Proud of Who I Am

BBBH and I truly enjoy Merle Haggard's songs and his performance of them.  He did a number that goes, "I'd like to hold my head up, be proud of who I am.  But they won't let my secret go untold.  I paid the debt I owed 'em but they're still not satisfied.  Now I'm a branded man, out in the cold."  And so on and so forth.  I sing along with him betimes (through the miracle of technology, though he is no longer with us).  Possibly inappropriately, for I've never spent a day in jail in my life.  I sang his song "Tonight the Bottle Let Me Down" as a public performance one time.  Back home that evening BBBH chastised me.  "You can't do drinking songs.  You've never had a drink in your life."  Well, okay then, but call it empathy or whatever.  I like the song."  I sketched this as a tribute to Merle's plight

Joni Mitchell

Celebrate Joni Mitchell, painter, poet, singer, and perhaps the greatest living song writer as she turns 75 today!



Say a prayer for her well-being as she recovers from her recent illness.

Image: Wikipedia

Hopping to the Hoppers

Yesterday afternoon as I was computering I had a music channel on in the background.  The Hoppers came on, singing "Shoutin' Time in Heaven."  I enjoy Southern Gospel and had heard recordings of the Hoppers but had never seen them in concert.  "I wonder," thought I, "if they are going to be anywhere in our bailiwick anytime soon?"  So I googled them, found their website and checked their tour schedule.

What?  They will be in Tippecanoe, Indiana at 7:00 p.m. November 9, 2017.  Wait!  This is November 9, it is already 3:30 and BBBH is "out and about" which is to say I'd no idea when she would be home.  She came in about 4:15 with a carload of groceries.  As I was transferring the sacks from the car to the kitchen I casually asked, "Would you like to go hear the Hoppers tonight?"  Her response was "Who are the Hoppers and where are they playing?"

"The Hoppers are a Southern Gospel group that I enjoy a lot.  I know that is not your favorite genre, but I like it.  They are singing in Tippecanoe tonight."

"How far away is this Tippecanoe?"

I told her about seventy-five miles straight up 31, take about an hour and a half.

She glanced at the clock, then she said, "You'd have to drive home 75 miles after."  She handed me a can of beans.  "Here, add these to the chili left over from yesterday and heat it."

I did as I was bid still not having a "yes" or a "no."

As we were eating the chili I told her we would have to leave by 5:20.

"Okay.  Anytime you get out of your chair and want to do something. . . "

Thus we pulled the car out of the garage at 5:15 and by 6:50 we had found seats in a very crowded auditorium.  The drive was smooth notwithstanding that 31 is an extremely busy corridor and this at rush hour to boot.

The group started in the mid-fifties as "The Hopper Brothers and Connie."  Today the group is composed of Claude and Connie Hopper, two of their sons, a daughter-in-law, and a granddaughter.  Connie and Claude have some mileage on them, take that however you like.  They put on a wonderful two-hour show!  If you check their schedule on their website you will see that the lifestyle is beyond crazy.  For example, this week Tippecanoe, Indiana November 9, Grove City, Ohio November 10, Houston, Texas November 12, Georgia on the 16th, back to Ohio on the 17th, West Virginia on the 19th.  And they do this by bus. [Gasp]

We were safely home by 10:25 and I was ensconced in my chair with cuppa coffee by 10:30.  Life's good.

Beauty and Entertainment

I am calling this phase 3 on the project downtown.  The wall is painted and now what?

Beauty is where one finds it.  Nestled against the wall of the jar was the olive with the perfect star.

 A few evenings past we were blessed to view a performance of two real entertainers, Carol Channing and Pearl Bailey.  This show was taped years ago but thanks to "Get TV" we were royally entertained.

Miss Bailey left us years ago; Miss Channing is now 96 years of age.

I believe I mentioned this some years back, but I'm a name dropper, so:  I saw Pearl Bailey in person in 1978.  Did you know that these two ladies played the role of Dolly Levi in the Broadway version of "Hello Dolly"?  Can you name one of the other five who also played that role?  All big-name stars.

 Then there is this.

Worship Choruses

Scriptural admonition to continue writing and singing new worship songs?  What say you?

1 O sing unto the Lord a new song: sing unto the Lord, all the earth.

 ² Sing unto the Lord, bless his name; shew forth his salvation from day to day.

 ³ Declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders among all people

.⁴ For the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods.

 ⁵ For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the Lord made the heavens. 

                                                                                                                   --from Psalm 96 (KJV)

Night Out

Saturday night, somewhere amidst the corn and soybeans which, by the way, are turning golden and brown.  In fact we saw one corn field where the combine was making passes.  Ah, autumn in Indiana!

