H IL LINO S UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN
PRODUCTION NOTE
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library Large-scale Digitization Project, 2007.
ORGAN OF THE CAMPUS FOLKSONG CLUB OF 6 TY OF ILLINOIS icrnq*
May 19, 1961 Vol. 1 No. 4
BLUEGRASS ENDS SEMESTER FOLKLORIST FlANAGAN RETURNS
The final folk concert of the year Professor John T. Flanagan, who will feature 1ed Cravens and the Bray has been on leave in Europe for the past Brothers performing folk songs and in- year, will be back on campus in the fall, strumentals in "Bluegrass" style at 8:00 and he will teach his course, English p. m. Friday, May 26, in room 112 Greg- 357 - Folklore in American Literature. ory hall on the University of Illinois This is the only accredited academic Campus. course in folklore offered by the Univer- sity. Professor Flanagan's course is a The success of this,our first in- study of American folklore, including folk dependantly sponsored concert will be a talesj themes, and characters, with spec- strong factor in determining the fequen- ial reference to the appearance of such cy of future concerts. It is for this material in American fiction, poetry, and reason that we encourage you,as members drama. to attend and to encourage your friends to attend. Tickets may be purchased at Professor Flanagan specializes in the Illini Union Ticket office or from the literature pertaining to life in the members of the Campus Folksong Club. Mississippi Valley region, an area rich ii traditional material. Together with Aur- thur Palmer Hudson, he edited the antholo- FOLKSING TONIGHT gy, American Folklore Reader, which was published in 195. - Tonight the folksing will move back into its proper informal environment. Barring any unforseen cancellations, the AUTOHAP folksing will be conducted in room 25, Smith Music Hall. The sing will begin A little more than two months ago, at 8:00 p. m. Smith Music Hall is lo- when Autoharp was just an idea, we didn' t cated just east of the University Auditor- feel that anyone had really seriously con- ium. sidered the potentiality of the idea. (O. course this has been true of the formatior of the Campus Folksong Club also.) We, MWU~PfQ. TV!.. A NTAVWMCJW'.U L "?. on the staff, have watched Autoharp grow 3 size and in circulation, and have done so In trying to rectify the error with a sense of pride. For most of the made in Autoharp vol. 1., no. 2., in the people on the staff this was a first atterr spelling of Mr. Kokoefer's name, we man- at writing a newsletter, and from all . aged to misspell it again. From "Ko- the indications we think that we have at- koeffer" we corrected it to read "Ke- tained some degree of success. As we ente kefer"; the correct spelling should be into the compiling of this our last Auto- "Kokoefer". Mr. Kokoefer has been very har for the semester we do so with the patient with us, and for this we thank him, =qe that next year*a editions will be much better. While talking to Mr. Kokoefer (continued page 2, col. 1) \-^/ (continued page 2, col. 2) 'IV The Campus Folksong Club Presents nrnnn I I
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lickets Available At Illini Union Box Office $ .O O folio: 19 BILL MONJAOE Autoharp's deep appreciation goes to Warren Leming for the following contribution. Whether your interest is in "Bluegrass" or the older styles of Mountain-rooted music, the name of Bill Monroe is one you are sure to become acquainted with. Bill Monroe, born in Rosine, Kentucky, on September 13, 1911, is in truth one of America's most influential folk figures. Bill (mandolin) and his brother Charlie (guitar) began their music careers on a radio station on Gary, Indiana, in 1934. They were soon to become one of the most popular country music groups in America. Their commercial recordings for the now defunct Bluebird record company have provided folk-lorists with a treasure trove of American folk music. The Monroe Brothers recorded such songs as "On the Banks of the Ohio," "Weeping Willow Tree," "Darling Cory," with an instrumental and vocal excellence which has seldom been equaled. On September 16, 1946, Bill ILonroe and his Bluegrass Boys recorded the first records which were to provide the basis for "Bluegrass" music. These records featured Bill's almost blues mandolin and the banjo picking of the now famous Earl Scruggs. The sound heard on these early recordings was soon to be imitated by the countless "Bluegrass" bands which sprang up throughout the southern United States. As a result of these recordings, the word "Bluegrass" came into being, and the music has ever since borne the name of the Bill Monroe band. Prior to the first Bluegrass records, Bill Monroe had been appearing regularly on the Grand Old Opry country and western radio production. He made his debut on the O• in 1939 and he still performs there weekly as one of its oldest continuous acts. Even today, midst the Rock-a-billy and electric guitars, it is possible to hear the unamolified excellence of Monroe's music. Aside from his appearances on the Grand Old Op.., Bill does personal appearance and recording dates (for Decca) and owns the Brown County Jamboree, a park which features some the the country's best "Bluegrass" bands. folio: 20 DAALIN' CORY Bill and Charlie Nonroe recorded this famous old mountain song on June 21, 1936, in Charlotte, North Carolina, for the Bluebird record company. It is Bluebird record number 6512. - a __„ - ,,:.L,._. _ S -~ - I-- - • - 1r 1 "'4' S r# j | F -, -,,,?I . | - ,, ... f.... . * - "--" " ,.