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Spring 1-1-2015 Recording Review of Lead Belly: The mithsoniS an Folkways Collection Ted Olson East Tennessee State University, [email protected]

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Citation Information Olson, Ted. 2015. Recording Review of Lead Belly: The mithS sonian Folkways Collection. The Old-Time Herald. Vol.14(2). 47. ISSN: 1040-3582

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This review is available at Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University: https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu-works/1168 Reviews Hitler) / Big Fat Woman / Been So Long from his recording career over three CDs (Bellevue Hospital Blues) as well as (in that set's 154-page 12" x 12" Lead Belly: The Smithsonian Folkways Collection hardcover book) samples of his idiosyn­ Disc Four: cratic prose writing and visual art. Since WNYC, Folk Songs of America (Grey Lead Belly is principally remembered Goose - Boll Weevil - Yellow Gal - Ha­ for his music, the newer Smithsonian Ha This a Way - Leaving Blues - Irene Folkways set commendably features a - outro) / WNYC, Folk Songs of America generous selection of recordings-108 in (Almost Day - Blues in My Kitchen, Blues all-made by Lead Belly for three labels In My Dining Room - I Went Up On the (Folkways, Stinson, and Disc) as well as Mountain - Good Morning Blues - Baby, for the Library of Congress; the set's five Don't You Love Me No More - T. B. Blues CDs effectively illustrate the musician's - Irene - outro) / If It Wasn't For Dicky / stylistic range and diverse repertoire. Smithsonian Folkways SFW40201 What's You Gonna Do When the World's The set features 16 previously unreleased Disc One: On Fire / Rock Me (Hide Me in Thy Bo­ recordings, four of which were of Lead The Bourgeois Blues / Fannin Street som) / Packin' Trunk Blues / Leaving Belly compositions never before released (Mister Tom Hughes Town) / The Mid­ Blues / How Come You Do Me Like You in any form. (By contrast, Woody At 100 night Special / John Henry / Black Girl Do? I One Dime Blues/ I'm Going to Buy included 57 tracks in all, 21 of which (Where Did You Sleep Last Night) / Pick You a Brand New Ford/ Jail-House Blues were previously unreleased recordings, a Bale of Cotton / Take This Hammer / (It Was Early One Morning) / Shout On with six of those 21 constituting never­ Cotton Fields / Old Riley - Here, Rat­ (Honey, I'm All Out and Down) / Come before-heard original songs by Guthrie.) tler, Here / Rock Island Line / The Callis and Sit Down Beside Me / Red River Among the recordings in the Lead Belly Pole (The Maid Freed From the Gallows) set are inspired performances of songs / Ha-Ha This a Way / Sukey Jump / Boll Disc Five: associated with the musician-some of Weevil / Scottsboro Boys / Governor 0. Yes, I Was Standing in the Bottom - which he composed ("The Bourgeois K. Allen / Governor Pat Neff / There's a When It's Springtime in the Rockies / Blues," "Bring Me a Little Water, Sylvy," Man Going Around Taking Names / On Ain't Going Down to the Well No More "Cotton Fields," "Alberta"), and some of a Monday (Almost Done) / You Can't (Version 2) / Every Time I Go Out / Go which he adapted from other composers Lose Me, Cholly / Keep Your Hands Off Down, Old Hannah / Black Betty / No­ ("Rock Island Line") or from traditional Her / We Shall Be Free body Knows You When You're Down and sources ("The Midnight Special," "Irene Out I Stewball / Ain't It a Shame to Go [Goodnight Irene]," "Black Girl [Where Disc Two: Fishin' On a Sunday / Relax Your Mind Did You Sleep Last Night]," "The Cal­ Alabama Bound / Almost Day (Christ­ / Princess Elizabeth / Silver City Bound lis Pole," "Pick a Bale of Cotton," and mas Is a-Coming) / Fiddler's Dram / I The Titanic / House of the Rising Sun / "Black Betty" ). Whether written or ar­ Green Corn / Sally Walker / Bring Me a It's Tight Like That / Diggin' My Potatoes ranged by Lead Belly, these songs have Little Water, Silvy / Julie Ann Johnson / / Springtime in the Rockies / Backwater been embraced over the decades by in­ Linin' Track / Whoa, Back, Buck / Shorty Blues / Didn't Old John Cross the Water numerable music-makers, from interna­ George / Ham and Eggs (Make It on the I De Kalb Blues (Ain't Gonna Drink No tional pop music legends to heroes of Side of the Road) / Moanin' / Out on the More) / They Hung Him on the Cross various roots music subgenres to local Western Plains / Noted Rider / Meeting (Version 1) / They Hung Him on the singers and strummers. Yet