But this night was a night on the town.  We had dinner at Erica's which is one of our favorite places to spend money to let someone else cook and wash up.  Then to the Atlanta Music Hall.  The band was in fine form.

 The gentleman in the boater and linen jacket was the evening's dance partner to BBBH whom you may see on the far right.  I mean they cut a rug, sashayed across the floor and brought down the house.  Bob is 94 years of age, and BBBH is a spring chicken, relatively speaking..

The band director asked the couple to do another number in the second set, but they declined, claiming the energy level was insufficient to support another go-round.

We actually rolled up the streets in Atlanta; we shut the place down.  That is our car in the distance and we were literally the last to leave main street.  It was 9:30 p.m.

Skip a Rope #T

The attitudes and behaviors in the home influence and shape the beliefs and outlooks of the young who are raised in the home.  This is a hard yet irrefutable truth that many would prefer to deny.

Consider this.  The child exposed to violence in the household, the child who hears defamatory speech has no choice but to be influenced by these.  Either he will adopt the thinking and behaviors exhibited by his parents, or he will rebel against them and choose another path.  Either way, the home influence is powerful.

Historical flashback.  The late 1960s contained many strands of ugly threads in the fabric of our society.  It was the era of Viet Nam.  It was a period of intense struggle for racial equality, equality to be desired, but ugliness in the resistance to it was evident all too frequently.

While the causes and the skirmishes may manifest along somewhat different lines, in many ways the society of today is little different.  The fabric we are weaving is yet far from perfect.
 
November, 1967.  A young country singer, Henson Cargill, released a recording entitled "Skip a Rope."  It hit number one on the country charts where it stayed for eight weeks.  It also clocked number twenty-five on the pop charts.  The song was eventually covered by a plethora of artists including such powerhouse singers as Bobby Bare and George Jones.

In spite of its popularity and tremendous sales, the lyrics were controversial; controversial because they spoke truth and many there were who did not want to hear the truth, nor did they want it spoken.  (Does this sound familiar?)

You may readily find Cargill's rendition on YouTube.  I have chosen to reproduce the lyrics here so you might ponder them.

Skip a Rope

by Joe South, as sung by Henson Cargill

Oh, listen to the children while they play,
Now ain't it kinda funny what the children say,
Skip a rope.

Daddy hates mommy, mommy hates dad,
Last night you shoulda heard the fight they had,
Gave little sister another bad dream,
She woke us all up with a terrible scream.

Skip a rope, skip a rope

Cheat on your taxes, don't be a fool,
Now what was that they said about a Golden Rule?
Never mind the rules, just play to win,
And hate your neighbor for the shade of his skin.

Skip a rope, skip a rope.

Stab 'em in the back, that's the name of the game,
And mommy and daddy are who's to blame.

Skip a rope, skip a rope,

Just listen to your children while they play,
It's really not very funny, what the children say,
Skip a rope, skip a rope.

A Career Revived

 Folsom Prison, California, January 13, 1968, 10: 00 A.M., the words "Hello, I'm Johnny Cash" were pronounced; and the rest is history.






Johnny Cash 1932 - 2003  RIP

Saturday Night and I Just Got Paid

We went out Saturday night.  Not unprecedented, but unusual.

 I took my lady to a class place.  See, it says so right there.

The Six Old Guys whomped up over two hours of darn good music, too.

Open up; Share

Beginning in the fall of 1940 and extending through the summer of 1959 Monday mornings were to be dreaded, for I had to respond to the signal to begin another week of school, or I had to punch the time clock and put myself at the behest of the employer.  (This did not apply, or course, during the wonderful summer months during the school years, three glorious months of parole.)

Beginning in mid-August of 1959 I started teaching youngsters in the public schools of Indiana.  For the next 31 years, Monday mornings signalled the beginning of another week of adventure and excitement in the world of education.   (Except, of course, during the long summer months when supplemental employment had to fill in to provide food and shelter until school resumed.)

Now, for the past 24 years, Monday morning is just another morning.

Hi, I'm vanilla.  Howya doin'?  What color is your mood ring on Monday morning?

Talent Gone Too Soon

2011 Commemorative stamp, US Postal Service.

February 26, 1995 before an audience of over 66,000 people, Selena gave a televised performance at the Houston Astrodome.  It was to be her last major performance.

One month later, March 31, Selena Quintanilla-Perez died of a gunshot wound inflicted by a former president of the Selena Fan Club.  She was sixteen days short of her twenty-fourth birthday.

Miramor de la Flor, a memorial to Selena in downtown Corpus Christi, was opened to the public in 1997.  BBBH and I visited this tribute to the singer in 2000.

April 16 is "Selena Day" in the State of Texas.

