Marking The Trail: One Melody’s Journey Through American Music – Part Five

Posted on August 16, 2023 by sixstrstories

At the end of the trail, looking back.

“Sitting On Top Of The World” & “Things ‘Bout Coming My Way” made their entrance into my musical consciousness thanks to two items I purchased somewhere back in the mid-to-late 1970’s.

One was a songbook and the other was a 12″ vinyl LP.

Since I can’t remember which one came first, I’ll start with the LP.

Any Old Wind That Blows…

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…was an album released in 1975 on Philo Records by Arkansas-born, singer/guitarist/songwriter Jim Ringer (1936-1992).

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Any Old Wind That Blows was Jim’s third album, his first coming out in 1972.

The last track on the second side was “Sittin’ On Top Of The World,” with the songwriting credit given to: Traditional. Jim provided the vocals and rhythm guitar; Alfred Gertler played bass; and the bottleneck slide guitar part was by Martin Grosswendt in this timeless and truly outstanding performance.

BTW#1: Mr. Grosswendt’s gorgeous introductory statement of the melody in this recording sits deep in my heart as the inspiration for my beginning the on-going process of learning how to play slide guitar.

Take it, boys.

  

That recording of “Sitting On Top Of The World” led me to the discovery of a whole array of dazzling and inspirational covers, as well as the Mississippi Sheiks’ original.

The “Sitting On Top Of The World” playlist in my iTunes library presently includes versions by:

  • Doc Watson
  • Ray Charles
  • Bill Monroe
  • Howlin’ Wolf
  • the Grateful Dead
  • Chet Atkins
  • Cream
  • The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
  • Bob Dylan
  • Sweet Honey In The Rock
  • Bill Frisell
  • Richard Shindell
  • Carolina Chocolate Drops
  • B.B. King.

Every single one of those is very highly recommended listening.

BTW#2: If you’ve been wondering where the “…Through American Music” part of my title for this series of posts came from, take a few minutes and figure out all the genres that are represented by the artists/bands in that list. I think you’ll see what I mean.

Now, the songbook.

Jerry Silverman’s Folk Song Encyclopedia, Volume 2 (1975, Chappell Music)…

…has proven itself to be one of the most valuable and often-referenced books in my library.

The first section of the contents in Volume 2 is titled: Blues And Jazz.

Page 26 is where I found “Things About Comin’ My Way.”

I learned how to play “Things About Comin’ My Way” from that transcription. But when I finally heard the Mississippi Sheiks recording of it, I pondered the differences between the two in both the lyrics and the chord progression.

The mystery remained until I discovered a recording of “Things About Comin’ My Way” by Josh White.

Joshua Daniel White (1914-1969)…

…was born in Greenville, South Carolina. His illustrious, successful and very influential career as a recording artist and performer began in 1928 and extended into 1969.

He first recorded “Things About Coming My Way” in 1932 under the name: Joshua White & His Guitar.  

He recorded the song again in 1960 for an album on Elektra Records titled: Spirituals & Blues. Bassist Bill Lee and drummer Walter Perkins accompany Josh’s guitar and vocals on this very cool and Jazz-influenced recording. (It even has a bass solo!)

 

In conclusion…

I will be forever grateful to Jim Ringer for introducing me to “Sitting On Top Of The World” and Jerry Silverman for introducing me to “Things About Comin’ My Way.”

I have musician, author, historian and educator Elijah Wald to thank for pointing me in the direction of “You Got To Reap What You Sow.” In his liner notes to the revelatory 2004 Yazzo Records CD, Back To The Crossroads: The Roots of Robert Johnson, Mr. Wald wrote this about “Sitting On Top Of The World” (one of the tracks on the CD): “Its success seems to have inspired Tampa Red, who had already recorded the same melody as an instrumental called ‘You Got To Reap What You Sow.'”

I opened the first post of this series back on June 18 with a quote from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart:

“Melody is the essence of music.”

Well, for my money, no contemporary guitarist plays a melody like Bill Frisell…

William Richard “Bill” Frisell was born in 1951 in Baltimore, Maryland. His debut solo album – In Line – came out in 1983 on the ECM label. His fifteenth album – The Willies – came out on Nonesuch Records in 2002. 

The lead track on The Willies is “Sittin’ On Top Of The World.”

Bill Frisell plays electric and acoustic guitar on the album. He is accompanied by Danny Barnes on banjo, acoustic guitar, bass harmonica and pump organ and Keith Lowe on bass.

