Black Texicans: Balladeers And Songsters Of The Texas Frontier

Black Texicans: Balladeers And Songsters Of The Texas Frontier

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
One-fourth to one-third of the cowboys in the Old West were African American, a fact virtually erased from history. But one listen to this entry from the Deep River of Song series of the Alan Lomax Collection sets the record straight. Men with prosaic names like Phineas "Flatfoot" Rockmore, "Butter Boy," Moses "Clear Rock" Platt, and James "Iron Head" Baker recast British ballads to fit their own experiences ("St. James Hospital"), turn in idiosyncratic readings of cowboy standards ("The Old Chisholm Trail"), and prove that square dances knew no race ("Little Liza Jane"). Their harsh, straining voices can convey ruggedness and clarity alike; they work with sprung rhythms, regular rhythms, and no rhythms at all, but their songs are too rich in melody and catch phrases to be easily forgotten. Recorded between 1933 and 1940, these raw sides will appeal primarily to roots fanatics but fill an essential hole in American music--and history. --John Morthland

Tracks:

St. James Hospital - Moses 'Clear Rock' Platt
The Old Chisholm Trail - Moses 'Clear Rock' Platt
Ranging Buffalo (The Buffalo Skinners) - Pete Harris
Western Cowboy - Lead Belly
Western Cowboy - Percy Ridge
St. James Hospital - James 'Iron Head' Baker
Jack Of Diamonds - Pete Harris
He Rambled - Pete Harris
My Pretty Little Yellow Gal (My Yellow Gal) - Lightnin' Washington And Work Group
Pick A Bale Of Cotton - Unknown Axe-Cutting Group
That's All Right, Baby - Mose 'Clear Rock' Platt
Old Aunt Dinah - 'Butter Boy'
Square Dance Call (Little Liza Jane) - Pete Harris
East Texas Rag - Smith Casey
When I Was A Little Boy - The Angelina Quartet
Rabbit In The Garden - Ace Johnson
Old Aunt Dinah - Henry Truvillioin
Let's Go A-Hintin' (Come On Boys And Let's Go To Huntin') - Henry Truvillioin
Walk-A-Dolly Walk - Henry Truvillioin
Fox Chase - Unknown Harmonica Player
Old Joe Clark - Moses 'Clear Rock' Platt
Long Summer Day - Moses 'Clear Rock' Platt
Log Rolling - Uncle Billy McCrea
Buzzard Song (Old King Buzzard) - Arthur Armstrong
Boll Weevil - Phineas Rockmore
Been On The Cholly So Long - Don Mooney
The Dallas Railway - Will Roseborough And Tie-Tamping Group
Traveling Man - Phineas Rockmore
The Train - Unknown Harmonica Player

Amazon.com

One-fourth to one-third of the cowboys in the Old West were African American, a fact virtually erased from history. But one listen to this entry from the Deep River of Song series of the Alan Lomax Collection sets the record straight. Men with prosaic names like Phineas "Flatfoot" Rockmore, "Butter Boy," Moses "Clear Rock" Platt, and James "Iron Head" Baker recast British ballads to fit their own experiences ("St. James Hospital"), turn in idiosyncratic readings of cowboy standards ("The Old Chisholm Trail"), and prove that square dances knew no race ("Little Liza Jane"). Their harsh, straining voices can convey ruggedness and clarity alike; they work with sprung rhythms, regular rhythms, and no rhythms at all, but their songs are too rich in melody and catch phrases to be easily forgotten. Recorded between 1933 and 1940, these raw sides will appeal primarily to roots fanatics but fill an essential hole in American music--and history. --John Morthland

Customer Reviews:

"I ain't gonna tell you no lies".......2003-08-08

I have noticed that this website doesn't bring up every disc in this series with just a "Deep River Of Song" search. In the interest of helping people find these discs here, I'll name every other disc in the series.

South Carolina

Bahamas 1935

Bahamas 1935 Volume 2

Mississippi: The Blues Lineage

Mississippi: Saints and Sinners

Georgia

Big Brazos

Black Appalachia

Virginia and the Piedmont

Alabama

I bought the entire Deep River Of Song series all at once. So many surprises awaited me! Some discs I thought about not buying because maybe I wouldn't be into them, and some I assumed I'd love. This was one of the discs I was iffy on. Until I heard it.

This and Big Brazos are two of the best discs in the series, in my opinion. They are also two I originally thought maybe I wouldn't like. Moses "Clear Rock" Platt is great. I particularly love his Old Chisholm Trail, which happens to be the source for Mike Seeger's Whoopin' Up Cattle on his excellent solo cd, Southern Banjo Sounds. James "Ironhead" Baker's St. James Hospital, which was clearly the source for Doc Watson and Tony Rice's excellent versions (on the Doc Watson and Native American albums, respectively), haunts me. Ironhead is a true highlight of this disc.

This disc also contains my one exposure to "eephing". An odd vocal thing that defies description. In terms of musicianship... guitar playing... Smith Casey is the hidden gem of this collection. His East Texas Rag is sublime acoustic slide guitar. He certainly could have earned more tracks here. I also particularly enjoy Phineas "Flatfoot" Rockmore's Boll Weevil done to a familiar Frankie & Johnny melody.

Of course if you are into American history (the true history, not the white-washed garbage that still gets taught in American schools) then these recordings become all that more meaningful. Imagine a song that dates back to slavery being sung by a group of prisoners in the 1930's, one of the harshest era's within the Jim Crow Era.

I love this disc, but the official review on this site is correct. It may only appeal to roots fanatics. I fear most of it is just too rough for the modern listener who is used to everything being more polished. I just want people to take that into account. I'd hate to recommend something and find out someone was disappointed when they heard it for themselves. If you don't like field-recordings of true real-people folk music, then this is probably not for you.

Fantastic.......2000-09-06