other musi­ at the Building (All Over This World) / Cross (Version 2) / In the World cians' interpretations of such songs gen­ Good, Good, Good (Talking, Preaching - erally lack the irrepressible combination We Shall Walk Through the Valley) / Ain't Lead Belly: The Smithsonian Folkways Col­ of toughness and tenderness present in You Glad (The Blood Done Signed My lection, a 2015 set celebrating the music of Lead Belly's versions; indeed, one of his Name) / I'm So Glad, I Done Got Over/ Huddie Ledbetter (c. 1888-1949), is cast principal gifts was infusing his music The Hindenburg Disaster / Ella Speed / in the basic mold as-and has been ad­ with contrasting elements. Haul Away Joe / Old Man / Sweet Jenny vertised as a companion to-that same Also included on the Smithsonian Lee / Jean Harlow / Laura / Queen Mary label's acclaimed 2012 Woody Guthrie Folkways set are recordings that docu­ set entitled Woody At 100. Both releases ment Lead Belly's passionate rendi­ Disc Three: were not only issued by the same com­ tions of various work songs (including Good Morning Blues / Sail On, Little pany, but they also claim the same pro­ "Linin' Track"), prison songs (such as Girl (You Can't Mistreat Me) / Easy Rid­ ducers (Jeff Place and Robert Santelli), "On a Monday"), and blues composi­ er / Poor Howard / Duncan and Brady mastering engineer (Pete Reiniger), and tions ("In the Evening [When the Sun / How Long, How Long / T. B. Blues / art director (both sets were designed by Goes Down]") as well as gospel material Jim Crow Blues / Pigmeat / John Hardy the Visual Dialogue company's Fritz Kla­ ("There's a Man Going Around Taking / Outskirts of Town / 4, 5, and 9 / In the etke, who won a GRAMMY for his work Names") and songs for children (most fa­ Evening (When the Sun Goes Down) / on the Guthrie package). This is a, vet­ mously, "Ha-Ha This Way"). Represent­ Red Cross Store Blues / Diggin' My Po­ eran team, with many historical record­ ed on the set as well are various topical tatoes / Blind Lemon / When a Man's a ing releases and music-related museum songs, whether prompted by civil rights Long Way From Home / Alberta / Ex­ exhibits to their collective credit. incidents ("Scottsboro Boys"), celebri­ cerpt from "The Lonesome Train" / Na­ Woody At 100 explored the entirety of ties ("Jean Harlow"), notorious figures tional Defense Blues / Hitler Song (Mr. Guthrie's work, incorporating selections ("Hitler Song [Mr. Hitler]"), or ephem-

THE OLD-TIME HERALD WWW.OLDTIMEHERALD.ORG VOLUME 14, NUMBER 2 47 eral events of national or international ings (combining his entire output on ally come down and hang out and play interest ("Queen Mary"). Lead Belly "folk" labels such as Folkways and also music with some of the last of the clas­ composed two of the set's other topical his many field recordings for represen­ sic players, especially Luther Davis and songs-"Governor Pat Neff" and "Gov­ tatives of the Library of Congress and Kahle Brewer. Always deeply and emo­ ernor 0. K. Allen" -to thank the gover­ other documentarians, along with his tionally attached to what I'm carefully nors who, appreciating his music, par­ work for such commercial companies as going to refer to as "true" and "authen­ doned him for his crimes and freed him the American Record Company, Victor, tic" old-time music-if he had a choice from prison. As evidenced by many of and Capitol) is unlikely to materialize he listened to and learned from the old his songs (whether topical or not) show­ in the foreseeable future, Lead Belly: The guys-Craig had the feel and the feeling. cased on the set, Lead Belly had the rare Smithsonian Folkways Collection is likely He had the sound. It was timeless and it ability to turn rough-and-tumble per­ to remain the essential and central com­ was unique. sonal experiences and observations into pilation of Huddie Ledbetter's music Mostly the songs and tunes on the CD songs of universal interest and relevance. for years to come. are Craig unaccompanied or with just Lead Belly: The Smithsonian Folkways TED OLSON banjo, fiddle, or guitar. Other songs and Collection bears witness to the striking To order: folkways.si.edu/leadbelly tunes have minimal and just-right ac­ range and marked contrasts in the mu­ companiment. Many folks will know sician's repertoire, voice, performance Craig Johnson Craig's work from his many years as style, and songcraft. A significant part of Deep Woods & Hollows a member of the great Double Decker the excitement on most of the recordings Stringband along with John Beam, Bruce is