DISC 1
KATHY KALLICK (guitar, vocal) with
1. MOLLY TUTTLE (guitar, vocal): Put My Little Shoes Away
2. TRISTAN SCROGGINS (mandolin): Sittin' On Top of the World
3. CLIFF PERRY (guitar, vocal) & LAUREL BLISS (dobro, vocal): Little Moses
4. JIM HURST (guitar, vocal): Jimmy Brown the Newsboy
5. KATHY KALLICK BAND: Footprints In the Snow
Annie Staninec: fiddle; Tom Bekeny: mandolin; Greg Booth: banjo and dobro; Cary Black: bass
6. KATHY KALLICK BIG BAND:The Wild Side Of Life > It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels
Annie Staninec: fiddle; Tom Bekeny: mandolin; Greg Booth: dobro; Cary Black: bass + Paul Shelasky: fiddle; Juniper Waller: vocal; Riley Thompson vocal
7. ANNIE STANINEC (fiddle): Handsome Molly
8. MIKE COMPTON (mandolin, vocal) & JOE NEWBERRY (banjo, vocal): Farther Along
9. LAURIE LEWIS (fiddle, vocal) & SUZY THOMPSON (guitar, vocal): What Are They Doing In Heaven Today?
1. Put My Little Shoes Away
The song was first published in 1873 by composers Charles E. Pratt (music) and Samuel N. Mitchell (lyrics). Riley Puckett did the first recording of it (in 1926), but Henry Whitter was the first to release it. It’s also been released by Wilf Carter aka Montana Slim, "T" Texas Tyler, Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys, Girls Of the Golden West, The Everly Brothers (and the Billie Joe Armstrong-Norah Jones replication of the EB album), Rose Lee & Joe Maphis, Mac Wiseman, Donna Darlene & Shot Jackson, The Carroll County Ramblers, Woody Guthrie, and many others.
2. Sittin' on Top of the World
The most often-covered song in this collection was written by Walter Vinson, probably with Lonnie Chatmon, and recorded/released by the Mississippi Sheiks (Vinson, Chapmon, and Bo Carter) in 1930. Two of the most influential versions of the song were done by Bill Monroe (1957) and Howlin’ Wolf (1958), and they’re the primary sources for Dodi and Kathy. Other releases of the song came from bluegrass (Mac Wiseman, Jack Cooke with Ralph Stanley & the Clinch Mountain Boys, Jerry Garcia & the Hart Valley Drifters, Al Wood & the Smokey Ridge Boys, Country Cooking, Tom Adams & Michael Cleveland), old time (Doc Watson, Clint Howard & Fred Price, Hobart Smith, Jody Stecher & Kate Brislin, Carolina Chocolate Drops, Benton Flippen & The Smokey Valley Boys), western swing (Milton Brown & His Musical Brownies, Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys, Willie Nelson & Asleep at the Wheel, Jethro Burns), rock and country (Grateful Dead, Cream, Bob Dylan, Sleepy LaBeef, Carl Perkins, Chet Atkins, Jerry Reed), blues (Ray Charles Trio, Johnny Shines, Lowell Fulsom, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee, Taj Mahal, B.B. KIng, Robert Cray Band), and a myriad of other versions — including James "Blood" Ulmer with Alison Krauss.
3. Little Moses
A traditional gospel song, first collected in 1905 under the title “Moses in the Bullrushes” in “Ballads and Songs Collected by the Missouri Folklore Society.” Sara Carter learned it from a relative, Myrtle Bayes, and the Carter Family had the first release (in 1929) of the song. In the spirit of the folk tradition, Kathy wrote some additional lyrics to tell a bit more of the song's story. The song has also been released by Mac Wiseman; Joan Baez; Alex Campbell, Olabelle Reed & The New River Boys; Marley's Ghost; Robin & Linda Williams & Their Fine Group; Laura Boosinger; The Stairwell Sisters; and Bob Dylan.
