Songs for Clem
Encyclopedia
Songs for Clem is an album by Canadian
singer-songwriter
by Sarah Harmer
, credited to Harmer and Jason Euringer
, and released in 1999.
and country
standards. Upon hearing the recording, Harmer's friends and family convinced her to release it independently. She did so in 1999; following her commercial breakthrough in 2000 with You Were Here
, the album was re-released under Harmer's new major label distribution deal with Universal Music Canada.
Clem Harmer subsequently appeared on Sarah's 2005 album I'm A Mountain
, contributing backing vocals to two songs.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
by Sarah Harmer
Sarah Harmer
Sarah Harmer is a Canadian singer-songwriter and activist.-Biography:Born and raised in Burlington, Ontario, Harmer gained her first exposure to the musician's lifestyle as a teenager, when her older sister Mary started taking her to concerts by the well-known Tragically Hip. At the age of 17, she...
, credited to Harmer and Jason Euringer
Jason Euringer
Jason Euringer is a Canadian musician.A guitarist/vocalist and bass player, he frequently appears on recordings by artists in the Kingston, Ontario scene, including Weeping Tile, Sarah Harmer and Luther Wright and the Wrongs. Harmer's 1999 album Songs for Clem included a cover credit for Euringer.-...
, and released in 1999.
History
The album was never originally intended by Harmer for widespread release, but as a 1998 Christmas gift for her father, Clem Harmer. It features Harmer's personal, home-recorded renditions of several of her father's favourite popPop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
and country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
standards. Upon hearing the recording, Harmer's friends and family convinced her to release it independently. She did so in 1999; following her commercial breakthrough in 2000 with You Were Here
You Were Here
You Were Here is an album by Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah Harmer, released in 2000.-History:You Were Here was Harmer's commercial breakthrough in Canada after years of almost reaching the pop charts with Weeping Tile. Ironically, the album's first big hit, "Basement Apt.", had previously been a...
, the album was re-released under Harmer's new major label distribution deal with Universal Music Canada.
Clem Harmer subsequently appeared on Sarah's 2005 album I'm A Mountain
I'm a Mountain
Music critic Marisa Brown, writing for Allmusic noted the traditional tone of I'm a Mountain and wrote: "The musicianship on the entire album is fantastic, especially the guitar, which ranges in style from Lynyrd Skynyrd-type riffs to bluegrass fingerpicking with a classical bent...
, contributing backing vocals to two songs.
Reception
Allmusic music critic Johnny Lofthus wrote the album feels "lovingly handmade, with cover art right out of a child's Father's Day art project and an immediate, field-type recording quality that features accompaniment from crickets and a passing rainstorm. This isn't to say it's lo-fi; on the contrary, it's crystal clear." and that "... it's a true sentimental journey for people inspired by their parents to love music."Track listing
- "Blue Moon of KentuckyBlue Moon of Kentucky"Blue Moon of Kentucky" is a waltz written in 1946 by bluegrass musician Bill Monroe and recorded by his band, The Blue Grass Boys. The song has since been recorded by many artists, including Elvis Presley....
" (Bill MonroeBill MonroeWilliam Smith Monroe was an American musician who created the style of music known as bluegrass, which takes its name from his band, the "Blue Grass Boys," named for Monroe's home state of Kentucky. Monroe's performing career spanned 60 years as a singer, instrumentalist, composer and bandleader...
) – 2:07 - "Tennessee WaltzThe Tennessee Waltz"Tennessee Waltz" is a popular/country music song with lyrics by Redd Stewart and music by Pee Wee King written in 1946 and first released in December 1947 as a single by Cowboy Copas that same year...
" (Redd StewartRedd StewartHenry Ellis Stewart , better known as Redd Stewart, was an American country music songwriter and recording artist who co-wrote "The Tennessee Waltz" with Pee Wee King in 1948.-Biography:...
, Pee Wee KingPee Wee KingJulius Frank Anthony Kuczynski , known professionally as Pee Wee King, was an American country music songwriter and recording artist best known for co-writing "The Tennessee Waltz"....
) – 2:52 - "Black CoffeeBlack Coffee (1948 song)"Black Coffee" is a song. The music was written by Sonny Burke, the lyrics by Paul Francis Webster. The song was published in 1948. Sarah Vaughan charted with this song in 1949 on Columbia. Peggy Lee first released her version in 1953...
" (Sonny BurkeSonny BurkeSonny Burke was a big band leader. In 1937, he graduated from Duke University where he had formed and led the jazz big band known as the Duke Ambassadors....
