Mississippi does not have an official state waltz but it does have a waltz which is well known to bluegrass fans - Mississippi Waltz written by Bill Monroe, the same man who wrote the better known Kentucky Waltz. The tune was first recorded in March of 1976, on an album on County label, Kenny Baker Plays Bill Monroe. Kenny Baker (1926-2011) played fiddle with Bill Monroe and his Blue Grass Boys for twenty-five years and recorded many albums with the group but he also recorded on his own. According to the Rosenberg and Wolfe book, The Music of Bill Monroe, Monroe gave Baker three tunes he had written but never recorded for that 1976 album - Mississippi Waltz was one of them. When Baker went to the studio to make the record, Monroe happened to drop by. When Baker asked him if he wanted to play a bit, Monroe picked up a mandolin and played for the entire recording session so it is Monroe you hear on the mandolin in the video below.
There are literally hundreds of covers of Monroe's Mississippi Waltz in recordings and YouTube videos, too many to review here but, if you have a sense of humor you might enjoy Ahren Buchheister's highly unusual cover of Mississippi Waltzhere.
There are Mississippi waltzes which were created both before and after Monroe's classic. One of the earliest noted was composed in 1883 by Howard Harris and published by Armand E. Blackmar. Blackmar's publishing company was founded in 1860 in New Orleans and was the most successful music publisher in the Confederacy during the American Civil War. A copy of piano sheet music for the Harris Mississippi Waltz is available in the Notated Music collection of the U.S. Library of Congress. A computer generated rendition of the waltz is available below.
There are other Mississippi waltzes in sheet music form from the era including:
An even earlier waltz titled Rose of Mississippi Waltz composed by S. Markstein, published by Horace Waters in New York in 1856. A copy can be viewed here.
References are found to sheet music for piano of a Mississippi Waltz written by B.R. Lignowski, and published by A.E. Blackmar (see above) in 1869.
In 1926, a group of musicians from Sebastopol, Mississippi formed a band and called themselves the Leake County Revelers (a portion of Sebastopol is in Leake County). The Revelers were one of the most popular string band in the South in the 1920's and 1930's. They had a Saturday night radio show broadcast from Jackson, Mississippi and recorded more than forty records, most of them on the Columbia label. One of those records, recorded in 1929, featured Mississippi Moon Waltz, probably composed by Nat Goldstein:
Vassar Clements makes his second visit to this blog (his first was for the Florida Waltz) with a second cut from his 1970 album, Twenty Country Waltzes. That album was reissued in 1998 as a CD with the title 20 Fiddle Tunes & Waltzes. There is no indication on the record of who composed the Mississippi Waltz he plays here - it is probably traditional.
In 1977, Joel Mabus started his long recording career in a studio in Potterville, Michigan. The resulting record, Grassroots, contained Mississippi Waltz which he wrote, sang and self-accompanied on his Martin D-21. You can read more about the background of that first recording and listen to five additional tracks on Joel's website. Since this first album, Joel has recorded an additional 27 albums and written (at least) three more waltzes but to this listener's ear, none surpasses the gentle story telling of his Mississippi Waltz:
In dramatic contrast to Joel Mabus's gentle sound, our last Mississippi Waltz, composed by sax player Chris Potter, is a modern jazz piece played by Alex Sipiagin and his combo. It is to be found on the album, Overlooking Moments, on the CrissCrossJazz label.
Audio files are not currently available but there is evidence of at least three more recordings of Mississippi waltzes:
Hal McCoy recorded Donald Duffy's Mississippi Waltz on the Imperial label (8052) in 1949.
The August 7, 1948 issue of Billboard Mazine reported that the Skytoppers recorded Mississippi Waltz on the Victor label (20-3056)
The June 2, 1947 Cash Box magazine reported that the Dixie Revelers had released Mississippi Waltz on Eagle Records (No. 753).
Not included in this review was a song titled Mississippi Waltz recorded in 2012 by Emanuele Dabbano under the pseudonym of Clark Kent Phone Booth on an album titled Vonnegut, Andromeda & the Tube-Heart Geometry Just as curious as the pseudonym and the album title is the fact that the song is in duple time and is in no way a waltz. You can listen to the song on YouTube here.
