Road Trip Music: Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving across America: it is a season of gathering in, of hope, of reflection, of family -- and of exploration and landscape and travel as well. Music is always part of this. Here are three recordings to go along and perhaps open up new ideas for you.

Midnight Special, Goodnight Irene, In the Pines, Stewball, House of the Rising Sun, Pick a Bale of Cotton: chances are, you know these songs. Whether you’ve heard them from rock stars, blues musicians, country singers, folk storytellers or schoolteachers. Chances are too that the reason they and you know these songs today is because of Huddie Ledbetter -- Lead Belly. From prison inmate to in demand artist in the folk music revival, from a childhood in the deep south to stages in New York City and Europe, he became, as Eric Bibb writes in the liner notes of Lead Belly's Gold, “the most famous Black folksinger ever, bringing the attention of millions to the power of African American song, well outside the boundaries of his own community.” Lead Belly, Bibb continues, “...owes this extraordinary status to his uncanny talent for bridging gaps.“

That’s a talent Bibb and his collaborator on Lead Belly's Gold, JJ Millteau, share in their individual careers, and that they each bring to their appreciation and understanding of the sixteen tracks they’ve chosen for this project. They open with Grey Goose, which could among other things be seen as a poetic allegory for immigration and refugee issues.

Bibb’s melodic voice with an edge of growl works well on this and other cuts, in fine counterpoint to Milteau’s bluesy with a helping of jazz and folk harmonica lines. Where Did You Sleep Last Night, a folk/blues song from the deep south also known as In the Pines, is one of the many songs Lead Belly learned from southern blues and folk tradition and made his own. Milteau and Bibb put their own stamp on it as well. There’s a fine combination of When That Train Comes Along and Swing Low Sweet Chariot. An original by Bibb, When I Get to Dallas, stands in good company with the older songs. The first eleven songs are live recordings from a performance before a small audience at The Sunset in Paris. The last five, among them Stewball and Titanic, are studio recordings. Bibb and Milteau conclude the disc with another original song from Bibb, which finds Lead Belly musing on his life and legacy, called, appropriately enough, Swimmin’ in a River of Song.

Dulcie Taylor knows about that river of song. In her recording Dulcie Taylor and Friends: Wind Over Stone she offers songs touching on love, family, travel, changes, time, courage, and other things, all done with lyrics which combine a clear poetic sense with a clear down to earth sense of connection and communication. Most are written or co written by Taylor, who sings the lead on many of them in a fine soprano.

She also has the confidence and good will to step aside and share the spotlight with her equally talented friends and longtime musical collaborators. Tony Recuipido and George Nauful each have songs on the collection and they take the lead voice on those, with Taylor adding harmony. The California based songwriter, whose songs could fit in with Americana, folk, country, and other sorts of playlists, is a fine guitarist, as well. At this Thanksgiving season, you might want to listen out especially for her songs When the Cherokee Roamed and Not Here, Not Today.

Songs with story are and long have been a hallmark of Kathy Kallick’s work. A moving force in the west coast and national bluegrass scene, her work is rooted in bluegrass, but contains much to appeal to lovers of all forms of good acoustic music. Foxhounds leads listeners on a journey from the title track, inspired by a time when Kallick sat with bluegrass icon Bill Monroe listening to his foxhounds run to the closing song, In Texas, a spare and visual evocation of a journey that didn’t turn out the way it might have, inspired by a conversation Kallick had with her daughter.

Along the way are other fine originals from Kallick including My Montana Home and Snowflakes, fiddle player Annie Staninec steps into lead singing on a pair of high energy songs, there is a Bill Monroe tune and there’s a song from not so bluegrass musician Richard Thompson. Through the journey Kallick and her fine band -- in addition to Kallick herself on guitar and vocals, and Staninec on fiddle and vocals, Cary Black is on acoustic bass and vocals, Greg Booth ads vocals along with banjo and dobro, and Tom Bekeny sings and plays mandolin -- Foxhounds is a fine and thoughtfully sequenced work that that calls in past, present, and future of bluegrass, one of the forms of American music to celebrate at this Thanksgiving season. .

