HI LL INO IUNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN

PRODUCTION NOTE

University of Illinois atUrbana-Champaign Library

Large-scale Digitization Project, 2007.

OCTRAMBIERS CCOE TO CAMPS I -

'he New Lost City Ramblers will

lent a concert of traditional mountain

.c at 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 27,

ncoln Hall Theater.

'he Ramblers are one of the leading

ips working to perpetuate pure, un-

Lterated folksongs. This effort can

eard in their "old timey", unaffected

.e of singing; an unusual and admirable

.evement for urban singers.

lembers of the trio are Mike Seeger,

cording technician, John Cohen, a

'essional photographer, and Tracy

rarz, an accomplished string band

tormer replacing Tom Paley. All are

wrb musicians and play unamplified

aruments: the guitar, banjo, mandolin,

lie, dobro, and autoharp.

lecording to Seeger, the Ramblers'

.c is that of the rural areas of the

theastern United States during the

Volume 3, No. 1October 15, 1962

17 1?C2

1920's and early 30's. They sing

depression songs, election songs, British

songs, and they even have an album of

Old Timey Songs for Children. They also

sing humerous songs like "It's a Shame

to Beat Your Wife on Sunday", (When

you'v got Monday, Tuesday...etc.)

Their popularity has become evident

by the enthusiastic acceptance of five

Folkways albums and a number of Newport

Folk Festival discs. Their own NLCR

songbook is to be issued soon. Those

of you who were on campus last year and

heard the Philo Glee and Mandolin Society,

will notice and enjoy the similarities

in style and humor between the Philos

and the Ramblers.

Tickets for the concert are $1.25 and

$1.75 and are available at the Illini

Union Box Office. All seats are reserved.

---Benette Rottman---

ATTEN'TON New Members

If you had joined the campus folk club four years ago, you wouldhave been a member of the Folk Arts Society; a group which met forfolk dancing at the Illini Union and held its sings in the base-ment of the Channing Murrey Foundation. Or, if you had joined ayear and a half ago when the folk singing faction of the Polk ArtsSociety decided to form the Campus Folksong Club, you would havefound fewer members in the entire club than we now have on our ex-ecutive committee. The organization and growth of the Club hasspecial meaning to you as a member.

We are now able to bring well-known folk artists to the campusfor your entertainment. There are afternoon folk seminars givenby speakers who are experts in some phase of folk music, history,or lore. Some of these speakers will be giving performances inthe eveningsfollowing their lectures. Also, beginning, intermediateand advanced guitar lessons as well as beginning banjo lessons arenow being offered to members of the club. Last year the club cutits first record, a project which has brought us to the attentionof folk enthusiasts across the country.

It is only through our ranid growth, through your membership,that these things are made possible. You are a member of the fast-est growing, most outstanding club of its kind in the nation...onein which you can take a great deal of pride.

This leads to one other very imnortant function of the club.When a group like ours ceases to be informal, it negates the verytradition which gave it life. All facets of the club's activitiesare open to you....from writing articles for Autoharp to performingat the sings. Remember...this is your club.....use it!!

,* e * Sue Rissman....editor

CAMPUS FOLKSONG CLUB CALENDAR OF EVENTSFALL SEMESTER, 1962

Fri. FolksingWed. Executive CommmitteeWed. General Business

MeetingThurs. KARL WOLFRAMFri. FolksingThurs. HIGHWAYMEN (Star

Course Extra)Fri. FolksingSat. NEW LOST CITY

RAMBLERSFri. FolksingTues. JACK ELLIOTTThurs. JOAN BAEZ (Star

Course Extra)Sat. JEAN REDPATHFri. FolksingFri. Folksing

8:00 pm7:30 pm7:30 pm

8:00 pm8:00 pm8:00 pm

8:00 pm8:00 pm

112 Gregory Hall43 Lab. & Ind. Rel. Bldg.35 Lab. & Ind. Rel. Bldg.

Smith Music Hall112 Gregory HallAuditorium

112 Gregory HallLincoln Hall Theater

8:00 pm 112 Gregory Hall(to be announced)

8:00 pm Auditorium

8:00 pm8:00 pm8:00 pm

Lincoln Hall Theater314 Altgeld Hall314 Altgeld Hall

Sept.Sept.Oct.

Oct.Oct.Oct.

Oct. 19Oct. 27

Nov.Nov.Nov.

Dec.Dec.Jan.

Guitar and Banjo Lessons

The Campus Folksong Club will once again sponsor Workshop classes

which provide members with instruction in folk guitar and five string

banjo. Instructors will offer beginning guitar, intermediate guitar,

blues guitar, and beginning banjo. Persons interested in blues

guitar should possess a moderate facility on the guitar in basic

styles such as Carter Family and double thumbing, as discussion will

consist primarily of three-finger picking. (If you do not recognize

names of these techniques, you probably are not qualified for the

class.) Intermediate classes will develop Carter Family style,

double thumbing, and various other techniques designed to play melody

line, while the beginning classes will nrovide an introduction to

the guitar,illustrating fundamentals common to all styles of playing.

