I've been exclusively listening to songs by John Jacob Niles for almost a month now.
I just can't get enough!
He would sing old folk songs from England that sat in the Appalachian and Ozark mountains for a hundred years.
Many people do this, but nobody does it the way that he did. He sings in a C# Alto, and play dulcimers that he constructed, but he wouldn't play them like a dulcimer, he would claw at them, creating a spooky droning background for his songs.
His delivery is like nothing I've ever heard, with his falsetto singing, and his dramatic, yet somehow conversational delivery.
I seriously can't get over it. He was a freaking wizard.
Raggle Taggle Gypsy has been one of my pub favorites for years. I've heard at least 20 versions of it, and I have loved them all.
John Jacob Niles does a version of it called "Blackjack Gypsy."
I will never be able to listen to any other version again!
I feel like they all suck compared to this one.
His songs make me feel a warm longing .(or something)
The Cuckoo is a song that most Irish instrumentalists and ALL Jamgrass bands play.(Jamgrass is big in Minnesota)
I like the song, but all versions I've heard are now irrelevant.
From the first time his voice goes high when he says "pretty flowers" it is certain that this is the only version of The Cuckoo that matters!(to me)
He also uses the word 'forsworn,' which is super cool.
Here, he sings the old English folk song Barbara Ellen.
This is simply one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard.
His nimble and effortless delivery has me seriously rethinking the way that I sing.
I've tried to sing some of these songs, but I can't match the magic that John Jacob Niles created, so I am never happy with my versions.
I have a similar deal with Van Morrison songs.
Listening to him will either make me a better singer, or it will keep me from ever singing!
Eek!
Blessings Steemit...