 sj |
||
|
||
Hootenanny (1960s TV show)
|
|
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: Don Firth Date: 22 Jun 14 - 08:21 PM In 1959, Bob Nelson and I left Seattle temporarily and went "barnstorming" around the Berkeley / San Francisco / Sausalito area for a couple of months. Among the coffee houses there, some were devoted to folk music and some were given over to jazz and Beat poetry. We quickly learned that among the "Beatniks," folk singers and folk music in general were held in a great degree of contempt. The popular (muggle) idea was (and sometimes still is) that folk music was a Beatnik phenomenon, but most definitely not so. At least not in San Francisco's North Beach, where "Beat" was invented and Beat poets and their hanger's on hung out (the Coexistence Bagel Shop, the Anxious Asp. et al, North Beach in general). Same thing when the term "hippie" came into vogue. Among the many folk singers that I knew well or met briefly, there were none whom I would identify as "Beatnik" and exceedingly few who could be characterized as "hippies." Popular bags for the non-cognoscenti to put people into. ======== I sang a lot in a coffeehouse called "The Place Next Door" in the late 'Fifties' and well into the 'Sixties,' The owner also owned the art and foreign film theater next door, hence the name. It was like a non-alcoholic night club. Your elbows didn't stick to the tables, and especially on weekends, later in the evening you might see a few tuxedoes and formal gowns in the place—people dropping in after attending a concert or opera downtown. There was a small stage, I sang in sets like a night club act, and the owner paid regularly and reasonably well. One evening a couple of people came in to "dig the scene." Apparently wanting to blend in with the crowd, they dressed in what they thought was an appropriate manner. They looked more like French Apache dancers than hippies or Beatniks. He wore a pair of nondescript slacks, a T-shirt with wide horizontal stripes, and a peaked cap. She wore a tight red blouse, a black skirt slit up the side, spike heels, a pair of net stockings, and enough eye make-up to paint a battleship. She looked like she had escaped from a production of "Irma la Douce." As they sat there waiting to be waited on, they observed the crowd. The singer (me) was freshly bathed and clean-shaven and dressed in a nice pair of slacks and a light-weight turtleneck sweater. Most of the crowd were college students and young adults, along with, as mentioned before, a few couples in formal attire. They also became aware that they were the weirdoes there, and they were drawing the comments and snickers. It was a busy evening and it was a few minutes before a waitress could get to them, so they blushingly beat a hasty retreat. So much for stereotypes. Don Firth |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: Bat Goddess Date: 22 Jun 14 - 08:12 PM Beatniks didn't play or like folk music. They preferred cool jazz and dark clubs to parks. It was the college kids in the late 'Fifties and early 'Sixties who discovered folk music. Of course, the tourists who came to see the "natives" in Greenwich Village lumped everyone together. Linn |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: GUEST,# Date: 22 Jun 14 - 06:43 PM The first known use of hootenanny was 1929. |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: Rara Avis Date: 22 Jun 14 - 06:39 PM Yes, Don. That term covered every musician and hangeron who didn't look or play like Ricky Nelson. At least in Newport, RI during the early 1960s. |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: Don Firth Date: 15 Jun 14 - 10:34 PM Uh ... "Beatniks?" Don Firth |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: Rara Avis Date: 15 Jun 14 - 10:14 PM I was a little girl when Hootenanny was first broadcast but never missed an episode. I spent my summers in Newport RI and although I was too young to go to the Folk Festival, we would walk down Memorial Blvd and listen to the Beatniks playing folk music in the park. That was my introduction to folk music and my love for it has remained with me througout my life. Thank you for that little trip down memory lane. |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: Bill D Date: 15 Jun 14 - 10:02 PM Finding the 'original' use of the term and attributing creativity would be similar to determining who first worked out putting a handle on a pottery cup. |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: reggie miles Date: 15 Jun 14 - 07:03 PM It would be sweet to see a fee like 35 cents again, for a live entertainment event, in honor of those early 1941 hootenannies. |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: Don Firth Date: 15 Jun 14 - 05:20 PM How did the term "hootenanny" become connected with a folk music gathering? While browsing through Pete Seeger's The Incompleat Folksinger, I encountered the following paragraphs on page 327. Pete says: In the summer of 1941 Woody Guthrie and myself, calling ourselves the Almanac Singers, toured Seattle, Washington and met some of the good people of the Washington Commonwealth Federation, the New Deal political club headed by Hugh DeLacy. They arranged for us to sing for trade unions in the Puget Sound area, and then proudly invited us to their next "hootenanny." It was the first time we had heard the term. It seems they had a vote to decide what they would call their monthly fund-raising parties. "Hootenanny" won out by a nose over "wingding."Pete goes on to describe the spread of hootenannies and the dissemination of the term "hootenanny," along with the evolution and devolution of both; hootenannies organized by Ed McCurdy in New York, and Win Stracke's "gather-alls" in Chicago; then, in 1963, the peremptory appropriation of the word "hootenanny" for commercial exploitation by ABC-TV and other promoters and carpetbaggers. I first heard the term (other than the Spike Jones gag, "What do you get if you cross an owl with a nanny goat?" The answer followed by raucous laughter) was in 1953, shortly after I started singing folks songs and associating with doubtful company. The first one that anyone had thrown in a long time (years) was held at The Chalet, a basement restaurant in Seattle's University District. About sixty or seventy people showed up, many toting guitars, banjos, autoharps, Swiss bells, you name it! There was no separation between singers and audience, and if anyone felt an urge to sing--just jump right in. The singing started at about 7:30 and we didn't wrap it up until well after midnight. This was the first of many over the years. During the Fifties especially, hardly a weekend would go by without someone declaring a "hoot," most often in someone's living room. No structure like a "song circle" and no song books or crib sheets. BYOB (usually a six-pack of beer or a bottle of jug wine--but I don't remember anybody getting all that splashed) and often the host or