Plank Road Folk Music Society | |
Welcome to 5th Saturday Workshops!
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Two Way Street and Plank Road kick off new workshop series with guitarist and singer Lee Murdock.
| 5th Saturdays are back! An extra Saturday in a month comes around only a few times a year, so Two Way Street Coffee House, in partnership with Plank Road, decided to commemorate each one with a special event — workshops featuring well-known Chicago-area artists. | |
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The inaugural workshop featuring Lee Murdock was held March 30 at Two Way Street — and was well attended, both in-person and online via Zoom. The workshop was designed for those looking for a new approach toward the guitar, and covered how the guitar can adapt to the musical traditions from Ireland, Scotland and Wales. | |
Murdock provided detailed handouts and instructed the group on how to interpret tablature notation for fingerstyle guitar, teaching the group several traditional Celtic tunes.
Dottie Lee attended the workshop, saying “There was excellent interaction between attendees, including those online, with many good questions and comments. After he played each piece for us and walked us through some of the intricacies, he gave us time to work through the songs on our own — then circulated around and checked in with each person, answering questions and giving tips on how to approach the challenges.”
Murdock also focused on alternate ways of tuning the guitar, right and left hand techniques, as well as voicing and phrasing. At various points throughout the workshop he performed some of his unique arrangements.
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Watch for more workshops: | |
-- Our next 5th Saturday Workshop will be June 29, with Mark Dvorak.
-- August Workshop —TBD.
-- November Workshop — “Songwriting” with Jenny Bienemann.
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The admission charge includes the choice of virtual or in-person attendance. Look for additional details and registration information on the Plank Road and Two Way Street websites and Facebook pages. Email updates will also be sent to Plank Road Members.
Bob O’Hanlon: “I think it’s great for Plank Road members. Glad it’s off to a good start.”
Jim Gilroy: “The explanation of how tablature works and the demonstration of different tunings were most beneficial.”
Dottie Lee: “Definitely a great start to the new Fifth Saturdays program!”
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Thanks to Dottie Lee for these photos.
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Melanie
Melanie, the husky-voiced singer and songwriter best known her No. 1 single, the childlike “Brand New Key,” died January 23. She was 76.
She was born Melanie Anne Safka in Queens NY. Her mother was a jazz singer, and Melanie turned to music at an early age, making her public singing appearance on a talent show at age 4. By the time she was in high school she was already singing in local coffee houses, and eventually in New York clubs while studying acting.
Only 22 and a presence on the New York folk scene when she appeared at Woodstock in 1969. She was one of only two women who performed unaccompanied at the festival (Joan Baez was the other).
It started to rain before she took the stage, and she would later say that the sight of people in the crowd lighting candles inspired her to write “Lay Down (Candles in the Rain),” which she recorded with gospel-style backing from the Edwin Hawkins Singers. Released in 1970, it became her first hit, reaching No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Melanie’s biggest hit, “Brand New Key,” was, according to her, just “some silly song” she was “playing around with.” Fortunately, her producer husband said, “No Melanie, that’s a hit!”
He was not wrong— the song was No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for 3 weeks in 1971. But not everything about the song was rainbow happy. “Brand New Key,” includes the line “I’m OK alone, but you’ve got something I need,” and then to some listeners took an apparent Freudian or drug-related turn:
"Well, I’ve got a brand-new pair of roller skates, you’ve got a brand-new key
I think that we should get together and try them on to see."
“It was a time when people were reading things into lyrics, but I was just having a romp through my memory of learning how to ride my bike and roller skating, along with the thrill of first love."
Melanie had a number of other compositions, including “What Have They Done to My Song, Ma,” but none reached the popularity of her two earlier hits. She continued to record at a prolific pace, even into her later years.
She seemed weary of her famous song celebrating roller skates. “It was the song that doomed me to be cute for the rest of my life.”
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Roni Stoneman
“The First Lady of Banjo,” Veronica Loretta “Roni” Stoneman, died February 22 at age 85.
She was born in Maryland, just outside of Washington DC, the second youngest of 23 children (are you kidding??).
Her father, pioneering bluegrass musician Ernest V. “Pop” Stoneman, formed a family band, The Bluegrass Champs, which included family members Scott and Donna Stoneman, and later evolved into The Stoneman Family. The group won a competition on Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts in 1956. By the 1960s, Roni had joined the group on banjo. She also performed as part of the group on their syndicated 1960s television show Those Stonemans.