Also not included are the many songs which refer to the Mississippi river rather than to the state of Mississippi. There are some fine example of such songs on YouTube. To mention a few:
A search of copyright listings available through the Internet Archives found many Mississippi waltzes. Digital access to copyrights are limited and there are no doubt even more than shown here. No evidence was found that these were ever published or performed. Those copyrights include:
Missisippi Waltz, 1920 to G. Lustig Mississippi Valse, 1920 to Michael Rapone Mississippi Waltz, 1920 to Mrs. Z.P. Lusk Mississippi, 1922 to Fred Godfrey Mississippi Moon, 1922 to Nat Goldstein Mary from Mississippi, 1923 words and music to Dorothy Darling Mississippi Moonbeams, 1923 words to B. Hagner and music to Jack Vincent Mississippi Moon, 1931 words to V. Fitzgerald and music to Eugene Platz?? Mississippi Skies, 1931 words to Jay Whidden and music to Jay Whidden, Sam Kern and Vic Ford Mississippi Moon, 1931 words to V. Fitzgerald and music to Eugen Platzman Somewhere Down in Mississippi, 1943 to Alirene McDonald Stribling The Mississippi Waltz, 1948 to Erwin King Mississippi, 1949 to Fred Godfrey Mississippi Waltz, 1949 music to Robert Louis Carleton and words to U.G. Gargus The Mississippi Waltz, 1949 music to Hal Chanslor and words to Dolly Odessa Bynum Mississippi Waltz, 1951 words and music to Wiley Guyce Moore Mississippi Waltz, 1952 to Bob Miller (this one was also registered with ASCAP, none of the others were) Mississippi Waltz, 1952 words to Ralph Sones and music to James Charles McNeil Mississippi Waltz, 1953 words and music to Jimmy Boyd Mississippi Waltz, 1953 words to Floyd Elbert Watkins and music to Floyd Lane Crocker The Mississippi Waltz, 1953 words to Gerald W. Ammons and music to Ronald Buck Mississippi Waltz, 1953 to John Amodio Mississippi Waltz, 1953 to Georgia Jane Crocker Mississippi Waltz, 1953 to Ken Watkins Mississippi Waltz, 1955 words and music to Buddy Bain Mississippi Waltz, 1955 to Obie Lee Black The Mississippi Waltz, 1955 words and music to Otis Youngren Mississippi Waltz, 1955 to Peggy Black The Mississippi Waltz, 1957 words to Mrs. A.C. Womack and music to Gene Brooks Mississippi Waltz, 1957 to Travis Wommack Mississippi Waltz, 1966 words and music to Will B. Stollby The Mississippi Waltz, 1975 words and music to Erwin King The Mississippi Waltz, 1976 words and music to Howard Chandler Franks, Sr.
As is traditional for this blog, a simplified score is to be found below - actually two scores this time. The first is an approximation of Monroe's Mississippi Waltz and the second is of the Mississippi Waltz played by Vassar Clements.
Minnesota does not have an official state waltz but the state has not been ignored by songwriters. Perhaps the most common waltz celebrating Minnesota is an old-time fiddle tune, probably traditional with Norwegian roots, titled Minnesota Waltz. While it has escaped discussion on Clawhammer Mike's excellent Minnesota Fiddle Tune Project blog, it is captured on his CD, a kickstarter project. You can listen to it here played by the Mike's own Temporary String Band. Mike told this blog that he learned the tune from a home recording made by Phil Nusbaum in the seventies while Phil was researching Norwegian Minnesotan fiddlers. The Minnesotan fiddler he recorded was Ed Selvaag (1909-2012). The photo in the video below comes from a video made by Dave Simkins when Ed Selvaag was 100 years old. Listen to Ed Selvaag himself play Minnesota Waltz:
If you want to learn the tune, you will find a simplified score, as arranged by Tim Wankel here. Or you could watch the video below where Anabel Njoes teaches the tune at a Jumpstart Your Fiddle workshop in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota.
Marcus Eads has created a lap dulcimer version of the same Minnesota Waltz which you can listen to here (it is worth clicking this link just to see the barn picture).