Beginning banjo classes will teach the basic strum, frailing, double

thumbing, and an introduction to Scruggs style.

Workshops will be held on five consecutive Saturdays with the

first meeting being held on October 6, in room 114E of the English

Building. Beginning classes in banjo and guitar will meet at 1:00 p.m.

?nd the intermediate and blues guitar classes will meet at 2:00 p.m.

The cost of the five classes is $3.50. This price includes

printed materials which are passed out at the lesson. Workshop

participants must belong to the Campus Folksong Club, and all students

must bring their own instruments. People may register for classes

by contacting Bill Becker at 359-1060, by writing to the Club at 322

Illini Union, or by coming to the first meeting on October 6.

FOR SAIE

GUITAR . . .R.D. COCK 1112* E. I•in/U.Banjo * . PRESTON MARTIN 904 W. Illinois 367-1336Dulcimers andlong necks for banjos. . BILL BECKER 106 E. John St. 359-1060

A Folka nger's Credo

by Jean Redpath

For me, honesty is the keystone of any performance that is to beconvincing to the listener, satisfying to the singer, and a genuineemotional experience for both. An honest approach toward folksongs, I feel, requires considerable understanding of the materialand the cultural tradition it reflects. I find myself best equip-ped, at present, to offer the songs I've grown up with in the lan-guage I am accustomed to speaking.

Scots songs hinge so much on the vernacular use of language thatthey deserve to be treated, linguistically, as "foreign songs", nottouched on lightly by speakers of English as some quaint dialect.All languages (and many translators) suffer in translation. So,too, in rendering Scots into Anglicized versions many nuances ofhumor and irony are lost, as are many emotional subtleties.

The sources for my materials are as varied as the songs themselves.Some I learned from py parents in Leven, Fifeshire, or from theirfamily. Others were learned from Arthur Argo, folksong collectorand journalist from Aberdeenshire, and from Ella Ward of Edinburgh.Fellow members of the University of Edinburgh Folksong Society con-tributed still other numbers in my repertory. In the backgroundfor all of this is the enthusiastic support and assistance of HamishHenderson of the School of Scottish Studies. And, of course, thereis the great device of the modern collector and repertory builder,the phonograph. I regard myself, therefore, as partly a traditionalsinger and partly an interpreter of traditional Scots songlore.

(Jean Redpath will -p pear in a Lincoln Hall concert on SaturdayDecember 8, 1962 at 8:00 p.m.)

* * * * * *

General Bussiness MeetingOf

October 3, 1962Two very important items, vital to the club organization, were discussed at the

general business meeting of October 3. The first problem confronting the club bodyevolved around the reorganization of the Constitution. Several changes were neededto clarify the constitution and place it in line with University policy on the run-ning of student groups. Briefly, the two changes made concerned 1) voting membership,which is now limited to students, University staff, and their families, and 2) theproceedure for filling vacancies in elected offices during a given smmester. Asthere was a vacancy in the office of Vice-President, an election was held and theClub elected Dave Huehner. This left the office of recording secretary vacant andDianne Wells was elected to the position. The rest of the meeting was spent inaquainting the club body with the various duties of the officers and committees.

(General business meetings are held at the start of every semester and all membersare encouraged to attend, Members are also welcome to attend Executive CommitteeMeetings which will be held at 43 Lab. & Ind. Rel. Bldg. (5th and Armory) on thefollowing dates: Oct. 24; Nov. 7, 20; Dec. 5, 19; 'and Jan 9.

Our First Record: CFC 101

by Dick Adams

It would be hard to say who first suggested that the Campus Folksong Clubput out a long-playing record album. More than anything else, it seemed tofollow naturally from the Club's other activities. What would be a better wayto document, in some meaningful and permanent form, the University of Illinoisfolk music revival?

On February 21, 1962, the idea came up for the first time at a meeting ofthe Club Executive Committee. The Club officers agreed that a record would bea good idea, but there were some reservations. This is one area into whichother folksong clubs apparently have not ventured. No one had any real idea ofall that would be involved. Faculty advisor Archie Green had made some inquirieson his own, and he suggested that the Club should be able to produce 200 to300 copies of a record--a limited edition--for about $500. He recommended theappointment of a committee to investigate further. President John Schmidt tookup the suggestion, and named a three-member committee, headed by Preston Martin,to look into all angles of record production.

As a first step, the committee contacted Bob Koester--the owner, manager,and chief salesman for Delmar Records, a small folk record company in Chicago.He had given Archie Green the original rough estimate on costs. Now, thecommittee wanted to know, could Koester be more specific. Could he provide moreexact cost estimates, and outline the steps involved in putting out a record.He could, and would go even one step further; he would supervise the overallproduction, and would have the record processed by the same firms that handledhis Delmar releases.

