H I LLINOI S UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN

PRODUCTION NOTE

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library Large-scale Digitization Project, 2007.

Number 23 February ,. 1965

ROBERT PETE WILLIAMS CONCERT APR

The is the topic of the Campus Folksong Club's membership concert to be given on February 12, at 8:00 p.m. in Room 112 Gregory Hall. The concert will feature Robert Pete Williams of . It will be only the second time he has left Louisiana but his fame as the most poingnant and powerful of the primitive bluesmen is nation-wide.

Williams was discovered in 1958 by Dr. Harry Oster, now Professor of English at Iowa State University, while Oster was recording the inmates of Angola State Farm Prison. Robert Pete had been sentenced to life imprisonment in 1954 for killing a man in a bar room brawl. Realizing Williams' greatness as a blues musician, Oster recorded him on three records of his Folk-Lyric label (Angola Prisoners' Blues, Those Prison Blues, Angola Prison ) and sent copies of the records and letters to Louisiana Governor Earl Long and the Parole Board. As a result of these efforts, Robert Pete was released on parole in December 1959, to the state farm at Denham Springs. Here he works up to eighty or ninety hours a week taking care of animals; planting and sowing; washing dishes and cleaning the grounds for $75 a month and room and boar,.

Robert Pete was invited several times to appear at the but the Parole Board refused to let him leave the farm until last year. Newport was one of his first appearances before a white audience and he was most warmly received.

The blues of Robert Pete Williams is deeply personal, his voice strong yet sensitive: his singing shows the spontaneity and conver- sational freedom of the early country blues. His style is complex and contrapuntal; that is, it acts like a second voice filling in where his voice ends and adding color to his shouts and moans. The bass notes are drones and Williams' whole style is only slightly similar to the standard twelve bar blues.

Our Club concert is one of the last in Williams' present tour which has covered several midwest schools, including the University of Folk Festival. sents

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.1 adm I bI m I IonI. P * I 0' ' 1 II~ DOCK BOGGS

On December 9, 1964, the Campus Folksong Club heard a fabulous Southern Appalachian picker and blues singer who had been lost somewhere in that territory for twenty-five years. Thanks to the efforts of , who rediscovered Dock Boggs (or, as Mike says, "No, I discovered him"'), we got to hear a man whose style is very much his own. Dock is an excellent example of the word "style," because his combination of singing and banjo playing differs consider- ably from that of contemporary folk musicians.

Most traditional singers who accompany themselves on the banjo use chords or a rhythmic picking or frailing pattern which provides the background for their songs. Thus, the vocals of Pete Steele, Roscoe Holcomb, or Justus Begley, to mention a few, is very clearly audible over their accompaniment.

Dock, however, uses his banjo to bring out the vocal melody, not by chording a rhythmic background, but by playing the melody itself. His fingers pick out the melodic line, filling in between lines and verses while allowing Dock's voice a lot of freedom in pitch, meter, and style. At first it may seem a very simple thing to play the tune while singing it. However, most banjo players will tell you that this technique requires far better knowledge of the fingerboard, greater digital control, and more precision than the usual types of accompani- ment mentioned above.

Since he learned many of his songs from his brother-in-law Lee Hunsucker, who sang without accompaniment, Dock had to have a banjo style that could back up the tunes, many of which were not harmonically oriented. He remembered hearing a band of Negro musicians, when he was only nine or ten years old; the banjo player had picked out the tune with his thumb and either one or two fingers. This style stuck in Dock's mind so tightly that, when he got a banjo, he learned to play a style based on that sound. Fortunately, this form was rhythmically and harmonically more flexible than any other used traditionally: it fit beautifully with the songs Dock learned from Lee and others.

When Dock does use an occasional chord, it is entirely in keeping with the mode of the tune, for he employs tunings which correspond to the melody of the song he is performing. Two of his seemingly unique tunings are, strings 5-1 respectively, F#CGAD and F#DGAD. His alter- nation between a major third (the F#) and a minor third in both the vocal and banjo parts of songs like "Pretty Polly" and "0 Death" (both in which he performed at the concert) provide a pleasant sense of ambiguity. The audience of his performance completely fell in love with Dock's style, with his unique way of playing and singing.

We enjoyed Dock not only for his music, but for his warm and outgoing personality. He alternated songs with little anecdotes on his life, from the time he was born (1898) until Mike Seeger found him about one and a half years ago in Norton, . Dock started his "career" in 1927, when he made his first recording in for Brunswick. He told us how he had gone to an audition in Virginia, along with many other Southern musicians. When several men surrounded him, Dock felt lost. They would tell him to play a song; then, when he had just gotten into it, they'd say "that's enough, play another." At the end of the interview, Dock had himself a con- tract to record eight songs for the Brunswick Company.

Dock also told us how, in order to get money, he had given his banjo to a young banker friend as security for a loan. Around twenty-five years later, Dock went back to get his instrument. He found the man not only married, but a grandfather of several grand- children. Although no one had touched the banjo, his wife was reluctant to give it up. She said it has been there for so long that it was like part of the family !

Altogether, the Dock Boggs concert was thoroughly enjoyable. Everyone present loved his lively songs and his humorous stories; our only sadness was that it had to end so soon.

I-- Carol Palmer

-X-- N; ** 4-** -I*

University of Illinois students who met Dock Boggs and Mike Seeger in

December during their visit here, will be pleased to know that Boggs' first Folkways cover (FA 2351) was designed by A. Doyle Moore.