hostess would provide a table or sideboard loaded with a variety of snacks. Serve yourself ad lib. It really worked. This was my (and a lot of people's) first experience in singing before other people. And I heard a lot of songs that I later learned. Warm plunge for a rank beginner! Don Firth |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: reggie miles Date: 15 Jun 14 - 04:22 PM Don't mean to rehash old back and forth but in light of recent internet info... It seems to me, that despite how some folks may have co-opted the term, "Hootenanny" and including the changed spelling of the term, the originator of the term deserves the right to any royalties which may result from its use. Today I found a post about Texas Jim Lewis which indicates that he had been performing since the late 1920s and was using the term since the mid 1930s to refer to his percussion/sound effects gizmo. Texas Jim Lewis "The Hootin'nanny It was also in 1936 that Lewis's band signed a deal with Vocalion Records and one of the three 78rpm records that they cut for the label -- "Who Broke the Lock on the Henhouse Door?" -- featured the recorded debut of the bandleader's unique musical contraption, the "Hootin'nanny." A crazy assemblage of assorted brass automobile horns, whining hand-crank sirens, percussive clackers, two washboards, a blank-firing gun, et cetera, the "Hootin'nanny" became one of Lewis' enduring trademarks -- especially after it was seen in use in the 1937 Vitaphone movie, Stuck On the West. The "Hootin'nanny" also appeared in some of the 41 additional films..." Knowing that he had to have developed his Hootenanny long before he was recording with it, or being featured in films with it, I'd say that he most definitely has the earliest claim to the term. |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: pdq Date: 10 Feb 07 - 12:37 PM There may be some confusion about Joe & Rose Lee Maphis. He was one of the greatest instrumentalists in Country Music history. He and his wife had a very entertaining act. I don't think Jo Mapes was mentioned. |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: WFDU - Ron Olesko Date: 09 Feb 07 - 11:24 PM John - 2" videotape was in use, but it was not always saved. Networks did not look at their product with an eye to the future, and usually they were product of individual studios that produced the program for the network. The networks would recycle material if they felt there was no use for them. Back in the 1980's I was working at CBS for their original cable network. I was at the Broadcast Center on 57th Street in Manhattan getting some tapes from our vault. There was a stack of old Captain Kangroo tapes from the 1970's that were being recycled for work tapes. I don't know if there were any other copies, but so much material has been lost over the decades. There are a handful of kinescopes around of Hootenanny, but not many. As kinescopes go, the one used for Hootenanny were in good shape, in my opinion. However, as you pointed out, they are not the same quality as one would get from other sources. Good point about the documentation. After speaking to the producer of the DVD set, I understand that they had a limited budget and could not afford a lot of extras. The decision came down to paying for "extras" or paying for the rights for the songs that were released. I think they made the right choice. Seeing the original footage was fun! |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: Stilly River Sage Date: 09 Feb 07 - 10:59 PM Jo Mapes joined Mudcat a while back. Ask her yourself via PM, or maybe she'll notice this thread. SRS |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: John on the Sunset Coast Date: 09 Feb 07 - 10:44 PM Layman"s review: I bought a set of the DVDs at a local record store (how quaint that sounds), and finally have watched all three discs. I really enjoyed watching the performances, hearing some favorites, and some long forgotten singers and groups. Chauvenistically, I especially liked the UCLA segment...old alma mommy. I got to see many performers eg Bob Gibson & the Simon Sisters whom I never saw in person. Finally as Ron Olesko said above, Jack Linkletter did a terrific job as host. But a couple of negatives. I could have done without the comedy segments, especially Woody Allen, who to this day gives me hives when I listen to him, and Louis Nye. The comedy is really dated. Technically, the video is not great, being reproduced as it was from kinescopes rather than original tapes. I believe that tape in use by then, not for home video but for studio use. Also each disc had some brief, minor sound problems. But the biggest negative is the lack of documentation. There is a perfunctory introduction with volume one, but no real background about the times, the songs or the performers. It is obvious to me that packagers of the Hootenanny DVDs, must have felt that the consumer for the program is the 55+ demographic who basically already knew the era. The Hootenanny Program ran during a relatively innocent time; the Civil Rights Movement was well in progress, but the Free Speech Movement, and the Love Generation had not yet begun. Still and all, I enjoyed watching and listening to the popular folk music of my youth. I do commend this effort to all 'Catters of whatever age. John (who is well above 55) OTSC |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: WFDU - Ron Olesko Date: 19 Jan 07 - 04:23 PM The performer list is above. |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: DADGBE Date: 19 Jan 07 - 04:14 PM Jo Mapes appeared on that TV show. Did any of her performances make it onto the DVD? |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: Wesley S Date: 19 Jan 07 - 12:09 PM I know I have a Hootenanny LP at home. I wonder how many of those were released ? One of the artists on it is "The Yaghtsmen" which included a young David Crosby. |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: WFDU - Ron Olesko Date: 19 Jan 07 - 11:37 AM PoppaGator - Hootenanny did film a few shows at Rutgers - episodes By the way, this DVD inspired me to contact Jack Linkletter and I had a very nice conversation with him. He has agreed to tape an interview to discuss his memories of the show - and to correct some of the items that he "took issue" with on my blog! I will post a note so that people can listen in. I think after 45 years the facts and opinions have become mixed. Watching the DVD and hearing from people who were involved should give a unique perspective. Ron www.ronolesko.blogspot.com |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: John on the Sunset Coast Date: 19 Jan 07 - 11:14 AM Ron, in the 1950s we had a Saturday evening TV show that was broadcast live from the Los Angeles suburb of Compton. It was called "Town Hall Party." It was TV hosted by Jay Stewart (later of Let's Make a Deal Fame). Name country music acts passing through LA appeared on the show, along with local country