Roni rose to prominence alongside her father and siblings. They earned Billboard Hot Country Singles hits including “Tupelo County Jail” and “The Five Little Johnson Girls.” In 1967, the Stoneman Family was named vocal group of the year by the Country Music Association.
Roni departed the group in 1971, and soon joined the cast of Hee Haw, working on the country variety program for 18 years as a banjo player and comedian.
She had many career triumphs, despite a string of bad marriages. With her sister Donna they were the first women to play lead instruments in a bluegrass band —Roni on banjo, and Donna on mandolin.
Throughout their career they continued to find resistance, first as "upstart women" in a man’s world of bluegrass music, later as octogenarians stubbornly refusing to “act their age” and quit music — even though she and Donna had released an album, The Legend Continues in 2020, and were actively performing into their 80s.
Roni was unfiltered and strongly opinionated — considering
contemporary country music “sissy” and modern bluegrass “prissy.”
Writer Eddie Dean, of Washington magazine, wrote:
“Roni’s passing leaves the country music world one step closer to the assembly-line auto-tuned hellscape of modern-day Nashville. This shallow, dumbed-down corporate product is alien from the homemade music made by three generations of the Stonemans, who as Roni liked to say, didn’t exactly get rich for their efforts.”
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Dickie
Betts
Guitarist and songwriter Dickie Betts, of the original Allman Brothers Band, died April 18 at age 80.
Betts really was born a ramblin’ man: He left home at 16 to join the circus and became a renowned guitarist touring the world with the Allman Brothers. He wrote the group’s biggest hit, “Ramblin’ Man,” and remained on the road until he reached the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Betts was raised in Florida, near Highway 41, the road he sang about in “Ramblin’ Man.” He developed a fondness for country, bluegrass and Western swing, and played the ukulele and banjo — before focusing on the electric guitar, “because it impressed the girls.”
The Allman Brothers moved to Macon, Georgia, and released a self-titled debut album in 1969. Betts shared lead guitar duties with Duane Allman, helping give the group its unique sound and create a new genre, known as Southern Rock. The band blended blues, country, R&B and jazz with ’60s rock to produce a distinct sound that influenced a host of major acts.
The 1971 double album At Fillmore East, showcased the unique guitar interplay and contrasting styles between Allman and Betts.
Their 1973 album, Brothers and Sisters, rose to No. 1 on the charts and featured “Ramblin’ Man,” with Betts singing the lead. His composition became a classic-rock standard.
Betts’ brilliant 7 ½-minute instrumental composition “Jessica,” recorded in 1972, showed his knack for melodic hooks and became an FM radio staple. Painstaking in his approach to songwriting, he spent two months composing “Jessica,” which was named after his daughter.
Betts also wrote or co-wrote some of the Allmans’ other best-loved songs, including “Blue Sky” and “Southbound.”
Duane Allman died in a motorcycle accident in 1971, leaving Betts and Duane’s younger brother Gregg, as the band’s leaders. But they frequently clashed, and substance abuse caused further dysfunction. The band broke up and reformed several times, and has had more than a dozen lineups.
Betts could also be moody and volatile. His drinking led to fights with band members and missed shows, and he was arrested for clashing with police.
The Allman Brothers Band was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and earned a Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award in 2012. Betts left the group for good in 2000, and continued to play with his own group, and lived in the Bradenton FL area with his wife, Donna.
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Toby Keith
Toby Keith, the country music superstar behind some of the biggest hit songs to come out of Nashville, died February 5 after battling stomach cancer. He was 62.
A major country star for three decades, Keith enjoyed hits such as "Red Solo Cup," "How Do You Like Me Now?!" and "Beer For My Horses," a duet with Willie Nelson.
The native Oklahoman grew up in Oklahoma City, working in the oil fields after high school while playing music with his own band. Eventually, music became Keith's main focus, and he caught his big break when a producer heard his demo tape.
Keith's breakout hit, "Should've Been a Cowboy," debuted in 1993 and would go on to become the most played country song of the decade, with more than 3 million plays on the radio.
He went on to produce many more hits, including the 2002 song "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)," inspired by the 9/11 attacks as well as the death of his veteran father. While polarizing, the unapologetically patriotic song brought Keith's visibility to a new level.
The song famously led to a feud between Keith and Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks. Maines, known for her views against then President George W. Bush and the war in Iraq, deemed the song "ignorant."
Among Keith's many accolades, the Academy of Country Music named him Male Vocalist of the Year in 2001. He was awarded Artist of the Decade at the American Country Awards in 2011, and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2015. In 2021, Keith received the National Medal of Arts.