Professor Moore is known to his fellow Club members for designing the album covers of the Campus Folksong Club's three LP's. A second volume of Dock Boggs, music, collected and edited by Mike Seeger, will be released by Folkways in the spring. This album cover is also designed by Moore. CFC FINANCIAL STATEMENT: February 1, 1964-February 1, 1965

A. Income

Cash on hand, February 1, 1964 $ 731.59 Income, February 1, 196 5-February 1, 1965 a. Archives (reprint) 6 141.50 b. Membership 805.00 c. Record Production CFC 101 313.08 CFC 201 528.47 CFC 301 906.84 Mixed 101 & 201 144.20 d. Workshop 196.10 e. Vending Machine Fund 50.00 f. Other 168.50 3,253.69 Total $ 3,985.38

B. Expenses Budgeted Actual

Archives $ 150.00 $ 70.81 Autoharp 360.00 236.46 Concert 605.00 483.32 External Affairs 75.00 8.37 Folksing 20.00 7.95 House Management 5.00 0.00 Membership 15.00 3.96 Publicity 95.00 112.65 Radio and Television 5.00 0.00 Record Production 1,035.00 1,116.271 Seminar 265.00 355.432 Social 115.00 98.25 Tape, P.A. & Photo 165.00 196.243 Workshop 5.00 2.40 Elected Officers 45.00 30.61

$2,960.00 $2,722.72

C. Net Cash on Hand $1,262.66

1. $100 to be applied to budget of 1 February 1965-1 February 1966. (5' percent of cost of brochure notes for 1000 copies)

2. $50 income from vending machine fund and $25 income from German Club specifically allocated to defray expenses of two seminars.

3. Major equipment purchase of 151.60 of which $51.60 is to be applied to 1 February 1965-1 Feburary 1966 budget.

W. T. Becker CFC Treasurer SOME NEW RELEASES

Westminster Collectors Series. In Israel Today, Vol. IV. W-9811 (12029)

Recordings of Jewish traditional music in the have tendea to be rather poor. For one thing, Jewish music has already found its way into several well-established American musical forms--the movies, the musical comedy, classical music, Tin-Pan Alley, and jazz--all of which boasted of Jews in the center of their efforts long before Jews were accepted in other areas of American life. As a result, any "purity" in Jewish music was lost as Jewish themes worked into popular music and jazz. Apparently American Jews felt no special need to establish their own music as a recognizable genre, since it had already conquered several other musical forms.

Some American Jews have tried to propagate Jewish music by re-creating, out of a combination of memory and research, the music of their childhood. Tossi Aaron is a good example. But what was missing all the time were the marvelous field recordings which American traditionalists have come to expect as the result of the 1923-1940 series of recordings made in the white and Negro south. Apparently there was no RCA, Columbia, Vocalion, Brunswick or Decca to mine the shtetelach of eastern Europe before the war. And even if there were, what could they have found after 1933 when the ghastly murders of the six million began? All that is lost--or most of it at least.

Deben Bhattacharya has found a remnant of this music in Israel. Working with tape recorder he found refugees from Austria-Hungary, Rumania and the Ukraine who had set themselves up in Israel and begun once again to sing the old music--and new music as well. The result is this well assembled album.

Side one presents some of the older residents of a settlement near Haifa, as well as a band composed of four members of the Haifa police, singing the ancient Chassidic nigunim, the verses of nonsense syllables put together in compliance with the Biblical injunction "Make a joyful noise unto the Lord". In addition, there is a collection of instrumentals, including an East-European wedding dance with 3natches of the hora and other rhythms that stem directly from an earlier and less happy day.

The second side presents music of modern Israel--a music which, paradoxically, is both newer and older than the Yiddish tunes of East Europe. Influence by the ancient Semitic culture of the Near East, the modern Jews have returned to a mode of singing which they lost in 2000 years of wandering. The unes are in Hebrew, not Yiddish, and the rhythms and modes are clearly Middle Eastern, rather than European. My favorite is "Ayil Ayil", a song of a shepherd which is not only a pleasure to hear but a delight to sing. The words are printed on the back of the album in Hebrew and a phonetic transcription in English. Better yet, the lady who leads the town in song repeats the words for the audience slowly before she begins, and the listener can follow easily and soon learn her song. The singer is not identified, but she is magnificent, with a high quivering voice of pure silver. Her second chef d'ouevre is "Rachel", a haunting melody of a young girl, so Oriental in its construction that it could easily be mistaken for a Japanese number. The singer's name should certainly be brought to public attention and the girl herself given an opportunity to go on tour. After the years and years of enduring American coffee-house singers named Cohen trying to find their roots it would be a delight to behold this Sabra and listen to her sing in the harsh, guttural, yet beautiful Hebrew spoken by the natives of Israel today. This recording may be rough on you if you're accustomed to "Jewish" music as sung by Theo Bikel or Geula Gill. There isn't a guitar in the place (substitute ) and the Hebrew is grated and spat out from the hard palate, the underside of the tongue and the uvula. The Yiddish is the yiddish of old men far from home trying to relive their childhood, not the reconstruction of a linguist.

Tradition TLP 1007, Instrumental Music of the Southern Appalachians

The title of this album promises more than the disc eventually delivers. The collection was assembled by Diane Hamilton, Liam Clancy, and Paul Clayton. The actual taping was done nine years ago, so the music does not reveal much that is newly-discovered. Most of the sources have since been recorded more fully and collections of them assembled with more care.

The outstanding performers on the album are Hobart Smith and his and Mrs. Etta Baker playing blues guitar. Hobart's "Cripple Creek" and "John Brown's Dream" are already classics. On this recording the two tunes are done with the best fidelity I have yet heard on any of the discs of Hobart's music issued so far.

On the second side Hobart has recorded two songs which, though not ordinarily used as fiddle tunes, still sound that way when the master is finished with them. They are "Pretty Polly" and the "Drunken Hiccups". I first heard this recording of "Pretty Polly" last summer on the way from Galax, Virginia, to Washington as Vic Lukas and I were speeding along the Skyline Drive about 9:00 p.m. with the moon hanging over the Appalachians. Listen to Hobe swing out on this one and you'll be right back in the hills too.

Mrs. Baker presents a puzzlement when she plays "One Dime Blues", "Goin' Down the Road Feelin' Bad", "Railroad Bill" and "Bully of the Town". I am not familiar with the woman and have no idea whether she is white or Negro, but her guitar style suggests--suggests, hell, it is, Negro, and like all the other numbers on the record, it is rendered with unusually good fidelity for a field recording. If Mrs. Baker is white, and her mountain residence suggests it, she has mad a most remarkable achievement in hurdling two segregation barriers, for she is playing an instrument which is not only associated chiefly with Negroes, but with male Negroes. Her work should be an important lesson in the aspiring Bluesman's handbook.

