Among this pack of cranks, where nuts are not only tolerated, but a welcome part of the social landscape, (78 collector) Bussard is the odd man out of the oddballs: an unschooled and profane "pure cracker" (in the words of a fellow collector) among a bunch of mostly urbane Northerners - Joe Bussard, story by Eddie Dean, washingtoncitypaper.com
That is really pretty, Frank, and a soulful vocal. I especially like the mindset and sound you get when you pick up your tiple. And thanks for the good words on what I did. All best, Johnm
Hi all, Re the phrase "Old Pal" being in the common usage in song lyrics at one point, my friends Laurel Bliss and Cliff Perry, who do wonderful Old-Time duet singing, recorded a song on their first CD called "Old Pal of Yesterday", which evidently came from a Gene Autry recording. I don't know who the composer was, but the song is a waltz. And thanks, Tom, for the good words. All best, Johnm
John , I have that 78 by Gene Autry and dug it up. It is called My Old Pal Of Yesterday and it is by Gene Autry and Jimmy Long and was recorded in 1931. It is a very pretty song and has seen somewhat of a revival in the recent Old Time Music scene. Although there is no author credit on the label, I found this bit of info on it at the Mudcat site; The info I have on this tune My Old pal Of yesterday was written by Gene Autry and Jimmy Long in 1931 and had the same tune as Jimmie Rodgers tune My Old Pal written by Jimmie Rodgers in 1928.They had a row but didn't get into court due to the fact it was right in the heart of the depression so Gene said he would change the tune but not the words and they shook hands and everyone was happy.
Thanks for that additional information, Lightnin'. It's hard to imagine such a civilized and amicable solution to that sort of problem nowadays, in our evermore litigious society. Too bad. All best, Johnm
Super interesting! Thank you onewent for introducing me to this song and for posting your rendition of the. I am learning tons from these SOTMs! John and Frank, I LOVED the your performances of the song! Thanks for posting them.
Its an extra bonus for me that he speaks in the clip as I find him to be an articulate, often eloquent and poetic speaker.
That he is, Harriet! I was thinking about this the other day, and McTell probably had a lot more education than most African Americans of his time and in his economic class... when you listen to the interview with Lomax from 1940, he says he went to a blind school in GA from 1922-1925 (he would have started there at the age of 24!), then another school in NY, then ANOTHER in MI, where he learned braille. He shows up back in GA in 1927 to start his recording career at 29 years old... I have no idea how long he was in elementary school, or if he went to secondary school, but it seems like he got at LEAST three additional years of education as an adult, and maybe more... interesting.