HILL IN IUNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN

PRODUCTION NOTE

University of Illinois atUrbana-Champaign Library

Large-scale Digitization Project, 2007.

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Number 31 N May 25, 1968

After a period of literary hibernation and organizational fermentation,Autoharp has returned. No one associated intimately with the CampusFolksong Club of the University of Illinois wanted to see Autoharp perish,and of course, the rule of thumb (as at other large universities) isPublish or Perish. Here we are.

The CFC has new officers and a new program of great material comingup. We at Autoharp hope to put out more issues this year, and larger andbetter ones at that. However--we cannot write all the articles ourselves.So Andy and all, contributions are hereby heartily solicited. Send themto the editor. (Autoharp without contributors would be like a unicornwithout a horn.)

The CFC is still in the throes of a great upheaval. Five years agowe had about 500 members. Now we number in the low 100's. Yet theattrition seems to have leveled off. There are still a lot of peopleinterested in something they each define as folk music. We still find, inour serried ranks, the usual "anonymous folkies," the ever-present "old-timey lovers," and the ubiquitous "popular antiquarians." All seem tofind something they enjoy in the Club's activities.

And yet, it is becoming increasingly difficult to get enough peopleinvolved in the real nitty-gritty of the Club's world.

Consequently, we have come up with a modest proposal, to wit: TheCFC should sponsor an annual three-day festival of traditional music. Thiswould stimulate a great deal of interest in our Club, both on and off thecampus.

We propose this idea to the members and officers of the CFC with thehope that it will be seriously considered. Think about it and let yourfriends (and especially Autoharp) know.

Campus Folksong Club K>- workshoos -

banjo

guitar

March 9,16,23,30

April 20,27

215, 217, 219

Gregory Hall

1:00 PM

jeanne mita (information)332- 4339

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TWO FOR THE PRICE OF ONE

Just a few weeks ago, Sarah Ogan Gunning, the outstanding Kentucky tradi-tional singer, was presented by the joint efforts of the Campus Folksong Club,the English Department, and the Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations. Sarahgave three performances while she was on campus; she performed for the ILIRstudents, for Professor Archie Green's English class, and she gave a membershipconcert for the Club. All three- were superb. At the ILIR concert, Sarah presentedmaterial which pertained to her involvement in the strikes which rages around thestrip-mining region of Kentucky from whence she came. In the folksong class,Sarah sang five or six songs. Her material here was varied, including childrens'songs ("Old Jack Frost") and religious songs ("Christ was a Way-worn Traveler"),as well as the stories and songs about her coal-mining labor dispute days. Thisperhaps was one of the best opportunities ever afforded any students of Americansong, since the atmosphere was informal and the possibilities for two-way communi-cation with the singer existed. Sarah's final concert was given in Bevier Hall,where she sang and talked to a crowed of about 60 for nearly 1 1/2 hours. Thoughthe interplay between Sarah and her audience was not as close as it had been inthe classroom situation, everybody present was entertained (at least), enlightened(certainly), and richer for the experience (absolutely).

It would seem to be hard to surpass a performer like Sarah Gunning...and itis. But the CFC did manage to keep up its high standards of traditional performanceand at the same time expose the campus to something which has probably not beenheard in this part of Illinois for upwards of fifty years. On Nay 18, the CFCpresented an open concert given by the Cook County Vocal Singing Convention. Thisgroup is composed of about 20 Chicagoans who grew up in various states (mostlyin the South) and learned the shape-note method of notation. After having arrivedin Chicago independently, they found each other and started the group, under thedirection of the Rev. Huston Emerson and the Rev. Alonzo Day.

(In the shape-note method of notation, the seven notes of the scale areassigned seven different shapes, e.g., square, diamond, triangle, etc. The notesare printed on a musical staff, exactly like the conventional "round notes", sothat any person who is able to read conventional musical notation is capable ofreading shape-notes. However, the reverse does not necessarily apply, as manyshape-note singers are perplexed by "round" notes, which all look the same. Inaddition to the notational difference, many of the spirituals which were writtenin the shape-note system also are harmonically unusual. The musical intervalswhich are used are vary archaic sounding to modern ears, and the overall effect ofa shape-note spiritual on the uninitiated listener is fantastic.)

The audience was one of the most enthusiastic ever seen here, and the creditfor its response goes entirely to the skill and artistry of the members of theCook County Vocal Singing Convention. Many persons began to clap on the off-beatsof the spirited numbers, and the Convention members threw themselves into theirmusic with amazing abandon, yet with genuine and impressive control. Alonzo Day,as he was leading the group, blacked out and fell stiffly into the arms of hisfriends, who were not particularly shocked. One of the singers later explained thifas, "getting the Holy Spirit, which Brother Day does many times." In addition tothe magnificent work of the choir as a whole, there were several outstanding indivi-dual performances given. Brother Gregory sang a spiritual as a solo, and BrotherSeals, a Psalmist, fervently recited two of his favorites.

The Campus Folksong Club was very lucky to have been able to present thismarvelous group. The group will appear on July 4 at a Folk Life Festival sponsoredby the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C.

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"I'M NO PIANO PLAYER, I'LL JUST PLAY UNTILTHE PIANO PLAYER GETS HERE"

by

Mary Teal

Bukka White is a bluesman from Memphis. He came up and stayed the day

with us, April 3.

Bukka entertained Archie Green's (English 360) ballad class in themorning, and set up in the Union South Lounge for the afternoon. Beta ThetaPi housed a reception for him in the evening. He went on to Knox Collegethe next day for another round of music and fun.

"Please write my mothertell her the shape I'm in.On the next train south,look for my poor bones."

But--while he was here, we got the biggest wad of the best bluesBukka, or anybody, can dish out.

"Everybody running all over towntrying to figure out where the blues came from.Know why those blues came from behind the mule?In them days they didn't know nothin' else to do."

And--because Bukka says you gotta play what they want--we got old-time

boogie and jive, mean, dirty songs. He's right. We liked them. And we

liked him. (Next time I'm gonna get me two, three pretty girls, so when I

lose my best girl, I got two more on the line.)

We like him. Bukka's a big, round man with an enigmatic smile thatgives him no trouble catching women. He told me about Callie May and Gertrude,

Lucy, Miss Rhoda Lee, left out a few. He told us about Kansas City, the

Delta (where the Blues come from), riding the freight trains, Aberdeen....

"Aberdeen Blues" is Bukka's Song. He does it on his secondhand steel

guitar, which is his because the slapping it takes would make a wood guitargive up too soon.

There's a lady's rhinestone necklace worked into the guitar strap(Gertrude or Lucy or Miss Rhoda Lee). Its face has worn shiny like gold

where fingers hit it all the time; the case is covered with hotel stickers

from Kansas City and farther on.

"Sang this song for a girl in '43She was going to Booker T."

He'd start in on a song (I'll tell y'll like it is, cause I done been

where y'll are trying to get.) He'd warm up for a chorus:

"She said, Daddy, maybe you want to settle downI said, Lord ! You got to wait until I've made my rounds."

He'd play a little guitar. (Now settle down, Bukka, play it.) He'd playsome more words, he'd do some more guitar, maybe use the shell. (Takeyour time, Bukka, too much going on.)

He'd end it with a couple lines:

"Police put me in the housesearchin' for the weed."

He'd tell us stuff like when he won the contest in Kansas City, whenhis woman killed his cat and that was it for her, it's the devil everywhereyou go....

He told us church music was good music to carry you safely, but hewouldn't play much for us.

He played "Aberdeen Blues," "Gibson Hill," "Beale Street Blues"(the way they ought to be played), "Jumping Jive," "Black Bottom Blues"....