The rest of the record, unfortunately, is wholly out of balance with these two virtuosi. Mrs. Ed Presnell's dulcimer numbers are not especially inspiring, and I suggest that anyone who is intrigued by this instrument consult Bill Becker, a Club member who has been building and playing these instruments for a number of years. Mr. Lacey Phillips and his 5-string banjo are not up to the standard we are accustom- ed to hearing even on other field recordings, nor are the efforts of Richard Chase on the harmonica or Boone Reid on the banjo any more satisfying.

To a diehard fiddle fan like the author, of course, the record's four numbers featuring Hobart Smith on the fiddle are worth the price of admission, while blues fans will readily part with the price of admission just to hear Etta Baker. If you're new to the business, however, and want to make sure that you spend your money a little more productively, I suggest holding out for a disc more solidly packed with first-rate artists doing some of their classical numbers. In coming months I hope to audition a few more of these with the specific goal of helping the newer and less experienced listener select tasteful, enjoyable albums of music which will give him the most for his undergraduate dollar.

--F.K. Plous, Jr. LP'S IN CAMPUS FOLKSONG CLUB ARCHIVES (February 1, 1965)

Note: These discs can be borrowed from the Club Archives Committee Chairman before or after regular Club Executive Committee meetings.

Individual singers or groups

Armstrong, George and Gerry. Simple Gifts, Folkways 2355.

Bauer, Alfons and His Hofbrau Entertainers. More German Beer-Drinking Music, Capital 10297.

Blue Sky Boys. Blue Sky Boys, Camden 797.

Boggs, Dock. Dock Boggs, Folkways 2351.

Cravens, Red and the Bray Brothers. Blue Grass Gentlemen, Liberty 3214.

Dixon, Dorsey. Babies in the Mill, Testament 3301.

Driftwood, Jimmie. Battle of , Victor 1635. Songs of Billy Yank and Johnny Reb, Victor 2316. Tall Tales in Song, Victor 2228. Westward Movement, Victor 2171. Wilderness Road and Jimmie Driftwood, Victor 1994.

Elliott, Jack. Ramblin' Cowboy, Monitor 379.

Ennis, Seamus. Bonnie Bunch of Roses, Tradition 1013.

Estes, John. -Legend of Sleepy John Estes, Delmark 603.

Flatt, Lester and Earl Scruggs. Fabulous Sound of Flatt & Scruggs, Columbia 2255. Songs of the Famous Carter Family, Columbia 1664.

Glazer, Joe. Songs of Work and Freedom, Washington 460.

Jackson, Bill. Long Steel Rail, Testament 201.

Jones, Curtis. Lonesome Bedroom Blues, Delmark 605. Trouble Blues, Prestige 1022.

Lloyd, A. L. Street Songs of England, Washington 737.

Macon, Uncle Dave. Uncle Dave Macon, RBF 51.

New Lost City Ramblers. New Lost City Ramblers: Volume 1, Folkways 2396. New Lost City Ramblers: Volume 2, Folkways 2397. New Lost City Ramblers: Volume 3, Folkways 2398. New Lost City Ramblers: Volume 4, Folkways 2399. Old Timey Songs for Children, Folkways 7064 (10") Songs from the Depression, Folkways 5264. Ohrlin, Glenn. Hell-Bound Train, Campus Folksong Club, 301.

Philo Glee and Society. PG&MS, Campus Folksong Club 101.

Proffitt, Frank. Frank Proffitt, Folk-Legacy 1.

Redpath, Jean. Scottish Ballad Book, Electra 21]4. Skipping Barefoot through the Heather, Prestige 13041. Songs of Love,. Lilt, Laughter, Electra 224.

Seeger, Peggy. Best of Peggy Seeger, Prestige 13005.

Smith, Hobart. Hobart Smith, Folk-Legacy 17.

Stekert, Ellen. Songs of a New York Lumberjack, Folkways 2354.

Stoneman, Ernest. Ernest V. Stoneman and the Stoneman Family, Starday 200.

Tanner, Gid and His Skillet Lickers. Old Familiar Tunes, Folksong Society of Minnesota 15001.

Watson, Doc and others. Watson Family, Folkways 2366.

West, Hedy. Hedy West, Vanguard 9124.

Williams, Big Joe. Blues on the Highway, Delmark 604. Piney Woods Blues, Delmark 602.

Williams, Robert Pete and others. Prison Worksongs, Folk Legacy 5.

Various singers or Anthologies

Anthology of American . Volume 1: Ballads, Folkways 2951. Volume 2: Social Music, Folkways 2952. Volume 3: Songs, Folkways 2953. (Each volume contains t'o 12" LP records)

Fabulous Beverly Hill Billies, Rar Arts 1000.

Greenfields of Illinois, Campus Folksong Club, 201.

Mountain Ballads, County 502.

Mountain Fiddle Music, County 501.

Old-Time Southern Dance Music, Old Timey 100.

Ontario Ballads and Folksongs, Prestige 25014.

Sampler of Louisiana Folksongs, Folk-Lyric 1. BOOKS AND RECORDS

that you should know... Preston Martin

FLASH I OLD 78's REISSUED ON TWO RECENT LP's

Just as the icy grip of midwestern winter had started southwestern blood to crystallize in my veins and my spirit to drop downward, two white hot albums came into possession which thawed me out to the extent that I felt able to write this review.

In the last "Books and Records" article (Autoharp, No. 21, October 7, 1964) I stated that big record companies have been reluctant to reissue their old 78 rpm's and that private individuals have pressed pirated LP's of such trad- itional music. Late in 196 4 both groups responded with a fine effort in the production of two new folkmusic reissues. On the one hand, an individual working "underground" has come up with Mountain Ballads (County 502). See Autoharp, No. 21, for a review of Mountain Fiddle Music (County 501). Using a limited budget, excellent taste, and a very good private record collection, our friend has again made a very important and enjoyable contribution in this area. County records are handicapped by distribution problems, and the productions by this "firm" can only be rationalized on the basis of love for old music. Now, on the other hand, the second reissue is of the highest professional quality and tech- nical production. This album, Smokey Mountain Ballads (Victor LPV 507), features some of the best known artists that had recorded for Victor during the 20's and 30's. The current LP is actually a new (and extended) reissue of a 19h1 78 rpm album reissue that went out of print during World War II. I would like to con- gratulate Brad McCuen of Victor for his efforts in the production of this excellent album. In fact, I want to congratulate both groups--County and Victor--for their complementary efforts.

