Seasons of the Ukulele

A weekly song challenge for ukulele players - all welcome. Find out more here

Season 717: Big River – A Johnny Cash Low G tribute

potmo

johnpoole Not sure why but for some reason you were listed as unavailable. So I followed your link and it was fine and then i deleted and readded you. Hopefully it will remain. The Youtube lord works in mysterious ways.

potmo

- "A Big Hunk o' Love" - Elvis Presley

- "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" - Jim Croce (NOT "Big Bad")

- "Ballad of Big Nothing" - Elliott Smith

- "Big Balls" - AC/DC

- "Big Boss Man" - Jimmy Reed

- "Big Brother" - David Bowie

- "Big City" - Merle Haggard

- "Big City Nights" - Scorpions

- "Big Country" - Béla Fleck and the Flecktones

- "Big Country Blues" - Townes Van Zandt

- "Big Empty" - Stone Temple Pilots

- "Big Energy" - Latto

- "Big Girls Don't Cry" - Fergie

- "Big Gun" - AC/DC

- "Big in Japan" - Alphaville

- "Big Iron" - Marty Robbins

- "Big Jet Plane" - Angus & Julia Stone

- "Big Log" - Robert Plant

- "Big Love" - Fleetwood Mac

- "Big Man on Mulberry Street" - Billy Joel

- "Big Me" - Foo Fighters

- "Big Mouth Strikes Again" - The Smiths

- "Big Ole Brew" - Mel McDaniel

- "Big Ole Jet Airliner" - Steve Miller Band

- "Big Pimpin'" - Jay-Z

- "Big Poppa" - The Notorious B.I.G.

- "Big River" - Johnny Cash

- "Big Rock Candy Mountain" - Harry McClintock

- Big Science - Laurie Anderson

- "Big Shot" - Billy Joel

- "Big Spender" - Shirley Bassey

- "Big Star" - Kenny Chesney

- "Big Ten Inch Record" - Aerosmith

- "Big Time" - Peter Gabriel

- "Big Time Sensuality" - Björk

- "Big Train (From Memphis)" - John Fogerty

- "Big Wheels in the Moonlight" - Dan Seals

- "Big Yellow Taxi" - Joni Mitchell

- "Dream Big" - Ryan Shupe & the RubberBand

- "Go Big or Go Home" - American Authors

Big Songs

- "In a Big Country" - Big Country

- "Mr. Big Stuff" - Jean Knight

- "My Big Mouth" - Oasis

- "The Ballad of Boot Hill" - Johnny Cash

- "The Big Country" - Talking Heads

I didn't check Claude's work for accuracy and even caught a few mistakes. My own personal favorite is "Big Science" by Laurie Anderson (Claude didnt name this one). I don't think it is doable on the uke but it made me smile to think of the song.

Xamar

Okay here’s my inaugural post.

Waist Deep in the Big Muddy by Pete Seeger

I believe I saw Pete Seeger perform this on the Smothers Brothers back in 1968. It obviously made a big impression since I remembered it all these years later.

Mystery question: Which Seasonista am I related to?

Bonus Mystery question: what is the relationship?

$55,000 question: how did I let that person talk me into doing this???

potmo

NIce job mystery relative!

potmo

Speaking of Johnny Mercer… he wrote the lyrics to this song.

CanadaJim

One I've never done myself, but I remember hearing Maggie sing it when we first met 45 years ago.
She learned it from a Joan Baez LP.
I STILL MISS SOMEONE - Johnny Cash & Roy Cash Jr.

My apologies for the terrible sound from my computer camera.

UkeFoote

"I Walk the Line", by Johnny Cash, for banjolele with singing.

Thanks for hosting the season, David.

potmo

So for those of you who would do a twofer but can't think of any, I found 193 unique Johnny Cash bootleg songs with the help of Claude. There is a four volume bootleg series, each featuring 2 CDs. Add to that another 30 collaborations with Bob Dylan/

Volume I : Personal File (2006) 49 songs

Volume II: From Memphis to Hollywood (2011) 57 songs

Volume III: Live Around the World (2011) 53 songs

Volume IV: The Soul of Truth (2012) 51 songs

Bob Dylan's Bootleg Series Vol. 15 30 songs

Our theme song shows up 4 times! Only "Walk the line" bested it with 5 appearances.

Interestingly, out of the four Johnny Cash songs on our play list, only two are twofers. Neither my "Battle of Boot Hill" or Joko's "Sam Hill" made it on any of these CDs.

Here is a cool little searchable list of said songs. You can filter by religous/secular and can select the volumes you want. There are probably mistakes. If there are blame Claude. If not, credit me.

Johnny Cash Twofer Eligible Songs

UkeCan1

potmo UkeCan1 Nice one. Not a two fer but a multi qualifier (do we have a term for that?). Really nice job.

We need this term! I asked my buddy ChatGPT. We came up with "double dip", "triple dip", etc, for hitting more than one option within a theme, and "bingo" for hitting them all. Whaddya think?

UkeCan1

I know you said not to do songs you've done before … but this one has to be here, and I'm probably the only one who knows if its existence, and of the wacky New Jersey / Pennsylvania / New York trio who perpetrated it.