He played his guitar because he could tote it where he went; he playedpiano but never learned it well because he couldn't tote it, and I guesshe had to go. When he started in at the Union and 500 people gathered, hesaid he'd only play until the piano player got there. I think the pianoplayer was there all the time.

FIXIN' TO DIE FOUR TIMES

by Bukka White, The Country Blues, RBF, RF 1.by Dave Ray, The Blues -roject, Elektra, EKL 264.by Dave Von Ronk, Folksinger, Prestige Folklore, FL 14012.by Bob Dylan, Bob Dylan, Columbia, CL 1779.

Bukka White's "Fixin' to Die"

I'm lookin' funny in my eyes an' I believe I'm fixin' to die,believe I'm fixin' to die,

I'm lookin' funny in my eyes an' I believe I'm fixin' to die;I know I was born to die, but I hate to leave my children cryin'.

Just as sure (as) we livin' today, so we was born to die;I know I was born to die, but I hate to leave my children cryin'.

Your mother treated me, children, like I was her baby child;That's why I tried so hard to come back home to die.

So many nights at the fireside, how my children's mother would cry;Cause I told their mother I had to say good-bye.

Look over yonder, on the burying ground;Yonder stand ten thousand, standin' to see them let me down.

Mother take my children back before they let me down;Ain't no need in them screamin' an' cryin' on that graveyard ground.

(as transcribed from the Bukka Whiterecording on The Country Blues album)

About a decade ago, in the early years of The Great Folksong Revival,the city-bred folknik was faced with something of a dilemma. If heattempted faithfully to reproduce the style, perhaps even the voice, of histrauitional source, critics would say, "He just mimics the way X sings thesong." On the other hand, if he attempted to render a more personal inter-pretation, critics would condemn, "That's not the way X sings it."

The problem is particularly acute in the case of white singers ofNegro material (blues) for the obvious reason that they could not be expectedto have the proper socio-cultural background to "understand" the materialone way or the other. By mid-196h, however, events beyond the control ofthese singers had pretty well resolved their problems. Those open to thefirst charge--mimickry--were relieved of the necessity of singing at allby the "rediscovery" of their models living out their lives in the townsand cities of the Mississippi Delta. Those subject to the second charge--lack of authenticity--could progress to still less authentic interpretationsand be welcomed into the burgeoning ranks of admittedly eclectic rock n rollgroups.

But in the meantime, had their singing provided anything more thangainful employment for themselves and a target for puristically orientedcritics? Emphatically, yes, it had! At the very least, they made thousandsof people aware for the first time of such names as Bukka White, BlindLemon Jefferson, Robert Johnson; just as the Kingston Trio had made millionsof people aware of something called folk music.

One of the most popular songs for revival was Bukka White's "Fixin' toDie"; the reasons for its popularity are easily understood. The imageryof the text is vivid and compelling. (See transcription, above.) Thebottleneck style accompaniment with its rocking tempo and ringing trebleslides is one of the most outstanding for any blues song.

What Bukka's young interpreters do to the song in a technical sense isquite simple to outline. Bukka takes two minutes, forty-five seconds tosing six verses. It requires Dave Ray 3:47 to sing the same verses in thesame order, accompanying himself on a twelve string guitar played bottleneckstyle. Most of the extra time is taken up by intra-verse instrumental breaks.Van Ronk needs the same 2:$5 to sing the song as written except for thetransposing of the second and third verses. Typically, he employs a rippling,two-finger-picking guitar style. Dylan takes a few more liberties. In 2:17

he sings five verses to a driving, rock n roll type accompaniment similarto that used in "Highway 51" on the same album. Actually, however, he onlyuses two of Bukka's original stanzas, coming back to the first more orless as a refrain (with very slight changes of wording,) using the fifthas his second, and making up his own fourth.

As for what the recordings sound like: Dave Ray, singing in 1964 soundsalmost as much like Bukka White singing "Fixin' to Die" in 1940 as BukkaWhite himself does in 1968. From a musical standpoint, what differencesthere are from the early recording may be counted as improvements. Bukka'svoice was more nasal, then, and his playing more syncopated. (The date

1940, in fact, is assumed from the syncopation. Samuel Charters, whoedited the RBF album, attributes the original only to "the collection atFolkways." However, the rhythmic background points to the March 8, 19h0recording session for Vocalion with additional accompaniment provided by awashboard player, possibly Bull City Red.*) To be sure, Dave's playingis imitative; but it is an imitation done with feeling. And he does credithis source.

Van Ronk singing "Fixin' to Die" sounds very much like Van Ronk singinganything else. He is a highly competent professional musician and a flawlessguitar stylist. If the performance becomes a bit more compelling than the

song, that is perhaps the best and the worst that can be said of it. He doesnot credit his source.

Dylan does credit Bukka for his version, but Bukka might not recognizeit except for the words. However, "Fixin' to Die" is the type of bluesthat needs to be shouted--rather than understated--and Dylan just happens

to be shouting at a different audience. Of tho three "revivalists," Dylanseems to have the most feeling for the song if not for the singer. He

takes away much of the lyric, story-telling quality of the original but headds a sense of urgency which does not seem at all inappropriate.

Unquestionably, each of the modern versions differs from the othersand from the original. But each is done well enough to whet the taste for

the real thing.

--Ed Phillips

*Cited in Dixon and Godrich's discography, Blues and Gospel Recordings,1902 to 1942. The original release was entitled "Fixin' to Die Blues."

NORMAN KENNEDY REVIEW

by Cathy Corl

In its second membership concert of the year (November 29, 1967) theampus Folksong Club presented Norman Kennedy, Scottish ballad singer.

Kennedy, accompanied only by the rhythmic tapping of his foot spent the'ening providing the audience with an idea of the immense diversity andauty of his musical heritage. To this end he chose some of the many songs,om a still living folk tradition which considers songs 250 years old!cent, and presented with each song something of its history. He communicatedhis listeners the feel of the times when each song appeared.

In this endeavor few men can match Kennedy's qualifications. Normannnedy was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, thirty odd years ago. Raised a city)y, he became for a time an employee of his government's revenue service..nce his teens an intense interest in folk music and art had led Kennedylearn a great deal in both fields. His mastery of traditional methodsweaving is highly respected both here and in Scotland. He is consideredsome to be one of the country's best traditional singers. It is in the

.tter capacity that he came to this country, for while at a folksong clubi Scotland, Mike Seeger heard him sing and subsequently arranged for him to.ng at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival. Since then he has lived largely inve U.S. and Canada earning his living as a weaver. He will soon be workingHr Williamsburg, Virginia demonstrating and explaining the weaving tradeLere.

Kennedy easily captivated his audience and had them singing enthusiasti-lly along with the infectious nonsense syllable choruses of many of the songs.; if his clear robust singing style were not enough, he spent the timeýtween songs filling their minds with folklore. He told the attentive groupw the great preponderence of time in pre-industrialized days had to belent in work requiring little more than physical presence (with perhaps anch of mental awareness). This provided ample opportunity for a great-al tradition to grow. He explained the history behind the Lothian Aires,

migrant worker's songs, and proceeded to sing a few. Later he told of aoup of former tin and silver smiths called tinkers who are a counterpartoccupation and reputation to the better known Gypsies. He also favored

ie group with a few folk tales from his Scottish tradition.

As part of an explanation of song used as an accompaniment to work,nnedy worked at the spinning wheel, which had heretofore been only a-op, while singing "Pricklie Bush", a song familiar to many in the audience.

le last number was a fast-paced intricate conglomeration of sound that!emed to come from many voices and yet only one. This bit of music islown as mouth music. Its' use on accompanying jigs is readily understand-le for it almost compels such energetic participation. If an evening ofich consistently superb entertainment could have a high point, that peakuld most certainly have been the last number.