4. Jimmie Brown, the Newsboy
The song was published, as “Jimmie Brown, the Paper Boy,” in 1875 by William Shakespeare Hays, who was also a riverboat captain and composer of more than 350 songs, including “You’ve Been a Friend to Me,” “I’ll Remember You Love in My Prayers,” “Little Old Cabin in the Lane,” and “Nobody’s Darling on Earth.” The Carter Family did the first commercial recording of the song in 1929, although it wasn’t released for two years. It’s possible that they learned the song from Leslie Riddle, as Hays’ final verses are omitted and there’s a new melody in the Carter Family version. In 1951, Flatt & Scruggs brought the song into bluegrass, featuring Earl’s Maybelle Carter-style of guitar playing, and including some new lyrics (the “Morning Star” and “Gospel News” verses). The song has also been released by Mac Wiseman; Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys; Roger Miller; Clarence White; Skeeter Davis; Bill Clifton; Bill Grant & Delia Bell & the Kiamichi Mountain Boys, Peter Rowan; Merle Haggard; and many others — including Pat Boone.
5. Footprints In the Snow
The author of this English music hall song was likely Harry Wright, who composed it in c.1880 under the title "Footmarks in the Snow.” The tune is similar, especially in the beginning, to "Little Stream of Whiskey,” and there was (in 1886) an alternate composer claim by Geo. Russell Jackson (lyrics) and C.W. Bennett (music). The song was supposedly first recorded on June 4, 1931, by Ernest Branch & the West Virginia Ramblers under the title "Little Foot Prints;" the first performance of the song under the title "I Traced Her Little Footmarks in the Snow” was by Witty Watty Walton, and the first release by Dave Walker, both also in 1931. Red Foley recorded it in 1934, Cliff Carlisle in 1939, and Bill Monroe, who’d likely learned it in the ‘30s when he was at the National Barn Dance in Chicago, first recorded it with the altered title "Footprints in the Snow” in 1945, and again in 1952, claiming authorship under one of his pseudonyms, Rupert Jones. The KKB’s version incorporates Kathy's Footmarks-inspired additional lyrics, and the arrangement is, of course, based on Big Mon’s.
6. The Wild Side Of Life > It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels
William Warren and Arlie Carter wrote "The Wild Side Of Life” lyrics off of Guy Massey’s "The Prisoner's Song,” which was first released in 1924 by Vernon Dalhart; the same melody was also used by the Carter Family in 1929 for "I'm Thinking Tonight of My Blue Eyes,” and by Rev. Guy Smith and later (1937), Roy Acuff for "Great Speckled Bird.” The first release of "Wild Side of Life” was by Jimmy Heap & the Melody Masters in 1951, and the hit version was released in 1952 by Hank Thompson & His Brazos Valley Boys.
"It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels” was written later in 1952 by J.D. (Jay) Miller, specifically as an "answer song” to "The Wild Side Of Life.” After some reluctance by radio stations to program a song considered “suggestive” at the time, the (relatively unknown) Kitty Wells had a 1952 hit with it; recorded at her first session for Decca, it was the first #1 Billboard Country hit by a solo female artist.
7. Handsome Molly
Possibly based on a song titled “The Irish Girl” that was published in Ireland in the 1820s, and sharing similarities with other “courting ballads” like "Lovely Molly,” Dark-Eyed Molly," and "Farewell Ballymoney,” it had undergone lyrical transformations by the time Cecil Sharp collected it in Virginia in 1918. G.B. Grayson and Henry Whitter were the first to record it, doing so at at their first session in 1927; since Grayson introduces them it it, it’s thought to be the first song recorded by this influential duo. The Stanley Brothers brought the song into bluegrass, where it’s also been done by the Country Gentlemen; Hylo Brown; Flatt & Scruggs (who added a chorus); Alex Campbell, Olabelle Reed, & The New River Boys; Glen Neaves; Charlie Moore & Bill Napier, Jerry Garcia & the Hart Valley Drifters; James Alan Shelton; and the David Grisman Bluegrass Experience. Old time versions of the song have been released by Harry & Jeanie West; Frank Proffitt; Doc Watson & Gaither Carlton; Mike Seeger; Wade Mainer; Norman Blake; and Dirk Powell, and it’s also been issued by Ian & Sylvia, Peggy Seeger, Bob Dylan, and, under the name “Dublin Blues,” Guy Clark, Townes Van Zandt, and Asleep at the Wheel.