talent, Joe and Roslie Maphis, the Collins Kids etc. Name stars like Tex Ritter might emcee the program for the night. This was not a folk music program, but a genuwine country music program. Is the the same show to which you refer. It was pretty much the Sunset Coast version of the GOO. Is this the same program to which you refer? BTW, I believe there are now audio CDs and DVDs of episodes of this program available. |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: Stilly River Sage Date: 19 Jan 07 - 11:12 AM The link isn't working right now, but you can purchase some of these things through Mudcat and benefit our little site, if not a local record store! link. I'll put a heads up about that link on the HELP forum. I grew up in Seattle where Hoots were a folk tradition. They took place in someone's home and people around the room took turns singing songs as each new song suggested the direction the next song might go. The topics could vary widely through the evening, and my parents usually sent us to bed when they got to the good stuff. But we listened at the top of the stairs. :) SRS |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: PoppaGator Date: 18 Jan 07 - 02:00 PM Did the Hootenanny TV show every broadcast from Rutgers? I have a vauge memory of attending some kind of folk-group revue show at the old Rutgers gym on College Avenue around the time that the Hootenanny shows were being produced at different college venues. For some reason, I only remember one of the acts on the bill (the Tarriers ~ ?!), but there were several other groups and solo acts; if it wasn't an episode of this TV show, it was certainly the same type of event. I have a much clearer memory of another folk concert at the Rutgers gym a year or two later, in 1965, the first time I saw Bob Dylan in person. This was very shortly before The Bob's controversial move to "go electric," and just before the release of the album "Bringin It All Back Home." He played exclusively solo and acoustic, but performed a number of unfamiliar new songs with an entirely new lyrical approach, very personal/apolitical/psychological, e.g., "Gates of Eden," "It's Alright Ma," "Mr. Tambourine Man." We didn't know exactly what was going to develop later that summer, but it was obvious Bob was up to something new and different. |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: WFDU - Ron Olesko Date: 18 Jan 07 - 11:54 AM Don, could it have been Town Hall Party - a syndicated country music show from around that time? |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: WFDU - Ron Olesko Date: 18 Jan 07 - 11:35 AM Seeger's show came later - '65-66 |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: DonMeixner Date: 18 Jan 07 - 11:35 AM Hi Beans, Not Rainbow Quest, at least not in the Sracuse area. This was something else and I recall it was on before The Twilight Zone and Have Gun, Will Travel(Paladin). Don |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: Cool Beans Date: 18 Jan 07 - 10:58 AM Don, are you thinking of Pete Seeger's series "Rainbow Quest," which aired on public TV around that time, or perhaps the one hosted by Tristram Coffin, a folklorist from the University of Pennsylvania? It also aired on public TV, which was called educational TV at the time. I can't recall which night either show ran, but Saturday feels right for Seeger's show. |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: GUEST,DonMeixner Date: 18 Jan 07 - 12:47 AM I seem to recall a Saturday Night Folk show on the TV but earlier than 64. Does anyone recall one from late 50's to 1960, maybe 61? Don |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: johnross Date: 17 Jan 07 - 09:37 PM Reggie (and others), the use of the word "hootenanny" to describe a folk music gathering has nothing to do with Texas Jim Lewis. It traces back to a series of monthly fundraising events in Seattle, organized by the Washington New Dealer, a lefty newspaper published by the Commonwealth Federation, and edited by Terry Pettus (after he became unemployable at the mainstream newspapers because he had organized the Newspaper Guild in Tacoma and Seattle). The first one took place in July of 1940 at Polish Hall on Capitol Hill. Terry Pettus was originally from Indiana, and he called the event a "hootenanny," which is an old Hoosier word similar to "thingamajig," "whatchamacallit" or "dingus." Pettus told the researcher Peter Tamony, "I remembered that in my youth in southern Indiana the word Hootenannny was used to designate a party which just seemed to happen as against being planned." Those early hootenannnies were flexible events -- they might be a dance or a record-listening party, or if some visiting troubador was in town, it could have been a concert. There was usually beer and food for sale, with the proceeds going to support of the New Dealer. After these things had been going for about a year, Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie came through Seattle and played at a Hootenanny. They liked the idea, and took the idea (and the name) back to New York, where the Almanac Singers started to hold similar events, which they also called hoootenannies. Those New York hootenannies grew from rent parties at the Almanac House to bigger and somewhat more formal concerts at places like Town Hall. They continued to occur in New York and elsewhere through the postwar years leading to the Folk Boom of the early sixties and that's how the word entered the language. Meantime, the Seattle events kept going, long after the New Dealer had disappeared. By the early fifties, hoots in Seattle were singing parties among the local folk music community. They still happen several time a year, attended mostly by the same people who were around forty or more years ago. Quite separately from this sequence of events, Texas Jim Lewis (aka Sherrif Tex on Seattle's KING-TV) created a musical (!) instrument based on a washboard that he called a "hootenanny" and made some records playing it, including one called "Hootenanny Scratch." He apparently believed that his usage had been the one that led to its wider use, but it's well documented that he was wrong. The definitive history of all this was published in the journal Western Folklore in 1963, and reprinted in 1967 in a book called The American Folk Scene: Dimensions of the Folksong Revival. |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: Leadfingers Date: 17 Jan 07 - 09:06 PM Guest Graham Bradshaw - There was indeed a 'Hootenanny Show' on BBC TV in the sixties ! It was MY intro to Folk Music as my family watched it every Saturday at 6.30 pm on Saturday . From The Place in Edinburg , and featuring The Dubliners , The Ian Campbell Folk Group , The Corrie folk tri with Paddie Bell and ALL sorts of others ! Started MY conversion from New Orleans / Trad Jazz to Folk Music ! |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: catspaw49 Date: 17 Jan 07 - 07:59 PM Wow Frank....Lots of info! Most certainly he had quite a few "biggies" but "There's A Star Spangled Banner Waving Somewhere" was one of the earliest hits of WWII, invoking the name of one of America's early heroes, Colin Kelly. The original tale of Colin Kelly was erroneous, being a product of both the fog of war and the need for the U.S. to have someone elevated to "Hero" status early in the war. Its a sad thing as the true story is in ways every bit as heroic. As a kid in the early 50's it is one of the first "patriotic" songs I remember as wasthe story of Kelly which adults would tell you when they sang it. Spaw |