With the introduction over and congratulations finished lets get down to content, comment, and criticism.

MOUNTAIN BALLADS (County 502)

Side 1. 1. "Dark Holler Blues," voice and banjo. This song is a beautiful version of "East Virginia."

2. "Henry Clay Beattie," Kelly Harrell with fiddle, banjo, and guitar. An obscure ballad unknown in standard folksong collections is made available here.

3. "John Henry," Uncle Dave Macon, voice and banjo; Sam McGee, guitar. Uncle Dave was one of the earliest and most popular performers on the Grand Ole Opry and an entire LP of his records was reissued (RBF $1) several years ago. RBF albums are handled by Folkways, 121 West 47th Street, New York, N.Y., 10036. h. "Sweet Sunny South," Piedmont Log Rollers; Red Patterson with fiddle, banjo, and guitar acc. Patterson's vocal style is interesting in its similarity to that used by Vernon Dalhart on earlier recordings: i.e., a sort of formal southern style. Also it sounds as if a h-string banjo strummed with a pick is used here which is rather rare in mountain music.

5. "Wreck of the Virginian," Blind Alfred Reed, vocal and fiddle. The style is primitive with a fiddle backing the vocal. The songs theme is very similar to "Billy Richardson's Last Ride" as sung by Cecil Goodwin on Greenfields of Illinois (CFC 201).

6. "Sunny Tennessee," Floyd County Ramblers. I feel that this is one of the best pieces on the album. I am very partial to two part singing and this number knocked me out of my chair when I first heard it. I am curious to learn more about the group.

Side 2. 1. "I've Always Been a Rambler," G. B. Grayson and Henry Whitter. One of the earliest recordings of a still very popular folksong is heard here by two pioneer artists from southwestern Virginia.

2. "The Fate of Ellen Smith," Green Bailey guitar with fiddle acc. This is a well-known American murder ballad.

3. "Wreck on the Mountain Road," The Red Fox Chasers. Here is a very good with a somewhat unusual singing style in that their two part singing is comprised of lead and bass rather than the more common lead and tenor voices.

h. "Six Months Ain't Long," John Foster, voice and guitar; Leonard Rutherford tenor voice and fiddle. This is a popular jail complaint.

5. "Darling Cora," B. F. Shelton, voice and banjo. Here is a very early recording of one of the best known moonshine folksongs of today. The voice and banjo played in the double thumbing style were blended very well by Shelton.

6. "George Collins," Ramblers. Another good example of one of the best of the early string bands. Here again, one can hear lead and bass as the vocal combination.

The fact that most of County 502 album is made up of true ballads and that a few of the items are lyric folksongs is minor. The single bad feature of the LP is a complete lack of notes, but the choice of content far outweighs this deficit. One of the difficulties in writing notes on this type of reissue is the lack of information on so many of the artists. Many are dead and facts are hard to obtain. Yet the very difficulty in gathering data should underscore the need to bring the story of these obscure artists to the surface. One important by-product of "pirate" reissues is to stimulate further research. The real importance of Mountain Ballads is the choice of pre-1930 material which for the most part is performed by relatively unknown groups and artists. I offer a challenge to Columbia and Victor to gamble on the production of a similar type LP. My point will be clarified as the contents of LPV-507 are examined. SMOKEY MOUNTAIN BALLADS (Victor LPV-507)

Side 1. 1. "Cumberland Mountain Deer Race," Uncle Dave Macon, recorded 1938. (This is also on RBF-51.)

2. "Riding on That Train Forty-Five," Wade Mainer, Zeke Morris, and Steve Ledford, recorded 1937. The guitar and fiddle playing on this selection is very good. This song is also commonly known as "900 Miles From Home."

3. "Down with the Old Canoe," Dixon Brothers, recorded 1938. Dorsey and Howard Dixon playing guitar and hawaiian guitar respectively. For a complete rundown on the Dixon Brothers see Autoharp, No. 22, November 21, in which Archie Green's excellent liner notes for Babies in the Mill (Testament T3301) are reprinted.

4. "Chittlin' Cookin' Time in Cheatham County," Arthur Smith Trio, recorded 1936. This is the first reissue of Fiddlin' Arthur Smith playing in his blues style. The tune used here is the ever popular "Saint James Infirmary."

5. "Where is My Sailor Boy?," The Monroe Brothers, recorded in 1936. Here is a fine example of Bill's and Charlie's driving mandolin and guitar instrumental style. The vocal style is rather unusual in that Bill's tenor harmony often merges and becomes unison with Charlie's lead singing.

6. "Worried Man Blues," The Carter Family, recorded 1930. The first Carter Family LP reissue (Harmony HL 7280) included an "ARC"--American Record Company-- version of the song which can be compared to this "RCA" version. (In recent years, four other LP albums of the Carter Family have been reissued, so the group is well documented.)

7. "On a Cold Winter's Night," J. E. Mainer's Mountaineers, recorded 1936. The Mountaineers were a well-known string band and they are still in existance today, although much of the personnel has changed.

8. "On Tanner's Farm," Gid Tanner, fiddle and Riley Puckett, guitar, recorded 1934. This is a good song to pick up some pointers on Puckett's interesting guitar style.

Side 2. 1. "Darling Corey," Monroe Brothers, recorded 1936. A fine contrast to Shelton's earlier version found on County 501.

2. "I1m Bound to Ride," Arthur Smith Trio, recorded in 1937. On this number Smith lays down the fiddle and uses the banjo in a very fine demonstration of his musical virtuosity.

