Judy Collins in Concert at Cain Park in Cleveland Heights

Last night, Judy Collins came out onto the stage at Cain Park in Cleveland Heights, one of our nation’s most beautiful and intimate venues for singers, and belted out a fabulous version of Joni Mitchell’s song “Chelsea Morning.” That put to rest once and for all any worry about the 75-year-old singer’s vocal power. Her voice is strong, pure, and in tune, with all the subtleties any singer could ever want.

Judy Collins on stage at Cain Park (phone camera)

Here are some of the songs she sang during her hour and a half set:

• “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?”--a tribute to Pete Seeger.
• “Born to the Breed” (for her late son Clark).
• "Coal Tattoo," by Billy Edd Wheeler.
• “Grandaddy,” one of my all-time favorite songs, and especially poignant to me now that I am a grandfather.
• “My Father,” again, one of my favorites.
• “John Riley,” an old song, from her earliest work.
• “Where or When,” a Rogers and Hart song, beloved by her father.
• Three Stephen Sondheim songs, including “Pretty Women” and “Send in the Clowns.”
• “Norwegian Wood,” by Paul McCartney and John Lennon.
• "Mountain Girl"--made us think about our daughter Carolan.
• “New Moon Over the Hudson.”

Judy Collins ended the night with a sweet rendition of “Danny Boy.” In singing that song was she thinking of all the people she has been close to who have died? Most recently, Pete Seeger? And her son Clark? Was she thinking about herself? I hope this is not the last time I get to see her in concert. She is a national treasure (an international treasure, as they know in Ireland!).

Two themes that seemed to run through many of the songs: Fatherhood and parenthood; she seemed profoundly influenced by her own father and grandfather. And mortality--nothing lasts forever, where have all the flowers gone?

There are few singers and musicians who have brought meaning, passion, and beauty together like Judy Collins has--and she has done that over a 55-year career. Wow, what a treasure!

* * *

We started last evening by dining at Tommy's on Coventry Road in Cleveland Heights. This is one of my favorite restaurants, with very healthy food, lots of vegetarian options, and it's located in one of Cleveland's most interesting and vital neighborhoods. It is a relic of the Hippie Era, and I love it. After eating at Tommy's we went next door to Cleveland's best little bookstore, Mac's Backs--Books on Coventry, and chatted a bit with Suzanne DeGaetano, the long-time store manager, the person who knows books and Cleveland literary events as well as anyone in town.

Here is a Youtube version of Judy Collins singing "Danny Boy" in Ireland:

John McCutcheon's Concert at Nighttown

John McCutcheon, America's great folksinger, had an intimate concert for between 80 and 100 people last night at the Nighttown Tavern in Cleveland Heights. John has played many huge venues (Wolf Trap, for example), so it was a treat to be about 20 feet away from him in this warm and cozy tavern.

I was lucky to talk to him briefly right before he went on stage. I told him how we saw him in concert near the beginning of his career, in Pippa Passes, Kentucky (a tiny town in a county that didn't have a single stoplight!). John smiled broadly and said, "Alice Lloyd College!" Then he bounded out to the stage. He began the concert with the first song he ever learned on the banjo--an "Old-Timey" banjo tune written by Bascom Lamar Lunsford, "I Wish I Was a Mole in the Ground." John met Bascom when Bascom was about 90 years old--and still playing his music. John's old-timey style was simple, old-timey plunky.

John weaves stories in and out of his music. The stories are wonderful and often hilarious. One great story was set in his Wisconsin home in 1963 when John was 11 years old. In the middle of the day his mother invited him to sit next to her on the couch as they watched the 1963 March on Washington, that featured great music (Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Peter, Paul and Mary) and the amazing "I Have a Dream" speech of Martin Luther King Jr. John's mother was deeply sympathetic to this--and you can clearly see the love John still holds for her and how profoundly he was affected by her. [John's song about this can be seen below.]

John played for 2 hours, his own songs (like "Christmas in the Trenches"), and songs by his masters like Pete Seeger's "Turn, Turn, Turn!" (accompanied by a hilarious story) and Woody Guthrie's "Joe Hill" and "This Land Is Your Land." A very short video clip from "Turn, Turn, Turn":

My favorite song all night was a beautiful one he did about his mother, "One in a Million."  Here are the lyrics:

I remember that August
1963
A half million gathered
On our small TV
The moment was magic
With dreams in the air
My Mom watched in wonder
And said, “I wish I was there”

But there were babies to diaper
And a whole house to clean
So she watched the world change
On that black-and-white screen

She was one in a million
Who did her small part
And she carried that banner
Held high in her heart

She taught me the Bible
Each chapter and verse
How the meek shall inherit
And the last shall be first
She said, “God leaves God’s work
“To me and to you
“When you’re meek and you’re ready
“What will you do?”

