The Days of Forty-Nine. - Minstrel Banjo2024-03-29T13:50:37Zhttp://minstrelbanjo.ning.com/forum/topics/the-days-of-fortynine?commentId=2477478%3AComment%3A73042&x=1&feed=yes&xn_auth=noThere was a sequel to it, in…tag:minstrelbanjo.ning.com,2012-09-04:2477478:Comment:730422012-09-04T04:23:27.324ZAndy Alexishttp://minstrelbanjo.ning.com/profile/AndyAlexis
<p>There was a sequel to it, in "Songs of the Great American West":…</p>
<p></p>
<p>There was a sequel to it, in "Songs of the Great American West":</p>
<p><a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=i-f-knYOHgsC&pg=PA99&lpg=PA99&dq=%22days+of+50,+1+and+2%22&source=bl&ots=kIj7QC4GVy&sig=MAW2CJL8qXEfCQldyzj8MYDSKhc&hl=en#v=onepage&q=%22days%20of%2050%2C%201%20and%202%22&f=false">http://books.google.com/books?id=i-f-knYOHgsC&pg=PA99&lpg=PA99&dq=%22days+of+50,+1+and+2%22&source=bl&ots=kIj7QC4GVy&sig=MAW2CJL8qXEfCQldyzj8MYDSKhc&hl=en#v=onepage&q=%22days%20of%2050%2C%201%20and%202%22&f=false</a></p>
<p></p>
<p>In regards to the Days of 49, there is a virulently racist last verse that is seldom done: the last line of which is "<span>For the country was right and the boys all white </span><span>In the days of '49.". For the full verse, and sources, here is a link:</span></p>
<p><span><a href="http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=22283">http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=22283</a></span></p>
<p></p>
<p>The version at the end of episode 3 of Ken Burn's "The West" was done by a friend, Alan Fuller of Placerville, CA., a retired ranger at the James Marshall Gold Rush Discovery Park in Coloma, CA.</p>
<p>Andy Alexis</p> About all I can find is in th…tag:minstrelbanjo.ning.com,2012-07-26:2477478:Comment:714022012-07-26T23:52:17.239ZJoel Hookshttp://minstrelbanjo.ning.com/profile/deuceswilde
<p>About all I can find is in the John Lomax Cowboy songs book from the early 20th.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Notation on page 12-13 <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=aFAQAAAAYAAJ&printsec" target="_blank">http://books.google.com/books?id=aFAQAAAAYAAJ&printsec</a></p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<p>About all I can find is in the John Lomax Cowboy songs book from the early 20th.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Notation on page 12-13 <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=aFAQAAAAYAAJ&printsec" target="_blank">http://books.google.com/books?id=aFAQAAAAYAAJ&printsec</a></p>
<p></p>
<p></p> That's Troy Groves' site. Th…tag:minstrelbanjo.ning.com,2012-07-26:2477478:Comment:714872012-07-26T13:53:46.697ZSilas Tackitthttp://minstrelbanjo.ning.com/profile/SilasTackitt
<p>That's Troy Groves' site. There's been a discussion between Carl and Troy on the Authentic Campaigner forum about this very song : <a href="http://www.authentic-campaigner.com/forum/showthread.php?36711-Day-s-of-49-researched">http://www.authentic-campaigner.com/forum/showthread.php?36711-Day-s-of-49-researched.</a> </p>
<p>That's Troy Groves' site. There's been a discussion between Carl and Troy on the Authentic Campaigner forum about this very song : <a href="http://www.authentic-campaigner.com/forum/showthread.php?36711-Day-s-of-49-researched">http://www.authentic-campaigner.com/forum/showthread.php?36711-Day-s-of-49-researched.</a> </p> Regarding another supposed go…tag:minstrelbanjo.ning.com,2012-07-26:2477478:Comment:713962012-07-26T11:10:14.172ZAl Smitleyhttp://minstrelbanjo.ning.com/profile/AlSmitley
<p>Regarding another supposed gold rush ditty, I would like to know more of the provenance of <em>What Was Your Name in the States? </em> Liner notes for <em>Days of '49</em> state that the "tune and text can be found in Carl Sandburg's <span style="text-decoration: underline;">American Songbag</span>....which I don't have Was it merely a song recalling the joke of the period/place or did it coincide with that time and place? Were there more verses?</p>