Selena  April 16, 1971 - March 31, 1995  RIP

America's Folk Singer

Pete Seeger, May 3, 1919 - January 27, 2014 RIP

Run-run-run-runaway

Charles Weedon Westover recorded and released "Runaway" in 1961.  It charted number one in the US, in Australia, and in the UK.  Though he had a long and successful career, this was the only one of his singles that charted number one in the US and the UK, and one of three that did so in Australia.

Michigan boy made good.  Tragically died young (aged 55).

Charles W. Westover, December 30, 1934 - February 8, 1990  RIP

Hallelujah!

George Frideric Handel completed the oratorio, Messiah, September 14, 1741.  He might be surprised at the venue in this 21st century performance of the Hallelujah Chorus, but I doubt that he would be surprised to find that his work endures.

Flash Mob Sings Hallelujah Chorus in Food Court from jamesw72 on GodTube.

My youngest child was born September 14, 1967.  Happy birthday, Kenneth!

Mississippi John Hurt

Recognizing another fine picker and country blues singer from the past, Mississippi John Hurt.



John Smith Hurt was born near Avalon, Mississippi on July 3, 1893, or maybe in March 1892.
A self-taught guitarist, his style is all his own, never derivative.  He said that he played guitar the way it should sound.

Working as a farmer, Hurt played for local soirees.  He chose to stay near home.  But in 1963 he was ferreted out by a blues lover and persuaded to go to Washington and share his talent with the world.  The story of his recording for the Library of Congress and other public appearances is available online.

If you are ever near Avalon, Mississippi, visit the Mississippi John Hurt Museum.

Mississippi John Hurt  1893 - 1966  RIP

Big Bill Broonzy

The embers within me that carried the fire of the blues in my soul were fanned into flame primarily by Big Bill Broonzy and Bessie Smith.  I am a musician at heart, yet have virtually no talent for making music.

This is some music!

The artist was born Lee Conley Bradley on June 26, 1893.  Or maybe it was 1903.  Or 1897.  The exact year of his birth may never be established, but his musicianship is undisputed.  Basically, the lad was self-taught, but was performing in public at an early age.  Broonzy was a prolific song writer and a fantastic picker.

Broonzy served in the military two years in Europe during the War to End All Wars.  Thereafter his life was devoted to making music, and making the world a better place because of his music.

Big Bill Broonzy 1893 - 1958  RIP

Bev Shea

George Beverly Shea  February 1, 1909 - April 16, 2013  RIP

It is reported that this Grammy-winning gospel singer sang to more people face-to-face than any other singer in the history of the world.  His live audience totals in excess of 200,000,000.

I believe I was eighteen when I first heard him in person.  He would have been 43 at the time.

Image:  billygraham.org

Shea singing "I'd Rather Have Jesus."

Flim Flammin on the Jim Jam

Too busy making music last night; no time for making stories.  Come again.

Gorgeous Redhead, Exotic Voice

I'll say it again:  1934 was a very good year.

Tatiana Josivovna Chermova  Blacker was born in New York City, Februrary 11, 1934.

Her career included nightclub singer, recording artist, film actress, stage actress, television actress.

She currently lives in the city of her nativity.

Happy Birthday, Miss Louise.

Music

Maria Augusta Kutschera was born on a train which was carrying her mother from a village in the Tyrol to Vienna on January 26, 1905.  By the time the girl was seven years of age, she was an orphan.  She received a good education and became a teacher.  Her heart's desire, though was to become a nun, and to that end she entered an abbey in Salzburg to prepare for the life of her dreams.  

While teaching at the abbey, Maria was asked to take on a student who was the child of one Baron Georg von Trapp.  Through this endeavor, she eventually found herself caring for all this widower's seven children.  Captain von Trapp saw how much the children adored Maria, and thus he asked her to marry him.  The idea did not appeal to her, and she fled back to the abbey to get counsel from her Mother Abbess.  Mother told her it was God's will that she marry von Trapp.

She returned to him and agreed to the marriage, since she had a deep-seated belief that she should always follow the will of God.  Yet she said that on her wedding day, she was angry with both God and von Trapp. She wrote, "I really and truly was not in love. I liked him but didn't love him. However, I loved the children, so in a way I really married the children.  I learned to love him more than I have ever loved before or after."*

Under the Nazi regime, the von Trapps fled Vienna and went first to Italy, then to the United States.  Maria became a U.S. citizen.  Her three children by Georg were thus also citizens.  The five stepdaughters also applied for and received citizenship.  The two stepsons became citizens by virtue of their service during the war.

The Trapp Family Choir became a very popular singing group in Europe during the mid-thirties.  After moving to the United States, they changed the name to Trapp Family Singers and toured the world from their home base in Vermont.

Maria von Trapp  1905 - 1987  RIP


*Autobiography of Maria von Trapp, 1949