*"- .• ,_ ' . 'f "'*m . -.-. _ _ .' ,1..- ,. ''... i-,- ,*-'* ~.." .*...... • ., 7 } ^ _-° j'--j • ... , •; ut J I ,•-rkL: -- -J ,- .•I J - , .. T j ~---- Wake up, wake up darlin' Cory Last night as I lay on my pillow, What makes you sleep so sound? Last night as I lay on my bed, The revenue officers are comin' Last night as I lay on my pillow, Gonna tear your still house down. I dreamed darlin' Cory was dead. The first time I saw darlin' Cory The last time I saw darlin' Cory She was standin' in the door, She had a wine glass in her hand, Her shoes and stockings in her hands She was drinkin' that cold pizen liquor And her feet all over the floor. IW th a low-down sorry man. Go'way from me darlin' Cory, Go and dig me a hole in the meadow, Quit hangin' around my bed, A hole in the cold, cold ground, Pretty women run me distracted, Go and dig me a hole in the meadow, Corn liquor's killed me dead. Just to lay darlin' Cory down. The next time I saw darlin' Cory, Don't you hear them blue-birds singin'? She was standin' on the banks of the sea, Don't you hear that mournful sound? She had two pistols strapped around her body They're preachin' Cory's funeral And a banjo on her knee. In the lonesome graveyard ground. folio: 21 THE ROBIN Autoharp's deep appreciation goes to Diane Wells for the following contribution. "The Robin" is a children's song handed down from my great aunt to my mot- her and thence to me. I am now passing it on to the readers of Autoharp. The sim- ple story has just the right amount of pathos in It to appeal to the emotions of a young child* However, I hope that delicateness of it does not escape the senses of college studentsl 1. There came to my window one morning in spring a sweet little robin who came there to sing. 2. The song that he sang, it was prettier far than ever I heard on a flute or Puitaro 3. But just as He finished his beautiful song a thoughtless young man with his gun came along. 4. He killed and he carried my robin~ away; He'll never sing more at the break-of the dE foliot 22 JE.'ISH FCLK HUmCR It would be impossible for anyor.e to give a croessection of Jewish folklore in one page. What is presented below is rather a sampling of some of the humor which is found throughout Jewish folklore. LCGIC Late one winter night, Shloimke and Rivke had gone to bed. Suddenly Rivkets voice, sleepy but insistent,'.broke the silence. "Shloimke, please close the window ... it's cold outside." To which Shloinke answered, "Nu...and if I close the window, will it be warm outside?" OCURTESE TO A CUSTOMER A dog dashed into the village butcher shop and ran off irith a chunk of meat between Uis teeth. Thereupon, the butcher grabbed his meat cleaver and, brandishing it, ran after the thief. "Whatts happened?" a neighbor inquired as he ran. "A dog has run off with a chunk of meat'." " So why the cleaver?" called the neighbor after him. " Do you have to chop the meat up for him?" .:IMY ITOODLES ARE ITOODLES Once, somecns asked Motke Chabad, the ýwag, "Tell me, Hotke, youtre a smart fellow - why do they call noodles 'noodles'?" HIotke answered without hesitation, "Vchat a question to ask'. They're long like noodles, aren't they? They"re soft like noodles, aren't they? And they taste like noodles, don't they? So why shouldn t t they be called noodles?" INNOCENCE AND AdITHMETIC A young scholar of Chelm, innocent in the ways of earthly matters, was stunned one morning when his wife gave birth. Pell-mell he ran to the rabbi. "Rabbi," he blurted out, "an extraordinary thing has happenedl Please explain it to mel My wife has just given birth although we have been married only three months' How can this be? Everybody knows it takes nine months for a baby to be bornl" The rabbi, a world-renowned sage, put on his silver-rimmed spectacles and furrowed his brow reflectively. "iy son," he said, "I see you haven't the slightest idea about such matters, nor can you make the simplest calculation. Let me ask you: Have you lived with your wife three months?" "Yes."t "Has she lived with you three months?" "Yes." "Together--have you lived three months?" "Yes." "What's the total