I LL LIN 0 IUNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN

PRODUCTION NOTE

University of Illinois atUrbana-Champaign Library

Large-scale Digitization Project, 2007.

PLEASE NOTE: Issue number 26 ismissing.

imber 27 December 18, 1965COLLEGE FOLKIES EXPOSED!'. lWIM Si"Yfs IWH AN TELLS ALL IN TRUE COUFESSION ABOUTTHE EVILS OF THE COUNTRY ilUSIC BUSINESS (MAINLY THE LISTENERS). READ ON....

(Our correspondent, ilichaol J. Hlelford, is a native of Tennessee and a bluegrassmandolin picker who has worked professionally for several years. At the re-quest of the editor he has set down his experiences as a working musician in oneof the East Coast's largest country-music bars and his impressions of the var-ious types of people who come to listen to the music in such places. His remi-niscences quickly took on the character of an expose, and the editor delightedlysdit on his hands and began cutting stencil. In a movement filled with everysort of cant imaginable, the following comes not only as a shock, but as a bea-utiful revelation.)

UIORKIING THE HILL3ILLY RANCH--Michael J. Melford

Fritz asked me to write something about working the Hillbilly Ranch inBoston, Massachusetts. This place has three claims to fame: It is the big-gest country house in New England, seating maybee 400 or 500 people; it'sthe only place where you can hear live country music seven nights a week; and,according to the United States Navy, more contacts with V.D. are made here thananywhere else in the area. I guess I worked there about seven months with Ala-bamian Bill Phillips and Kenny Prown, a banjo-picker from Pennsylvania, as wellas a nuimber of other musicians, including Herb Applin and various fiddlers andsingers, both locals and transplants from the South. The Lilly Brothers, Ever-ett and B and Don Stover were the headliners at the place. I have to wrack mybrain to anything good about the establishment. Rather than give you the usualpromotional nonsense I was expected to hand out while employed there I try totell you what working there was actually like.

Our audience consisted mainly of sailors and truck-drivers from the South,and these were our best fans. The rest were the dregs of Boston society andcollege students who were, with a few exceptions, a pain in the (Fritz says Ican't write that). Uhat we played was mostly so-called Bluegrass msuic withsome modern country and western songs thrown in. Also Happy Birthday aboUt onceevery two hours. The sound system was terrible, so we had to practically liftthe strings out of the bridge and sing at the top of our voices to make our-selves heard above all the shouting and fist fights. Once in a while we got ap-plause if there wasn't a good fight or something more interesting to watch.But we knew they were paying attention to us because we were always getting morerequests than we could fill, and a lot of fine people bought us drinks, the fuelyou need in order to work in a dive of this type.

For diversion we had the truck-drivers chasing the waitresses around theplace, only to be thrown out my the two (Americans of Italo-Sicilian extraction.Ed.) who owned the place, assisted by a goodly number of Boston's finest, who

Daring expose(continued)

keep a paddy wagon outside the door for this purpose, and the folkies fromHarvard Square, who were funnier. Fritz has asked me to say something aboutthem. We never saw theim on the dance floor (another diverting area of the es-tablishment), and they mostly sat and nursed one coke all night, to the dis-gust of the management. They came armed with instruments and pads of paperto write down what we were doing, which especially annoyed Kenny, who, likeall paranoid banjo-pickers, had nightmares about having his licks copped (hehas plenty of good original ones, incidentally). Once in a while these peoplewbuld climb up on stage and attempt some songs or instrumentals which neverfailed to end disastrously. This included just about all the professional en-tertainers from Cambridge, who for some reason insist on playing Bluegrassmusic (a mistake) for what they call the folk music in it. Some of them haveplayed the Newport Folk Festival and have recorded for the folk labels, butwhen they got up before a country audience they seemed to get rather shook up

and often forgot the chords to whatever they were playing. Then they would

come over to the bar side with us when the relief band came on and allow us

to buy them beers while they spent half an hour telling us how much they knewabout country music and all the country entertainers they had met. This is

very fascinating to listen to. We usually got along with them unless theyasked to get up on the stage. Ito didn't mind listening to them (they were

also interesting to look at) except when we had some women in to see us, when

we ignored everything else. Haybe I should tell you that we worked six hours

a night, seven nights a week, and even though we had a few hundred songs we

just performed them over and over again, and some, like Tennessee Waltz, Tfor Texas, Alabam or other songs with state-names, we did about every set, de-pending on where the clowns in the audience were from. ie. also had a number

of local fags that the management allowed to get up and sing Kitty Wells songsat each other (Moanwhile, Down at Joe's, I'd Like to Be the Winner of YourHeart, Lonely Side if Town, etc.). They had the boss's permission. The own-

ers were straight though, unlike the situation cit other joints around Washing-ton Street, which is known locally as the "Combat Zone", although it was astame as Green Street compared to Calumet City, Illinois and Columbus,Mlissippi,where we have worked some pretty toughl joints.

