buy you Ribbons ?(When I'm Gone)" released 1960
in Dylan: A Biography by Bob Spitz, he writes,
"Some time before the song appeared, he [bob dylan] ran into Clayton, Van Ronk, and Barry Kornfeld, another Village folksinger, at which time he said, 'Hey, man—I really dig ‘Who’s Gonna Buy Your Ribbon Saw.’ I’m gonna use that.' No one gave it a second thought. Clayton himself had copied it from an old music-hall number called 'Who’s Gonna Buy Your Chickens When I’m Gone.' The guys figured, 'Fair enough—Bob’ll probably do a nifty variation on the theme.' Unfortunately, 'Don’t Think Twice' is a dead ringer for 'Ribbon Saw'" (p.200)
and the lyrics, despite both songs being short, are very similar.
Stephen Wilson, Paul Claytons Roomate says
"[Paul Clayton] had taken two different ideas. I know this from Clayton’s own lips. He slightly changed the tune to ‘Call Me Old Black Dog.’ The words were a song he’d picked up a sheet copy of in the University of Virginia library, called ‘Who’s Gonna Buy You Chickens When I’m Gone.’ He liked the idea of it" Paul Clayton and the Folksong Revival by Bob Coltman, 2008 p. 132
Despite multiple accounts in Spitz's biography of Bob Dylan of "Who's Gonna Buy Your Chickens When I'm Gone" being a popular traditional folk song that Cynthia Gooding claimed to perform twice, there exists no recorcing or publishing of its lyrics in this Time period. The closest thing i could find was the song "Whos Goñ Bring You Chickens?" from "Eight Negro Songs (From Bedford co. Virginia)" collected and published by Francis H. Abbott in 1923
since there were no recordings available for this song, i also digitally reproduced the sheet music and recorded the song using sheetmusic reader software
here's just the vocal melody
the other song mentioned, "Call me Old black dog," is a traditional folk song with many different variations, including possibly "Salty dog." from what i could tell it was first recorded in 1929 by Dick Justice
and in 1930, by Bayless Rose
these two versions of "Black Dog Blues," the chicken version of the song, and Paul Clayton's version all remind me very very heavily of the song, "Goin' Down the Road Feeling Bad"
specifically this one by elizabeth cotten (1958)
and this one by Woody guthrie (1938-1940)
"Goin' Down that road feeling bad" was first recorded in 1923 by Henry Whitter as "Lonesome Road blues"
i don't know where else to put this but i also think Phil Ochs' "When I'm Gone" (1966) could have been inspired by one of these songs (in my opinion Paul Clayton's, as it sounds similar to the others to me)
Based on the biography interviews, it seems that Bob Dylan was widely criticized by other folk singers not for covering and changing a traditional folk song (that's a commonplace practice in folk music) but for copyrighting both the lyrics and the melody to this song, rather than just crediting the melody as "traditional" or just mentioning paul clayton at all. While Paul Clayton was struggling to make money, "Don't Think twice, it's Alright," made a lot. Either way, "Don't Think Twice, Its Alright" is a staple of the genre and has defined folk for a generation.
Can you do "Hares on the mountain" by Shirley Collins and Davy Graham? Cheers!!
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)
"Hares on the Mountain" Shirley Collins and Davy Graham, 1964
"Hares on the Mountain" is a traditional English and Irish folk song that was first mentioned in print in 1837 in "Rory O'More A National Lovestory" (vol. 1 p.234) as "blackbirds and thrishes"
It's almost certain that the song has existed prior, and it could be incredibly old.
the first time it was collected in song was by George Petrie in "The Complete Collection of Irish Music" (1902)
as "All the young maidens were blackbirds and Trushes" like the other book.
i remade this melody so you can hear what it could have sounded like
It was then later collected by Cecil sharp in 1903 and Publish 1904 in "Folk Songs of Somerset" as having two distinct versions
i remade these into melodies as well
version 1
version 2
here
Around the same time, Cecil Sharp would also collect the song, "O Sally My Dear" but wouldn't publish it because of the sexual nature of this song and its relatives, "Pretty Polly" "Nancy and Johnny" and "The Knife in the Window"
This specific family of songs could also be the descendants of an even older folk song that has almost disappeared. except for verses in its descendants. : "The Twa Magicians," which is all over Europe in various forms.
For "Hares on the mountain" The earliest recording I could find of Hares on the Mountain was in 1942 in Somerset, but i don't have access to it. i just know it exists.
The earliest recording I could find that is available publicly is by Horton Barker from just a couple of months later (in the USA), "To My Right", which is the same song as the original "Hares on the Mountain"
Shirley Collins' Version is particularly interesting for combining the lyrics of both "Hares on the mountain" and "Sally My Dear" and making it into a cohesive story. I also love how it seems that Sally is singing "Hares on the Mountain" *to* the young man.
