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.
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Born the son of freed slaves around 1892 in Teoc, Mississippi, John Smith Hurt grew up in Avalon, not too far away. He left school at age 10 to be a farm hand, and was taught guitar by a local songster and family friend, the first of which was titled "Hop Joint". John lived most of his life without electricity, did hard labor of all sorts and played music as a hobby at local dances. In his late 20's, a fiddle player he performed with on occasion won a competition and a chance to record with Okeh Records. He insisted they listen to John, and after a few songs agreed to record him for two sessions, in Memphis and New York City. They were commercial failures, broadcasted as "race music", and with The Great Depression in full swing, John went back to farming and raising his family that would grow to 14 children. Nearly 40 years later, a white man showed up at John's door and told him there was a huge audience that loved his music. Two of those tracks he recorded for Okeh Records had been included in the holy grail of American music, Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music, one of the main catalysts for the folk and blues revival of the 60's and 70's. John went on to record several albums, perform on the big folk coffeehouse circuits, Carnegie Hall, The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and Newport Folk Festival. He passed away at age 72 of a heart attack, just a few years after being brought out of obscurity. He's one of the most influential guitarists and composers across the genres of blues and folk music in American history. Interestingly, "Pay Day" was written by John Hurt, though several versions of this song, including John's, have verses that can be found in other songs - quite similar to those passed in the oral traditions of folk and blues music.
lyrics
Baby I did all I can do
Can't get along with you
Gotta take you to your momma on pay day
Pay day
Pay day
Take you to your momma, pay day
Well that rabbit in a log
I cant get no rabbit dog
I hate to see that rabbit get away
Get away
Get away
I hate to see that rabbit get away
Baby I did all I can do
Can't get along with you
Gotta take you to your momma on pay day
Pay day
Pay day
Take you to your momma, pay day
The hounds is on my track
Knapsack on my back
Gotta make it to my shanty 'for the day
'For the day
'For the day
I gotta make it to my shanty 'for the day
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.
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