8. Farther Along
The actual composer is unknown -- or at least disputed. The oldest known print edition is in the 1911 Church of God's "Select Hymns for Christian Worship and General Gospel Service,” with attribution only to the hymnal editor. In 1937, the Stamps-Baxter Music Company included the lyrics in a collection, with a musical arrangement by the composer (as well as publisher) J. R. Baxter, and it was recorded by the Burnette Sisters. W. B. Stephens, a Church of God preacher, heard the song on the radio and contacted Stamps-Baxter, claiming to be the author of the song. Stamps-Baxter credited Stephens as the song's author in subsequent publications, while maintaining credit for the arrangement. In 2008, James Greer claimed that his grandfather, an itinerant preacher named W. A. Fletcher, wrote the song in 1911 while traveling; J. R. Baxter was sitting next to Fletcher on the train, and supposedly was so taken with the lyrics that he offered Fletcher $2 for them and then added the music.
The first documented release of the song was in 1938 by J. H. Howell's Carolina Hillbillies, and it was subsequently issued by Roy Acuff & His Smoky Mountain Boys; Rex Allen & Patti Page; Ernest Tubb; Hank Williams; Sam Cooke & the Soul Stirrers; George Jones; Pete Seeger; Reno & Smiley; Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys; Mississippi John Hurt; The Stanley Brothers; Connie Smith; The Million Dollar Quartet (Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Carl Perkins); The Flying Burrito Brothers; Wanda Jackson; Ellen McIlwaine, Ike & Tina Turner (as "Father Alone”); Rose Maddox with The Vern Williams Band; Doc Watson; Ricky Skaggs & The Whites; Foghorn Stringband, and, yes, many others.
9. What Are They Doing in Heaven Today?
This song was written by American Methodist minister Charles Albert Tindley, who published it in 1901 as "What Are They Doing in Heaven?” The first known recording of it was in 1928 by Washington Phillips. It was subsequently recorded many times, by, among many others, the Golden Gate Quartet, Pilgrim Travelers, Dixie Hummingbirds, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Fairfield Four, Staple Singers, Little Jimmy Scott, and Jim Byrnes. The Lilly Brothers were the first to record (in 1948) the song in an old time/bluegrass style, and it was also done this way by Harry & Jeanie West, Jorma Kaukonen, Riley Baugus, John Reischman & the Jaybirds, Béla Fleck & Abigail Washburn, and others. Bruce Kallick believes that Dodi learned this song from folksinger Henry Moore.
DISC 2
DODI KALLICK (vocal, dulcimer - The Midnight Special, WFMT, 1966 or 1969 (except as noted)
1. What Are They Doing In Heaven Today?
2. I'm A Long Time Traveling
3. Cotton-Eyed Joe
4. One Hundred Miles
5. Row Us Over the Tide
6. Red Clay Country
7. Down In the Willow Garden
8. My Home's Across the Blue Ridge Mountains
9. The Parting Glass
1. What Are They Doing In Heaven Today?
See above.
2. I'm A Long Time Traveling
The song is found in 19th century Sacred Harp and Shape-Note Gospel collections, credited to Edmund Dumas (music) with words from John Dobell. Alternate titles include "288 White” and simply “White." Frank Profitt recorded it as "I'm a Long Time Travelling Here Below,” and he’s likely the source for Dodi. The song has also been released by Almeda Riddle, Grandpa Isom Ritchie's Church Congregation, Jean Ritchie, Addie Graham, the Red Clay Ramblers, Jody Stecher & Kate Brislin, Anna & Elizabeth, the Wailin’ Jennys, the Crooked Jades, the Kathy Kallick Band, and Annie Staninec.
3. Cotton-Eyed Joe
The origins of this tune/song are unclear, although it clearly pre-dates the American Civil War. The original tune for "Cotton-Eyed Joe" was probably the Scottish piece called "General Burgoyne's March” aka “Quick Step General Burgoyne,” the title(s) referring to a British officer who surrendered in 1777 during the American Revolutionary War. There’s a reference to the song in a fictional piece in a 1875 issue of the Saturday Evening Post, and Harper & Brothers published a version of "Cotton Eyed Joe" in 1882. Both the dance tune and the song had many variants, with verses, often floaters, attached and called to the dancers. Where and when these verses originated is difficult to determine, but this was a party and dance song common among both black and white musicians. It's been widely recorded, including by Kathy Kallick on her earlier tribute to Dodi and by the Kathy Kallick Band, in part as a vehicle for Annie Staninec's extraordinary fiddling.