With this information, the record committee reported to the ExecutiveCommittee again on March 21. It has several recommendations. First it confirmedwhat had been tacitly agreed on earlier: that the performers on the firstClub record should be the Philo Glee & Mandolin Society--Paul Adkins, JimHockenhull, and Doyle Moore. They were probably the most talented and popularClub performers, and a record of their songs, done in old-time mountain stringband style, would emphasize the importance of country music in the folk musicrevival.

The committee also recommended that the record be viewed as a documentationof the folk revival on the campus, and be produced in limited numbers, mainlyfor campus folksong enthusiasts. As much as possible, wcrk on the record wouldbe volunteered by Club members with professional skills in certain areas. Clubmember Thacher Robinson agreed to cut the original tapes on his professionalrecording gear; Doyle Moore, a professor in art and a part-time printer, couldhandle the layout and supervise the printing of the cover and notes; otherswould edit the tape and write the notes. The record would not be aimed at thecommercial market. However, the overall goal would be to produce a record withProfessional, or commercial, sound and appearance. The actual job of processingand pressing the disc, of course, would be done by the commercial firms whoproduced Koester's Delmar records.

The total cost of producing 250 copies of a limited edition record, thecommittee reported, would be about $400. After some discussion, the ExecutiveCommittee okayed the plan and authorized the record committee to proceed ontwo fronts: with the taping as the first step in the physical production ofthe record, and with the advance sale of the disc. This last condition wasimposed by the University Dean of Students. Since the Club treasury would notbe able to foot the entire bill out of available funds, he ruled that the Clubwould have to prove that the record could pay for itself before he wouldauthorize the final steps in its production.

This was to prove no problem, however. At a folksing, the first announce-ment of plans for the record brought more than 40 advance orders at a priceof $3.00 per record to Club members. To spur the advance sales, the committeehad decided to offer the record at reduced prices, to Club members and non-membersalike, during the advance sale period. The prices were set by the committee:advance sale--members $3.00, non-members $3.50; regular sale--members $3.50,non-members $4.00. The committee also decided from the first to have most saleshandled through the Club; it would allow only limited sales through commercialrecord shops.

Then, to the actual production of the record, and the first step: tapingthe PG&MS.

Before the tapings began, the members of the PG&1S had winnowed theirrepertoire of 100 songs to one-third or one-quarter that number. They knewthat they could put perhaps 16, at the most 18, songs on their album, and theywanted them to represent fairly their range and their style. At the core oftheir repertoire were several songs learned from records by the New Lost CityRamblers. There would be little value, they decided, in simply duplicatingwhat the Ramblers had done; better to record some songs that had not been widelycirculated. Other than that, to fairly represent their range, the PG&MSdecided to program religious songs, instrumentals, ballads, humorous, andnovelty songs.

With a tentative list of about 30 songs, the taping started. The firsttapes were cut in Thacher Robinson's living room in Urbana two nights duringthe first week in April. The sessions were long--three or four hours--andtiring. With tuning preliminaries out of the way, the Philos would practicethe song to be taped--perhaps just a few bars to get the "feel" of it again,or perhaps all the way through. Then they would do it for the tape; listen toit played back; and, if they were not satisfied, do it again. Some songs justseemed to "click" the first time; others never seemed to sound just right. Thelatter were erased. In some cases they were recorded later; in others, justforgotten altogether. The "audience" at these sessions was limited: ThacherRobinson, running the tape machine from the other end of the living room;occasionally his wife; their two young daughters, and the daughters' smallkitten. Club President John Schmidt also watched part of one session; I satin on another.

For each song, the Philos grouped themselves around a high-fedelity Altecmicrophone. The tapes were recorded, at 15 inches per-second, on ThacherRobinson's console Magnecord tape machine. When the first two sessions ended,the PG&MS had produced five tapes, containing 23 songs--about one hour and aquarter of music.

Next came the editing. Paul Adkins of the Philos, Archie Green and Iauditioned the tapes in two three-hour sessions. Of the 23 songs, we decidedthat 13, totalling about 33 minutes, should go on the record as they were.Three others should also be included; but, for one reason or another, theywould have to be re-taped. On one, the balance among the instruments was bad;on another the lead instrument sounded "off mike"; on the third, the playing andsinging were simply too ragged.

Although, in all, the 16 songs seemed to offer a good representation ofthe Philos range of songs, there were still problems in "balancing" the record,both in regard to content and timing. For example, the PG&MS had done such agood job trying not to record too many Rambler songs that they had cut them allout. We decided to add one which had been a standard part of the PG&MS repertoireat folksings--the humorous "Three Men Went A-Hunting." (Later, for much thesame reason, we were to add another song from the original tape, the Gid Tannernumber "Miss McLeod's Reel." This broucht the total to 18 songs and balancedthe record at nine songs--about 24 minutes--on each side.)

At these first auditioning session, we also made some tentative decisionsabout the order in which the songs were to appear. We agreed to start eachside with an instrumental ("Eighth of January," "Cripple Creek"), and to endeach with a humorous number ("What 'll I Do With the Baby-0?," "Make Me a Bed onthe Floor"). We worked from that, trying to achieve good pacing and variety oneach side, much as one would find in a good concert.