Until I started working professionally I used to wonder what the perfor-

mers were thinking while we sat there looking at them. Were they as wrapped

up in the music as we were? I can tell you that they spend most of their timecomparing the physical attributes of the women in the audience and seeing whothey can put on, except when they get a really good, hip audience, which iswhen the lusic really gets good.

To answer Fritz's question, the folkies wanted to he.ar songs like Katy

Dear, ilary of the Wild Ioor, other old antiseptic Blue Sky Boys Songs andfancy, emotionless instrumentals like Devil's Dream and Blackberry Blossom,which have lots of notes and tricky runs and which are fine for limbering upyour fingers. The country people wanted I know You're Married, but I Love

You Still, Heartaches by the Number, Detroit City, Miller's Cave, a few oldies

like New River Train, and for instrumentals they liked to see Kenny put some

hurtin' on something like Foggy Mountain Breakdown, San Antonio Rose or Fire

on the Mountain. I guess I don't have to tell you which type we prefer. What

Conclusion of Hlelford's muckraking expedition.

we really like is stuff like Somebody Loves You, Darling, Thinking About You,Over the Hills to the Poorhouse (written by Everett or his iaiother"), Drink upand Go Home, sorme songs I wrote, old Flatt & Scruggs, Reno and Smiley, RayPrice and Left Frizzell songs. We don't really like instrumentals very much,except for Kenny, who, like all banjo players, can't sing.

We had our good nights and bad; usually we played better earlier in theevening and enjoyed it more later as we progressively drove the blood from curalcohol streams. Almost all country performers drink, incidentally, to excess.We were at our best when people like Bill Ilonroe, Webb Pierce, Frank Wakefieldand others carme in to jam with us. The last-named came and stayed about a weekwith us, and we had a great time. Cut usually it was pretty boring.

Pious wants me to write more, but I have to go to work now, so I'd like tothank him for showing me how to use a typewriter.

Mike informs us that he and Kenny would be eager to do a blueprass show for

any interested group. Since coming to Champaign/Urbana Mike and Kenny have made

contact with other country musicians in the area, including mandolinist Nate Bray

and fiddler LeRoy Baker; as you miýght expect, these musicians have been jamming

ouite a bit, and their sound is a good one--authentic too (Mike would never have

it any other way). Another point in Mikes favor: he has no objection to answer-

inp ouestions about his guitar, vocal or mandolin technioues, and any interested

student of blueprass can usually count on him to -ive a clear explanation of how

to nerform a number properly. If you are a serious blueprass fan and want to

kno-T more about the music ('.'ith or without intentions of playing it), call Mike

at 352-OUWj5 and let him kno-w where you're at.

Did anybody else catch Leonard Bernstein's The Sound of an Orchestra on

Tuesday, 14 December? His openinp remarks on how to play music properly wereclear, concise and just as applicable to traditional music as to the classicalvariety. I can think of at least ten folk-singer, so-called, whose feet Iwould have loved to nail to the floor in order to force them to listen to the

eminent Dr. Bernstein's lecture. The pist of his talk was that just playingthe notes is not enough; it is just as important to play the notes in the mannerthe composer desired and in the manner in which such music was played in the com-

posers own peri.odxpf history. Thus, when he prepared to play one of Faydn's

selections, Bernstein dismissed two-thirds of the orchestra, since orchestras in

Taydn's time were two-thirds smaller than those of today. He abolished the lush

vibrato and glissando of the romantic period because Taydn's music is ruined by

such tactics. With the orchestra riaht on hand to demonstrate these effects, the

result was immediate and devastating: the ouestion of style, perhaps the most dif-

ficult of all musical nuestions, was covered and disposed of with dispatch.

But where is the Bernstein of traditional music? Of course, we dontt knowthe "composers" of most traditional music, but scholarship is certainly capable of

solving nuestions of style. Let us begin.

W I find this throwaway line (which highly typical of the writer) so intrigingthat I promise to worm its explanation out of Melford at our next session ofcork-popping, and I likewise promise to pass the story on to our readers. Ed.

553-2 S. Campus CourtsW. Lafayette, Indiana.Nov. 21, 1965.

AutoharpCampus Folksong ClubUniversity of Illinois284 Illini UnionUrbana, Illinois

Dear Editor:I have seen your May 1, 1965, issue with the article "Bluegrass in Japan". In

reference to this it may interest you to know that for about two years I have hada pen pal and tape-exchange partner in Japan. She is a i.eiber of a club of 200families in Tokyo who meet monthly to hear bluegrass, country and gospel music.She reports her own university and most others in Japan now have bluegrass bands.Bluegrass DJ programs are evidently available there too. Her record collectionis evidence that a selection of bluegrass and old-tirm music at least as good aswe have here is available in Japan.

