"You Are My Sunshine"-Week 2 (9.1.11)

Another day, another day of learning about songs I previously knew nothing about. Who is the Carter family? They were the most famous music group in the 1920s that owned records and inspired folk music. The songs were passed on so much that words would make little sense, yet people continued to sing them. Great songs live on in one way or another, whether is it singing another version or singing out loud in the car with your friends not knowing many words. The night was stolen by hearing several renditions of the classic, “You are my Sunshine.” After hearing Jimmy Davis and John Hurt sing the same song, John Hurt sounded so soulful and amazing, making me appreciate his version more. Why? Jimmy Davis was a political figure, so was his singing for his position in office, or what it genuine and real? Does this matter? I think it does. There is so much more energy and glimpses of Hurts’ southern roots. I could picture him singing on the front porch of his home in Mississippi, whereas I could see Jimmy Davis with a microphone in his hand, onstage and singing for a crowd of followers. We also learned about this website called mudcat.org that allowed us to access unique songs that contained unknown artists: could they be the silent gems of their time? Kirby Snow’s classic mountain songs, Wildwood Flower, are something that you can’t just hear everyday: it was special. She was ridiculously talented, yet was unheard of. The professor also mentioned other names that we should check out, such as Doc Watson, the magical guitarist, who shockingly was blind from an eye infection since he was a year old. I went home and listened to his version of “Shady Grove” and found it to be really catchy. Yet, the amazing part is watching this man play effortlessly, without him seeing anything. It touches on no only the idea of muscle memory but it was natural and instinctive for him. The class discussions were engaging, yet packed full of information, ranging from African American songs from Laura Hansen, to differences between songs that were sung and songs that were performed, to 40,000 people in the Zulu dancing together. Lastly, we discussed how American country music was influential in Jamaica, as was listened to Max Romeo’s “Three Blind Mice.” Max Romeo’s songs made me want to be on a beach and forget I was even in a Berkeley class. To top off the night, we sang the classic, “O Mary Don’t You Weep,”….All I can say is “O Mary don’t you weep don’t you mourn, o Mary don’t you weep don’t you mourn, pharaoh’s army got drowned.” Until next time: Down in the Valley and Solomon Burke…...