CLUB DONATES RECORDS TO LISTENING ROOM

During the past seven years the Campus Folksong Club has slowly accumulateda phonograph record collection by gifts from friends and by direct purchase.Since the Club has no home on campus, it has been difficult to store itsrecords, to make them available for listening, and to guard against loss.Consequently, the Club has donated (March 1, 1968) its remaining discs tothe English Department's Listening Room (Room 208, English Building). Theserecords will be integrated into the Listening Room's collection and will beavailable to students and staff on the same terms as other material.

We hope to augment this pilot folksong collection and we solicit gifts frompresent as well as former Club members.

The list below is limited to the 60 records now deposited.

Arhoolie 5002J. E. MAINER'S MOUNTAINEERS

J. E. Mainer's Mountaineers

Campus Folksong Club 101PHILO GLEE AND MANDOLINE SOCIETY

Philo Glee and Mandoline Society

Campus Folksong Club 201GREEN FIELDS OF ILLINOIS

Various artists

Campus Folksong Club 301THE HELL-EOUND TRAIN

Glenn Ohrlin

Columbia 1664SONGS OF THE FAMOUS CARTER FAMILY

Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys withMaybelle Carter

Columbia 2255THE FABULOUS SOUND OF LESTER FLATT AND EARL SCRUGGS

Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys

County 508MOUNTAIN SACRED SONGS

Various singers

Delmar 602PINEY WOODS BLUES

Big Joe Williams

Delmar 603THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY JOHN ESTES

Sleepy John Estes

Delmar 604BLUES ON HIGHWAY 49

Big Joe Williams

Delmar 605LONESOME BEDROOM BLUES

Curtis Jones

Elektra 214SCOTTISH BALLAD BOOK

Jean Redpath

Elektra 224LOVE, LILT, LAUGHTER

Jean Redpath

Folkways 2351DOCK BOGGS

Dock Boggs

Folkways 2354SONGS OF A NEW YORK

Ellen StekertLUMBERJACK

Folkways 2377THE NEW ENGLAND HARMONY

Old Sturbridge Singers

Folkways 2397THE NEW LOST

The New

Folkways 2399THE NEW LOST

The New

CITY RAMBLERS: VOL. IILost City Ramblers

CITY RAMBLERS: VOL. 4Lost City Ramblers

Folkways 2951 ABAMERICAN FOLK MUSIC:

Various artists

Folkways 2951 CDAMERICAN FOLK MUSIC:

Various artists

Folkways 2952 ABAMERICAN FOLK MUSIC:

Various artists

Folkways 2952 CDAMERICAN FOLK MUSIC:

Various artists

VOL. 1, BALLADS

VOL. 1, BALLADS

VOL. 2, SOCIAL MUSIC

VOL. 2, SOCIAL MUSIC

Folkways 2953 ABAMERICAN FOLK MUSIC: VOL. 3, SONGS

Various artists

Folkways 2953 CDAMERICAN FOLK MUSIC: VOL. 3, SONGS

Various artists

Folkways 5264SONGS FROM THE DEPRESSION

The New Lost City Ramblers

Folkways 5273TIPPLE, LOOM, AND RAIL

Mike Seeger

Folkways 8760TRADITIONAL SONGS AND BALLADS

Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger

Folk-Legacy 26GIRL OF CONSTANT SORROW

Sarah Ogan Gunning

Folk Lyric 1A SAMPLER OF LOUISIANA FOLKSONGS

Various artists

Folk Lyric 2LOUISIANA FOLKSONG JAMBALAYA

Harry Oster

Folk Lyric 3ANGOLA PRISONERS' BLUES

Robert Pete Williams and others

Folk Lyric 4FOLKSONGS OF THE LOUISIANA ACADIANS

Various artists

Folk Lyric 5PRISON WORKSONGS

Various artists

Folk Lyric 6ANGOLA PRISON SPIRITUALS

Various artists

Folk-Lyric 107NEW ORLEANS WASHBOARD BLUES

Snooks Eaglin and others

Folk-Lyric 108GEORGIA STREET SINGER

Rev. Pearly Brown

Folk-Lyric 109THOSE PRISON BLUES

Robert Pete Williams

Folk-Lyric 111COUNTRY NEGRO JAM SESSIONS

Butch Cage, Willie B.

Folk-Lyric 117PRIMITIVE PIANO

Various artists

Folk-Lyric 118HOT BLUES

Smoky Babe and others

Thomas, and others

Folk-Lyric 122

BAYOU BLUEGRASSThe Louisiana Honeydrippers

Folk-Lyric 123CAROLINA BLUEGRASS

Snuffy Jenkins and

Folk-Lyric 124BLUES WALK RIGHT IN

Sylvia Mars

Folk-Lyric 126JESSE FULLER: GREATEST

Jesse Fuller

MonitorJACK

the Hired Hands

OF THE NEGRO MINSTRELS

ELLIOTT: RAMBLIN' COWBOYJack Elliott

Old Timey 101OLD-TIME SOUTHERN DANCE MUSIC: THE STRING BANDS, VOL. 2

Various artists

Old Timey 102OLD-TIME SOUTHERN DANCE MUSIC: BALLADS AND SONGS

Various artists

Prestige 1022TROUBLE BLUES

Curtis Jones

Prestige 13005THE BEST OF PEGGY SEGGER

Peggy Segger

Prestige 13041SKIPPING BAREFOOT THROUGH THE HEATHER

Jean Redpath

Prestige 25014ONTARIO BALLADS AND FOLKSONGS

Various artists

RBF 51UNCLE DAVE MACON

Uncle Dave Macon

Starday 200ERNEST V. STONEMAN AND THE STONEMAN FAMILY

Ernest V. Stoneman and the Stoneman Family

Testament 201LONG STEEL RAIL

Bill Jackson

Testament 3301BABIES IN THE MILL

Dorsey Dixon and others

Testament 3302STEEL GUITAR RAG

Jimmie Tarlton

Victor 1635THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS

Jimmie Driftwood

Victor 1994THE WILDERNESS ROAD

Jimmie Driftwood

Victor 2171THE WESTWARD MOVEMENT

Jimmie Dirftwood

Washington 737STREET SONGS OF ENGLAND

A. L. Lloyd

s1941

A CHECKLIST OF ARTICLES BY JOHN I. WHITE

From 1927 to 1936 John White (The Lonesome Cowboy) sang westernballads on the radio, and helped launch the popular program "Death ValleyDays." He also made many phonograph records under various pseudonyms.In 1966 he retired from his position with a mapmaking firm and returnedto his early love: cowboy balladry. John White now lives in Westfield,New Jersey, and divides his time between his family and writing aboutwestern singers and their songs. Occasionally he performs in a collegeconcert: University of Illinois in May 1966, University of Pennsylvaniain December 1967.

Below we present a checklist of his "post-retirement" articles.Where the song, poem, or composer is not mentioned in the title, it isincluded with the citation in parentheses.

