Some Happy Songs #3

This is the third in a series of posts to feature happy songs, and it is more annotated than the first two.  Although limiting these happy-playlists to ten songs, I have added four more here (#s 5, 6, 9, 13) for History's sake.
 

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1. "Wonderful World" (1960), by Sam Cooke: One of the great songs of the 20th century, it was #373 in the 2004 listing of Rolling Stone magazine's 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time.  But the subsequent 2010 listing shows it losing ground, now being #382.  It could have been worse: The Kinks' “Lola" (1970), previously #422, fell off the list entirely, as did Little Richard's "Keep A Knockin’" (1957), previously #442, and Fleetwood Mac's “Rhiannon" (1975), previously #488.

2. "The World Is What You Make It" (1995/2002), by Paul Brady.

3. "Have You Seen Her Face" (2010), by Chris Hillman & Herb Pedersen: A live version of a song written by Hillman, which first appeared on the Byrds' 1967 album Younger Than Yesterday.  His friend and fellow country-rock pioneer Herb Pedersen joins him here at a charity fundraiser in Nipomo, California.  In his introduction to the song, Hillman comes across as a nice guy.  (See Los Angeles Times for interesting write-up.)

1976 Album Cover by R. Crumb

4. "Make My Cot Where The Cot-Cot-Cotton Grows" (1976/1993), by R.Crumb: Crumb is better known as the transgressive artist, illustrator, cartoonist who did the art work for Cheap Thrills, the 1968 album by Big Brother & The Holding Company (and lead singer Janis Joplin), and who created the iconic underground comix figure, Mr. Natural.

Mr. Natural

Some may recall how widespread Mr. Natural's image and "Keep On Truckin'" adage were in the 1970s. That phrase first appeared in a mid-1930s Blind Boy Fuller song, "Truckin' My Blues Away,” but acquired a truckin' momentum of its own via Mr. Crumb's adaptation and artwork.

Keep On Truckin' (Zap Comix No. 1, 1968)
 

5. "Truckin' My Blues Away" (c.1935-36), by Blind Boy Fuller: The source song for R. Crumb's popularization of "Keep On Truckin’." Crumb also did the album cover for a 1978 compilation of Fuller's music titled Truckin' My Blues Away.

6. "Make My Cot Where The Cot-Cot-Cotton Grows" (1927/2008), by Red Nichols' Stompers : The original 1927 version, and another source for R. Crumb.  Red Nichols recorded with bands which went through many name changes despite similar personnel.  As Red Nichols' Stompers, they recorded "Make My Cot Where The Cot-Cot-Cotton Grows" for the Victor label, whereas they were the Arkansas Travelers on the Okeh label, and Red Nichols & His Five Pennies on Brunswick Records, etc. The Victor Encyclopedic Discography lists the horn-heavy instrumentation on “Make My Cot ..." as 4 saxophones, 2 cornets, 2 trumpets, tuba, banjo, piano, and traps.  (Curious about "traps" or the role of the trap-drummer in early jazz?  Click here, type "ragtime and early jazz” in search window, and access "Changing Styles in Light Music,” Appendix 3 in Percussion Instruments and Their History [1970/2005], by James Blades.)

7. "Lucky Day" (1974), by Jonathan Edwards.

8. "If You Wanna Be Happy" (1963), by Jimmy Soul.

Roaring Lion

9. "Ugly Woman" (1934), by Roaring Lion: This song is the ancestor of "If You Wanna Be Happy.”  Roaring Lion was a calypso singer from Trinidad; he wrote this song as well as "Mary Ann," a mid-20th century calypso widely performed at the time.

10. "I Wonder Why" (1958), by Dion & The Belmonts: The first big hit by Dion DiMucci, Carlo Mastrangelo (of that bass-baritone intro), Fred Milano, and Angelo D'Aleo –– to be followed in 1959 by a bigger hit, “A Teenager In Love.”

Dion & The Belmonts were a prime example of Italian American doo-wop, and in early 1959 they nearly lost their lead singer.  Traveling with the Winter Party tour, DiMucci turned down an offer to fly by charter from Clear Lake, Iowa to Fargo, North Dakota for the next concert in Moorhead, Minnesota.  He hadn't wanted to spend the $36.00 for the fare and opted for the tour bus.  Then in the early morning of February 3, 1959, that plane crashed in a snowstorm, killing all on board: pilot Roger Peterson, and passengers Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, The Big Bopper  (J. P. Richardson).