, Paul Francis WebsterPaul Francis WebsterPaul Francis Webster was an American lyricist who won three Academy Awards for Best Song and was nominated sixteen times for the award.-Biography:...
) – 2:53 - "Stormy Weather" (Harold ArlenHarold ArlenHarold Arlen was an American composer of popular music, having written over 500 songs, a number of which have become known the world over. In addition to composing the songs for The Wizard of Oz, including the classic 1938 song, "Over the Rainbow,” Arlen is a highly regarded contributor to the...
, Ted KoehlerTed KoehlerTed L. Koehler was an American lyricist.-Life and career:Koehler was born in Washington, D.C. He started out as a photo-engraver but was attracted to the music business, where he started out as a theater pianist for silent films. He moved on to write for vaudeville shows and Broadway, and he also...
) – 3:00 - "Oh Bury Me Not" (Traditional) – 1:25
- "Just a Closer Walk With Thee" (Traditional) – 3:22
- "Shine on Harvest MoonShine On, Harvest Moon"Shine On, Harvest Moon" is the name of a popular early-1900s song credited to the married vaudeville team Nora Bayes and Jack Norworth. It was one of a series of moon related Tin Pan Alley songs of the era. The song was debuted by Bayes and Norworth in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1908 to great acclaim...
" (Jack NorworthJack NorworthJack Norworth was a U.S. songwriter, singer and vaudeville performer.Norworth is credited as co-writer of a number of Tin Pan Alley hits. He wrote the lyrics of the song "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" in 1908, his most long lasting hit. But it wasn't until 1940 that he actually witnessed a Major...
, Nora BayesNora BayesNora Bayes was a popular American singer, comedienne and actress of the early 20th century.-Early life and career:...
) – 2:13 - "Trouble in the Fields" (Nanci GriffithNanci GriffithNanci Griffith, is an American singer, guitarist and songwriter from Austin, Texas.-Biography:...
, Rick West) – 4:02 - "Your Cheatin' HeartYour Cheatin' Heart"Your Cheatin' Heart" is a song written and recorded by the American country music singer and songwriter Hank Williams in 1952, but released after his death in 1953.. It is often considered one of his greatest songs, and one of the great songs of country music...
" (Hank Williams)– 2:32 - "SummertimeSummertime (song)"Summertime" is an aria composed by George Gershwin for the 1935 opera Porgy and Bess. The lyrics are by DuBose Heyward, the author of the novel Porgy on which the opera was based, although the song is also co-credited to Ira Gershwin by ASCAP....
" (George GershwinGeorge GershwinGeorge Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...
, DuBose HeywardDuBose HeywardEdwin DuBose Heyward was a white American author best known for his 1925 novel Porgy. This novel was the basis for the play by the same name and, in turn, the opera Porgy and Bess with music by George Gershwin.-Life and career:Heyward was born in 1885 in Charleston, South Carolina and was a...
, Ira GershwinIra GershwinIra Gershwin was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs of the 20th century....
) – 3:45 - "Sentimental JourneySentimental Journey (song)"Sentimental Journey" is a popular song, published in 1944. The music was written by Les Brown and Ben Homer, and the lyrics were written by Arthur Green.-History:...
" (Les BrownLes Brown (bandleader)Les Brown, Sr. and the Band of Renown are a big band that began in the late 1930s, initially as the group Les Brown and His Blue Devils that Brown led while a student at Duke University. He was the first president of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences...
, Ben Homer, Bud GreenBud GreenBud Green was an Austrian-born songwriter. Bud Green grew up in Harlem at 108th & Madison Ave. at the turn of the century, the eldest of seven. He dropped out of elementary school to sell newspapers and help the family...
) – 2:44 - "O, My Beloved FatherO mio babbino caro"O mio babbino caro" is a soprano aria from the opera Gianni Schicchi , by Giacomo Puccini, to a libretto by Giovacchino Forzano. It is sung by Lauretta after tensions between her father Schicchi and the family of Rinuccio, the boy she loves, have reached a breaking point that threatens to...
" (Giacomo PucciniGiacomo PucciniGiacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini was an Italian composer whose operas, including La bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot, are among the most frequently performed in the standard repertoire...
, Giovacchino Forzano) – 2:07
Personnel
- Sarah Harmer – vocals, guitar, piano, harmonica
- Jason Euringer – bass, guitar, background vocals, slides
- Spencer Evans – clarinet, piano, background vocals
- Benji Perosin – trumpet
Production
- Produced by Sarah Harmer
- Mixed by Robin Aube
- Mastered by Jan Turney and Graeme McCann
- Engineered by Robin Aube
- Photography by Kelsey Finlayson