During his career, Keith had 32 number one singles and sold over 40 million albums. He performed hundreds of shows for US service members abroad, including in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as events for three Presidents.
When offering advice to other songwriters, Keith said most of his catalog was created while he was writing at least four to five days a week. “You gotta have volume, you gotta practice, you gotta keep your chops up, and you gotta stay in the middle of the game.”
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Buddy Holly – Part 2
. . . the Early Years (Charles Hardin Holley)
By Andy Malkewicz
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Buddy was born in Lubbock, Texas September 7, 1936. Early on, Buddy learned violin and piano, and soon moved on to mandolin and guitar. Except for one brother, he was in a very musical family. His first success was at the age of 5, when he won five whole dollars for his singing rendition of "Down the River of Memories" at a talent show. | At the age of 13, Holley and Bob Montgomery met at Junior High School in Lubbock TX, and started playing together as Buddy & Bob at school assemblies, and on local radio KDAV. Montgomery sang lead and Holley harmonized. Soon they had a weekly Sunday show on KDAV, performing country, bluegrass and rockability. | |
Buddy playing Elvis Presley's Martin Guitar.
| In 1955 Buddy opened for Elvis Feb. 15 as Buddy & Bob in which Elvis loaned Buddy his Martin guitar. Buddy was still a senior in High School. (They were at an Elvis June 1955 gig, but I could not confirm them as an act.) On Oct. 14, 1955, their band ("Western Bop" which included bassist Larry Welborn) opened for Bill Haley & the Comets (cheap local opening act), and the next day for Elvis at Lubbock's Cotton Club. | |
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Oct. 14 1955 was when Marty Robbins' manager heard them, then acquired demo recordings, then got them signed to Decca Records in 1956. Their career at Decca did not go so well, as they wanted to do rockabilly, and the Decca management wanted classic C&W. Imagine "That'll Be the Day" (which they recorded at Decca but was not released) as an old time country song.
After the band disbanded, Buddy & Bob remained friends, and they co-wrote "Heartbeat," "Wishing," and "Love's Made a Fool of You." Bob separately wrote the pop standard "Misty Blue," and Patsy Cline's "Back in Baby's Arms." Montgomery died December 4, 2014.
It should be noted that only Buddy Holly was signed to Decca. Unhappy with Decca's control over his recordings, Holly & the Crickets were drawn to Norman Petty in Clovis, New Mexico (about 100 miles away). Unlike the big companies, Petty charged for studio time by the song rather than by the hour, and offered Holly the freedom to create the songs to their own liking.
A demo of "That'll Be the Day" by the Crickets omitting Holly's name (to avoid Decca/Holly contract infringement), was sent to Brunswick records (subsidiary of Decca). Because of his contacts within the record industry, Petty became the band's manager.
Holly was writing most of his own songs including the popular "Peggy Sue." An interesting story goes along with the title and lyrics of this piece. Holly originally wrote the words as "Cindy Lou" but Jerry Allison, a member of the Crickets was engaged to a girl named Peggy Sue, and thought his girlfriend's name was more suitable.
After leaving Decca, Holly returned to Lubbock, and in Apr. 1956, with the Crickets, opened once more for Elvis.
The Beatles provide an interesting sidenote in that they named their band in honor of the Crickets. Another sidenote is that "That'll Be the Day" was named in reference to a John Wayne line, in his movie, "The Searchers."
And so, Buddy gets married, and moves to New York. More in a future QuarterNotes.
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Buddy’s leather-clad 1943/44 Gibson J-45 | | |
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Holly tooled leather as a hobby and created the cover for this guitar himself. The cover features his name, his home state of Texas, and the titles of the A and B | |
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side songs from his 1956 debut single “Love Me” and “Blue Days Black Nights.”
- Photographed at the Museum of Pop Culture, Seattle.
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Stream it NOW!
Listen to music by Mark Dvorak, George Mattson Trio, Ashley & Simpson, and the Plank Road String Band, plus tunes by other Plank Road Members — FREE on most streaming sites.
Just look for Down the Old Plank Road Volume 3. (Be sure to enter the complete title.)
* Apple Music * iTunes * Spotify
* Pandora * Amazon Music
* YouTube Music * Bandcamp
* And many others!