Nor was Dion the only one spared.  Country singer Waylon Jennings was to have been on the plane. Newly hired as Holly's bass player, he had given up his seat to the flu-stricken Richardson.  And Wikipedia notes:

    When Holly learned that Jennings wasn't going to fly,
    he said in jest, "Well, I hope your ol' bus freezes up."
    Jennings responded, also in jest, "Well, I hope your ol'
    plane crashes," a humor-driven but ill-considered
    response that haunted Jennings for the rest of his life.

11. "Just One Look" (1963), by Doris Troy.

12. "I Will Move On Up A Little Higher" (1954), by Mahalia Jackson: This is a re-recording of a song Jackson first recorded in 1947 as “Move On Up A Little Higher.”  That 1947 song sold eight million copies.

13. "Move On Up A Little Higher" (1947), by Mahalia Jackson: And here it is, the original.

14. "Hilda's Cabinet Band" (1990), by The Watersons.  The song satirizes the Conservative cabinet of Margaret Thatcher (1925 – 2013), British Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990.  Thatcher’s middle name was Hilda.

North Country

I just got back from a road trip to Quebec, spending three days in the friendly Old Quebec section of Quebec City, followed by time in the Saguenay and Charlevoix regions before returning via New Hampshire to points south.  Founded in 1608 by Samuel de Champlain, Old Quebec is a UNESCO world heritage site.  It took its name from an Algonquin word kébec for "where the river narrows" (here, the Saint Lawrence River).

Quebecois Meat Pie

My wife and friends Bill and Debbie were with me.  Arresting fall colors and crisp air kept us company, and we enjoyed fine conversations with one another and with strangers, and we laughed a lot.  I never found a CD store in Old Quebec but I had meat pie, beef-and-vegetable stew, and learned the phrase à la prochaine ("see you later").

An intrepid band, we left beaten paths; and as a result of singular navigation we shared a scenic, if prolonged, departure from Quebec back through New Hampshire.  During which time our GPS went mad –– seemingly at sea, repeating herself, pausing, finally lapsing into silence.  I was reminded of the decompensating HAL computer in Arthur C. Clarke and Stanley Kubrick's 1968 film 2001: Space Odyssey, the point at which HAL says to astronaut Dave Bowman:

     I'm afraid.  I'm afraid, Dave.  Dave, my mind is going.  I can
     feel it.  There is no question about it.  I can feel it.  I can feel it.
     I can feel it.  I'm a...fraid.  Good afternoon, gentlemen.  I am a
     HAL 9000 computer.  I became operational at the H.A.L. plant
     in Urbana, Illinois on the 12th of January, 1992.  My instructor
     was Mr. Langley, and he taught me to sing a song.  If you'd like
     to hear it I can sing it for you.

In our return through New Hampshire, I bought a pink recyled-metal flying pig with yellow wings, green ears, red toenails.  But that is not the main thing, or even close to the main thing.

Here is the main thing.  I feel fortunate for such a combination of agreeable companions and autumnal northlands, and I've converted my satisfaction into an annotated north-country playlist.  The songs and tunes attempt to elaborate, with some exceptions, an autumn-up-north theme:

1. "L'hymne Au Printemps," Félix Leclerc (1964/1990): This is a later version by Félix Leclerc of a song he wrote and recorded in 1951.  Leclerc was a writer, radio host, actor, and singer-songwriter famous in Quebec and France.  His 1950 Paris debut occurred on the same stage as Edith Piaf and Les Compagnons De La Chanson.  The song celebrates springtime and is unrelated to anything autumnal.

2. "Les Troix Cloches," Edith Piaf & Les Compagnons De La Chanson (1946): Leclerc's connection to Les Compagnons De La Chanson took me to this song.  It is the original version of "The Three Bells," a song covered in the United States by The Browns in 1959.  This 1946 version is less saccharine than the 1959 cover.  As with Leclerc's song, it has nothing to do with autumnal northlands but it seemed to fit this playlist.

3. "North Country Jukebox," Michael Jerling (1998): Finally, a north-country song.  It is perfect.

4. "Girl From The North Country," Stephen Stills (2008): A ragged cover by Stills of this Bob Dylan song from The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan (1963), an album released when Dylan was 22.  Stills, born January 3, 1945, was crowding 64 at this October 11, 2008 concert.