3. "Intoxicated Rat," Dixon Brothers, recorded 1936. This is one of the best songs on the album. The Hawaiian guitar backs up the lead voice on the verse and the two part singing on the refrain is really fine. The tune here is the one used on the humorous ballad "Six Nights Drunk" or "My Good Man."

4. "Railroadin' and Gamblin'," Uncle Dave Macon, recorded 1938.

5. "The East Virginia Blues," Carter Family, recorded 1934. This song is frequently called "Born in East Virginia" and can be compared to Clarence Ashley's version on County 502. 6. "Ida Red," Gid Tanner and His Skillet Lickers, recorded 1934. This is a good example of the well-known string band.

7. "Down in the Willow," Wade Mainer and Zeke Miorris, recorded 1937. Some one needs to do a history-discography on the Mainer's and all the different groups in which they appeared.

8. "There's More Pretty Girls Than One," Arthur Smith Trio, recorded 1936. The Trio performs this syric piece in a very unusual blues style.

As one can see, the Victor album does not contain many ballads either; however, like County 502 it does include many fine songs. The chief importance of LPV-507 is in the reissue of Mainer, Morris, Arthur Smith, and the Dixon Brothers. Smokey Mountain Ballads is graced with a fine set of liner notes by Ed Kahn, one of the best young folklorist in the USA. I only wish there had been more room for Ed's writing. Most of this reissue's material comes from the mid-30's and no single song was recorded before 1930; a tendency that I suspect will continue for some time. For the present it is important that the 30's be documented; however, it is also necessary to work back to the 20's. Apparently this task is for the moment left up to anonymous groups or individuals.

The Victor Album can be obtained from any record dealer. County 502 is available from Jont Allen, 708A South Sixth Street, Champaign, Illinois.

ANNOUNCEMENT

D.K. Wilgus to Lecture at UI: April 1, 1965

Plans are now being made by the Hunanities Division to invite Professor D. K. Wilgus of the UCLA Folklore and Mythology Center to our campus for a lecture on April 1, 1965. He will be the fourth distinguished folk- lorist to visit UI as a Humanities guest since the organization of the Campus Folksong Club.

Please save the date l The next issue of Autoharp will give specific details of Dr. Wilgus' visit.

ORHLIN AT ROCK•ORD COLLEGE

Glenn Ohrlin arrived on Tuesday afternoon, December 15, at Rockford, Illinois, in an old car that had lost its heater on the first bump of its journey from Mountain View, Arkansas. Glenn, cold and shaking, made a bee- line for the Student Union, where he got a couple of cups of coffee and warmed up before he gave an informal concert to a group of students at Wassail Hour.

Wassail Hour is the time when the students get together to talk among them- selves over a glass of Wassail, or Christmas punch. Glenn was taken in tow by several students and handed a glass of punch. After taking a gulp, he screwed up his face, and quietly commented that it tasted like "the stuff they used to give us kids when we got sick."

Glenn was warmly received and more at ease in the casual atmosphere that the Wassail Hour provided than any other time during his stay at Rockford. After talking to a few students, he sang a few songs, told a few tales, and generally made himself at home.

Unfortunately, due to a lack of publicity, the College as a whole, was not made aware of Glenn's visit. This was caused by confusion on the part of the student publicity committee and the Rockford Collegian. The photographs and information which the UI Campus Folksong Club had sent to our school were lost, and news of his visit was announced only by a few stray posters and word of mouth.

After the Wassail Hour, Glenn was hustled off to dinner in the Student Union dining room where he was given a sampling of college food. Glenn ended up with a full table of students who eagerly asked him questions about rodeo life. They lingered for a couple of hours while Glenn drew diagrams of bucking horses and most of the apparatus used in rodeos.

Later that night, Glenn appeared on WRCR, the college radio station. He was interviewed, he sang, and some songs from his record, The Hell-Bound Train, were played.

The next morning, Glenn gave a formal concert at 10 a.m. for Student Convocation. At first, he seemed terribly nervous and he was just beginning to unwind when the concert ended. Unfortunately, the concert lasted for only an hour. Apparently, such a short concert was a great disadvantage to him.

Glenn's music most enthusiastically received by the students was flamenco, even though they felt that this was "uncharacteristic" of him. Glenn's personality, itself, had the greatest amount of appeal to his audience. His appearance, his stories, and his music all revealed his eary-going nature. He was the first traditional folk-singer to appear at our college. Both the student body and the faculty at Rockford found Glenn to be a refreshing and welcome change for the campus.

--Christina Kaiser Sophomore at Rockford College Stuart A. Ware of Gladesville, New South Wales, Australia, holds the dubious distinction of being Autoharp's most distant reader. He read of our journal and sent us a letter last summer asking for back copies. This Christmas he send the editor an Australian Christmas card manufactured by the Sands Company and labelled as part of the organization's "Ballad Series". On the cover of the card is a painting of some Austra- lian cowboys (what they actually call their "cowboys" we have no idea), and inside the card is the following ballad, written, according to the heading, by A.B. "Banjo" Paterson. The composition is entitled "The Man from Snowy River". Begging Mr. Ware's indulgence, we are reprinting this example of Antipodean balladry for the benefit of our domestic readers who, strangely enough, have been exposed to Australian lore only once in the four-year existence of the Club, i.e., last year, when A. L. Lloyd gave a concert in Urbana.

"THE MAN FROM SNOWY RIVER"

There was movement at the station, for the word has passed around That the colt from old Regret had got away, And had joined the wild bush horses--he was worth a thousand pound, So all the cracks had gathered to the fray. All the tried and noted riders from the stations near and far Had mustered at the homestead overnight, For the bushmen love hard riding where the wild brush horses are, And the stock-horse snuffs the battle with delight.

He was right among the horses as they climbed the farther hill, And the watchers on the mountain, standing mute, Saw him ply the stockwhip fiercely; he was right among them still As he raced across the clearing in pursuit.

And he ran them single-handed till their sides were white with foam; He followed like a bloodhound on their track, Till they halted, cowed and beaten; then he turned their heads for home, And alone and unassisted brought them back. But his hardy mountain pony he could scarcely raise a trot, He was blood from him to shoulder from the spur; But his pluck was still undaunted, and his courage fiery hot, For never yet was mountain horse a cur.