|
Subject: Lyr Add: THE RICH MAN AND THE POOR MAN (Bob Miller From: GUEST,Frank Hamilton Date: 17 Jan 07 - 07:37 PM Spaw you are probably right. Bird did play Birdland but not for long. He was banned from it. He was not a regular. The Miller I'm talking about is Bob Miller who wrote the following song: Lyrics as reprinted ibid., p. 64 © 1932 THE RICH MAN AND THE POOR MAN (Bob Miller) There's just two kind of people, the sinner and the saint; There's one that gets and always got while the other poor one ain't. Oh, the rich man drives his Lincoln past the red light with a grin, And the poor man follows right behind in his little hunk of tin. There's a motorcycle copper following upon their trail; Oh, the rich man tears his ticket, but the poor man goes to jail. Oh, the rich man takes the high road anywhere that he may go, But when the poor man's travelin' he must always take the low. So if you're rich you'll travel snug as peas are in the pod; Oh, the rich man rides a cushion and the poor man rides the rods. Oh, the rich man when he's ailing stays at home and calls the doc, But the poor man has to go to work, be in time to punch a clock. The rich man takes his medicine, has his doctors and his nurse; So the rich man he gets better but the poor man he gets worse! Oh, the rich man steals a million from the bank that he controls, While the poor man steals a loaf of bread or a penny's worth of rolls. They take them to the courthouse, one is laughing, one's in tears; Oh, the rich man gets an apology while the poor man gets ten years! Oh, the rich man gets a lawyer and the lawyer pleads his case, While the poor man asks for sympathy but of that there is now trace. So if you're rich don't worry but the poor must give up hope; Oh, the rich man gets acquitted while the poor man gets the rope! Oh, the rich man when he kicks off has a casket made of gold, While the poor man has a wooden box and his grave looks mighty cold. The rich man gets a sermon but here's one thing that's sure, When the rich man takes that last long ride he's as much dead as the poor! One of the most continuingly popular songwriters in the country genre, from the 1920s until his death in 1955, was the "event" composer par excellence, Bob Miller. Miller was not of country origin; he was born in 1895, in Memphis, Tennessee. Memphis, however, provided him with a social milieu in which he could obtain a close acquaintance with southern melodies. In the early twenties Miller played the piano for a dance band called the Idlewild Orchestra, which performed on the steamer Idlewild on the Mississippi River. In 1928 he moved to New York where he worked as an arranger for the Irving Berlin Company before establishing his own musical concern, the Bob Miller Publishing Company. Although he composed numerous blues and popular tunes, the most important items in his repertory ov over seven thousand songs were the hillbilly items. In the decades following the 1920s Miller produced scores of lucrative and lastingly popular compositions, including the well-known "Eleven Cent Cotton and Forty Cent Meat"; the prison song which has inspired countless others, "Twenty-One Years"; ...and the World War II hit "There's a Star Spangled Banner Waving Somewhere." As an event-song writer Miller was always alive to the possibility of exploiting any incident that struck the fancy of the people. In fact, he was sometimes ahead of a story. He supposedly prepared an obituary song for [Louisiana governor] Huey Long two years before his assassination, and even went so far as to predict accurately that the killing would occur in the state Capitol. He wrote a song called "Hootenanny Hoot". Here are some more of his songs. --- ELEVEN CENT COTTON, FORTY CENT MEAT --- THE POOR FORGOTTEN MAN --- THE RICH MAN AND THE POOR MAN --- THERE'S A STAR-SPANGLED BANNER WAVING SOMEWHERE --- TWENTY-ONE YEARS Frank |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: dick greenhaus Date: 17 Jan 07 - 06:11 PM The use of Hootenanny as a synonym for whatchyoumaycallit or thingumbob or whatsit was firmly established at least by the middle 1930s. As a child I had a toy (a Rube-Goldbergish collection of gears, levers and such named "Hootenanny". |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: reggie miles Date: 17 Jan 07 - 05:24 PM When one seeks to be compensated for damages in a litigation, especially when the issue involves an individual vs a corporate entity, compensation will often be offered in monetary terms. I don't know what kind of compensation he may have been looking for from these folks. In my posts I'm just trying to explain that I can understand his claim. His use and exposure of the word's meaning as related to music have definite ties to dates of use that extend as far back as the 1940s and maybe earlier. He was performing in the Northwest since the early days of television. He became a local legend as a childrens entertainer with his Hootenannny. That was before my time spent here in the upper left hand corner of the country. I never had the opportunity to see his childrens show or see him perform. I didn't arrive in this neck of the woods until the late 70s. What I learned about him was just via my own brief research. |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: WFDU - Ron Olesko Date: 17 Jan 07 - 04:54 PM I'm not sure I agree Reggie. I think that Texas Jim was not that well known and that others were also using the word to recognize a musical gathering. I don't think there is strong evidence that he created the word and there is very strong evidence that others were using it. By 1963, when the TV show started using word, the term was in common use in the folk community. For Texas Jim to make a claim against the TV series seems to be only for monetary reasons. |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: reggie miles Date: 17 Jan 07 - 04:43 PM I think if you take the obscure word in question hootenanny, though it may have already been in use as to mean a whatchamacallit or a thingamajig, and you begin to use it creatively, as he did, by naming his own device/gizmo Hootenanny Annie, recording a song by the same name, and having had his song and gizmo featured in a film, then there seems to me to be a lot of evidence stacked in his favor regarding the rights to the use of the term. The evidence seems to show that he alone