Another of Allen’s dear friends and confrères, Happy Traum, passed away this past week, this past Wednesday. Read his New York Times obituary – here
From Happy’s web-site:
In 1971 Happy … joined his Woodstock friend and neighbor, Bob Dylan,in the studio, playing guitar, banjo, bass, and singing harmony on four songs. “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere,” “Down In the Flood,” and “I Shall Be Released” appeared on “Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits, Vol. 2.” The fourth cut, “Only a Hobo,” was included in Bob’s “Another Self-Portrait” box set, released in 2013.
Earlier that year, Dylan had invited Happy to participate in a famous session with poet Allen Ginsberg….... The legendary John Hammond produced the session, which also included Dylan, David Amram, Jon Scholle and several other well-known musicians and Beat poets.
“FOOTSTOMPING SMOKESTACKS” – Allen writes
“Ramblin Shoes Freight Train Blues… tricky Guitars
great Artie fingers.. Mah Greole Belle chorused plentyfully Traum dreaming in transmission of Hurt blues..
Footstomping Smokestacks.. yodeling trainwhistles ..
ordinary white boys singing Nashville no depressions prophetic of past and future.. Gay good humor times, Clank & Chang of Banjos and Acoustic Guitars, community singing to remind us of our family origins & sociable selves, tragic nostalgias all sung together, with the children listening, parents transmitting the secular message, Godless socialist sentiment rooted in the Folk of pre-industrial memory, before robots built up god with buttons to the musical CIA Mafia rack-jobbers.
Gives you history of old time blues in Mississippi John
.. redoing old Classic Harry Smith Anthology favorites like Penny’s Farm another generation just in time for rural reconstruction : rollicking Hard times in the countrecee” band jumping doubletime
… Sincere violin in Gambler’s Song … I Bidjoo Goonight is a sweet classic, like a Bach fugue Mahler symphony, an old Bahaman spiritual,
dear Sisters! Goodnight, like a mantra.”
Allen Ginsberg. February 15, 1975 NYC
Hear Allen and Happy together (from December in ’74) – here
Allen and Happy, sympatico together:
and here’s the two of them performing together again (in the late 198O’s), the aptly-titled “I Shall Be Released”