5. "Retenir Le Printemps," Fred Pellerin (2011): I heard this Québécois singer while eating lunch in Quebec City; the waiter wrote down Pellerin's name for me.  As with "L'hmne Au Printemps," it is about spring, not fall; specifically, about wishing for the return of a love's springtime.

6. "Vermont Is Afire In The Autumn," Bill Lauf, Jr./Lui Collins (1978/1985): This song is off Lui Collins' first album, Made In New England, and hers is the background vocal.  A graceful touch, I think, for Collins to have given Bill Lauf, Jr. his own track on the album.  A write-up on Lauf, Jr. can be found on Connecticut Public Broadcasting Network.

7. "September Grass," James Taylor (2002): A song about memory and the present.  While the setting is indeterminate, I am going to assume it takes place in New England and hence is playlist-worthy.

8. "Violette," Nicolas Pellerin et Les Grands Hurleurs (2009): Nicolas Pellerin is Fred Pellerin's younger brother.  They collaborated on a 2007 CD, Disques Tempêtes, and I discovered Nicolas when I was exploring Fred's music.  "Les Grands Hurleurs" translates to something like "The Great Howlers."

9. "Northern Lights," Lennie Gallant (1994/2007): This Prince Edward Island singer-songwriter's music went aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavor in 2009, a choice of Canadian astronaut Julie Payette.  This particular song was used in an episode of the TV series Dawson's Creek.

10. "When Fall Comes To New England," Cheryl Wheeler (1993/2002): Not much to add here about this artist.  If Wheeler is new to you, you might check out Different Stripe, a solid 2002 compilation of her work.

11. "October Song," Incredible String Band (1966): A song with interesting lyrics and memorable melody.  It covers a lot of ground (time, politics, imagination), and I still like it decades after first hearing it.  It is about autumn even if it probably takes place in Scotland, not New England or Eastern Canada.  Robin Williamson wrote it and does the vocal.

12. "Roland," Fred Pellerin (2011): Another one by this artist.

13. "Oktober County," Neal Hellman (1987): Here again, I'm assuming that this tune could be a northerly sort of tune.  It is at least nominally autumnal and feels that way.  I don't know why Oktober is spelled this way.  Perhaps Hellman was visiting Germany or just feeling Teutonic.

14. "Moonlight In Vermont," Johnny Hartman (1955): This standard, first recorded in 1944 by Margaret Whiting, has numerous versions. This 1955 version by the mellow Johnny Harman is included despite or because of its divergence from the mostly folky sound of the other songs.  The trumpet interlude is by Howard McGhee, an early bebop jazz trumpeter.

15. "Marches Du Palais," Nicolas Pellerin (2009): Another one by this artist and his Great Howlers.

16. "October," North Texas Wind Symphony (2005): A classical piece composed by Eric Whitacre.  It feels like October.

17. "Ce Matin-Là," Félix Leclerc (1957): But of course, another Leclerc song, the first of two different versions from the same year.  This version has a clean studio-recording sound.

18. "Ce Matin-Là," Félix Leclerc (1957): A second version of this song. It has a scratchier vinyl-recording sound and features a back-up singer.

19. "North Country Waltz," The Bluegrass Album Band (1996): In all likelihood, "north country" here refers to Tennessee or thereabouts, but for my purposes it's further north.  Doyle Lawson, the composer of this tune and mandolinist in this bluegrass supergroup, he probably knows.

I-35 (in red)

20. "Northbound 35," Jeffrey Foucault (2004): A bleak song by Foucault with sharp lyrics.  Interstate 35 is the second longest North-South U.S. highway and goes from Laredo, Texas, to Duluth, Minnesota.

21. "True North," Meg Hutchinson (2001, Live): Meg Hutchinson is a New England singer and this reflective song about her true north perhaps takes place up north.

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Maybe it is an open question as to where or what north is.  I think I know north best in autumn when green goes away, when deciduous trees show their colors to tell us that things are further along than they were, that the year has aged and so have we.  In this way autumn and north make their joint annual statement about time and change.  We might grow reflective over this, even melancholy about yellowing leaves and lengthening shadows.  Then again we might ride jauntily into it, enjoying the scenery, getting lost, laughing all the way.

Hope you liked the music.  À la prochaine!