-->Music to celebrate the season and for listening all the year around. blues, folk, Americana, country, and bluegrass: vibrant parts of America’s soundtrack. Take a listen and see what you find.

Top and bottom photos by Kerry Dexter, center photo by and courtesy of Skitter Photo. Thank you for respecting copyright

You may also wish to see these stories:
It would not be Thanksgiving around my house without the music of Jay Ungar and Molly Mason. Read about their albums that works especially well for this season: Music for Thanksgiving
Music of the First Peoples is appropriate to the season, too, as is music inspired by sharing with family. read about two albums which embrace these ideas: Autumn and Thanksgiving listening
Saint Andrew’s Day is on the way: Scotland’s Music: A Saint Andrew’s Day Tapestry at Wandering Educators
Advent is approaching too. A story for that: First week in Advent: music and journey

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Road Trip Music: Americana from Alabama to Fur Peace

The winding roads of New England, the quiet places of the deep south, the welcoming towns of the midwest, the expanse of prairies north and south, the high desert, the coasts east, west, south and north -- it is a time for road trips and explorations. There is music to go along.

Amy Black lives in Boston these days, but her family roots go deep into northern Alabama. That is a musical connection she has been exploring of late. Her recording The Muscle Shoals Sessions finds her delving into the rootsy, southern, bluesy, old time aura that rises from north Alabam’, forging creative covers of music from Sam Cooke and Dan Penn among others, and adding her own songs to the mix. Black is well equipped to do this, with a voice that holds hints of Bonnie Raitt and Etta James yet remains uniquely her own, and with a creative imagination that recasts Bob Dylan’s Gotta Serve Somebody and the Black Keys’ Tighten Up in ways that completely fit the roots infused story Black is telling. Those are standout tracks; so are Black’s own Please Don’t Give Up On Me and Cooke’s Bring It On Home. Really, though, each of the dozen tracks is a keeper.

Rock, blues, country, Zydeco, Cajun, and Creole -- Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys have been working on a musical mix of these genres for more than two decades now, with an accent on the Cajun southern Louisiana roots they come from, The title of their album Voyageurs is well chosen, as many of the songs settings and images have to do with travel, and the driving pulse of their style and of the music itself connects and suggests movement, travel, and dance along the way. Old friend and new band member Kevin Wimmer adds his fiddle to the band this time out, joining in with Riley’s accordion, Sam Broussard’s guitar, Brazos Huval’s bass, and Kevin Dugas’s percussion. The men trade leads and backing on instruments and voice through a range of original and traditional music that’ll have you traveling down to Cajun country in no time. There is music from the tradition, original songs and tunes from Riley and Wimmer, and covers of music from Canray Fontenot and Boozoo Chavis among others. Standout cuts include Au Revoir Grand Mamou, Plus Creux, La Danse de Mardi Gras, and Malcolm’s Reel, but once you begin to listen to Voyageurs chances are you’ll not stop.

Further West is the name Rebecca Hall and Ken Anderson, who as a duo go by the name Hungrytown, chose for their third release. In part that’s because they have been doing quite a bit of traveling, taking their Americana based songs from their base in Vermont on tours through North America, Europe, and New Zealand. The title is also a nod to the fact that the songs, many with music written by the duo and lyrics by Hall, reference travels both physical and those which may not be measured by physical distance. The title song is just such a piece, one with references open to many understandings. Other cuts to note are the duo’s fine a capella take on Woody Guthrie’s Pastures of Plenty and the originals Hard Way to learn and Don’t Cross That Mountain.

Jorma Kaukonen has done more than a bit of traveling in his time, time which has included growing up in the Washington DC area and making his way west to California, where he became a founding member of Jefferson Airplane, and later, of Hot Tuna, with which he still tours. Along the way he received Grammy nominations and was named to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and founded the Fur Peace Ranch, a concert and workshop venue and art gallery in Ohio. All the while, in addition to touring with Hot Tuna and teaching at Fur Peace, he has continued to put out stellar solo albums as well. It seems no surprise, then, that his 2015 solo recording is called Ain't in No Hurry.