Sincerely,Norian Carlson

(Thank you, Norman, and Banzail Ed.)

Ginn and CompanyEducational PublishersStatler BuildingBoston, Massachusetts.

University of IllinoisCampus Folksong Club Records

Gent tlemen:

I have just be-en given a copy of "The Hell-Bound Train", an album record, sung

by Glenn Ohrlin. On this record is recorded a song "My Home's in Montana", and

in the program notes about the song ic says that Glenn recalls that his mother's

brothers and sisters learned this song as children in Minnesota country schools,possibly from song books. Without doubt this is true, because the song first

appeared in a song book published by us called Singing Days. It was published

in 1936, and it was a book printed especially for use in small rural schools.

Furthermore, we quote from your program notes, "We have been unable to find a

full text in print". "My Home's in Montana" has been published in six Ginnschool textbooks. The words which you-say you were unable to find in print

have appeared in thousands of copies of these books which were used through-

out the schools. It would naturally seem to us therefore that you would search

through school books, particularly since you admit in your program notes that

it "possibly came from songbooks".

LETTERS.....

LETTE1RS (continued)

The source for the tune is from Miss Larkin's "The Cowboy's Lament". I knowthe words in the Larkin book but those in our book are almost entirely dif-ferent. The paraphrase which appears in our books was written by Miss Chris-tine Curtiss, and these words are copyrighted. It is for this reason that Iam writing you. VWill you please give the proper acknowledgment to the sourceof these words in any further printing which you rmake of the "Hell-Bound Train".

The copyright should read:

The lyrics from "My Home's in Montana" arefrom Singing Days of the WORLD OF MUSIC

series, published in 1936 by Ginn andCompany, owners of the copyright, and

are used here with permission.

It is very important to us to protect our copyrights.

Very sincerely yours,

s/Henry M. Halvorson

(We thank Mr. Halvorson sincerely for permission to the lyrics originally pub-lished by Ginn and Cormpany and very much regret the inconvenience caused by theoversights committed in our research. The people handling our record salesstate that supplies of the Ohrlin disc are dwindling and will soon have to bereprinted. WIhen this occurs the album, label and notes will, of course, beadjusted to show the authorship and copyright of "My Home's in Montana". Inaddition, this notice may also be taken as a public attempt to rectify ourerror, since imost of the listeners who purchased copies of the "Hell-BoundTrain" are also regular readers of Autoharp. Once again, we regret our mistakeand wish to thank Mr. Halvorson for bringing it to our attention. Ed.)

COMING IN NIEXT iOWilTH'S Autoharp:

Teaching Traditional Music in Adult-education Courses.

A Review of a Terrible Book.

As we go to press Vic Lukas informs us that his rhythm and blues band has been

offered the opportunity to go on tour during the Christmas vacation. The projected

engagements are slated for Cairo, Illinois (the sleepy old river town at the con-

fluence of the Ohio and the 1Mississippi), Sikeston, Missouri and Charleston, Mo.

The band made its local debut at the SNCC benefit party on November 19th, but this

is the first big booking the group has been offered. The six-man, one-woman rock-

and-roll outfit has been working on its repertoire steadily (a three-hour rehearsal

twice a week) for the last three months, and some really fine songs are emerging

from the two electric guitars, electric bass, mouth harp, piano and drums included

in the band. Naturally, we wish them all success and hope that the band's rewards

consist of more than aesthetic satisfaction. Incidentally, the group is available

locally for weddings, baptisms, lodge initiations, parties of every description,

wakes, funerals, bar mitzvahs and hangings. Good luck, Vic.

CONCERT REVIEWS:

Ail EVEHING IN SOUTHELRII ILLI;MOISSteve Hare

(Steve Hare, Lieutenant, USAF, is a native of Mineral Wells, Texas, and agraduate of St. Olaf's College, Northfield, Minnesota. Presently stationedat Chanute Air Force Base in Rantoul, 16 miles north of Urbana, he has al-ready become one of the leading figures in our club. Because he is a coun-try music fan we felt him qualified to do a critique of the Lyle Mayfieldconcert of 23 November. And because he had not known the Mayfields previ-ously as the rest of our membership did (and does) we felt that he would beless prejudiced in his review. Apparently, it doesn't matter how well youknow Lyle; almost everybody likes his music anyway, so Steve gets his chancehere).

A natural tendency of the college hippy is to range rather for afield inhis search for the traditional. The discriminating listener from Chicago isprone to be more exited over a iissippi Delta cotton picker than he is abouta hillbilly guitar playur from southern Illinois.