Though she seldom traveled
Far from her front door
She watched the world change
In the children she bore

You are one in a million
You each have a part
Always carry that banner
Held high in your heart

Bridge

Those children now scattered
Like ships on the sea
Mounting adventures
That she’d never see
I never once doubted
What she said was true
I saw miracles mounting
And small victories counting
And it’s all worth recounting
This work that we do

Each Mother’s Day sadly
I look to the chair
Now fifteen years empty
And wish she were there
So this year I traveled
As her eldest son
To a Washington March
Just as she would have done

I marched for the future
In a million mom sea
I was marching for her
I was marching for me

I was one in a million
Just doing my part
And I carried her banner
Held high in my heart

©2000 John McCutcheon/Appalsongs (ASCAP).

During the concert John played 8 instruments: 5-string banjo; 6-string guitar; 12-string guitar; hammer dulcimer; autoharp; piano; fiddle; and jaw's harp. The jaw's harps, which he had gotten from Pete Seeger's brother Mike, were incredible. John also has a beautiful voice. But most of all, he has this wonderful humanity and passion. He lets his music and storytelling serve both beauty and justice. He stands up for what is right, just like his friend Pete Seeger and his mentor Woodie Guthrie.

John McCutcheon is a national treasure, and I'm so glad Linda and I could see him play in the wonderful, intimate venue of Nighttown.

Linda, at Nighttown.

A Blast from the Past--Arlo Guthrie Singing "I Can't Help Falling in Love with You"

Today an old Peacemaker friend, Steve Tuck, posted a video of Arlo Guthrie and Pete Seeger singing "I Can't Help Falling in Love with You," a song Elvis Presley recorded in 1961. I prefer the sweet version recorded by the "We Five" around 1965.

It's just a pop song, but it is sweet and beautiful and evokes memories--that's for sure!

You Have a Hammer, You Have a Bell, You Have a Song!

Rise Up, O Young People!

            (an exhortation after the death of Pete Seeger)

Rise up, O young people!

Listen to the words of a song, written

Way back in 1949 by Pete Seeger and Lee Hays:

If I had a hammer,
I’d hammer in the morning
I’d hammer in the evening,
All over this land.

I’d hammer out danger,
I’d hammer out a warning,
I’d hammer out love between my brothers and my sisters,
All over this land.

If I had a bell,
I’d ring it in the morning,
I’d ring it in the evening,
All over this land.

I’d ring out danger,
I’d ring out a warning
I’d ring out love between my brothers and my sisters,
All over this land.

If I had a song,
I’d sing it in the morning,
I’d sing it in the evening,
All over this land.

I’d sing out danger,
I’d sing out a warning
I’d sing out love between my brothers and my sisters,
All over this land.

Well I got a hammer,
And I got a bell,
And I got a song to sing, all over this land.

It’s the hammer of Justice,
It’s the bell of Freedom,
It’s the song about Love between my brothers and my sisters,
All over this land.

It’s the hammer of Justice,
It’s the bell of Freedom,
It’s the song about Love between my brothers and my sisters,
All over this land.

Well, you do have a hammer, you do have a bell,

You have your own song to sing

All over this land and all over the world.

It’s the hammer of Justice, the bell of Freedom,

The song about the love between your brothers and your sisters.

Rise up, O Young People,

Write the song,

Sing the song from the rooftops, the mountain tops,

Stand up and fight for your lives, your souls,

Your rights, our peace, our justice!

The Passing of Pete Seeger (1919 to 2014)

Pete Seeger, one of the greatest Americans in history, passed away yesterday at the age of 94. He has left an indelible mark on American and World music and culture. He led an exemplary life, even when slandered and blacklisted during the dark days of the McCarthy era. He had been married for nearly 70 years to his wife Toshi, who died last summer. He was active professionally as a musician, songwriter, and campaigner for a more just, equal, and humane world for about 75 years.

Pete Seeger authored or co-authored so many great songs it is hard to know where to start . . .[more coming].