Billy Bragg on Roots, Radicals, and Rockers
July 25, 2017 4:06 PM Subscribe
What do you get when a bunch of British school boys in the mid-'50s play Lead Belly's repertoire... on acoustic guitars? Skiffle. And Billy Bragg wants you to get to know the music that brought the guitar to post-war British pop. (YT video of his recent talk at the Library of Congress, with transcript.)
So just who is this Bragg fellow? I think of him as the voice of "New England" and the Woody Guthrie-penned "Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key," but he is also the author of the newly-released Roots, Radicals and Rockers: How Skiffle Changed the World.
He appeared on Fresh Air (transcript, which does not fully capture the musical interludes) to talk about the work, and about skiffle's origins and influence:
Enjoy!
So just who is this Bragg fellow? I think of him as the voice of "New England" and the Woody Guthrie-penned "Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key," but he is also the author of the newly-released Roots, Radicals and Rockers: How Skiffle Changed the World.
He appeared on Fresh Air (transcript, which does not fully capture the musical interludes) to talk about the work, and about skiffle's origins and influence:
[It was] the means by which British pop went from being a jazz-influenced confection for adults, in which young people were offered novelty songs to a guitar-led music for teenagers. It's the introduction of the guitar into British pop culture...Before skiffle, the only place you'd really hear a guitar being played on the radio in the U.K. would be if it was a singing cowboy. Sometimes you might hear an old blues guy playing up Big Bill Broonzy or a calypsonian. It was unheard of for a British artist to play guitar. And then this guy Lonnie Donegan comes along and has a hit with "Rock Island Line" - again, a Lead Belly song. And that kind of kicks the whole thing off.Soundtrack suggestion: "Rock Island Line," performed by Lonnie Donegan.
Enjoy!
Oh, and here's their own version of Rock Island Line.
posted by the return of the thin white sock at 4:58 PM on July 25, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by the return of the thin white sock at 4:58 PM on July 25, 2017 [1 favorite]
That Lonnie Donegan version of Rock Island line is causing my brain to throw an uncatchable exception. On the one hand, it's lovely. And he's got a great voice. But on the other hand, his idea of what an American accent sounds like is... um... not great...
posted by You Can't Tip a Buick at 5:00 PM on July 25, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by You Can't Tip a Buick at 5:00 PM on July 25, 2017 [4 favorites]
Here's Billy Bragg on CBC a couple of weeks ago:
Billy Bragg wants to tell you all about the history of Skiffle music
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 5:21 PM on July 25, 2017 [1 favorite]
Billy Bragg wants to tell you all about the history of Skiffle music
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 5:21 PM on July 25, 2017 [1 favorite]
Somewhat conservative me won tickets to see Billy at the Cabaret Metro in Chicago in 1985. Just Billy, his guitar and an amp. And that night marked the end of somewhat conservative me. Billy's articulation of progressive politics through his music and banter was an actual turning point in my life. His optimism was so infectious that to this day I feel certain that true democracy, a permanent shift toward a progressive society and workers' playtime is just around the corner.
posted by vverse23 at 5:23 PM on July 25, 2017 [22 favorites]
posted by vverse23 at 5:23 PM on July 25, 2017 [22 favorites]
vverse23 : The revolution is just a t-shirt away, you might say.
posted by rhamphorhynchus at 5:30 PM on July 25, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by rhamphorhynchus at 5:30 PM on July 25, 2017 [7 favorites]
Billy Bragg was a headliner at this year's Vancouver Folk Festival. I went for the first time, serving as a volunteer. I was on a break, reading the program, which had stories from the past since it was the 40th anniversary of the festival. I saw a pic of him from 1987 that took me back.
Then the break ended and I stepped outside into the dark, nearly walking into a guy wandering around as if lost.
"Billy Bragg!" I said. "I was just looking at a picture of you in the program from 1987. That was around the time I was working in Japan as a journalist and you came through on tour. I asked you for an interview and you were kind enough to sit and talk with me. So...30 years later, thanks!"
He said, "1987, yeah, sounds about right," then asked if I knew where he could do his vocal warmups (he was about to go on stage with Joe Henry as the headline act).
I didn't know the answer so I said I couldn't help, and he wandered off. I immediately felt bad about being useless, partly because every performer deserves kind treatment while prepping and partly because he seemed back then and still today as a likeable guy who would be there for you if you needed him.