1. "The Virginian." Montana, XVI (October, 1966), 2-11.(Owen Wister's novel)

2. "A Montana Cowboy Poet." Journal of American Folklore, LXXX(April, 1967), 113-129. (D.J. O'Malley: "After the Roundup"/"When the Work is Done Next Fall," "A Cowboy's Death," "D-2Horse Wrangler," "Sweet By and By Revised," "The Cowboy Wishes,""Cowboy Reverie," "Cowboy's Soliloquy," "A Busted Cowboy'sChristmas," "Found on a Sheep Herder's Mess Box")

3. "A Ballad in Search of Its Author." Western American Literature, II(Spring, 1967), 58-62. (Joseph Mills Hanson: "Railroad Corral")

4. "Gail Gardner--Cowboy 'Poet Lariat'." The Arizona Republic cSundaySupplementa (May 7, 1967), 24-26. ("Tying a Knot in the Devil's Tail")

5. "D. J. 'Kid' O'Malley: Montana's Cowboy Poet." Montana, XVII(July, 1967), 60-73. ("A Cowboy's Death," "D-2 Horse Wrangler,""The Cowboy Wishes," "Cowboy's Soliloquy")

6. "And That's How a 'Folksong' Was Born." The Arizona Republic cSundaySupplements (August 13, 1967), 7-11. (Romaine Lowdermilk: "Big Corral")

7. "Notes and Queries: Owen Wister, Song Writer." Western Folklore,XXVI (October, 1967), 269-271. ("Ten Thousand Cattle Straying")

8. "Portraits for a Western Album, I: 'A Busted Cowboy's Christmas'."The American West, IV (November, 1967), 78-79. (D. J. O'Malley)

9. "Great Grandma." Western Folklore, XXVII (January, 1968), 27-31.(John White)

10. "Will C. Barnes: Also a Song Plugger." The Arizona RepubliccSunday Supplement: (January 14, 1968), 21-24. ("The Cowboy'sSweet Bye and Bye")

JIMMIE TARLTONThe Man, His Music,

His First College Concert Tour

by Dave Samuelson

On April 28, 1967, the Campus Folksong Club scheduled the first collegeconcert by the renowned old-timey steel guitarist Jimmie Tarlton. Except torecord collectors, Tarlton was largely unknown during the big folk boom of theearly sixties, but his songs and style have left an unerasable print on folkand country-western music.

Few people who attended the concert knew the stories and anecdotes thathave filled his biography. Tarlton's seventy-five years has been marked byrecording contracts and school-house concerts, freight trains and cheap hotels,prohibition agents and jails, not to mention continuous optimism.

Johnny James Rimbert Tarlton was born in a long cabin in ChesterfieldCounty, South Carolina on May 8, 1892. His father was a share-cropper, andwas constantly moving across the Southeast, exposing young Jimmie to manydifferent styles of music.

By the time he was six, he started playing simple tunes on the banjo. Tothis day he remembers his favorite pieces: "Arkansas Traveler," "Ole MollyHare," "Turkey in the Straw," "Casey Jones," "Georgia Buck." He plays them ina clean, driving two-finger picking style. He also frails a few numbers, mostnotably, "Cindy." In addition to the banjo, he learned to play the harmonicaand a small accordion, but he has not picked them up in years.

At the age of nine, Jimmie started to play the guitar in the standardtuning and position, but after observing Negro musicians a year later, he adoptedpermanently the bottleneck style in open tuning. At first, Jimmie used a knife.He switched to a steel bar after meeting the pioneer Hawaiian guitarist FrankFerera; he has been using an automobile wrist pin for the past forty years.

As a teenager, Jimmie made a few dollars playing at country dances, and hedecided to embark upon a semi-professional career as a musician. When he wastwenty, Jimmie bummed his way to New York, playing for room and board along theway. He soon grew tired of the big city, and traveled to the oil fields ofTexas and Oklahoma, then west to California. When he was successful, he got ajob playing his guitar; when he wasn't, he worked in the cotton mills.

After a few years he returned to his beloved homeland, and got a steadyjob in a Georgia textile mill. Settling down, he married, and added a thirdtask to his textile and musical jobs--making moonshine; a profitable, respect-able, but illegal profession during the Prohibition era. The Feds raided hisstill in 1925, and Jimmie spent some time behind bars.

In the spring of 1927, Tarlton met a guitarist who lived not far from hishome in Columbus, Georgia. Jimmie and Tom Darby swapped a number of songs, butneither of them played together at the time. A music store owner in Columbusheard both of them play individually, and felt they had possibilities as a team.He contacted Columbia records for an audition when their portable unit would bein Atlanta. On April 5, 1927, he drove them and several other musicians to thesessions.

The other singers failed in their auditions, but Columbia was enthusiasticover Darby and Tarlton. They recorded two sides--"Down in Florida on a Hog,"

(i.e. "living high on the hog"), a song Darby wrote about the great Floridaland boom of the twenties and the hurricanes that wiped it out; and the sprightly"Birmingham Town." Columbia signed them to a second session in November.

At the second session the men recorded the two songs that made them famous:"Columbus Stockade Blues", and "Birmingham Jail". Art Satherley, the legendaryA&R man whose career extends from the old Paramount label to Gene Autry, RoyAcuff, and Little Jimmie Dickens, supervised the recording. Satherley considers"Birmingham Jail" the greatest side he ever recorded because the two performersfelt their material so deeply. Darby's straight-forward singing and Tarlton'shaunting wail and steel-guitar work caught the public's ear, and the discbecame one of Columbia's all-time best sellers. By the time the Depression hadwiped out the hillbilly record industry, Columbia had issued h$ sides of theteam, plus six of Jimmie's solos.

Their dependence on Columbia gone, the two men roamed around looking forwork, together and separately. The team appeared in tent and medicine shows,and occasionally on small radio stations. Victor contracted them in 1932,recording two sides by the duo, four solos by Jimmie, and six sides by the"Georgia Wildcats", which included Darby and banjoist Jess Pitts. After a finalsession in 1933 for the ARC organization, the two men split, returning only forrare, disinterested reunions at various shows.

Darby and Tarlton never got along together during their partnership.Darby never cared for the music profession, concentrating on farming betweentours and recording sessions; but to Tarlton, music was a way of life.

Jimmie continued to play in a string band that included Gid Tanner (whosefamous "Skillet Lickers" had disbanded in 1931). This successful (butunrecorded) band broke up after Tarlton grew tired of playing tunes that werestandard to the North Georgian string band repertoire.

Tarlton continued to play over the air as late as 1938, and performed inshows and school houses until after World War II. By then, the new, electrifiedNashville and rock-a-billy sounds had set in, and older musicians had to conformor fade from the public eye. Tarlton, although he enjoyed the sounds of westernswing, bluegrass, and country-western music, refused to change his personal style.

During the big folk-boom of the early sixties, interest was re-kindled inold-time country music, in part stemming from the work of the New Lost CityRamblers, and the reissues of recording pioneers, such as Jimmie Rodgers, theCarter Family, and the Skillet Lickers. In 1963, after long and patientsearching, collector Robert Nobley found Jimmie with his wife in Phenix City,Alabama. Eugene Earle and Archie Green (officers of the John Edwards MemorialFoundation) interviewed him soon after his rediscovery. Earle returned torecord him in December of that year.

Earle took the tapes to Ed Pearl, the owner of the Ash Grove, Los Angeles'largest night spot featuring folk music. Pearl was enthusiastic over what heheard, and signed Jimmie to a week's engagement for August, 1965. His ragged,warm, friendly, and often bewildered stage appearance, coupled with his smooth,highly original guitar style and his clear tenor voice made him a hit with theCalifornians, and he was asked to remain an extra week. He had to decline theoffer due to work back home.

His next major urban performance was the 1966 Newport Folk Festival, thecrowded annual Mecca of the folkies. Most old-time musicians cannot adaptto this type of audience, but Tarlton won over everybody with his bag of blues,ballads, and instrumentals.

In January, 1967, the Campus Folksong Club grabbed the opportunity tofinance the release of Jimmie's first record in thirty-four years, and producehis first college concert tour of four midwestern colleges. With the usualamount of red tape, the schedule was arranged and the record was ready for saleearly in April.