About an hour and a half's drive south of Ed Selvagg's, near the town of Sunberg, Minnesota, lived Elmo Wick. Wick was born in 1924 into a musical family and got his first fiddle at the age of eleven. At the age of sixteen he was a professional fiddler playing for local dances. The demands of a growing family led him to give up the fiddle and make a living driving heavy equipment for the county road crew; but, in 1970, he picked the fiddle back up and learned to read music just so he could write down all those tunes he learned as a kid. In addition to the tunes he remembered, he wrote a few new ones including Minnesota Valsen, the title honoring his Norwegian roots. The Minnesota State Fiddlers Association (MFSA) was the recipient of Wick's tunes and $12 will buy a copy of his tunes directly from MSFA. Mary Pat Kleven, President of the MFSA indicates that they have adopted Wicks' Minnesota Valsen as the unofficial state waltz of Minnesota. The MFSA has also provided a video of member Carla Manning playing Minnesota Valsen accompanied first by Gilmore Lee on guitar and then additionally by Jeanette Ruff on the viola.
Here's Minnesota Valsen played on a traditional Norwegian Hardanger Fiddle by Inna Larsen. The Hardanger fiddle not only has the four bowed strings of other violins but also has a set of four or five additional strings which run under the bowed strings. They are tuned to vibrate sympathetically with music produced by the bowed strings producing a fuller, richer more continuous sound than that from an ordinary violin. Ms. Larsen is a resident of Wisconsin, a member of Hardanger Fiddle Association of America and of the contra dance band, Dark of the Moon.
You can also find a video featuring more than twenty fiddlers playing Minnesota Valsen in the second half of this video. If you want to enjoy playing the tune, you can find a score on The Session under the title of Minnesota Mazurka.
There is a totally different ethnic vibe in the Minnesota Waltz composed and copyrighted in 1970 by Bob Ross (you can buy a piano arrangement here.) . It is often performed by Polka Hall of Fame member, Ray Dorschner, and his band, the Rainbow Valley Dutchmen. They recorded a CD to celebrate Dorschner's induction into the Polka Hall of Fame which you can purchase here. You can hear the Minnesota Waltz from that CD below:
YouTube also has a live performance of Ross's Minnesota Waltz performed by Mike Cielecki who plays trumpet, flugelhorn, trombone, banjo, accordion, guitar, and keyboards for the Rainbow Valley Dutchman. He just plays the accordion here:
The Pittsburgh band, The Damaged Pies, has a completely different Minnesota waltz. The Damaged Pies have been around since 1987 under the leadership of Steve Bodner. They have released more than a dozen albums with one of their latest being The Stars on a Summer's Night which contains The Minnesota Waltz. The album shows the amazing breadth of Bodner's interest ranging from the grunge rock sound of Dolly Byrd to the Dylanesque sound of Two Separate Doors to the gentle acoustic, tight harmony of The Minnesota Waltz (which Bodner wrote) - sounding ever so much like it came from the pen of Paul Simon. Listen carefully to the lyrics and ask yourself, why is the tune called The Minnesota Waltz? Bodner explained in a note to this blog, "I wrote the song about a friend of mine who has since passed away. About 20 years ago her husband passed away. She said to me every morning she makes coffee, though she never drinks a cup. I asked her why and she said it made her feel like he was still around. I held that thought forever trying to find just the right lyrics, after many false starts I got something I liked. The chorus is 'Its been so long but not at all, memories remain throughout it all, from spring to fall from hello to their last waltz.' I chose waltz because I could just picture them dancing together while this song played. The Minnesota part is that she was from Minnesota."
A faithful reader of this blog may have noticed that the "country waltz" so typical of state waltzes has not yet appeared. That is about to change. Thanks to record collector and creator of the blog Some Local Loser, a recording of Minnesota Waltz from about 1970 on the Recar label by Slim Anderson (Derrald Rile Anderson, Sr.) has been preserved. "Slim" both wrote and sings the waltz. Somelocalloser shared a copy with this blog (many thanks).
