As the Endless Carefree Highway Leads Me On

larryholdermusic.org/carefree.html

Photo courtesy Gwen Goodmanlowe

I wrote this song as a tribute to Gordon Lightfoot, first for his album “Gord’s Gold” which was one of the first LP’s I ever owned, as well as to his current “Carefree Highway” tour, celebrating over 50 years of music. As I post this, they are performing in Durham, NC, just a few miles from my old stomping grounds in Chapel Hill.

I’m particularly a fan of Rick Haynes, the bass guitar player, and you can hear at least a couple of bass riffs that I learned from listening to the Lightfoot albums. See how many song titles from Gord’s Gold you can find in the lyrics. Eleven of them, if I counted right.

Play the MP3

Words & Music by Larry Holder
(With adapted inclusion of titles from Gord’s Gold)

Gord’s Gold was on the stereo
The LP circled ’round
The ballads and the stories came alive
The songs became a journey
On a new-found, open road
The 12-string and the vocals mesmerized.

‘Twas Cold Upon My Shoulder
In the Early Morning Rain
Until I heard The Minstrel of the Dawn
And basking in the glory of
The Summer Side of Life
The endless Carefree Highway led me on.

And here’s to Rick Haynes on the bass
And Carter on guitar
With Mike on keys, and Barry keepin’ time
Those dedicated troubadors
With Gordon on the stage
Together in the rhythm and the rhyme.

As day gives way to Sundown
Well, If You Could Read My Mind
You’d know I seek the Wherefore and the Why
I’m Not Sayin’ there’s no Bitter Green
But life is Beautiful
As the endless Carefree Highway rolls on by.

[instrumental]

‘Twas Cold Upon My Shoulder
In the Early Morning Rain
Until I heard The Minstrel of the Dawn
And basking in the glory of
The Summer Side of Life
The endless Carefree Highway led me on.

Yes, ’twas Cold Upon My Shoulder
In the Early Morning Rain
Until I heard The Minstrel of the Dawn
And basking in the glory of
The Summer Side of Life
The endless Carefree Highway leads me on.
Yes, the endless Carefree Highway leads me on!

Copyright © 2015 Larry Holder (Larry Holder Music, ASCAP)

The Ballad of the Mississippi

I wrote this ballad in the fall of 2013.  The photo above is taken from a spot along the levee near Tiptonville, Tennessee (where a lot of folks go to see the Bald Eagles). This is not the first song about this mighty river, nor will it be the last, but I felt compelled to share my own personal connection to this noble waterway.  I finally did write a melody, and plan to record it in the near future.  I’ve also added a new verse (now verse 3) in April of 2019.

THE BALLAD OF THE MISSISSIPPI
Larry Holder
(Copyright 2014, 2019 Larry Holder Music)

From northern Minnesota
Thru the port of New Orleans
By way of old St. Loui’
And Memphis, Tennessee
The river of my mem’ries
Is slowly ramblin’ on
She’s was flowin’ ‘fore I got here
She’ll be flowin’ when I’m gone.

I’ve seen her from the levee
And I’ve seen her from the bridge
I’ve stood along the riverside
And high upon the ridge
I’ve seen her in the floodstage
And I’ve seen her her waters low
Like minutes of each passing day
Her mighty waters flow.

I’ve seen her waters narrow
I’ve seen her waters wide
With mighty eagles soaring
Majestic ‘cross the sky
If ever there’s a river
That brings a voice to song
Oh, the mighty Mississippi
She keeps a-ramblin’ on
Yes, the mighty Mississippi
Forever ramblin’ on.

So carry on, you barges
As you float the flowing road
And all you sea-ward ships, now
As you haul your heavy load
And hail to you, riverboats
And tugboats, all the same
The river has a mem’ry
The river has a name.

From northern Minnesota
Thru the port of New Orleans
By way of old St. Loui’
And Memphis, Tennessee
The mighty Mississippi
Is slowly ramblin’ on
She’s was flowin’ ‘fore I got here
She’ll be flowin’ when I’m gone.

Bass is Beautiful

I started playing bass around 9th grade in Memphis.  My friend Bill Edmonson was playing guitar in a new band called Stainless Steel, and they needed a bass player.  I was a guitar player originally, but figured I could learn the bass easily enough, especially if it got me into a garage band.  Initially, I borrowed the Fender Precision from my high school’s jazz band, but eventually bought a Fender Musicmaster (seen in the photo below, and very similar to the Fender Squier Bronco in the photo above) and built a bass speaker powered by a Bassman 10 amp head.  The band evolved into another called Mirage, with George Brown becoming our lead vocal (I can’t remember the drummer’s name).  I remember playing for a private party and once at a school.  Probably our best gig was playing for the all-night skating party at Evergreen Presbyterian Church, which was a big annual youth event back in the day.  The final gig I played with Mirage was a party at Bill’s house; he was a senior, while I’d started my freshman year at UT Martin.