On November 23, however, the Campus Folksong Club managed to bring itall back home by presenting, in concert, the family and friends of Lyle May-field from Greenville, Illinois. Lyle and his wife Doris have been associatedwith the Club for some time and were featured on the Green Fields of Illinoisrecording. Their concert was an attempt to present the type of material whichis considered "traditional" in southern Illinois and is still performed andappreciated in that area.

The program format was informal, yet polished enough to provide organizedand fast-moving ontertainment. Appearing with Lyle and Doris were their sonDaviK, Mr. and Mirs. Dale Black of Jandalia and Mr. Laurel Paton and his daugh-ter Cheryl. The group worked well together, and it was apparent that thiswas a labor of love executed with finesse and expertise. Versatility and in-ventiveness were displayed several times when a duct would suddenly blossom in-to an ensemble number.

The character and temper of the program were 'srhaps best exemplified whenMr. Paton would leave his chair and interject an unexpected but delightfulfiddle break into a tune that Lyle and Doris were singinj.

Dale Black provided evidence of the juxtaposition of style which makescountry music a living tradition linking primitive roots with the modern pro-duct. His guitar accompaniment to the Mayfields' traditional songs and re-ligious material was always appropriate and well executed, but his ability wasshown when he played more modern numbers on the electric guitar. He joinedhis wife Donna in a number of white gospel pieces reminiscent of the materialsung by radio quartettes. When coupled with the piano accompaniment of CherylPaton these religious numbers inspired a Sunday-night-in-the-parlor-by-the-old-family-upright image that was forcefully nostalgic.

Reviews (continued)

This style of gospel singing is fundamental to rural America, as areMom, apple pie and Roy Acuff. It was enough to make a feller all warm andfuzzy inside.

The program was billed in the October 26 edition of Autoharp as "AnEvening in Southern Illinois". It turned out to be just that. The aud-ience was treated to homemade music at its best: informal and spontaneous,and not at all self-conscious. We saw a believable assertion that a tra-dition is still very much alive, yet flexible and sensitive to the culturein which it lives.

BROWN COUNTY JAiH30REENovember 7th, 1965

Norman Carlson

(Norman Carlson (see the LETTERS section in this number) is president of thePurdue Folksong Club, Lafayette, Indiana,and local represuntativd of the Stan-ley Brothers fan club).

As the season's final performance the Brown County Jamboree, Bean Blossom,Indiana, provided an all-bluegrass show made up of several unusually skilledand authentic bands, culminating in a long and spirited appearance by the med-ium's founder, Bill ilonroc, and his Blue Grass Boys. A high degree of perfor-mer-audience rapport in the informal rural setting of the Jamboree building, awooden shed containing a stage, chairs and several old-fashioned chunk stoves,added a satisfying complement to the afternoon's pleasure.

The performers on the first part of the program--Roger Smith and hisband, Don Gully and the Pinnacle Mlountain Boys, Dave \Jollum and his band,and Bryant ililson and Kentucky Ramblers--had a sound refreshingly differentfrom either the commercial bluegrass recordings of today or the amateur col-lege groups. This was bedrock rural bluegrass. The difference was iiostnoticeable in the vocal efforts. The natural country accents, combined withhari.iony arrangements perfectly suited to such voices, provided listening sat-isfaction superior to any copy.

The entire show was strongly reminiscent of the bluegrass of ten yearsago. Bryant Wilson's voice, especially, was remarkably like that of RalphStanley on his earlier recordings. And the fiddle styles and tempo of sev-eral of the groups were typical of that era.

The highlight of the day and of the entire season was Bill Honroe andhis Blue Grass Boys: Pete Roan--guitar, Lamar Grear--banjo; Jean Loyger--fiddle; and James Monroe, Mill's son, on bass. Despite a severe cold Mon-roe performed for an hour and 45 minutes and made every request to pleasethe audience by answering requests called out from the floor or written onpaper. There was a heavy emphasis on the older songs (typical of Monroe'sperformances) such as "Uncle Pen", "Blue Moon of Kentucky", "Footprints inthe Snow", "Holly and Tenbrooks" and "Blue Grass Breakdown". Newer songs

Reviews (continued)

like "I live in the Past" and "Salt Creek" were also included.

Bill's older brother, Birch flonroe, owns Brown County Jamboree. He waspresent and played his fiddle with the Ulue Grass Boys on a few old-timenumbers, including "Down Yonder", "Over the Waves" and "Carroll County Blues".Through the years Birch has been a frequent member of the Blue Grass Boys andbefore that--of the tlonroe Brothers, although he was never as active as eitherBill or Charlie.

The entire performance was a rare opportunity for the connoisseur ofbluegrass music to fill his soul with the pure, old-time country strains andto circulate among the people who are the ultimate foundation of folk andcountry music, people who appeared entirely appropriate beside the chunk stovesand in the rough shed (even Bill Honroe approximated this image far more thanthat of the rich and gaudy Grand Ole Opry artist). This was an experience ofunique entertainment and cultural value.

