Presenting The New Christy Minstrels
Encyclopedia
Presenting The New Christy Minstrels, also known as Exciting New Folk Chorus, is a studio album
by the acoustic American
folk music
group The New Christy Minstrels. It was their debut album and was recorded in mid-April 1962. Columbia Records
released the album in October 1962.
Presenting The New Christy Minstrels won a Grammy Award for Best Performance by a Chorus
in 1962 and occupied the Billboard 200
charts for two years, peaking at number 19. The album included a cover
of Woody Guthrie
's "This Land Is Your Land
", which entered the pop singles charts in December 1962.
This album, along with the group's next, The New Christy Minstrels in Person was reissued on a single CD as Presenting & In Person with two bonus tracks by Collectors' Choice Music
in 2003.
in 1961 by combining three smaller folk groups, The Inn Group trio (John Forsha, Karol Dugan, Jerry Yester
), The Fairmount Singers quartet, and his own Randy Sparks trio (Sparks, Jackie Miller, Nick Woods). He also included banjo player Billy Cudmore, folk-blues singer Terry Cudmore, folk singer Dolan Ellis
, jazz singer Peggy Connelly
, and singer/guitarist Art Podell. Sparks was experimenting with the notion of a folk orchestra and wanted to create a folk "supergroup".
The 14-piece group worked well together until "literally days" before recording their debut album when The Fairmount Singers were forced to withdraw because of a "poorly scheduled prior engagement". Reduced to ten members, the ensemble regrouped in mid-April 1962 and recorded Presenting The New Christy Minstrels.
directed and arranged the music, and wrote four of the songs. The 14 tracks on Presenting The New Christy Minstrels are mostly traditional songs or covers
of songs by other artists. Much of the material on this album would later become "synonymous with the early-'60s youth-driven folk movement."
's "This Land Is Your Land
", and Terry Wadsworth's "lilting and poignant" song, "Don't Cry, Suzanne". Planner called Wadsworth's "Wellinbrook Well" an "underrated classic", and described Randy Sparks
's "Whistle" as a "brilliant bout of wordplay". Planner said that the "most memorable performances" on the album were "That Big Rock Candy Mountain", "Cotton Picker's Song", "Oh! Shenando" and "In the Pines".
Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr., also at Allmusic wrote in a review of the compilation album, Presenting & In Person that while the album "captures the group's youthful, happy sound in all its glory", the presence of songs like "The Cotton Picker's Song" seemed "ill-chosen". Lankford said that "Anyone vaguely familiar with songs associated with Leadbelly will wonder what a group of vibrant middle-class white kids know about picking cotton or sleeping in the pines all night."
.
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by the acoustic American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
group The New Christy Minstrels. It was their debut album and was recorded in mid-April 1962. Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
released the album in October 1962.
Presenting The New Christy Minstrels won a Grammy Award for Best Performance by a Chorus
Grammy Award for Best Performance by a Chorus
The Grammy Award for Best Performance by a Chorus was awarded from 1961 to 1968. In its first year, the award specified that a "chorus" contains seven or more artists. This award was presented alongside the award for Best Performance by a Vocal Group...
in 1962 and occupied the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
charts for two years, peaking at number 19. The album included a cover
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of Woody Guthrie
Woody Guthrie
Woodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie is best known as an American singer-songwriter and folk musician, whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, ballads and improvised works. He frequently performed with the slogan This Machine Kills Fascists displayed on his...
's "This Land Is Your Land
This Land Is Your Land
"This Land Is Your Land" is one of the United States' most famous folk songs. Its lyrics were written by Woody Guthrie in 1940 based on an existing melody, in response to Irving Berlin's "God Bless America", which Guthrie considered unrealistic and complacent. Tired of hearing Kate Smith sing it on...
", which entered the pop singles charts in December 1962.
This album, along with the group's next, The New Christy Minstrels in Person was reissued on a single CD as Presenting & In Person with two bonus tracks by Collectors' Choice Music
Collectors' Choice Music
Collectors' Choice Music is a company primarily in two businesses. They are best known for re-issuing albums originally recorded in LP record form as compact discs...
in 2003.
