A Treasury of Civil War Songs

by Tom Glazer

Overview

The Civil War ushered in the 19th century in so many ways, transforming America and the world into the industrial age and everything that came with it, which included the rise of photography and music publishing, themselves the nascent beginnings of the pop music industry. Thousands of songs were written during the war, and thanks to the publishers, they proliferated -- hundreds of songs of valor, of sadness, of joy, of missing the girl back home, as well as songs describing the geography of battle across the full scale of human emotion. It wasn't pop music exactly, but it was popular, and along with photography and a rapidly evolving print media, it all combined to make the Civil War the most fully documented war to date in history -- it was, in essence, the first modern war. This set features folksinger Tom Glazer (best known for his 1963 novelty song "On Top of Spaghetti") singing some of these Civil War tunes in his clear, measured everyman voice over light guitar, banjo, and autoharp accompaniment. It's nothing fancy as far as studio production goes, but it's probably close to how some of these songs were sung during the war. There's a little bit of everything included here, from songs that work like travel diaries ("Marching Through Georgia" and "Cumberland Gap") to stark and poignant expressions of the casualties of war ("Somebody's Darling"), to reminders of what was at stake ("The Year of Jubilo [Kingdom Coming]"), to offbeat but easily sung songs that simply lifted the spirit ("Goober Peas"). This is an album full of history highlighted by song notes from University of Maryland musicologist Patrick Warfield, who places each song in cultural context, all of which makes A Treasury of Civil War Songs the audio equivalent of a well-documented PBS special. ~ Steve Leggett

Product Details

Release Date:	04/26/2011
Label:	Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
UPC:	0093074018729
Rank:	42429

Tracks

1. John Brown's Body
2. Battle Hymn of the Republic
3. Dixie
4. Maryland, My Maryland
5. The Yellow Rose of Texas
6. The Bonnie Blue Flag
7. Upidee
8. Goober Peas
9. All Quiet Along the Potomac
10. Tenting on the Old Camp Ground
11. The Battle Cry of Freedom
12. Wait for the Wagon
13. We Are Coming Father Abram
14. The Arms of Abraham
15. Just Before the Battle, Mother
16. Tramp, Tramp, Tramp
17. The Year of Jubilo (Kingdom Coming)
18. Wake, Nicodemus
19. Marching Through Georgia
20. When Johnny Comes Marching Home
21. General Patterson
22. The Cumberland Gap
23. Somebody's Darling
24. The Conquered Banner
25. The President's Grave

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Tom Glazer   Primary Artist,Guitar,Vocals
Kemp Harris   Piano,Vocals
Eileen Gibney   Vocals
Jackie Spector   Vocals
Pam Goff   Vocals
Patty Gibney   Vocals
Tom Gibney   Banjo,Guitar,Vocals,Autoharp,Penny Whistle

Technical Credits

Patrick S. Gilmore   Lyricist,Composer
Pete Reiniger   Mastering,Audio Restoration
Tom Glazer   Arranger,Producer,Liner Notes
Daniel Decatur Emmett   Composer
Henry Clay Work   Composer
D.A. Sonneborn   Executive Producer
William Steffe   Composer
Daniel E. Sheehy   Executive Producer
Harry McCarthy   Composer
Mary Monseur   Production Manager
W.H. Barnes   Composer
George Frederick Root   Composer
Walter Kittredge   Composer
John Hill Hewitt   Composer
Septimus Winner   Composer,Lyricist
Chris Bamberger   Editorial Assistant
Jackson Foster   Design
James Deutsch   Editorial Assistant
James S. Gibbons   Composer
Patrick Warfield   Liner Notes
Julia Ward Howe   Composer,Lyricist