Radio ... and Me - 12

Folk music has always been an integral part of every culture and every society in history. From early days, “traveling troubadours” related the peoples’ stories in song, accompanied by a lute, a harp, a drum or a guitar.
Sometimes, the songs told of heroes, or of love and courtship, with many a “hey, nonny, nonny;” but they often told stories of challenges faced by everyday people living their hard everyday lives.
Radio -- by its very nature -- became part of this process of bringing music to the people from its early development.
Local radio in the Maritimes had many rich historical sources to choose from when they played folk music:
-- from Newfoundland, came Squid Jiggin’ Ground, about the lighter aspects of deep sea fishing;
-- from this province, came Farewell to Nova Scotia, a haunting melody about the wrenching feelings of a soldier going off to war. This song was “discovered” by the famous music researcher, Dr. Helen Creighton, who had made it her life’s work to collect the oral history of the people.
-- local Native groups and descendants of Scottish, Irish, German and Italian immigrants had contributed many musical examples of their cultures.
Folk music on radio in the 1950s featured songs from these and many other cultures:
-- Québec had provided the witty songs in French of “La Bolduc,” née: Mary Travers, from New Carlisle, on the Gaspé Peninsula;
-- the Cajuns, the descendants of transplanted Acadians who had remained in Louisiana after the Deportation, gave us, Jolie Blond;
-- the melting pot American culture had provided songs of building the railroad, the Civil War, slavery, the Depression and politics.
On any folk music radio program you could hear:
-- Burl Ives, singing, Big Rock Candy Mountain, the dream of every hobo who was ever forced to “ride the rails” or ask for a handout;
-- Pete Seeger and the Weavers, singing, Good Night, Irene, a dark song about unrequited love and hinting even at suicide;
-- the Kingston Trio (who helped usher in a new wave of folk music on college campuses), singing, Tom Dooley, a killer about to be hanged, or M.T.A. ,a political campaign song protesting a five-cent hike in subway fares in Boston.
Of course, the entire folk scene was turned on its ear in the mid-50s by a song from Jamaica about the trials of a man loading bananas!
Harry Belafonte, an American singer, introduced the song, Day-O, which was to kick start the Calypso / Zydeco / Reggae revolution.
The Banana Boat Song , and its opening verse line, “Come, Mr. Tally Man, tally me banana,” became instant cultural hooks.
Such was the song’s power that it was not unusual to see – and hear – young calypso singer wanna-bes walking down the street at all hours, singing, “Day-O, Day-ay-ay-O / Daylight come, and me wan go home,” at the top of their voices!