The following week came a third taping session, to re-do the threeunsatisfactory cuts and to add "Three Men Went A-Hunting." This time around,the taping went more rapidly. Paul Adkins and I listened to these new cuts, andsettled on the order for the 17 songs. The same evening, I did the final editing,arranging the songs in the order in which they would appear on the finished record.

The next day, now about ten days after the first tapes were cut, the editedmaster tapes were in the mail to Audiophile Records, Inc., Saukville, Wisconsin,for the first step toward the actual pressing. At the same time, a copy of theinformation for the record "label"--the round patch in the center of eachside--was sent to the Bert-Co Press, Los Angeles, California, for printing.Before it went out, though, the print copy was carefully checked, to make surethat song titles, timings, and the other data for the label agreed down to thelast letter with the material we would use in the descriptive notes and on thealbum jacket cover.

From there on out, the physical production of the plastic record "disc"itself was out of our hands.

At Saukville, as a first step, Audiophile Records made a "lacquer master"of the record; technicians "etched" the songs from the master tape onto . agrooved lacquer disc. As Bob Koester explains it, this is the key step in theproduction. The "mastering" firm must take extreme care to make sure that thetape program, in its full fidelity, is transferred to the lacquer disc. If the"master" is defective, the records made from it naturally will be, too.

Next, the completed master was shipped from Saukville to Research-craftCorporation, Los Angeles, California, for "processing"--the several steps whichprecede the "pressing", or final stamping-out of the record.

The processing is quite involved. First, using the grooved lacquer master,the processing firm makes a "metal master"--actually a negative of the lacquermaster, with ridges instead of grooves. The lacquer master serves essentiallyas a mold. By electrolysis, the metal for the master is "poured" into themicroscopic grooves of the lacquer master much as, on a larger and lessrefined scale, one might pour plaster of paris into a plastic mold.

The two metal masters then (one for each side of the record) can be usedto "press" out the finished product; and, on small runs of 200 records or less,they often are. For larger quantity orders, however, metal masters must beprotected from excessive wear. So, two more steps are necessary in the process.First, the metal master is used to plate another positive, or grooved, copy.This is identical with the original lacquer master, except that it is made of metal,not lacquer. It is called, heaven only knows why, a "mother." From the"mother," then, more negative, or ridged metal plates are made. These are"stampers." They are identical to the "metal master," and, as the name implies,are used to "stamp out" or "press" the plastic record discs. This process, Iunderstand, is something like making waffles. The hot plastic is "pressed"between two ridged metal plates--the stampers--and the finished disc emerges.

The labels are pressed into the discs during this process. The edgeof each disc is buffed and the records are ready.

This whole sequence--mastering, processing, and pressing--took just abouta month for the PG&MS record. In the meantime, in Champaign, the Club recordproduction committee was concerned with two other parts of the project: thefront cover for the cardboard record jacket, and the explanatory back liner notes.

In his original estimate, Bob Koester had warned that the cost of designing,laying out, and printing the jacket cover and the liner notes would be thegreatest single expense in putting out the record. He estimated the coverdesign and layout at about $65 and the printing at more than $200. But here,by doing some of the work ourselves, we were able to cut the total design, layout,and printing cost to less than half his estimate.

From more than a dozen pictures taken by Club member Jack Halcom, the PG&MSselected one for the record cover. Doyle Hoore then designed the cover, and laidit out, using type from his own fonts. In the meantime, Archie Green and I wereworking on the explanatory notes. I talked with each of the members of thePG&MS to get material for a general essay attempting to put them, their record,and the Campus Folksong Club in perspective against the broader background of thegeneral folk music revival. Archie's article was to be more scholarly anddetailed, to document the individual songs. It included a limited bibliography,discography, and source list, giving the specific source from which the Philoslearned each song, other recorded versions of each and where available, printedversions of the song or articles or monographs about it. (It was during hisearly research that Archie noted we had failed to include any Gid Tanner song onthe final tape sent to Saukville. So, from the original tape, we sent "MissMcCleod's Reel," asking Audiophile to insert it into side one before they cutthe lacquer master.)

(D)

It had been our original intention to put the explanatory notes andbibliography-discograpy on the back of the cardboard jacket. But with thenotes completed we came across another of those problems you run into the firsttime through anything. The copy simply would not fit on the back, at leastnot using any type face large enough to read without a magnifying glass. Itwas not that we had not realized our space limitations; we had. It was justthat our calculations involving words per column had not held up when we werefaced with the task of laying those words out on the jacket.

Since we were by now pressed for time--the discs were due in from LosAngeles within a week--Doyle Moore suggested an alternative. He would use thepaper left over from printing the front covers to print a small insert bookletor brochure. The notes were typed in columns on an IBM electric typewriter, and,by reducing the overall type size slightly, Doyle could lay them out in anattractive, accordion-fold insert. He then supervised the printing of thejacket cover and the insert notes. The printing was done by the SuperiorPrinting Company in Champaign.

