The other day on the street, I could swear I heard someone call out “Jimmy McGregor,” and so I immediately thought of this song, which I hadn’t heard in years. One of the most interesting songs lyrically and musically on a Peter, Paul, and Mary album; it’s sung and written by “Paul,” that is, Noel Stookey.
In glorious vinyl, complete with comforting scratches at regular intervals.
Thanks to YouTuber R.O.K DuKane TV
With a song title like that, you know the rest of the song just has to be great.
John Prine, with accompaniment by Nanci Griffith who unfortunately died this month.
Thanks to YouTuber derek868
Carson McKee with a solid cover of the Creedence Clearwater Revival song.
More at Carson McKee
Monday morning, Donovan does battle with the ephemeral.
Thanks to YouTuber jarichards99utube
Mike and Ruthy closing the 2019 Summer Hoot in Ashokan, New York. They’ll be back at it again August 27-29th.
More at The Mammals
Monday morning, gimme some of that old time music. Pete Seeger with the irrepressible Cousin Emmy.
Thanks to YouTuber Glenn Eric
Mr. Mckee and Mr. Turner with a lovely version of Jackson Browne’s song, written when Browne was 16 years old.
More at Josh Turner Guitar
May, Monday Morning, the birthday month of two of the greatest folk musicians ever.
Today, May 3rd, is Pete’s birthday. Saturday, May 1st, was Judy’s.
More at Judy Collins
Kami Maltz and Josh Turner’s harmonizing on this James Taylor song is just wow.
More at Kami Maltz
I recently posted John Prine singing his song “Summer’s End.” I ran across this cover done by Brandi Carlile who has performed with Prine in the past, and I’ve been playing it non-stop all week, so I thought I’d share it with you. The purity of her voice makes a nice contrast to John Prine’s growl.
Thanks to YouTuber Tu Mouton
John Prine could write some of the funniest songs ever, but also some of the most heart-breaking.
Thanks to YouTuber The Strombo Show
You’ll never hear a Shakespearean sonnet again in the same way. Folk singer Steve Earle makes a good case for Shakespeare being the Bob Dylan of his era—or vice versa.
Thanks to YouTuber PublicTheaterNY
Monday morning, John Prine, because any day that starts off with John Prine is immediately improved
Thanks to YouTuber AustinCityLimitsTV
Monday morning, John Prine has a staring contest with a bowl of oatmeal and the oatmeal wins…
Thanks to YouTuber Caper2U
Yom Kippur morning, Tracy Chapman takes on Rabbi Hillel.
Click on the video to play.
Thanks to YouTuber Folk & Country on MV
Dave Van Ronk claimed that it was really Tom Paxton of the NYC folk scene who first claimed the mantel of singer/songwriter among folkies, daring to sing mainly his own songs in the cafés, which led the way to Dylan and Ochs. Here’s a great Paxton song from fifty years ago that could have been written yesterday.
Monday morning, for all that’s been lost.
More at Tom Paxton – Topic
Monday morning, a song for misfits.
At the time, 1975, the song was a highly unlikely candidate for a pop hit. It may have been the first pop song for young women of high school age that wasn’t for the cheerleaders. It might be hard to recall now, in the age of Glee, but songs examining the inner lives of high school students who saw themselves as social outcasts were not, at the time, the common fare. Millions of young women saw themselves in the lyrics of the song, and suddenly the singer/songwriter, Janis Ian, who at age 14 had had a qualified (and often censored) hit with her song of interracial love, “Society’s Child,” was overnight an international star.
The clip above seems so raw, true, and natural that you might think it was just an amateur effort turned lucky. But Ian by that time had already had seven albums of music released and was an accomplished songwriter. It was the one time, though, she said, that she had penned a song and told her manager that she had just written a hit.
Thanks to YouTuber LittleMonster13100
Monday morning, an amazing clip, a beautiful video of Bob Dylan on the Johnny Cash television show singing “I Threw It All Away” from the album Nashville Skyline.
More at Bob Dylan
Tracy Chapman was an unlikely singer/songwriter to chart in the top 10 in 1988, but there was something so pure, authentic, and truthful in her singing that this song resonated with many and, improbably, became a hit.
Thanks to YouTuber Folk & Country on MV
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A younger Carson McKee with a laid-backed version of the Dylan song. Carson sings the story and lyrics of the song so simply and straightforwardly that he makes it sound like an American Songbook standard.
More at Carson McKee
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One of Phil’s songs that was not released until after his death.
Thanks to YouTuber J K
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Phil used to open all his concerts with this rousing musical adaptation of the Edgar Allan Poe poem.
Thanks to YouTuber Thamali Peiris
