The Mayor Of MacDougal Street.

Suze Rotolo, Terri Thal, Bob Dylan & Dave Van Ronk.

A couple of weeks ago a friend on Facebook recommended a film to me. It is called Inside Llywn Davis. It was on the Film 4 Channel at 1.00 in the morning. Luckily, I was still quite awake at that time, so I watched it. I am glad I did because it is very enjoyable. It is a dark comedy set in Greenwich Village, New York in 1961. It follows the misadventures of a struggling folk singer as he tries to get his career off the ground while also trying to sort out his chaotic private life. The film was directed by Joel & Ethan Coen and stars Oscar Isaac. As well as being a very funny film I think I also liked it because, although I doubt if I will ever go there, I have had a long time interest in the whole ethos of Greenwich Village of that period, it’s association with the Beat Generation and the music scene, Bob Dylan, Karen Dalton, Peter, Paul & Mary, Joan Baez, Phil Ochs  and many more.

As the film progressed, I suddenly realised that I had the book on which the film is loosely based. I had read a sizable chunk of it a few months ago. The book is called The Mayor of MacDougal Street and is a memoir by Dave Van Ronk. Llywn Davis the protagonist in the film was inspired by Dave Van Ronk, On Wikipedia it says, David Kenneth Ritz Van Ronk (June 30, 1936 – February 10, 2002) was an American folk singer. An important figure in the American folk music revival and New York City's Greenwich Village scene in the 1960s, he was nicknamed the "Mayor of MacDougal Street". Van Ronk's work ranged from old English ballads to blues, gospel, rock, New Orleans jazz, and swing. He was also known for performing instrumental ragtime guitar music, especially his transcription of "St. Louis Tickle" and Scott Joplin's "Maple Leaf Rag". Van Ronk was a widely admired avuncular figure in the Village, presiding over the coffeehouse folk culture and acting as a friend to many up-and-coming artists by inspiring, assisting, and promoting them. Folk performers he befriended include Bob Dylan, Tom Paxton, Patrick Sky, Phil Ochs, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, and Joni Mitchell. Dylan recorded Van Ronk's arrangement of the traditional song "House of the Rising Sun" on his first album, which the Animals turned into a chart-topping rock single in 1964, helping inaugurate the folk-rock movement.

Dave died before he had finished his book and it was completed after his death by Elijah Wald. Dave Van Ronk was quite a character. I looked on youtube for any footage of him performing and found a film of him performing Cocaine Blues at the Newport Folk Festival (See below, go forward to 1.30 mins for film of Dave) This determined me to buy an album. On eBay I saw an album called Inside Dave Van Ronk. The similarity to the film title could not be a coincidence. Also, the cover depicted a cat which I thought must have inspired the Coen brothers to have a cat in their film. Some of the funniest scenes in the film involve his accidental adoption of the cat and his efforts to return it to the true owners.

I ordered the CD and it arrived a few days ago. It is 25 songs in total and is actually a repackaging of Dave’s first two albums from 1962. I like it. As well as Cocaine Blues I like his version of Dylan’s He Was A Friend of Mine. After two listens I think my favourite song of all is Fair And Tender Ladies, an Appalachian ballad that has been recorded by many people. Although Dave was a folk singer you can tell he was also influenced by blues singers.

Anyway, I’m pleased that I watched that great film and discovered the music of Dave Van Ronk who was undoubtedly an important catalyst in American music during a very exciting creative period in its history.

DAVE VAN RONK Newport 1963

The 'Harvard' Tapes by Dick Gaughan.

It is Sunday afternoon and I am listening to a new CD that arrived yesterday. What a nice album it is. The Harvard Tapes by Dick Gaughan. In case you have not heard of Dick Gaughan before, he is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist born in 1948. I first became aware of his music many years ago on a folk compilation album called Folk Heritage 11. Dick contributed a song called The World Turned Upside Down which I loved. It was written by Leon Rosselson and tells the story of The Diggers who tried to bring about land reforms in the 17^th century. I liked the sentiment of the lyrics. ‘You poor take courage, You rich take care, This earth was made a common treasury, for everyone to share’. As well as great songs and guitar playing I also like the political content of many of Dick’s songs. You could call him a protest singer if you wanted. Although I have liked his music for a long time, I never got around to buying an album until this week.

