Songnotes

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A Companion to the Old Town School Songbook

Compiled and edited byMark Dvorak.

Jamaica Farewell

An actor, humanitarian and the acknowledged "King of Calypso," Harry Belafonte ranked among the most seminal American performers of the postwar era. One of the most successful African American pop stars in history, Belafonte's staggering talent, good looks and masterful assimilation of folk, jazz and worldbeat rhythms allowed him to achieve a level of mainstream eminence and crossover popularity virtually unparalleled in the days before the advent of the Civil Rights movement - a cultural uprising which he himself helped spearhead.
He was born to Caribbean parents in Harlem, NY in 1927 and began his show business career as an actor (studying with the likes of Tony Curtis and Marlon Brando) and a night club singer, putting his velvety clear voice to work on straight pop music. Belafonte became interested in folk music in the early 1950s, after discovering the American folk song archive at the Library of Congress. At this time he also rediscovered the indigenous music of his Caribbean ancestry.
Around the time he began starring in films and on Broadway, Belafonte released a series of albums which featured the swaying rhythm of Calypso music. Among Belafonte’s hits were, “Day-O,” “Sloop John B.” and “Jamaica Farewell.”
His records kick-started a national Calypso craze and Harry Belafonte was catapulted towards international stardom. For decades, he used his clout and considerable talent to speak out on social and humanitarian issues, while maintaining active film and recording careers.

Source: All Music Guide.
Recordings on File by: Harry Belafonte, Martin, Bogan & Armstrong.

Jordan Is A Hard Road To Travel

“Uncle” Dave Macon was born near Franklin, TN in 1870. He was a pioneer in recorded country music and one of its most popular and prolific artists. A star performer on WSM’s Grand Olde Opry from 1926 until his death in 1952, Macon also recorded some two hundred songs during a fourteen year period, beginning in 1924 when he was already 56 years old. Even more remarkable is the huge body of Macon recordings represent only a part of his vast repertoire, which included topical songs, old-time breakdowns, gospel numbers, popular songs from Tin Pan Alley, and much from the minstrel tradition.
Generations of banjo pickers and lovers of old-time music have learned “Jordan Am a Hard Road to Travel” from Uncle Dave's recording of it, first released in 1927.

Source: Liner Notes from “Uncle Dave Macon:Early Recordings.” County 521.
Recordings on File by: Uncle Dave Macon, Merle Travis.

Just A Closer Walk With Thee

In the 1920s, a new style of African American religious song called “Gospel” added a new dimension to the older, spiritual tradition. Thomas Dorsey, a Georgia bluesman who later moved to Chicago, coined the term “Gospel” and was the acknowledged leader of the gospel movement.
     This new style added instruments such as the piano and later the Hammond electric organ. It also featured solo quartets and other special performers. Many of the greatest African American singers, such as Mahalia Jackson and Aretha Franklin, got their start singing in their local church gospel choir.
     “Just a Closer Walk With Thee” is one of the popular Gospel numbers to come out of this movement, although there is some debate as to its origin. Some sources indicate that the song was a composed piece from the 1930s. But in many cases, a “composed” American song is simply a crystallization of some piece that's been a part of the aural tradition as long as anyone can remember.
     “Just a Closer Walk” probably has its roots in the music of black plantation combos and brass bands of the mid 1800s which later grew into Dixieland jazz.

Source: A Tribute to Woody Guthrie & Lead Belly, by Will Schmid, Music Educators Conference in Association with the Smithsonian Institution Office of Folklife Programs.
Recordings on File by: Red Foley, Tom Rush, Various artists.

Lakes of Ponchartrain

Some argue that the beautiful “Lakes of Ponchartrain” is a Creole love song commonly mistaken as being of Irish origin. Others debate that it is a unique Irish ballad dating from the 1800s when a flood of Irish folks immigrated to New Orleans. Whichever, it's a splendid narrative whose tune is based upon “The Lily of the West.”

Source: Popular Songs in American History.
Recordings on File by: Lee Murdock, Art Thieme.

Lonesome Road Blues

Bill Monroe, the widely acknowledged father of bluegrass music, had a long and impressive career as a performer, recording artist and mentor to hundreds of bluegrass musicians who played in his group, “The Blue Grass Boys.” Among them are many of the other all-time greats of bluegrass including Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs, Carter Stanley, Don Reno, Sonny Osborne and Jimmy Martin.
Bill and his brother Charlie were a popular team in the 1930s, singing duets and playing mandolin and guitar. In 1939, after the two split up, Bill formed “The Blue Grass Boys” and started assembling the elements of what eventually became known as bluegrass music, built around his powerful tenor singing and mandolin playing.
“Lonesome Road Blues” is also known as “Going Down the Road Feeling Bad” and has its roots in both Anglo and African American traditions. In the bluegrass repertoire it's considered a standard, usually played quite fast and featuring instrumental breaks. The defiance of the lyrics have made it popular with generations of folk and blues musicians as well. Woody Guthrie adapted it as “Blowin’ Down that Old Dusty Road” and included it on his classic “Dust Bowl Ballads” recording.

Source: The Bluegrass Songbook, by Peter Wernick. Oak Publications.
Recordings on File by: Etta Baker, Big Bill Broonzy, Flatt & Scruggs, Woody Guthrie.

A Final Note…