The Clancy Brothers with Tommy Makem.  From 1961 to 1969 they brought Irish music to the US and to the rest of the world. They were Irish to their souls and had more fun than anyone should ever be allowed to have. When it came to the party after the gig they were also without compare. The stories are legendary; the night in Chicago when they arrived at the hotel via a firetruck. The Clancys and the Kingston Trio were the best of friends and frequent collaborators in parties.

Tommy Makem was the voice of the Clancys for many years. He had a very distinctive baritone voice and it could give you shivers when he sang some of his own songs. This one, Four Green Fields, was written in 1967, and to the Irish is one of the most stirring songs ever written.

I met Tommy once. It was at the WFMA event at the Birchmere in 2001. He had performed that night, in  fact, this song is from that night, and was at the after show party standing by himself. Tommy was a lifelong teetotaler and was enjoying a glass of soda water. I had the chance to speak with him and I took it. He was a gracious and gentle man and I’m the better for meeting him.

Tommy Maken died of lung cancer in August of 2007.

Four Green Fields

I was never a fan of the Kingston Trio. I knew who they were, of course, but I never owned any of their records or went out of my way to listen to them. Until I left home in the mid-60’s the extent of my music listening was hard-core country. When I did leave home I was more into the emerging groups like Buffalo Springfield, the Byrds, Ian and Sylvia and solo acts like Dylan and Lightfoot and Tom Paxton. And, being the mid-60’s, there was also the psychedelics like the Airplane and Hendrix and the bad boys like the Stones. And there was always the Beatles. The Kingston Trio were never on my radar screen.

In July of 1969, I heard my first song by John Stewart. THEN I listened to the Trio to see what I had missed. I still wasn’t convinced. I didn’t know enough about music to know that the harmonies were staggering and I wasn’t quite quick-witted enough to pick up on the humor. (I thought I was but I really wasn’t). But I knew that the music was good and the connection with Stewart made me listen to their old songs. And I found  that I liked it a little more every time I listened.

So, in 2001, January in Alexandria, Virginia, the Birchmere and the WFMA Tribute to John. On stage was the Trio. Bob Shane, the Man of a Million Strums, and twice as many jokes, and a voice that was the best in folk or most other kinds of music. George Grove, a master banjo player and Bobby Haworth who added harmonies to Bob and George’s strong voices.Here they are doing a song written by John Stewart and John Phillips.

The Kingston Trio Sings Chilly Winds

John Stewart was blessed to have many friends who also happened to be great players. Funny how that works out, huh. In January of 2001, the World Folk Music Association presented John with a Lifetime Achievement Award. There were many musical guests; many of them people who were road warriors with John over the years. This song is from Henry Diltz, Chuck McDermott, Dennis Kenmore and Dave Batti. All of these guys played many nights with John and spent many mornings trying to figure out what town they were in. The stories are many and completely secret.

Henry tells the story here of being on the road with John just after the release of the California Bloodlines album.

Here we go, Henry on banjo, Chuck on lead guitar and vocal, The D Man, Dennis Kenmore on drums and  Dave “Dave” Batti on bass.

California Bloodlines

I can’t believe that I haven’t posted John singing Chilly Winds. I looked back through all of the previous posts and if I used it in the past I can’t find it in the now.

One of my favorites, as was it one of his. Co-written with John Phillips either in a rowboat in the bay off Sausalito or in the backyard of the Kingston Trio’s secretary depending on what day you asked about it. The stories agree that there were over 50 verses sung the day the song was written.

When I first took up the guitar John was very encouraging. I told him that the first song I wanted to learn was Chilly Winds but that I was having trouble with the F chord. He told me that he never played the F chord which I knew was just him making me feel better about my lack of ability. He had me play the song to him over the phone as I got better at it. His kindness must have been very painful for him as I still can’t play it all the way through.

I love this song and I hope you do to.