Again, we could have economized here, by forgetting about a cover pictureand layout and instead using plain white cardboard jackets, by mimeographingor dittoing the insert notes, or both. But we decided to follow through on ouraim of putting out as "professional" a product as possible.

It was now the second week in May. Via long-distance calls to Los Angeles,we found that the discs--250 of them--were ready. We made arrangements forthem to be trucked to Urbana by way of the Denver-Chicago Trucking Company. Ourtarget date for the record release was May 18, the final Club folksing of theyear. Preston Martin's pre-release sale had been more successful than anyonecould have hoped a month earlier. He and his committee had collected money formore than 120 records. Most of the advance-order buyers, we knew, were Clubmembers. Many of them would be at the folksing May 18, and it would be arelatively simple matter to distribute the records there. We also realizedthat we could probably sell the record to others in the audience, especiallyafter they had had a chance to hear the PG&MS in person.

With the discs on their way from California, I drove to Chicago fromChampaign with the printed covers for the final step in the jacket process.With Bob Koester, I went to the Chicago Album and Specialty Company, where ina matter of hours, the cover sheets were bound onto 500 cardboard jackets.Although our first order was for only 250 of the discs, we decided to order 500copies of all the printed materials--label, cover, and notes. Perhaps 80 or90 percent of the printing cost was in the type layout. With everything set togo, it cost very little more to print 500 copies of everything--perhaps anextra $20-25 total for all the printed items. The cost of pressing extra discswas considerably more--about 50 cents each, or $125 for a second 250. So wedecided to wait on the second 250 discs until we were sure the record would sell.

With the record jackets completed, we now waited for the discs, in transitfrom California by truck. They finally arrived, at the last possible moment,at noon on Friday, the day of the folksing. It was a simple matter then to putthe discs inside the jackets and to insert the notes.

Almost half the 250 records were distributed that night, some to personswho had put in advance orders, others to people who just bought on the spot.The rest were sold during the next two weeks. They went so rapidly, in fact,that the first 250 were almost gone before anyone thought to order more. So,unexpectedly, for a period of about ten days at the end of the semester, wewere completely sold out and waiting for the second batch to come from thepressing plant.

So ended the production of Campus Folksong Club Record CFC 101, six weeksafter the recording of the first tapes. Below is an abbreviated financialstatement for the record project. Again,it should be pointed out that thesecosts cannot be taken as anything more than a rather general guide to the costof putting out a record. Several usually expensive steps cost us almost nothing.The performers, of course, gave their time free. So did the Club members whoserved as recording engineer and tape editors. A commercial record company wouldhave had to pay these people, as well as the layout artist, the cover photographer,and the author of the liner or brochure notes. As it happened, we had, in theClub, people with professional abilities in these areas who were willing tovolunteer their services.

On the other hand, on the parts of the production that we could not handle,we made certain we got the best possible workmanship, regardless of cost. Otherfirms might have done the mastering for somewhat less; we could have had thepressing done for about 30 or 40 cents a copy instead of 50 cents. But wewanted the highest fidelity and best over-all quality possible, and Bob Koesterassured us that the firms he recommended would do the job better than anyoneelse in the country.

* * * ** * ***** *** - * * * *

University of Illinois Campus Folksong ClubCFC 101

Production Costs for 500 Records

Pre-sale ads, typing, postage, photography, and tapes $ 30.38

Printing jacket covers and brochures 110.00

Printing labels 12.50

Binding record jackets 35.70

Mastering and processing 111.50

Pressing 247.68

Transportation 23.31

Robert Koester--planning and arranging 27.50

Total $598.57

A New Lost City Ramblers Discography

compiled by Preston Martin

FOLKWAYS RECORDS

PA 2396- The New Lost City Ramblers- Recorded at Cue Studios,Ny', 1-95Y- 12'-x 33rpm)

Side 1. Forked Deer/ Don't Let Your Deal Go Down/ I TrulyUnderstand/ Dallas Rag/ Tom Cat Blues/ Railroadingand Rambling/ Colored Aristocracy/ Sailor and theDeep Blue Sea/ East Virginia.

Side 2. Battleship Maine/ Davy, Davy/ Roving Gambler/ Takea Drink on Me/ Likes Liquor Better Than Me/ It's aShame to Beat :our Wife/ Brown's Perry Blues/ OldFish Song/ Crossed Old Jordan's Stream.

* * * *

PH 5264-

Side 1.

Side 2.

FC 7064-

Songs Prom the Depression-. Recorded at Cue Studios,NYC, 1939. T12" x 33rpm.)

No Depression in Heaven/ There'll be No DistinctionThere/ Breadline Blues/ White House Blues/ FranklinRoosevelt's Back Again/ How Can a Poor Man Stand SuchTimes and Live/ Keep Moving/ Taxes on the Farmer FeedsUs All/ Serves Them Fine.NRA Blues/ Death of the Blue Eagle/ Join the C.I.O./Old Age Pension Check/ Sales Tax on the Women/ Wreckof the Tennessee Gravy Train/ Loveless C.C.C./ Boys,My Money's All Gone/ All I Got's Gone.