This album was recorded in 1982. It was the last date on an extensive US tour. Brian O’Donovan recorded it for broadcast on a Boston radio station. It then lay undisturbed for 37 years until being rediscovered. As well as the songs I also like the humorous banter of Dick who is quite a comedian by the sounds of it. The first track is a traditional song called Erin-Go-Bragh. It was included on an album recorded in 1981 called Handful of Earth which was voted the best folk album of the 80’s by Folk’s Roots magazine. Also, from that album is Now Wrestlin Winds, a fabulous song adapted from a poem by Robbie Burns. Song for Ireland was written by an Englishman called Phil Colclough. I remember first hearing this great song sung by Mary Black. The Dubliners also recorded it. Your Daughters and Your Sons was written by Irish singer Tommy Sands. Glenlogie is a traditional ballad that Dick has cut down to reasonable length. On the Road is nothing to do with Jack Kerouac, it is written by Joan Brown.

The UK folk scene has produced some legendary guitar players, Richard Thompson, Bert Jansch, Nic Jones, Martin Simpson and Davey Graham are just a few names that spring to mind. This album tells me that Dick Gaughan is also one of the best, as shown on tracks like Reels, The Gooseberry Bush/The Chicago Reel/Jenny’s Welcome To Charlie. The last three songs are all political in content The Word Turned Upside Down, The Workers Song and The Freedom Come All Ye. There are also three bonus tracks all recorded live, Lemmings which is one of Dick’s own songs, Sliabh na mBan, and Connolly Was There which was written by the great Dominic Behan. As you can see, there is a huge Irish influence on this album. Dick’s grandfather was Irish, and he grew up surrounded by Scottish & Irish music.

Dick suffered a stroke in 2016 which has curtailed his live appearances. His friends got this album together free of charge to help him out. This shows the high esteem he is held in. The album came out last year and I am very pleased I bought it. I might buy that Handful of Earth  album one of these days.

Dick Gaughan 'World Turned Upside Down'

Like The River Loves The Sea by Joan Shelley.

I opened the front door this morning and two metres away was the smiling post lady. “Package for you”, she said. “Thank you”, I replied. She had left it on my doorstep. I knew what it was, a new CD. I went in the kitchen and opened the package and put the CD in the player. Then I washed my hands because you cannot be too careful. What strange times we are living in.

It was a warm sunny day, so I sat in my yard by the back door and soaked up the music and the sun. The album is called Like the River Loves the Sea. It is by an American singer-songwriter called Joan Shelley. An internet friend had recommended her music to me a few days ago and I remembered that I had seen Joan supporting Richard Thompson in Salisbury in late 2018. I had been extremely impressed with her at the time but had gradually forgotten about that evening. I am grateful for the reminder because this is a genuinely nice album.

Joan comes from Louisville Kentucky and this is her seventh album. It was recorded in Iceland in 2019. I cannot hear an Icelandic influence in the music though. Maybe if you go somewhere different and look back at where you have been, then it becomes an art form. Nathan Salsburg who I think played guitar with her when I saw her live is on the album. There are some Icelandic musicians as well and Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy whose name I have heard before sings harmonies on a couple of tracks.

I have only heard the album twice, so I am not going to talk about each individual song. The album has a nice consistency of mood which I always like. I would describe it as country flavoured folk music I suppose. Usually when I listen to a singer for the first time I am reminded of other singers. I do not really get that feeling with Joan, except maybe a hint of Joni Mitchell around the time of Blue. There is one song called Cycle which mentions a lover coming home late which made me think of The Speed of The Sound Of Loneliness by John Prine. That might be because I have had John Prine in my brain the last couple of weeks. The songs all seem to be very personal love songs.

