#a.l. lloyd

[musicmags]

[folk-enjoyer]

Suggested song

"The Frozen Logger" The Weavers, 1951

"The Frozen Logger" was originally written and performed in 1929 by Jim Stevens (the man who popularized the folk legend Paul bunyan in his 1925 book "Paul Bunyan"

for his program on the ABC seattle network "The Histories of Paul Bunyan"

here's a segment of Jim Stevens talking about that himself:

Oregon Historical Quarterly Vol. 50, No. 4 (Dec., 1949) pp.235-242

it's possible that the song was performed by Ivar Haglund (notable for his prolific seafood themed songs and clam restaurant) in the early to mid 1940s on his radio show "Around the Sound" where he would sing folk music for 15 minutes, and I found a couple sources listing him as either the copyright owner of the song, or the writer (he did not write the song). He was friends with Jim Stevens, and it's likely that Stevens taught him the song.

Radio Daily, July 1944 and KJR flyer, 1942

Many secondhand sources mentioned that "The Frozen Logger" was based on an old tune or an old ballad, with words that were originally written by Jim Stevens, including Jim Stevens himself though he's not specific. I think i might be the first person ever to point out that the ballad it was based on belongs to the folk song family of "The Unfortunate Rake"/ "The Unfortunate Lad" (recorded here in the 1960s and performed by A.L. Lloyd) it has a similar story structure, similar characters, similar rhymes, and similar composition.

in " 'The Unfortunate Rake' and His Descendants" by Kenneth Lodewick, the original song is dated as being from ireland in 1790, and one of its earliest printings was in England in 1850 as a folk ballad

as you might be able to guess if you're familiar with cowboy ballads, this song is also the origin of "Streets of Laredo" or "The cowboys lament" which emerged in the late 1800s from cowhand workers. A cowhand in the late 1870s named Frank H. Maynard has claimed to write the song in 1876 and published his version in "Cowboy's Lament: A Life on the Open Range" in 1911 after it was published in Alan Lomax's "Cowboy Songs and Other Frontier Ballads" in 1910. in my opinion, i think this song could have multiple origins.

the oldest recording i could find was by Harry McClintock in 1928

as an aside, there was also ANOTHER lumberjack version of the song collected by John C. French called "The Wild Lumberjack" from Pennsylvania logging camps dated between 1870-1904/1905. performed here by Kenneth S Goldstein (1960s). This song isn't the origin of "The Frozen Logger" but it's interesting that there are two songs like this.

I believe that "The Frozen Logger" is an adaptation from the cowboy version. Jim Stevens grew up in Idaho and worked in Montana (where he mentions learning many songs) and in 1959, he gave an interview with Ivar Harglund about how he used traditional folk and country music and created new and topical lyrics for the Keep Washington Green Campaign in the 1940s

The first ever publishment and recording (That I could find) of "The Frozen Logger" was in 1947 by Earl Robinson in his Keynote Album, commented upon by the Chicago star by Raeburn Flerlage that same year.

The Chicago Star (Chicago, III.) April 5, 1947 (p.13). Library of Congress

Pete seeger, one of the Weavers, was (for some reason that escapes me) friends with Ivar Haglund (who was friends with Jim Stevens) and, like with the song "the Old Settler" , it is likely that Haglund taught the song to Pete Seeger who then, with the rest of the Weavers, performed it in 1951, popularizing the song.

for @slowtraincumming

[rhianna]

Ewan MacColl & A.L. Lloyd - Blow Boys Blow

[booksandchainmail]

tagged by @apollo-cackling to shuffle my general listening music and post the first 10 songs. I went with all music instead of my "music" playlist since I haven't updated that in a year or so

Saudade, Saudade by Maro. This was Portugal's entry to the 2022 Eurovision, where it came in ninth, presumably because although it sounds very nice the staging was just a bunch of women sitting in a circle and clapping

Best of Wives and Best of Women by Lin-Manuel Miranda Hamilton (Unknown Album). I ripped the entire Hamilton soundtrack from youtube back in ~2015, then kept it as a playlist since I couldn't figure out how to sort songs from an artist

Banks of Newfoundland by Ewan MacCoil & A.L. Lloyd. This is from a playlist of sea songs that @thoughtsformtheuniverse put together, and one of my favorites on it. I tend to use this playlist as background music while working/chores, and this song is excellent for washing dishes to.

