Sound Beat

You’re listening to Ogden Nash read his poem: “Bankers Are Just Like Anybody Else, Except Richer”, and,

You’re on the Sound Beat.

What’s wrong with having a little fun in poetry? Ogden Nash was known for doing just that, which led to him having a little fun on tv, radio, and in collegiate lecture halls nationwide. Even the uninitiated will recognize some of his lines, no doubt: “If called by a panther/don’t anther” and “Candy/ is dandy/ but liquor/ is quicker”, to name a couple.

This 1943 Decca recording contained poems from his book “The Face is Familiar.” You can listen to the whole thing right here!

Photo: “Money” by 401 (K) 2012, made available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic.

 Loch Lomond is a folk tune of Scottish origin. It refers to the failed Jacobite uprising of 1845, when Bonnie Prince Charlie made an attempt on the British throne. The song’s well-known refrain “You take the high road and I’ll take the low road…” tells how Scottish soldiers, AND the souls of their fallen brethren, would return home after battle.

Some Scots were taken captive, others hanged, and some released…but forced to walk…that would be the high road.  Ancient Celts believed in an underground path, by which fairies would travel between the “Otherworld” and the real one. When someone died in battle, their soul would use that Low Road to return to their home village. Where they, hopefully, kept to themselves.

For Scottish 20-somethings, it’s got a whole different meaning. The song is often played as a “closing-time” favorite at pubs, dance-halls etc. It became the signature tune of Scottish folk-rock band Runrig, after their 1979 recording. Watch, and listen, right here! 

We’ve all had bad days.  But imagine coming home to find your spouse has left you to become a gypsy, and marry one too.

The story behind “Gypsy Davy” is the classic boy meets girl meets travelling, wife-stealing gypsy. Woody Guthrie recorded this version in nineteen forty-one.

But the story itself is much older.  It’s based on the traditional Scottish folk ballad “The Gypsy Laddie”, written in the early 1700s.

In Guthrie’s version, the lord rides after his lady, hoping to convince her to return home to their baby.

Alas, the song of the gypsy is too strong. The lady refuses, and Guthrie’s version ends there.  Woody was a peaceful sort of guy.  In an earlier version of the Gypsy Laddie, the gypsy and his six brothers meet a more grisly fate. They were hanged by the Lord and his posse, at which point the Lady decides shuffling on home would indeed be best.

You’re listening to Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters, with Vic Schoen and His Orchestra, and…

You’re on the Sound Beat

Between 1939 and 1952 Bing and the gals recorded 46 times. Exactly half of those were major hit records. They recorded “At the Flying W” in December of 1947.

At that time The Flying W was the quintessential  cattle ranch. It became a tourist spot in the mid-1950s complete with cattle-drive- style chuckwagon dinners and an all-cowboy band, the Flying W Wranglers for after-dinner yodelin’ and such.

It’s not exactly been a “life of ease” at the ranch in recent times.  A canyon fire devastated the W in June 2012.  Rebuilding efforts are ongoing. Photo: The Flying W Western Singers, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

If you’re hearing us on the radio, or you’re timely on the podcasts, you’ve got two days to baby your mother. Not like the powerful gift-giving lobby would ever let you forget it…we’re looking at you, Big Chocolate.

Still, who deserves it more? Sure, she may gently suggest for you to cut your hair, shave your face, or even “help clean around house a bit because it seems like you don’t have time”.

But it’s her big day.

Woodrow Wilson official recognized Mother’s Day in a 1914 presidential proclamation. Thank Anna Jarvis, who started the movement in 1908…and then criticized it’s commercialism in 1920. See, it’s not just us.

Happy Mother’s Day from all of us at Sound Beat!

Photo: James Vaughan, licensed for use under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic.

Frank Kamplan and Al Bernard were well-known for the grossly-caricatured tunes that were so popular at the time. They repeatedly urge the train to take them back to 31st street. So where is the street, and why’s it so important? In the 20s, Chicago was a major center of musical and cultural development, especially for black entertainers. 31st street was in the center of the jazz district, on Chicago’s south side. It was known as “The Stroll”, or “Broadway of the Black Belt”

If it were not performed by noted genre performers, and the bit of exaggerated, stereotypical pronunciation, the song might not be considered “minstrel”. It seems to reveal respect for the burgeoning scene in Chicago.

This episode was written in part by Syracuse University student Alyssa Gabriele, part of the Sound Beat Class Partnership.

Chances are you’ve been familiar with La Cucaracha since you were a youngster, at least the melody and refrain. But what else do you know about it?

You’re on the Sound Beat

The traditional Mexican corrido, or narrative ballad, has that uneven 5/4 meter…Which is meant to portray the steps of a cucaracha desmembrado…or dismembered cockroach. On that note, let’s have a little translated vocal accompaniment from my daughter Juliet, with Los Panchos accompanying…Ready?

Juliet:“The cockroach, the cockroach / can no longer walk / because he doesn’t have, because he lacks / a hind leg”

There are many, many different versions of the song, some with deep political messages, and some with content not quite suitable for youngsters. Especially those in our recording booth.

Photo credit: Brent Bristol