I have a book called “The Fiddler’s Fakebook” left over from my aborted attempt at learning to play the violin/fiddle. I never got rid of the book because I love a lot of the music in there and find it enjoyable to play on the guitar.
My recording of “Angeline the Baker” is an arrangement I created of an old time fiddle tune based on a song called Angelina Baker written by Stephen Foster for the Christy Minstrels, and published in 1850. The original laments the loss of a woman slave, sent away by her owner. The melody of the fiddle tune, Angeline the Baker differs from the Stephen Foster version.
In my arrangement and instrumentation in this recording I spiced it up and added a bit of country flavor! See my music page to buy a copy of Angeline the Baker.
According to Wikipedia, Lyle Lofgren, writing for Inside Bluegrass, publication of the Minnesota Bluegrass and Old-Time Music Association, “Foster published Angelina Baker in 1850, and it was featured on stage by the original Christy Minstrels.” The melody and lyrics to the original Angelina Baker are:
Angeline the baker lives in our village green,
The way I always loved her beats all you ever seen.
Chorus
Angeline the baker, her age is forty-three,
I bought her candy by the peck, and she won’t marry me.
Chorus
Her father is the miller, they call him Uncle Sam.
I never will forget her, unless I take a dram.
Chorus
Angeline is handsome, Angeline is tall,
They say she sprained her ankle a-dancing at the ball.
Chorus
She can’t do hard work because she is not stout,
She bakes her biscuits every day, and pours the coffee out.
Chorus
I’ll never marry no other girl, no matter where I go.
I said I’d marry Angeline just twenty years ago.
Chorus
The last time I saw her was at the county fair.
Her father run me almost home and told me to stay there.
Chorus
But then, making the history of this tune even more interesting is this comment that was posted on Mudcat.org:
There is a recording of “Angeline the Baker” on the Folk-Legacy CD, “The New Golden Ring: Five Days Singing.” Lyrics are the same as what’s in the Digital Tradition database. Here’s what the CD notes say:
This is an old Eck Dunford tune with possible Negro origins. Frank George, fiddler from West Virginia, calls it “Angeline” and gives it Scottish overtones. In some parts of West Virginia it is called “Angeline Baker,” thus causing some friction between fiddlers when it is played. The tune was played only as an instrumental; the words are a comparatively recent addition. There is a Stephen Foster song called “Angelina Baker,” and the tune may have some derivision from that, or perhaps it’s the other way around. (notes by Sara Grey)
This is my instrumental rock cover of this classic “Wipe Out!” from The Surfaris and The Ventures. Most photos are shot on the islands of O’ahu and Maui (Hawaii).
You can get a copy by naming your own price in my Music Store page. You can also go to CD Baby (available after May 3, 2017), and eventually it should show up on iTunes and Amazon music.
Just in time for Halloween….you can play my version of Spooky at your party or as background music as you open the door for Trick or Treaters.
You can download your copy at CD Baby by clicking this link. Also here is the video. Or you can watch it on YouTube.
This is my instrumental version of Spooky…..arranged, performed (Yes, that’s me playing electric guitar, string bass, keyboard and synthesizer.) and recorded by me. Spooky was a billboard hit for the group Classics IV in 1968 and then again in the late 1970s for the Atlanta Rhythm Section (ARS). Spooky however, was originally composed by Mike Sharpe (Shapiro) and recorded as a saxophone jazz instrumental.
Per Wikipedia, “Mike composed the tune along with help from Harry Middlebrooks and recorded the song at Liberty Records. The Mike Sharpe version of Spooky peaked at #57 on the Billboard Pop Hot 100, which was pretty good for a Jazz group. The Classics IV version of the song added lyrics which we all associate with the song and as a single it peaked at # 3 in the US as a pop single.
In 1979 ARS covered the song and released it on “Underdog”, and according to the album’s entry on Wikipedia, “The album contained two songs which reached the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.
LYRICS
In the cool of the evening when ev’rything is gettin’ kind of groovy,
I call you up and ask you if you want to go and meet and see a movie,
First you say no, you’ve got some plans for the night,
And then you stop, and say, “All right.”
Love is kinda crazy with a spooky little girl like you.
You always keep me guessin’, I never seem to know what you are thinkin’.
And if a fella looks at you, it’s for sure your little eye will be a-winkin’.
I get confused, ’cause I don’t know where I stand,
And then you smile, and hold my hand.
