zaterdag 16 mei 2020

Lass of Loch Royal (1806) / Green Valley Waltz (1928) / Who's Gonna Shoe Your Pretty Little Feet ? (1932)


"Who's Gonna Shoe Your Pretty Little Feet" is generally considered to be a Southern folk song with lyrical roots in Child Ballad #76 (more specifically the "Lass of Loch Royal" variation)





In 1927 Carl Sandburg also noted the connection of "Who Will Shoe Your Pretty Little Foot" with "The Lass of Roch Royal".  SEE: The American Songbag


"The Lass of Loch Royal" was already published in "The Book of Scottish Ballads" (1845)


But even before that it was published in "The Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border" (1829)


But the earliest publication I found is in Robert Jamieson's "Popular Ballads and Songs"(1806)



The Bodleian Library also consists of a sheet with those "Who Will Shoe My Bonnie Feet" line.



But listening to various versions of "The Lass of Roch Royal" I think there's only a lyrical and no musical connection with the American traditional "Who Will Shoe Your Pretty Little Foot".

Peggy Seeger and Tom Paley sang both "The Lass of Loch Royal"and  "Who's Going to Shoe Your Pretty Little Foot?" as title track of their 1964 Topic and Elektra album Who's Going to Shoe Your Pretty Little Foot?
Peggy Seeger noted on both versions: "Here is an excellent example of how a ballad contributes to (or becomes) a song, or how elements of a ballad may be isolated out to become independent pieces. "The Lass of Roch Royal" hardly exists in full form any more in the United States, the present text being a collation of two North Carolina versions. They are the only ones I have found in print that even suggest the full story. It could hardly be affirmed that the shorter, lyrical piece is actually a fragment of the longer traditional ballad, as the verses they hold in common have now become ‘floater’ verses to be found in at least a dozen other songs".



One of these other songs is "The Storms Are On The Ocean" sung by the Carter Family in 1928, which also contains the "Who Will Shoe Your Pretty Feet" lyric




The first recorded version of the American version of this traditional I found:

(o) McCartt Brothers and Patterson (1928) (as "Green Valley Waltz")
Recorded October 18, 1928 in Johnson City, TN
Released on Columbia 15454-D
 




Listen here:




The first recording to use the familar title "Who's Gonna Shoe Your Pretty Little Feet ?" is by the Renfro Valley Boys in 1932

(c) Renfro Valley Boys (1932) (as "Who's Gonna Shoe Your Pretty Little Feet ?")
Recorded December 1931 in Grafton, WI
Released on Paramount 3321 and Broadway 8334





Listen here:




(c) Monroe Brothers (1936) (as "Little Red Shoes")
Recorded: February 17, 1936 in Charlotte, North Carolina
Released on Bluebird 6645




Listen here:




(c) Hackberry Ramblers (1936) (as "Green Valley Waltz")
Recorded February 19, 1936 in New Orleans, LA.
Released on Bluebird B-2002


Listen here:




(c) Woody Guthrie & Cisco Houston (1945) (as "Who's Gonna Shoe Your Pretty Little Feet")
Woody Gutrie: lead vocal, guitar / Cisco Houston: harmony vocal
Recorded April 19, 1944
Matrix MA 27
Released as disc # 432-4 (part of the 4 disc album "American Folksay Ballads and Dances")






Or here:




(c) Wayne Raney (1947) (as "Green Valley Waltz")
Wayne Raney (Alton Delmore [rh gt], Rabon Delmore [tenor gt])
Recorded October 1946 in Nashville, TN
Released on King 676




Listen here:




(c) Patti Page (1951) (as "Who's Gonna Shoe My Pretty Little Feet")




Or here:




(c) Everly Brothers (1958) (as "Who's Gonna Shoe Your Pretty Little Feet")


Listen here:




(c) Kingston Trio (1960) (as "Who's Gonna Hold Her Hand")


Listen here:




As I said above in 1964 Peggy Seeger and Tom Paley recorded both "Who's Going To Shoe Your Pretty Little Foot" and its lyrical inspiration "The Lass of the Roch Royal".

(c) Peggy Seeger and Tom Paley (1964) (as "Who's Going To Shoe Your Pretty Little Foot")



(c) Peggy Seeger and Tom Paley (1964) (as "The Lass of the Roch Royal")




(c) Blue Sky Boys (1966) (as "Who's Gonna Shoe My Pretty Little Feet")
Recorded May 17, 1965 in Hollywood, CA
Blue Sky Boys (Bill Bolick, Earl Bolick + unknown musicians)


Listen here:




(c) Hootenanny Singers (1969) (as "Who's Gonna Hold Her Hand")


Listen here:




(c) Art Garfunkel (1997) (as "Who's Gonna Shoe My Pretty Little Feet")


Listen here:




(c) Billie Joe Armstrong + Norah Jones (2013) (as "Who's Gonna Shoe Your Pretty Little Feet")


"Foreverly" is a 2013 remake of The Everly Brother's album "Songs Our Daddy Taught Us" by Billie Joe Armstrong and Norah Jones.