then-three months plus three plus three?" "Nine months, Rabbil" "Then why do you come to bother me with your foolish questions!" The material for this article was taken from A Treasury of Jewish Folklore, edited by Nathan Ausubel. folio: 23 IN DEFENSE OF THE KINGSTON TRIO Autoharp's deep appreciation goes to Dick Adams for the followint contribution. The opinions expressed by Mr. Adams are not necessarily the same as those of the staff of Autoharp. A new parlor game seems to be gaining in popularity among persons interest- ed in folk music on the campus. It's called "Rhnning down the Kingston Trio," and participants engage in a verbal battle of the nature of, "I think the Kingston Trio is even worse than you think the Kingston Trio is." The champions at this game are generally those who profess a deep scholarly interest in traditional folk music, as performed by traditional performers, and who repudiate the Kingston Trio (and other similiar groups) as just too commercial. These people, I think, fail to recognize the true role of the Kingston Trio in the folk music movement in this country. This is not to say that the Kingston Trio should be accepted as a trad- itional folk group. An objective case can be made to refute the claim, made on the jacket of the Trio's first LP by a San Francisco critic, that " the Trio... sings with a passionate regard for the geographical and musical meaning of what- ever song is being presented." The purists claim, and I would have to agree with them, that this is simply not so. Quite often the meaning of a song is complete- ly lost by the time the Trio has finished jazzing up the arrangement, speeding up the tempo, and altering (in many cases, cleaning up) the lyrics. On the positive side, these points should be noted: The members of the Trio. according to their leader-Dave Guard* do not regard themselves as folk singers"in the usual sense of the word; " they do have a moderate amount of musical ability and talent ( although some friends of mine were amazed to learn that Guard actually can play Scruggs-style banjo); and they present their material with a good sense of humor and with considerable vitality ( although admittedly too much in some cases). The important thing to consider about the Trio, however, is not its ability, It is the fact that the Trio'.is playing a significant role and performing an im- portant function in making folk music available and appealing to the American pub- lic. The Kingstons are, if you will, the popularizers of folk music. It is difficult to assess the varied elements which ha ve combined to pro- duce the current folk music "revival," but it is my guess that the Kingston Trio has played a singularly important role. For example, Time magazine last July used the Trio as the focus of two articles about the recent "boom" in folk music. (And no matter what else you may say or think about Time, its editors have the uncanny knack of time and again being the first to analyse and explore new trends in Amer- ican life and popular culture.) The Time article provided some rather interesting indices of the folk re- vival. Banjo sales in the United States, for example, have increased 500 percent during the past three years. And, according to Time's estimate, there are now some 50 "professional practicioneers" of folk music, where there were perhaps half-a- do;en five years ago. The Trio"'s rise has coincided rather closely with the folk boom. Their fortunes have skyrocketed during the last three years, until now they alone account for more than ten percent of Capital records' income. Guard at least seems to have recognized this "cultural role" of the Trio. In a recent issue of Sing Out magazine he developed the thesis that folk perform- era, whether they like it or not, are actually in competition with all other forms of entertainment. They must appeal to a "neutral" public. And their job is to " capture the imagination of this public and to make folk music available to it." folio: 24 Kingston Trio cont... The role of the Trio can be roughly compared to that of Leonard Bern- stein, who has "popularized" classical music via television in somewhat the sane way as Norman Ross did some years ago in Chicago radio. This popularization nec- essaeily results in simplifications-- simplifications which displease the purists but which make the music appealing to a wide audience of pebple who otherwise perhaps would not have had any contact with it. If the folk purists and folk sch- lars think traditional music is good, and its study rewarding, they should, by all means, try to interest more people in it. All disciplines and art forms must have their popularizers. What are the beginning courses at the University-- the "lO100s" in the social sciences, the introductory classes in engineering, architecture, music, etc. -- but