seems to have popularized it, and bent its meaning to that relating to a zany homemade musical instrument comprised of many unusual and diverse elements. His skill at being able to organize and create music with such a collection of items made up of so many oddities, and his ability to do so with so many other popular performers of the day, seems to indicate that he brought the meaning specifically into the musical realm. Whereas beforehand the term could have meant anything that was without a specific verbal description, or just another doohickey. As you can see by examining the discography page linked in my earlier post Texas Jim was widely known by many Country-Western Stars of the day. He played and recorded with many of them. The popularity of Country-Western music and film during the early to mid parts of the last century no doubt also helped to spread the word into current use. |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: WFDU - Ron Olesko Date: 17 Jan 07 - 03:58 PM It should be noted that Pete Seeger recorded an album called "Hootenanny at Carnegie Hall" in 1959 and Bob Gibson released an album with the same name in 1963. |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: WFDU - Ron Olesko Date: 17 Jan 07 - 03:42 PM Could it be that he saw money to be made from the TV series and thought he would get a piece of the pie? The word was not new, nor did it claim to be, when the TV series started. They grabbed a word that was in use at the time. |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: reggie miles Date: 17 Jan 07 - 03:40 PM This question of where the word came from became of interest to me when I first heard about Sheriff Tex and his struggle against the makers of the TV program. I never had the opportunity to meet Sheriff Tex, even though I began playing washboard percussion while he was still living in the Seattle area. I never even knew about him until folks began to comment and compare the eclectic collection of sound effects that began to find a home on my 1929 Matag with his. I did some asking around and found some 78s of his music. He was quite a character. I guess that reputation goes along with the job of playing a hootenanny. |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: WFDU - Ron Olesko Date: 17 Jan 07 - 03:38 PM People began using the word when Pete & Woody started calling their rent parties at Almanac House "hootenannies". That would have been the late '40s and early '50's. The word was already in use, even if it came out of Sheriff Tex's mouth for the first time. It sounds like it goes back even further then Tex though and perhaps he had appropriated it for his own use. I don't think anyone could fully claim ownership. Shindig was the program that replaced Hooteanny on ABC> |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: reggie miles Date: 17 Jan 07 - 03:18 PM I find the date of this article kind of telling as it was produced in April of '46. It is also interesting that Woody was known to have wandered about the Northwest in his travels. He's better known for having written a few songs about this part of the country. His reference to the lady out West makes me wonder about who she might actually be. Another odd thing about this supposed quote is Woody's reference to a shindig as being synonymous to hootenanny. In 1964 there was also a TV show that began to air here in the US called Shindig. Here is another link to a discography called Country-Western Pioneers. This page features a collection of songs recorded by Texas Jim Lewis from the 40s. One of these songs is called Hootenanny Song. 355-A C&W "TEXAS JIM LEWIS & HIS LONE STAR COWBOYS" 1940s up Volume One The One, The Only, Texas Jim Lewis! Hear again his skill as he plays the "Hootenanny". This collection is plumb chuck full of great songs and arrangements. Once you've heard his music, you'll always want more. HIGHLITES: SQUAWS ALONG THE YUKON, WHERE DID ROBINSON CRUSOE GO?, MY PRETTY QUADROON, OLD FASHIONED HOEDOWN, WHO BROKE THE LOCK ON THE HENHOUSE DOOR, WHITE CROSS ON OKINAWA, HOOTENANNY SONG, THEY ALWAYS PICK ON ME, Etc. FEATURES: Texas Jim Lewis, Jack Rivers, Pedro DePaul, Pete Wray, Neal LeVang, Cindy Walker, Jimmy Wakely, The Sunshine Girls, Tommy Sargent, Smokey Rogers, Curly Angle, The Lone Star Cowboys, Etc. (24 Songs) My point is that I think that Sheriff Tex had a lot of reasons and evidence to believe that he was taken advantage of by the makers of the TV show. |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: Cool Beans Date: 17 Jan 07 - 03:09 PM The dictionary--Webster's Collegiate--sayeth the word "hootenanny" dates back to 1925 but its origin is unknown. |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: WFDU - Ron Olesko Date: 17 Jan 07 - 02:33 PM and of course the word has been used ever since. Wherever it came from, it stuck. |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: reggie miles Date: 17 Jan 07 - 02:30 PM Here's a 1946 Hootenanny reference attributed to Woody Guthrie. "We was playin' for the Lumber Workers' Union. We was singin' around in the shingle mills. There was a lady out West out there in the lumber camp and her name was Annie and so every time they'd have a songfest Annie would outshout all of them. So people got to call her Hootin' Annie but the name got spread all over and so out there when they are going to have a shindig they call it Hootenanny." And that's how Hootenannies began, according to Woodrow Wilson ("Woody") Guthrie. |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: reggie miles Date: 17 Jan 07 - 02:18 PM Here's another reference I found to the word that I give little credence. Below is a link to the page that claims it was a reference to Hoot Gibson and his wife Annie's parties. Hoot 'n' Annie's What exactly is a "Hootenanny," you ask? When Hoot Gibson was a young cowboy star and performer, he and his wife, Annie, threw some great parties. Everybody that came had a great time and there was always plenty of music. Jam sessions went on until all hours of the morning. It got so that these parties were the place to be and everybody anticipated the next one. When asked where the party was, the reply of course was, "at Hoot 'n' Annie's." Upon further exploration into Hoot's married life I could not find any reference to a spouse named Annie. I'd call this myth busted. |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: reggie miles Date: 17 Jan 07 - 02:04 PM Here for instance is a 1947 film reference to Texas Jim Lewis and his song Hootenanny Annie . He performed it with his band the Lone Star Cowboys in the 1947 film The Stranger From Ponca City. This film was part of Columbia's "Durango Kid" Western series. |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: reggie miles Date: 17 Jan 07 - 01:17 PM Frank can you offer anymore info about that Miller fellow and his song? Here's the thing, there was an entertainer from here in the Pacific Northwest, Jim Lewis, Texas