Love is kinda crazy with a spooky little girl like you.
Spooky!
If you decide someday to stop this little game that you are playin’,
I’m gonna tell you all what my heart’s been a-dyin’ to be sayin’.
Just like a ghost, you’ve been a-hauntin’ my dreams,
So I’ll propose… on Halloween.
Love is kinda crazy with a spooky little girl like you.
Spooky,
Spooky,
Spooky,
Oh-whoa, all right,
I said Spooky!
So…..that spooky month of the year is coming up. And I’ve been working on some tricks and treats for all of you. I have a new cover song coming for the 60s/70s pop hit “Spooky” that I started working on back in the summer. My cover is an instrumental smooth jazz version of the song. It’s taken me this long because recording music is not my full-time job, even though I wish it was! That means I have to squeeze into evenings and weekends and any other free time I can find all the steps required in the multi track recording process which are legion.
Anyway, earlier this year I got hooked on Spooky, which was a billboard hit for the group Classics IV and later for the Atlanta rhythm section. But it turns out the song was composed before either of those groups got their hands on it by a man by the name of Mike Shapiro and he sometimes went by Mike Sharpe.
Even though the vocal version of the song is well known, sung by Dennis Yost, and was a hit first for the group the Classics IV on their album, The Very Best of The Classics IV, released in 1968 and then again for the Atlanta Rhythm Section (ARS) in the late 1970s where it appeared on the album, Atlanta Rhythm Section – Underdog/Boys From Doraville, it’s roots actually go back before both of these versions to 1967 to its original saxophone instrumental recording by Mike Shapiro (aka Mike Sharpe) where it debuted on Mike’s album, “The Spooky Sounds of Mike Sharpe”. It appears that album is no longer available, unless you find a used copy at a thrift store or online.
Per the Wikipedia entry, “Mike composed the tune along with help from Harry Middlebrooks and recorded the song at Liberty Records. The Mike Sharpe version of Spooky peaked at #57 on the Billboard Pop Hot 100, which was pretty good for a Jazz group. The Classics IV version of the song added lyrics which we all associate with the song and as a single it peaked at # 3 in the US as a pop single. In 1979 ARS covered the song and released it on “Underdog”, and per the album’s entry on Wikipedia, “The album contained two songs which reached the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, “Do it or Die” and “Spooky“.[3]The latter was a re-recording of the 1968 number three hit for Classics IV, a pop rock group whose line up included members who later joined Atlanta Rhythm Section.[4]”
Anyway, stay tuned later in October when I will announce my release of Spooky!
OK, this song is done. If you have any friends who need relaxing music for their clinic, office or business, feel free to pass this piece on to them.
Here’s the story:
I recently became interested in making use of MIT’s “Open Courseware” program and I have been doing a little self-paced study of the Introduction to Music Composition course up there. (MIT Course Number 21M.065) After reading John Cage, Experimental Music and listening to some of James Tenny’s works, in the album, Postal Pieces, it inspired me to work on some new music in an entirely different way from what I had in the past, which either consisted of lyric writing and working things out on an acoustic guitar. One of the class assignments for the MIT course consisted of the following. Have you ever tried something like this. It’s amazing how tuned out both aurally and visually to much of what is going on around us every second in the world in which we live.
Choose one day (24 hours) between now and the next class. During this time, you should not intentionally initiate any sound producing event that involves music in some way. This means, no iPods, no CDs, no iTunes, no TV, no video games, etc. Please set your cell phone ringers to something generic. In other words, do not initiate passive music consumption.
At the end of the 24 hour period please write the following:
How this change affected your life? (1 page)
Observe the sounds around you. Observe how our sonic landscape is shaped. Is it possible to escape music in our contemporary environment? (1 page)
Feel free to address anything else that came up as you did this assignment.
Anyway, I created most of what I have in I Am Free on my iPad (that was after the MIT assignment above was complete!). It is essentially an exploration of a C major chord arpeggiated in various ways and on various instruments including a Chinese ciao flute, a Steinway grand piano, a synth pad called “Deep Meditation” and an orchestral bass section.
This piece has no other purpose than to explore different sounds and free you from your tension and stress, and help you let go and become free. So, sit back, relax and “Let go and let God”. This is a 9 minute, 20 second track. You can replay if you need more time to relax fully. Here’s the song: I Am Free