Background
The New Christy Minstrels were created by singer/songwriter Randy SparksRandy Sparks
Randy Sparks is a musician, singer-songwriter and founder of The New Christy Minstrels and The Back Porch Majority. Prior to that, in the late 1950s he had a solo career and released two albums under the Verve label, a self-titled album in 1958 and Walking the Low Road in 1959...
in 1961 by combining three smaller folk groups, The Inn Group trio (John Forsha, Karol Dugan, Jerry Yester
Jerry Yester
Jerry Yester is an American folk rock musician, record producer, and arranger.Growing up in Burbank, California, Yester formed a duo with brother Jim Yester, the Yester Brothers, and starting playing folk clubs in Los Angeles in 1960...
), The Fairmount Singers quartet, and his own Randy Sparks trio (Sparks, Jackie Miller, Nick Woods). He also included banjo player Billy Cudmore, folk-blues singer Terry Cudmore, folk singer Dolan Ellis
Dolan Ellis
Francis Dolan Ellis has been Arizona's Official State Balladeer since 1966, as appointed by ten consecutive governors. Governor Sam Goddard made the first appointment. Since then, official balladeers have been appointed in other states.In his role as Balladeer, Dolan has written more than 300...
, jazz singer Peggy Connelly
Peggy Connelly
Peggy Connelly was a singer and actress, former wife of Dick Martin , with whom she had a son, Cary Martin.Peggy Lou Connelly was born in Shreveport, Louisiana and reared in Fort Worth, Texas...
, and singer/guitarist Art Podell. Sparks was experimenting with the notion of a folk orchestra and wanted to create a folk "supergroup".
The 14-piece group worked well together until "literally days" before recording their debut album when The Fairmount Singers were forced to withdraw because of a "poorly scheduled prior engagement". Reduced to ten members, the ensemble regrouped in mid-April 1962 and recorded Presenting The New Christy Minstrels.
Music
Randy SparksRandy Sparks
Randy Sparks is a musician, singer-songwriter and founder of The New Christy Minstrels and The Back Porch Majority. Prior to that, in the late 1950s he had a solo career and released two albums under the Verve label, a self-titled album in 1958 and Walking the Low Road in 1959...
directed and arranged the music, and wrote four of the songs. The 14 tracks on Presenting The New Christy Minstrels are mostly traditional songs or covers
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of songs by other artists. Much of the material on this album would later become "synonymous with the early-'60s youth-driven folk movement."
Reception
Allmusic critic Lindsay Planer in a review of Presenting The New Christy Minstrels was impressed by the ensemble's "rousing rendition" of Woody GuthrieWoody Guthrie
Woodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie is best known as an American singer-songwriter and folk musician, whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, ballads and improvised works. He frequently performed with the slogan This Machine Kills Fascists displayed on his...
's "This Land Is Your Land
This Land Is Your Land
"This Land Is Your Land" is one of the United States' most famous folk songs. Its lyrics were written by Woody Guthrie in 1940 based on an existing melody, in response to Irving Berlin's "God Bless America", which Guthrie considered unrealistic and complacent. Tired of hearing Kate Smith sing it on...
", and Terry Wadsworth's "lilting and poignant" song, "Don't Cry, Suzanne". Planner called Wadsworth's "Wellinbrook Well" an "underrated classic", and described Randy Sparks
Randy Sparks
Randy Sparks is a musician, singer-songwriter and founder of The New Christy Minstrels and The Back Porch Majority. Prior to that, in the late 1950s he had a solo career and released two albums under the Verve label, a self-titled album in 1958 and Walking the Low Road in 1959...
's "Whistle" as a "brilliant bout of wordplay". Planner said that the "most memorable performances" on the album were "That Big Rock Candy Mountain", "Cotton Picker's Song", "Oh! Shenando" and "In the Pines".
Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr., also at Allmusic wrote in a review of the compilation album, Presenting & In Person that while the album "captures the group's youthful, happy sound in all its glory", the presence of songs like "The Cotton Picker's Song" seemed "ill-chosen". Lankford said that "Anyone vaguely familiar with songs associated with Leadbelly will wonder what a group of vibrant middle-class white kids know about picking cotton or sleeping in the pines all night."