If you are a Contra dance musician you no doubt know the names Jay Unger, Jerry Holland and Bob McQuillen - they have written many wonderful waltzes that are staples at Contra dance functions. There is another name that now should be added to that list - Laura Zisette. Ms. Zisette, a former music professor at Utah State University, is "Momma Possum" in the band Toss the Possum which features her son, Rob, on fiddle and, often, her daughter Jane or Bonnie Insull on flute and whistle. Zisette and her son have written over 100 waltzes, some of them are featured on their new CD, Waltzing the Possum 'Round the Room. Fortunately for this blog, one of her best is titled Leaving Minnesota. Zisette explained the title in a note to this blog, "...we lived in Minnesota on Lake Minnetonka for three and a half years. I played in four different bands there. We loved it! Loved the culture, loved the traditions. We had to move unexpectedly and so that was my goodbye waltz - a bittersweet offering of how much we loved it and how much we would miss it." Highly unusual for the state waltz genre, this hauntingly beautiful tune is in a minor key. You can listen below and find a score, generously provided by Ms. Zisette, at the end of this blog.
There is also a recording of Beautiful Minnesota Waltz composed by G.O. Potter and played on the Hammond organ by Mel Kious on the K&K record label, number 1016. An audio file is not available but at the time of writing this blog, the record was available from Amazon.com.
There are two piano sheet music versions of Minnesota waltzes:
A set of six 19th century waltzes composed for piano by Louis F. Gehrke titled Sounds of The Minnesota. They were published in 1870 by Whittemore, Swan & Stephens, Detroit and are available here from the Digital Music Collection of the U.S. Library of Congress.
Happy Minnesota Waltz by Paul Lawrence, composed in 1971 and published by Paul Lawrence, N.Y., N.Y. At the time of writing this blog a copy was available from ebay.
A search of Google Books and the Internet Archive uncovered copyrights for ten additional Minnesota waltzes which may be interesting but are not readily accessible.
Minnesota Waltz, 1940 to Edwin Jay Bowrin
Minnesota Waltz, 1907 to Blanche Chester
Minnesota Prairie Fire Waltz, 1907 to ??
Minnesota Waltz, 1951, words and music to Durward Lawrence Bailey
The Minnesota Waltz, 1953, words and music by Olaf J. Haugland, arranged by Jean Walz
Minnesota Waltz, 1953, words and music by Lee Bass
The Minnesota Waltz, 1964, words and music by Sigurd A. Severtson
The Minnesota Waltz, 1964 by Paul Sevick
Minnesota Waltz, 1954, words and music by Ronald Alexander Pia & Jack Bernhardt
Beautiful Minnesota, a waltz, 1945 by Goral O. Potter
In addition, there is a Minnesota Waltz in an 1853 music instruction book titled The Ladies' Pets by Ch. Grobe.
Michigan does not have an official state waltz. They do, however, have a confusing state song situation which involves a waltz. In 1937, the Michigan legislature declared My Michigan by Giles Kavanagh (lyrics) and H. O'Reilly Clint (music) as the official state song. It was to replace an unofficial state song, Michigan, My Michigan, the original lyrics of which were written by Winifred Lyster in 1862 to honor Michigan men who had fought in the civil war. It was sung to the tune of O Tannenbaumwhich is written in 3/4 time and can pass for a waltz. (It is also the tune for state songs in Maryland, Iowa and, at one time, Florida.) Today, My Michigan, is virtually never performed and Michigan, My Michigan has become the de facto state song. Interestingly, the lyrics of Michigan, My Michigan have been changed twice and the tune has been changed once. You can find all of the lyrics in the excellent Wikipedia entry on Michigan, My Michigan or you can listen to them below.
The original 1862 version:
In 1886, Major James Long wrote new lyrics and shortened the song (six stanzas instead of ten). He also de-emphasized, but did not eliminate, references to the civil war. It was still sung to the tune of O Tannenbaum. This version is a little rare, but you can hear it here:
In 1902, Douglas Malloch wrote new lyrics which eliminated all references to war and shortened it to a very singable four stanzas. Otto Miessner contributed a new tune - still a waltz and not as singable or memorable as O Tannenbaum. In 2003, Michigan Senate Bill 644 proposed making the Malloch/Miessner song the official state song but it never got out of committee. You can see a copy of the 1911 sheet music here and you can listen to it below.
The good people of Michigan have taken matters into their own hands. If you happen to find a Michigan resident who thinks they know the state song, the odds are that you will hear the words written by Malloch but you won't hear the tune written by Miessner - you will hear O Tannenbaum. An example follows.
Just one more complication - in 2013, Michigan State Representative Frank Foster submitted House Bill 4263 which would make Michigan Man by Mike Ridley (it is not a waltz) the official state song. That bill, too, has disappeared in committee.