Jim Lewis, or Sheriff Tex as he became known around these parts. He was widely known, having recorded with a great many other Country folks back in the day. I've heard that he claimed authorship of the word Hootenanny. He also recorded a song called, Hootenanny Annie. It was written about his rather fanciful washboard gizmo by the same name. I have a copy on 78rpm. I understand that he spent a good deal of time, energy and funds trying to sue Hootenanny, the TV program, because he felt that they profited from the use of a word that he popularized and trademarked via his gizmo and recording. I just tried to Google search the titles of the song you mentioned and the only post that aapeared brought me back to your post on this thread. Wikipedia has some interesting backup for the good Sheriff's claim. "Hootenanny was used in the early twentieth century to refer to things whose names were forgotten or unknown. In this usage it was synonymous with thingamajig or whatchamacallit, as in "hand me that hootenanny." Hootenanny was also an old country word for "party". Now, most commonly, it refers to a folk-music party. According to Pete Seeger, in various interviews, he first heard the word hootenanny in Seattle, Washington in the late 1940s." It's this second reference that states that Pete first heard the word while in the Seattle area that makes me think that Jim's claim has a certain validity. Jim lived here in the Northwest for years and would have most likely been the source of the use of the word in this area. Having recorded a song with that word in the title, a song about playing music with his Hootenanny, no doubt he surely must have used this song as something of a theme song as he became very well known for his performances with Hootenanny Annie here in the Northwest. He even had an early TV program as a children's entertainer. I can certainly understand why he felt as though the folks from the folk music show Hootenanny could have coopted the word from him. |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: GUEST,Graham Bradshaw Date: 17 Jan 07 - 12:02 PM Wasn't there a UK version of Hootenany on TV in the 60s? I would guess that Robin Hall & Jimmie MacGregor were something to do with it at the time. I'm sure I remember my old singing partner - Derek Sarjeant - making an appearance in about 1966/7. Any body got any recollections? |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: Wesley S Date: 17 Jan 07 - 11:38 AM Not to make a value judgement - But how on earth did Herbie Mann ever show up on Hootenanny? |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: Cool Beans Date: 17 Jan 07 - 10:07 AM Now, if only they'd release "Folk Sound USA," an earlier network TV special hosted by Cisco Houston that featured, among others, Joan Baez ("Plaisir d'Amour")and Peter Yarrow ("Brother, Can You Spare a Dime") before anyone ever heard of them. |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: GUEST,Dale Date: 17 Jan 07 - 01:38 AM Long review from dvdtalk.com http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=25767 Contents from same Disc 1: Mighty Day Chad Mitchell Trio What Shall We Do With A Drunken Sailor, Haul Away Joe Mike Settle Mama Don't Allow , Froggie Went A-Courtin' The Rooftop Singers Stakolee The Journeymen Jesus Met the Woman at the Well, Greenwood Sidie-O Ian & Sylvia Anathea Judy Collins Follow the Drinking Gourd, When I Go Down to Bimini Theodore Bikel Kisses Sweeter than Wine Theodore Bikel & Judy Collins Swing Low Sweet Chariot The Clara Ward Gospel Singers Telling Those Lies About Me Bob Gibson Green, Green The New Christie Minstrels Browns Ferry Blues, He Was a Friend of Mine Dian & the Greenbriar Boys Jerry, Farewell My Honey Cindy Jane Joe & Eddie Song of the Cuckoo, Poor Howard Eddy Arnold Sing Out, Sailing Away The Serendipity Singers Harlem Nocturne, Down by the Riverside Herbie Mann & his Sextette Kumbayah The Southern Methodist University Ensemble + Comedy by Vaughn Meader and Woody Allen. Disc 2: Hootenanny Saturday Night, Bowling Green, Good Morning Captain The Travelers Three Water Boy, If I Had My Way, Wayfarin' Stranger, Midnight Special Jimmie Rodgers The Ox Driver's Song, Hard Travelin', Four Strong Winds The Brothers Four Angelico Bud & Travis Lonesome Traveler, If I Had a Hammer Trini Lopez Little Tyke The Coventry Singers To Morrow, Good News, There's a Meetin' Here Tonight, The Chariot's Coming Bob Gibson Busted, Five Feet High and Rising Johnny Cash Adieu Madras, Little Boxes Leon Bibb Delia's Gone Josh White, Jr. Maid of Constant Sorrow Beverly White One More Round, Trombone Charlie Hoyt Axton Pick a Bale of Cotton, Wimoweh The Tarriers Marching to Pretoria The University of Florida Ensemble + Comedy by Bill Cosby and Jackie Vernon Disc 3: Midnight Special, Done Laid Around, I'm Going to Leave Old Texas Now The Limelighters C.C. Rider, Ole Blue Ian & Sylvia Charming Betsy Richard & Jim Hello Susan Brown, The John Birch Society Chad Mitchell Trio Let Your Light From The Lighthouse Shine On Me, Cottenfields The Travelers Three Fair and Tender Ladies The Carter Family Winkin', Blinkin' And Nod, Turn, Turn, Turn The Simon Sisters Umqokozo, Love Tastes Like Strawberries Miriam Makeba Five Hundred Miles The Brothers Four Reuben's Train The Dillards Rocks And Gravel Leon Bibb I'm On My Way, I've Been Workin' On the Railroad The Rooftop Singers Packin' Up, I've Got To Live The Life I Sing About In My Song Marion Williams & Stars of Faith I'll Tell Me Ma, Will Ye Go Lassie?, Reilly's Daughter The Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem Saturday Night, Denver , Michael Roy the Boat Ashore The New Christy Minstrels Hot Corn Cold Corn, Reuben Flatt & Scruggs Deep River Blues Doc Watson He's Got The Whole World In His Hands The University of Pittsburgh Ensemble + Comedy by Louis Nye. |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: GUEST,goldwax Date: 16 Jan 07 - 02:49 PM Here's the trailer for the Best of Hootenanny DVD box set on You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pf1JUwc3tnc |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: Cool Beans Date: 16 Jan 07 - 11:12 AM I'm sold. I watched "Hootenanny" in my teen years. My favorite little-known "Hootenanny" fact: The theme song lyrics--"We'll have a hootenanny, hootenanny Saturday night..."