GENERAL BUSINESS MEETING of the

CAMPUS FOLKSONG CLUB is called for

WEDNESDAY -- FEBRUARY 17, 1965 at 8:00 p.m., in

ROOM 267 ILLINI UNION

Officers will be elected. A VISIT TO OSCAR SCHMIDT INTERNATIONAL

Fortunes of all sorts can befall club members and thus far all of mine have been good ones. I sometimes muse that all of us shall someday be sued for something or other, and the gargantuan structure of the Campus Folksong Club will collapse as fast as a salad oil house build on somebody's salad. Meanwhile, the friendly people I meet and the instruction in folk music the Club provides keep me effervescently optimistic that the Club will last for a hundred years. After that long a time, there will be scholars investigating old CFC members because they were folk music revivalists, and the musicians themselves will be left alone to enjoy their music in local company.

One of my recent good fortunes was a visit to Oscar Schmidt International in Jersey City, New Jersey, where Autoharps are made. Archie Green was about to send 200 reprints of Doyle Moore's article on autoharp history to an important gentleman at the factory, Mr. Glen R. Peterson. I happened to mention my wanting to visit the factory, and Archie encouraged me to take the reprints to Mr. Peterson in person. As it happened, I took along three bewitching females, in order to insure a long visit--my wife, Judi, my sister, Delia, and my sister-in-law, Betty. They did fine, because Mr. Peterson humored and entertained us for nearly two hours, despite the fact that we arrived late in the day, long after the proper tea time.

Mr. Peterson gladly served us, however, a complete factory tour. One room adjacent to his office contains the treasures of Autoharp history--aging auto- harps of various shapes and sizes, some with sliding chord bars, some with strings partially arranged in chords as on zithers, and some not really Autoharps at all having strings arranged in different directions. There was even a miniature harpsichord, modified into a relative of the Autoharp by the addition of chord bars. One instrument had some strings arranged for plucking or brushing with the fingers, and other strings arranged for playing singly with a bow. Another was a hybrid mandolin-guitar which Mr. Peterson called a ukelin. I suggested he find out from Lyle Mayfield how to make a guitalin.

We climbed worn stairs to the top floor of the factory; there were no lamps on the stairs so only the mukiness of a winter's early evening illuminated our way. (A fuse had blown. They do have lights 1) In a large room on the top floor, the wooden body of the Autoharp is worked into the final form. The moulding is glued onto the body, holes for the pins are drilled, and the body is spray painted, sanded, painted, and lacquered. Small bridge pin holes are stamped, all of the various pins inserted, and the instrument is strung. Finally, the chord bars are mounted, and with startling force the three stubby legs are pounded into the bottom. The completed Autoharps are then packaged. We saw at least several hundred Autoharps in progress in this one room.

We ventured to the basement to see how the body itself is made. One of the more curious machines was in use there, an old sanding wheel over five feet in diameter, turned by a belt drive angling from the ceiling. The raw wood is cut, and glued to form the body, and then pressed for 12 hours. The sanding wheel is used to smooth all surfaces before the body is sent upstairs. The strength of the body is severely tested by the presses long before the strings are put on--we saw the remains of unfinished Autoharps which occasionally snarl and crack under the stress. Autoharps never die, they just break up.

Throughout the factory, there were evidences of the new instrument which Oscar Schmidt International is now producing. It is called the Guitaro. It has chord bars, similar to the Autoharp, but it has 24 rather than 36 strings, and its shape and the positioning of the chord bars make it playable in guitar position. The ingenious name was created by Mr. Peterson after much sweat, but the credit for the instrument itself goes to Henry Ruckner, at the factory, who said it was "Something I dreamed up." Apparently he dreamed it up and then laid it down on the shelf, because for a long time no one knew about it. Mr. Peterson, newly appointed to run the company, saw it collecting dust and asked "What's this?" Mr. Ruckner's answer may soon earn the company a fortune.

The Appalachian, the Autoharp with stained finish and a spruce top, is also seen around the factory. The first one of this improved line of Autoharps, former- ly owned by Mike Seeger, sits in Mr. Peterson's office. He said that its pro- duction was in upheavel for months by events around the world, namely, the Alaskan earthquake. It cut off the spruce supply. The action of the chord bars and the tone in the Appalachian are better than in the regular Autoharp, but even the regular one has been improved.

In fact, since Mr. Peterson took over management of the company, there have been many improvements, and an abundance of creative ideas. He was hiding in , listening to the pickers there, and involving himself in politics, city management, and newspaper publishing until two years ago. As the grandson of Oscar Schmidt, he was destined for his present position.

Mr. Peterson makes entertaining reference to the last two years, saying that "Business has been frantic since then." He showed us experimentation in progress on different finishes and woods, and after deciding that we would not tell any die-hard traditionalists, even showed us a battery-powered portable amplified Guitaro. I am sure he has his greatest fun playing on that one. He doesn't play Autoharps very much, noting that his wife plays, and excusing himself by saying he might learn to play with one style and then find it hard to invent improvements ufor uuhose using a diLfereniu suyle. iere is w.isdomuin his±11reimairk, ecause evey- one plays the Autoharp differently. He and some collaborators are putting to- gether a "last-word" book on different playing styles, and naturally he was some- what exasperated when both Judi and I played for him using styles not in the book. When newcomers to the Autoharp ask me how to play it, I tell them to fiddle awhile (fortunately, no one has yet taken my reply literally), and develop a style suited to themselves. While watching them experiment I always discover a new way of playing.

After the tour, Mr. Peterson chatted with us about the history of the com- pany. Oscar Schmidt was an immigrant German bookbinder. He went into the pub- lishing business in this country. This evolved into music publishing, music schools, and finally in the Twenties into one of the biggest instrument manu- facturers in the nation. The present factory was built in 1928, but its dilapidat- ed exterior makes it appear of 1828 vintage. However, there is no doubt that the rambunctious and sound business sense of Mr. Peterson and his aides will be res- ponsible for an eventual expansion into a new factory. Already, time-saving equipment is increasing production rates, and the Autoharps are better.