Giant Woman by Steven Universe. Not one of the best songs from Steven Universe or one I listen to on it's own, but it does a good job setting things up early

Ode to High Heels by Seanan McGuire. This is off of Creature Feature, which is I think my least favorite of her albums: there are some really good songs in it, but most of the album I have no impression of. I think partly this is because it riffs a lot on horror/slasher/monster movie tropes, which are not really genres I know. This song is mostly lost on me, and I don't like the musical style either (in general I think her comedic/parody songs are weaker)

Natsume Yuujinchou Opening 3 (Boku ni Dekiru Koto by HOW MERRY MARRY). So I have the opening theme downloaded for every anime I watched between 2012 and 2019, and this sure is one of them. It's honestly not great, and suffering from the fact that the first two Natsume Yuujinchou openings were really good, so this is just bland in comparison

Ragnarok III: Strange Meetings by The Mechanism (DTTM version). This song is like 90% talking and instrumental, but it's very good at that. This is probably the emotional core of the album, the dialogue would do very well over an angsty image set. I do prefer the studio version though.

Oray Sujon Naiya by Boarding Party. Also from the sea songs playlist, though not one I listen to frequently, it's a bit too slow/acapella for doing things to at a reasonable pace. An internet search says this is a Bengali folk song for rowing downstream.

Underworld Blues by The Mechanisms (DTTM version). Ulysses Dies at Dawn is one of their more uneven albums. This is one of the good ones. I love a song where a bunch of people get their own individual verses, and Ashes kills it as Hades. I like the contrast between Ulysses and Heracles gravelling their way through their verses, and then Orpheus drifting way up high. I mostly don't listen to this specific version, I prefer studio to live.

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood Opening 4 (Period by Chemistry). Now this one slaps. I think this is considered one of the iconic FMAB openings alongside the first one, and if it isn't it should be.

tagging (if you feel like it) @thoughtsformtheuniverse @overzealous-panda-yak @eldritchwyrm @tanoraqui @coraniaid @corvidcorgi

[vintagelasvegas]

Las Vegas Movie Theaters

The former Palace Theatre debuts as Guild Theatre, 210 S 2nd St (Casino Center Blvd), with a screening of Spartacus in '60. Photo: Facing south between Carson & Bridger. Edythe and Lloyd Katz Collection, UNLV Special Collections.

Isis Theatre (c. '09-'11). Outdoor venue. 23 Fremont.

Majestic ('11-c. '35). Griffith Building, 127 Fremont. C.P. Squires, owner. Later owned by E.W. Cragin & W. Pike. Beginning in 1915 Cragin & Pike hold outdoor “Air Dome” on shows 2nd St in summer months, and outdoor air dome shows at Fremont & 3rd in the 1920s.

El Portal ('28-'78). Cragin & Pike, builders, owners. Charles Alexander MacNelledge, architect. First air conditioning in Las Vegas. El Portal Theatre timeline.

Airdome Follies Theater, aka Airdome Theater ('31). Outdoor venue, 1st & Carson.

Palace ('32-'60) renamed Guild ('60-c. '76). 210 S Casino Center. R.W. Thomas, owner. A.L. Worswick, architect. Later owned by Katz. Replaced by Golden Nugget parking.

Vegas Theatre (1943-1948?) 1518 Fremont.

Huntridge Theatre ('44-c. '90) Huntridge Theatre timeline.

Western, aka New Western ('44-'50s) 114 S 1st.

Fremont Theatre ('47-'75) 226 Fremont. Owned by Katz 50s-70s.

Motor-Vu Drive-In ('48-'59) aka Stardust Drive-In ('59-'68). Located adjacent to Frontier hotel. Unaffiliated with Stardust hotel & casino.

Skyway Drive-In ('54-'81) 4035 Boulder Hwy.

Fox Theatre ('65-'88) Charleston Mall Plaza, 1800 E Charleston

Cinerama ('65-'77) 3900 Paradise Road

Red Rock Theatres ('66-2000) 5201 W Charleston Blvd. Built by Lucille Cragin, original design by Hugh Taylor.

Bonanza Movie Palace ('67-'73) Bonanza Hotel & Casino, 3645 LVBS. Unclear whether the theater operated continuously.

Flick Theatre ('69-'94) 719 E. Fremont. Art films, XXX.