<p>Regarding another supposed gold rush ditty, I would like to know more of the provenance of <em>What Was Your Name in the States? </em> Liner notes for <em>Days of '49</em> state that the "tune and text can be found in Carl Sandburg's <span style="text-decoration: underline;">American Songbag</span>....which I don't have Was it merely a song recalling the joke of the period/place or did it coincide with that time and place? Were there more verses?</p> Carl, you must have the same…tag:minstrelbanjo.ning.com,2012-07-26:2477478:Comment:713932012-07-26T10:49:15.461ZAl Smitleyhttp://minstrelbanjo.ning.com/profile/AlSmitley
<p>Carl, you must have the same source I have. I have the liner notes for the Folkways LP "<em>Days of '49</em>" which presumably offers the same source (<em>Great Emerson New Popular Songster</em>, 1874). Another book, <em>Songs of the Great American West</em>, compiled and edited by Irwin Silber cites the same source but gives 1872 as its pub date.</p>
<p>I'm supposing that you have used the following website but in case not or in case others haven't.......…</p>
<p></p>
<p>Carl, you must have the same source I have. I have the liner notes for the Folkways LP "<em>Days of '49</em>" which presumably offers the same source (<em>Great Emerson New Popular Songster</em>, 1874). Another book, <em>Songs of the Great American West</em>, compiled and edited by Irwin Silber cites the same source but gives 1872 as its pub date.</p>
<p>I'm supposing that you have used the following website but in case not or in case others haven't.......</p>
<p><a href="http://www.manifest-history.org/Old/CaliforniaColumnResearch/music/index.htm#LocalLyrics58" target="_blank">http://www.manifest-history.org/Old/CaliforniaColumnResearch/music/index.htm#LocalLyrics58</a></p>
<p>It has downloadable mid-19th C songsters, including several California songsters......but alas none seem to include <em>Days of '49</em>. <em>Fools of '49</em>, yes but no <em>Days of '49.</em></p>
<p></p> I brought up this old discuss…tag:minstrelbanjo.ning.com,2012-07-26:2477478:Comment:712052012-07-26T01:27:08.870ZCarl Andertonhttp://minstrelbanjo.ning.com/profile/CarlAnderton
<p>I brought up this old discussion because I'm interested in finding the earliest published sheet music for "The Days of '49." One source tells me the earliest mention he has found is 1874.</p>
<p></p>
<p>In fact, I've never seen <strong>any</strong> sheet music for this song, early sheet music anyway. Songsheets, yes, sheet music, no. Dylan popularized it but is he singing the original melody?</p>
<p>I brought up this old discussion because I'm interested in finding the earliest published sheet music for "The Days of '49." One source tells me the earliest mention he has found is 1874.</p>
<p></p>
<p>In fact, I've never seen <strong>any</strong> sheet music for this song, early sheet music anyway. Songsheets, yes, sheet music, no. Dylan popularized it but is he singing the original melody?</p> From "Troupers of the Gold Co…tag:minstrelbanjo.ning.com,2009-01-18:2477478:Comment:36612009-01-18T18:49:26.000ZChris Ownbyhttp://minstrelbanjo.ning.com/profile/ChrisOwnby
From "Troupers of the Gold Coast or the rise of Lotta Crabtree" by Constance Rourke<br />
<br />
Page #156 "A minstrel named Jake Wallace had taught Lotta to strum the banjo in the mountains - "Walk into the parlor and hear de banjo ring, And watch de darkey's fingers while he picks it on de string - " "<br />
<br />
Page #162 "At Iowa Hill the encountered ardent Union Sentiment, and gave a grand patriotic program with Wallace singing The Anthem of the Free, and Lotta in a Topsy act which drew a hailstorm of money on…
From "Troupers of the Gold Coast or the rise of Lotta Crabtree" by Constance Rourke<br />
<br />
Page #156 "A minstrel named Jake Wallace had taught Lotta to strum the banjo in the mountains - "Walk into the parlor and hear de banjo ring, And watch de darkey's fingers while he picks it on de string - " "<br />
<br />
