Acoustic music, blues, country.
American democracy was already on the ropes, but now, with the passing of Justice Bader-Ginsberg, we have the added concern that the Supreme Court may no longer serve as a brake on authoritarianism. It’s a sad state of affairs. So, let’s have a good cry, and then let’s get back in the ring and fight for democracy. Here’s another addition to the St. James Infirmary … Continue reading Sad Days
Ever since I was a kid, I’ve been crazy about Ray Charles. Ray Charles was one of the greats. I was lucky enough to see him perform three times over the years. Each time he played disappointingly short sets. But each moment was special. If I had to vote for the best pop/jazz singer of the past generation it would be for the late, great … Continue reading You Don’t Know Me
I wrote this one a long time ago, but I still like to play it. The title is Trust Me, or She Looks and Tells Me, because that’s the first line. But recently I refer to it in my mind as Rockland County, because that’s where the little story takes place. To borrow a bit of Bill Monroe’s terminology, it’s a “true life” song – … Continue reading Trust Me: A Rockland County Song
Side By Side is one of those old-fashioned, unabashedly optimistic songs, which we hope can cheer you up, especially if you song along. “Oh, we ain’t got a barrel of money/maybe we’re ragged and funny…etc, etc.”. It’s kinda schlocky. I must’ve heard it a million times on TV when I was a kid, because I still know all the words. I used to play it … Continue reading Cheer Up
The other day I watched a video on TV of the Stones doing this song for the Stripped album. It’s a great song, written and played terrifically by Robert Johnson. I learned it from the Stones, and I love to play it too. As does Maybank. We haven’t played it for a while, doggarn this virus. Continue reading Love In Vain
I’m a big fan of Hoagie Carmichael. Aside from having a great name, Hoagie Carmichael wrote a huge number of hit songs in the 1920’s, 1930’s, and 1940’s. His three greatest songs (and they stand far apart from the others) are Up a Lazy River, Georgia On My Mind, and Stardust. I’d say that if you had to pick the top twenty American songs of … Continue reading Hoagie Carmichael
This one is about a girl named Suzie This one is just about coffee Continue reading More of Bumba’s Original Songs/Ditties
I figured today to record a bunch of sing-alongs to cheer the troops in these difficult times. So far I recorded only three cleanly – and they’re songs which, I admit, many of the younger generation will not know. And now that I think about it, many of the older generation won’t know these songs either. One may well argue that sing alongs are only … Continue reading By unpopular request: Sing Alongs
I don’t write too many songs nowadays. I used to. I think I wrote a couple of good ones in the past. In a fit of self absorption, I started to look through my old garageband files to see if I really had any good ones. I found ten that I think are good. Not all of them are old. Some of them are fairly … Continue reading Original Songs
Are you getting the pandemic blues? Well, instead of swallowing some oxychloroquine, try singing. Here are some sing alongs: Sorry ’bout this first one. It might be a little bit too close to home, but it’s the first one I thought of. It’s a great song, tho, and I wish I could do it justice. It’s Woody Guthrie’s So Long It’s Been Good to Know … Continue reading Yikes! More Sing Alongs!