As we were leaving, we asked if the company would make custom Autoharps. The reply was "My friend, it can create some hellish problems." Apparently there is enough difficulty in satisfying consumer demands and retail store complaints. At least Sears Roebuck & Co. is happy.

Mr. Peterson hopes to make everyone happy. I remember the Peanuts cartoon in 's banjo book--perhaps it could be changed to say that everyone should be issued an Autoharp at birth. They are easier to play than . In my own defense I must add that trying to pick the Autoharp's strings singly with five fingers is devilishly difficult. I dare you to try.

-- John C. Munday, Jr.

In Memorial...

HOBART SMITH 1897-1965

On January 11 America lost perhaps her finest traditional musician. Hobart Smith, after a long illness, died in his native hills of Virginia, his home state and the source of most of his music.

It seems hardly possible to mention death and Hobart Smith together. His life was lived with such intensity and earnestness that it seemed a hundred men might have lived a hundred lives on the energy that Hobart alone harbored in his body and his soul.

When he picked up his fiddle whole armies of listeners were swept emotionally back to his native Appalachia. His banjo rang with the life of the hills--with their dances, parties, corn-shuckin's, their mad lovers, wild-eyed devotees of corn whisky and demon murderers. Even when he picked up his guitar and sang Blind Lemon Jefferson's "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean" he suggested life more than death. There was simply too much energy and life in Hobart; morbidity had no place in his work.

Now his own death is a fact, but, unlike some deaths, his passing leaves us richer musically and historically, for Hobart was a man who was recognized in his own time for what he was--a great natural American talent, as natural and pro- ductive as the American soil itself, and, like the products of our soil, his music and lore had been harvested and made available to all.

In cold-water walkups where students gather and in the marble halls of the , Hobart Smith is alive on discs and tapes. Hobart attracted folklorists and students not only because of his great store of music, but because of his personal warmth. People liked him, and because of the enjoyment they derived from being in his presence, the marvelous products of his artistry are known throughout the country. There is hardly a serious folksong fan in the country who does not own at least one recording of Hobart's fiddling, or banjo-picking, or guitar or singing. He attracted people because he sincerely enjoyed entertaining them with music, so they recorded him in great quantities.

Hobart lived his life through his music. By the time he was l1 years old it was so thoroughly a part of him that he could not even be considered apart from his music. But it works the other way around too. In playing his music, we make Hobart live again. The songs he made famous now bear his stamp, and will never be played or sung without his name being mentioned.

The Campus Folksong Club has lost a personal friend in Hobart Smith; his concert here in 1963 was one of our finest. Certainly, his wit and warmth en- livened our members as few performers ever do. But our members, like their friends across the country, will continue to remember Hobart Smith in the way he would have liked best--by playing his records and tapes, and, finally, making his music their own. From the Mayfields...

A LETTER TO THE CAMPUS FOLKSONG CLUB

It is fast approaching a year now since we left the friendly environs of Champaign and the University. We've kept pretty good contact with our friends in the CFC via tapes, letters and visits, but some of you may have been wondering how and what we are doing down here in Bond County.

To answer the "how"...GOOD

To answer the "what"...Well, that will take a little more space.

Some things have changed since we left Bond County in 1951, but, for the most part, the community is pretty much the same now as it was then. The biggest difference is the crop of new, young faces. It shakes you when a pert, little teen-ager comes up and says, "Mr. Mayfield, my daddy says he went to school with you 'way back in 19h8." The next thing you know you're in front of the mirror looking to see just how many grey hairs there are above your ears.

One of the remaining remnants of the "good old days" is the cemetery picnic. They're still going strong through the summer months. Doris and I are very grate- ful that we were asked to entertain at several of these affairs last summer. We are anxiously looking forward to the coming season.

The cemetery picnic is probably the most traditional form of summertime entertainment in Bond County. Each little rural cemetery association has its own annual picnic and from June 1 until September 1 of each year there is one being held somewhere in the county nearly every Saturday night.

Of course, the old-fashioned box socials are gone. They were a victim of school consolidation. Many of the old, country school buildings have been bought up by local groups and converted into community clubhouses. These community club groups meet once a month for a potluck lunch and gabfest. They usually have some form of local entertainment at these gatherings. Doris and I have "picked and grinned" at a couple. This, in turn, has led us to the uncovering of some talented traditional musicians and singers.

Speaking of traditional musicians...we have been doing some collecting here in Bond County. What we have discovered has amazed even us...and we were "raised up" here. So far we've put some 20 hours of ballad singers, fiddlers, story tellers and water witches on tape. The unrecorded list is endless. Each person we talk to gives us the names of several more. The only problem is convincing each in- dividual that his, or her, material is worthy of taping. They have a stock answer..."You oughta get uncle Joe to since it for you. He's better'n I am."

We have slightly forsaken our guitalin building since coming home. However, our instrument collecting has been increasing. The Mayfield collection has been enhanced by some six or seven new pieces. Our eldest son, David, who has suddenly come into his own musically, has purchased a used, Martin, gut-string guitar. From a nearby antique shop we have added a hand-build mandolin, a very old, gut- string guitar and an unusual instrument called a mandolin-guitar-harp. There are a few other odds and ends including and . Our life in Greenville has been brightened considerably by visits from old and new friends. Among those who have visited us from "up north" are the Paul Davises, of Danville; Judy and Leon McCulloh, of Bloomington, Indiana; the Preston Martins, of Urbana; the Ron Whislers, of Danville; LuAnne, Debbie and David Green of Urbana. Scarcely a week goes by that someone doesn't drop in to stretch a few strings and bust a few picks with us.

A number of young people from the college here in Greenville have shown interest in traditional music. We've had some good sessions with them. We've even gone so far as to organize a jug band. We call it the "Stump Jumper". Our only problem has been finding someone to play jug. Our instrumentation consists of a wash tub bass, a washboard, a banjo, several guitars, a guitalin or two, slide whistle and harmonica.

