“…folk in its purest form.”
-Columbus Calling
HOT OFF THE PRESSES
A downloadable 22-page zine about the folk music of Pennsylvania. Within her wild woodland borders lies a key crossroads between the common folk inheritance of the Appalachian Mountain Region and the gloomy, industrial mood of the Rust Belt spanning across the Great Lakes.
The Great Lakes are a group of five massive, interconnected freshwater lakes - the largest on Earth by total volume - located in North America, along the present day border between the United states and Canada. They look and behave like oceans - though the low freezing temperature of freshwater in contrast to the sea’s salinity makes winter storms particularly dangerous to those who sail across them in rough weather.
Lake Erie was the last of these lakes to be traversed by the French in 1669. Bloody fights would ensue over the next 150 years for control of her waters, inspiring many songs included in this book, such as “James Bird” and “The Hero of Erie.” Also featured is “Red Iron Ore”, a song from the days when schooners shipped iron ore across the lakes, not steamers, and a rollicking maritime journey across the lakes, “The Cruise of The Bigler”, as well as beautiful archival images from the Library of Congress.
Please reach out through my contact form if you are a folklorist or musician who can’t afford the fee and I’ll be happy to send this PDF along for free.
A black and white, 22-page zine half-sized zine about the folk music of Pennsylvania. Within her wild woodland borders lies a key crossroads between the common folk inheritance of the Appalachian Mountain Region and the gloomy, industrial mood of the Rust Belt spanning across the Great Lakes.
The Great Lakes are a group of five massive, interconnected freshwater lakes - the largest on Earth by total volume - located in North America, along the present day border between the United states and Canada. They look and behave like oceans - though the low freezing temperature of freshwater in contrast to the sea’s salinity makes winter storms particularly dangerous to those who sail across them in rough weather.
Lake Erie was the last of these lakes to be traversed by the French in 1669. Bloody fights would ensue over the next 150 years for control of her waters, inspiring many songs included in this book, such as “James Bird” and “The Hero of Erie.” Also featured is “Red Iron Ore”, a song from the days when schooners shipped iron ore across the lakes, not steamers, and a rollicking maritime journey across the lakes, “The Cruise of The Bigler”, as well as beautiful archival images from the Library of Congress.
Please reach out through my contact form if you are a folklorist or musician who can’t afford the fee and I’ll be happy to send the PDF along for free.
A B&W, 22-page zine about the folk music of Pennsylvania. Within her wild woodland borders lies a key crossroads between the common folk inheritance of the Appalachian Mountain Region and the gloomy, industrial mood of the Rust Belt spanning across the Great Lakes.
Volume one focuses on the folk songs of the industrial city of Pittsburgh and features four songs from and about the city, including works collected by Korson and Evanson, as well as my own songwriting contributions (Orpheus, 1893). It also features beautiful photographs curated from the Farm Security Administration Collection and my own personal family archives.
the downloadable PDF version is available for only $5.00 - but please reach out through my contact form if you are a folklorist or musician who can’t afford the fee and I’ll be happy to send it along for free.
A 22-page zine about the folk music of Pennsylvania. Within her wild woodland borders lies a key crossroads between the common folk inheritance of the Appalachian Mountain Region and the gloomy, industrial mood of the Rust Belt spanning across the Great Lakes.
Volume two brings to life the heyday of Pennsylvania’s lumber industry in the mid-to-late 1800s. The lumberjacks and spar-raftsmen who labored there were romantic and rugged, carrying with them a rich tapestry of stories and songs. Five of them are featured here, including an original composition of my own that tells the lumber-era legend of Susan Hillbish and her fiddling raftsman. I also touch on deforestation and reforestation in this one, discussing the impact of the Department of Forestry and FDR’s Civilian Conservation Corps. Included are stunning glass plate photographs by William T. Clarke, discovered in a toolshed in the 70s and salvaged by the Barden family.
A 22-page zine about the folk music of Pennsylvania. Within her wild woodland borders lies a key crossroads between the common folk inheritance of the Appalachian Mountain Region and the gloomy, industrial mood of the Rust Belt spanning across the Great Lakes.
The vernacular English and Scots-Irish (or Ulster-Scots) traditions are a foundational piece of mountain music as we know it today, and Pennsylvania remains no exception to that enduring truth. Volume three explores the ballads imported by British and Scots-Irish Settlers, both preserved and innovated on by those who made the commonwealth their home. Five songs are featured here, including Lord Darnell, The Glooms of Ligonier, and The Six King’s Daughters. Included are gorgeous maps from Pennsylvania’s early history and photographs from the Farm Security Administration Collection.
SHOP MORE LITTLE BOOKS OF PENNSYLVANIA FOLK SONGS
A half size, 22-page zine about the folk music of Pennsylvania. Within her wild woodland borders lies a key crossroads between the common folk inheritance of the Appalachian Mountain Region and the gloomy, industrial mood of the Rust Belt spanning across the Great Lakes.
Throughout the eighteenth century, immigrants from southwestern Germany (encompassing the Palatinate, Baden, Alsace, Würtemberg, and Hesse) as well as Saxony, Silesia, and Switzerland, settled throughout Pennsylvania in such large numbers that they occupied one-third of the land area of the Commonwealth. Volume four of The Little Book of Pennsylvania Folk Songs explores the musical traditions of the Pennsilfaanisch Deitsche, commonly known as the Pennsylvania Dutch, as they evolved over hundreds of years. Five songs are featured here, including Dadd Driwwe (Over There), Schpinn Schpinn (Spin, Spin), In Einem Keihlen Grunde (In Yonder Lovely Valley), Hawwer Reche (Raking Oats), and Der Jug Hot En Loch (The Jug Has A Hole) as well as a collection of beautiful Fraktur illustrations courtesy of the Free Library of Philadelphia.
Please reach out through my contact form if you are a folklorist or musician who can’t afford the fee and I’ll be happy to send this PDF along for free.