NEO! BOOKS:

How to be a Folksinger--Hermes Nye

At first disturbing, then thoroughly interesting, is this handbook for theneophyte folksinger. It is disturbing at first because the author's attitudeis soimetimes flippant, and it seems there are enough flip people around with-out their being put in print. Despite this one drawback the book covers wellthe art of folksinging in all its aspects--the guitar, voice, stage manner,repertoire, and public image of the folksinger. The writer is clever in put-ting you in various situations and then advising you how to deal with them.The advice is good. Experienced performers as well as beginners will find thebook useful and enjoyable.

The Letters of Joe Hill--Dr. Philip S. Foner

Readers who are unfaiiliEr with Joe Hill will certainly find his personalletters a fascinating introduction. Some 30,000 people marched at his fun-eral in 1915, after his execution in Utah which took place despite appealsfrom the government of Sweden and President Wilson. This book of letterswritten in prison is both an interesting and valuable historical documentof his struggle to avoid death. Death came, however, and unded the life ofone of the nation's most talented and well known composers of working-classsongs. --- John Hlunday.

Have you ordered (or even heard) Campus Folksong Club's recordings? A lot ofpeople have. Orders have come in from the British Isles, Australia and Hol-land. See the order form in this number. The three discs are The Philo Gleeand 1iandoline Society, Green Fields of Illinois and The Hell-Bound Train.They feature hillbilly music of the 20's and 30's as interpreted by studentsand a professor at the U of I, native southern Illinois music, and cowboy songssung by a genyewine cowboy. Order one, why dontcha.

THE KENNEDY BALLADi.ords + music byJonn C. I1unday Jr.Copyright 1965

Em

Jackie left the ihite House feeling sore a-fraid Dallas was the

6 7C - Am D7 G

town where dlaid just been saved Stil she went to Dallas showing

tovwn nhere ;.dlai'd just been saved Still she went to Dallas shoving

- ' " ; . i -' j i " -- :* "__

joy and prie Beaingsunshonedon On a cheering tonjoy and pride Beaming sun shone down On a cheering tw

UCA.4 AU'.AVC~Lli ~U LItA',La .5.UU %.IA' *j a* A---

Near the end around a bend a man was stillRifle poised, his steady eye was set to killAimed at Jack a President beloved by allAiuing at his crown, Oswald cut him downLeft hii lying, bleeding, bound to die

Back to washington his lifeless body caueAt his side a blood-stained tearful wife remainedGrieving with the nation at a loss so cruelKennedy feeling fine, cut down in his primeGone a man whose time had just begun

Now a startled world aroused to show its painSends a famous host to where the man is lainSlow a lonely march along the AvenueMuffled drums are low, to soften some the blowNow the world is mourning JFK.

r-

RECORD REVIEItS: F.K. Pious Jr.

THE IRISH ARE COMING OVER AGAIN

Last spring John Walsh was good enought to review some of the new Scottish bag-pipe recordings in this column, and I now propose to give the same treatment to an-other class of imported and domestic recordings concerning the Celtic musical heri-tage. It seems that the Irish are interested in displaying their musical wares tothe American public, and the discs now being marketed here are proving to be of im-mense value to collectors not only of Irish music, but of the whole congeries ofBritish-American song and dance, for Irish music has always been a great influerneon native American styles, especially in the region of old-time dance music and, mostespecially, among tunes scored for the fiddle, an instrument every bit as respectedamong the American folk as it is even today among their Hibernian kin.

Irish music, of course, differs in several respects from that of even its closestrelatives. Its balladry is extremely ancient (some authorities have even suggestedthat the art of poetry actually arose in Ireland and was dispersed from there to themore distant regions) and has long been recognized as among the most beautiful in theworld. Its musicians are mentioned in many historic chronicles as being highly ac-complished, especially on the traditional Irish harp and the pipes, and the singersof these ballads have been renowned ever since Ireland herself came to be known toher neighbors. Unlike their Celtic cousins--the 1Lelsh-the Irish do not use the cho-rus for singing, prefering to keep their ballads in the hands of individuals. Thetraditional singer, accompanying himself on a harp at the most and unaccomoanied agreat part of the time, sings his songs solo, mixing melody (often modal) with ele-gant lyrics and poetic imagery to keep the story and the music in touch with one an-other. And unlike their Scottish kinfolk, the Irish do not play the Highland warpipes, but confine themselves to the Uillean pipes, an-elbow-pumped instrument muchsmall than the Scottish model and used mainly as a parlor instrument. Its tone issofter, and additional devices make possible the playing of various chords. Most ofthe fiddle tunes played in Ireland, like those in Scotland, show distinct evidencethat they have been adapted from pipe tunes, and the Irish fiddler is usually a veryaccomplished fellow, inasmuch as he must adapt a stringed instrument to the demandsof a fingered pipe. Thus the trills and other pipe "tricks" heard on the Irish fid-dle.