Listen here:




More versions here:




The Carolina Tar Heels' "Who's Gonna Kiss Your Lips, Dear Darling" (1929) is sometimes considered a variant of "Green Valley Waltz"/"Who's Gonna Shoe Your Pretty Little Feet ?" but apart from the "Who's Gonna Kiss Your Lips" line, there is no textual and on the whole no musical similarity.






maandag 4 mei 2020

Detroit Schottisch (1854) / Blue Bell Polka (1875) / Dowbush Kozak / Little Pet (1911) / Big Eared Mule / Long Eared Mule / Flop Eared Mule


Before George Martin, the fifth Beatle, produced the Fab Four, he had produced the Scottish accordion player James (Jimmy) Shand.
In 1955 he had a UK Top 20 hit with the instrumental "Bluebell Polka", written by Frank Stanley and arranged by Charles Lovat. 
This tune has quite a history.

"Bluebell Polka" was first found on page 51 in Book 1 of James Kerr's first Collection of Merry melodies in 1875, without a composer. James Kerr's publishing company was then located at 79 Berkeley Street in Glasgow




Around the turn of the century it was published in Kerr's new and popular music with F. Stanley's name as composer.

In  Kerr's Collection from round about the beginning of last Century, while they were now situated on 314 Paisley Road, Glasgow, the back page has a list of New and Popular Music Published by J S Kerr
In the section: Popular Polkas, Waltzes, Schottisches &c. "The Blue Bell Polka" has the name F. Stanley written beside it - it doesn't say if this is the writer or arranger, but this must be the same Frank Stanley who was credited for the 1952 Hit-version by Jimmy Shand.






The tune is sometimes used for an accompaniment to the Irish dance "Siamsa Beirte" (which roughly translates as 'play for two'), a kind of two-hand hornpipe sixteen bars in length. The dance apparently is of no particular antiquity.

In Holland an early version was played as "Piederman's Polka".

The melody sounds also quite similar (and may be ancestral) to the American "Flop Eared Mule".

But could this bluegrass tune called "Flop Eared Mule" originally be a Ukrainian tune called "Kow Dowbush" or "Dowbush (Kozak)"



See the UKRAINIAN FIDDLING IN CANADA part in the next article






But it's more likely to assume it's derived from "Detroit Schottisch", a three-part melody written and published in 1854 by Adam Couse (1810-1885), a dancing master who owned a music store in Detroit.
The schottische is a barndance or couple dance, most likely Scottish in origin. In the early 1800's this dance became popular in Central and Eastern Europe. It took hold among German speaking people, who said schottische, German for scottish.
The schottische became a popular ballroom dance in the United States in the 1840's through the influence of dancing masters and dance orchestras as well as the many German-speaking immigrants to the states.
The schottische craze in the 1830's and 1840's led to all sorts of  schottisches composed by famous composers and common folk sold as sheet music, performed by cornet bands, orchestras and fiddle bands. Well, the "Detroit Schottisch" is one of those compositions.
Here's the sheet music:







Over time, the tune popped up in several songs: "Blue Bell Polka", "Little Pet", "Dowbush Kozak" and "Flop Eared Mule" (or "Big/Long Eared Mule")



The first recording of the tune I could find:

(o) James (Jas) Brown (1911) (as "Little Pet" (Caledonian Polka))
Recorded April 19, 1911
Released on Zonophone Record X-49336




Listen here:






In 1882 a song called "Little Pet Polka" has been copyrighted in the USA by Louis Wallis in 1882.
But this seems NOT to have the familiar "Bluebell Polka" tune


And here's a "Blue Bell Polka" copyrighted in 1850 by Herman Louis Koenig


Also this one also is NOT related to the "Bluebell Polka" tune we're discussing here.



Next up is the Ukrainian "Dowbush Kozak" version, which has the familiar tune.

(c) Ukrainska Selska Orchestra (1930) (as "Dowbush Kozak")
Recorded February 10, 1930 in Camden, New Jersey
Released on Victor V-21034




Listen here:



Or here:






In 1952 a version written by Frank Stanley and arranged by Charles Lovat was published under the title "The Bluebell Polka".


As we see Charles Patrick Lovat was born in 1889. But was he Scottish born ?
 