Apologies for the incredibly bad lighting - it was the worst time of day for it, and I was testing out a new camera setup where I couldn't actually see most of the screen.

"Like a River" by Modern Man

potmo

UkeCan1 I second double dip and bingo. Should there be a term for someone who manages to do all options in a week, but not necessarily all in one song? "Around the world?"

potmo

UkeCan1 Well if you feel that it has to be in there, far be it for me, the young upstart to argue with a legend. Nice job and while there were lighting issues, it is always interesting to see what is going on in the background of your lovely homestead.

Barbablanca

I am terrified for the future of my daughter, my son and my grandson as the "post-truth" society is consolidated and the spectre of fascism rises again across the so-called Western Countries. Did we not learn anything from the 1930s??? That fear is what formed the background to my inspiration for this song in which a "dissenter" contemplates escape and the dangers involved and looks back to an earlier more democratic time.

I hope you like:

Nearsighted-Lemon-McKay

Here is another "river" song. Originally recorded by The Cochran Brothers (Eddie and Hank, who weren't really related). This one I'm playing on my low G baritone. I'm Ready.

joo

Xamar

Answer to Mystery question : potmo??

Answer to Bonus Mystery question : twin sister??

WELCOME TO THE SEASONS!!!!

potmo

Day 3 Recap

Day 3 was nothing short of magical.

Veterans @AlanDP and Jim @CanadaJim delivered their usual professional grade performances, staying true to their love of songs from the thirties and earlier, but doing it with two songs that Johnny Cash performed, not to mention qualifying as twofers!
Then Wendy @UkeCan1 earned an exemption from the "haven't played before" rule with "Like a River" by the obscure "...cross between Crosby, Stills & Nash and the Marx Brothers," trio Modern Man. Meanwhile, serendipitously, a rooster was ready to do its part to contribute to the actual song. All the time, Wendy thought the lighting was bad but really the camera was just focused on the rooster.
I schooled @AlanDP on what it means when one says,
"It was quite difficult for me. I need to try and learn it in a key that better suits my vocal range, but this was the easiest key to play it in.", With my attempt at "Moon River".
No Johnny Cash season should be without "Walk the Line". Johnny likes to show off his unreal vocal range on so many songs, and this one is definitely no exception with the modulation. Brian @UkeFoote delivered a sensational cover. I love the banjolele!
We even advanced into the modern age, when Wendy's buddy, ChatGPT suggested some new terminology, and my buddy Claude helped me generate a list of bootleg Johnny songs which can be filtered for the twofer curious, or just those trying to think of a good choice for their next submission.
@Bystander added the iconic "Proud Mary" by CCR, with a very cool uke arrangement.

But by far the most exciting turn of events was newcomer, @Xamar who delivered big time with a classic Pete Seager protest song, unfettered by the theme restriction.

Less impressive was the "mystery question" given her last name matches mine, as indicated by our Youtube channels. My great great grandmother is not very good at these things.

Before anybody claims the 55,000 dollar prize. I am going to hazard a guess that she was talked into this because it's fun!
My wish list:
- @DelGriff delivers on his "Beat boxing" multi-track promise/ threat
- Wendy achieves a round-the-world by giving us a Johnny Cash song from the list of 193 available.
- Somebody does "Big River"
- My sister er I mean my great grandmother continues to participate!

My wish list:

Delgriff delivers on his "Beat boxing" multi-track promise/ threat
Wendy achieves a round-the-world by giving us a Johnny Cash song from the list of 193 available.
Somebody does "Big River"
My sister er I mean my great grandmother continues to participate!

Note: I wrote this before seeing either of @Barbablanca or @Nearsighted-Lemon-McKay last posts.

potmo

joo haha not twin but I won't tell you that she is older because that would be rude.

AlanDP

Going back to my roots for this one. Although Red Steagall was around for many, many years before I was, I first "discovered" him when I was a teenager and he immediately became one of my favorite cowboy/country singers. I had to wear my good cowboy hat since this was a Red Steagall tune. "Charlie Russell" mentioned in the song was Charles Russell, known as "the cowboy artist." I inserted a couple of photos of him and a few of his paintings featuring the moon in the video.

joo

potmo you both are adorable! I love both your energy!

Here is my entry, potmo! A Nick Drake song called River Man.

I thought I will cut and paste what I wrote on the YouTube description thing:

I am playing a slightly out of tuned gourd banjo uke, and wearing a second hand woolen beanie, and there is a painting behind me that I am gonna paint right after this! I love Nick Drake's songs but they are not easy to play so I simplified them. Oh, and I am trying out an old Kodak camera. I put it on my bureau and i think the autofocus was not focusing. It is a low res video and i like how it looks. I LOVE THE SCRATCHY SOUND OF THIS OLD CAMERA.

potmo

potmo I forgot to mention @ukefoote throwing in "Rock Island Line" at the end … I wouldn't want anyone to think that I wasn't listening to the entire tune. A double twofer! (yep "Rock Island Line " made the bootleg list, if y'all had bothered to check out my cool, albeit useless little app.

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