Teal is a nice song, talking about ‘fresh air, the wind and the rain’, even the birds in the trees nearby seemed to be singing along with that song. I also liked the cello, violin and viola of the two Icelandic sisters on Tell Me Something. Any Day Now is a perfect upbeat song to end the album with. In the booklet of lyrics there is a poem by Max Porter which contains the line I want to stay all night which is the title of one of the songs and makes me wonder just how autobiographical Joan’s lyrics are. Maybe sometimes they are quasi-autobiographical words inspired by other writers’ work. That does not matter though. This album creates a mellow feeling of well being in the listener and hearing this album on a nice sunny day made the catastrophe of coronavirus seem a long way off and I’m glad I heard it today for that reason alone.

They Call Him Japhy Ryder

Quote by Gary Snyder.

It was Jack Kerouac’s birthday today. Jack was born on March 12^th, 1922 which means that if he hadn’t drunk himself to death in 1969, he would have been 98 today. I would have forgotten about his birthday if I hadn’t been reminded of it by a Facebook friend. Purely by chance I had a Jack related parcel arrive today. It contained two books by Gary Snyder. They are called The Back Country and Earth House Hold. They are American books, published by New Directions in 1969. One book is poetry and the other is prose. I got both books for a total of 99 pence on eBay. That is what I call a bargain.

Gary Snyder was the real-life person who was portrayed as Japhy Ryder the hero of Jack’s second most famous book The Dharma Bums.  He was born on May 8, 1930 which means he will soon be 90 years of age.  Although best known as a poet associated with the Beat Generation and the San Francisco Renaissance, he is also an essayist, lecturer, and environmental activist. He has been described as the ‘poet laureate of Deep Ecology’ Snyder is a winner of a Pulitzer Prize for Poetry and the American Book Award. His work, in his various roles, reflects an immersion in both Buddhist spirituality and nature. Snyder has translated literature into English from ancient Chinese and modern Japanese and was an academic at the University of California. ( I found a lot of that info on Wiki.)

I’m looking forward to reading both these books before I sell them on. I have always liked Gary Snyder, ever since reading the Dharma Bums about 45 years ago. He didn’t have the self-destructive side to his nature like Jack and other people associated with the Beats and he practiced what he preached. With his interest in ecology and being aware of the need for humans to live in tune with nature he was decades ahead of other writers. I bet Greta Thunberg would have got on well with Gary.

The Secret Heart Of Music

I received a couple of interesting books in the post recently. They are both concerned with Sir George Trevelyan. If you haven’t heard of him, he was a British educational pioneer and a founding father of the New Age movement. In 1942, after hearing a lecture given by Dr Walter Stein, a student of Rudolf Steiner, Trevelyan discovered a spiritual worldview. During his lifetime he explored beliefs in angels, the calming effects of crystals and the power of ley lines, alongside organic farming and communal living. He carried out his pioneering work in the teaching of spiritual knowledge as adult education. The courses ranged from chamber music and drama onto esoteric subjects such as 'Finding the Inner Teacher' and 'Holistic Vision'. He was involved in the establishment of the Findhorn Foundation, the Gatekeeper Trust, and through his friendship with Wellesley Tudor Pole, the Chalice Well  at Glastonbury and the Lamplighter Movement. In 1971, he set up the Wrekin Trust to promote spiritual education and knowledge.

I heard Sir George speak at Glastonbury Festival in 1981, but I can’t remember a word of what he said. What has got me interested in him recently is curiosity about a weekend conference at Loughborough University in 1987 called The Secret Heart Of Music which the Wrekin Trust organised in collaboration with Van Morrison. I have written about this event previously on this blog site. You can find a recording of Van performing at this event on youtube. I hoped I might find further information in these publications. The first book is called Sir George Trevelyan And The New Spiritual Awakening. There is one paragraph on page 161 about the Loughborough event, but sadly nothing that I didn’t know already (See pictures) 

 The other publication is a pamphlet called A Curriculum For Spiritual Training Combining The Ancient Wisdom With Modern Developments In Psychological And Scientific Knowledge. It contains the trust’s agenda for Autumn 1986 and Spring 87. Sadly, there is no mention of the event I am interested in. I don't think the Wrekin Trust exists any more, so I can't contact them.

It would be great to hear from anyone who was there on that weekend. I know there was a brochure published to accompany the conference. I haven’t been able to find a copy of it. If you have a copy that you would sell or loan to me, I would be delighted to hear from you. Also, I would love to see any posters or photographs of the event. Cheers.