This a joyous rendering; a most fitting final mark.

Happy trails. Thanks for tagging along.

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Marking The Trail: One Melody’s Journey Through American Music – Part Four

Posted on August 5, 2023 by sixstrstories

Back on the trail!

Walter Vinson/Vincson/Jacobs’ melody to “Sitting On Top Of The World”/”Things ‘Bout Coming My Way,” soon became a popular one to borrow. I know of four now-legendary Bluesmen from the 1930’s  who each put it to very good use.

The First.

William Lee Conley “Big Bill” Broonzy (1898-1958)…

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…recorded a song he called “Worrying You Off My Mind” for the American Record Corporation on March 29, 1932.

Big Bill wrote six verses to the familiar melody (set in the Key of Eb, but with his guitar tuned down a half step and Bill using Key of E chord fingerings) and each verse ending with the lines: “So when I’m gone / I’ll take it easy / ‘Cause I’m just worryin’ you off of my mind.”

Big Bill Broonzy was an outstanding vocalist and even-better guitar player. This performance features brilliant guitar solos in the intro and in-between the fourth and fifth verses.

Enjoy!

Mississippi-born, professionally based in Chicago, Big Bill Broonzy made his debut recording in 1927 and did his last recordings in 1957. As a songwriter, he copyrighted more than 300 songs over the course of his career. He is rightfully revered as one of the key figures in the development of Blues music in the 20th Century.

The Second.

Arthur “Blind Blake” Phelps (Blake?) [1896(93?)-1934]…

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…recorded a song he called “Depression’s Gone From Me Blues” for Paramount Records sometime in June of 1932.

Blind Blake also penned six verses of lyrics to go with our featured melody (set here in the Key of E, with the guitar tuned to standard pitch), with the last line of each verse being (mostly): “Now she’s gone / I ain’t worryin’ / For depression’s done gone from me.”

Blind Blake was a phenomenal fingerstyle guitarist and on this recording his playing shines brightly throughout, but especially in the intro and on the three solos (!) scattered among the verses.

Here he is!

Arthur Phelps (Blake?) was born in Jacksonville, Florida and spent parts of his professional life in Chicago, Illinois. He recorded 80 sides between 1926 – 1932 for Paramount Records, located in Grafton, Wisconsin. Those recordings have earned him the distinction of being known as “Ragtime Guitar’s Foremost Fingerpicker” and “The Master of the Ragtime Guitar.”

The Third.

Admirl Amos “Bumble Bee Slim” Easton (1905-1968)…

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…and His Three Sharks recorded a song they called “Someday Things Will Be Breaking My Way” among the eight sides they cut for Vocalion Records on March 22, 1934.

Bumble Bee Slim’s song is in the Key of G and has six verses, each ending with the lines: “But that’s alright / I’m still singing’ / Someday things will be breakin’ my way.”

Instrumentally, this recording features Bumble Bee Slim on vocals and (maybe) guitar, along with unknown musicians playing piano and mandolin.

Check it out!

Amos Easton was born in Georgia, moving to Indianapolis, Indiana at the age of 23. There he met and was influenced by Leroy Carr and Scrapper Blackwell. (Remember them? See: Part 1.) He relocated to Chicago in 1931 and made his first recordings for the Paramount label. Over the next six years he recorded for numerous record labels, amassing a catalogue of over 150 recordings. He also occasionally  served as accompanist to Big Bill Broonzy and Tampa Red. Bumble Bee Slim’s last album was released in 1962.

The Fourth.

Robert Johnson (1911-1938)…

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…recorded a song he called “Come On In My Kitchen” in his first recording session. The session was for Vocalion Records and took place at The Gunter Hotel in San Antonio, Texas, on November 23, 1936.

Johnson’s song is in the Key of Bb (played using a bottleneck slide with his guitar in Open Ab tuning and capoed at the second fret) and has five verses. Each verse ends with the lines: “You better come on / in my kitchen / for it’s goin’ to be rainin’ outdoors.”

This is a classic.

Robert Johnson’s legacy as the King of the Delta Blues Singers and one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century is based entirely on the collection of 29 songs that he recorded – using just his guitar and his voice – over the course of the three recording sessions in San Antonio in November, 1936 and two that were held in Dallas, Texas in June, 1937.

So there you have it: four songs built on the melody of “Sitting On Top Of The World,” “Things ‘Bout Coming My Way” and harkening back to “You Got To Reap What You Sow.”