At his first concert at the University of Illinois' Krannert Art MuseumTheater, Jimmie started the show with "Steel Guitar Rag," a western-swingstandard made famous by Leon McAuiliff when he was with Bob Wills' TexasPlayboys. In the instrumental, Jimmie uses effects that sound impossible onrecord, and look impossible in person. In the concert, he did his two famousnumbers, "Columbus Stockade Blues," and "Birmingham Jail", plus selections bothnew and old to his repertoire. Among the highlights were his satire on "MyBlue Heaven;" the pseudo-Hawaiian number, "Hawaiian March;" the instrumental"Vaya Con Dios;" and the ballad "Lowe Bonnie," which he learned from his mother.Another high point of the concert was his stories of the "Hooverbuggies" of theDepression and his cross-country rambling.

The day after the concert, Jimmie and I traveled by bus to Crawfordsville,the first leg on the way to Indiana University in Bloomington. To keep thingsin order, a few cans of Miller High Life and a few sandwiches were provided.

At the first stop on the route--Danville, Illinois--everyone got off thebus, and we followed suit. Checking for police outside the terminal, I gaveJimmie a beer. Realizing the trouble that could occur if someone is caughtdrinking on a public street, Jimmie chugged it down in four seconds flat I

A few seconds later, the bus was starting to fill up again, and I flashedout our tickets. The bus driver, a surly guy who reminded me of the villainsin the "Our Gang" comedies, roared: "You weren't supposed to rest here I"

Jimmie replied, "Well, we rested ."

The bus driver gave a CTA-ish growl as Jimmie turned to me and said:"I told him off, didn't I?"

After an hour of driving through boring Indiana cornfields, the bus pulledinto Crawfordsville, an old city that makes Champaign look new. Although thecar that was to take us to Bloomington was an hour and a half late, Jimmie keptme entertained at the bus station by buying a pack of Kools, slitting the paperopen, and chewing the tobacco.

We arrived in Bloomington a few minutes late for the concert, but NeilRosenberg and Dan Gellert were entertaining the small audience with their widebluegrass repertoire. Jimmie was soon ready, and came on stage introducinghimself. "I can't see very well anymore," he said, "I've got a brother whocan't see at all...he's dead " And he started into "Columbus Stockade".

A large number of requests helped fill the Bloomington concert with moreblues than usual. These requests varied the concert from the set programJimmie had in Champaign, and gave him a chance to do numbers he hadn't per-formed in years.

After the concert, the club had a small reception for Jimmie that wasfilled with imprompto bluegrass and Jimmie's anecdotes. At the party, Jimmiewas "tricked" into playing his pieces on the banjo, which for many was the mostmemorable part of the evening.

The next day, April 30, Jimmie was taken to the Brown County Jamboree inBean Blossom, Indiana, where some of the world's toughest audiences go to hearthe country's finest bluegrass bands. The Jamboree featured Bill Monroe andthe Blue Grass Boys, which included guitarist and singer Red Allen and fiddlerByron Berline at the time. The superb house band, Bryant Wilson and theKentucky Ramblers, also performed, as did Shorty and Juanita Sheehan, andanother of Neil Rosenberg's bluegrass bands.

During the intermission, Jimmie met Norm Carlson, Pete Rollet and severalother members of the Purdue Folk Song Club, and played a few numbers for them inthe parking lot.

Bill persuaded Jimmie to play that afternoon, and just before startinghis second set he announced: "We have a special guest with us today. A manwho recorded for the Columbia folks back in the twenties and wrote many goodsongs. His name is Jimmie Charlton, is it?"

Somewhere in the back row you could hear Jimmie say: "Tarlton--T-A-R-L-..."The Audience broke up laughing, and Monroe's introduction was ruined.

Jimmie went on stage a half-hour later, performing "John Henry," and "LoweBonnie." The audience response to his performance was so enthusiastic thatBill promised to have him return someday. At the end of the concert, Jimmiewent back to Bloomington with Neil, and I started hitching back to Champaign.

He returned to Champaign on May 2, but was on his way again for a concertat the University of Chicago. I heard that when a girl came up to Jimmie inChicago asking him to autograph his record, he replied, "I can't see too well...you sign it ."

Jimmie's last stop in the concert tour was in Carbondale for SouthernIllinois University's Folk Arts Society. A friend of mine wrote me of thisincident:

I saw Jimmie Tarlton in concert a few days ago. Was he great !One thing everybody liked was at the end of a set when, in fullview of the audience, he pulled a bottle of whiskey out of hiscoat pocket and took it back stage. It was the most unintentionallyfunny thing I have ever seen I

From there, Jimmie returned home. He appeared at the Berkeley FolkFestival on July h, which was later televised across the country on variouseducational outlets. It is said that he drew more applause than the stars ofthe festival--Doc Watson and the hippie protest groups.

Jimmie returned to Phenix City after the Berkeley Festival, and has beeninactive for the past eight months.

However, to the many people who met and saw him during the midwestern andCalifornia tours, Jimmie left behind a lot of stories, a lot of music, and alot of friends--friends who realize they will never see his like again.

ADDENDA

1. It has been said that Tarlton's old partner, Tom Darby, died in the springof 1967. This was mentioned in a letter to me from collector Jim Evans,but has not been reported in any scholastic or "fan" journals. Therefore,the notice of his death is unconfirmed.

2. Jimmie Tarlton on Record:

Jimmie's first LP record was recorded in 1963 and 1965, and was releasedin April, 1967. The disc, STEEL GUITAR RAG (Testament T-3302), is stillavailable from the Campus Folksong Club, 284 Illini Union, Urbana, Illinois,61801. The price is $3.50. The titles included are: John Henry, Banksof the Ohio, Steel Guitar Rag, Jimmie's Blue Heaven, Al, Bound Down inBirmingham Jail, Put-Together Blues, Pretty Little Girl, Fort Benning Blues,Lowe Bonnie, Uncle Joe and his Hounds, Ain't It a Sin to Gamble on a Sunday,Joe Bowers, Hawaiian March, Administration Blues. County Sales consideredthis record to be the finest new old-time record of 1967.

Three currently available LP's include Darby and Tarlton's early Columbiarecordings. The are: THE STRING BANDS, Vol. 2 (Old-Timey 101); Includes"Alto Waltz" from Co 15319 (4-12-28). BALLADS AND SONGS (Old-Timey 102);Includes "Frankie Dean" from Co 15701 (4-16-30), and a Tarlton solo, "RoyDixon" from Co 15629 (12-3-30). MOUNTAIN BLUES (County 511); Includes aTarlton solo, "Careless Love," from Co 156$1 (12-3-30).

Later in 1968, Old-Timey will release the first reissue composed entirelyof Darby and Tarlton's old 78's. The titles have not been decided.

Eugene Earle is planning on editing a sequel to Jimmie's first TestamentLP sometime in the future.

One of Tarlton's wishes is to record a 45 RPM single with bluegrassaccompaniment. Exciting as it seems, a record of this type will probablynever be made.

3. Further information on the life and works of Jimmie Tarlton:

Cohen, Norm and Anne. "The Legendary Jimmie Tarleton (sic)," SING OUT1,

Vol. 16, No. 4 (August/September, 1966), pp. 16-19. A superb, objectivebiography by two well-known folklorists.

Nobley, Bob. "Bob Nobley Finds Tom Darby and Jimmie Tarlton--1962,"BLUE YODELER, Vol. 1, No. 17 (January, 1968), p. 36. A short piece bythe team's rediscoverer on the search for their whereabouts.

Wickham, Graham. DARBY & TARLTON (Denver, 1967). Copies are availablefrom Doug Jydstrup, Box 772, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55440. Price: $1.50.The definitive biography and discography of the duo. Pays more attentionto the group's records than the Cohen article. A must. 28 pp.

4. Acknowledgements: We of the Campus Folksong Club would like to thank NeilRosenberg of Indiana University, Mark Greenberg of the University of Chicago,and Philip Tedrick for their help in promoting the tour and records; PeteWelding of Testament records for allowing us to produce Jimmie's record; andmost of all, Doug Jydstrup of the BLUE YODELER for his many efforts inadvertising and boosting Jimmie's album and concerts.