* * * *

Old Timey Songs for Children- Recorded at Cue Studios,NYC, 1959. (1t0x33rpm---

Side 1. Old Bell Cow/ Hopalong Peter/ Beware, Oh Take Care/Soldier Soldier Will You Marry Me/ Eyes Are Blue/Charley He's a Good O1' Man/ Adam in the GardenPinnin' Leaves/ Chewing Gum/ Cotton Eye Joe.

Side 2. Jennie Jenkins/ Barbara Allen/ Hop High Ladies/ RabbitChase/ Common Bill/ Johnny Get Your Gun.

* * * *

FA 2397- The New Lost City Ramblers Vol II - Recorded at CueStudios, --Y, 1960. (12" x 33rpm)

Side 1. Whoop 'em Up Cindy/ The Story of the MightyMississippi/ Louisville Burglar/ Late ast Night WhenWillie Came Home/ Hawkins Rag/ Didn't He Ramble/ TexasRangers/ Tom Dooley.

Side 2. Leaving Home/ When First Unto This Country/ SallyGoodwin/ Banks of the Ohio/ George Collins/ EveryDay Dirt/ Raging Sea/ Up Jumped the Devil.

* * * *

FA 2398 Th New Lost City Ramblers Vol III - Recorded at theSq-u-oT-LTbtrr-Adiriut C'ffn.n7,-7Dec., 1960.

(12" x 33rpm)

Side 1. Black Mountain Rag/ I'll Roll in My Sweet Babyls Arms/Talking Hard Luck/ Railroad Blues/ Weaveroom Blues/Baltimore Fire/ Willy, Poor Boy/ Red Rocking Chair/

Hold that Woodpile Down.

Discography (con't)

Side 2. Three Men 11net A-Hunting/ Johnson Boys/ Hot Corn/The Lady of Carlisle/ The Man Who Wrote Home SweetHome Never IVas a Married Man/ Sal Got a Meatskin/ MyLong Journey Home/ Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss/Hogeye.

FA 2399- The New Lost City Ramblers Vol IV- Recorded at thePequo-tLbrary Auditorium, Conn., Jan., 1962 (12"x33rpm.

Side 1. Run Mountain/ Take Me Back to the Sweet Sunny South/Black Jack David/ Carter's Blues/ The Coo Coo Bird/Molly Put the Kettle On/ Have a Feast Here Tonight/Crow Black Chicken.

Side 2. Cindy/ Billy Grimes,the Rover/ Frankie Silver/Stackerlee/ Dollar is All I crave/ Keno the Bent Man/The Miller's Will/ The Story That the Crow Told Me.

EPC 602- The New Lost City Ramblers - Recorded 1961 (7" x 33rp)

Side 1. Foggy Mountain Top/ Talking Hard Luck.Side 2. Milwaukee Blues/ TheWaves on the Sea.

PA 2432- The Folkmusic of the Newport Folk Festival, Vol. 2.Recorded at NeForT, R.I., 1959, 1960. Released in1961. (12" x 33rpm.)

Side 1. Band 3, Instrumental/ Band 4, Hop High Ladies/ Band 5,Take a Drink on Me.

* * * *

VANGUARD RECORDING SOCIETY

VRS 9063 + The Newport Folk Festival, 1959, Vol 2. Recorded atVSD 2054 Newport, R.I., July 11,12, 1959. (12" x 33rpm.)(sterio)

Side 2: Band 1, Beware Oh Take Care/ Band 2, When First IntoThis Country I Came , Band 3, Hopalong Peter.

VRS 9083 * The Newport Folk Festival, 1960, Vol 1. Recorded atVSD 2087 Newport, R.I., June 24/26, 1960. (12" x 33rpm)(sterio)

Side 2....Band 6, Roll in My Sweet Baby's Arms/ Band 7, The Manof Constant Sorrow/ Band 8, Foggy Mountain Top.

(Note: Fontana TFL 6004, is an English release of VRS 9063.)

ARCHIVE 14ES

The newest department of the Campus Folksong Club, the Archives, has acquireda considerable number of LP records since its establishment in the Spring semes-ter, 1962 and these records are now available for membership use. Mmbers mayborrow the following records for a limited period of time. For arrangements, con-tact Miss Pat Wilson at 333-2380.

George and Gerry Armstrong.-Simple Gifts, Folkways, FA 2355.