4. One Hundred Miles
This is part of a huge song family that also includes (I’m) Nine Hundred Miles (Away) From My Home (first recorded/released by Fiddlin' John Carson in 1924), Train 45 (first recorded/released by Grayson & Whitter in 1928), 500 Miles (Hedy West), Rueben (Flatt & Scruggs), and others. The earliest recording of a song under the "100 Miles" title was by Glen Campbell & the Green River Boys in 1962, and they credited the song to Hedy West. Frank Proffitt, who incorporated many Grayson & Whitter songs into his repertoire and noted that this is "one of the oldest simple banjo tunes," is, again, the likely source for Dodi. Dodi plays guitar instead of dulcimer on this one.
5. Row Us Over the Tide
E.C. Avis claimed to have published the song in 1888, the lyrics possibly based on the 1878 yellow fever epidemic in which at least 20,000 people died, mostly along the Mississippi River. The first recording and first release (in 1927) was by Bela Lam & His Greene County Singers, followed later that year by Kelly Harrell - Henry Norton with Virginia String Band. In 1936, the Blue Sky Boys rewrote it to, as noted by Robert B. Waltz, give the tragic song a preudo-happy ending. It was also recorded by Carl Story & His Rambling Mountaineers, Lulu Belle & Scottie, and, on her first tribute to her mother, Kathy Kallick.
6. Red Clay Country
The song is a variant of the “Take This Hammer” song family, and was not widely recorded. Dodi likely learned it from Sandy Paton (who was the first to record Frank Profett), and Sandy told Art Thieme (as noted on mudcat) that Odetta recorded the song after getting it from Roger Abrahams.
7. Down In the Willow Garden
Also known as “Rose Conley” and "Rose Connelly," the melody resembles that of the Irish-American song, “Erin’s Green Shore,” as well as an Irish song titled “Rosin the Beau,” which also has many of the same lyrics sung by G.B. Grayson. Grayson & Whitter’s 1928 release brought it into old time country music. It was also released in 1937 by Wade Mainer & Zeke Morris, but it was the 1947 version by Charlie Monroe & His Kentucky Pardners that made the song well-known. It’s subsequently been released by The Osborne Brothers & Red Allen, The Everly Brothers, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Ian & Sylvia, Flatt & Scruggs, The New Lost City Ramblers, Peter Rowan, Dave Evans & Riverbend, David Grisman with the NBB, The Chieftains with Bon Iver, Ralph Stanley, Foghorn Stringband, and many others. Dodi recorded it informally, possibly at Fleming Brown's home, in 1963 with Hobart Smith playing fiddle.
Virginia’s Hobart Smith is probably best-known through his music with his sister, Texas Gladden, on a series of Library of Congress recordings in the 1940s – and his appearances at various folk festivals in the early ‘60s. A master of a number of instruments, Hobart participated in two notable 1963 recording sessions in Chicago. Some of these recordings have been released by Folk-Legacy and Smithsonian Folkways, but this track was unissued – until now.
8. My Home's Across the Blue Ridge Mountains
A traditional song that Ernest 'Pop’ Stoneman sometimes gets credit for bringing into old time country music consciousness. The first recording/release of this song was by the Carolina Tar Heels in 1929. Both the Carter Family and Delmore Brothers did so in the ‘30s, and it’s subsequently been released by Flatt & Scruggs; Doc Watson & Clarence Ashley; Pete Seeger; Joan Baez; Larry Richardson & the Blue Ridge Boys; Earl Taylor & Jim McCall with the Stoney Mountain Boys; Bob Paisley & The Southern Grass; the Bluegrass Album Band; Doug & Jack Wallin; Mike & Peggy Seeger; Frank Proffitt (as “I’m Going Back To North Carolina"); and, on her first tribute to her mother, Kathy Kallick. Dodi's version is from the Frank Proffitt Memorial concert held at the Old Town School Of Folk Music in 1966, and includes audience participation.
9. The Parting Glass
A Scottish traditional song that’s often sung at the end of a gathering of friends. Supposedly, it was the most popular song of farewell sung in Scotland before Robert Burns wrote "Auld Lang Syne.” It’s also been widely song in Ireland, and the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem’s 1959 recording was the likely source for Dodi. Some of the lyrics were in a collection of Scottish airs written between 1615 and 1635, and a portion of the first stanza was part of a 1605 poem now known as "Armstrong's Goodnight.” The first appearance of the lyrics in a broadside was in the 1770s, and the earliest known appearance of the music was in a 1782 collection of fiddle tunes. The "parting glass” — aka "stirrup cup” or "le coup de l’étrier”— was the final hospitality offered to a departing guest. Once they had mounted, they were presented a final drink to fortify them for their travels. Dodi sings this one a capella.