Side one
All tracks composed by The New Christy Minstrels, except where noted. All tracks arranged by Randy SparksRandy Sparks
Randy Sparks is a musician, singer-songwriter and founder of The New Christy Minstrels and The Back Porch Majority. Prior to that, in the late 1950s he had a solo career and released two albums under the Verve label, a self-titled album in 1958 and Walking the Low Road in 1959...
.
- "This Land Is Your LandThis Land Is Your Land"This Land Is Your Land" is one of the United States' most famous folk songs. Its lyrics were written by Woody Guthrie in 1940 based on an existing melody, in response to Irving Berlin's "God Bless America", which Guthrie considered unrealistic and complacent. Tired of hearing Kate Smith sing it on...
" (Woody GuthrieWoody GuthrieWoodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie is best known as an American singer-songwriter and folk musician, whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, ballads and improvised works. He frequently performed with the slogan This Machine Kills Fascists displayed on his...
) – 2:12 - "Deep Blue Sea" (traditional) – 3:09
- "Don't Cry, Suzanne" (Terry Wadsworth) – 2:41
- "The Cotton Pickers' Song" – 2:40
- "The Big Rock Candy Mountain" – 1:20
- "Oh, Shenandoah" (Randy SparksRandy SparksRandy Sparks is a musician, singer-songwriter and founder of The New Christy Minstrels and The Back Porch Majority. Prior to that, in the late 1950s he had a solo career and released two albums under the Verve label, a self-titled album in 1958 and Walking the Low Road in 1959...
) – 2:26 - "Whistle" (Randy SparksRandy SparksRandy Sparks is a musician, singer-songwriter and founder of The New Christy Minstrels and The Back Porch Majority. Prior to that, in the late 1950s he had a solo career and released two albums under the Verve label, a self-titled album in 1958 and Walking the Low Road in 1959...
) – 1:14
Side two
- "Railroad Bill" – 2:12
- "Californio" – 2:08
- "I Know Where I'm Goin' " (Randy SparksRandy SparksRandy Sparks is a musician, singer-songwriter and founder of The New Christy Minstrels and The Back Porch Majority. Prior to that, in the late 1950s he had a solo career and released two albums under the Verve label, a self-titled album in 1958 and Walking the Low Road in 1959...
) – 2:35 - "Springfield Fair" (Nick Woods, Randy SparksRandy SparksRandy Sparks is a musician, singer-songwriter and founder of The New Christy Minstrels and The Back Porch Majority. Prior to that, in the late 1950s he had a solo career and released two albums under the Verve label, a self-titled album in 1958 and Walking the Low Road in 1959...
) – 2:09 - "In the Pines" – 2:27
- "Wellingbrook Well" (Terry Wadsworth) – 2:23
- "Nine Hundred Miles" – 2:25
Personnel
- Randy SparksRandy SparksRandy Sparks is a musician, singer-songwriter and founder of The New Christy Minstrels and The Back Porch Majority. Prior to that, in the late 1950s he had a solo career and released two albums under the Verve label, a self-titled album in 1958 and Walking the Low Road in 1959...
– guitar, vocals - Jackie Miller – banjo, vocals
- Nick Woods – guitar
- John Forsha – guitar
- Karol Dugan – guitar, vocals
- Jerry YesterJerry YesterJerry Yester is an American folk rock musician, record producer, and arranger.Growing up in Burbank, California, Yester formed a duo with brother Jim Yester, the Yester Brothers, and starting playing folk clubs in Los Angeles in 1960...
– guitar, vocals - Billy Cudmore – banjo
- Terry Cudmore – vocals
- Dolan EllisDolan EllisFrancis Dolan Ellis has been Arizona's Official State Balladeer since 1966, as appointed by ten consecutive governors. Governor Sam Goddard made the first appointment. Since then, official balladeers have been appointed in other states.In his role as Balladeer, Dolan has written more than 300...
– guitar, vocals - Art Podell – guitar, vocals
- Peggy ConnellyPeggy ConnellyPeggy Connelly was a singer and actress, former wife of Dick Martin , with whom she had a son, Cary Martin.Peggy Lou Connelly was born in Shreveport, Louisiana and reared in Fort Worth, Texas...
– mandolin, vocals - Terry Wadsworth – guitar, vocals
Chart performance
| Chart | Peak position |
Year |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
19 | 1962 |