No, Harp, I rarely played with John. Not on his records at all. When he got on the boats I was singing on it was mainly to relax & pilot the boat. (Check out the lyrics to "Kentucky Pool")---that's a true song! The "footsteps on the stairs" was Dinnis Trone, the Captain, heading FAST up to the pilothouse 'cause John was all over the river & out o' the channel.)Of course, John would pick and sing some---especially if I'd done my thing and was gettin' ready to be landed on an island to glory in the wonderful solitude of the moments I'd spend there alone waiting for the other boat, (the Twilight) to pick me up on its downbound journey. I'd do another show on the Twilight and be back where I'd left my car in the morning so's to drive home. Truly, I do believe Mr. Harford is a musical genius. Whew, the tales I could tell!! But better not.

I'm at folkart@ivnet.com I'll take any chance I can to mentally re-live those years of 16 hour days "working?" on the river. Weren't work at all. It was sad when the Julia Belle Swain had to be sold due to pressure on the excursion boats from the gambling ones. But it's still around---runs out o' LaCrosse, Wisconsin. Just not owned by the folks who built it--the Trone family.