simplified and, to a degree, popularized presentations of rather complex and sophisticated systems of knowledge? In this sense, the Kingston Trio is "Folk Music 100- an introductory course." Thus the folk purists (many of whom I secretly suspect have Trio records hidden away from their own early interest in folk music) should try to foster a nd develop a wide interest in traditional materials--in the "200" and "500" class level-- above the Kingston Trio. But they should not wish the Trio out of existence. INDEX TO AUTOHARP FOLIO Volume one - Issues Nos. 1-4 April 7 - 21 - May 5 - 19, 1961 Adams, Dick. IN DEFENSE OF THE JEWISH FOLK HUM5R 22 KINGSTON TRIO 2 3-24 John Henry, words/music 14 American Ballads and Folk Songs, JOHN HENRY, by Vic Lukas -.12-14 by J. and As Lomax 12 Lawless, Ray M. Folksingers American Folksongs of Protest, and Folksongs in America 7 by J. Greenway 7 LE ELLY 16 Ausubel, Nathan. A Treasury of see also Ledbetter, Huddie Jewish Folklore 22 Ledbetter, Huddie 16-17 Battleship of Maine, words/music 6 In Dem Long Hot Summer Days, BILL MONROE, by Warren Leming 1 9-20 words/music 17 Bluegrass 19 Lomax, Alan 16-17 Blues, Chicago 11 Leming, Warren. BILL MONROE 19-20 Bound for Glory 7 Lomax, John and Alan owman ,-. C. John Henry, the American Folksongs and Ballads 12 Rambling Black Ulysses I 2-13 Jlksong U. S. A. 13 Brown County Jamboree 19 Negro Folksongssa Sung by Caravan Folk Music Magazine 6 Leadbelly 17 Chalil, see Shepherd's Pipe Ludlow Massacre, words/music 7 CHICAGO BLUES, by Bob Scharff 11 Lukas, Vic. JOHN HENff 12-13 CHIUDREN AND THE WEATHER, MAAIKA, by Diane Wells 10 by Joe Zderad 18 Mitchell, Howard W. HOW TO MAKE Darlin' Cory, words/music 20 AN ISkEALI SHEPHEDI'S PIPE 9 Finnegan's Wake, words/ music 2-3 Monroe, Bill 19 Folksingers and Folksongs in Monroe, Bill and Charlie 20 America, by R. M. Lawless 7 Morgenfield, McKinley 11 FOUL=-dGON CAMPUS, by A. Green 1 New Orleans French Quarter French Quarter 5 see French Quarter Grand Old Opry 19 QUIET QUARTERF...1961, THE $ Green, Archie. FOLKSONG ON CAMPUS 1 Robin, The, words/music 21 Greenway, Dr. John ROBIN, THE, by Diane Wells 21 American Folksongs of Protest 7 Scharff, Bob. CHICAGO BLUES 11 Woody Guthrie, notes 7 Shakes Lounge 11 Yale Lecture Series 15 Shepherdts pipe (Chalil) 9 Grey Goose, The, words/music 4 Sing Out (magazine- 23 Guard, Dave 23 Treasury of Jewish Folklore, Guthrie, Woddy 7 by N. Aubel- - 22 Bound for Glory, autobiography 7 Walsh, John. Finnegan's Wake wd/mu 2-3 8 Waters, uiiddy 11 Hemingson, Pete. INDIAN NECK FOLK Weather FESTIVAL 15 CHILDEN AND THE WEATHER 18 HOW TO MAKE AN ISRAELI SHEPHE D1'S Wells, Diane PIPE, by H. W. Mitvhell 9 Malaika, words/music 10 Humor. JEWISH FOL& HUMOR 22 Robin, The, words/music 21 IN DEFENSE OF THE KINGSTON TRIO, Yale University 15 by Dick Adams 2 3-24 Zderad, Joe. CHILDBEN AND THE In Dem Long Hot Summer Days, WEATHER 18 words/ music 17 INDIAN NECK FOLK FESTIVAL, by Pete Hemingeon Jankowiak, Josh. THE QUIET QUARTER ... 1961 What's in a Name cont... Autoharp cont... this week, he brought to our attention In this edition of Autohar, you the fact that he can and will order any will find a short biography of Bill Mon- records desired without additional cost roe, followed by the words and music of to his customers. We also noticed that "Darlin' Corey", a song which the Monroe his collection of folk and traditional brothers recorded early in their career. recording has substantiallyincreased since A lullaby which, as far as we know, has our first article concerning his record never been published before appears in thJ shop. edition. To round out the folio is a brie sampling of Jewish folklore. Finally, there is an index of volume one prepared Autoharp is published semi-monthly by for Autoharp by Joe Zderad. the Campus Folksong Club of the Univer- sity of Illinois. Address all mail to: Autoharp, Campus Folksong Club, 322 UPCOMING Illini Union, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois. The week of recompense - final weekl Editor-in-chief...... Larry Klingman IN CLOSING... News Editir...... Diane Wells Correspondance Editor..Linda Crum A group is only as good or as ac- Folio...... Jerry Sullivan tive as the people who make up that group, Robert Scharff Trite though it may be, the above is very Setup...... Josh Jankowiak true. The future success and expansion Staff...... Joyce Leming of Autoharp as well as the Campus Folk- Donna Bostedo song Club is dependant on the type of support they receive next semester. Vudg- ing frma the respornse to the club this semester, I feel that the Campus Folk- song Club will do nothing but grow in the future. I wish to thank everyone who help- ed in the publishing of Autoharp. I espec ially want to thank those people from the Institute of Labor and Industrial ,Rlatior who assisted us so willingly. Larry Klingman