Parkway Theatre ('70-'95) Boulevard Mall

Cinemas 1,2,3 ('72-'86) 414 Fremont. Triplex, Lloyd Katz, Nevada Theatre Corp. Called Las Vegas Dollar Cinemas late 80s.

Gaiety Theatre ('72-'77) 1304 LVBS. XXX

Rancho Circle Theatre ('73), renamed El Rancho Teatro ('75) at Rancho Circle Shopping Center, 2401 W Bonanza Rd. Eddie Escobedo, Jaime Yepes. El Rancho Teatro showed Spanish language films.

Desert 5 Drive-In ('75-c. 90s) 2606 S. Lamb Blvd

Timeline Sources: Picture Show, Las Vegas Age, 4/8/11; “Majestic Green Airdome” (ad) Las Vegas Age, 7/17/20; “Gala Fete at El Portal Planned Tonight.” Las Vegas Age, 6/21/28; “Airdone Follies Theatre” (ad) Review-Journal, 6/6/31; “Palace Theatre Will Open Doors.” Review-Journal, 5/2/32; “New Western” (announcements, ads), Review-Journal, 6/30/44; Ashbaugh, D. “New Guild Theater Completes.” Review-Journal, 10/31/60; “Theatre opening set.” Review-Journal, 4/30/72; Ceremonies set for theater opening. Review-Journal, 9/12/75; Horowitz, D. “Locklead wowed ‘em at the old Majestic.” Review-Journal, 4/25/76; E. Harrington. “Las Vegas’ First Shows.” The Nevadan, 12/18/77; Guide to the Edythe and Lloyd Katz Photographs, UNLV Special Collections; Cinema Treasures; Classic Las Vegas.

[allmusic]

AllMusic Staff Pick: Various Artists Classic Maritime Music from Smithsonian Folkways Recordings

In the early-2000s, Smithsonian Folkways was in the process of digitizing its vast archive of historic recordings from throughout the 20th century. Among its long-out-of-print prizes were records by Paul Clayton & the Foc'sle Singer, the X-Seamen's Institute, and British icons A.L. Lloyd and Ewan MacColl. When this vital collection was released in 2004, who could have predicted that a youthful subculture of the internet would suddenly embrace many of these traditional sea chanteys, nearly two decades later?

- Timothy Monger

[uwmspeccoll]

Staff Pick of the Week

Sometimes while pulling books for a class something will catch my eye. This book Romance de la Guardia Civil Espanola or The Ballad of the Spanish Civil Guard, by Spanish poet and playwright, Federico García Lorca, published by The Janus Press, Newark, Vermont, 1974, was pulled for a upper level Spanish course. The woodcuts by American printmaker, Jerome Kaplan (1920-1997) are what caught my eye. 

As an artist-printmaker I am drawn to prints that embrace the qualities of the matrix. I see Kaplans woodcuts as a celebration of the medium. He does not overpower the wood and force it to be something that it is not; the grain of the wood and the mark of the gouge are embraced. These woodcuts powerfully express the sorrow and drama of the conflict in the poem and the poems’ nocturnal motif. 

This book was designed and printed by Clair Van Vliet at her Janus Press. The type was set in 18 point Monotype Spectrum by Nancy Boylen and printed on Mohawk Superfine Vellum paper in an edition of 300 copies, and bound by Jim Bicknell. The edition is signed by the artist and our copy has a signed presentation inscription from Claire Van Vliet to our friend and benefactor Jerry Buff, who donated this book to us from his extensive collection.

View more works printed by Claire Van Vliet at her Janus Press.

View more Staff Picks.

-- Teddy, Special Collections Graduate Intern. 

[fiarill]

For anyone who got through the whale quotes in this week's Whale Weekly (or who really likes sea shanties), I'm pretty sure this is the song the second to last quote is from:

Also, A.L. Lloyd sang the sea shanties in the 50's movie adaptation of Moby Dick!

Also I love this album

[mellowchouchou]

Anne Briggs - Reynardine (comp. A.L. Lloyd) Anne Briggs (1971)

[postpunkindustrial]

A.L. Lioyd - Doodle Let Me Go (Yaller Girls)

I saw The Lighthouse and I might be on the verge of a Sea Shanty binge.

Sea Shanty Tumblr best step up or it's gonna get might salty up around here.

