August Passages: R.I.P. Mike Seeger et. al.
(plus a belated tribute to John Hughes)
August 30th, 2009 — 12:19 am
Being in and out this summer meant missing several opportunities to pay tribute to the fallen. Today, we remedy the situation.
The biggest blow to the folkworld in recent weeks was the loss of Mike Seeger, who made his mark on folk music as a multi-talented folk instrumentalist and producer, and as an avid ethnomusicologist, forging a bridge between the old and the new through paths as varied as his co-discovery of his own housekeeper Elizabeth Cotten, his home recording of such luminaries as Leadbelly and Woody Guthrie, and his work with the New Lost City Ramblers, who sought to recapture an early folksound scavenged from a growing collection of old 78 rpm records.
Half-brother Pete may have been more telegenic – a more popular son of the limelight and the labor movements – but it was Mike who was arguably as influential as anthologist Harry Smith himself, picking up where Lomax and the Seeger parents left off, leaving us with a valuable legacy of traditional sound, providing folk music itself with a past as well as a future.
But as Mike Seeger was a celebrant of others, so is it appropriate to note his passing along with that of others of his generation. It takes thousands to make the world go round, and as the continued specialization of our celebrity culture has produced more and more intertwined opportunities for influence, so does the passage of time provide the illusion that more and more of those who have made a difference die each day.
Which is to say: the music world has lost several greats in the past few weeks, and though most were not folkies, the strong connection between folk music and culture, especially through coverage, leaves us mourning a vast array of popular influences, each of whom made their mark on today’s singer-songwriters and their fans.
The list for August alone includes doo-wop singer Johnny Carter, founding member of the Flamingos and long-standing member of the Dells. Ellie Greenwich, a Brill Building songwriter and producer who cowrote songs with Phil Spector and discovered Neil Diamond. Larry Knechtel, session musician for Paul Simon, The Byrds, and The Beach Boys, among others, and bassist/keyboardist for seventies sensation Bread. Record producer, singer-songwriter, and pianist James Luther “Jim” Dickinson, who produced seminal albums for Big Star, played on Bob Dylan’s Time Out of Mind, and co-wrote On The Borderline with John Hiatt and Ry Cooder. Long-standing CBGB’s house band leader and prolific solo artist Willy DeVille, who wrote the theme song to Princess Bride. And let us not forget master guitarmaker Les Paul, who transformed the very tenor of modern music through his development of the solid body guitar.
All deserve some credit for the musical landscape of our times. In their memory, we offer the tributes of others, our ears, and our grateful thanks.
- New Lost City Ramblers: Don’t Let Your Deal Go Down (trad.)
- New Lost City Ramblers: Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss (trad.)
(from The Early Years 1958 – 1962)
- Willie Nelson: Across the Borderline (orig. Ry Cooder)
(from Across the Borderline, 1993) - Jim Dickinson: Casey Jones (On The Road Again) (trad.)
(from Dixie Fried, 1972)
- My Morning Jacket: Make it With You (orig. Bread)
(Live on-air session, 2005)
- Linda Ronstadt: Be My Baby (orig. The Ronettes)
(from Dedicated To The One I Love, 1996)
Today’s Bonus Coverfolk: he probably never wrote or played a lick of music in his life. But who could resist a short belated tribute to John Hughes, whose movies and their soundtracks framed the adolescence of a whole dissatisfied generation, from Pretty in Pink to Lick the Tins cover of Can’t Help Falling in Love to Lindsay Buckingham’s theme for National Lampoon’s Vacation.
- Lick The Tins: Can’t Help Falling In Love (orig. Elvis Presley)
(from the Some Kind of Wonderful soundtrack, 1987) - The National: Pretty In Pink (orig. Psychedelic Furs)
(from Daytrotter Session EP, 2007) - Matt Pond PA: Holiday Road (orig. Lindsay Buckingham)
(from Winter Songs EP, 2005) - Josh Rouse: Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want (orig. The Smiths)
(from Dressed Up Like Nebraska [single], 1998) - Eels: Can’t Help Falling In Love (ibid.)
(from Useless Trinkets: B-Sides & Rarities, 2007)
As always, Cover Lay Down exists first and foremost to promote artists and musicmakers. If you like what you hear, follow links to pursue purchase from artist-centric sources.