My only solace was knowing that I didn't give in to my other impulse, which was to answer by feigning incredulity and asking, "Wait, Billy Bragg does vocal warmups?"
posted by ecourbanist at 6:31 PM on July 25, 2017 [11 favorites]
Then the break ended and I stepped outside into the dark, nearly walking into a guy wandering around as if lost.
"Billy Bragg!" I said. "I was just looking at a picture of you in the program from 1987. That was around the time I was working in Japan as a journalist and you came through on tour. I asked you for an interview and you were kind enough to sit and talk with me. So...30 years later, thanks!"
He said, "1987, yeah, sounds about right," then asked if I knew where he could do his vocal warmups (he was about to go on stage with Joe Henry as the headline act).
I didn't know the answer so I said I couldn't help, and he wandered off. I immediately felt bad about being useless, partly because every performer deserves kind treatment while prepping and partly because he seemed back then and still today as a likeable guy who would be there for you if you needed him.
My only solace was knowing that I didn't give in to my other impulse, which was to answer by feigning incredulity and asking, "Wait, Billy Bragg does vocal warmups?"
posted by ecourbanist at 6:31 PM on July 25, 2017 [11 favorites]
This is a very good talk. I just have to point out Stan Freeberg's version of Lonnie Donegan doing Rock Island Line. (It matters to the sheep.)
posted by Catblack at 6:37 PM on July 25, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by Catblack at 6:37 PM on July 25, 2017 [3 favorites]
From the Library of Congress talk:
Bragg: And in that moment he takes meaning of the word 'skiffle' and changes it completely to mean a sub-genre of American roots music indigenous to the United Kingdom.
Audience: *nervous laughter*
Bragg: It can happen.
Enjoyed the talk. Thanks for posting it!
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 8:07 PM on July 25, 2017 [2 favorites]
Bragg: And in that moment he takes meaning of the word 'skiffle' and changes it completely to mean a sub-genre of American roots music indigenous to the United Kingdom.
Audience: *nervous laughter*
Bragg: It can happen.
Enjoyed the talk. Thanks for posting it!
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 8:07 PM on July 25, 2017 [2 favorites]
1984: Billy Bragg on the Old Grey Whistle Test "The MIlkman of Human Kindness". Alternatively - "A13 Trunk road to the Sea"
vverse23 - Like you I was a somewhat conservative teenager who was influenced away from that by Billy Bragg. Looking back I can see that he was probably influenced by skiffle and Lonny Donnegan's approach of leading with the guitar - with a good bit of Joe Strummer's influence thrown in too. What is odd is that he is just a guy with an electric guitar - but either his voice or his playing style are quite unique.
Americans might be interested to know that there were a number of British bands who might be said to have been part of a skiffle revival floating around in the mid 80s - examples "Get your feet out my shoes" by the Boothill Foottappers, or "Terry and Gerry - Clothes Shop" for example.
posted by rongorongo at 4:45 AM on July 26, 2017 [2 favorites]
vverse23 - Like you I was a somewhat conservative teenager who was influenced away from that by Billy Bragg. Looking back I can see that he was probably influenced by skiffle and Lonny Donnegan's approach of leading with the guitar - with a good bit of Joe Strummer's influence thrown in too. What is odd is that he is just a guy with an electric guitar - but either his voice or his playing style are quite unique.
Americans might be interested to know that there were a number of British bands who might be said to have been part of a skiffle revival floating around in the mid 80s - examples "Get your feet out my shoes" by the Boothill Foottappers, or "Terry and Gerry - Clothes Shop" for example.
posted by rongorongo at 4:45 AM on July 26, 2017 [2 favorites]
You know, I never actually knew what skiffle was; I had accepted that it was just part of some primeval proto-Beatles chaos, from which order somehow emerged.
posted by thelonius at 6:14 AM on July 26, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by thelonius at 6:14 AM on July 26, 2017 [3 favorites]
Remember kids, practice your skiffle riffs and you might end up doing biological research.
posted by Ber at 6:31 AM on July 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Ber at 6:31 AM on July 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
No appreciation of the transatlantic weirdness of skiffle can be complete without comparing Lonnie Donnegan's cover of Jimmy Driftwood's anti-British original "Battle of New Orleans". Interesting for the verses he decided not to cover, I think.
posted by rongorongo at 7:29 AM on July 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by rongorongo at 7:29 AM on July 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
→ But on the other hand, his idea of what an American accent sounds like is... um... not great...