KATHY KALLICK (guitar, vocal) with
1. MOLLY TUTTLE (guitar, vocal): Put My Little Shoes Away
2. TRISTAN SCROGGINS (mandolin): Sittin' On Top of the World
3. CLIFF PERRY (guitar, vocal) & LAUREL BLISS (dobro, vocal): Little Moses
4. JIM HURST (guitar, vocal): Jimmy Brown the Newsboy
5. KATHY KALLICK BAND: Footprints In the Snow
Annie Staninec: fiddle; Tom Bekeny: mandolin; Greg Booth: banjo and dobro; Cary Black: bass
6. KATHY KALLICK BIG BAND:The Wild Side Of Life > It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels
Annie Staninec: fiddle; Tom Bekeny: mandolin; Greg Booth: dobro; Cary Black: bass + Paul Shelasky: fiddle; Juniper Waller: vocal; Riley Thompson vocal
7. ANNIE STANINEC (fiddle): Handsome Molly
8. MIKE COMPTON (mandolin, vocal) & JOE NEWBERRY (banjo, vocal): Farther Along
9. LAURIE LEWIS (fiddle, vocal) & SUZY THOMPSON (guitar, vocal): What Are They Doing In Heaven Today?
1. Put My Little Shoes Away
The song was first published in 1873 by composers Charles E. Pratt (music) and Samuel N. Mitchell (lyrics). Riley Puckett did the first recording of it (in 1926), but Henry Whitter was the first to release it. It’s also been released by Wilf Carter aka Montana Slim, "T" Texas Tyler, Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys, Girls Of the Golden West, The Everly Brothers (and the Billie Joe Armstrong-Norah Jones replication of the EB album), Rose Lee & Joe Maphis, Mac Wiseman, Donna Darlene & Shot Jackson, The Carroll County Ramblers, Woody Guthrie, and many others.
2. Sittin' on Top of the World
The most often-covered song in this collection was written by Walter Vinson, probably with Lonnie Chatmon, and recorded/released by the Mississippi Sheiks (Vinson, Chapmon, and Bo Carter) in 1930. Two of the most influential versions of the song were done by Bill Monroe (1957) and Howlin’ Wolf (1958), and they’re the primary sources for Dodi and Kathy. Other releases of the song came from bluegrass (Mac Wiseman, Jack Cooke with Ralph Stanley & the Clinch Mountain Boys, Jerry Garcia & the Hart Valley Drifters, Al Wood & the Smokey Ridge Boys, Country Cooking, Tom Adams & Michael Cleveland), old time (Doc Watson, Clint Howard & Fred Price, Hobart Smith, Jody Stecher & Kate Brislin, Carolina Chocolate Drops, Benton Flippen & The Smokey Valley Boys), western swing (Milton Brown & His Musical Brownies, Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys, Willie Nelson & Asleep at the Wheel, Jethro Burns), rock and country (Grateful Dead, Cream, Bob Dylan, Sleepy LaBeef, Carl Perkins, Chet Atkins, Jerry Reed), blues (Ray Charles Trio, Johnny Shines, Lowell Fulsom, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee, Taj Mahal, B.B. KIng, Robert Cray Band), and a myriad of other versions — including James "Blood" Ulmer with Alison Krauss.
3. Little Moses
A traditional gospel song, first collected in 1905 under the title “Moses in the Bullrushes” in “Ballads and Songs Collected by the Missouri Folklore Society.” Sara Carter learned it from a relative, Myrtle Bayes, and the Carter Family had the first release (in 1929) of the song. In the spirit of the folk tradition, Kathy wrote some additional lyrics to tell a bit more of the song's story. The song has also been released by Mac Wiseman; Joan Baez; Alex Campbell, Olabelle Reed & The New River Boys; Marley's Ghost; Robin & Linda Williams & Their Fine Group; Laura Boosinger; The Stairwell Sisters; and Bob Dylan.
