Songs and ballads are a foundation for storytelling traced back to the earliest human experiences. We’ll share some all-time great story songs with you on this program, including selections from Stephen Wade, Sheila Kay Adams with Jim Taylor, Ramblin’ Jack Elliot, Dock Boggs and a classic from Jerry Jeff Walker, too. Once upon a time … this week on The Sing Out! Radio Magazine.

LISTEN:

Artist/”Song”/CD/Label

Pete Seeger / “If I Had A Hammer” (excerpt) / Songs of Hope and Struggle / Smithsonian
              Folkways
Stephen Wade / “Hobart Smith’s Wabash Blues” / Dancing in the Parlor / County
Dom Flemons / “Tying Knots in the Devil’s Tail” / Black Cowboys / Smithsonian Folkways
Ramblin’ Jack Elliot / “Railroad Bill” / Hard Travelin’ / Fantasy
Norman Blake / “The Fate of Oliver Curtis Perry” / Brushwood Songs and Stories / Plectrafone
Dock Boggs / “Cole Younger” / Classic American Ballads / Smithsonian Folkways

Ellis Paul / “The Storyteller’s Suitcase” / The Storyteller’s Suitcase / Rosella
Jerry Jeff Walker / “Mr. Bojangles” / Five Years Gone / Atco
Old Man Luedecke / “Machu Picchu” / My Hands are on Fire and other Love Songs / Black Hen
Stephen Wade / “Malvern Hill” / Dancing in the Parlor / County

Stephen Wade / “Chicago” / A Storyteller’s Story / Patuxent
Larry Hanks / “The Ballad of Tom Joad” / The Last Wagon / Zippety Whippet

John Roberts & Debra Cowan / “The Cornstalk” / Ballads Long and Short / Golden Hind
Sheila Kay Adams & Jim Taylor / “Sherburne” / Christmas on the Mountain / Granny Dell
Pete Seeger / “If I Had A Hammer” (excerpt) / Songs of Hope and Struggle / Smithsonian
              Folkways