In college, I played in a praise band called ReJoyce, fronted by Landon and Connie Hedges, up in Martin, TN.  I also jammed with several others, particularly at the Baptist Student Union.  My roommate, Dave Laborde, played an ovation guitar.  There was also Randy “O” (O’Daniel) also with an ovation guitar (they were big in the 80’s), Barry Young on drums, and others.  The photo above shows me in the back, Barry in the middle, and Randy on the right (I can’t remember the electric guitarist), playing as the “King Barry Band” for a BSU coffeehouse night.  Around my senior year, I sold my bass to pay off a debt, and went back to acoustic guitar for several years.

I picked the bass back up again about a decade later.  I bought the Fender Squier at the Strings & Things on Union Avenue in Memphis while passing thru.  Later also added a 5-string Fender Squier Jazz bass, which is great for the extra low string, although for ease of playing I still prefer my 4-string, which also has the shorter neck so the frets are closer.  Sounds great plugged into a good amp.

Currently I play bass with the praise band at First Baptist Church in Martin, TN, as well as with the Ryman Shadows, a bluegrass group here in Martin (along with Terry Lewis on mandolin, Jim Fieser on guitar, Kenny Robinson on fiddle, and Beth Ostenson on fiddle).  Once in a while, blugrass venues insist on upright bass, so I’ve learned to play that too. Here’s a photo of my first try playing it at a practice / jam.

While I still consider guitar as my primary instrument (and also have recently goofed around with mandolin and clawhammer banjo), I most consistently play the bass.  In a group setting, there is nothing like working with the drummer to set the groove.  Bass playing is a lot more than just hitting the low note of the chords.  With few exceptions, I play songs as I hear and feel them, not trying to imitate the original recordings (some folks put too much weight in imitation, which is fine I guess if you’re making a living as a tribute band).  Of all the bass players out there that I’ve admired over the years, the one that probably stands out the most for me is Rick Haynes, the self-taught bass player who has toured and recorded with Gordon Lightfoot all these years.  I would say his style is most akin to what I endeavor to perform.

I guess if I could only thank one person, it would be my friend Bill Edmonson for getting me into my first band and consequently picking up the bass in the first place.  As a garage band, Mirage probably practiced 50 times for every real gig that came along, but I’ve always enjoyed rehearsing as much as live performance.  There is nothing else quite like the camaradare of a band.

P.S.  If you’d like to hear a recent example of my bass playing, listen to the mp3 of “Love Has A Name” in the blog post below…

 

The Ballad of the Northwestern

larryholdermusic.org/northwestern.html

I wrote the initial lyrics July 2009 during a road trip from Seattle to Tennessee. Just 2 years earlier, I saw the Northwestern as it passed through the locks at the port of Seattle. Those of you who are familiar with the show “Deadliest Catch” will of course recognize this ship. I’m sure John Denver’s ballad “Calypso” and Gordon Lightfoot’s ballad “The Wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald” were also inspirations, sharing what I call a “heavy 2-count” beat (6/8 time).

This was recorded with 3 vocal tracks, 2 guitar tracks, and a drum track. I play real drums, with no click track, which I think gives it a much more natural sound. Moderate compression was applied to each track, but no other effects. I considered adding mandolin at one point, but decided there was enough treble sound with the guitars. I also opted to minimize the “low end” by omitting bass guitar and quieting the kick drum (although I’ve recently been giving thought to adding a good bass line).

Play the MP3

Now out from Seattle with captain and crew
To make for the ocean, the brave and the few
A course for the Bering, where treasures abound
With blues skies above and the sea all around.

And dreams of the bounty are calling her name
The mighty Northwestern finds fortune and fame
As pots full of crab fill the salt water hold
So the hours pass by as the sea yields its gold.

And what makes a man turn his heart to the sea
Forsaking the land to be out in the free?
And risking it all to take hold of the prize?
There’s salt in their veins, there is fire in their eyes.

With thirty-eight meters from stem to the stern
For Sig and his brothers, a living they earn
In dangerous waters, in darkness and light
The challenge, it calls them, the goal is in sight.

The race for the prize leads the great vessel on
From greenhorn to captain, from dusk until dawn
No rest for the weary from wind and the waves
As ice floes she conquers and tempest she braves.

And what makes a man turn his heart to the sea
Forsaking the land to be out in the free?
And risking it all to take hold of the prize?
There’s salt in their veins, there is fire in their eyes.

God bless the Northwestern through calm and through gale
And be as a Beacon as onward she sails.
Bestow her the bounty for whom she is known
And guide her in safety to harbor and home.

And what makes a man turn his heart to the sea
Forsaking the land to be out in the free?
And risking it all to take hold of the prize?
There’s salt in their veins, there is fire…

Yes, and what makes a man turn his heart to the sea
Forsaking the land to be out in the free?
They risk everything to take hold of the prize
For there’s salt in their veins, there is fire in their eyes.

Copyright © 2012 Larry Holder (Larry Holder Music, ASCAP)