Thank you, Steve! Sheryl Crow's a cappella
rendition of "Beautiful Dreamer" makes me
think of Hartford for many reasons!

Cindy

________________________________________
From: Mark Twain Forum [[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Steve Courtney [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Friday, September 23, 2011 1:28 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: This year's winner of the MT Award is . . . .

Release party! Congratulations=2C Cindy. Needless to say=2C the strains of =
your new CD have been heard wafting through the air even in stuffy old Hart=
ford recently....


Steve Courtney
7 Union St.
Terryville=2C CT 06786
860-589-6412


----------------------------------------
> Date: Fri=2C 23 Sep 2011 12:23:26 -0400
> From: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: This year's winner of the MT Award is . . . .
> To: [log in to unmask]
>
> http://travelingwithtwain.org/2011/09/22/hannibal-mo/an-evening-of-twain-=
in=3D
> spired-bluegrass/
>
> I hope this link survives the cut and paste.
> These folks attended our CD release party
> Tuesday night and shared their thoughts.
>
> From their website:
>
> From September 18 to December 11=2C=3D20
> a Northwestern journalism student=2C a 2011
> journalism graduate and I will undertake a
> 9=2C000-mile odyssey=2C =3D93Traveling with Twain in Search
> of America=3D92s Identity.=3D94 The drive will follow trips
> taken around the United States by Mark Twain
> in the 1850s and 1860s. Our journey will
> attempt to weave together three stories about identity in America.
>
>
> ________________________________________
> From: Mark Twain Forum [[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Harold Bush [bushh=
k@=3D
> SLU.EDU]
> Sent: Friday=2C September 23=2C 2011 10:41 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: This year's winner of the MT Award is . . . .
>
> good question=2C Sharon. and again=2C as Sharon notes=2C this response al=
so may
> sound controversial ....
>
> As Cindy notes: the cd is pretty much the Nashville crowd=2C which is pre=
tty
> white these days. I love a lot of these artists=2C and some of the artist=
s d=3D
> o
> tap into the old appalachian roots/Americana stuff from the old days. the
> Church Sisters (very young but quite talented) represent a pleasant trend=
 i=3D
> n
> music by youngsters -- getting back to the roots (or as Dylan named what =
I
> think is his greatest record: "Bringin' It All Back Home"). and there are
> some of the old hands=2C like Jimmy Buffett or Emmylou Harris=2C and youn=
ger
> folks like Ricky Skaggs=2C whose veneration for older artists like Earl
> Scruggs and Doc Watson (a couple of my personal favorites) is well known.=
 =3D
> I
> like the line-up=2C but again=3B it's all dominated by the Nashville scen=
e=2C by
> Jackson's own admission=3B and so interpret that as you wish. Maybe John =
Bir=3D
> d
> could say more on this.
>
> A huge part of those roots=2C besides the race factor (and very often cop=
uled
> with African Americans) is the religious factor. What I really miss (and =
I
> am this very morning writing about Du Bois and the black spirituals) is=
=2C of
> course=2C those spirituals. There is some irony in the fact that Nashvill=
e
> was once the original scene of the Fisk Jubilee Singers=2C whom Twain sta=
ted
> on several occasions were his favorite music. In representing his life=2C=
 at
> least one or two old spirituals might have been nice -- and also since th=
ey
> were so prevalent in his life=2C and in fact were the songs he attempted =
to
> sing while comforting his dying wife Livy=2C for instance. Even the minst=
rel
> shows and Tom shows drew upon these great songs. I wish this were at leas=
t
> represented-- especially given the deep religious convictions of the pres=
en=3D
> t
> day Nashville scene=2C which seems like it should know better. Emmylou is
> pretty well known for her faith=2C but a lot of the other more prominent
> religious artists such as Norman Blake=2C Alison Krause=2C Patty Griffin=
=2C Buddy
> Miller=2C or T-Bone Burnett are not represented here.
>
> Not sure why this aspect missed the cut?? Perhaps=2C again=2C the general
> misunderstanding of Twain as "not religious"?? just speculating .... but
> without a doubt=2C MT loved the black spirituals=2C and often sang them t=
o
> guests at his home.
>
> ps -- Sharon and all=3B if you've not read David Reynolds' new book on UN=
CLE
> TOM'S CABIN=2C you might find the material on the Tom shows as surprising=
 and
> interesting as I did. Not reviewed on this LIST=2C but certainly a must
> read. It is one of the most positive interpretations of the music of the
> Tom shows I've come across.
>
> --Hal B.
>
>
>
>
>
> On Fri=2C Sep 23=2C 2011 at 10:00 AM=2C Sharon McCoy <[log in to unmask]
et>wrote=3D
> :
>
> > May I ask what may be a provocative question?
> >
> > Looking over the CD=2C it seems to include some wonderfully talented fo=
lks.
> > But
> > it seems odd to me=2C especially given what we know about Twain's taste=
 in
> > music=2C
> > that a CD called "Mark Twain: Words and Music" seems to be composed
> > entirely of
> > white musicians and performers. Some of the names were unfamiliar to me=
=3D
> =2C
> > but
> > when I did a quick Google search=2C they all appear to be white. Odd.
> >
> >
> --
> Harold K. Bush=2C Ph.D
> Professor of English
> Saint Louis University
> St. Louis=2C MO 63108
> 314-977-3616 (w)=3B 314-771-6795 (h)
> <www.slu.edu/x23809.xml>                                        =