The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #170041 Message #4125319
Posted By: Levana Taylor
06-Nov-21 - 12:44 AM
Thread Name: Any July Songs
Subject: RE: Any July Songs
In the early hours of July 4, 1925, a dilapidated Boston hotel collapsed, killing 44 of the partiers in the Pickwick Club, a speakeasy on the second floor. It is generally said that the building was brought down by the rhythmic vibrations from the crowd dancing the Charleston (to the sound of "12th Street Rag" played by McGlennon's jazz band). The following year, Arthur Fields (under the name Bob Thomas) recorded "The Pickwick Club Tragedy." To my ears, the usual mix of sentiment and moralizing goes beyond mawkish to bathetic in this composition. The Boston-based folksinger Tony Saletan included it on the 1970 album Folk Songs and Ballads; Tony does sound like he's having a hard time taking the song seriously as he sings!