Richard on the Radio: Forthcoming Interviews

Hey! Want to hear me talk about my new book, WORLDS OF SOUND. You're in luck, I'll be speaking on a number of radio shows, most available for podcasting over the Web. Here's the list so far:

Scheduled Programs:

· Week of October 10 Sam Litzinger, CBS News Weekend Roundup (broadcast nationally throughout the week on different CBS affiliates)
· October 14, 7-9 PM Lilli Kuzma, Folk Festival, WDCB Public Radio, Chicago
· October 16, 4:30 PM (MST) Jerry Puffer, KSEN-AM Radio, Montana
· October 29, 11 AM David Dye, World Café, WXPN Philadelphia (and NPR nationally)
· November 3, 2 PM John Schaefer, Sound Check, WNYC FM, NY
· Dec. 7th, 10 AM Dave Marsh, Kick Out the Jams, Sirius Satellite Radio

Broadcast Dates to Be Announced:

· Aaron Heinken, Tapestry of the Times, Baltimore (WYPR), WGBH (Boston), and other NPR stations. Taping November 1st
· Neal Conan, Talk of the Nation, NPR. Taping October 30th.
· Sam Litzinger and Jeff Place, Sound Sessions with Smithsonian Folkways, WAMU, Washington, DC, already recorded

Tell your friends!

New WORLDS OF SOUND Webpage

Hi Everyone:

Smithsonian/Folkways has launched its own WORLDS OF SOUND webpage to accompany my new book, WORLDS OF SOUND: THE STORY OF SMITHSONIAN/FOLKWAYS. It's just in its beginning stages, but soon it will feature full notes for the book, interview transcripts, additional photos and illustrations, audio clips, and lots more! Plus, if you order YOUR COPY of the book directly from Smithsonian/Folkways, they'll throw in a FREE SAMPLER CD that features never-before-released archival material along with samples from the many collectors profiled in the book.

So, why not visit the new site:

http://www.folkways.si.edu/projects_initiatives/worlds_of_sound.aspx

Have fun!

Upcoming Book Signings

Richard Carlin will be speaking about WORLDS OF SOUND and signing copies of his new book throughout this fall. The first confirmed dates are:
18 October: Chicago, IL Old Town School of Folk Music 6:30 PM
1 November. Washington, DC Politics & Prose Bookstore 3:00 PM
15 November Montclair, NJ Wachung Booksellers 1:00 PM

Yours Merrily, George Young

Among concertina history enthusiasts and post card collectors (admittedly a group slightly smaller than your local branch of the Star Trek fan club), many images pose mysteries that are seemingly unsolvable. In most cases, photos of proud concertinists displaying their instruments or proclaiming their virtuosity go unidentified -- who is that Salvationist? Why did he go to the trouble of having a postcard printed with his image emblazoned on it?

None is more mysterious than the ever-merry George Young, a blind concertinist apparently from the North of England. Young was certainly industrious: there are at least 4 different postcard images of him that were printed, and they must have been printed in good quantities as they turn up more regularly than photo cards of star performers like Alexander Prince. Usually portrayed holding his top-of-the-line Lachenal Edeophone -- that strange 12-sided concertina that has been described as the closest thing to a square circle -- Young's card always feature his trademark greeting, "Yours merrily, George Young."

Despite the profusion of cards, no one has been able to trace a newspaper notice marking a performance by Young, nor is there any sheet music, phonograph recordings, poster or handbill that has survived attesting to his popularity. Maybe he just played for local events or had a relative in the postcard printing business who gave him good rates on cards.

Despite his apparent lack of acclaim, he left his mark, merrily, on many lives who kept his cards as some kind of cherished memorial to a bygone recital, where the blind concertina player amazed with his repertory of the latest popular melodies. Or so we must imagine.

And think also of the countless other George Youngs who played in anonymity, self-proclaimed master entertainers, whose worlds probably extended just a few kilometers from home.