A new spirit gets into Irish music of late--the sound of the ceili band. Tra-ditionally the ceili (ceilidh in the original Gaelic) is a jam-session of musiciansplus the inevitable Irish dancing, and the music played tends to be that of the dan-ces--jigs, reels and hornpipes. The distinctive sounds of these dances are found intheir timing (6/8 for the jig and a jaunty 4/4 for the reel and hornpipe) and intheir melody lines and runs, both stemming from the music of pipes. The polka isnow making a strong campaign in Ireland, and some of the new recordings reflect itsinfluence. The composition of the usual ceili band (and this type of band, we mustremember, is a fairly recent phenomenon in the ancient history of Irish music) isusually as follows: a bass, a piano, drums, two or three fiddles, a couple of flutesand an accordion. The presence of the last two is a reflection of the modern influ-ence but expresses, perhaps, the Irish infatuation with pneumatic instruments; theAuld Sod has never really forgotten its love for music made by air.

Because of the efforts of Dublin R cords we are now receiving a steady, if some-what small, supply of authentic contemporary Irish music. Devoted to their heritage,

The Irish (continued)

the Irish have been much more diligent than we have in preserving the best of thenation's music, and the cultivation and revival of Irish lore and legend is a nation-wide effort, not the province of a few specialists, as it so often is here. For ev-idence I submit a few of the issues which have reached me*, warning the reader thatmy list of Irish recordings does not even pretend to be exhaustive, what with my ownlimited capital and the ever-increasing supply of Irish music reaching these shores.

Dublin Records DU-LP 1005/The Leitrim Ceili Band/Current All-Ireland Champions/Recorded in Ireland.

This album is part of a series issued recently by Dublin, all of the discsbeing numbered in the low 1000's. The word "champion" is no misnomer here; the Irishare fierce competitors in everything they undertake, and music-making is no exception.Festivals of fiddlers, harpers, singers, dancers, flautists, pipers and accordionistsare held almost continually throughout the island, and singing is, of course, a con-stant object of discussion and dispute. The Leitrim Ceili Band, consisting of eightmembers, holds the ceili-band championship, which they won in 1959 at the Flead CeolNa h-Eireann (All-Ireland Pusic Contest) held in Thurles, Tipperary.

This album consists of 12 reels and 12 jigs played in back-toback pairs. Twoaccordionists, two fiddlers and two flutes are backed up by a drum-and-piano rhythmsection. The best tunes are probably Butler's Reel, Lonesome Jig, Gallagher's Fro-lics, Leitrim Reel, MacDarcy's Favorite, Anne Tlshe's Reel and The Maid of MountKisco.

The tunes are undoubtedly infectious and perfectly suited for dancing, therhythm being perfect throughout, but a few problems do turn up. First, the accor-dions tend to carry the melody too much of the time, and their volume drowns out thefiddles. As a hardshell fiddling enthusiast, I am not disposed to take this sort ofslight sitting down. Moreover, the Dublin Company has not yet mastered the art ofrecording the fiddle, a very difficult instrument to capture on plastic. The wail-ing and shrieking get through, but most of the subtler tones in the lower registersare lost to the accordions. No one, however, could mistake this for anything butgenuine Irish music, and the enthusiasm of the musicians gets through to the listen-er and sets the feet to tapping, as all dance music ought.

Dublin R cords DU-LP 100l/The Kilfenora Ceili Band/Recorded in Ireland/All-Ire-land champions for 3 consecutive years.

1his Dublin offering suffers from the same defects as the first, but its meritsare almost as high. The tunes a re almost bare of minor-key ornamentation, but areotherwise fit in all respects, especially for dancing. Only one accordion is heardon this record, and the number of fiddles has been increased to three.This disc in-cludes several polkas as well as the standard complement of jigs and reels, and theparticular job the Irish do on the polka will probably intrigue many listeners. Un-

*This sounds as if the records "reach me" because the recording companies send mereview copies. 'Tain't so. I have to buy them. I would dearly love to have freshdiscs reach me each month, but none of the recording companies seem to know of theexistence of Autoharp, nor do they feel its influence, apparently. My acquisitionsare made at the record store, where the personnel are extremely helpful.

The Irish (ccntinued)

fortunately the disc does not include the famous Roscommon polka, probably the pret-tiest polka ever played. It has been recorded by the TMcNulty Family, but I have noidea whether their recordings are available in this country. The only chance I'vehad to hear their work was at the Bit of Erin Bar in Lashington last summer. I hadmany interesting adventures there, but none of them, alas, are germane in this con-text.