Blues and country, soul and a hint of jazz with a touch of rock lingering on, and flavors of musics from other parts of the world as well: more than fifty years into his musical adventure, Kaukonen knows well how to frame his musicianship as a singer, songwriter, and guitarist with a distinctive and unique sound and point of view. You will find that well presented in the eleven tracks of Ain't in No Hurry. There’s Suffer Little Children to Come Unto Me, a piece derived from and unfinished song by Woody Guthrie which melds gospel, folk, and country; there’s the depression era song Brother Can You Spare a Dime?, a cover of A.P. Carter’s Sweet Fern, and Kaukonen’s own Seasons in the Field, a reflective look at time and change which closes the album. Those are standouts. It is an album, though, well worth your time to let unfold through all the tracks as Kaukonen has sequenced them. “At this point in time perhaps I should be in more of a hurry,” he writes in the liner notes, “but for me it’s more important that each piece fits in the right place at the right time. The songs you hear on this album cover a lot of ground for me. Some are very old, some quite new. From where I came from to where I am today...it is all here.”

Origins and travels, journeys of music, place, and imagination -- wherever your travels take you, these recordings will make good companions.

This is the first in a series of music of North American roads. In between stories of music and musicians of Ireland and Scotland and about creative practice, stay tuned for more such adventures in the coming months.

Photograph courtesy of James Wilkinson. Thank you for respecting copyright.

You may also wish to see
Tab Benoit’s take on Louisiana in music at a Traveler’s Library
Cathie Ryan: Through Wind and Rain
Road Trip Music in Alabama: bluegrass, faith, and architecture

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Music, road trips, and heritage

Road trips are often the stuff of summer -- and of other seasons as well.

A while back, Vera Marie Badertscher of A Traveler's Library had the idea to do a virtual road trip across the United States through books and film. She invited me to join in with suggestions for music. As this summer and its celebrations unfold, you might want to revisit or meet for the first time the greatest hits in music from that trip, and see what books and films fueled the trip over at A Traveler's Library, as well.

You may find out about all that, with links to the posts, at road trips and road songs.





you might also like to check out

Christine Albert honoring her family’s French background and her own life in Texas on Paris, Texafrance

Cathie Ryan talking of teaching traditions of her Irish heritage

Tish Hinojosa bringing her Mexican American roots to her album Our Little Planet

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here is a way to do that, through PayPal. Note that you do not have to have a PayPal account to do this.Thank you.

Road Trip Music: Three Ideas

It is a time of year when people tend to think of taking road trips, as one season ends and another begins. By the very nature of their work, musicians spend a lot of time on the road, so there are loads of songs and tunes to do with travel. There are also, of course, songs and tunes that haven’t anything to do with that but which make good traveling companions in and of themselves.

I’ve been taking a bit of road trip travel back through time lately, sorting through recordings that had gotten to the back shelves and letting them bring back memories. One of those is Mary Black’s Looking Back. Mary has offered a number of retrospectives in her career, and really, all of them are worth your time. This is one of the early ones, which includes, I think, the first release of one of my favorite of her songs, Soul Sister. Among the other cuts are Summer Sent You, Carolina Rua, Columbus, and Only a Woman’s Heart.

American singer Nell Robinson takes a bit of a different sort of road trip back to her roots in Red level, Alabama. Original songs and classic country intertwine with narratives from family members for On the Brooklyn Road
in a weaving that feels as though you’re walking down an Alabama back road at dusk. Notable cuts include Red Clay Creek, Don’t Light My Fire, Sweet Sunny South, and I Saw the Light. Laurie Lewis and Rob Ickes are among those who support Robinson, whose voice calls to mind that of fellow Alabama native Emmylou Harris.


You might remember the Great American Road Trip, an idea started by Vera Marie Badertscher of A Traveler’s Library For more than a year, she wrote about books and films which inspire travel through the fifty US states, and I chimed in with posts here at Music Road to suggest music to go along with this virtual road trip.