Just to let you know, this kind of “borrowing” among songwriters was quite common back in the 1930’s.

As Ted Gioia wrote in his exceptional 2008 book, Delta Blues, about the singer/guitarist Booker T. Washington “Bukka” White [1900 (09?) – 1977]: “White had recorded ‘Shake ‘Em on Down’ (in 1937), a big seller that had been quickly imitated by a host of other Blues players. A few months later Big Bill Broonzy had an even bigger hit covering the song, and before you knew it, half the Blues artists in Chicago had a knock-off version…. ‘Ride ’em on Down’ or ‘Break ‘Em on Down’ or ‘Truck ‘Em on Down.'”

Now, that would be quite the trail to travel on down!

Coming up in Part 5: My favorite covers.

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Marking The Trail: One Melody’s Journey Through American Music – Part Three

Posted on June 24, 2023 by sixstrstories

The journey continues. But first, a divergence.

“Things ‘Bout Coming My Way” soon began to blaze a trail of its own.

On February 10, 1931 – twenty-two days after Sam Hill From Louisville (aka Walter Vinson) cut the inaugural recording – Tampa Red and Georgia Tom (Remember them? If not, turn back to Part Two) laid down their cover of “Things ‘Bout Coming My Way” in Chicago for Vocalion Records.

The record label of Vocalion #1637 lists the performer of “Thing ‘Bout Coming My Way” as “Tampa Red – ‘The Guitar Wizard’,” the performance as featuring “Vocal with Guitar and Piano” and the songwriter as “Hill.”

Here it is!

It then took slightly more than eight months for Walter Vinson to get together with Lonnie Chatmon and record “Things About Comin’ My Way” as the Mississippi Sheiks. (Again: See Part 2)

The deed was done on October 24, 1931 in Atlanta, Georgia for OKeh Records.

The record label on this 78 rpm disc – OKeh #8922 – lists the performer of “Things About Comin’ My Way” as “Mississippi Sheiks,” the performance as featuring “Vocal with Fiddle and Guitar Acc.” and the songwriter as “Jacobs.”

Check it out!

If you have a few minutes, go back to Part Two and listen again to “Sitting On Top of the World.”

Amazing, huh? Nearly identical!

Speaking of “Sitting On Top of the World,” the Mississippi Sheiks recorded a follow-up/remake/sequel to that immensely popular song of theirs. They called it “Sitting On Top of the World No. 2” The recording session took place on December 15, 1930 at the now-legendary King Edward Hotel in Jackson, Mississippi.

Likewise, Tampa Red & Georgia Tom recorded “Things ‘Bout Coming My Way No. 2” in New York City on February 4, 1932.

The record label of Vocalion #1699 lists the performer of “Things ‘Bout Coming My Way No. 2” as just “Tampa Red” (not “The Guitar Wizard” this time!), the performance as featuring “Vocal with Guitar and Piano” and the songwriter as “Williams.”

Give a listen! Tampa Red is just as wizardly as always on this track.

So, I hope you enjoyed this divergence into these three recordings of “Things ‘Bout Coming My Way.” Recordings like this are quite fascinating to me and as my motto says: “Good music doesn’t get old.”

Coming up in Part Four: Four years further down the trail.

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Marking The Trail: One Melody’s Journey Through American Music – Part Two

Posted on June 21, 2023 by sixstrstories

The journey continues: Rising to a higher elevation.

Mississippi Sheiks was a string band from Bolton, Mississippi.

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[Pictured, L-R: Armenter “Bo Carter” Chatmon (1893/4-1964), Alonzo “Lonnie” Chatmon (1890-1942) & Walter Vinson/Vincson (1901-1975).]

They made their first recordings on February 17, 1930 in Shreveport, Louisiana for OKeh Records.

The fourth of the six songs they recorded that day, the one that would eventually become their greatest hit, was called “Sitting On Top Of The World.”

The song was written and performed by singer/guitarist Walter Vinson and violinist Lonnie Chatmon. (For some reason, the copyright registration of “Sitting On Top Of The World” lists the composers as being Walter Jacobs & Lonnie Carter.)

Check it out!

“Sitting On Top Of The World” is part of this journey because its melody bears more than a passing resemblance to the melody of “You Got To Reap What You Sow.” Initially, both tunes are in 4/4 time and a major key (A flat for “You Got To Reap…” and F for “Sitting…”); make use of flatted “Blues” notes and a “swing” or triplet-based rhythm; and are built out of seven melodic phrases.