GLE 1 N OHRLIN

by

Tom Adler

Though I had, of course, heard Glenn Ohrlin's LP, The Hell-BoundTrain many times, I was uncertain about what to expect at the concert givenby him on March 9 in the Commerce Building auditorium. Since my onlyprevious contact with Glenn had been a night of drinking in Dundas,Minnesota (the rural town's rural town), I knew that the audience was goingto be admirably conversed with--not talked down, or up to.

But I was totally gassed, turned, freaked out and worked over byGlenn and his singing that night.

I have no great memory for song titles. Yet "The Gol-Darned Wheel"will remain with me for a long time. This song particularly seems to showthe old-time working cowboy's resentment of modern "sissified" labor-savinginventions. Somehow Glenn manages to bring the audience right in on thestory he is telling or the song he is singing, and this was to me thegrooviest aspect of his performance.

I find it impossible to totally describe the feeling; I can only saythat when Glenn sang about a cowboy trying desperately to warn his girl ofan impending Indian massacre, I was there, I was the cowboy, and I feltas frustratedly involved as the cowboy must have, knowing there was no wayto reach his girl in time. I don't know how to describe Glenn's abilityto put a song across without sounding like a badly-paid liner-note writer.Glenn sort of makes you a part of his thing, when he does it on stage.

His guitar style throughout was very simple, and I found myselfunconsciously adding the bass runs that any Bluegrass guitarist woulduse. It finally occurred to me that fancy runs would be totally inappro-priate here, and that by not distracting the audience with his guitar,Glenn made us all listen to the words of his songs, which is, after all,where it's at.

I don't really know how to sum up a review like this. I've tried tosay that Glenn Ohrlin was GREAT, and I guess it's because he sincerelylikes his music. Since nobody listens to you if you use the word,"sincere", the only thing to do is make sure everybody gets to hear Glennsing at some time or another. After than you can all decide for yourselves.

RECORD REVIEWS

I. PRISON WORKSONGS, by Sue Wasserman

Any discussion of Prison Worksongs, Folk Lyric A-s, recorded by HarryOster in 1959 at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, must involveseveral questions which arise from the fact that these songs are now dyingout. By 1959, because of improved work and living conditions at Angolaand the association by young inmates of worksongs with slavery, they weresung only by those over forty.

How valuable in trying to recreate the earlier function of worksongsis the necessarily artificial recording situation? Some of the cuts arecredible, others are not. The introduction to "All Teamed Up in Angola'sMule Lot" (side B, 1) consists of running dialogue on mule-catching. Atthe cue, "We're going to walk away," the men begin to sing, not at all outof breath. This artificiality in turn reflects on the preceding dialogue.Does it give an accurate picture of the men's former feeling as they preparedto plow? Or is it a bit of cuteness for Mr. Oster's amusement?

A second problem concerns whether the songs on this album are traditionalto the people singing them. Thrown together only by the accident of havingbeen committed to the same prison, what body of songs did they have incommon on the outside? Were worksongs part of that experience? Or, sinceonly people over forty now sing them, and since some members of the variousrecorded gangs must have been younger, does transmission occur largely insideAngola? The only information given about the singers is that they are allprisoners and presumably all Negro. Probably the lead singers, at least,are older than forty, and all except Odea Matthews are men.

Given the possibly quite diverse backgrounds of the singers, how isit that they sing songs which are remarkably similar in style, text, andfunction? Stylistically, the songs tend to fall into two groups. The firstappears to be one of "traditional" worksongs, sung traditionally. Melo-dically monotonous, with a heavily accented pounding rhythm, these songs areobviously suited to accompany rhythmic heavy labor. There is in all of thema lead singer, backed by from two men to a "gang." Background accompanimentranges from simple humming to harmonizing repetition of a single line,generally the first and/or the last in each stanza, to unison singing on arefrain. There are no instruments played anywhere on the album.

The second group of songs consists of four cuts, two of which--"Five

Long Years for One Man" (A,h) and "Somet>-ing Within Me" (B,6)--are sung byOdea Matthews. "Jesus Cares" sung by Murray Macon (B,7) and "John Henry,"sung by Guitar Welch, Hogman Maxey, and Robert Pete Williams complete thegroup. These four songs are like each other and unlike the rest in thatthere is much less attention to harmony--three are solo and in "John Henry"it is primarily Guitar Welch who is heard; the others merely interject aword occasionally or sing almost inaudibly the last line of the verse.This simpler arrangement may derive from the fact that the songs themselvesare more complex, both melodically and rhythmically. There is a much widerrange of notes used and the rhythm is less obvious. All four of these songsactually seem to show some borrowing from popular music. "John Henry" is

sung to the same tune widely recorded by commercial singers. Odea Matthews'"Five Long Years..." shows blues influence; "Something Within Me" soundslike gospel and has, in common with "Jesus Cares," a religious content.All of the worksongs in the first group are, on the other hand, strictlysecular. None of the second four seem to be necessarily worksongs; rather,they may have been adapted to this use. Could they have been brought intoAngola from the outside while those songs of the first group, no longersung, tend to remain inside the prison environment and are, therefore,less subject to popular influence?

According to Oster, these songs as a group performed three functionsfor the prison inmates: They made labor progress smoothly, they servedas an outlet for frustration and hostility, and they were a means of express-ing desire. In the face of the tremendous difficulties imposed by the systemat Angola, worksongs seem to have been a way of keeping life, as well aswork, progressing. Such questions as tradition and transmission may beuseful in understanding how they became an integral part of the prisonexperience.

II. MOUNTAIN SACRED SONGS: A Sacred Scandal Sheet, by Margaret Tucker.

The record under review is somewhat similar to a newspaper, using songsinstead of news items. Like a newspaper, this album is a chronicle of thelives of people--in this case, the people of the Southern Mountains. It isat times preoccupied with bloodshed and battlefields, it offers advice tosinners and drunkards, and it describes in great detail the plans of thepeople involved.

Mountain Sacred Songs, County 508, is concerned with blood andimmorality, rather than theological abstractions such as transubstantiationor the Holy Trinity. In it religion is "told" in the vernacular of thepeople for whom the record was made in terms comprehensible to them. Unlikeany other disc of spiritual songs I had previously heard, Mountain SacredSongs showed me the humanity of religion and the failing of the peopleinvolved. Instead of saying abstractly: "One must be good to attain theEverlasting Life," this record states quite emphatically: "No DrunkardsCan Enter in There." Those who shirk their religion are reprimanded with"Are You Washed in the Blood of the Lamb?" and those who are presumptuousabout their faith are asked "Are You Sure?"

Some of the numbers on this anthology fall in the category of songs ofinstruction but there are two other types: those with military overtones,those of rejoicing. The songs with military overtones concerned with"fighting for the Lord" include "Called to Foreign Fields" (by Alfred Karnes)and "Ain't Gonna Lay My Armor Down." The rest are songs of rejoicing:"Going Down the Valley," "I Am on my Way to Heaven," "It Won't Be Long Tillmy Grave Is Made," "Don't Grieve After Me."

The style in which the sacred songs are presented is unconventional.Guitar is used, but the tonality is strange. The singers utilize closeharmonization in singing and often the chorus echoes the words of a leader,similar to many of the popular groups today.

The aspect of Mountain Sacred Songs which especially impressed me,was the familiarity of the tunes. It seemed to me that I had heard someof the songs in a different context. "Are You Washed in the Blood of theLamb?" has the same tune as "She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain," whichI first heard in Kindergarten.

