Why do I love thee, Internet? This is the perfect example: The first song on today's playlist is a great tune from Cash's classic At Folsom Prison. In an effort to find out if this is an original or not, all of the sudden I was thrust into an interesting rabbit hole. (Of course, it turns out it's a cover - - I feel like I should have known this since it's referred to as the "national anthem of bluegrass" and was recorded by luminaries like Bill Monroe. But, hey, you can't know everything.) So, Wikipedia alludes to a slight controversy over the song, written by Ervin Rouse and Robert Russell "Chubby" Wise, but doesn't really deliver the whole story. They write: "The copyright holder is solely Rouse, as Wise supposedly rejected credit, saying there was no money in fiddle tunes." Intriguing. The pair wrote the song in 1939 about a NYC to Miami passenger train that began it's run in 1925, just as south Florida was beginning a development boom. But what of the credit? A quick Google search led to an interesting (and timely!) item in a North Carolina paper called the New Bern Sun Journal that claims that the song is more often attributed to Wise than Rouse. Turns out the forgotten songwriter is being honored this June 28 with a ceremony as a marker is unveiled near his house. (At the intersection of N.C. 55 and Wintergreen Road in Craven County, North Carolina... if you're in the area.) Apparently Rouse sort of faded into obscurity and it wasn't until Johnny Cash tracked him down in the 60s that he was given his due.
"Cash said in a 1994 interview in Life magazine that he tracked down Rouse and his brother in the Florida swamps in the early 1960s and performed the song with him on stage in 1964 before his recording, which gives Rouse credit. [Author Randy] Noles said Rouse's former wife told him before her death that Cash had quietly assisted the musician, who suffered from mental problems, in his late life and remembered him with flowers at his death."
It gets even better. Randy Noles wrote an entire book on the subject called Fiddler's Curse: The Untold Story of Ervin T. Rouse, Chubby Wise, Johnny Cash, and The Orange Blossom Special. My next stop was Amazon, and the full story was revealed in the book's blurb:
One of the most bizarre stories in all of popular music is the history of "Orange Blossom Special," arguably the century's best-known fiddle tune. The man credited with its ownership, Ervin T. Rouse, endured tragedy, alcoholism and mental illness. He spent his last years fiddling for tips in isolated taverns at the edge of the Everglades, and died all but unknown. The man who claimed co-ownership, Chubby Wise, achieved fame as the seminal fiddler of the bluegrass genre, but struggled to overcome personal demons and to heal the scars of childhood abandonment and abuse. Johnny Cash, the tortured superstar who made the song a mainstream hit, quietly championed Rouse and earned the enmity of Wise. This trio's disparate legacies are here told - and forever linked with the legendary diesel steamliner.
Is it me or is this just the coolest arcane musical discovery for a lazy Monday ever? Thanks, Intranets.
Magnetic Fields - "Zebra"
Beck - "No Complaints"
Bob Dylan - "Stuck Inside A Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again"
Smashing Pumpkins - "Luna"
Johnny Cash - "Delia's Gone"
Peter Sarstedt - "Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)"
Bloc Party - "Where Is Home?
Bright Eyes - "Middleman"
The Shins - "Turn Me On"
Bruce Springsteen - "Jesus Was An Only Son"
Magnetic Fields - "If You Don't Cry"
Bob Willis & His Texas Playboys - "Bubbles In My Beer"
Today's Stats
Total songs listened to: 13
Total minutes of music (approx.): 49
Song with the most previous plays: "Jesus Was An Only Son" - 8
Miscellaneous factoid about my trip to work today: I noticed a new ad campaign on the subway for Wise snacks that features the likeness of Mets SS Jose Reyes. Now I say likeness, because it's not actually Jose, but an animated version of the in-real-life already pretty animated shortstop. Kinda strange. Perhaps Jose was too busy booting balls in the field to take the time to pose for the photos. Or better yet, maybe cartoon Jose will replace real Jose on the field sparking the Mets to a second-half surge and a deep run in the playoffs. Anyone want to bet me a case of Wise Bravos Sweet Pepper Tortilla Chips that this will actually happen? What? No takers? Not even you, animated Jose?
5 comments:
Beautiful post!
That story should be a movie. That's the best thing I've read in a long time. Nice job on the research, dude.
Thanks guys. But I'm not sure if it's the post that you like...or my discovery of how to format pull-out quotes!
It's finding and sharing the story.
Shall we hear any commentary on the Randolph firing? It's a sad day for those of us who modeled our little league batting stance on our favorite second baseman's.
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