It's Leadbelly's Louisiana accent mimicked from a 78 worn out through overplaying, then filtered through Donegan's Glasgow East End accent. 50s-80s UK entertainment was full of appalling fake American accents.
Skiffle as the new old thing had to have a short life. It echoed postwar scarcity with its do-it-yourself proto-punk energy. It allowed British bands to cover/appropriate American tunes to avoid swingeing import duties on records. It was the scrappy interlude entertainment that the snobby “trad/university” jazz crowd (of which my dad is still a staunch member, sixty years later) tolerated but turned their back on when it became popular. It shifted some records, ushered in British rock 'n' roll, but was too DIY and un-modern to stay in the limelight for long.
posted by scruss at 7:36 AM on July 26, 2017 [6 favorites]
It's Leadbelly's Louisiana accent mimicked from a 78 worn out through overplaying, then filtered through Donegan's Glasgow East End accent. 50s-80s UK entertainment was full of appalling fake American accents.
Skiffle as the new old thing had to have a short life. It echoed postwar scarcity with its do-it-yourself proto-punk energy. It allowed British bands to cover/appropriate American tunes to avoid swingeing import duties on records. It was the scrappy interlude entertainment that the snobby “trad/university” jazz crowd (of which my dad is still a staunch member, sixty years later) tolerated but turned their back on when it became popular. It shifted some records, ushered in British rock 'n' roll, but was too DIY and un-modern to stay in the limelight for long.
posted by scruss at 7:36 AM on July 26, 2017 [6 favorites]
Oh, and: The Violent Femmes are/were totally a skiffle band.
posted by scruss at 9:43 AM on July 26, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by scruss at 9:43 AM on July 26, 2017 [6 favorites]
The other thing to remember - no skiffle, no Jimmy Page.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 9:52 AM on July 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 9:52 AM on July 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
It matters to the sheep
he foo' him?
I'm known to spontaneously spout the Freeberg versions of various songs and some routines. I get weird looks but I don't care.
posted by snuffleupagus at 3:15 PM on July 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
he foo' him?
I'm known to spontaneously spout the Freeberg versions of various songs and some routines. I get weird looks but I don't care.
posted by snuffleupagus at 3:15 PM on July 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
Billy Bragg was a headliner at this year's Vancouver Folk Festival. I went for the first time, serving as a volunteer. I was on a break, reading the program, which had stories from the past since it was the 40th anniversary of the festival. I saw a pic of him from 1987 that took me back.
He has a couple of great stories from the Vancouver Folk Festival from around that era; my favourite is him agreeing to do a Woody Guthrie workshop, thinking that he knew a couple of Woody's songs and could probably fake it. Turns out the other three guys on the stage were Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Pete Seeger and Arlo Guthrie. He also wrote a translation of the Internationale there.
posted by Homeboy Trouble at 11:05 PM on July 26, 2017 [4 favorites]
He has a couple of great stories from the Vancouver Folk Festival from around that era; my favourite is him agreeing to do a Woody Guthrie workshop, thinking that he knew a couple of Woody's songs and could probably fake it. Turns out the other three guys on the stage were Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Pete Seeger and Arlo Guthrie. He also wrote a translation of the Internationale there.
posted by Homeboy Trouble at 11:05 PM on July 26, 2017 [4 favorites]
I am a huge Billy Bragg fan, and have been forever. I am excited to read this, so thanks.
I mostly commented so I could say that his album with Joe Henry of traditional American folk songs is...not very good at all. I would class it as a huge disappointment. It neither successfully reinterprets, nor successfully mimics, how these songs sound in the American songbook.
posted by OmieWise at 8:00 AM on July 28, 2017
I mostly commented so I could say that his album with Joe Henry of traditional American folk songs is...not very good at all. I would class it as a huge disappointment. It neither successfully reinterprets, nor successfully mimics, how these songs sound in the American songbook.
posted by OmieWise at 8:00 AM on July 28, 2017
I have always thought that a good introduction to skiffle (although sadly it doesn't have "Rock Island Line") for people unfamiliar with the genre is The Skiffle Sessions: Live in Belfast by Van Morrison, Lonnie Donegan, and Chris Barber.
posted by sineala at 5:02 PM on July 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by sineala at 5:02 PM on July 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
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posted by the return of the thin white sock at 4:57 PM on July 25, 2017 [5 favorites]