Authentic spirituals, shout songs from the Sea Islands, prison ballads and rare secular songs from the African American folk tradition.

35 MP3 Songs
FOLK: Traditional Folk, FOLK: Field Recordings

Details:
"History with a great sound." -Bill Hahn, WFDU

35 songs performed by 18 musicians offer a fresh look at the African American folk tradition. Outlining the epic story of a communityâs triumph over oppression, Bound to Go includes authentic spirituals, shout songs from the Sea Islands, prison ballads and rare secular songs. âRun to Jesusâ is the song that first gave Frederick Douglass the notion of escaping from slavery. The enclosed essay and historical/folklore notes draw connections between the Spirituals and indigenous West African religions. The essay further addresses the segregation of music and artists by genre in the 1920âs and 30âs, that has distorted our sense of the legacy - of who created - and shared in common - our folk, country and old-time music. These remarkable songs put a human face on our history. Bound to Go suggests that the music of the enslaved Africans in America is no more âroots of gospelâ or âroots of the bluesâ than Beethoven and Bach are the ârootsâ of the composers who followed them. In their communal call-and-response balance of individual invention and group affirmation, forthright poetry and theological insight, the Spirituals are unsurpassed, and irreplaceable. Bound to Go puts some important songs back in circulation, presented in a form that reflects their original purpose; not the appreciation of one voice, but the inclusion of every voice.
Chicago singer-songwriter/guitarist Andrew Calhoun conceived, researched and produced Bound to Go. Percussionist/singer Tony Dale and gospel/blues artist Katherine Davis alternate leads on the âTree of Lifeâ hymn collected in Alabama in 1907; Dave Mooreâs harmonica drives âLost John,â a Texas prison escape ballad; âBack Home in Georgiaâ was collected from an infantryman in WWI. âCome and Go With Meâ and âOld Manâs Songâ present ancient scales rarely found in Western music; Sue Demel, of Sons of the Never Wrong, shines on a version of âMichael Haul the Boat Ashoreâ collected at Hilton Head, SC, in 1867. âOlâ Egypâ,â driven by Fred Campeauâs fretless gourd banjo, personifies the system of slavery in the form of a bloodhound. Tyisha Williams delivers a beautiful version of the lullaby âGo to Sleep, My Baby.â The symbolism of the dove (spirit) and trumpet (Judgment Day and dawn of a new world) weave through the songs.
Cover painting is âWhite Scarf,â by Gullah artist Jonathan Green. In memory of Joy Calhoun, 10 of Waterbugâs income from sales goes to support programs for children, in Chicago and Charleston, SC.
Andrew Calhoun, vocals, steel-string, classical and wood resonator guitars;
Tony Dale, djembe, frame and snare drums, vocals; Lana Ferrante Lupiani, cello; Fred Campeau, banjo, fretless gourd banjo, vocals; David Young, trumpet, vocals; Bob Soper, fiddle, vocals; Dave Moore, harmonica; Erwin Helfer, piano; Darwin McBeth Walton, vocals, hand drum, hambone; vocals: Casey Calhoun, Valerie Carter-Brown, Katherine Davis, Sue Demel, Big Llou Johnson, Runako Robinson, Bruce Roper, Richard Shindell, Tyisha Williams

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