Greetings to all,

Hey, if anyone is looking for a recording of "Julie" you might want to check out mine. I recorded the song in 1999 on my mostly Great Lakes CD, "Old Timers". Samples and other recordings are on www.neilwoodward.com (wouldn't you know it).

As I recall, my source was the Lomax book "Our Singing Country". Then I performed the song for some time, so there's no telling what I wound up with. I don't do dialects either, but we all have to tell our stories the best and most honest way we can. The important thing is that the story is told, and is there for future generations to discover.

Singing the old timers for the uninitiated is an interesting experience. Generally, audiences are surprised that there even exists such a thing as Great Lakes folk music. 100% of the time, listeners are drawn in by the stories and the compelling first-person nature of how they are told. The only way those storytellers live is by the breath of life in our singing of the songs.

David and Michael (Mustard's) told me a few years ago they were thinking of recording the song, remarking on my tune being different from the Windjammers'. I need to check back with them to see what they settled on.

In looking back through the postings, I'm about ten years late getting here, so probably by now nobody's looking. But in case anyone does look, has anyone actually figured out the historical details on this one? With all the wonderful Great Lakes shipping research done by so many dedicated historians, I've always been perplexed by the lack of available details on this tale of woe and intrigue.

My best to you all,
Neil Woodward
Michigan's Troubadour