Alfons Bauer and his Hofbrau Entertainers.-More German Beer-Drinking Music, Capital, T 10297

Red Cravens and the Bray Brothers- The Blue Grass Gentlemen, Liberty, IRP 3214

Jimmie Driftwood.-The Battle of New Orleans, Victor, IPM 1635-Songs of Billy Yank and Johnny Reb, Victor, IPM 2316-Tall Tales in Song, Victor, IPM 2228-The Westward Movement, Victor, LPM 2171-The Wilderness Road and Jimmie Driftwood, Victor, LPM 1994

lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs.-Songs of the Famous Carter Family, Featuring Mother MaybelleCarter and the Fggy Mountain Boys; Columbia, CL 1664

Joe Glazer.-Songs of Work and Freedom, Washington, WR 460

Curtis Jones.-Trouble Blues, Prestige, BVIP 1022

Philo Glee and Mandolin Society, U. Of Ill. Campus Folksong ClubRecords, CFC 101

Peggy Seeger.- The Best of Peggy Seeger, Prestige, 13005.

Ellen Stekert.-Songs of a New York Lumberjack, Folkways, FA 2354

Gid Tanner and his Skillet Lickers.-Old Familiar Tunes. Folksong Society of Minnesota, FSSMLP 15001-D

Big Joe Williams.-Piney Woods Blues, Delmar, DL 602

This CFC collection of records has been built up from various sources for sev-eral purposes. The most common reason for purchasing an LP has been for publicityand promotion of Club-sponsored concerts on campus. Before the coneert, the albumJackets are displayed in prominent places. At this time, the records are loanedfor broadcasting use, either by local commercial radio stations or by studentstation WPGU. Through these techniques, the CFC achieves the dual accomplishmentsof publicizing its concerts and building up its own collection of folksong music.Many of these records have been donated by Club members and we hope our membersthis year will help us enlarge our Archives.

Pat Wilson

On the Road to the Southern Appalachians

by Fritz Plous

I.* On Thursday, September the sixth of this year, 1500 telegraphers on the

Chicago and Northwestern Railway closed their train registers, shut off their tele-

graph keys, padlocked their offices and walked out on strike. In sympathy with them

went several thousand other workers, myself included. On the previous Wednesday I

had received a message that my services as diesel fireman on the Barrington-BrynMawr switch run would no longer be needed and, for the first time in my life as a

workingman, I found myself out on the street.The first street I took was Pulaski Road. Then I cut over and took 115th to

Western Avenue, where I dropped in on my old ftriend, Jarvis Rich."Jarvis," I said, "When are we going to the mountains?""Friday-soon t s I quit my job at the tombstone factory.'The next afternoon we set off in a groaning station wagon with two frienda from

Chicago, sleeping bags, and enough musical instruments to open a branch of the Fret

Shop.... And we drove... .drove across the plains of Indiana where the rain was pouring

in sheets and the wind was force 7 on the Beaufort Scale. We fought the elementswith a barage of obscene songs which lasted all the way to Indianapolis. There wewolfed down a late dinner and proceeded with inelegant dispatch to Loisville, whereyour roving correspondent proceeded to get the vhole party lost in a mane of back-

streets. After only one hour's lost time we heated for Frankfort, and by driving

all night, our group reached Campbell County, Tennessee, by sunrise. We demolished

a batch of wheat cakes and over-easy egg s and took off again, arriving in SmokyMbuntain National Park by noon.

(At this poiht it will be necessary to skip a host of comical but irrelevantdetails and proceed to the business at hand, i.e. the seeking out of a few remnantsof the folk culture of the Southern Appalacians.)

II

For the first item in our foray we drove to a small town at the edge of thepark to visit some old friends of ours. They must remain nameless because..well....let us say that they run an antique shop which specializes in items used by the peopleof the mountains. Jarvis bought a frow and maul, tools used by the settlers in themaking of wooden shingles. I bought one glass of cider, (I was out of work, don'tforget.) While there, I spyed an old fiddle on the wall and asked permission toplay it. I found it better than the one I usually play. The proprietors asked fora concert, so Jarvis and the others got their instruments and we reeled off a few.With the ice broken, we began to talk and it appeared that our friendhhip with thesepeople was blossoming far out of proportion to the amount of business we transactedin their shop. Finally I asked the question that anybody who develops a friendshipin the mountains must ask: "Can you get moonshine whisky around here?'

This is roughly equivalent to asking, "Is there a college in Champaing-Urbana?*In minutes we had closed a deal, promising to return on Tuesday for the groceries.In the meantime, we had learned from our friends that in the nearby town of Maryvillelived a fiddler, quite old, who loved the old-timy music and knew plenty of those180-proof fiddle tunes that we had fallen in love with. On Tuesday, we went to Mary-ville and found him in his place of business; a small watch-repair shop in a secondfloor walkup on Maryville's main street. Since his business is strictly legal, Ican mention his name--Sam Key-and he has been fiddling since gawd knows when. Hewas first suprised, then quietly delighted to find young people so interested in hisart. We asked him to play a tune and he immediately responded with "Devil's Dream."Then we asked for the tunes we knew--" Sally Goodin," "Leather Britches," "Fisher'sHornpipe'. He knew them all. Sometimes he'd forget a tune, so we would histle itto him and back it came from his fiddle-good as new.