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George Mattson Trio
gmtrio.com
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Mark Dvorak
markdvorak.com
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Tobias Music
www.tobiasmusic.com
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During a recent visit to the Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP) in Seattle, we came across this gigantic “guitar tornado” sculpture. It includes nearly 700 instruments — every kind of guitar imaginable, plus dobros, ukuleles, mandolins, banjos, fiddles — and a few keyboards, drums, accordions . . . maybe even a small wind instrument or two (it’s hard to tell). This sculpture is stacked to the ceiling of a two-story exhibit area. | |
While quite impressive, it was somewhat disturbing to see so many beautiful, perfectly good instruments thrown together, relegated to a life of silence. (At least it was silent when we were there. Apparently there are several computerized self-playing guitars in the tower that randomly play various tunes.)
Next issue: Some legendary guitars from MoPOP.
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Andy's Music Trivia Quiz
Thanks for your responses. It was pretty competitive between Bill Mathews & Fred Spanuello. Nice incorrect answer on #7 by Fred. I didn't know Anthony Newley was so active musically. But, this quarter goes to Bill M. Thanks again.
Answers to previous Quiz:
Q1. Name 4 (or more) songs that use Onomatopoeia in the name of the song, and the artist that sang it.
A1. Onomatopoeia is a word that sounds like what it is or does. (1) “Onomatopoeia” by John Prine; (2) “Drip Drop” by Dion; (3) “Beep Beep” by the Playmates; (4) “Splish Splash” by Bobby Darin; (5) “Bang Bang” by Sonny & Cher; (6) “Click Clack” by Dicky Doo & the Donts; (7) “Boom Boom” by John Lee Hooker (and others, eg: Animals); (8) “Knock Knock Knockin’ On Heaven's Door” by Bob Dylan; )9) “Ka Ding Dong” by the G-Clefs; (10) “Whispering” by many; (11)” Buzz Buzz Buzz” by the Hollywood Flames; (12) “Wham” by Lonnie Mack or Stevie Ray Vaughn; (13) “Laugh Laugh” by Beau Brummels; (14) “Zoom” by the Cadillacs; (15) “Crying” by Roy Orbison; (16) “Plop Plop Fizz Fizz” the Alka Seltzer commercial; (17) “Chug-a-lug” by Roger Miller; (18) “Pop a Top” by Jim Ed Brown.
Q2. When and by who was 3 Dog Night's '"Black and White" written?
A2. “Black and White” was written by Earl Robinson (writer of Joe Hill) and David Arkin (Alan Arkin's father) in 1955 in celebration of the 1954 supreme Court order, banning segregation.
Q3. What famous cowboy song collected by Lomax in 1910 remained obscure until it was perhaps the most popular song of 1933. It’s in our C/W songbook.
A3. The wax recording of "Home On the Range" was collected from the proprietor of a dive in the slum section of San Antonio. The wax crumbled with age, but the Lomax book "Cowboy Songs" gained in popularity, and "Home on the Range" was discovered. Bing Crosby's release of the song in 1933 peaked at #18 on BB.
Q4. in 1971, a Billboard 100 song that went to #3 was like a continuation of a verse from Woody Guthrie's "This Land is Your Land." What tune is it?
A4. The Five Man Electrical Band took "Signs" to #3. A few lines are:
And the sign said "anybody caught trespassin' would be shot on sight"
So I jumped on the fence and I yelled at the house "Hey, what gives you the right?
To put up a fence to keep me out and to keep Mother Nature in.
Q5. What hit song did Paul Anka write for Tom Jones? For Frank Sinatra? What was Paul Anka's 1st self-written #1 song? How about one for Buddy Holly?
A5. Tom Jones took “She's a Lady” to #2 in 1971. Frank Sinatra took “My Way” to #27 in 1969. Paul's first hit went to #1 on BB100; #2 on Cashbox; #1, or #2 in several other countries, when he sang '"Diana" in 1957 at the age of 16. "It Don't Matter Anymore," was recorded by Buddy Holly in 1958, issued in Jan 1959, and peaked at #13 on BB100 on Feb 28,1959, less than a month after his death (Feb 2). Paul Anka donated his royalties to Buddy's wife and family. Paul is now 82 and living in Canada.
Q6. What Dion hit features a kazoo as a main instrument?
A6. Dion wrote and took "Little Diane" to #8 in 1962 using a kazoo for its instrumental breaks.
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Q7. What #1 hit did Anthony Newly co-write?
A7. Sammy Davis Jr took "Candy Man" to #1 in 1972. Co-writers were Anthony Newley and L. Bricusse. They also wrote "What Kind of Fool Am I" which Sammy took to #17 on BB100 in 1962, the year it was written.
Q8. Who wrote Dobie Gray's "Drift Away" and why? What other hit did Dobie Gray have?