I would recommend this album to those people who are not satisfiedwith the knowledge obtained about other American subcultures from newspapers.This record is a chronicle of sould which reveals not only the poetry of anAmerican people, but also their mannerisms, beliefs, and the life they leadin a manner no newspaper could duplicate.

III. IN THE SPIRIT NO. 1, Origin OJL 12, by Mimi Rodin.

In the Spirit No. 1 is the first volume of a two-part survey ofsanctified and country gospel music. Sixteen "vintage recordings" areincluded in the album. Unfortunately, my copy did not contain the explanatorybrochure and I was unable to date the selections. The quality of soundreproduction, however, indicates that they were pressed during the '20'sand '30's.

The most outstanding feature of the LP is its comprehensive representa-tion of the range of folk styles encompassed by a limited folk form. Withtwo exceptions (side 2, band 5 and side 2, band 7), all the performers areNegro, most of them unfamiliar to the reviewer. For purposes of analysisI have subjectively selected four stylistic categories and a final catch-all group. Each category is based upon the vocal and instrumental styleof well-known performers of a given musical genre. For example, "Hill-billy" style is defined as sounding like the Carter Family, or Dock Boggs.

The first category, Hillbilly, is characterized by the comparativelack of blues influence. A pleasant gospel by Duckett and Norwood, "IWant To Go Where Jesus Is," (2,5) is marred by a singularly unattractivevocal. But this is balanced by the spirited rendition of "I Am Bound Forthe Promised Land" by Alfred G. Karnes (2,7).

I have taken two traits to be definitive of the Gospel sound, at leastas it is currently popularized (ex. Clara Ward Singers). They are jazzypiano accompaniment and lively, blues-inflected choral singing. In thisvein is "Take A Stand" by McIntosh and Edwards (1,7). Rev. F. W. McGee leadsan enthusiastic chorus through "He Is The Savior for Me" (2,1), supplementingthe piano with a trumpet. Mideay between Hillbilly and Gospel styles are"When I Take My Vacation in Heaven" by Mother McCollum (2,6) and "The Stormis Passing Over" by Blind Joe Taggart (1,4).

Two "blues" selections form a third category. Skip James sings "JesusIs A Mighty Good Leader" (1,2). The performance by Blind Mamie Forehand of"Honey in the Rock" (2,4) offers an uncanny blend of blues vocal and slideguitar. A tingling sense of impending judgment is added by a triangle. Eachring seems to be the passing of another moment of our limited time on earth.

Halfway between Blues and Gospel styles is a tight performance byBukka White in "I Am in the Heavenly Way" (1,1). Charlie Patton sings"You're Gonna Need Somebody When You Die" (1,3), a version of "You'reGonna Need Somebody on Your Bond." Patton and Lee do a two-, or is itthree-, part rendition of "Oh Death." (1,5)

Jug band music--a fourth form--is genetically related to the blues.This distinctive instrumental style is joined with Gospel-style choralsinging in two selections. Elder Richard Bryant leads a lively femalechorus in "Watch Ye, Therefore, You Know Not the Day" (1,8). In "SinnerI'd Make A Change," The Holy Ghost Sanctified Singers (2,2) embellish alow-key gospel-jug band blena with infectious clapping patterns.

My final category is a catch-all to cover types not touched above.Rev. D. C. Rice is represented by two arrangements. "No Night There" (1,6)is accompanied by an incredibly off-key trio of trumpet, trombone and piano.It begins as a singing sermon and reels into the realm of the vaudevillian."Sure Foundations" (2,3) displays the same touch of showmanship. Singingserman shades to a gusty solo, fortified by a string band instrumental.The LP concludes with an oddly baroque piece, "I Had A Good Mother andFather" (2,8) by Washington Phillips.

The last selection symbolizes the purpose of the album. It is anillustration of the adaptation of a musical form to meet new demands. Theprocess at work here is one of the secularization of sacred music to satisfythe need for a viable religion in a changing social context.

CLUB RECORDS STILL AVAILABLE

All three of the Club records are in print at $4.00 each to the public

and at $3.50 each to Club members. Please remember that these albums

make excellent gifts for relatives and friends. We mail records on request.

CFC 101: PG&MSCFC 201: GREEN FIELDS OF ILLINOIS.CFC 301: HELL-BOUND TRAIN

SEVENTH ANNIVERSARY FOLKSING, MARCH 1, 1968

Once again this year the CFC grooved to a highly sophisitcated,talented, and little known group of people--the singers of folksongs who come from our own area and our own experience. Theevening was variegated. We saw everything from sparkling blue-grass to lilting balladry. There were even some intensely impersonalblues. Rather than trying to give AUTOHARP readers a twang-by-plunk account of the evening, we commissioned Sue Wasserman toreveal the "highlights" of that evening to the Western world. Herpenetrating analysis follows.

T.A.

Brocade-vested Doyle Moore, though not a basic Methodist, entered clutch-Lng a basic Methodist hymnal, and made love, on stage, to the Ten Commandments.'You know how those old folks are when you get them started."

The Friends of Greasy Greens--Neil Rosenberg, Richard Blaustein, and'eter Acevez--played not bluegrass, but "old-timey delta rock," a concoction'based on traditional things--like life." They did it very well, consideringthat their minds were in a zither.

John Rutherford, unaccompanied but "suitably tanked up" on English aleand fish and chips could not under the circumstances perform otherwise that>rilliantly.

Although George Wilson had slight technical difficulty with his balalaida,'If I hadn't started you wouldn't ever have known the difference." Hisgroundhog also had trouble with his (or her) hole.

Lyle and Doris Mayfield, having gone ape over the Carter Family, playedseveral of their favorites and ours on guitalin and guitalin guitar. Theywere impressive.

Next to play was Surie Bangura, the "little frog" with the liquid voicemad seven or eight fingers on each hand.

Suzie Paulauski had more difficulty because, "The trouble about being ayirl banjo player is that none of the boys' banjoes fit on you." But it wasill right because she played "Santa Claus".

Lane Mayfield, displaying more showmanship than any other performer ofbhe evening, stopped singing after he forgot the words during his powerfulrendition of "Here, Rattler, Here."

Ray Perlman followed hard-to-follow Lane--and survived by virtue of hisrull, rich voice.

Tom Adler, R. Buck Sayers, and Snake River Lee came, saw, and conquered,iespite the fact that R. Buck could only play in one key.

Sarah Ben Abraham, as the last performer of the program, provided in theIsraeli songs which she sang unaccompanied and movingly, a happy ending toi complete and satisfying evening.

THE TALKING STUDENT MOVEMENT

If you want your rights, let me tell you what to do,You've got to talk to the students in the class with you.You've got to build you a movement, got to make it strong,And if we all stick together, well it won't be long--You'll have freedom of speech ' Unlimited hours 1Might even learn something I

Now it ain't quite this simple, so I'd better adviseJust why you've got to organize,Cause if you wait for the Dean to treat you rightYou'll be middle aged and out of sight- Graduated! Gone to Vietnam.Westmoreland will be the Dean of Students then'.

Now you know you're pushed around but the Dean says you ain't,And they sneak out at night and cover up your paint.You may be down and out but you ain't beaten--Pass out a leaflet and call a mass meeting--Talk it over; speak your mind;Decide to do something about it.

Of course, Tom Morgan will persuade some stupid foolTo go to your meeting and act like a stool,You can always tell a stool though that's a fact,He's got a yellow streak a-running down his back.He doesn't have to stool. He can always get deferred...By having a baby or going to graduate school.

You've got a Movement now and you're sitting pretty,Put some hard-core types on the executive committee.The Deans won't listen when one guy squawksBut they've got to listen when the Movement talks.They'd better! Get mighty lonesomeIf everybody decided to walk out on them.

