The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #162246   Message #3860559
Posted By: GUEST,Nick Dow
12-Jun-17 - 09:14 PM
Thread Name: Southern Harvest Book Launch (NEW)
Subject: RE: Southern Harvest Book Launch (NEW)
I think Joe meant recordings of Marina. Sharp did record Jack Barnard of Bridgewater, and several other singers from Somerset. The only comparable Dorset recordings were Charlie Wills and my recordings of his friend Bill House, whose father George sang to the Hammond brothers. They are available on line. I was very young when I recorded Bill and looking back made a bit of a hash of it. I got most of his songs but tried to ape the recordings I was listening to on vinyl at the time and used my own value judgments (just like the Hammonds did with his father George). I was only 29 years old and far from being encouraged by my elders and betters I was (probably quite correctly) taken to task but not very kindly. Needless to say being a working class lad from Peckham I felt I was being talked down to so I threw my dummy out of my pram and took my toys home at the time. I got absolutely no encouragement at all (with the exception of Sam Richards). I often wonder what I might have achieved had somebody with greater knowledge taken me under his or her wing. However you can't put an old head on young shoulders and I did my best. You can hear my efforts at collecting at the British Library Website. Marina's life story is available with my article in 'The Living Tradition, complete with a photo of her and her husband.