4. Jimmie Brown, the Newsboy
The song was published, as “Jimmie Brown, the Paper Boy,” in 1875 by William Shakespeare Hays, who was also a riverboat captain and composer of more than 350 songs, including “You’ve Been a Friend to Me,” “I’ll Remember You Love in My Prayers,” “Little Old Cabin in the Lane,” and “Nobody’s Darling on Earth.” The Carter Family did the first commercial recording of the song in 1929, although it wasn’t released for two years. It’s possible that they learned the song from Leslie Riddle, as Hays’ final verses are omitted and there’s a new melody in the Carter Family version. In 1951, Flatt & Scruggs brought the song into bluegrass, featuring Earl’s Maybelle Carter-style of guitar playing, and including some new lyrics (the “Morning Star” and “Gospel News” verses). The song has also been released by Mac Wiseman; Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys; Roger Miller; Clarence White; Skeeter Davis; Bill Clifton; Bill Grant & Delia Bell & the Kiamichi Mountain Boys, Peter Rowan; Merle Haggard; and many others — including Pat Boone.
5. Footprints In the Snow
The author of this English music hall song was likely Harry Wright, who composed it in c.1880 under the title "Footmarks in the Snow.” The tune is similar, especially in the beginning, to "Little Stream of Whiskey,” and there was (in 1886) an alternate composer claim by Geo. Russell Jackson (lyrics) and C.W. Bennett (music). The song was supposedly first recorded on June 4, 1931, by Ernest Branch & the West Virginia Ramblers under the title "Little Foot Prints;" the first performance of the song under the title "I Traced Her Little Footmarks in the Snow” was by Witty Watty Walton, and the first release by Dave Walker, both also in 1931. Red Foley recorded it in 1934, Cliff Carlisle in 1939, and Bill Monroe, who’d likely learned it in the ‘30s when he was at the National Barn Dance in Chicago, first recorded it with the altered title "Footprints in the Snow” in 1945, and again in 1952, claiming authorship under one of his pseudonyms, Rupert Jones. The KKB’s version incorporates Kathy's Footmarks-inspired additional lyrics, and the arrangement is, of course, based on Big Mon’s.
6. The Wild Side Of Life > It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels
William Warren and Arlie Carter wrote "The Wild Side Of Life” lyrics off of Guy Massey’s "The Prisoner's Song,” which was first released in 1924 by Vernon Dalhart; the same melody was also used by the Carter Family in 1929 for "I'm Thinking Tonight of My Blue Eyes,” and by Rev. Guy Smith and later (1937), Roy Acuff for "Great Speckled Bird.” The first release of "Wild Side of Life” was by Jimmy Heap & the Melody Masters in 1951, and the hit version was released in 1952 by Hank Thompson & His Brazos Valley Boys.
"It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels” was written later in 1952 by J.D. (Jay) Miller, specifically as an "answer song” to "The Wild Side Of Life.” After some reluctance by radio stations to program a song considered “suggestive” at the time, the (relatively unknown) Kitty Wells had a 1952 hit with it; recorded at her first session for Decca, it was the first #1 Billboard Country hit by a solo female artist.
7. Handsome Molly
Possibly based on a song titled “The Irish Girl” that was published in Ireland in the 1820s, and sharing similarities with other “courting ballads” like "Lovely Molly,” Dark-Eyed Molly," and "Farewell Ballymoney,” it had undergone lyrical transformations by the time Cecil Sharp collected it in Virginia in 1918. G.B. Grayson and Henry Whitter were the first to record it, doing so at at their first session in 1927; since Grayson introduces them it it, it’s thought to be the first song recorded by this influential duo. The Stanley Brothers brought the song into bluegrass, where it’s also been done by the Country Gentlemen; Hylo Brown; Flatt & Scruggs (who added a chorus); Alex Campbell, Olabelle Reed, & The New River Boys; Glen Neaves; Charlie Moore & Bill Napier, Jerry Garcia & the Hart Valley Drifters; James Alan Shelton; and the David Grisman Bluegrass Experience. Old time versions of the song have been released by Harry & Jeanie West; Frank Proffitt; Doc Watson & Gaither Carlton; Mike Seeger; Wade Mainer; Norman Blake; and Dirk Powell, and it’s also been issued by Ian & Sylvia, Peggy Seeger, Bob Dylan, and, under the name “Dublin Blues,” Guy Clark, Townes Van Zandt, and Asleep at the Wheel.
8. Farther Along
The actual composer is unknown -- or at least disputed. The oldest known print edition is in the 1911 Church of God's "Select Hymns for Christian Worship and General Gospel Service,” with attribution only to the hymnal editor. In 1937, the Stamps-Baxter Music Company included the lyrics in a collection, with a musical arrangement by the composer (as well as publisher) J. R. Baxter, and it was recorded by the Burnette Sisters. W. B. Stephens, a Church of God preacher, heard the song on the radio and contacted Stamps-Baxter, claiming to be the author of the song. Stamps-Baxter credited Stephens as the song's author in subsequent publications, while maintaining credit for the arrangement. In 2008, James Greer claimed that his grandfather, an itinerant preacher named W. A. Fletcher, wrote the song in 1911 while traveling; J. R. Baxter was sitting next to Fletcher on the train, and supposedly was so taken with the lyrics that he offered Fletcher $2 for them and then added the music.
