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BOOK REVIEWS

TITLE: THE BALLAD OF TOM DOOLEY

AUTHOR: SHARYN MCCRUMB

PUBLISHER: THOMAS DUNNE BOOKS

RELEASE DATE: 2011

By

Ballad_of_Tom_Dooley_-_Sharyn_McCrumbAnyone who listened to folk music during the “Folk Music Scare” of the 1950s and ‘60s probably heard the Kingston Trio version of this song, a bouncy little murder ballad about killing a woman and ending up “hanging from a white oak tree.”

Sharyn McCrumb, longtime mystery writer, has turned her gaze on this murder ballad, taking it back to its historical roots. While many historians and folklorists have examined this case in the past, her perspective as a mystery writer has given her different insights, much like those of the mystery writer in the Castle television show. Thus, a three-minute song becomes a 300-page historical novel. It’s hard to call it a mystery when everyone knows who was executed for the killing, but a mystery it is.

For those of you who only know it from the Kingston Trio version, sanitized and oddly altered in places, the “real” story was that of a young ex-Confederate soldier [Tom Dula, which is pronounced “Dooley,” for the same reason that Pauline is pronounced “Pearlene” in that region]. Tom was accused of murdering a young woman named Laura who was supposedly eloping with him. He and one of his other lovers [a married woman named Ann Melton] were eventually arrested and tried for the murder. He denied the murder, but once he was convicted and sentenced, he wrote a statement to clear the name of Ann Melton. His defense attorney was a famous politician and former soldier as well, a man named Zebulon Vance. After a long trial and longer appeals, Tom was hanged from a fresh built gallows, not a tree. Most of the other details in the song were added for rhyming purposes more than for historical accuracy.

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TITLE: THIS COULD BE BIG

AUTHOR: DON MORRISON

PUBLISHER: DONMO GLOBAL ENTERPRISES

RELEASE DATE: 2010

By

This_Could_Be_BigIs there a reason for a folk music fan from the United States to read Don Morrison’s book about the nitty gritty of the Australian music scene? Yes. Because it’s a good read, although few of us outside of Texans ever had to drive so far to a gig.

Don Morrison has over thirty years of experience in the music business. Although his “day job” is constructing world class resophonic guitars, he’s always been a performer, and as such he’s driven the crappy vans that break down on a regular basis. He’s been lied to and cheated by promoters and club owners. He’s seen talented band members give up and float away. He’s seen success, and he’s seen failure. And through all of this, he’s been able to balance his odd profession with a keen sense of humor, and the ability to turn a good phrase.

In the 1980s, Don ran towards the stardom light in a band called the Bodgies. After conquering their hometown of Adelaide, the boys took to the road, which is Australia can be a long road. Anecdotes about their ancient PA system or dodgy guitars will sound familiar to anyone who had tread on the band road. The burning van may not have happened to all of us, though. After Adelaide, the boys move to the big city of Melbourne. More stories, more touring, more grabbing for the brass ring. The Bodgies worked tremendously hard, played tons of gigs and yet kept having that elusive stardom just out of grasp. They rubbed elbows with the stars, and formulated a “people’s band” devoid of the trappings that most bands demanded. Rather than an exclusive dressing room, they posted a sign allowing full access to anyone.

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TITLE: ODETTA, THE QUEEN OF FOLK

AUTHORS:  STEPHEN ALCORN

(Conceived  and Illustrated by)

POEM BY SAMANTHA THORNHILL

PUBLISHER: SCHOLASTIC PRESS

RELEASE DATE: 2010

By

odettaTold in the form of a long poem, this is the life of Odetta, and especially her childhood, which greatly shaped her music. It is aimed at children, although adults can easily appreciate the beauty of the work and the life it describes. Artist Stephen Alcorn, who had previously worked on books about Langston Hughes and other African American poetry and poets, has included pieces portraying Odetta in various ways, ranging from the mischievous to the angelic.

So, who was Odetta, and why should kids care? Odetta Holmes learned about some of the “facts” of American life while a child in Birmingham, Alabama in the 1930s. Jim Crow laws controlled who could drink from what water fountain, or what train car you could ride. By the time her family moved to California, her family had faced the shame and degradation that was an everyday part of being “colored” in the South. In California, she noticed a remarkable thing. Discrimination still existed, but it was not the same, and not part of the law.

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Title: HOT BURRITOS
(THE TRUE STORY OF THE FLYING BURRITO BROTHERS)

Author: JOHN EINARSON WITH CHRIS HILLMAN

Publisher:  AWBONE PRESS

Release Date: NOVEMBER 2008

By Dennis Reoger Reed

HotBurritos_s.jpg

A few years back, author John Einarson gave us Mr. Tambourine Man, a full length book about singer-songwriter and fallen Byrd Gene Clark. That was a well written book that went below the surface, with copious amounts of interviews with friends, peers and family. It was also a good read.

This time out Einarson takes a long look at the Flying Burrito Brothers and works on debunking the "Gram Parsons created country-rock" myth. Einarson shares his writing credit with Chris Hillman, and Hillman provides the vast majority of quotes in the book. And again, the book provides a good read, though a working knowledge of the FFB and that area of pop music is probably a prerequisite.

In a nutshell: the folk rock band the Byrds found themselves down to three members after completing their Notorious Byrd Brothers record. Gram Parsons introduced himself to the Byrds' Chris Hillman in a bank, and ended up winning an audition to be a keyboard player with the band.

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TITLE: MILLION DOLLAR BASH: BOB DYLAN, THE BAND, AND THE BASEMENT TAPES

AUTHOR: SID GRIFFIN

PUBLISHER: JAWBONE PRESS

RELEASE DATE: 2007

By

million dollar bash.jpg

There are Bob Dylan fans, and there are Bob Dylan fans. Most fans know that Bob had some sort of motorcycle accident in 1967 in Woodstock, New York, and "dropped" out of the touring and recording scene for a time. Most fans know about the Basement Tapes that Bob recorded with what became The Band at a house called "Big Pink." Want to know more? Want to know lots more? This is the book for you.

Author Griffin is known primarily as a musician, with the LA based Long Ryders, and more recently the Coal Porters, a London based group. Griffin has written about Gram Parsons in an earlier tome and this time out he homes in on Bob and Bob's world, with a good sized portion of info on The Band.

This won't entice everyone. Several pages are devoted to a discussion of just what street Bob may have tumbled on his bike. Theories about whether the wreck was caused by the  sun in his eyes... info about the private physician's home where Bob recuperated... and bits about his weekday routine of walking his daughter to the bus station may be more paparazzi like that some will enjoy.

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May-June 2007

BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS

The NY Times Book Review two weeks ago wrote about a new book called Faking It-The Quest For Authenticity in Popular Music (Hugh Barker and Yuval Taylor).  I am about halfway through, and want to suggest it as a must read because it has a fascinating focus on the roots of folk music in the South (using John Hurt as an example) and the difficulty in defining folk music, etc. It is a fairly easy read and I think you will be very happy that you purchased or borrowed this book.

 

Bruce.

Newman, DeCoster & Co.

Bruce S. Newman, Attorney at Law, CPA; Peter J. DeCoster, FCA



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