But that’s not all, folks! Take a look.

(For those of you who can read standard music notation, I transcribed the first verse of both songs from the original recordings, putting each in the key of G for a more direct visual comparison.)

Here is the first verse of “You Got To Reap What You Sow” by Leroy Carr.

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And here is the first verse of “Sitting On Top Of The World” by Mississippi Sheiks.

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Comparing the melodies phrase by phrase, there really are a number of similarities. One is in the notes that some of the phrases end on.

For instance, each second phrase (“I want you to know” and “and all the fall”) ends on a B natural note; and then each third phrase (“you got to reap baby” and “just tryin’ to find my”) and fourth phrase (“just what you sow” and “little all and all”) ends on a G.

There are also rhythmic similarities, with most phrases in each tune ending on the first downbeat of a measure and the frequent use of eighth-note triplets.

The big difference, however, lies between the seventh phrase of the two melodies.

“You Got To Reap What You Sow” ends with a two beat phrase and the lyric “what you sow.”

“Sitting On Top Of The World” ends with an elongated five beat phrase. The lyric – “I’m sitting on top of the world” – mandates this extension. The change in the last phrase results in the lengthening of the entire melody (and chord progression) to nine measures for “Sitting On Top Of The World” as compared to the eight measures of “You Got To Reap What You Sow.”

Here again is “You Got To Reap What You Sow.”

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Over the next five years, Mississippi Sheiks – often including Bo Carter/Chatmon, Sam Chatmon and others – recorded about 70 original tunes and became the most important, popular and successful string band of the 1930’s.

“Sitting On Top Of The World” has been covered by a near-countless number of artists including Ray Charles, Bill Monroe, Howling Wolf, Doc Watson, The Grateful Dead, Cream, Bob Dylan, Sweet Honey In The Rock, Bill Frisell, Richard Shindell and Jack White.

Along with Leroy Carr’s “How Long – How Long Blues,” it was the other of the first two songs that Muddy Waters mastered on the guitar.

“Sitting On Top Of The World” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2008 and selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress in 2018.

____________________________________________

The trail takes a turn.

Charlie (or Charley) Patton (1891-1934)…

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… was born in Hinds County, Mississippi. He was a friend of, played music with and was possibly related to, the Chatmon brothers.

The singer, guitarist and songwriter made a recording for Paramount Records on May 28, 1930 in Grafton, Wisconsin of a song called “Some Summer Day.”

The melody of “Some Summer Day” is virtually identical to the melody of “Sitting On Top Of The World.” The lyrics of the last phrase are: “‘Cause he’s stealing here some summer day.”

Here you go!

Charley Patton made his first recordings on June 14, 1929 and his last on January 31, 1934. The fifty-eight sides that he produced over those years have established him as not only the Father of the Delta Blues, but possibly one of the most important American musicians of the 20th century.

____________________________________________

One good turn deserves another.

Walter Vinson liked the melody of “Sitting On Top Of The World” so much that he wrote another set of lyrics for it. He called his new song “Things ‘Bout Coming My Way.”

He liked his new song so much that he couldn’t wait to record it with the Mississippi Sheiks and recorded it instead – on January 19, 1931 – as “Sam Hill from Louisville.” Walter sang and played guitar on the recording and he was joined by “Papa” Charlie McCoy (1909-1950) on slide guitar.

“But after all / by my hard travelin’ / things about comin’ my way.”

Give a listen! (This has some great guitar work!)

Coming up in Part 3: A divergence.

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Marking The Trail: One Melody’s Journey Through American Music – Part One

Posted on June 18, 2023 by sixstrstories

“Melody is the essence of music.”

   Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
(1756-1791)

The trailhead.

Leroy Carr (1904-1935) – singer, pianist, songwriter, performer and recording artist – was one of the most prolific, popular and influential Blues musicians of the 1930’s.

Leroy and his musical partner, guitarist Francis Hillman “Scrapper” Blackwell (1903-1962)…

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…cut their first record, “How Long – How Long Blues,” on June 19, 1928 for Vocalion Records.

Released in early August, 1928, the song’s immediate popularity sent the Indianapolis, Indiana-based duo back into the recording studio where, on August 14, they recorded six new songs including a Carr original called “You Got To Reap What You Sow.”

“You Got To Reap What You Sow” is in the key of A-flat major and in 4/4 time. Its melody is built out of seven short phrases and is eight measures long. Lyrically, there are six verses set to this melody, each concluding with the line: “But you got to reap / just what / what you sow.”

