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  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Nearly five years ago, I had my first in depth experience diving into music history with my late mentor Joan Crane. This new record "Folk Songs For Old Time's Sake" is a culmination of what she taught me, and harbors mostly traditional material revisited and rearranged that Joan inspired in me. Some of the songs are by pioneers such as Elizabeth Cotten, The Carter Family, Mississippi John Hurt and Jimmie Rodgers, with the mindset of preserving their legacy and exposing their history to my generation and its successors. After starting the music history podcast "American Songcatcher", my desire for preservation has become a mission, and inside the liner notes of the limited edition vinyl gatefold resides a summary of the song or artists history behind the 14 tracks. This installment is the first of many to come honoring the legacy of American roots music.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Folk Songs For Old Times' Sake via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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  • Buy the Full Digital Album

about

Green Rocky Road (Dave Van Ronk/Bob Kaufman)

Born on June 30th, 1936 in Brooklyn, New York, Dave Van Ronk started his music career in barbershop quartets and playing banjo in traditional jazz bands. He eventually found that learning old folk and blues songs from the 78's he found at record stores, and became a regular in Washington Square Park which eventually gave birth to the great Greenwich Village Folk scene. His authentic renditions of traditional tunes and raw emotion in performances was a direct influence on the more well known names to come out of the movement, including Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell and Ramblin’ Jack Elliot. Dubbed “The Mayor of MacDougal Street”, Dave and another folk singer named Len Chandler were backstage at a club when a beat poet named Bob Kaufman said he had a song for them. It was a popular old African American children’s song that was sung throughout the South, specifically around New Orleans, where Kaufman grew up, called “Green, Green Rocky Road.” Both men decided to record the song, and Dave added some elements from Len’s version. It was one of the most enduring and requested songs throughout his five decade music career, spanning 30 studio and live albums that blended blues, jazz, folk, jug-band stomps and sea chanteys. He’s considered one of the most influential guitarists of the '60s and a legend of the Village scene. He passed away in 2002, and the Coen Brothers movie “Inside Llewyn Davis” is loosely based on his infamy.

lyrics

When I go by Baltimore
There ain’t no carpet on my floor
Grab your coat, wont you follow me
I know a man in Galilee

Hollerin’ Green green rocky road
Promenade in green
Tell me who ya love
Tell me who ya love

See that crow up in the sky
He don't walk no, he just fly
He don't walk no, he don't run
He keep flappin’ to the sun

Little Miss Jane you run into the wall
Don't you stumble, Don't you fall
Don't you think no don't you shout
When I sing come runnin’ out

Ooka-tooka soda cracker
Does your mama chew tobacco?
If your mama chews tobacco
Ooka-tooka, Ooka-tooka soda cracker

credits

from Folk Songs For Old Times' Sake, released November 2, 2021
Nicholas Williams - Guitar, Vocals
Gordon Inman - Clarinet

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Nicholas Edward Williams image

Nicholas Edward Williams Chattanooga, Tennessee

Host of the music history podcast
"American Songcatcher", Nicholas is a 37 year-old multi-instrumentalist and storyteller who is dedicated to playing it forward by preserving the songs and styles that have shaped America: ragtime, Piedmont blues, traditional folk, old time and early country. He's opened for Taj Mahal and The Wood Brothers.

“Beautifully uplifting and rootsy…” - Folk Radio UK ... more

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