Raymond Crooke-song abt coal mining whistleblower

Subject: RE: Raymond Crooke-song abt coal mining whistleblower
From: 2581
Date: 27 Mar 12 - 11:54 AM

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Subject: RE: Raymond Crooke-song abt coal mining whistleblower
From: 2581
Date: 21 Mar 12 - 04:17 PM

As for your comment, "Guest 999", you missed the point of the new thread. It was to UPDATE people on the Mudcat Cafe about the fact that the public radio station in West Virginia had used a Mudcatter's YouTube song as part of its radio broadcast about Mr. Howard. That's certainly not an every day occurrence.

Subject: RE: Raymond Crooke-song abt coal mining whistleblower
From: 2581
Date: 21 Mar 12 - 04:11 PM

I have no interest in arguing with you "Guest/Wild Once". We are all entitled to our opinions. What I meant by the comment with which you disagree is that folk music has the ability to inform folks about people and events that we otherwise might not hear about. It also has the ability to influence opinions.
   I know that the excellent Huffington Post article about Charles Scott Howard was read by thousands of people (there were about 1300 comments on it), but Raymond Crooke's song on YouTube told the story to a bunch of folks who probably had not seen the HuffPost article.
   Then a public radio station in West Virginia used Mr. Crooke's song to highlight its piece about Mr. Howard's battle with "Big Coal" on the eve of his trial. So, many more folks in the Appalachian mountains learned about the issue. There was also an article about Mr. Crooke's song in the local newspaper - The Mountain Eagle - where Mr. Howard lives.
   Whether one likes the song or not, it has helped to spread the word about Mr. Howard's mine safety advocacy.
   In addition, whether Bob Dylan, Billy Edd Wheeler or another songwriter could have written a more concise song isn't the issue to me. Mr. Crooke took the time and made the effort to honor Mr. Howard with the song. Indeed, I found Mr. Crooke's song to be quite clever and it certainly had a viewpoint of its own.
   As for your final comment, it is axiomatic that people's lives are the basis for folk music - but that doesn't mean that folk music can't spread the word and influence opinions. Woody Guthrie wrote powerful music about real life events - the Ludlow Massacre, the 1913 Massacre, the Centralia Disaster, etc - but that doesn't mean that his music didn't inform and influence.
   Kudos to Mr. Crooke for putting into music a story that otherwise would have ended with the HuffPost article!

Subject: RE: Raymond Crooke-song abt coal mining whistleblower
From: GUEST,999
Date: 21 Mar 12 - 08:26 AM

There was a thread about this topic months back, fyi.

Subject: RE: Raymond Crooke
From: GUEST,Wild Once
Date: 21 Mar 12 - 03:42 AM

"It is amazing how current folk music can have such an impact on people's lives...!"

I really don't see your point.

Charles Scott Howard is clearly a very brave and determined man. He is prepared to take on and fight single handed the industry on which he depends for his livelyhood. I see him as being a man who (hopefully) will have a positive impact on peoples lives.

Unfortunately, I don't see this song having any impact at all. It appears to me to be a rather rambling, loose list of the points raised in the article, while lacking rhythm, metre or a viewpoint of it's own.

I feel it would say more by saying less, but more concisely. Others may disagree, but it didn't work for me.

It seems to be more a matter of peoples lives having impact on folk music, but in this case, not the other way round.

Subject: Raymond Crooke
From: 2581
Date: 20 Mar 12 - 12:30 PM

Mudcatter Raymond Crooke, who is a talented and prolific poster on YouTube, wrote a song last year about a Kentucky coal miner and mine safety activist, Charles Scott Howard. Titled "Big Coal Don't Like This Man At All", it tells the story of Mr. Howard's safety battles with his employer, Cumberland River Coal Company. Check it out below:

Big Coal Don't Like This Man At All


Mr. Howard was fired by Cumberland River Coal back in May, 2011. He claims it was because of all the safety complaints he had made. His wrongful discharge case just went to trial last week in Pikeville, Kentucky. West Virginia Public broadcasting did a radio story about Mr. Howard and his discharge case that mentioned Raymond's song. In fact, the radio piece featured Raymond's song both at the beginning and the end of the story. Listen below:

Whistleblower Battles for Mining Job Back


By the way, Raymond's song was based on a powerful article about Charles Scott Howard - titled "Shining A Light - How One Whistleblowing Miner Took On Big Coal" - by Dave Jamieson in The Huffington Post. Mr. Jamieson's article can be found below:

How One Whistleblowing Miner Took On Big Coal

It is amazing how current folk music can have such an impact on people's lives...!