Give a listen!

“You Got To Reap What You Sow” b/w “Truthful Blues” was Carr and Blackwell’s fourth release on the Vocalion label.

BTW: This song has no relationship at all with the similarly-titled “You Shall Reap Just What You Sow” – a song written by Alexander Robinson (1894-1970) and recorded by vocalist Alberta Hunter (1895-1984) in 1923.

                   __________________________________________               

The journey begins: the first cover.

Hudson “Tampa Red” Whittaker (1903-1981) – aka “The Guitar Wizard” – was a Chicago-based Blues singer, songwriter, kazoo player and slide guitarist whose recording career also started in 1928.

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Tampa Red’s first big hit was “It’s Tight Like That,” co-written and recorded (on October 24, 1928) with pianist Thomas A. “Georgia Tom” Dorsey (1899-1993). The record is estimated to have eventually sold over seven million copies.

Tampa Red frequently showcased his distinctive and stunning slide guitar skills on solo instrumental recordings. An early one of those was his June 22, 1929 cover of Leroy Carr’s “You Got To Reap What You Sow.”

On this recording, Tampa Red plays a National steel-bodied resonator guitar in Open D tuning. He reportedly used a short, glass “bottleneck” slide worn on the pinky finger of his left hand. After a brief fingerpicked introduction, he plays the melody – just the melody – adding a bass note or two, a strummed bit of a chord, to fill in the spaces between each of the phrases and rhythmically complete the eight measures of Carr’s composition.

Then Tampa Red plays it all again, and again; a total of ten times – each time slightly but brilliantly different in articulation and timing.  

Listen for yourself!

Tampa Red’s recording career extended into the 1960’s, but the bulk of his recordings were made between 1928 and 1953. Document Records needed 15 volumes to gather all of those recordings together for their CD series: “Tampa Red: In Chronological Order.”

Coming up in Part 2: Rising to a higher elevation.

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Last Thursday

Posted on April 23, 2023 by sixstrstories

I heard the motorcycle approaching from my left when I was about twenty paces from the crosswalk.

The pedestrians ahead of me had paused to let a few cars go by – something that actually happens on occasion in this small New Hampshire town – resulting in the Harley becoming the caboose of a slow-moving but short train of traffic.

The man driving the motorcycle was bearded, approximately middle-aged and looking very relaxed. He wore sunglasses, a military-style helmet and a particularly bright, multi-colored paisley jacket.

I didn’t hear his music until he was just past the crosswalk.

“Saw my baby down by the river. Knew she’d have to come up soon for air.”

Perfect.

I watched, smiling, as he drove off up the street, and walked on into the sunshine daydream of a now very cool April afternoon.

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Sparklers: “Tootie Blues” by Paul Geremia

Posted on April 8, 2023 by sixstrstories

This is the tenth installment of this category featuring recordings of outstanding performances by noteworthy guitarists – or – outstanding guitarists giving noteworthy performances.

Good day, Viewers & Readers! Let me introduce you to…

“Tootie Blues” by Paul Geremia.

Give a listen. (You’ll be glad you did!)

That recording was released in March 2004 on Paul’s Red House Records album Love, Murder & Mosquitos.

The song “Tootie Blues” was originally recorded in 1928 on Paramount Records by Blind Blake, the master Piedmont Blues fingerpicking guitarist & singer from Jacksonville, Florida.

Paul Geremia was born on April 21, 1944 in Providence, Rhode Island. He recorded his first album – “Just Enough” – in 1968 for Folkways Records and his eleventh and most recent one – “Love My Stuff” – in 2011 for Red House.

His phenomenal skill as a 6 and 12-string acoustic guitarist and his passionate dedication to keeping the timeless music of the Country Blues players of the 1920’s and 1930’s alive and very well has made him a truly legendary artist.

If listening to that performance of “Tootie Blues” from Love, Murder & Mosquitos did not convince you that Paul Geremia was at one time “the greatest living performer of the East Coast and Texas fingerpicking and slide styles,” but also “a national treasure,” then maybe watching him perform it will do the trick.

The following video is from the 2007 Vestapol Productions DVD Guitar Artistry of Paul Geremia – Six & Twelve String Blues.

Enjoy. (Watch his fingers! Whew!)

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A Very Historic Day In Music: Doc Watson

Posted on March 2, 2023 by sixstrstories

I may be a little early getting to the party, but I did not want to risk missing the day and have not posted something!

