Jam Logs, the Podcast of The 1937 Flood

 We always try to have a few novelty tunes in our back pocket to lighten the mood at shows — or just to amuse ourselves at the weekly rehearsals. And this one, of course, is how we get all that big grant money, because it’s about history. Well, sort of…. There is some dispute about whether George Washington actually played the ukulele, but we do think it may have known a few red-hot mamas…  

 This song has marvelous lyrics by the great Johnny Mercer, as Floodster Emerita Michelle Hoge demonstrates whenever she’s in the room. But she’s not here to sing it, the song also is an extraordinary vehicle as an instrumental. Here from last week’s rehearsal, Danny Cox lays down a lovely melody, then his old friend and our guest for the evening — Bob Murnahan, in town for a visit from his Colorado home — takes a couple of choruses to mine gold in all those cool chords.

 Twenty years ago this summer, we were in the midst of planning our third studio album, when our friend and producer, the late George Walker, showed up with a rare Cootie Williams recording. George thought this novelty tune would a good fit for us. We fell in love with it and learned  it in time for the recording session. Ever since then, whenever this song comes to mind, as it did at a recent Flood rehearsal, our thoughts race back to our good times with you, George.

For this old folk song, we follow the well-established narrative about a love affair that goes tragically wrong, but we take a lot of liberties with the traditional melody. Well, our unique tune goes back the very beginnings of The Flood. When Dave Peyton and Charlie Bowen were just starting out as a duet a half century ago, they found that odd string of chords seem to set just right with their simple guitar and Autoharp accompaniment. Since then over the years, every configuration of The Flood has found something new to add to that basic original arrangement. And it’s still happening. Just listen to this take from last week’s Flood rehearsal and to what Danny Cox and Sam St. Clair have contributed with their solos.  

 This song has been in The Flood’s repertoire for about 30 years now. Early on, it was an instrumental showcase for Joe Dobbs’ fiddle. Then about a decade or so, it was part of Michelle Hoge’s remarkable songbag of ballads and swing tunes. Lately, Randy Hamilton has taken over the lead vocals. On this track from last week’s rehearsal, Charlie Bowen brings a little harmony and Danny Cox finds all kinds of interesting opportunities for guitar goodies in those cool old chords.

Roger Samples and Charlie Bowen worked out our arrangement of this old tune about 50 years ago. We sang and played it at many parties and jam sessions, but then it remained retired for the next three or four decades. That is until one night this summer when the tune popped into Charlie’s mind during a weekly rehearsal. Right away, Danny Cox, Randy Hamilton and Sam St. Clair jumped in and gave new life to an old number.

 When we roll into Sal’s Speakeasy tomorrow night for our monthly gig, we’ll be bringing with us a tune that has been rocking audiences for more than eight decades. And that, brothers and sisters, is the definition of a hit! It’s a Duke Ellington composition that was given a whole new lease on life through some evocative lyrics by the great Bob Russell.

 “Bright Star” — the musical in which we’ve been honored to be perform as the house band this summer — wraps up this weekend, and we’ll be performing the last of our nightly pre-shows starting this evening. For our little pre-show sets, we’ve sought out old folk songs that complement the play’s new original music. Here’s the song we like to end our set with, a rollicking, silly number about a ramblin’ rascal named Buster. We learned it from a 1920s recording by the great Charlie Poole, but the song actually dates back the late 19th Century.

We in The Flood are honored and thrilled to be invited by Mike Murdock and Nora Ankrom to be part of their brilliant Alchemy Theater production of the new musical, “Bright Star.” This evening is opening night, where we join the extraordinary Mark Smith and John Kinley in the show’s house band. In addition, Mike and Nora have asked The Flood to do a few songs in a pre-show at each performance. Now, since trains play such an important part in the “Bright Star” story, we’ll certainly be including this one, perhaps the greatest train song of all times.

 “The folk process” is a term that Charles Seeger came up with to describe the tendency of songs to change a little — or a lot — as they are passed from person to person over the years. It’s a process that greatly pleases us in The Flood, because we’ve always done everything we can to put our own stamp on every song we do. Here, for instance, it’s no real secret that our version of this tune has only a nodding acquaintance with the original that the great Elizabeth Cotten wrote with her grandchildren some 60 years old. It grew out of a recent Flood jam at which a riff Charlie started noodling with on his new resonator guitar had him remembering that old Fred Neil take on the Libba Cotten song. In a flash, Dan and Sam were bringing their own magic to the moment.