--{ Track Listing }--
1 I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate 2:39
2 Precious Lord 1:56
3 Old Folks at Home 3:42
4 Bearcat Blues 2:48
5 C Medley 2:53
6 In the Sweet Bye and Bye/Keep On the Sunny Side 3:26
7 Soldier's Joy 1:57
8 When Johnny Comes Marching Home/Johnny I Hardly Knew Ya 3:30
9 America the Beautiful 2:19
10 Home On the Range 3:26
11 Hard Times 4:36
12 My Baby’s So Sweet 4:11
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--{ Credits }--
Produced by John Thomas, Eric Tate and Lauren Sheehan
Engineered by Eric Tate
Recorded May 2012 and November 2012 at Firehouse 12 Studio, New Haven, CT
Mastered by Charlie Pilzer at Air Show, Takoma Park, MD
Design by Joseph Chaijaroen of Asmble
Photography by Robert Corwin, Rich Duby and John Thomas
Printing by Stumptown Printers and Brown Printing
Wilson River Records 503-224-6729
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--{ Track Descriptions }--
1 I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate 2:39 • Armand J. Piron, 1922
I thought the gals might have known this fun song and it’s part of my heritage, too. Nancy Carling, my mother, learned it from her father and sang it around the house.and this version is from Johnnie Ward, Portland, OR.
Guitar: 1943 Southerner Jumbo, Factory Order Number (FON) 2426-13, mahogany back and sides and Adirondack spruce top.
2 Precious Lord 1:56 • George Allen, 1844 (words Tomas Dorsey, 1932)
I learned this hymn from John Jackson, a wonderful picker and National Heritage Fellow who played a Gibson J45 and was an inspiration to me.
Guitar: 1942 LG-2, FON 2122-38, mahogany back and sides and Adirondack spruce top.
3 Old Folks at Home 3:42 • Stephen Foster, 1861
I was on my way to celebrate my mother’s 80th birthday in Florida just before recording this CD and this seemed a wonderful song for both occasions. It happens to be one of the most culturally complicated songs I do. It is well known and loved all over the country, even as it is rooted in the racism that is part of our national heritage. I’ve decided to live with the problems of this song.
Guitar: 1943 LG-1, FON 7706H-25, all-mahogany construction.
4 Bearcat Blues 2:48 • Trad
I heard John Jackson play this on his J45 The song has an old fashioned quirky form that worked well on the Banner SJ.
Guitar: 1944 J-45, FON 2944-18, laminated maple backhand sides and Sitka spruce top.
5 C Medley 2:53 • Trad
These pieces were inspired from Etta Baker (1913 -2006), a Piedmont blues guitarist and singer from North Carolina.
Guitars: Going Down the Road Feeling Bad (1944 J-45, FON 2944-18, laminated maple backhand sides and Sitka spruce top), Railroad Rill (1944 J-45, FON 1012, all mahogany construction), Don't Let Your Deal Go Down (1943 LG-2, FON 2521-18, mahogany back and sides and four piece Adirondack spruce top).
6 In the Sweet Bye and Bye/Keep On the Sunny Side 3:26 • Sanford F. Bennett/Joseph P. Webster, 1868, Blenkthorn/Entwise, 1902
These songs are period pieces I think the gals would have liked and possibly known.
Guitar: 1945 LG-2, FON 642, mahogany back and sides and Sitka spruce top.
7 Soldier's Joy 1:57 • Trad
One of our oldest and most widely distributed tunes. In spite of its upbeat tempo and catchy melody, the title refers to the combination of whiskey, beer, and morphine used by Civil War soldiers.
Guitars: John Schwab, rhythm guitar, 1943 L-50, No FON, maple back and sides and Adirondack spruce top; Lauren, lead guitar, 1943 Southerner Jumbo, FON 2110-8, mahogany back and sides and Adirondack spruce top.
8 When Johnny Comes Marching Home/Johnny I Hardly Knew Ya 3:30 • Patrick Sarsfield Gil, 1863, Trad Irish
WWII was the reason that most of the women were at the factory, we had this guitar that had been to the front and a beautiful pairing of old songs for a timeless commentary on war.
Guitar: 1943 Southerner Jumbo, FON unreadable, mahogany back and sides and Adirondack spruce top. This guitar lived the life that the song dramatizes. After purchasing this Southerner Jumbo in 1943, the original owner took the guitar to the European front and the instruments bears the scars of its trying, early years.
9 America the Beautiful 2:19 • Katherine Lee Bates/Samuel Ward, 1913
When I learned that the words to this were composed after Ms. Bates climbed Pike’s Peak it seemed the perfect patriotic song for this project. And as I played it I felt it slip into what I can only describe as a prayer.
Guitar: 1942 J-45, FON 923-45, mahogany back and sides and Adirondack spruce top.
10 Home On the Range 3:26 • Brewster M. Hlgley/Daniel Kelley, 1873 (Lomax, 1910)
Here is an old cowboy song Gene Autry recorded and one that I have sung with cowboys out west.
Guitar: 1943 J-45, FON 2221-23. Several of the dozen women I interviewed reported that music stars of the day often stopped by the Gibson factory to place custom orders, pick up guitars, and pick a few tunes. But, the only name any of them could remember was Gene Autry. So, we had to do at least one Gene Autry tune.
11 Hard Times 4:36 • Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, 2011
A new song touching on themes of hardship and hope, so similar to the stories the gals told from their lives.
Guitar: 1943 Southerner Jumbo, FON 910, East Indian rosewood back and sides an Adirondack spruce top.
12 My Baby’s So Sweet 4:11 • Trad
This version was influenced by Cephas and Wiggins, but in the studio, I felt like I was channeling Skip James. The guitar sound is exquisite.
Guitar: 1943 Southerner Jumbo, FON 2735-12, mahogany back and sides and four piece Adirondack spruce top.
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