September's meeting was not quite the ice cream sugar high savage blowout of the previous month, but we made up for it by playing some beautiful music together. It may have been my very favorite Band 101 meeting just in terms of the good sounds we made and the camaraderie we shared.
Song 1: Done Laid Around.
According to Mark Dvorak, a Pete Seeger aficionado who has done a bit of research on this song, "In 1961 Pete Seeger reported that he "first learned 'Done Laid Around' from Larry Ehrlich of Chicago, who learned it from Paul Clayton, who learned it from Arthur Kyle Davis of the University of Virginia, who got it from a small booklet published by a now deceased French professor. His original sources, African American folk singers of Virginia, were not listed." Seeger recorded "Done Laid Around" as "Gotta Travel On" in the 1950s with the popular folk singing quartet, The Weavers. It was a hit record for them and became one of their many signature pieces."
The version of the song I heard first is Paul Brown's Summer's Almost Gone, off his excellent old-time album Red Clay Country, and it's still my favorite.
Song 2: People Get Ready, by Curtis Mayfield and performed by The Impressions. Agnostics love gospel music, too.
Song 3: Blowin' in the Wind, by Bob Dylan, performed here by the luminous Joan Baez.
Playing these at the Hammond Innovation Center with Linda, Gary, Janice, Sherry, Rene and Rich was such a treat, but that will be our last jam at the Innovation Center for a while, because Dave Mueller is back! I know I'm looking forward to being back at Paul Henry's Art Gallery again. It's this Thursday starting at 7 p.m. if you're interested. $5 cover, $3 if you're performing or bringing something to the potluck.
I'm working on the notes to Done Laid Around and Welcome Back Kotter....
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