100 years ago – on March 3, 1923 – Arthel Lane “Doc” Watson was born in Deep Gap, North Carolina.

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Doc Watson is one of my all-time favorite guitarists. His playing – both flat-picking and finger-style – is unparalleled; simply the purest sound I’ve ever heard anyone coax from an acoustic guitar.

There are so many recordings that I could include here, trying to pay some small tribute to this great musician, but I’m going to go with the two recordings that Doc made of one of my favorite songs.

In 1965, Doc recorded “Rising Sun Blues” along with his son, Merle, and released it on the album titled Doc Watson & Son. Merle was 15 years old when he recorded this record with his Dad; the debut album for the duo who went on to make music for the next 21 years.

Doc wrote in The Songs of Doc Watson (1971, Oak Publications) that their arrangement of “Rising Sun Blues” was “influenced ninety-five percent” by the version he learned from his old friend, Clarence “Tom” Ashley. (Ashely recorded the original version with his friend, Gwen Foster, in 1933.)

In 1999, Doc and his grandson, Richard, recorded “House of the Rising Sun” and included it on their album, Third Generation Blues. Richard, son of Merle, was 33 years old when he recorded this album with Doc.

If you enjoyed listening to those half as much as I do, you just had really nice time.

Doc Watson gave his last performance was on April 29, 2012 when he played with the Nashville Bluegrass Band at MerleFest in Wilkesboro, North Carolina.

He passed away on May 29, 2012 at the age of 89.

Thank you, Doc. May your music live forever.

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This Historic Day In Music: “Dixieland Jass Band One-Step” & “Livery Stable Blues”

Posted on February 26, 2023 by sixstrstories

On Monday, February 26, 1917, five musicians – pianist Henry Ragas, clarinetist Larry Shields, trombonist Eddie Edwards, cornetist Nick LaRocca and drummer Tony Sbarbaro – gathered in the New York City recording studio of the Victor Talking Machine Company.

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This quintet was known as the Original Dixieland Jass Band and that day they recorded two of their original compositions: “Dixieland Jass Band One-Step” and “Livery Stable Blues.”

Victor Records released those recordings in May 1917 on a 10-inch, 78 rpm disc, #18255. “Dixieland Jass Band One-Step” was labeled as the A-side; “Livery Stable Blues” was the B-side.

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That record stands today as the first recording of Jazz music ever released.

The First.

Check those sides out for yourself!

In late 1917, the spelling of the band’s name was changed to: Original Dixieland Jazz Band.

The original quintet made several more recordings over the next year for three different companies: Columbia, Aeolian-Vocalion and Victor.

However, in 1918, Eddie Edwards was drafted, serving in the United States Army through the end of World War I and Henry Ragas died of influenza in February 1919 during what is now known as the 1918 Flu Pandemic.

The replenished line-up of the Original Dixieland Jazz Band finally disbanded after recording two last sides for OKeh Records on April 20, 1923.

I hope you enjoyed those recordings as much as I do. As I’ve always said: “Good music doesn’t get old.”

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Sparklers: “Greensleeves” by Jeff Beck

Posted on January 31, 2023 by sixstrstories

This is the ninth installment of this category featuring recordings of outstanding performances by noteworthy guitarists – or – outstanding guitarists giving noteworthy performances.

Truth – the 1968 debut solo album by Jeff Beck – was an early addition to my record collection.

I listened to it often and enjoyed it so much that when Truth and a handful of other LPs were stolen one day from the back of my parent’s station wagon, I went out as soon as I could and bought another copy, this time on cassette tape. (So that I could listen to it while driving around in that station wagon.)

When I heard the sad news of Jeff Beck’s death earlier this month – January 10, 2023 – I simply had to get that tape out of storage and envelope myself once again in all of the guitar wondrousness of Truth.

I also read as many of the obituaries and tribute articles to Jeff Beck that I could find online. (The best, in my mind, were the ones published in the Boston Globe.) But after all of the stories and the countless well deserved accolades, I noticed that not a single author mentioned my favorite guitar performance on record by Jeff Beck.

“Greensleeves”

Jeff Beck’s solo acoustic fingerstyle guitar arrangement of this traditional English folk song – the tune of which dates back to the late 16th-century – starts off Side 2 of Truth.

It proved to be an incredibly influential performance in my life as both a musician and a guitarist.

I hope you will take a few minutes to listen to it for yourself.

Thank you, Jeff Beck, for this and all of the truly inspirational guitar music you left behind.

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