[menandwomanofhistory]

A.L. Lloyd

[sinclair-enterprises]

I love that the comments section for this song on YouTube is full of Lighthouse memes.

[lnqdty]

a.l. lloyd//an evening with a.l. lloyd (fellside recordings, 2010)

[mirekat]

OK who wants to hear my favorite folk music fact? Too bad you’re getting it anyway: ‘Which Side Are You On,’ the U.S.’s ubiquitous union anthem, shares melodic features with (and may be a direct variation on) a ballad called “Jackie Munro” which is about a ‘girl’ who ‘dresses up’ as a man, follows his boyfriend into the middle of the Thirty Years’ War, gets himself promoted to colonel, finds his boyfriend swooning on the battlefield and, figuring that now’s as good a time as any, collars a chaplain and demands that he marry them. And when the chaplain’s like ‘noooooo two men can’t get married it’s against the law’ Jackie threatens to cut his head off. And then he and his much-less-intimidating bf get married and apparently go right back to soldiering. There are variations where Jackie gives up his life as a gay blade at the end of the ballad but those are lame and I ignore them; A.L. Lloyd has the right idea.

Anyway thanks Florence Reece for inadvertently reminding us all that labor rights are gay and trans rights, and that sometimes the best answer to bigots is a broadsword.

[cannibalmukbang]

lord of the deep

what some would call the beauty of the grotesque

Doodle Let Me Go (Yaller Girls) - A.L. Lloyd // The New Zero - Rasputina // The Creature - Alexandre Desplat // The Siren - Nightwish // 1816, the Year Without a Summer - Rasputina // Rusalka Rusalka/Wild Rushes - The Decemberists // Under the Water - AURORA // The Wide Window - Thomas Newman // A Drop of Nelson’s Blood - Storm Weather Shanty Choir // Mermaid’s Calling #1 - The Lure // Fish in the Sea - Michiel Schrey // Shrike - Hozier // Nobody - Mitski // Concerning Aunt Josephine - Thomas Newman // Wellerman - The Wellermen // The Curse - The Longest Johns // The Mariner’s Revenge Song - The Decemberists // My Jolly Sailor Bold - Ashlery Serena // The Innsmouth Look - The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets

[dying-suffering-french-stalkers]

Now presenting SPANISH RAKES, or, The Unfortunate Rake’s Progress, a playlist tracking the melodic and lyrical evolution of one folk song over time.  If you’ve ever wanted to listen to twenty-five variations on the same song, wait no longer!  Think of this playlist as a branching path: we might follow one offshoot of the main road for a while, but eventually we’ll circle back to the main path and then explore another offshoot until we reach the playlist’s end.

{Tracklist updated 15 Apr. 2020}

“The Unfortunate Rake” - A.L. Lloyd

“The Unfortunate Lad” - Brendan Gleeson

“The Bard of Armagh” - Billy Finnegan

“Spanish Ladies” - Jerry Bryant and the Starboard Mess

“Spanish Ladies” - PlayaSound Sea Shanties/Chants des Marins vol. 2

“Hiszpańskie Dziewczyny” - Ryczące Dwudziestki

“Yankee Whalermen” - David Coffin

“Rant and Roar” - Great Big Sea

“Spanish Bride” - John Tams

“No Man’s Land” - Eric Bogle

“The Young Girl Cut Down in Her Prime” - The Askew Sisters

“The Young Sailor Cut Down in His Prime” - Tony threelegsoman

“Cowboy’s Lament (Streets of Laredo)” - Burl Ives

“The Streets of Laredo” - Johnny Cash

“Laredo” - The Smothers Brothers

“St. James Hospital” - James “Iron Head” Baker

“The Cowboy’s Lament” - Pete Seeger

“Gambler’s Blues” - Fess Williams and His Royal Flush Orchestra

“St. James Infirmary” - Louis Armstrong

“St. James Infirmary Blues” - Cab Calloway

“Minnie the Moocher” - Cab Calloway

“St. James Infirmary Blues” - The White Stripes

“St. James” - The Devil Makes Three

“St. James Infirmary” - The Bridge City Sinners

“Blind Willie McTell” - Bob Dylan

“Pills of White Mercury” - Old Blind Dogs

Tracklist is subject to change as I find more versions I like.  If you have any favorite renditions (or better playlist titles) please send them my way!