Jimmy Shand recorded the tune in the Orpheus Studio, Greyfriars Church Hall, Albion Street,
Glasgow on April 21, 1952 and in 1955 it reached No. 20 in the UK hit parade and sold over 100,000 copies.
According to "The British Hit Singles - The Missing Charts", it had previously reached #13 during a 14 week run from July 7, 1952.







But already in 1940 Jimmy Shand had recorded "The Bluebell Polka" as part of a medley on the Beltona-label.
Recorded July 28, 1940 in West Hampstead, London
Released on the B-side of the 78 pictured below.







In 1956 Alma Cogan recorded the first vocal version of "Bluebell", with lyrics by Paddy Roberts.




Listen here:





According to Philippe Varlet, the melody was known to Irish musicians in the 78 RPM era. It was recorded by the renowned County Sligo/New York fiddler James Morrison for Columbia in 1935





(c) James Morrison (1935) (as "The Blue Bell")
Recorded January 21, 1935 in New York
Released on Columbia 33536-F and Vocalion 84054 in the US
Released on Regal Zonophone G22539 and Regal Zonophone MR 1803





The Gallowglass Céilí Band waxed "The Bluebell Polka" in the 1950's for Irish Columbia.




Listen here:





In the US the tune popped up in fiddle tunes like "Big Eared Mule or "Flop Eared Mule" /"Long Eared Mule" (or other titles like: "Asheville", "Karo", "Old Dan Tucker" and "Roscoe Trillion")


(o) William B. Houchens (1923)  in a medley (as "Big Eared Mule")
Wm. B. Houchens, fiddle and Saloma Dunlap, piano
Recorded in Richmond IN on February 26, 1923
Released on Gennett 5070 as part of a medley





Listen here (at about 1 minute and 56 seconds in the clip below)


Or here: 




(c) Osey Helton (1924)  (as "Asheville")
Probably recorded in 1924 in New York
Released on Broadway 5119




Listen here: (at 21 seconds in the YT clip below)




(c) B.E. Scott (1924)  (as "Big Eared Mule")
B.E. Scott, fiddle and Berdina Scott, piano
Recorded August 1924
Released on Paramount 33156 and Puritan 9156
 


Listen here:




(c) Ernest V Stoneman and Emmett Lundy (1925)  (as "Long Eared Mule")
Emmet Lundy,f Ernest V Stoneman h/ah.
Recorded May 27, 1925 in New York,
Released on Okeh 40405

Listen here:





(c) Judge Sturdy Orchestra (1925) (as "Old Dan Tucker")
Recorded December 3, 1925 in St Louis, Missouri


Listen here:






(c) Blue Ridge Highballers ‎(1926) (as "Flop Eared Mule")
Recorded March 23, 1926 in New York
Released on Columbia 15081-D


Listen here:





(c) Uncle Jimmie Thompson (1926)  (as "Karo")
It may be named for the Mississippi River town "Cairo," which sounds like 'karo' in pronounciation.
Atlanta, GA Monday, November 1, 1926
''Uncle Jimmie'' Thompson, f; acc. prob. Eva Thompson Jones, p.
Released on COLUMBIA 15118-D




(c) Bill Helms and His Upson County Band (1928) (as "Roscoe Trillion")
Bill Helms,f; Grady Owens,f; John Hogan,bj; Ty Cobb Hogan,g.
Recorded in Atlanta, GA on February 23, 1928
Released on Victor 40079 A



Listen here:




(c) Highlanders (1929) (as "Flop Eared Mule")
Recorded May 9, 1929
Released on Paramount 3171




Listen here:




(c) Melvin Robinette and Byrd Moore (1929) (as "Flop Eared Mule")
Recorded April 10, 1929 in Richmond, IN.
Released on Gennett 6884


Also released on Supertone 9500 (as by Clark and Howell)


Listen here:





(c) Dixie Ramblers (1930) (as "Long Eared Mule")
Recorded March 27, 1930 in New York


Listen here:





(c) Wade Ray and his Ozark Mountain Boys (1949) (as "Flop-Eared Mule")
Recorded June 1, 1949 at Capitol Recording Studio, Hollywood, CA.






(c) Holy Modal Rounders (1965) (as "Flop Eared Mule")


Listen here:




(c) Dubliners 1969 (as "Donkey Reel")


Listen here:




A song partly indebted to "Big/Flop/Long Eared Mule" and so to "Detroit Scottisch" is

"Kicking Mule" or "Whoa Mule" / "Bucking Mule"

Another song partly indebted to "Big/Flop/Long Eared Mule" and so to "Detroit Scottisch" is

"Johnson's Old Gray Mare"