--were written by a fairly young Alfred Uhry. He won the Pulitzer Prize. Not for "Hotennany" but for "Driving Miss Daisy." I interviewed Uhry a few years ago and we had the devil's own time trying to recall the second line of the theme song. Finally, he came up with it: "We'll raise the roof and the rafters with song." |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: WFDU - Ron Olesko Date: 16 Jan 07 - 10:59 AM There is a documentary about the Smothers Brothers available, but I do know of any DVD offerings of musicial performances. Part of the problem with DVD sets is the musical rights issue. Many of these shows signed contracts that give broadcast rights, but when it comes to issuing a home product the rights are not automatically extended. Because home video was not an option, the rights were not granted for these performances. That was one of the reasons that the existing kinescopes of Hootenanny were never released until now. Also, the incredible documentary of the Newport Folk Festival - Murray Lerner's "Festival" was not released until last year due to the same problem. This is only a guess and I do not know what really transpired, but is seems interesting that the Dylan documentary was broadcast using Lerner's footage and weeks later the DVD of "Festival" was finally released. Perhaps a deal was worked out? |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: Wesley S Date: 15 Jan 07 - 05:28 PM Hmmm... It sounds like a ripoff of "A Mighty Wind" to me. Seriously - I watched the show as often as I could. I'll pickup a copy as soon as I can. I'm glad they decided to put this out. Now maybe the Smothers Bros will release some of their best musical guest performances from their show too. |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: Pauline L Date: 14 Jan 07 - 07:57 PM Ron, thanks so much for your review. I remember the series, but not vividly or in detail. Your review makes the DVD set sound very appealing. |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: John on the Sunset Coast Date: 14 Jan 07 - 07:43 PM Re: buying at Amazon---I like to support local record stores. We have several with outstanding folk and cowboy CDs. They also have a fine selection of music DVDs, so I expect to find Hootenanny at one of those places. Yeah, I'll pay a few bucks more, but they'll maintain their good stock of things I like to buy. And, too, [redundancy police!] it'll keep the area from getting blighted if they have to close up. I hope all who can afford to will do the same in their area. |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: Greg B Date: 14 Jan 07 - 05:33 PM Wow...blast from the past. I was born in 1959, but distinctly remember that EVERYTHING stopped in our house when 'There's a Hootenany Hootenany Saturday Night...' started in the theme song. |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: WFDU - Ron Olesko Date: 14 Jan 07 - 11:47 AM Thanks for the kind words John!! I think you will like it. One word of caution - do not expect pristine video. The DVD is made from kinescopes, but the quality is very good for programs of this source. The producers did a nice job of restoring. |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: WFDU - Ron Olesko Date: 14 Jan 07 - 11:45 AM You can find it at Amazon.com by typing in "Hootenanny". I also posted a review with a bit of history (as well as links to the producers of the DVD)on my website - www.ronolesko.blogspot.com |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: John on the Sunset Coast Date: 14 Jan 07 - 11:43 AM I just finished reading Ron Olesko's review of "Hootenanny." As I would have said back in the day, it was a bitchin' review; it reinforces my desire to have the set. The politics surrounding the show, prove that sometimes one can lose the war without compromise. Perhaps if Baez and other boycotters had performed here, and had gotten good ratings, Pete Seeger would have perforce been invited on the show because it would have been right and withstood any negative reactions. Well, maybe. PS, my new handle should now be John of the Second Tier. ;>] |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: Big Al Whittle Date: 14 Jan 07 - 04:19 AM have you got a blue clicky to this product - I have searched and keep getting all weird stuff |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: WFDU - Ron Olesko Date: 13 Jan 07 - 11:26 PM John - I apologize if it sounded like I was chastising you. That was not my intent. I am also sorry if I misunderstood what you were saying in the post. I was trying to emphasis that there were "name" performers and really good performances on the show - judging by what I have seen on this new DVD set. The program had a controversial history, and over the ages the memories have painted what I feel is an unjust picture of the program. People should watch this and judge for themselves. There are moments that will make you laugh at the phony staging, but there are other moments of pure brillance. |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: Big Al Whittle Date: 13 Jan 07 - 09:51 PM "Look for Judy Collins, the Simon Sisters, the Carter Family, Flatt & Scruggs, Tommy Makem & the Clancy Brothers, Ian & Sylvia, Theodore Bikel, Bob Gibson, Hoyt Axton, Johnny Cash, the Greenbriar Boys and so much more." It sounds absolutely brilliant |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: catspaw49 Date: 13 Jan 07 - 05:34 PM "It's significant that Charlie Parker never appeared at Birdland (famous jazz club in N.Y. owned by Morris Levy of Roulette records." Uh Frank? What are you talking about here? Parker played Birdland. As a matter of fact, he played there opening night IIRC. Sorry to be off topic here but where did you get any info that The Bird never played Birdland? Spaw |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: John on the Sunset Coast Date: 13 Jan 07 - 04:41 PM Ron, I accept you chastisement. I really did not mean to denigrate any performers, most of whom I enjoyed immensely. In fact, at UCLA, way back then, if statistics had been kept on the jukebox, "Walk Right In" and "Ride of the Valkyries" probably were 1/2 or 2/1 in plays. Talk about your eclectic play lists. |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: Charley Noble Date: 13 Jan 07 - 04:40 PM The Hootenanny TV show was on apparently from 1963-64. I was oblivious to its existence, too busy making music at college with my friends. I do remember watching some of the Smothers Brothers Show and enjoyed their kind of wit. Cheerily, Charley Noble |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: Big Mick Date: 13 Jan 07 - 03:05 PM I remember this show very well and fondly. I was 12 years old at the time it started, and I think it lasted two seasons.It was on my must see list from the beginning. I remember having to go to my friends house to watch it because Jackie Gleason was on the other channel and my Pops wasn't giving up any Jackie Gleason. Can't say the same for Shindig as it seemed so glitzy and go go ish to me. At first I tuned in, but later I would watch it only when someone I really wanted to see was on it. Later, of course (68-69), came the Smothers Brothers Show. I will never forget watching Pete sing Waist Deep in the Big Muddy on that show. Those were times, I tell ya. Very influential on a young man making a left turn for the better. Mick |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: WFDU - Ron Olesko Date: 13 Jan 07 - 02:48 PM Frank, I agree that it was disgraceful that Pete Seeger never appeared on the show. When ABC finally agreed to have him on they