Here is Jimmy Cliff live. I cannot find a video of the Melodians on Rivers of Babylon. Axé.

Continuing on through the eternal present, we have Bob Dylan as broadcast on Folksongs and More Folksongs, WBC-TV, May 1963. My family did not yet have television. We listened a year or two later on the phonograph. Here are the lyrics; observe the mystical ending “somewhere in the distance.” Hollis Brown He lived on the … More Ballad Of Hollis Brown

This is, and these are the lyrics for The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll, by Bob Dylan, a true story of 1964. The clip is from the Steve Allen Show, and it is blurry but worth it. William Zanzinger killed poor Hattie Carroll With a cane that he twirled around his diamond ring finger At … More Hattie Carroll

For Mardi Gras Day, here is Bob Dylan on Mr. Tambourine Man at the 1964 Newport Folk Festival. Jingle-jangle tambourine! Axé.

A SIDE It is Friday, Oxalá‘s day, and it was luminous as befits Oxalá. Oxalá is known to be reserved and I say that if reserve adorns him well, it well adorns anyone who chooses it, especially on his day. I was interviewed live on television this afternoon for town-and-gown reasons. I was asked a … More Eurydice

“Sampa” is São Paulo, another city I love. This is really a Veloso / Gil song, but I like Gilberto’s version, and the video is great. São Paulo is a large and problematic industrial city with a great energy. The phrase “novos baianos” or New Bahians at the end refers to Veloso and Gil themselves, … More João Gilberto – Sampa

Now that we are not just on a rock steady/reggae/dancehall jag, but on a serious The Harder They Come riff, we might as well play the title cut. I first saw The Harder They Come when it was still somewhat new, in Wheeler Auditorium at UC Berkeley. This video is excellent. Recommended reading to accompany … More Jimmy Cliff

And now, thanks to Momo, here are Toots and the Maytals on “Sweet and Dandy.” Personal notes on this song are: 1. I was turned on to Toots and the Maytals by my entertainingly rakish Jamaican housemate, who had exactly seven girlfriends, one for each day of the week. He also turned me on to … More Rock Steady

For Valentine’s Day I recommend Nick Cave, The Secret Life of the Love Song and The Flesh Made Word. Key words are duende and saudade. If that is too dark, we can sing Brown Eyed Girl, which is sunlit. I have not yet found a performance of this song great enough to post, but we … More Nick Cave

A friend sends the lyrics to Randy Newman’s new song, “In Defense of Our Country.” There is a YouTube video of it, but rather than embed that here, I direct you to the Gumbo Pages where it is already embedded. The lagniappe is, you get to meet a new New Orleans blog. I’d like to … More Randy Newman