"The Greatest Backporch Shows Ever"

If you like traditional "backporch music" you may really like the Transatlantic Sessions series. It's a BBC production in which American, Irish and British musicians get together and sing the most beautiful folk and country songs. In the mid 1990's the first season aired and included such great names as Emmylou Harris, Iris Dement and John Martyn. Unfortunately I didn't get to watch it until I discovered the series many years later on Youtube.  In the meantime several series had followed the first one. 

In 2007 they decided to record another series and once again were able to get some of the finest musicians to join them (Ricky Scaggs, Roseanne Cash and James Taylor among others).  Last year they recorded the 5th series, and once again were able to produce something magnificent. The great part of the series are the many duets by musicians that have never sung together before, but are able to make your heart melt. Below are some of my favorite songs from different series.  

John Martyn & Kathy Matea - May You Never

Iris Dement & Emmylou Harris - Our Town

Amos Lee, Sarah Jarosz & Alison Krauss - Clear Blue Eyes

You may also like: 

A Few Very Surprising Duets 

A History of Bluegrass (Part 1)

My Love Letter to Alison Krauss 

Where Did You Sleep Last Night?

I like listening to different versions of the same song. Especially when it is done in a completely different genre. "In The Pines", also known as "Black Girl" and "Where Did You Sleep Last Night" is one of those songs. Originally a traditional American folk song, it was widely known among the African American population as "Black Girl". That was probably how Lead Belly learned about the song and decided to record it in 1944. 

Although he wasn't the one who wrote the song, nor the one who recorded it first, he is often mentioned as the original author. Lead Belly actually recorded several versions of this song. In the one below, you can hear his "Black  Girl" version, in other versions he changes "Black Girl" into "My Girl", perhaps to make it appeal to a wider (non black) audience. In fact, Lead Belly was the first African American singer who was popular among the white population. After spending a few years in prison, he toured several American Universities  with John Lomax, who had written a book on American folk music. Because the US was quite racist at the time,  Lead Belly was hired as Lomax's driver, to be able to travel together.

Lead Belly - "In the Pines"

Bill Monroe, the pioneer of Bluegrass music, also recorded a version of  "In the Pines" in the early 1940's. As many other Country and Bluegrass artists at the time he used old folk songs, and added some traditional country music instruments (banjo, fiddle, etc.) to it. Later, several other country artists covered Bill Monroe's version of the song; Dolly Parton, the Louvin Brothers, and Ralph Stanley. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a better YouTube version of the song, but I hope you'll enjoy it nevertheless.

Bill Monroe - "In the Pines"

Perhaps the best known version of the song was recorded by Nirvana on their 1994 unplugged album. They changed the title of the song into "Where Did You Sleep Last Night", but you can definitely hear that it is the same  song as "In the Pines". Lead Belly is actualy wrongully mentioned as the song's author during this  performance.

Nirvana - "Where Did You Sleep Last Night"

A Few Very Suprising Duets

I like to hear duets by singers who are known in completely different genres. This blog post is about those duets. I discovered them by spending endless hours on You Tube. The first one was recorded at Tom Jones' own tv show "This Is Tom Jones". The show ran from 1969 to 1971 and included many big names in music history (Dusty Springfield, Jerry Lee Lewis, Tony Benett and Ray Charles, to name but a few). In the third and final season of the show Ella Fitzgerald sang a great (and quite surprising) duet with Tom Jones. Here is "Sunny".

Tom Jones & Ella Fitzgerald - "Sunny"

The following song was recorded at the Transatlantic Sessions. This is a BBC music special in which Irish, British and American (usually folk) singers get together and make great music. The first session was recorded in the early 1990's and there have been 5 sessions since. It is really worth watching, especially if you like folk music. In this song you will see Iris DeMent, Michelle Wright, and the Irish singer Mairead Ni Mhaonaigh sing the traditional country song "Will the Circle Be Unbroken".

Iris DeMent, Michelle Wright & Mairead Ni Mhaonaigh - "Will the Circle Be Unbroken"

I have already expressed my love for Alison Krauss in this blog. To show her diversity and to show that she is not just a real good country and bluegrass singer, I will show this duet with Led Zeppelin's lead singer Robert Plant. They actually recorded an entire CD together in 2007 called "Raising Sands". This song is the first one on this CD, and I personally think it is also the best one. Here they are at Jools Holland singing "Rich Woman". 

Robert Plant & Alison Krauss - "Rich Woman"

You may also like:
My Love Letter to Alison Krauss 
Johnny Cash's Inspiration 
The First Lady of Song

I am Generation MTV

I was born in 1981, which means I'm part of the MTV generation. The MTV generation is known for watching a lot of MTV. And that's exactly what I did throughout my teen years, watch lots and lots of MTV. That was back in the day when MTV actually did wat it was meant to do; play music.

In those days music videos were not as exciting as some are today, but there were some pretty good ones too (especially those by Michael Jackson). One of the music videos that I loved was by a band called Blind Melon. Blind Melon is actually still active today. The band was started in 1989 in California by a couple of teenage boys. Their big break came in 1993 when the song "No Rain" was released, which did real well in the charts.

The music video shows a sad looking little bee girl, trying to find her way in the world. When I saw the movie "Little Miss Sunshine" for the first time, I was actually again reminded of this song. Not only because the little girls kind of look alike, but also because the stories are quite similar. Although this song may not be widely known nor remembered,  to me it is one of the songs which brings me back to the days when I too was watching lots and lots and lots of MTV.

Blind Melon - "No Rain"

Harmony Singing

Another day, another song. Because I am really really excited about my new blog, I have been awake all night last night thinking about new songs I can show you. So, this means that I will probably submit many more entrants in the upcoming days. This way I will be able to show a lot more great music to my new visitors. Besides, I do have lots of free time right now as I am currently unemployed. (For those of you who are interested: I've finished my masters degree early this year, and actually did have a job, but they fired me due to the current recession. I have been at home since September 1st of this year, and am still tyring to find a new job).

Anyhow, back to the music. Hope you have enjoyed Ella Fitzgerald! Now, for something completely differnt, I give you a bit of country music. Now, don't run away just yet! This is not just any kind of country music, this is Bluegrass. For those of you who are not familiar with the Bluegrass Style, I give you a few facts:

♪ Bluegrass was "invented" by Bill Monroe, who came from Kentucky (the Bluegrass State)
♪ It is very traditional music, and one can hear quite a few Irish and British influences in it.
♪ Instruments you will definitely hear in bluegrass are the banjo, the fiddle, and a steel guitar.
♪ I especially like bluegrass due to the beautiful harmony singing.
♪ Bluegrass became popular again after the 2000 movie and soundtrack "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou".

 The following video is by the Cox Family, who were introduced to a wider public by Alison Krauss. (If you pay close attention she will make a guest appearance in this video at 2.03). The Cox Family consists of two sisters, a brother, and their father. They have recorded a total of five albums (including one with Alison Krauss). You will also be able to hear them on the "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou" soundtrack, where they sing a beautiful version of "I Am Weary Let Me Rest". The following song is another one of my favorites, and one which I think everyone ought to hear at least once in their lifetime:

"The Cox Family - Will There Be Any Stars in My Crown"

It is actually a gospel song (which many bluegrass songs are), but I like this version best. It has beautiful harmonies, and if you will listen to more harmony singing, you will notice that families sing the best harmonies.