Elektra EKC-266 (Mono); Elektra EKS 7266 (Stereo). Jean Carignon/Hangman's Reel,Gaspe Reel, Le Rossignol, Medley:G. Scott Skinner, La Ronfleuse Gobeil, Irish Med-ley: Jigs, Porteau Blanc, La Bastringue, Devil's Dream, Mason's Apron, Irish Medley:Reels, Bagpipe on Violin, Lord Gordon's Reel, Van Dam's Hornpipe, Bonnie Kate, Birdin the Tree.

The sub-title of this album reads: "The Folk Fiddler bFho Electrified the NewportFolk Festival". At first I thought that Carignon must have been hired to install thesound system at the festival, but after hasty consultation with an assistant in theiznglish Department I discovered that this phrase is by way of being a metaphor andserves notice that Carignon created a great deal of enthusiasm when he played for thefans at Newport. Of course, when I actually listened to the record I understood whythis unusual locution was so accurate. Carignon, as almost all fans of fiddling arenow aware, is a tremendous fiddler, a superb and glittering technician and a treasurechest stuffed with the musical jewelry of three cultures--French, Scottish and Irish--which blend in northeastern Canada (well, they're trying to blend, but there arestill some lumps in the batter). A Canadien by birth and a French speaker by prefer-ence and upbringing, Carignon makes heavy use of his Gallic background when he at-tempts a Scottish or Irish number.

This Gallic verve permeates even the most patently Celtic music when Carignonturns his hand to fiddling. No one, not even the finest Irish fiddler, ever put suchlusty flourishes on a reel as Carignon does on Bonny Kate or Bird in The Tree. Onewould expect a tune like La Bastringue (with Jean's unique foot-clogging) to be goodand French in its delivery, but the listener is in for a surprise when he hears, say,Lord Gordon's Reel, Devil's Dream or the Medley of Irish reels executed in the samestyle. One wonders whether one has stumbled into a Roxbury wake or a Bastille Dayparty. 1.here a good stateside fiddler might be expected to put "English" on hisboi.ing, Carignon puts "French" on it. The result? Thoroughly delightful. At thevery least, interesting, engaging and infectious. There is hardly an Irishman draw-ing breath who could object to the way Carignon handles a jig or reel. Carignon isalmost addicted to chopping and digging the strings with the bow, yielding an extreme-ly lusty and exuberant sound, and on certain numbers this technique changes the wholecomplexion of the tune. He actually rescues Devil's Dream from the obscurity it sorichly deserves (this tune, despite its digital complexity, is such a bore that akiddie show in Chicago used to use it as theme music!) for a few sparkling moments.On a number like Bonnie Kate, wi.th its syncopated tempi and strange, crazy careeningsinto the minor and back again, C rignon shows the real possibilities of Irish music.Keeping one's feet still while listening to him is out of the question. Just howIrish it all is, I can't say. There is a very patent cross-pollination going on herebetween Quebea-French styles and Aorth American Irish immigrant styles, heavily lardedwith the imported tunes direct from Ireland. The result is a clear success. Canadais producing a melting-pot style of traditional music every bit as interesting andexciting as our own. ýthat the southern white and the urban and rural Negro have pro-

The Irish (continued)

duced in this glittering Republic the Quebec French and the Scots and Irish of theMaritime Provinces are equaling in the Dominion--a true amalgamation of the culturesgoing to build a new nation. Carignon is, at least in the area of instrumental mu-sic, the best example yet of that new tradition.

Carignon is accompanied by bass, piano, guitar and accordion on this album, andon some of the numbers, notably Van Dam's Hornpipe and Le Rossignol, the accordiontakes over and nearly silences the fiddle. Otherwise the accompaniment is excellent,especially in the rhythm section. Best of all, this recording as produced by Elektrais far superior in its quality to the Carignon disc put out by Folkways several yearsback. Played on good equipment, it will deliver excellent sound and will show almosteverything the fiddle has to offer. One can expect that both the record and the cul-ture it presents will both last a long time.

Dublin Records DU-LP 1003. All-Ireland Champions--Violin/Iteet Paddy Canny andP.J. Hayes/Peter O'Loughlin--Concert Flute and Bridey Lafferty--Piano.