With that introduction, let's looks at some real Michigan waltzes, and there are some nice ones.
The first to be reviewed is titled Waltz for the Michigan Missionary which was written and performed by Bryson Breakey. The song is totally unique in the world of state waltzes in that it is a "Music Video" as opposed to the typical "song captured in a video." It is an early example of the creativity of Kendall Lawren Rock from Poulsbo / Seattle, Washington - she made the video eight years ago while she was in high school. After this video was made, Kendall spent some time at Colorado College and has since been traveling the world with her Nikon camera - you can view her photos at her website or through her Instagram feed. She continues to make creative "Music Videos", there is a relatively new one featuring Lemolo on YouTube, as well as making serious documentaries and videos that pay the rent. Apart from the creative nature of the video, the song is quite enjoyable although not a waltz likely to be encountered in a ballroom.
There are six other live video performances of waltzes celebrating Michigan. First on the list is The Michigan Waltz composed by Bill LaVallie, Sr. in 1950 and performed below by his grandson, Jeff Krebs, a native of Michigan's upper peninsula. Krebs often performs as "Papa Crow" and has a great kid's album titled Things That Roar. His Michigan Waltz is available on his second album, Full Moon, Full Moon.
Michigan State University in Lansing, Michigan has one of the biggest and best college radio stations in the U.S.A. - Impact88.9FMhttp://impact89fm.org/. They broadcast a live show called "The Basement" on Thursday nights featuring local bands and artists. In March, 2009, they featured Sam Corbin on the show and he performed his own Michigan's Waltz. Corbin is from Ypsilanti and has now issued three albums containing mostly songs he has written himself. A full arrangement of Michigan's Waltz appears on his second album and can be heard on YouTube but it is tough to top the live performance from "The Basement" below. Corbin is accompanied in this video by guitarist and singer, Brian Westrin.
On April 15, 1921, William Harvey Breeding was born into a musical family in Washburn, Tennessee. Tough times drove the family to Pontiac, Michigan in the 1930's. Young William was a big fan of Zane Gray and took to calling himself Arizona, no last name - just Arizona, when he began singing in clubs as a teenager. His younger brother joined him and they were known as the "Arizona Twins." His life is exceptionally well documented in a book, Detroit Country Music by Craig Maki and Keith Cady from which all this information comes. He took the last name of Weston, the book never explains why, and went on to long and varied life that always included music - as a singer, guitarist, band leader, disk jockey, record store proprietor or promoter. He was a founder of the Michigan Country Music Association. He wrote a number of songs including Beautiful Waltz of Michigan. He recorded the song in 1977, in a band led by Johnny Gimble, a member of Bob Wills famed Texas Playboys and always hoped it would become the state song of Michigan. Sadly, that recording is long lost but fortunately Don Stidham has preserved the song with the video below.
The music industry, or at least those who write about the music industry, like to create new categories of music - Folk music became Roots music which became Americana music. Here is a new one - Michigana music and if you want to hear real Michigana music, you go to Bob's Barn in Lake Odessa, Michigan. There is a Michigana music jam there every Sunday at 4 pm. You can get an overview of Michigana music by browsing Bob Warner's (yes, it is his "barn") YouTube channel. In that channel, you find one of the authentic gems of Michigana music, Michigan Waltz by the late Garland (Gar) Buhrer (1928-2012) of Hudsonville, Michigan. Gar was locally well known for his fiddle playing and was inducted into the Michigan Fiddlers Hall of Fame in 2008. He played with a group called the Singin' Strings and worked for Steelcase of Grand Rapids to pay the bills. It is just a guess, but the video below sounds like a cassette tape recording made in someone's living room during a jam. That is Gar singing and probably him playing the fiddle. (Thanks to Ken Moore, President of the Michigan Fiddler's Association, for the information about Gar.)
