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Reading List
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- All Shook Up: How Rock 'N' Roll Changed America - Glenn C. Altshuler
- The Life and Music of Miss Peggy Lee, Peter Richmond
- The B-Side: The Death of Tin Pan Alley and the Rebirth of the Great American Song - Ben Yadoga
- Singing From the Floor: A History of British Folk Clubs - JP Bean
- Playing Changes: Jazz for the New Century - Nate Chinen
- Lets Do It: The Birth of Pop - Bob Stanley
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Resources
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Roots Music Podcasts
Author Archives: Richard Barry
“The Lonesome Valley” – Richard Dyer-Bennet (1949)
I’m about half-way through Ronald D. Cohen‘s excellent book on folk music in the mid-20th century entitled “Rainbow Quest: The Folk Revival & American Society, 1040-1970.” It’s well-written, well-organized, and well-researched and an excellent introduction to these important years in … Continue reading
Posted in Folk Revival, Traditional folk
Tagged Pete Seeger, Richard Dyer-Bennet, Ronald D. Cohen, Woody Guthrie
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“Canadian Railroad Trilogy” – Gordon Lightfoot (1967)
In September, Billboard magazine ran a piece announcing that Gordon Lightfoot will be among the Folk Americana Roots Hall of Fame (FARHOF) inaugural class of inductees – an obvious though fantastic choice for the first class. This original group will … Continue reading
Posted in Folk music
Tagged Folk Americana Roots Hall of Fame, Gordon Lightfoot
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“Mr Crump Don’t Like It” – Frank Stokes (1927)
Many years ago someone gave me a boxed trading card set called “Heroes of the Blues.” It contains 36 cards, each a cartoon rendering of a legend of the early blues: Blind Lemon Jefferson, John Hurt, Big Bill Broonzy; Memphis … Continue reading
Posted in Early blues
Tagged Frank Stokes, R. Crumb, Stephen Calt
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“The Margins of My Neighbourhood” – Rick Fielding (1995)
Hard to believe it’s been 20 year since Rick Fielding died. Rick was a friend, though anyone who came within shouting distance could easily become a friend as he was just that kind of guy. In the early ’90s, I … Continue reading
Posted in Roots Music
Tagged Grit Laskin, Rick Fielding
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Somewhere in Ireland – September, 2023
I did one of those tours of Ireland, the west coast, back in September, which I plan to write about soon. It involved a bus and 20-plus other people and lots of music, hosted by folk singer Joe Jencks. It … Continue reading
Posted in Irish Music
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“Sonny’s Place” – Borealis Big Band (2019)
I don’t remember this gig, and it would appear to be a gig and not a practice judging by our director, Gord Shephard, talking to the crowd and the applause afterward. I am a little surprised at our attire, which … Continue reading
Posted in Big Band Jazz
Tagged Borealis Big Band, Gord Shephard
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“Baby’s Got the Car Keys” – Trout Fishing in America (1997)
I used to spend a lot of time with Keith Grimwood and Ezra Idlet of Trout Fishing in America, but that was mostly in the late 1980s through the ’90s. We got to be friends and I would on occasion … Continue reading
Posted in Children's Music, Folk-Rock
Tagged Ezra Idlet, Keith Grimwood, Trout Fishing in America
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“I Don’t Want to Go Home” – Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes (1976)
On February 10, 1977, the group Boston hit the stage at Long Island’s Nassau Coliseum as the headline act having quickly risen to rock stardom on the strength of their eponymous debut album, and I was there. I was 18 … Continue reading
Posted in R & B, Rock, Soul
Tagged Boston, Bruce Springsteen, Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes
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“Turn, Turn, Turn” – The Byrds (1965)
A long-standing interest for me is what has been called the folk music revival of the late 1950s and early 1960s, also named the “Great American Folk Scare” by Dave Van Ronk, an apparent reference to the way McCarthyites saw … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Cass Elliot, Denny Doherty, John Phillips, John Sebastion, Pete Seeger, The Byrds, The Mamas & the Papas
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