Sound Beat

This sonnet was originally included with 51 others in Fatal Interview, a collection inspired by poet and editor George Dillon. How do we know? Upon his death, a copy of the book was found in his personal library. In the book, a written note from Millay read “These are all for you, my darling.”

You’re listening to Norman Corwin read Robert Frost’s The Runaway. The poem describes travelers and their encounter with a young colt, left out in a snowstorm.

So, not to play poet psychologist here, but maybe Frost’s concern for the youngster relates to his own childhood. He was a nervous student from the start; He was sent home from Kindergarten on his first day with stomach pains. The same condition would follow him throughout his schooling, even during college at Harvard. Frost would never receive an actual degree from there, or anywhere, but would amass over 40 honorary ones. He was also named Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress, a title since renamed “Poet Laureate.”

Corwin himself was known as the “Poet Laureate of Radio.” For more on this giant of broadcasting, go to soundbeat.org right now.

“Oh, Boy!” was released in 1957 by Brunswick Records, the A-side to “Not Fade Away.” Those barbershop harmonies on this and eight other Buddy Holly tracks were supplied by The Picks: a Lubbock, Texas-based trio made up of brothers John and Bill Pick-ering and friend, Bob Lapham. But they didn’t get any official credit until the 1987 CD  liner notes. Buddy appreciated them, though. In a 2010, interview John Pickering recalled driving with the Picks on a busy Lubbock, Texas street in 1957 when Holly stopped traffic to thank them for their work.

This episode was co-written by Meg Lane, part of the Sound Beat Class Partnership.

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In the nineteen-forties, American and German soldiers had little in common.  Except the lyrics to this song.

The lyrics come from one of the most popular poems of World War Two, Frances Angermayer’s “Conversion”.  Denver Darling set it to music for this recording in nineteen forty-five.  It tells the story of a soldier in a foxhole saying his very first prayer to God.

On D-Day a catholic chaplain found thirty copies of the poem on fallen US soldiers. Translated versions were also found on German soldiers.

Denver Darling was best known for his patriotic war songs like this one, but his biggest hit was Choo Choo Ch’Boogie, featured recently on Dancing with the Stars.

There’s no doubting that fashion is cyclical; that things swing back around. Here at Sound Beat, we’re hoping that’s true for the raccoon coat. See, we’re on a college campus, grounds for the fashionistas and fashionistos(?) to strut their stuff, and the thought of a full –length fur coat as a must-have for campus males…that’s just too rich. But in the 1920’s the raccoon coat was just that. They reached nearly to the ground, had exaggerated collars and were usually adorned with oversized buttons. And look, we don’t want to offend anyone, or any “thing”; save the raccoons, buy synthetic! Just bring back the raccon coat! We’d even settle, if we must, for the Davy Crockett-style cap.

At the outset, Big Rock Candy Mountain seems like a child’s dreamland. So…why all the cigarette trees?

While modern, kid-friendly, lyrical changes have made the Mountain safe for younger listeners, Harry McClintock wrote and recorded this version in 1929. It depicts a hobo’s paradise, hence all the handout-bushes and, of course, the cigarette trees.

So, what exactly is a hobo? Travelers of the open roads and rails, they’re akin to itinerant workers…and true hoboes follow The Code.  It stresses chivalry, looking out for fellow travelers, and above all, rule number one… “Decide your own life. ”  And where’d these rules come from? Why, the National Hobo Convention of course, held in St. Louis, Missouri in 1889.

But see for yourself…we’ve got the Code right here:

Pete Seeger recorded his arrangement of “On Top of Old Smoky” with The Weavers in 1951, but the tune had been traveling the Appalachians and Ozarks for over a century. You’re on the Sound Beat.

The Weavers recorded the song for Decca Records and it reached #2 on Billboard that year. It’s classic Seeger, his characteristic songleading on display.

SONG CUE

Bing Crosby called Old Smoky “The big song of the year.” And it was no exaggeration: Burl Ives shared the Billboard list with the Weavers, reaching number 10 with the same song in the same year.

Of course, if you can listen to it and not think about spaghetti, sneezing and meatballs, more power to you.

This episode was co-written by Syracuse University student Dan Stack as part of the Sound Beat Class Partnership.

You’re listening to the American Military Band, and…

You’re on the Sound Beat

James Sanderson composed Hail To The Chief in 1812, adapting Sir Walter Scott’s poem “The Lady of the Lake” for the stage.  But the story of its presidential association all comes down to a first lady. You see, James K. Polk was the 11th president of the United States, and, well, he was no William Howard Taft!

Uh, that is to say, he was a rather slight man, and also something of a wallflower. Worried that her husband would be overlooked at official gatherings, Sara Polk instructed bands to play the tune upon his entrance.

What would your entrance song be, and why? Tweet us at onthesoundbeat, or tell us on facebook. Winner gets a prize!

You’re listening to Johnny Dodds and his Black Bottom Stompers with Joe Turner Blues, from 1927.

Not to be confused with Big Joe Turner, the Joe Turner in this song is actually Joe Turney. He was the brother of Pete Turney, a one-term governor of Tennessee at the end of the 19th century. Joe’s official duty was the transportation of black prisoners from Memphis to the Nashville penitentiary. And though slavery was illegal at this time, Turney made a practice of pressing the men into labor at the convict farms along the Mississippi. WC Handy wrote the tune; here’s a passage from his autobiography, “Father of the Blues”:

That night, perhaps, there would be weeping and wailing among the dusky belles. If one of them chanced to ask a neighbor what had become of the sweet good man, she was likely to receive the pat reply, “They tell me Joe Turner’s come and gone.”

You’re listening to Adolph Hofner and his San Antonians and you’re on the Sound Beat.

Sports fans who recognize this tune might be cringing…a 1994 version by Swedish Band Rednex…yes, that’s Rednex with an x, has become a modern-day arena anthem. To some it’s probably a real toe-tapper, and to others it’s as welcome to the ears as the vuvuzuela….The Texas Rangers, though, have used the Al Dean and the All Stars version as their seventh-inning-stretch for over 40 years. The original song propagated through both the United States and Canadian folk traditions, predating the American Civil War.   

Hofner and his San Antonians made this,  the most popular recording of the tune in 1941. Hofner was a pioneer of Western swing, a blend of jazz, polka, folk and blues that would become, in effect, country music..

 For more on the man click right here.

Image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/webersweb/2565590420/