Murder Ballads

Murder Ballads were a popular genre in traditional country and folk music. It was brought to the US by European settlers, and became especially popular in the Southern states. While its popularity has waned over the past decades, several contemporary artists covered some of the best ones. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds actually recorded an entire album full of popular Murder Ballads. 

My favorite is Banks of the Ohio, a 19th century murder ballad by an uknown author. Many recordings have been made of this song, by such greats as Johnny Cash, Joan Baez, and The Carter Family.  I especially love the rendition below, performed by Doc Watson, and accompanied by the amazing Earl Scruggs, Ricky Skaggs and Alison Krauss. 

Take a minute to read the lyrics before watching the video, it will make you shiver....

Banks of the Ohio 

I asked my love to take a walk
Just a little ways with me
And as we walked and we would talk
All about our weddingday

Darling say that you'll be mine
In our home we'll happy be
Down beside where the waters flow
On the banks of the Ohio
I took her by her pretty white hand
I let her down that bank of sand
I pushed her in where she would drown
Lord, I saw her as she floated down

Returning home about twelve or one
Thinking "Lord, what a deed I've done?"
I killed the girl I love, you see
Because she would not marry me

The very next day at half past four
The sherrif walked right to my door
And he says "Young man, don't you try to run
You must pay for this awful crime you've done"

  

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The Sound of America

There is not a single instrument in the United States that is as quintessentially American as the banjo is. This guitar like instrument has a round frame and either four, five or six strings. It originated in Africa, and was brought to the American Colonies with the arrival of African slaves from 1620 onwards. Soon the instrument could be heard during slave gatherings at plantations all along the Southern states of the US. 

Banjos were introduced to a wider non-black audience through Minstrel Shows. Minstrel Shows started in the 1830's. They were a ridiculous attempt to depict the lives of African American slaves who lived on plantations in the South. White actors painted their faces black and acted like dumb-witted slaves that did nothing all day but steel food, do silly things and play music on their banjo. One of the most popular songs that came from one of these Minstrel Show's was Stephen Foster's 1847 hit "Oh Susannah". The song was later covered by such greats as Neil Young, the Byrds, and James Taylor. 

Minstrel Shows were very popular from the 1830's until the late 1890's, and the banjo's popularity grew with it. Soon not only African slaves played the instrument, but many white Americans did too. The banjo could be heard in several musical styles from blues, to country and folk music, as it was played all throughout the US.

Earl Scruggs was born in 1924 in Carolina, and started started playing the banjo at a young age. He developed his own three finger picking style and in 1945 was discovered by the founder of Bluegrass music, Bill Monroe. Ever since Bill Monroe added Earl Scrugss to his band, the banjo became an indispensable part of Bluegrass music. Only three years later, Earl Scruggs and Lester Flatt left Monroe's Bluegrass Boys, to start their own band. The duo soon became quite popular and even landed a spot on the Grand Ole Opry. Below you can hear them at the Opry, performing one of their classics "Foggy Mountain Breakdown". 

In the 1950's the banjo again became an important part of folk music. It was reintroduced by Pete Seeger, the father of folk, who himself was an avid banjo player and wrote a popular book on "How to Play the 5-String Banjo". The book thought many young musicians at the time how to play this instrument, and the banjo soon found itself in another revival. Pete Seeger is 93 today, and he can still be heard playing his instrument in folk festivals all throughout the US. Below you can watch Seeger give a short history lesson on this beautiful instrument.  

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"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

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A History of Bluegrass (Part 1)

As you may have already noticed I am a enormous fan of Bluegrass music. To me, Bluegrass represents music at its core. It's where all the good things in music come together. I love the vocal harmonies in bluegrass, as well as the splendid blending of different acoustic instruments; the banjo, steel / acoustic guitar, mandonline, fiddle, and the dobro.

The man who started this all was Bill Monroe. He grew up in the early part of the last century, when Bluegrass music did not even excist.  Bill Monroe was very interested in traditional music, and was inspired by a variety of musical genres; blues, jazz, country and Victorian parlor songs. He released his first record with his brother Charlie in 1936; "What Would You Give in Exchange for Your Soul". It became a big hit in the Southeastern states of the US, and brought instant fame to the Monroe Brothers. After several severe fights with his brother, Bill decided it was best for them to part. He soon started a new band; Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys. 

Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys produced several big hits.  In 1940 they released a redo of Jimmie Rodger's "Mule Skinner Blues" which became very popular. Their 1946 hit "Blue Moon of Kentucky" did even better, and has since been covered by Elvis Presley, Patsy Cline and Bob Dylan (to name just a few).  It was in these two song that the Bill Monroe style was perfected. Soon Bill Monroe and his Blue Grass Boys became regulars at the Grand Ole Opry. While Bill Monroe continued to be a constant factor in his band, the Blue Grass Boys were continually replaced. Two of his former band mates that were able to also make a big name for themselves were Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs. They started their own band The Foggy Mountain Boys and became quite famous for their hit "Foggy Mountain Breakdown"" (if you think you know how to play the guitar, try playing this song). Bill Monroe received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1993, just a few years before he died in 1996.

"Oh, (Monroe) was the first. But it wasn't called bluegrass back then. It was just called old time mountain hillbilly music. When they started doing the bluegrass festivals in 1965, everybody got together and wanted to know what to call the show, y'know. It was decided that since Bill was the oldest man, and was from the Bluegrass state of Kentucky and he had the Blue Grass Boys, it would be called 'bluegrass.'' - Ralph Stanley

Ralph Stanley, another big name in Bluegrass, was very much influenced by Bill Monroe (although Stanley never wanted to admit this).  Ralph Stanley started performing with his brother Carter at around the same time Bill Monroe did. Even though Bluegrass wasn't really known to be a musical genre back then, the Stanley brothers copied a lot of things that Bill Monroe and his band did at the time. What the Stanley Brothers did seem to work, they became almost as popular as Monroe was. The song "Man of Constant Sorrow" (a traditional folk song) was one of their biggest hits, which Ralph continued playing after his brother died in 1966. In 2004 the song was again introduced in the soundtrack of  the movie "Oh Brother Where Art Thou".

Several "Bluegrass" musicians lost their record deals in the late 1950's. This type of music was now seen as too old-fashioned and way too hillbilly. It wasn't, however, the end of Bluegrass. More information on how Bluegrass Came About will follow soon.

Bill Monroe - "Blue Moon of Kentucky"

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