Ed Cray bawdy song books

Subject: Ed Cray bawdy song books
From: Jack Campin
Date: 04 May 12 - 01:34 PM

Are "The Erotic Muse" and "Bawdy Ballads" the same book with different titles for each side of the pond?

Subject: RE: Ed Cray bawdy song books
From: Dave Hanson
Date: 04 May 12 - 02:36 PM

I bought ' Bawdy Ballads ' here in the UK, published in GB

Dave H

Subject: RE: Ed Cray bawdy song books
From: GUEST,Lighter
Date: 04 May 12 - 02:45 PM

That has always been my impression.

While the 1992 (U. of Ill.) ed. of TEM is revised and mostly expanded, a couple of items from the 1968 (Oak) ed. have been dropped.

Subject: RE: Ed Cray bawdy song books
From: Bat Goddess
Date: 04 May 12 - 03:12 PM

I think it was "The Bawdy Songbook" that Ed published (pre- Oak edition) anonymously.

I can ask him privately for the publishing history of his bawdiology, if you'd like.

Linn

Subject: RE: Ed Cray bawdy song books
From: GUEST,Lighter
Date: 04 May 12 - 03:25 PM

BG, you're thinking of "The Dirty Song Book," by "E. R. Linton" (1965).

("Erlinton" is Child No. 8. An academic in-joke.)

Subject: RE: Ed Cray bawdy song books
From: Bat Goddess
Date: 04 May 12 - 03:44 PM

Exactly, Lighter, I was just coming back here to correct that. Sorry, my brain is still in my sock drawer, what with Tom (Curmudgeon) being away from home for seven weeks -- but he just came home (minutes ago) and I'm about to email Ed the good news.

Ed usually doesn't check Mudcat even for threads like "Curmudgeon's Latest Adventure".

Linn

Subject: RE: Ed Cray bawdy song books
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 04 May 12 - 06:01 PM

The frontespiece in the second edition of TEM says:

The Erotic Muse
A M E R I C A N B A W D Y S O N G S
ED CRAY

and:

ISBN 0-252-01781-1 (cloth : alk. paper)
ISBN 0-252-06789-4 (pbk. : alk. paper)

A casual comparison of my 2d edition with an owner of a first edition (without the books handy to confirm) indicates that several of his favorites from the first edition were omitted in the second, but most people don't find the omissions too significant, and the 2d claims to include some additional ones not in the first. Maybe you need both editions(?).

So far as I know, the 2d edition is still available from U of Illinois, the publisher, although it was a pretty long wait when I ordered from them quite a few years ago.

At horntip front covers of "The Erotic Muse" and "Bawdy Ballads" are shown, with a notation that "Below is the 1st edition of The Erotic Muse by Ed Cray," sort of implying that they're the same book, as there's no separate explanation of the other title.

I'll leave it to your guesstimator to decide whether that's what the site means.

If the "Bawdy Ballads" is a European release of the first edition, it probably is "rare" now.

John

Subject: RE: Ed Cray bawdy song books
From: GUEST
Date: 04 May 12 - 06:10 PM

Indeed, you folks have figured it out. I first sold the manuscript to Oak Publications in NYC. Then Oak was purchased by Music Sales, a major publisher of music world-wide. Oak brought out the first printing, then followed it with a Pyramid softcover, as The Erotic Muse. Meanwhile Music Sales, now headquartered in London, reprinted Muse three times with three different covers, each more garish than the last.

There were some real problems with the book. Notes were separated from the songs, higgely-piggaly (don't get to use that phrase often). One or two songs I dropped from the second edition ("John Haroldson"/"Von Hindenberg" comes to mind because I doubted it was in oral tradition.

The second edition, published with the University of Illinois Press in 1992, is far and away the better of the two, more judicious, better edited by Judy McCulloh at the press, with some music errors corrected as well. And they pay royalties.

In all, I believe that Muse may be the best-selling folk music book since the Lomaxes.

Ed

Ed

Subject: RE: Ed Cray bawdy song books
From: GUEST,Lighter
Date: 04 May 12 - 06:28 PM

Because the folk know what they like!

Subject: RE: Ed Cray bawdy song books
From: GUEST,Hootenanny
Date: 04 May 12 - 06:36 PM

My copy was published in Great Britain by Anthony Blond Ltd in 1970.

Hoot

Subject: RE: Ed Cray bawdy song books
From: Charley Noble
Date: 04 May 12 - 08:21 PM

Ed-

Thanks for posting.

The experience of any songbook editor on the cutting edge, so to speak, is always of interest to those of us who would dare to try something similarly challenging.

Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Ed Cray bawdy song books
From: GUEST,warren fahey
Date: 04 May 12 - 10:32 PM

and if you are interested in the world's most resilient bawdy song tradition - Australian - then check out the two albums on Rouseabout Records: 'Rooted in the Country' and 'Sing Us Anothery Dirty As Buggery' featuring The Celebrated Knackers and Knockers Band (search under that name on iTunes for a sample of each song). The albums are also available mail order from www.undercovermusic.com

And they really are filthy and disgusting and hilarious.

Warren Fahey (aka Major Bumsore)

Subject: RE: Ed Cray bawdy song books
From: Dave Hanson
Date: 05 May 12 - 02:37 AM

Forgot to add, mine is the 1989 edition by Omnibus Press.

Dave H

Subject: RE: Ed Cray bawdy song books
From: Steve Gardham
Date: 05 May 12 - 03:54 AM

Ed
I've got the 1970 Blond 'Bawdy Ballads' and 1992 'The Erotic Muse' by UIP. Am I missing anything?