(con't on the following page)

On the Road (con't)Then he handed the fiddle to me and asked me to play. For the first time since

I took up the instrument my work sounded decent. When I looked inside the fiddleI knew why; the label read "Amati", and the date was 1623. Whether the label wasa fake or not I cantt say. But everything about the instrument pointed to a raregem-not only the tone, but the proportions, the feel, and the silken finish.

Then Mr Key produced a Stradivarius of an even more powerful quality. Astonished,I played that too; the sound was equally perfect. Knowing that our own playingwould be a waste of time when we were in the presence of a master, we turned theshow back to Mr. Key. Square danced, waltzes, reels and jigs flew from his bow.It was only the vague feeling that we were disturbing the man at his work that madeus pull ourselves away and, with a feeling of gratitude and respect, we took ourleave.

Next Issue: We collect our moonshine and meet another ood fiddler.

Our Cozy Quiet Cellar Underground

We have a place of dwellingDown beneath the fertile soil,We are living in the lap of luxury.Our walls are close together ;

And our floor is rathner small,But for all its faults the rent is nearly free.

Yes, we love our little basementIn the land of liberty,It's the finest little dwelling-place around.And we think it's very nice(Though our neighbors all are mice)It's our cozy, quiet cellar underground.

The walls are painted yellowAnd the floor is cold cement,The ceiling is the purest shade of white.It's too dark to see in daytimeFor the sun's not in the rent,But at night we use the lightning-bugs for light.

Yes, we love our little basementIn the land of liberty

It's the finest little dwelling-place around.When the rain and snow leak in

We just strip and take a swim,In our cozy, quiet cellar underground.

As we enter thru the doorwayWe have to duck our heads,And we bump the furnace pipes if we forget;The mice all squeak their greetingsAs we clamber o'@r the bedsFor the landlord has provided them as pets.

Yes, we love our little basementIn the land of liberty,

It's the finest little dwelling place around.The snakes and mice may crawl out,But we're always safe from falloutIn our cozy, quiet cellar underground.

(This commentary on "Off-campus"' housing was penned by John Walsh in the fall of 162.It is sung to the well known "Little Joe the Wrangler". The melody is known toPurists as "The Little Sod Shanty on the Plaid" , or "The Little Log Cabin in the Lane.

Presented by

CAMPUS FOLKSONG CLUB

Lincoln Ha).). Theater Saturday, October 27, 1962

Tickets: Reserved Seats Only. $1.?S and $1.2~Union Box Office from October )S) ini

*THE NEW LOST CITY RAMBLERS

The New Lost City Ramblers wereformed in 1958 with the avowed in-tention of re-creating the rough, raggedmusic of the mountain string bands ofthe late 1920s and early '30s. The grouptakes as its models the recorded workof such early hill outfits as CharliePoole and the North Carolina Ramblers,Gid Tanner and his Skillet Lickers,Ernest Stoneman and his Blue RidgeCorn Shuckers, and other pioneeringcreators of the "old timey music."

There is an exciting polyphonic inter-play and group interaction to this sortof music not unlike that of NewOrleans jazz. Indeed, the same.objec-tions that have been raised about theNew Orleans revivalists could be madeabout the New Lost City Ramblers wereit not for the fact that the group doesnot offer enervated, literal note-for-note re-creations of the originals. Theyare true to the spirit of the tradition(in which they have steeped themselves,through phonograph recordings) with-out becoming slaves of the letter.

The New Lost City Ramblers arecomposed of Mike Seeger, youngerbrother of folk singer Pete Seeger andan impressive singer and instrumentalistin his own right; John Cohen, a NewYork City photographer, and TomPaley, a Rutgers university mathematicsinstructor. Individually and collectively,they are three of the finer representa-tives of the younger group of urban folk-artists who have kept alive the tradi-tional songs and the traditional ways ofplaying and singing them.

The program presented by the Ram-blers convincingly displays the richnessand the variety of the country string-band tradition. Though the three bringwith them an impressive scholarship,there is nothing dry or arid in theirtreatment of the material.

Their versions of such tunes as TheBaltimore Fire, Shady Grove, The BellCow, and Brown's Ferry Blues wererollicking and delivered with authorityand joy. They are active crusaders forthis music, but they let the music itselfconvert you. And it's hard to resist itsappeal, it's so virile, exciting, and un-abashedly happy.

The trio has a relaxed, effortless stagemanner. There is a good bit of badinage(which serves to divert one's attentionwhile they tune and retune instrumentsbetween numbers). Seeger announcesmost of the numbers in a wry, half-mocking manner, with humorous asidesfrom Cohen and Paley. The audiencelapped it up.

In coqclusion, the New Lost CityRamblers are an exciting, accomplished,and thoroughly professional group.They combine art and artlessness in amanner that places them among thefinest contemporary folk performers.Apparently there is room for a goodmeasure of improvisation within theform, for at no time did I get the im-pression that I was listening to any sortof slavish imitation. What the New LostCity Ramblers presented was alive, vig-orous, and wholly convincing.

-Pete Welding* DOWN BEAT

Monagement

ManuelIOF(KlOder176 Federal