This winter we've been sitting in part time with a square dance band. They still do the old-fashioned type of square dance around this part of the country. Some of the young folks have "taken up" with the new, modern-western dances but, they haven't completely rooted out the old-style dances...yet.

One of the many benefits that come from living in Bond County is frequent visits with our beloved, old friend, Stella Elam. Our walls have vibrated several times to the strains of "Billy in the Low Ground" and "Soldier's Joy". It doesn't seem possible but I swear she gets better all the time.

One of the finest things that has happened to us in a long time took place a few weeks ago. A good friend brought about the reunion of the entire musical group that called itself "The Bond County Boys" 'way back thar' in 19h8. This was the first band we worked with after our discharge from the U.S. Navy in 19h8. Not since 1951 had the entire group been together at one sitting. Despite the layers of nostalgia that blanketed the room, the rust on the fingers and the good-natured kidding about the extra pounds added here and there, the music sounded pretty good.

1965 is the sesquicentennial year of the city of Greenville. Of course the community is planning a big celebration in honor of its 150th year. We're hoping this will make the local folk more tradition-conscious and that we might reap some of the benefits via tape recordings. If the crop of traditional singers and pickers gets any thicker down here, though, we will have to borrow about five or six members of the CFC and their tape recorders to help us get it all down. If the Club ever decides to produce thirty or forty new albums of traditional southern Illinois music similar to "Green Fields", we could supply the talent from right here in Bond County. We met singers ranging in age from 5 to 80.

If, from this letter, you have deduced that our life in Bond County is a busy one, you're right. So busy, in fact, that we have to finish off this letter and prepare for the next batch of folksingers that are due to arrive in about ten minutes.

If you're ever in the vicinity of Greenville, Illinois, and hear the sound of a guitar, guitalin, mandolin, banjo, bass fiddle, harmonica, washboard, slide whistle, fiddle, autoharp, or organ, head yourself in our direction and come on in. It will be us'ns and our friends stirring up a batch of music.

Y'all come now, hear! (but not all at once)

Lyle, Doris, David, Lynda and Layne

ETHNOMUSICOLOGY REVIEWS TWO CLUB DISCS

Below we reprint a review of The Hell-Bound Train (CFC 301) and Green Fields of Illinois (CFC 201) by Professor Ellen Stekert--Wayne State University--in the current issue of Ethnomusicology, January, 1965, Volume 9, pp. 79-80.

Club members will find this journal (issued by the Society of Ethnomusicology) a most useful tool in study and self-education. Copies on campus are found in the School of Music Library: Smith Music Hall.

At a time when folksong recordings burst from the covers of the Schwann Catalogue, it is comforting to both scholars and discerning admirers of that another honestand well-documented series of records has found its way into the sparse ranks of such pressings. In the Green Fields of Illinois and The Hell-Bound Train, the University of Illinois Campus Folksong Club has presented the public with two records of out- standing quality. Under the energetic and knowledgeable leadership of folklorists Archie Green and Judith McCulloh, the University of Illinois club has filled two gaps in the documentation of American folk music: they have given us a field recording of traditional talent from Illinois, and the recorded performance of rodeo rider and cowboy.

The Green Fields of Illinois is essentially a sampling of traditional singers and instrumentalists, most of whom have lived in Illinois all their lives. This recording, which is the culmination of dedicated field work by the University of Illinois Club members, has finally made it possible for at least one aspect of Illinois tradition to be heard on LP recording. The twenty-three selections on this recording range from religious and sentimental songs to instrumental numbers. Almost all the vocal numbers date from the late nineteenth century, if not later, and can generally be classified as "hillbilly."

The Ohrlin record, while just as important as the Green Fields of Illinois recording, is a bit more difficult to define, and therefore probably more interesting as a document of American folksong. Glenn Ohrlin is not the stereotype cowboy straight from the golden age which followed the Civil War. He is a modern man who has worked part-time at the traditional and tedious jobs of the cowboy, and part-time for the more glorified rodeos. His record, pressed from tapes of per- formances in small concerts, reflects his relaxed manner and easy communication with the audience. His repertoire extends from the traditional cowboy songs (e.g. "Trail to Mexico"), to flamenco instrumentals, to songs he composed about his own experiences: there is a parody on "Ghost Riders in the Sky" and a talking blues about city coffee houses, the latter with some rather keen insights into the urban folk scene:

Well, I barged in there like a big old hoss, And I asked for a job when I met the boss. And he looked me over from head to toe, And he says, "My boy, I just don't know, We're looking for folksingers. You look more like a durn cowboy to me." The boss's comment is not far removed from today's recording categories where anything remotely resembling "cowboy" material is forced under the "Western" label with Roy Rogers and distinguished from "folk." The booklet which accompanies The Hell-Bound Train makes is abundantly clear that Glenn Ohrlin, along with many others like him, has a proper place in the oral tradition of this country.

The value of the two Campus Folksong Club records as traditional documents rests to no mean degree in the impressive booklets which accompany them. These booklets, worked on by members of the University of Illinois Club under the guidance of Judith McCulloh and Archie Green, should serve as models for record documentation. They not only excel in standard documentation--giving discography as well as bibliography--but, in addition, they are imaginative. They convey to the reader and listener the significance of the actual recording. In both cases the performers are sensitively and clearly described and their attitude toward their material is presented, often in their own words. Both texts and tunes are expertly transcribed, and each song is placed in its general tradition.

December 15, 1964 1986 Wingate Way Hayward, Calif.

Dear Folk Song Club,

Today I was browsing in the record library of San Francisco State College and I ran across a copy of your "Green Fields of Illinois." I just had to write to tell you how delighted I was. I've never seen anything so beautiful. The work that went into that record and booklet is really inspiring. It's hard to explain, but that record makes me feel proud all over that your Folk Song Club exists. I hope that when I get to college I can be in an organization such as yours.

I've heard you have an article on the autoharp available for a quarter. Now is a good time to ask for it so I'm enclosing twenty- five cents in payment. Thanks for the article and the great work you're doing. I'd appreciate hearing more about your club.

Sincerely,

(signed)

Cathy Cortelyou