Page #162 "At Iowa Hill the encountered ardent Union Sentiment, and gave a grand patriotic program with Wallace singing The Anthem of the Free, and Lotta in a Topsy act which drew a hailstorm of money on the stage and applause in the house. But as they traveled northward and at last reached southern Oregon, The atmosphere for patriotic numbers<br />
<br />
<br />
became less genial. In one village they were greeted by a rebel yell as soon as the curtain went up: the audience hissed when opening Union airs were sung. Wallace advised Lotta to change her number - a sailor act with a drum and flag and hornpipe - for fear the company might be mobbed."<br />
<br />
Page #227 "Jake Wallace was an established favorite in the variety halls of San Francisco; for years his appearance was a signal for the shout, "Forty-nine! Forty-nine!" At some point in his performance he would reel off The Days of Forty-nine, a long ballad celebrating many excellent partners, which had been composed by another early trouper on the Coast who had come across the plains."<br />
<br />
Page #228 "A company which included Blanche and Ella Chapman, younger members of the famous Chapman family, Jake Wallace, and a few others, encountered highwaymen as they traveled through the mountains by stage-coach in the late seventies. Annoyed because their quarries were actors and could be expected to have small funds, the bandits forced the company out of the coach at the point of pistols and put them through a variety entertainment on the dust road. Blanche Chapman danced. Ella, an accomplished banjoist, played with Wallace. A ventriloquist cast his trembling notes and funny sayings into waste spaces. There were songs and the lilt of merry-making in front of slitted black masks and heavy glistening barrels. The fastidious bandits then danced quadrilles and lancers with the ladies of the company. At last the company was permitted to resume it's journey. After rapid coaching of perhaps twenty miles, the hardened stage-driver fainted. The treasure-box, which the bandits had neglected to examine, contained a fabulous sum, astutely placed there by a Wells-Fargo agent under the tacit protection of the troupe."<br />
<br />
Chris Ownby Yesterday morning, I did a pr…tag:minstrelbanjo.ning.com,2009-01-17:2477478:Comment:36242009-01-17T16:25:23.000ZChris Ownbyhttp://minstrelbanjo.ning.com/profile/ChrisOwnby
Yesterday morning, I did a program for 90 forth grade students and about 15 adults. I decided to talk about gold rush musicians (Mart Taylor, Buckleys' Serenaders, Sam Wells, Charles Robert Miller, Lotta Crabtree, etc.) and how they earned their money. I started with Jake Wallace his song the Days 0f Forty-nine and how he would pause during the song and wait for people to throw money onto the stage. The funny part was that the kids actually started throw money onto the stage and did so for my…
Yesterday morning, I did a program for 90 forth grade students and about 15 adults. I decided to talk about gold rush musicians (Mart Taylor, Buckleys' Serenaders, Sam Wells, Charles Robert Miller, Lotta Crabtree, etc.) and how they earned their money. I started with Jake Wallace his song the Days 0f Forty-nine and how he would pause during the song and wait for people to throw money onto the stage. The funny part was that the kids actually started throw money onto the stage and did so for my entire presentation. After I finished the program I thanked them but told them to please take their money back.<br />
<br />
One of the boys walked up to me and said that in his lifetime (9 or 10 years) he must have heard over 1000 songs and that the songs that I played for them that morning were the best songs that he had ever heard. I wanted to share that with all of you and especially with those of you who do living history/interpretation.<br />
<br />
Chris Ownby From "Gold Rush Performers" b…tag:minstrelbanjo.ning.com,2009-01-17:2477478:Comment:36212009-01-17T15:21:50.000ZChris Ownbyhttp://minstrelbanjo.ning.com/profile/ChrisOwnby