Lead Belly's own 12-string guitar ac­ Hutton, and Bill Schmidt. Several cuts companiment, played with dexterous yet with them are on this CD. Just listen to firm technique that was paradoxically Craig's high voice on "Noah Built the both influential and inimitable. The set, Ark" and "Wait 'Til I Put on My Robe!" though, includes a few a cappella record­ Knocks me out every time I hear it. Vari­ ings, proving that he could command at­ ous Double Decker members back him tention and generate excitement without on others of the cuts, as well as Marga­ his rhythmically intense, hypnotic guitar. ret Martin and Wayne Martin, who often Additionally, on CDs 4 and 5 the listener played with him after he moved to North can hear some of Lead Belly's spoken re­ Field Recorders' Collective FRC 711 Carolina in 2001. flections uttered during two radio show Blackfoot / Going Across the Sea / Old Craig was a wonderful fiddler (there are broadcasts from 1941 and also during Ball / The Whip-poor-will Song / Shout several of his original tunes on this CD) his "last sessions" informally recorded All Over God's Heaven / Crippled Tur­ and banjo and guitar player, as well as a in 1948 by Frederic Ramsey. Such com­ key / Noah Built the Ark intro / Noah singer. But he was also, in my opinion, a ments by Lead Belly open windows into Built the Ark / Louisiana Breakdown / great songwriter, and several of his finely his formative years as well as provide Wait 'Til I Put On My Robe / Lost Love crafted songs about working people and clues as to his music tastes. / Fire in the Jackpine intro / Fire in the small town life- "Fire in the Jackpine", Happily, the mastering throughout Jackpine / North Country Tragedy intro "Factory Side of Town", and "Goodbye Lead Belly: The Smithsonian Folkways Col­ / North Country Tragedy / Warfield / to the Lowlands", and the wryly humor­ lection does justice to this historically M & 0 Blues / Vampire Women/ Ring, ous "North Country Tragedy," are on significant yet ultimately timeless mu­ Ring the Banjo / Taking a Bath on Satur­ this CD. sic. These recordings-some of which day Night in a Galvanized Washing Tub I missed having information in the were. made under less than ideal, and intro / Taking a Bath on Saturday Night CD liner notes about where and when even difficult, conditions-have never in a Galvanized Washing Tub / The each song was recorded. Some of the sounded so magnificent. Vance Song / Swover's Creek/ Untitled cuts sound like informal living room The set's 140-page book compiles es­ Waltz in A / Untitled Tune in D / Don't recordings, some sound like they were says that set the recordings into various Let the Deal Go Down intro / Don't Let recorded live in concert venues, and contexts (by Santelli, Place, and Lead the Deal Go Down / Pretty Saro / My others are probably studio recordings; Belly's niece Tiny Robinson), helpful Wife She Has Gone and Left Me / For­ it would have been interesting to know track-by-track notes (by Place), a dis­ eign Lander / Factory Side of Town / the source of each cut. Maybe Field Re­ cography, a bibliography, and various Goodbye to the Lowlands / Smoky Row corders' Collective could post this infor­ illustrations (a gallery of album covers, / Clogger Ladies mation on their website at some point. for instance) and photographs (such as None of this detracts from what a fine a rare color photograph of the musi­ This collection of 34 songs and tunes, col­ album this is, however. cian, suffering from ALS, in 1949 dur­ lected from the archives of Craig's fam­ Thanks, Field Recorders' Collective, ing his final days). Taken together, the ily and friends, reflects part of the vast for putting together this wonderful CD. 5 CDs and the book survey Lead Belly's and amazing world of music that was And by the way, great cover photo by Bill life and his vast repertoire in a compel­ Craig Johnson's life-sadly cut short by Dillof. That was Craig. Deep Woods & Hol­ ling, memorable, and moving manner, cancer in 2009. I'd known Craig since the lows is a fitting tribute to the wonderful and the set offers the fullest portrayal late 1970s when he lived in the Washing­ Craig Johnson. His presence is missed in of this great songster thus far presented ton, DC, area and our musical lives of­ this old world. in a single release. Since a truly com­ ten intersected. After I moved to Galax, ALICE G ERRARD plete package of Lead Belly's record- Virginia, in 1981 Craig would occasion- To order: fieldrecorder.org

48 THE OLD-TIME HERALD WWW.OLDTIMEHERALD.ORG VOLUME 14, NUMBER 2