Here's a copy of the press release sent out to the "folk" DJs around the country. I think we can be proud to have Frank in our Mudcat community.
Sandy (hoping his cut & paste works!)
For half a century, Frank Hamilton has shared his unique musical gift with the greatest artists in folk music. Now, in his first new album in almost three decades, he has gathered a collection of his favorite traditional and original songs, presented here for your listening pleasure on a new CD: Long Lonesome Home.
Throughout his tenure in the American folk music community, Frank Hamilton has played with, accompanied, and taught some of the most prominent folk artists of the twentieth century, including: Pete Seeger, Odetta, the Weavers, the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, Tom Paxton, Woody Guthrie, Cisco Houston, Mahalia Jackson, Theodore Bikel, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Hoyt Axton, and Joan Baez. He was a house musician for the first folk music night club, Chicago's Gate of Horn in 1956, and has appeared at numerous folk festivals, including the very first Newport Folk Festival in 1959.
As one of the founders of Chicago's Old Town School of Folk Music, Frank Hamilton helped bring folk music to a wide audience, teaching his musical skills to countless students, including the teenaged Jim (now Roger) McGuinn. On this new CD, McGuinn returns the favor, accompanying Frank and his wife Mary on 'Brazos River.'
The songs on this CD were chosen not only because they are some of Frank's favorite songs, but because they are rarely heard in this day of the singer/songwriter. "I think that the more traditional folk songs that are recorded today, the better it is for our cultural climate," says Frank.
This remarkable new CD also contains memorable stories about Frank's experiences as a prominent member of the American folk scene, including his work with the legendary Weavers and his friendship with Woody Guthrie.
Here are some comments from folks who have heard 'Long Lonesome Home':
PETE SEEGER: "Frank Hamilton is, believe me, one of the most creative musicians in the country. No, in the world! I hope many, many, many people hear this wonderful CD."
TOMMY MAKEM: "What a joyous recording this is!! Here is genuine American folk music in all of its wonderful diversity, sung and played with knowledge, love and artistry by a master."
RONNIE GILBERT: "...takes me happily back to evenings in the sixties, when you could drop into your local coffee house and be wrapped for a quiet hour or two in easy acoustic pleasure."
ODETTA: "The folksinger's folksinger--master of the art!"
ROGER MCGUINN: "Great songs and great stories from the man that taught me to play guitar and banjo."< br>
JEAN RITCHIE: "[The] presence on the recording was amazing--I felt that if I looked around, he'd be in the room, singing and playing in person."
TOM PAXTON: "...brings back his days with The Weavers, and his stories about Woody Guthrie (and getting a harmonica lesson) are just what an old folkie like me needed. Well done, Frank!"
THEODORE BIKEL: "Frank was always a superior banjo player and guitar picker and still is today. It is his voice which has retained the timbre and range of years ago. This is truly fine work."
SAM HINTON: "It's not only an enjoyable CD--it's IMPORTANT!"
GUY CARAWAN: "I got to know Frank in the early 1950s in Los Angeles. I'm happy to see him come out with his own CD. He has contributed so much to American folk music."
The songs performed on 'Long Lonesome Home' include:
1. MICHIGAN WATER 4:43
2. WOODY GUTHRIE* 1:50
3. DO RE MI 2:23
4. RED ROSY BUSH 5:15
5. THE WEAVERS* 1:50
6. JAY GOULD'S DAUGHTER 3:00
7. COWBOYS* 1:50
8. BUFFALO SKINNERS 5:48
9. DRIVIN' STEEL 5:11
10. BRAZOS RIVER 3:01
11. WOODY GUTHRIE* 1:50
12. PASTURES OF PLENTY 3:10
13. UTAH CARROLL 7:51
14. SAM BASS 2:58
15. HELMET SONG 3:40
16. LONG LONESOME HOME 3:45
* = STORY
We hope you will enjoy listening to 'Long Lonesome Home' as much as we at Indian Trail Records enjoyed producing it, and as much as Frank enjoyed recording it!
Indian Trail Records
8676 Travis Road
Sanger, TX 76266-4112