Here’s a look at favorite music posts from those travels Music Road: road trips and road songs

photograph is of sunrise over the Irish Sea, and is copyrighted. thank you for respecting this.

you may also wish to see
Music Road: Mary Black: 25 years 25 songs
Music Road: late summer: two for the road
Music Road: Irish landscape: Davy Spillane's A Place Among the Stones

and


Delicious Baby's Photo Friday, where travelers offer new insights to the world each Friday.

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Road trips and road songs

After traveling from the coasts of Maine to the deep south, along the Mississippi, to the northern plains and the western ones, through the heartland, and to the many landscapes that make up the American west, including the far western states of Hawaii and Alaska, we’ve come to the stopping place on the great American road trip series. At least for the time being.

More than a year ago, Vera Marie Badertscher of A Traveler's Library invited me to chime in with suggestions for music to go along as she took a virtual trip across the United States through books and film which inspire travel. 2018 update This is part of The Great American Road Trip, in which I originally partnered up with A Traveler’s Library to add musical ideas to the book and film suggestions for journeys through the regions of the United States which you’d find there. The Library is closed now, but I think you will still find the journeys through music interesting.

Along the music road, here are four which have been ones you have most enjoyed. They are among my favorites as well.

Road Trip Music : Oregon in which we meet a rancher who raises Christmas trees and cowboy songs, and an Oregon native who finds her inspiration in Scotland

Road Trip Music: Indiana where we learn of a songwriter who makes music connected to both land and spirit

Road Trip Music: Michigan in which we meet an Irish American songwriter whose music builds bridges between the two countries of her heritage.

Road Trip Music: northern California in which we meet a musician who has been a vital part of American folk music for decades, and is carrying it on

Thank you for coming along. There’s more ahead on music, creative practice, and especially the varied landscapes of folk, Americana, and Celtic music -- as well as ideas from other neighborhoods now and again.

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Here is one way to offer that, through PayPal. Note that you do not have to have a PayPal account to do this. Thank you.

Top 5 Favorite Music Road Trips

The Great American Road Trip has been winding from the quiet villages of New England to the Blue Ridge in Virginia, from the muddy Mississippi up to the shores of Lake Michigan. Right now, we are in the northern plains of South Dakota. Here are my suggestions for a musical road trip in North Dakota and South Dakota.

It’s also time to take a look back at which of the road trip posts you’re enjoying the most.

Tops on the list, in terms of numbers of you reading, is Road Trip Music: Michigan, in which you learn about Irish American singer and songwriter Cathie Ryan.

You’re also liking the story of the beginning of the road trip idea at Great American Road Trip: Music begins.

The midwest is holding your attention, with
Road Trip Music: Ohio, which features Wilderness Plots, an album about the history of the Ohio Valley from five contemporary songwriters, and Road Trip Music: Indiana, a look at some fine songs from Indiana native Carrie Newcomer.

Road Trip Music in Alabama: bluegrass, faith, and architecture rounds out your top favorites. Claire Lynch and her album Whatcha Gonna Do was a choice for our soundtrack through the wiregrass and red clay hills of Alabam’.


Your choice of Alabama gives me the chance to send out our congratulations to Claire, who was recently named female vocalist of the year by the International Bluegrass Music Association. That’s the top award in bluegrass music. Well done and well deserved Claire!


you may also wish to see
Looking for music from Ireland, Scotland, and Cape Breton? It is here -- check around for articles on The Celtic Colours International Festival, Heidi Talbot’s new album The Last Star, and the debut album from rising Scottish instrumentalist Matheu Watson, and loads of great stuff in our archives. There’s more to come, and more travels on The Great American Road Trip as well. Texas, California, Alaska and all the other states in the American West lie ahead.

and more music from the road trip


This is part of The Great American Road Trip, in which I originally partnered up with A Traveler’s Library to add musical ideas to the book and film suggestions for journeys through the regions of the United States which you’d find there. The Library is closed now, but I think you will still find the journeys through music interesting.

For more about the road trip (and a look at some great road songs) see Great American Road Trip: Music begins

-->Your support for Music Road is welcome and needed. If you are able to chip in, here is a way to do that, through PayPal. Note that you do not have to have a PayPal account to do this. Thank you.

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