A8. Mentor Williams (Paul Williams' brother) wrote it as an ode to his failure as a songwriter. On the BillBoard100 “Drift Away” reached #9 in 1973. Dobie Gray’s other hit, “The In Crowd,” reached #13 in 1965.
Q9. What was Frank Sinatra's 1st paid performance?
A9. Frank, as a member of the "Hoboken 4" earned $50 (12.50 each) for a winning performance on the Major Bowes Amateur Hour on Sept 8, 1935. The Hoboken 4 were a combination of Frank and a trio called the 3 Flashes. The Hoboken 4 went on a 7 month Amateur Hour tour during which Frank did not get along with the other 3, and they occasionally beat him up. Also in 1935, he may have received $100 for a bit part in a movie, '”The Masked Bandit." I Don't know which came first, assuming they are both valid.
NEW Trivia Quiz:
Q1. When and where was Elvis first public appearance?
Q2. NAME THAT TUNE! - What song begins with the words "When the sun beats down, and melts?" Who sang the hit?
Q3. NAME THAT TUNE! - What song begins with the words "Where the Walker runs down into the Carson?"
Q4. What did John Lomax do with his first collection of cowboy songs, western songs, and other ballads?
Trivia Snipet: Jimmie Rodgers was discovered by a pianist while playing at a café in Vancouver, Washington. The pianist loaned him airfare to audition for a contract with Roulette in New York. Roulette Released his song "Honeycomb" before he even signed the contract.
Q5. Little Esther Phillips had her first hit for Savoy records in 1950 at the age of 15. After severe drug problems, she recovered, and was rediscovered in the 1960s. Who rediscovered her, and what was her song that went to #1 on the R&B charts?
Q6. What country singer has the best run of Top 3 C&W songs starting in 1963?
Q7. Eddie Hodges, born in 1947, started his acting career on Broadway in Music Man in 1957. He next appeared with Frank Sinatra in Hole in the Head, singing “High Hopes” with him in 1959. In 1961 and 1962, he had a Top 20 Billboard charting song each year. What were they, and who wrote them?
Q8. Steve Lawrence was born in 1935, and had his first hit in 1952, but only had one #1 song in his career. What was the song?
Hope to get more responses!
Keep them coming in:
pictq@yahoo.com
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The beginning of the Nashville Sound . . .
GONE . . . the fiddles, banjos and steel guitars.
Ferlin Husky's crossover hit "Gone" (1957 #4 Billboard 100 and #1 Billboard Country/Western) is considered to be the song that inaugurated the era called the Nashville Sound.
He first recorded the song in 1952 as Terry Preston with steel guitar, fiddles, etc, and it was a big flop. In 1957 it was revamped to be a pop bluesy ballad — minus the fiddles and steel, and became a crossover smash hit. The country/western industry underwent a drastic change in the following years with Nashville producers and session musicians adopting this style of country western music.
Ferlin went on to a long career in music, comedy and film. As Simon Crum he performed comedic versions of various hit songs. He continued to perform into the 1990s when health problems ended his performing career. He died on March 17, 2011 at age 85.
- Thanks to Andy Malkewicz for this article.
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A Special Thanks to our Membership Contributors!!
Sustaining Members
- John J. Allan
- Dan Anderson
- Carol & Fred Spanuello
Supporting Members ($50 - $199)
- Betsy & Dan Anderson
- Anonymous
- Bill & Mary Boylan
- Bob Cordova
- Vicki & Rich Ingle
- Tony & Ann Janacek
- Steve & Jan Langford
- Dottie & Gerry Lee
- Bill & Connie Lemos
- Andrew Malkewicz
- Chuck & Susan Maltese
- Bill & Sandhya Matthews
- Gregg & Betty Ann Morton
- Bud & Mary Jane O'Connor
- Bob & Mimi O'Hanlon
- Rich Pawela
- Joe & Pam Schumacher
- Thomas Seputis
- Jennifer Shilt
- James Videbeck
- John Wolaver
If you would like to become a member or just need to renew, here is a link to the renewal form you can print and mail.
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Bob O'Hanlon - President
reohanlon@gmail.com
(630) 702-0150
Bill Lemos - VP, Secretary
lemos.bill@comcast.net
2024 Board Members
- Dave Humphreys
- Kristen Fuller
- Jennifer Shilt
- Jim Gilroy
- Dottie Lee - Technical Support
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Bill Lemos - Editor
Dottie Lee
Bob O'Hanlon
Andy Malkewicz
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