Here, as in the next item, we are saving the best for the last. Canny andHayes are indeed the fiddle champions of Ireland, and Side 2 of the album (on whichthey are accompanied only by a restrained piano) shows their talents exceedinglywell. Start with a number like Sean Ryan's Jig(same as the Lonesome Jig on DU-LP100$; compare this version with the accordion-drow-ned ceili-band version), whichoccupies a full band, is played in E minor throughout and goes through several vari-ations. The tune is both danceable and songlike at the same time. The fiddle'sability to "sing" comes through clean and pure (use a good reproduction system topick up all the nuances). Mrs. Lafferty's accompaniment consists of the bare min-imum necessary to ensure good dance rhythm and cho-rding, while Canny and Hayes engagein several of the treasured Irish fiddling tricks for turning the sound of a fiddleinto that of a pipe. This jig is probably the most eloquent on the record, but thefour others on Side 2 are all excellent, as are the six reels, and to ask a recordreviewer to choose among them would constitute criel and unusual punishment. Side1 features the same two fiddlers, but with a flute added. The softness of the flutesteals a bit from the fiddles, and sense of the music is often lost in the gratuitousmixing of the instruments. One feature of Side 1 is quite fetching, however: theinclusion of Chief O'Neil's Hornpipe. Chief O'Neil in this case is actually thesame man who served as Chicago's controversial police commissioner at the turn of thecentury. He was considered an authority on Irish traditional music on both sides ofthe pond, and his critics even maintained that his authorship of scholarly works andcomposing of pipe tunes interfered with his administrative duties. Actually, ihehornpipe he wrote is not one of the better numbiers on the record, but I had to in-clude this fascinating piece of regional Irish-Americana.

London 91222: Mary O'Hara/Songs of Erin.

If you've only enough money in your pocket for one record, and if you don'tthink you're quite ready for fiddle music yet, get a copy of this one. Mary O'Harais a young singer of traditional Irish songs -who accompanies herself on the Irishharp. This is a very bare description of a very rich musical tradition--perhapsthe oldest of the Irish musical traditions--solo singing to the strains of the harp.But a reviewer is very hard put to describe in words all the lush imagery and love-ly sounds which conspire to massage the ear 'when Irish poetry and an Irish harp areleft in the care of someone like Miss O'Hara.

The Irish (conclusion)

It all begins with the voice--disciplined, steady, on pitch always, never wav-ering. Miss O'Hara seems able to do just about whatever she wants with a song,even though her repertoire ranges from quick, light ditties like the Leprechaun tosoaring and majestic things like the Curragh Song, the hymn a fisherman sings tohis boat (in Gaelic) as he puts to seL7. Then over to the stately and sentimentalFarewell, But Whenever by Thomas More and the ancient children's song There Was aFrog Lived in the VWell (which turns out to be Froggy 'Went A-courtin', but not likeany Froggy you've ever heard before). Patriotic songs are also included, but unlikethe lusty and brawling nationalistic songs of the Clanceye, et al., Miss O'Hara'sare quieter and more tender, less apt to glorify the gore. I speak here of JacketsGreen and Down by the Glenside. Little Red Fox, sung partly in Gaelic (a lovelytongue for singing, incidentally) is a bouncy animal song done with the same liltand nearly the same tempo as the Leprechaun. But the love songs are clearly themost receptive to Miss O'Hara's talents. After hearing the MacPeake Family do OhCarrick Down I sincerely doubted that anyone could do it better, but Mary O'Haradoes (probably because the lyrics are written for a young colleen), what with herlight and airy voice and her delicate harp accompaniment. This tale of a departedlover (dating from 1690) is guaranteed to wring the withers of every listener, Hi-bernian or heathen.

A word about that harp: l-e have had very little opportunity to hear thisancient and lovely instrument in our country, and the necessity for a formal intro-duction grows greater by the hour. I can recommend no finer way to meet the harpthan to listen to this record. The instrument never dazzles the listener with vir-tuosity, but rather, it envelopes him with its simple chording and melody-picking,which the singer uses sparingly to help move his story along. The history of theharp is quite long and too involved for discussion here, but its importance will notbe lost on any listener who spends a pleasant hour with London 91222. The harp-voicecombination which HI.ary O'Hara employs is a formula for enchantment probably as oldas Irish whiskey and every bit as potent. VIhere the jig-and-reel bands set the feetto tapping, Mary O'Hara and her harp set the eyes to glistening and the soul to long-ing.

As I have stated before in these pages, I review records under the assumptionthat the reader is as tight with his dollar as I am with mine and has no surplusswag to throw after dubious discs. "ith this in mind I recommend the following:If you are a devotee of Irish dance-band music or wish to see what the range ofJig, reels and polkas covers in present-day Ireland, buy the first two dics orone of them. If you want some of the older Irish stuff straight from the keg, getthe Canny and Hayes fiddle record. If you are sensitive about how fiddles are usedand want to hear them only at their best, get the Canny and Hayes album and/theCarignon offering. If real virtuosity is your preference, get the Carignon album,especially if you like your music fast and jumpy.

But for the listener who does not specialize in Irish music, for those who havethe price of only one record in their pockets and cannot afford to get anythirg butthe best on the first try, for those who might tire of instrumental music and wouldfain switch to bel canto--buy the Mary O'Hara album, Songs of Erin. This is musicat its best--and I don't mean just folk music.

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