Folk Song Collectors

As a little girl my aunt taught me a beautiful German folk song. The song "Es waren zwei Koningskinder"  tells the tale of a prince and princess who wanted to be together, but both tragically died as they tried to swim towards each other on a large river.  It must have been about 25 years ago when my aunt taught me this song, but it stuck with me ever since.  

German Folk Song - "Es waren zwei Koningskinder" 

Despite its beauty, folk music seems to be something of the past and many folk songs have disappeared with time. Thankfully, John Lomax shared my love and appreciation for traditional folk music. During the 1930's and 40's he traveled extensively throughout the United States and recorded thousands of these hidden treasures. Lomax visited small towns in the Apalachian mountains to hear old British and Irish folk songs, and went to prisons in the South to discover black folk music. 

It was in one these prisons in the early 1930's that Lomax discovered Leadbelly, a black outlaw who had been in prison before and who was now charged with attempted homicide. It was said that thanks to Lomax, Leadbelly was able to leave prison earlier. Right after he was released from prison, the two of them traveled throughout the US to let Americans hear "negro music". In the video below you can see the real Lomax and Leadbelly and hear part of Leadbelly's most famous song "Goodnight Irene"  

John Lomax: Leadbelly - "Goodnight Irene" 

John's son Alan Lomax accompanied his father during many of his travels and decided at a young age that he would follow in his fathers footsteps. Alan Lomax not only traveled the US to find folk songs, but he also visited several European countries. He continued to collect folk songs until the 1980's, and eventually recorded many songs for the US Library of Congress. This year Alan Lomax's entire collection was made open to the public. On the website Cultural Equity  17,000 recordings collected by Alan and his father can be heard.  Let's hope that through this website, traditional folk music will never completely disappear.

Alan Lomax

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The Very First Time I Heard These Songs

Did you ever hear a song for the very first time, and remember the feeling that song gave you for many years after? This blog is about those songs.

I grew up listening to Tina Turner. My father was a huge fan. This was back in the 1980's when her songs "Private Dancer", "Tonight" and "Simply the Best" were high up in the charts. Several years later I saw the biopic "What's Love Got To do With It" for the first time. In it there is a scene in which Tina Turner is standing in a studio singing "River Deep Mountain High". It was the first time Ike wasn't by her side. I remember watching this movie by myself. It was one of those moments when the world seemed to stand still. Just me and this amazing singer, singing one of the best songs ever.

Tina Tuner - "River Deep Mountain High"

Somewhere in the year 2002 I was sitting in my living room, watching some mindless tv. While I'm surfing through the channels I come across a music video from this new artist, singing in a style and with a voice I hadn't heard before. Unfortunately, I had to wait untill the end to discover who this woman was. The very same day I went to the nearest music store and bought her cd. It was Norah Jones singing "Don't Know Why". I still listen to her debut album every now and then.

Norah Jones - "Don't Know Why"

I have been a fan of Adele since her debut album 19. I think she is great and rightly deserves to stand among the greatest artists of this time. "Rolling in the Deep" one of her latest songs is, according to me, the best song that was made in the last two years. I believe I heard it the very same day the video was first shown on MTV. The video in combination with the song is just great. I have nothing else to add to this. Enjoy.

Adele - "Rolling in the Deep"

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Anything Goes

"In olden days a glimpse of stocking
Was looked on as something shocking,
But now, God knows,
Anything Goes"

The last line, taken from Cole Porter's famous song "Anything Goes", sums up this songwriter's lifestyle very well. Cole Porter knew what he was writing about. His well to do upbringing helped him to live an outrageous lifestyle. He was known for his partying, travels to foreign countries, and numerous gay and bisexual escapades. 

Cole Porter was born in the state of Indiana in 1891. His father was a shy and reserved man, his mother a dominant character, who wanted nothing but the best for her son. She spend a great deal of time and money to be able to make her son succesful in life. He learned to play the violin and the piano by age 10, and his mother helped him write his first operette at about the same age. Cole Porter studies at Yale and entered Harvard Law School, but soon decided that this was not for him, and studied music instead.

He wrote his first musicals soon after he graduated from Harvard's Music Faculty, and pretty soon was recognized by critics as well as the general public. His musical "Anything Goes" was a Broadway hit in 1934 and is still performed in theatres thoughout the United States.

I first saw "Anything Goes" in a small theatre in New Jersey in 2004, and was blown away. Not so much for its storyline (because I thought the storyline was rather bad), but because of  6 songs in this musical which I loved (and still do to this day); "I Get a Kick out of You"; "You're the Top"; "It's De-Lovely"; "Let's Misbehave"; "Blow Gabriel Blow", and of course "Anything Goes". Can you imagine, 6 great songs, in just one musical!

Hopefully I was able to transfer some of my Cole Porter enthusiasm to you. If so, you might like to watch this 2004 movie about Cole Porter's life, buy this great CD, or visit this website where you can find everything worth knowing about Cole Porter, as well as the songs and musicals he wrote, and the important books and movies about his life. But, first, take some time to listen to Pati Lupone's version of  "Anything Goes'" performed at the Toni Awards in 1988. 

Patti Lupone - "Anything Goes"

My love letter to Alison Krauss

I love Alison Krauss! Really I do. I think her talent is beyond this world. (And that's besides the fact that she has won 26 grammy's up until now. More than any other female artist and after Georg Solti and Quincy Jones, the third person with the most Grammy's in this entire world!)

Alison Krauss was actually one of the people who helped me broaden my musical horizon. Back in 2003 (when I didn't even now Alison Krauss excisted) I was downloading some songs. One of those songs was "Maybe", which I thought was Enrique Iglesias' version, but, when I started listening I soon discoverd that this song was a million times better than the song I actually wanted to download. I saw that it was sung by some woman named Alison Krauss and I immideately started downloading more songs by her. This is how I not only discovered the enormous talent that is Alison, but I also discovered this musical genre that's called bluegrass. And I loved it!

If there are some American readers out there you might be surprised that I never heard of Blugrass before 2003. But I grew up in small country called the Netherlands, and unfortunately, no one ever listens to Bluegrass here.

Alison Krauss started her musical career at a very young age as a fiddle prodigy. In the eighties she met with a bluegrass band called Union Station, and they have been together ever since. If you are not already familiar with Alison Krauss I will present you "Heaven's Bright Shore", "Everytime You Say Goodbye" and "Oh, Atlanta", songs you really ought to listen to. You will notice that Alison Krauss and Union Station (AKUS) complement each other perfectly. 

Alison Krauss and Union Station - "Heaven's Bright Shore"

Alison Krauss and Union Station - "Everytime You Say Goodbye"

Alison Krauss and Union Station - "Oh, Atlanta"

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