The first documented release of the song was in 1938 by J. H. Howell's Carolina Hillbillies, and it was subsequently issued by Roy Acuff & His Smoky Mountain Boys; Rex Allen & Patti Page; Ernest Tubb; Hank Williams; Sam Cooke & the Soul Stirrers; George Jones; Pete Seeger; Reno & Smiley; Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys; Mississippi John Hurt; The Stanley Brothers; Connie Smith; The Million Dollar Quartet (Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Carl Perkins); The Flying Burrito Brothers; Wanda Jackson; Ellen McIlwaine, Ike & Tina Turner (as "Father Alone”); Rose Maddox with The Vern Williams Band; Doc Watson; Ricky Skaggs & The Whites; Foghorn Stringband, and, yes, many others.
9. What Are They Doing in Heaven Today?
This song was written by American Methodist minister Charles Albert Tindley, who published it in 1901 as "What Are They Doing in Heaven?” The first known recording of it was in 1928 by Washington Phillips. It was subsequently recorded many times, by, among many others, the Golden Gate Quartet, Pilgrim Travelers, Dixie Hummingbirds, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Fairfield Four, Staple Singers, Little Jimmy Scott, and Jim Byrnes. The Lilly Brothers were the first to record (in 1948) the song in an old time/bluegrass style, and it was also done this way by Harry & Jeanie West, Jorma Kaukonen, Riley Baugus, John Reischman & the Jaybirds, Béla Fleck & Abigail Washburn, and others. Bruce Kallick believes that Dodi learned this song from folksinger Henry Moore.
DISC 2
DODI KALLICK (vocal, dulcimer - The Midnight Special, WFMT, 1966 or 1969 (except as noted)
1. What Are They Doing In Heaven Today?
2. I'm A Long Time Traveling
3. Cotton-Eyed Joe
4. One Hundred Miles
5. Row Us Over the Tide
6. Red Clay Country
7. Down In the Willow Garden
8. My Home's Across the Blue Ridge Mountains
9. The Parting Glass
1. What Are They Doing In Heaven Today?
See above.
2. I'm A Long Time Traveling
The song is found in 19th century Sacred Harp and Shape-Note Gospel collections, credited to Edmund Dumas (music) with words from John Dobell. Alternate titles include "288 White” and simply “White." Frank Profitt recorded it as "I'm a Long Time Travelling Here Below,” and he’s likely the source for Dodi. The song has also been released by Almeda Riddle, Grandpa Isom Ritchie's Church Congregation, Jean Ritchie, Addie Graham, the Red Clay Ramblers, Jody Stecher & Kate Brislin, Anna & Elizabeth, the Wailin’ Jennys, the Crooked Jades, the Kathy Kallick Band, and Annie Staninec.
3. Cotton-Eyed Joe
The origins of this tune/song are unclear, although it clearly pre-dates the American Civil War. The original tune for "Cotton-Eyed Joe" was probably the Scottish piece called "General Burgoyne's March” aka “Quick Step General Burgoyne,” the title(s) referring to a British officer who surrendered in 1777 during the American Revolutionary War. There’s a reference to the song in a fictional piece in a 1875 issue of the Saturday Evening Post, and Harper & Brothers published a version of "Cotton Eyed Joe" in 1882. Both the dance tune and the song had many variants, with verses, often floaters, attached and called to the dancers. Where and when these verses originated is difficult to determine, but this was a party and dance song common among both black and white musicians. It's been widely recorded, including by Kathy Kallick on her earlier tribute to Dodi and by the Kathy Kallick Band, in part as a vehicle for Annie Staninec's extraordinary fiddling.
