Jazz has a beautiful connection to the stuff I consider Trad. I grew up watching Dad's Thoren's turn table spin, Ahmad Jamal, Wes Montgomery, Dave Brubeck, Paul Desmond, Stan Getz and Errol Garner. But in all honesty - - It was the old man's music. It entered my soul but burrowed deep and didn't come out for years. Not until I was 20 or so.
Something like that happened again.
Was watching the second season of Mad Men on Blue Ray. Only mention Blue Ray because I'm about to throw that piece of crap out the window. I'll spare you the frustration. I'm watching an episode I missed last season. Number eight, "A Night to Remember." In the last scene Father Gill pulls out his guitar and plays, "Early in the Morning." The credits roll. Gill's monotone singing fades out and Peter, Paul and Mary's, "Early in the Morning blasts out in stereo or quad or digital. Whatever, it was rich and loud.
I listened to those two albums up there non stop when I was a boy. I'm sure I was attracted to the children's songs but there was something else. Certainly there was the story in each song. But still...there's something else. I never did like goatees so that wasn't it. I loved Mary but the PBS shows did nothing for me. No, this is music to be listened to. Alone. In many ways I can see where it grabbed me as a seven year old. I thought it let me go but it's back. From the liner notes of their first album:
Maybe everything's going to be all right. Maybe mediocrity has had it. Maybe hysteria is on the way out. One thing for sure in any case: Honesty is back. Tell your neighbor.
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16 comments:
That's a really nice post.
We listened to Peter, Paul, and Mary. To Joan Baez. To Bob Dylan. The answer is blowing in the wind, no?
I also grew up with this album, per my Mother's RCA record club membership.
It is good music, a suitable pairing for the malaise of the early '40's age group. (myself included.)
Nice post.
I never got into folk. But "A Mighty Wind" made me laugh.
BTW, I dug out a few photos of myself wearing a pair of white suede pennies. Forgot I ever had them. Wish I still did.
"the wedding song", a wedding gift from paul to peter, is probably my favorite P,P,&M song.
Great post. My mom played a lot of folk music around our house, I'll have to check it out more now.
And, that quote from the album is certainly appropos now, isn't it.
ML
mlanesepic.blogspot.com
Joan Baez was HOT when she was younger..and I don't normally like that look.
Looney, but hot.
Peter, Paul and mary were guests at our frat house. Saw Baez and Dylan perform together in '64-they were an item then.
GREAT POST! Nostalgia time!
I remember your wedding reception. You played us some Henry Mancini's music. Anne and I danced to it with me doing my silly Steve Martin Happy Feet.
Back in my young Airborne days at Ft Benning, one of our favorite hangouts was an informal basement restaurant and bar at a Columbus, GA Holiday Inn. We dubbed it "Mothers" in honor of Mancini. His "The Brothers go to Mother's" played almost constantly. All ranks welcome, very bawdy, with airborne jokes and sing alongs (..."his testicles are a'danglin' from his paratrooper boots; he ain't gonna' jump no more.")
Impromptu caricatures of every ethnic, religious and any other group (including our own) were in order. Just grab a mike.
Those were the good days; post Korea and pre-VN. We thought ourselves invincible. We worked with the then new Huey helicopters; not realizing how soon we'd do it for real.
To cop a line from a great book, "We Were Soldiers Once...and young -- very, very young."
Along that line, two years ago, after hauling 70+ pounds of records around all these years, I found two young music major college students who were very happy to get them -- free.
Can't resist this. You, age 6 or so,
had seen me play records, but didn't notice the power had to be turned on. You managed to get a disc on, but nothing happened. You tried turning the disc by hand; nothing. You then continued turning by hand while pressing very hard on the cartridge; nothing except you destroyed the very expensive cartridge and almost the player motor. I think I came very close to driving you 100 miles out in the Mexican desert and dumping you.
WONDERFUL post tintin!
- memories -
The highlight of one summer - I and friends all (must have been 15 of us) went to see Peter, Paul and Mary at the Yale Bowl. It was awesome. It was like magic!
I thought it best not to comment on something I can't say anything good about (i.e. Folk Music), but your father's comment is priceless. Sometimes I wish my pop would comment on my blog, but he's like one of those totems from Christmas Island. Great memories make this entry a wonderful read!
And thanks for the comment at my blog recently.
Lynn- Thank you. More folk to come.
LPC- It's blowing in the wind or it's blowin' in the liner notes.
Cathleen- I think it works best in it's pure form. And iTunes makes it easy.
Tucker- Love your shoes and the Sonny pic. I did like Mighty Wind. "It's blowin peace and freedom. It's blowin you and me."
Skorp- Dude, are you in Basic yet?
M Lane- It does say a lot. How was dinner in Chicago?
Anon- Looney is hot.
Richard M- Wow, would love to see your year book. Amazing to see yearbooks from southern colleges in the mid 60's. Folk was huge.
Dad, I think I remember that. The Mexican desert that is.
Paul- I remember my first concert. Black Sabbath in Fayettville, NC in 1976. It turned me off concerts for a very long time.
Ben- His comments are gold and his contribution here means the world to me. Glad you found the belts.
I think that second season of Mad Men had the music down pat.. Aside from the Peter, Paul & Mary fadeout to credits you mention, one of the early episodes has the ladies (Joan, Betty and Peggy) getting ready whilst The Decemberists' Infata plays over the top. But the winner goes to Don Draper taking a dip in the Pacific Ocean to the dulcet tones of George Jones' best Hank Williams impression.
i ship on 20091103. but i've already received a call from my reserve unit asking where i was.
I had to delay the trip to next week. I'm set for then though.
ML
Tintin, I had some issues with a first gen sony Blue Ray player until I went to the website and had them send me an update disk. Works like a charm now. Might for you, too.
Off to get season two into the queue. Or just buy it.
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