This is from a recording at The Palms Playhouse in Davis, California, on May 12, 2000. I’m pretty sure that my buddies Clack and Cat were in the audience along with Roadman who made the recording.

Chilly Winds

Dave Batti and I were emailing last week about how important it was to us to keep John’s music alive. Sometimes it feels like you’re whistling in the wind and other times you hear what other singers are doing with John’s music and it gives you hope.

One of the great things that John Stewart did was organize the Trio Fantasy Camp. The Camps began back in 1999. I’ve said before that the Camps have been one of the most meaningful things that I have done with my life. I met one of my best friends through the Camp and I’ve made hundreds of lasting relationships through the music.

The coolest and yet saddest of the Camps was Camp 9; the year that John passed away. The Camp was a Tribute to him and his music. All of the songs that the Campers did, both in their Trios and the songs that were backed up by the John Stewart Band were songs that John had written. On the final night there was a full show by the John Stewart Band with special guests Buffy Stewart, Bill Mumy, Chip Douglas and Henry Diltz. There is a 3 dvd set of this camp available at this link:

Trio Fantasy Camp 9- A Tribute to John Stewart

Two of the Campers from that year were Ed Callahan and Tom O’Donnell. They are both multi-year Campers and two of the best people that I know. At Camp this year they each gave me their new cd’s. Both had recorded several of John’s songs and, as it turned out, they were among my favorites. So I thought you should hear them. Hear are Ed Callahan singing Hung On the Heart and Tom O’Donnell,  singing Lock All the Windows. Tom is accompanied on the song by his son, Dave O’Donnell, one of the new generation of people who appreciate John’s songs.

Hung On The Heart

Lock All the Windows

It’s a pity to me that John Stewart had so many great songs that few people got to hear. I truly believe that John was comfortable in his own skin. He didn’t care that much for fame or fortune- though he had both for awhile with the Trio but that’s another story- as long as he had the latest gadget and a gig where he could play what he wanted. His attitude toward record companies and the suits who ran them pretty much spelled the end of his career as a ‘popular artist’. There were some labels, Appleseed and Jim Musselman for one, who saw the merit in his work and supported him. Others blew him off a la the story of the Piano Album.

John needed to have his work heard and this led to many home recorded albums and songs. Some of the albums had songs that had been done before. John loved to tinker with his older stuff and was always certain that a new effects pedal would be just what the song needed. Some of these cd’s such as Buster, Johnny Moonlight and Rocket Roy have probably not ever sold more than a few hundred copies, either through the Neon Dreams website or at gigs where Dave and John would set up the store after the show. There are some great songs on these cd’s. Here is one of them. When John recorded the Buster cd it was short one track.  The tune for this song had been going through his head and he finished it. It became my favorite song from the Buster cd and when I sequenced and made the selections for the Best of Neon Dreams cd it was the first song that I picked.

Here is Endless Roads and Northern Lights from the Buster cd.

Endless Roads And Northern Lights

On another note, the chillywinds website has been down for several months due to the floods in New England. The page for ordering cd’s from Neon Dreams can still be accessed at:

Neon Dreams Music

or from Dave Batti at Homecoming Records at:

Homecoming Records

A friend asked me today if there were any videos of John singing Cannons in the Rain. I was positive that I had posted a clip on Youtube from The Turf Inn that we recorded in 2000. It is part of the Front Row Moonlight cd and dvd. In looking for it I realized that not only had I not posted the video on Youtube, I’d not posted the song here.

This is from Disc One on the Front Row Music double cd. Recorded live in 2000 in Dalry, Scotland. The pub is the ancestral home of one Andrew Fergus, one of John’s dearest friends and most loyal supporters.

Rather than just post the one song, I decided to do a double play. These are the 11th and 12th tracks on the first disc.

Cannons In The Rain

 

The Eyes Of Sweet Virginia

Some of John’s songs are perfect when played together.

 

In honor of this Day of Rememberance, here is John doing Survivors. From The Americans cd.

 

Survivors