Yesterday an article appeared in my news feed from American /songwriter magazine 5 Folk Songs That Defined the American Experience.
The folk genre has always been a huge part of political music and patriotic songs alike. These five particular folk songs are beautifully intertwined with the American experience, and they are still so relevant decades after they were first released. Let’s take a look, shall we?….
So the other day I was watching an Instagram post from a young woman. She was listening to songs from her father’s album collection. He had see gently passed away.. Now whether or not that’s true or how long ago that was, I don’t know.Anyway. it started me thinking about all the new albums I’ve found at Goodwill and the Princeton Record Exchange over the last year and how I haven’t been listening to them!Then I read a post somewhere about collectors who rotate through their albums on a regular basis.
So over the last few years, I’ve drifted away from my musical roots. Between the 1975 and 2014 I listened to primarily music that falls broadly under the umbrella of Americana. I listened to Folk, Blues, bluegrass and Texas music. After about 2014, my musical listening shifted and I found myself listening to more Jazz and New Age with some Prog Rock thrown in the mix. It seemed every time I looked at the Roots Music Report Chart or New Releases Now, I never saw music from the Americana artists I listened to. The only Americana I continued to listen to regularly was Blues.
However, today’s Roots Music Folk Chart contained new albums from some of my favorites! So let’s what new Americana music I can put into my music rotation.
So last weekend, we went to the Antique Emporium in Burlington NJ and I browsed through some of the vinyl albums they had for sale. I ended up buying two albums. One was the album =&0=& from Savoy Brown. The other was =&1=&from Phil Ochs. Of the two albums I am way more familiar with the Phil Ochs album.
I discovered Phil’s music several years after the release of All the News… Through the years have heard most of the songs on the album, it ever owned it. Phil from the beginning wrote topical songs better than anyone else! So if you want to study the 60s listen to the songs of Phil Ochs.
“ Ballad of William Worthy” is one of those songs.
Here’s some background about William Worthy….
From Wikipedia…
=&2=& (July 7, 1921 – May 4, 2014) was an African-American journalist, civil rights activist, and dissident who pressed his right to travel regardless of U.S. State Department regulations.
About William Worthy’s Travels and Troubles
You know what they say- out of site out of mind. Over the last week or so I do believe they may be right.
Recently, I decided to take the CDs I like out of storage and put them on shelves in my room. Yes I know I can play them all on my iPod or I can stream them on Spotify, but there is something about seeing and holding an album or CD that feels good and right.
I have a five disc CD player and over the last month I have been randomly picking five CDs putting them in the changer and listening to them. And I’ve enjoyed a lot of music I haven’t heard for a while.
Right now I have around nine or ten shelves with CDs on them. So today I decided to randomly generate a number from one to ten using an on-line random number generator. I then picked an album off of the corresponding shelf. I did that twice and then had the two albums playing while I read and did some other stuff.
The two albums were Stevie Ray Vaughan’s 1989 release =&0=&and =&1=&When that album was released in 2001 it was Bill’s first album of new songs in five years. I haven’t listened to either album in long long time, particularly the Stevie Ray album!
=&2=&
Biographical Information
Arthel Lane “Doc” Watson (March 3, 1923 – May 29, 2012) was an American guitarist, songwriter, and singer of country,and gospel music. Watson won seven Grammyawards as well as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Watson’s fingerstyle and flatpicking skills, as well as his knowledge of traditional American music, were highly regarded.
Blind from a young age, he performed with his son, guitarist Merle Watson, for over 15 years until Merle’s death in 1985 in an accident on the family farm.
I forget which I bought first The Essential Doc Watson or Elementary Doctor =&1=&. It appears that The Essential Doc Watson was released in 1973, =&2=& was released in 1972. =&3=&was a collection of his recording on the Vanguard label. And =&4=&was his first recording on the Poppy label. And after almost 50 years I don’t think it matters which one I bought first!
Through the years, =&4=&has always been a go to album when I’m feeling a little down. Somehow hearing Doc singing “Going Down the Road Feeling Bad”,which is the opening track of the album, makes me feel better. Then comes a nice cover of Tom Payton’s “The Last Thing on My Mind” and I’m feeling better! Finally I’m ready to do the ”Freight Train Boogie”. And I’m ready to listen to the rest of the album with a smile on my face!
The bottom line is Elementary Doctor Watson is a terrific album. Through the years I have never lost the awe I have whenever I watch Doc play the guitar. I never could manage to play it at all and he does it blind! Simply amazing!!
Two of my other favorite Doc Watson albums are guitar albums with Doc and Merle, Lonesome Road (1977) and Doc and Merle Watson’s Guitar Album. (1983). Note to Self listen to both albums!
I often divide my folk music collection into Roots, Branches and Leaves. The roots are artists who I listened to in the 560s and 70s. The branches are folks I discovered in the 80s through 2010. Finally, the leaves are musicians I have discovered since 2010, when I started to write about music. Today I listened to the music from one of those branches, John Gorka.