From "Gold Rush Performers" by Helene Wickham Koon "Wallace, Jake - Minstrel man, Virginia City, August 1863, Miguire's Minstrels, end man. Late sixties, leader of minstrel troupe, toured northern mines to Oregon. Tall, lazy, good humored, southern drawl, "famous old banjoist and blackface performer. In 1911, living on a ranch near San Diego, California"<br />
<br />
"Worrell sisters - Singers-dancers. Born in Cincinnati, Ohio (Sophie, 1848; Irene, 1849; Jenny 1850), daughters of William Worrell, grand…
From "Gold Rush Performers" by Helene Wickham Koon "Wallace, Jake - Minstrel man, Virginia City, August 1863, Miguire's Minstrels, end man. Late sixties, leader of minstrel troupe, toured northern mines to Oregon. Tall, lazy, good humored, southern drawl, "famous old banjoist and blackface performer. In 1911, living on a ranch near San Diego, California"<br />
<br />
"Worrell sisters - Singers-dancers. Born in Cincinnati, Ohio (Sophie, 1848; Irene, 1849; Jenny 1850), daughters of William Worrell, grand daughters of Mrs Judah. Traveled with parents, Welch, Delavan and Nathan's Circus, 1851-1855. Appeared together in father's act. San Francisco March 1857, Lee and Marshall Circus, "Juvenile Graces"; San Francisco, Lee and Bennett's National Circus. San Francisco, January 1858, Varieties company, "a world of wit in their heels"; toured, May with the Pennsylvanians; San Francisco, joint debut as singers. Toured Australia with father, returned to play San Francisco, New York, then starring tours; very popular. San Francisco, Feb 1863, Gilbert's Melodeon, "star sisters." Toured southern mones in middle sixties. San Francisco, April 1865, show at news of Lincoln's death. Nevada City, September, Ici Parle Francais, John Jones of the War Office, The Invisible Prince; October, Setchell touring company, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Toodles. Went East; starred in New York and Providence, 1867, Under the Gaslight. New York, 1871, leased theater, Three Sisters (each took six characters). Jennie married James H. Barre, November 8, 1869, soon separated. Irene married Edward Eddy Jr, 1871, and N J Horton, April 25, 1884. Sophie married George S Knight (real name George Sloan), November 22, 1875.<br />
<br />
From "The Theater of the Golden Era in California" by G. R. MacMinn (a book that I highly recommend no matter what part of the United States you live in). "As far the quality of entertainment, nothing could give better assurance of excellence than the engagement of William Worrell, "Best Clown in the United States, with his Juvenile Graces, Sophia, Irene, and La Petite Jennie." Concerning the distinguished Worrell the management was pleased to declare: "His name will be a sufficient guaranty the Wit without coarseness, Fun without vulgarity, and Mirth without end will characterize the comic department of the Exhibition." And as for the three Graces, the sprightly young daughters of so refined as well as so accomplished a comedian, they would have the singular charm of now making their circus debut."<br />
<br />
Chris Ownby Lowell Schreyer's "The Banjo…tag:minstrelbanjo.ning.com,2009-01-17:2477478:Comment:36072009-01-17T05:25:22.000ZCarl Andertonhttp://minstrelbanjo.ning.com/profile/CarlAnderton
Lowell Schreyer's "The Banjo Entertainers" has this to say about the <b>Worrell Sisters</b>-"...Sophie, Irene and Jennie---were (a) triple sister act including banjo in their presentation. Lotta (Crabtree) considered them her competition, primarily in dancing, when performing in San Francisco in the late 1850's. In 1867 the Worrells advertised "ballads, duets, single and duo dances, jigs, reels, and hornpipes" in addition to banjo solos. They had their own theater in New York City."
Lowell Schreyer's "The Banjo Entertainers" has this to say about the <b>Worrell Sisters</b>-"...Sophie, Irene and Jennie---were (a) triple sister act including banjo in their presentation. Lotta (Crabtree) considered them her competition, primarily in dancing, when performing in San Francisco in the late 1850's. In 1867 the Worrells advertised "ballads, duets, single and duo dances, jigs, reels, and hornpipes" in addition to banjo solos. They had their own theater in New York City."