requested that he sign a loyalty oath, which he refused to do. It should be remembered that Pete was against the boycott of the program because he saw the benefit that the show presented. After viewing the program, it is wonderful to see the diversity of talent that they were able to present. How many television programs were offering primetime opportunities to Marion Williams, Clara Ward, Josh White Jr., Joe & Eddie, Miriam Makeba, Leon Bibb and other prominent African-American folksingers - who would perform alongside other performers on college campuses across the country. How many other programs allowed political songs such as the John Birch Society Blues - sung by the Chad Mitchell Trio the day BEFORE Bob Dylan was scheduled to sing his song about the Birchers on Ed Sullivan - and CBS denied him the opportunity. How many television programs at the time gave airtime to Doc Watson, Theodore Bikel, The Tarriers, Ian & Sylvia, Flatt & Scruggs, Bud & Travis and so many others. The show also offered slots to "local" groups at the colleges the show visited. Yes, there were commercial groups that were doing unusual things with the music - and over the years it looks even sillier. Still, the program offered a lot more than it is given credit for. Whatever the political views of the Linkletters, I found Jack Linkletters introductions to be very sharp and to the point. He gave background that was not condescending or phony. We should not forget the controversy that surrounded the show at its inception, but we should not ignore the opportunities it provided and the respect it offered the musicians. It was also ground breaking in many ways, setting the stage fot the show that would replace it - Shindig. Television msuical programs after Hootenanny borrowed a lot from the styles and techniques that were used. I highly recommend this DVD set. |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: Cruiser Date: 13 Jan 07 - 02:20 PM I am not sure if I ever saw an episode of the show when it aired, athought I have seen clips on YouTube. I will likely purchase the DVDs. Thanks for the information John. |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: GUEST,Frank Hamilton Date: 13 Jan 07 - 01:01 PM Although the term goes back to music publisher and songwriter (?) Miller, in the early thirties, it's associated with Pete Seeger who popularized the term. Miller was the first to use the term in a song he composed "Hootenany, Hootenany, Hootenanny Hoot!" It's significant that Charlie Parker never appeared at Birdland (famous jazz club in N.Y. owned by Morris Levy of Roulette records. Also significant and disgraceful that Pete Seeger never appeared on the Hootenanny Show. Jack Linkletter's father Art) was an arch-conservative. The idea of having a Hootenanny Show without Pete Seeger highlights the commerciality of the music industry hopping on the folk bandwagon at the time. I don't think that the New Lost City Ramblers even made it to the show. (might be wrong about that). There was of course a big "Red-scare" in those days. The watered-down part was more of the attitude that the Industry had toward folk music rather than the ability of the predigious talent that did appear on the show. Jack Linkletter was the Secrest (sp?) of his time. "American Folk Idol?" Frank |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: Janie Date: 13 Jan 07 - 12:46 PM I have extremely fond memories of Hootenanny, which ran during my early adolescent years. We watched it as family--("Come on girls--Hootenanny's about to start!" And it was my introduction to folk music. I'll probably buy it even if no one thinks it is worth it--the memories it will stir will be priceless. Janie |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: Strollin' Johnny Date: 13 Jan 07 - 02:54 AM Thanks Slag - always wondered what Hootenanny meant. :-) |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: Slag Date: 13 Jan 07 - 02:37 AM The original Hootenanny was a grassroots (not the 60's rock group) thing that was apparently comparable to an open session or a singalong. The idea was that there would be a couple of core groups that would come on stage and do a couple of numbers and then invite the crowd in attendence to join in. Sometimes there was direction as in singing in rounds or joining in the chorus only. They might take requests or sometimes it was a fairly well scripted variety of entertainment but there was always a feeling of freestyle and a lot of fun for everyone. The Television show was much more structured but you got the idea and it spawned the phenomena across the nation. Youth groups, churches, folk groups all tried their hand at it. At some point ( I don't know if it preceeded the happening or not) the joke came out "What do you get if you cross a hoot owl and a nanny goat? Ans: a Hootenanny!" Funny once, then infinitely boring and sure to be repeated. |
|
Subject: RE: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: WFDU - Ron Olesko Date: 13 Jan 07 - 01:03 AM I received a review copy today and I am watching it as I speak. I will post my thoughts on my blog tomorrow (www.ronolesko.blogspot.com) but I will share a couple of thoughts. The DVD set is a wonderful look back at a unique time. What strikes me is the diversity of the talent. It is unfair to call them "second tier" when you consider the fact that the Rooftop Singers, the Brothers Four and the New Christy Minstrels reached and influenced millions. What should be noted is some of the marvelous performances from artists that are considered "mainstream" by todays folk standards. Doc Watson is superb. Leon Bibb gave a stirring performance of Rocks and Gravel. Marion Williams knocked me out with her energetic performances. Look for Judy Collins, the Simon Sisters, the Carter Family, Flatt & Scruggs, Tommy Makem & the Clancy Brothers, Ian & Sylvia, Theodore Bikel, Bob Gibson, Hoyt Axton, Johnny Cash, the Greenbriar Boys and so much more. If this is "second tier", I am wondering what I missed! In retrospect, the boycott probably helped put the brakes on the folk revival. While it is noble and I support the artists who would not appear because of the actions against Pete Seeger, they probably closed a lot of doors. Even Pete Seeger was urging others to go on. You will be surprised. Sure there is a lot of syrupy performances, but the gems that shine through are magical. |
|
Subject: Hootenanny (1960s TV show) From: John on the Sunset Coast Date: 13 Jan 07 - 12:17 AM The Hootenanny TV show has been released to DVD according to Friday's Sunset Coast (i.e. the Los Angeles) Times. Altho' it was a watered down representation of what was going on--no Joan Baez, ditto Pete Seeger--I think I will get it. One of my favorites (The Travellers 3) is represented, as well as the Rooftop Singers and other second tier performers. I know all about the censorship issues of the day, but I'll leave that aspect of this post to others. |
| Share Thread: |