4. One Hundred Miles
This is part of a huge song family that also includes (I’m) Nine Hundred Miles (Away) From My Home (first recorded/released by Fiddlin' John Carson in 1924), Train 45 (first recorded/released by Grayson & Whitter in 1928), 500 Miles (Hedy West), Rueben (Flatt & Scruggs), and others. The earliest recording of a song under the "100 Miles" title was by Glen Campbell & the Green River Boys in 1962, and they credited the song to Hedy West. Frank Proffitt, who incorporated many Grayson & Whitter songs into his repertoire and noted that this is "one of the oldest simple banjo tunes," is, again, the likely source for Dodi. Dodi plays guitar instead of dulcimer on this one.
5. Row Us Over the Tide
E.C. Avis claimed to have published the song in 1888, the lyrics possibly based on the 1878 yellow fever epidemic in which at least 20,000 people died, mostly along the Mississippi River. The first recording and first release (in 1927) was by Bela Lam & His Greene County Singers, followed later that year by Kelly Harrell - Henry Norton with Virginia String Band. In 1936, the Blue Sky Boys rewrote it to, as noted by Robert B. Waltz, give the tragic song a preudo-happy ending. It was also recorded by Carl Story & His Rambling Mountaineers, Lulu Belle & Scottie, and, on her first tribute to her mother, Kathy Kallick.
6. Red Clay Country
The song is a variant of the “Take This Hammer” song family, and was not widely recorded. Dodi likely learned it from Sandy Paton (who was the first to record Frank Profett), and Sandy told Art Thieme (as noted on mudcat) that Odetta recorded the song after getting it from Roger Abrahams.
7. Down In the Willow Garden
Also known as “Rose Conley” and "Rose Connelly," the melody resembles that of the Irish-American song, “Erin’s Green Shore,” as well as an Irish song titled “Rosin the Beau,” which also has many of the same lyrics sung by G.B. Grayson. Grayson & Whitter’s 1928 release brought it into old time country music. It was also released in 1937 by Wade Mainer & Zeke Morris, but it was the 1947 version by Charlie Monroe & His Kentucky Pardners that made the song well-known. It’s subsequently been released by The Osborne Brothers & Red Allen, The Everly Brothers, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Ian & Sylvia, Flatt & Scruggs, The New Lost City Ramblers, Peter Rowan, Dave Evans & Riverbend, David Grisman with the NBB, The Chieftains with Bon Iver, Ralph Stanley, Foghorn Stringband, and many others. Dodi recorded it informally, possibly at Fleming Brown's home, in 1963 with Hobart Smith playing fiddle.
Virginia’s Hobart Smith is probably best-known through his music with his sister, Texas Gladden, on a series of Library of Congress recordings in the 1940s – and his appearances at various folk festivals in the early ‘60s. A master of a number of instruments, Hobart participated in two notable 1963 recording sessions in Chicago. Some of these recordings have been released by Folk-Legacy and Smithsonian Folkways, but this track was unissued – until now.
8. My Home's Across the Blue Ridge Mountains
A traditional song that Ernest 'Pop’ Stoneman sometimes gets credit for bringing into old time country music consciousness. The first recording/release of this song was by the Carolina Tar Heels in 1929. Both the Carter Family and Delmore Brothers did so in the ‘30s, and it’s subsequently been released by Flatt & Scruggs; Doc Watson & Clarence Ashley; Pete Seeger; Joan Baez; Larry Richardson & the Blue Ridge Boys; Earl Taylor & Jim McCall with the Stoney Mountain Boys; Bob Paisley & The Southern Grass; the Bluegrass Album Band; Doug & Jack Wallin; Mike & Peggy Seeger; Frank Proffitt (as “I’m Going Back To North Carolina"); and, on her first tribute to her mother, Kathy Kallick. Dodi's version is from the Frank Proffitt Memorial concert held at the Old Town School Of Folk Music in 1966, and includes audience participation.
9. The Parting Glass
A Scottish traditional song that’s often sung at the end of a gathering of friends. Supposedly, it was the most popular song of farewell sung in Scotland before Robert Burns wrote "Auld Lang Syne.” It’s also been widely song in Ireland, and the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem’s 1959 recording was the likely source for Dodi. Some of the lyrics were in a collection of Scottish airs written between 1615 and 1635, and a portion of the first stanza was part of a 1605 poem now known as "Armstrong's Goodnight.” The first appearance of the lyrics in a broadside was in the 1770s, and the earliest known appearance of the music was in a 1782 collection of fiddle tunes. The "parting glass” — aka "stirrup cup” or "le coup de l’étrier”— was the final hospitality offered to a departing guest. Once they had mounted, they were presented a final drink to fortify them for their travels. Dodi sings this one a capella.