Back in 2006, I recorded an album titled OLD FOLK – a piano tribute to America’s folk songs. It contained 72 songs (which was my age at the time) that capture our rich musical heritage.

             For years, I had been playing many of these songs on a harmonica (which vies with the vibes as my second favorite instrument). For eight of the songs on the album, I included harmonica segments, in duets I overdubbed with the piano. It’s these eight songs – which total about 10 minutes of playing time – that comprise my September musical entry to the blog.

             Four of the songs – Old Folks at Home, Camptown Races, Oh! Susanna and My Old Kentucky Home – are by Stephen Foster, a prolific mid-19th century songwriter. Two are from the old west (The Colorado Trail and Red River Valley), and two are sea chanteys (The Rio Grande and Can’t You Dance the Polka?). The songs appear in the following order.

             Old Folks at Home

            Camptown Races

            My Old Kentucky Home

            Oh! Susanna

            The Colorado Trail

            The Rio Grande

            Can’t You Dance the Polka?

            Red River Valley