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.
ships out within 8 days
edition of 100
$30USDor more
Streaming + Download
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
Known as "The Singing Brakeman" and widely regarded as “The Father of Country Music”, Jimmie Charles Rodgers was born near Meridian, Mississippi, in 1897. He learned how to sing in church, and before turning 13 had successfully organized and started two traveling shows before being forced home by his father, who then got him a job as a water boy at the rail yard . Eventually, Jimmie was afforded a guitar and taught himself how to pick and strum by watching the passing hobos and rail workers there, and immersed himself in the work chants of the African Americans laying and maintaining the tracks. For the next 15 years, he would live and breathe that locomotive life in different areas of the country. At 27, Jimmie was diagnosed with tuberculosis, which jeopardized his rail work, though it afforded him a chance to fuel his passion to become an entertainer. He moved to Asheville, North Carolina and got a gig playing on the radio, and a few years later he was front and center for the now famous "Bristol Sessions" headed by Ralph Peer and The Victor Talking Machine Company. A second session in New York with Peer led to a recording of Jimmie's "Blue Yodel/T For Texas", which sold nearly a half a million copies, and a legacy was born. From then on, wherever Jimmie decided to perform would sell out. The country blues pioneer's life ended early while staying at the Taft Hotel in New York City in 1933, after what would be the last recording sessions of his career. "Mississippi River Blues" is a song about Jimmie's travels up and down the Mississippi River, featuring his signature rhythmic yodeling which he learned after hearing a group of Swiss emissaries outside a church. First recorded in 1929, this rendition is inspired by Leon Redbone's take.
lyrics
Oh the Mississippi river, water so deep and wide
My thoughts of you keep rising just like an evening tide
I'm just like a seagull that's left the sea
Oh, your muddy waters, they keep on calling me
I'm gonna pack my grip and head that way
You'll see me hanging 'round again some day
'Cause I know that's the only way to lose
The Mississippi River blues
I've often ridden on your bosom from Memphis down to New Orleans
Dreaming over muddy waters flowing through familiar scenes
And when I hear the whistle of an old steamboat
Down that Mississippi River again I'm going to float
I'm gonna pack my grip and head that way
You'll see me hanging 'round again some day
'Cause I know that's the only way to lose
The Mississippi River blues
credits
from Folk Songs For Old Times' Sake,
released November 2, 2021
Nicholas Williams - Guitar, Vocals, Harmonica
Gordon Inman - Clarinet
Cody Ray - Guitar
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
Sweet harmonies & strummed melodies; the duo delve into decades-old folk, jazz, and country to find a timeless kind of love and connection. Bandcamp New & Notable May 23, 2018
This album speaks to the continuum of African diasporic culture that is central to the vibrant canon of Americana folk music. Bandcamp Album of the Day May 29, 2020
The Alabama duo's fifth album exults in dusty Americana, showcasing rich vocal harmonies alongside blissful folk instrumentation. Bandcamp New & Notable Mar 31, 2024