Even though this song is old and has hundreds of versions with dozens of different names, this version is my favorite. It seems that in many versions, the lyrics are meant to be humorous or scandalous, but in Shirley Collins's version, they take on a different tone. They're sad, spooky, and tragic. I like the way that she renders the conversation between the two characters, and her voice is simply angelic. I'm glad that the traditional started to get more attention thanks to her version.
I actually didn't know anything about this song (or that it existed at all) when starting this project as my knowledge is focused on American folk, but as soon as I heard it I knew it was now one of my favorite songs ever. Also! as of last year, Shirley Collins has released another version of the song. Nothing can beat the '60s version, but this one is pretty nice too.
Pete Seeger's Rainbow Quest, ep. 5, 1965 "O' Mary Don't You Weep" Pete Seeger, Jean Ritchie, Bernice Reagon
Pete Seeger's Rainbow Quest, ep. 5 1965
Jean Ritchie performing Shady Grove
National Museum of American History, Ralph Rinzler Collections, Smithsonian Institute
fliers
Song of the day
(do you want the history of your favorite folk song? dm me or submit an ask and I'll do a full rundown)
"Alice's Restaurant Massacree" Arlo Guthrie, 1967
this song is hilarious and timeless. It's a classic anti-state/anti-war protest song.
Jean Ritchie, The Mother of Folk
Shirley Collins
Newspaper clippings
Song of the Day
(do you want the history of your favorite folk song? submit an ask or dm me and I'll do a full rundown)
"Dirty old Town" Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger, 1956 this song was originally written by Ewan MacColl in 1949, for his play "Landscape with Chimneys". The song is based off of his childhood city, Salford, Lancashire, England, where he grew up.
In an interview with the BBC, Peggy Seeger said
"it remains a perfect song" "It's a beautiful melody, just four economical verses, and it has been covered by hundreds of singers each in their own way"
she continues with regards to the covers,
"I don’t like what The Dubliners did to it, I don’t like what The Pogues did to it – I think they have lost the loneliness," "I think they have lost the confusion of a young person walking through it." "To me, Ewan was reliving his 20s and his late teens so I think it is harder to change."
she adds,
"It speaks to everybody from a dirty old broken down industrial city," "But Salford was in Ewan MacColl’s bones." "He took me to his dirty old town within a week of our three-decade partnership."
This relates to one of my favorite things about the song, it's equally relatable for everyone in a burnt-out industrial city. hell, I really relate to the song and my hometown is a railroad town in Wyoming. I grew up listening to this song because my mom loved it and her hometown is a rustbelt city that was crumbling factorial ruins when she was growing up.
Even though Peggy Seeger doesn't like the covers, I still want to mention the version by The Pogues as it's one of my favorites. I do agree with her that both of the translations lost some of the charm that the original had.
The original captured the spirit of traditional Irish and English folk music, so much so that I assumed it was a traditional ballad. little new compositions of folk music succeed in doing this, which makes the song impressive.
Song of The Day
do you want the history of a folk song? dm me or submit an ask and I'll do the full rundown
"Jackaroe" Joan Baez, 1962
Jackaroe is a traditional folk song that was first printed in 1812-1818 as "Jack Munro"
It was first recorded in 1932 by A.K Davis and has been performed many times in England and the USA. This song like another song I've talked about, "Willie Taylor" is interesting because the story is about a woman who crossdresses to become a sailor and find her lover. Making it an undeniably queer song.
Joan Baez first performed it live in 1962 on tour and released the recording later that year. She does a lovely job with it
Song of The Day
"The Crucifixion" Phil Ochs, 1967
"The Crucifixion" was first written by Phil Ochs in 1965, and was first recorded in 1966 by Jim and Jean and in 1967 by Phil Ochs
Phil Ochs described it as "The Greatest Song he'd ever written" and its meaning as an allegory for the assassination of JFK. This song really goes above and beyond. The Lyrics and the Composition are all groundbreakingly technical, haunting, and tragic. Listening to this song feels like glimpsing at this man's soul, there is just so much heart to it. And to think, he was worried about it not being received well.
Song of The Day
do you want the history of a folk song? dm me or submit an ask and I'll do a full rundown
"Turn! Turn! Turn!"
The Byrds, 1965
"Turn! Turn! Turn!"/"To Everything There Is a Season" was a song written by Pete Seeger in 1959 and first recorded in 1962 by the Limeliters and then Seeger a few months later. It was featured in Sing Out! magazine in 1964
sing out! vol 14 iss 4 It was based on the Book of Ecclesiastes of the Hebrew Bible, which starts the same way "To Everything there is a season; a time for every purpose under heaven" The song was popularized by the 1965 version by The Byrds.
I like this song, I think it's sweet. I like the original poetry of the Book of Ecclesiastes as well. I like the message, I like the idea that while there is a time war or for rage, there is also a time to mourn and to mend. I think that this song has the attitude of a traditional folk song.
Nina Simone and Judy Collins also covered it
He also did it as a duet with Judy Collins in 1966
song for tonight