Camptown Shakers: CD's

During the Civil War, soldiers would sometimes pass the time between campaigns performing in minstrel bands. As reenactors, we created the Camptown Shakers to learn first hand how the soldiers entertained themselves in winter camp.Along the way we became familiar with some of the other diversions common to any Civil War camp.For our third recording we have selected some songs and tunes that reflect that theme: tobacco, drinking, gambling, and the pursuit of the fairer sex both chaste and otherwise.

1. Rose Of Alabama 2. O! Lud Gals 3. Tater Patch 4. Walk Jawbone 5. Walk Into De Parlor Jig 6. Dandy Jim from Caroline 7. New York Girls 8. Walk Along John 9. Robinson County 10. Drunken Hiccups 11. Blue Tail Fly 12. Chickens Crowing at Midnight 13. Miss Lucy Long 14. Old Horse & Buggy 15. Way Down the Old Plank Road

This CD is available directly from the the Camptown Shakers for $15 (+$3 shipping and handling). Please send a check (made out to Tracy Culgan) to : Tracy Culgan, 196 CorbyRd., West Grove PA 19390 and we will send one off to you right away.

1. Jordan is a Hard Road to Travel - Published by Dan Emmett in 1853, the banjo part is from “Brigg’s Banjo Instructor”. 2. Tooth and Nail - We titled this traditional fiddle tune (whose name escaped us) after one particularly spirited performance featuring Rich’s amazing mandibular manipulation! 3. Peg and Awl - A traditional song handed down by the early recordings of Virginia fiddler Hobart Smith and by the Carolina Tarheels; it laments changes brought about by the industrial revolution to the cobbler’s trade. 4. Glendy Burk - Words and music by Stephen Foster, published 1860. This song might have been inspired by Foster’s only trip to the south during which he traveled down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers to New Orleans by steamboat. 5. Chinquapin Hunting - A traditional fiddle tune that takes its name from chinquapins. During the long hard times of the Civil War people gathered these edible nuts to fend off starvation just as the Indians who first named them did. 6. Buffalo Gals - First published as “Lubly Fan” in 1844 by John Hodges (aka. Cool White), this popular song assumed the name of whichever city the minstrel band that sang it was traveling through. 7. Twill Nebber Do to Gib it Up So - Published by Dan Emmett in 1843, the banjo part is from “Brigg’s Banjo Instructor”. The title sums up the resolve of the Union army and its supporters to see the Civil War through to the end. 8. Waterbound (out on Pea Patch Island) - Our own parody of this once popular play-party song was inspired by Ft. Delaware, a prison camp during the Civil War and one of our favorite places to perform. 9. Ring De Banjo / Oh Susanna - Words and music for both by Stephen Foster, published in 1851 and 1848. 10. Flatwoods - This traditional fiddle tune with its special tuning comes from the playing of Confederate veteran Zack Paine as learned by old time fiddler Tommy Jarrell (who would later record it). 11. Gwine Back to Dixie - ‘Song and Chorus’ by Charles A. White, published 1874. This is typical of songs that would have been performed during a minstrel show walk-around. 12. Rickett’s Hornpipe - A traditional Scottish dance tune later named for Englishman John Bill Ricketts who brought a circus from England to America in the 1790’s. He is reported to have danced (or played?) a hornpipe while riding a horse at full gallop. 13. Keemo Kimo / Brigg’s Corn Shucking Jig - Credit for Keemo Kimo goes to H. Woods circa 1854 (of Wood’s and Christy’s minstrel troupes). The banjo part for both of these tunes came from “Brigg’s Banjo Instructor” printed 1855.14. Tobacco Hill - From two traditional fiddle tunes “Can You Dance a Tobacco Hill” from Ireland and “Bring Me Back My Hodi Cake”. We can’t dance it either. 15. If You Only Got a Moustache - Words by George Cooper; music composed by Stephen Foster and published after his death in 1864.

This CD is available directly from the the Camptown Shakers for $15 (+$3 shipping and handling). Please send a check (made out to Tracy Culgan) to : Tracy Culgan, 196 CorbyRd., West Grove PA 19390 and we will send one off to you right away.

1. Jim Along Josey 2. Ol' Dan Tucker 3. White Cat Black Cat 4. Brushy Fork of John's Creek 5. The Boatmen's Dance 6. Ol' Zip Coon 7. The Hound Dog Song 8. Gwine Ober De Mountain 9. Sail Away Ladies 10. Old Joe 11. Angelina Baker 12. Julie Ann Johnson 13. Tucker;s Soliloquy from 'Hard Times' a comedy in dialect. This CD is available directly from the the Camptown Shakers for $15 (+$3 shipping and handling). Please send a check (made out to Tracy Culgan) to : Tracy Culgan, 196 CorbyRd., West Grove PA 19390 and we will send one off to you right away.