Now they're pushing you around and its just not right,

And they won't let you entertain your girl at night.

You go to the Dean and the Dean will shout,That you'd better shape up or he'll ship you out.

While he's bragging to the Trustees and feeling mighty slickBecause he thinks he's got your movement licked.

When he looks out the window, and what does he see

But 10,000 students and they all agreeHe's a bastard I Tool of the Establishment I Unfair I

Bet he bought his dissertation.

And now you come to the hardest time.

Administration will try to break your picket line.

They'll call out the police, the National Guard.

They jug you for spindling an IBM card;

They'll bug your rest-rooms, they'll hit you on the head,

They'll call everyone of you a "God-damned red'."

"Flower children " "Betraying our boys in Vietnam."

But out at Berkeley, here's what they found,

And up at Madison, here's what they found,

And up in Ann Arbor here's what they found,And out in Brooklyn here's what they found;

That if you don't let the cops break you up,

And if they don't let the Deans break you up,

And if you don't let security officers break you up,

And if you don't let the draft board break you up,

You'll win--what I mean...

Is take it easy...but take itI

An anonymous contribution--with apologies to the classic

"Talking Union."

The text and tune of "Talking Union" are found inSONGS OF TDRK AND FREEDOM by Edith Fowke and Joe Glazer(Chicago: Roosevelt University, 1960), pp. 22-24.

The song is recorded by the Almanac Singers onTHE ORIGINAL TALKING UNION (Folkways FH 5285).

WHAT SOURS THE WINE?

by Lyle Mayfield

Lyle Mayfield, a former Daily Illini printer and Illinoisfolksinger now living in Greenville, is known to Autoharpreaders as a performer on the Club's second LP: Green Fieldsof Illinois. Below we present a sketch of "a musical failure"known to Lyle.

The dropout percentage amongst musical students must be as high as thepurity content of a famous soap...99 and hh/100 percent. If it weren't,they would be thicker than fleas on a dirty dog's back. Hardly anyone getsthrough this life without giving thought or effort to mastering some typeof musical instrument.

Perhaps it is just as well, but we can't help but feel a little sadabout the potentially great musicians who are detoured through no faultof their own. Many, many a great talent is wasted because of simplelittle things done inadvertantly or out of momentary spite or jealously.Environment is a tremendous factor in the shaping of musicians...perhapsthe strongest single factor.

No one can say exactly what it is that separates the wheat from thechaff or, makes chaff out of what might have been wheat.

We could name dozens of musicians who have taken long strides withlittle or practically no talent. The longest list is made up, though, ofthose who have been blessed with above average talent and, for one reasonor another, have never developed it. Perhaps in examining the stories ofsome of these people we will help bring future folklorists to a betterunderstanding of the persons they will be dealing with. Before discussingindividual cases let's generalize a little about what early environmentcan do to the future of a musician...what situations and parental actscause a future performer to lean this way or that.

Usually the type of music a parent leans toward will find a soft spotin the heart of the child. The child will not necessarily prefer the sametype of music as the parent, but, if it is presented to the child in aproper manner, he will grow up with a tolerance for it. If the musiccauses a hardship on the family the child may tend to dislike it.

Secondly, the quality of music that a young person is exposed to isimportant in the forming of his or her musical traits. A person exposedto good, rythmic music will develop a good sense of timing and syncopation.The same is true of harmonies. We do not believe you can develop an earfor tones and harmonies unless you hear them. Inherited musical talentmay play a large part in one's ability to play but, not as much as manybelieve.

Third, and this is more important than many realize, is the mentalattitude towards music in general. Parents can do nothing better for afuture musician than to instill in them an honest, sincere approach tomusic. It is an art that comes to the highest pinnacle of excellencewhen performed because one loves and understands it.

With these basic thoughts in mind let us examine the histories of afew potentially great musicians and find out why they never made it overthe hump of success. These stories are the true accounts of musicianswe have known down through the years. For obvious reasons we will useficticious names.

Jimmy was a fiddler. Perhaps it would be nicer to say violinist but,Jimmy wouldn't like that. He had the fingers of a violinist but the mentalattitude Df a fiddler. He would have rather cut off his fingers than playclassical music.

At 13 Jimmy was the surest fingered fiddler in his home county. At 17he was married and a prospective father. At 20 he was a drunk. At 30 hewas a human failure drifting from job to job. He could not even retainownership of a violin. Today he will play only when someone takes awaythe bottle and puts the fiddle there instead.

It would be simple to say that booze ruined Jimmy...that he drankaway his talent. Perhaps liquor had a hand in putting the finishing toucheson Jimmy but that was only a small part of it. His future was ruined beforehe even graduated from primary school.

The son of poor whites that moved out of the Tennessee hills inhard times, he was raised in a home filled with hardship, profanity,crying babies, resentment and country music. His father and brothers allplayed fiddles, guitars, mandolins, banjos...anything with strings on it.He couldn't help being a fiddler. He learned music as most people learnto talk. When he struck bow to strings they did talk. In our years ofassociating with country musicians we have never heard anyone play morefrom their heart and soul.

In Jimmy's case the instrument was a pastime and a tool. A toolused to open doors that would have been better left locked. It openedthe swinging doors to taverns and dance halls where easy money, easyliquor and easy women resided.

Perhaps the single greatest destructive factor in Jimmy's boyhoodenvironment was attitude. His was a home that lived on this philosophy:"Other folks got it. We-uns ain't got nuthin' so, let's take anything wecan git...anyway we can git it."

Jimmy learned to practice this philosophy quickly. When a wellmeaning friend offered an instrument as a gift he accepted. Because of

his talent these gifts were frequent. He gave no thought to care of aninstrument. Why should he...someone was always ready to give him anotherone. A banjo wound up as a window prop. A rainstorm finished it off.A fiddle became a pawn for a bottle of booze. A D28 Martin guitar wasdug out of the trunk of a car he wrecked while on a drunken spree.Someone had given it to him so why should he care if it got scratched andcracked a little. Cornered by inherited poverty and a built-ininferiority complex, Jimmy was painfully aware of the feeling moreaffluent members of the community had for him and his family.

"To them folks we just them hicks out on the ridge," was the way hewould put it. To counteract what he thought was the attitude of "themother folks" he began to carry a bigger and bigger chip on his shoulder.He took his pleasures when and where he could find them.

One night a pretty little filly became enamored with his music andwished to show her appreciation. She had nothing to give except herself.She did.

The result was an unwanted pregnancy and an unwanted marriage. At17 Jimmy was on his own in a hostile world with a pregnant wife to support.Then things really changed. Now he was just another married man. Hehad lost his singular appeal. He had gotten that "innocent little girl"in trouble and society was ready to make him "pay for it." No onebelieved his devil-may-care attitude anymore. Who wanted a 17-year-oldwithout an education and with a bitter, resentful outlook on life.

Resentment bred resentment. Bitterness bred bitterness. Inferioritybred inferiority. One-time friends began to remember those unappreciatedgits. The easy money made playing for tavern dances was no longerforthcoming. Jimmy couldn't stay sober long enough to play. Any jobnow to earn a living...more babies...a quarrelsome wife...fingers roughenedby the type of jobs that fell his lot...booze to ease the pain and blotout the defeat and frustration...The Wine Had Spoiled!

Jimmie Tarlton Brochures Available

In the spring of 1967 the Campus Folksong Club sold a number ofJimmie Tarlton's LP album (Steel Guitar Rag, Testament T 3302) to Clubmembers and friends. At that time the album brochures were not ready.They are now available I We shall be happy to mail single copies of thebrochure to album purchasers who drop us a note:

Campus Folksong ClubRoom 284, Illini UnionUrbana, Illinois 61801

The LP is still available from the Club for $3.50.

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