And still stubbornly he remains: Merrily yours, George Young. World's most pictured unknown concertina player. If nothing else, a tireless self-promoter. Long may his fame resound.

WORLDS OF SOUND: THE SMITHSONIAN FOLKWAYS STORY: Order Often and Early

If you'd like, you can preorder my new book by following this link to Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Worlds-Sound-Story-Smithsonian-Folkways/dp/0061563552/ref=sr_11_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1219928469&sr=11-1

You'll also save a bunch off the list price!

Tell your friends and family . . .

Morris Dancers or Minstrel Show?

The influence of American minstrel shows on British music has been well documented. Early performers like Joel Walker Sweeney and Dam Emmett toured England to great acclaim, introducing the banjo and blackface humor to British audiences and inspiring homegrown performers to adapt the style. (See my brother's biography of Joel Walker Sweeney publsihed by McFarland as just one of many sources.)

This image, found by my friend Perry Werner, speaks to the influence of blackface and banjos but also to older British entertainments, specifically the Morris Dance and short plays associated with it. In fact, the motley crew here seems to borrow from many different traditions: the clown like figure on the far left playing the fiddle joined with the blackface banjo players, suggesting a circus connection (initially, some blackface banjo players in the US performed as part of traveling circuses, so perhaps the connection is there). On the other hand, the well-dressed bones player (in the rear center) and the top-hatted fiddler on the right seem to be parodies of British upper-crust performers.

Exactly what the occasion was for this photo -- whether this was a regular traveling performing troupe or a one-time gathering perhaps for a local village fundraiser or fair -- is unknown. (At least by me -- anyone out there with thoughts about who these folks might be, please post!) This kind of cross-fertilization--the crazy quilt of traditions that come together through the imaginations of performers uninhibited by any "rules" that might keep different performance styles apart--is to me the truest expression of what happens in traditional settings. Scholars try to categorize and separate but ordinary folks just perform for the fun of it -- and draw on whatever inspirations seem right to them.

Advance Praise for WORLDS OF SOUND

I'm thrilled to post these initial comments about my forthcoming book, WORLDS OF SOUND: THE SMITHSONIAN FOLKWAYS STORY. Forgive me for blogging my own horn!!

"Worlds of Sound tells a tale that sings, drums, plays, chirps, rings, trills, and thrums. When I was a boy, I stumbled onto a Folkways record of Pygmy music from Africa, and those voices sang directly into my soul. Folkways Records changed my life. Thank you, Richard Carlin, for telling the Folkways story—one of the most vibrant, exciting tales of all time.”
—Mickey Hart, musician and author

“Worlds of Sound is a monumental study that captures the vision of Moses "Moe" Asch and his lifelong effort to preserve folk music in the 20th century. Asch's unwavering commitment to social justice and his passion for folk music inspired his massive Folkways Recordings, which are a national treasure of recorded sound. Richard Carlin eloquently captures Asch's life and his recordings in a book that features stunning photography and artwork.”
—William Ferris, co-editor of Encyclopedia of Southern Culture

“This entertaining romp chronicles how some of the oddest characters in American popular culture — from drugged out record collector Harry Smith to documentarian Studs Turkel — helped Moses “Moe” Asch create a label that is now run by the Smithsonian. Few music histories are as all-encompassing as this one, but whether he’s writing about Bob Dylan or the Carter family, Carlin shows a rare combination of authority and passion that makes any reader want to pull out these dusty recordings and feel their magic once again.”— Charles R. Cross, author of Room Full of Mirrors: The Biography of Jimi Hendrix

"Richard Carlin's Worlds of Sound is an excellent document. So many of the artists featured in this book are familiar to me, and it was a treat to learn their stories through the history of Folkways Records. Carlin really finds the details that make the music come alive—like finding out that Albert Einstein inspired Moses Asch to record all the sounds of the world.”
—Roger McGuinn, cofounder and front man, The Byrds