In 1982, Judi Morningstar wrote Michigan Saturday Night. Judi is a composer, hammered dulcimer player and jewelry maker from Highland, Michigan. Michigan Saturday Night was her first composition with vocals. It was recorded by the band Just Friends (Rosemary Kornacki, Lori Cleland, Judi Morningstar and Cecelia Webster) in 1986 on a cassette tape titled A Dulcimer Holiday. You can find a score for the song here. You can hear Just Friends perform the song in the video below from a 2013 meeting of the Country Dance and Song Society (CDSS) in Lansing, Michigan where Judi and her husband, Glen, received a CDSS lifetime achievement award. You may also hear the song if you point your browser to Blue Lake Public Radio on Saturday night at 8:00 - Michigan Saturday Night is used as theme music for the program of the same name, hosted by Steve Albert. (Thanks to Jim McKinney for bringing Michigan Saturday Night to the attention of this blog and to Judi Morningstar for the link to the video and the information about the song).
In this collection of Michigan waltz videos, only one cover was encountered (a cover is a performance of a song by someone other than the originator). The original of the cover is Michigan Waltz by Kitty Donohoe. She first recorded the song, along with other Michigan related songs she had written in 1987 and with a cassette tape and accompanying book for sale made a tour of Michigan elementary schools singing her songs. She added a few songs and reissue it as a CD in 2004. You can still buy the book and the recording (now digital) from Amazon. Donohoe is a very talented singer/songwriter from the Detroit area who is perhaps best known for the song she wrote after the 9/11 tragedy, There Are No Words. Her voice and style are very reminiscent of Cheryl Wheeler and it happens that she has opened concerts for Wheeler (and for Doc Watson and David Bromberg and quite a few others). Listen to the original below.
The cover of Ms. Donohoe's Michigan Waltz is unusual. Her songs continue to be song in Michigan elementary schools and in 2011, a young third grader, Gabe Puzio, learned to sing the song at school. Two years later with some piano lessons under his belt, he decided to add some chords to the song and created his own piano arrangement. His music teacher was so impressed that she had his song recorded and the YouTube video below is the result. This blog is impressed also, the young man has quite a good ear for music. (Thanks to a series of people who helped uncover this story - Scott Banks who made the video, Gwendolyn Stewart for identifying the source of the song, and Gabe's mother, Staci, for sharing the story.)
Next in this series is a "live" video of a record player playing Michigan Waltz on a 45 rpm record by the Pavlik Brothers. The story behind this song is not known but it probably involves a Detroit rockabilly singer called Johnny Powers. Johnny's real name was John Leon Joseph Pavlik and he eventually became co-owner of Sun Records, a full-service recording company in Detroit in the 1950's. This isn't Johnny's kind of music but his father and his father's family were also musicians and played for dances in the Detroit area. It seems likely that this is Johnny's dad and uncles with Johnny, perhaps, joining them on guitar.
In 1925, John Philip Sousa of march fame wrote Coeds of Michigan. According to the Michigan Marching Band website, Sousa always stayed with the University of Michigan band director, Wilfred Wilson, when he visited Ann Arbor. Wilson asked Sousa to write a march for the Michigan Marching band but Sousa responded with a waltz instead because "Michigan already has a great march." While best known for his marches, Sousa wrote a eleven waltzes, many of them written for his operettas. You can hear his Coeds of Michigan waltz played by the U.S. Marine Band under the direction of Lieutenant Colonel Jack T. Kline in the Heritage of John Philip Sousa Collection in the video below.
There are a few additional Michigan waltzes to be found on the internet but no video or audio files are currently available. They include:
The Michigan Waltz, a polka style waltz written by Allen Mesowski and Nellie Rowloff, recorded in 1957 on the Rambler label by Jeanneane (vocal) and the Ramblers.
Michigan Waltz, a cowboy waltz written and sung by Earl Peterson in 1950 on the Nugget label which he founded with his mother. This was his first record. Earl, known as "Michigan's Own Singing Cowboy" is accompanied by his band, The Sons of the Golden West. Earl later recorded on both the Sun and Columbia labels.
Michigan Waltz, words by Wanda Force, music by Buddy Bregman and sung by Carl Berth with BIG JOE and his Moonlite Drifters. Recorded in 1961 on the Delta label of Saginaw, Michigan.
Not included in this blog are many Michigan waltzes which were apparently never recorded but appear in copyrights. Some were published but most were unpublished. This is not a complete copyright search, just a search through those copyright documents for which full text searching is available through the Internet Archive (a wonderful resource).
Beautiful Michigan Waltz, words and music by Colin P. McLeod, 1956 Michigan Waltz, words and music by Fred Elwin, 1952 Michigan Waltz, Don Ray Coates, 1952 Michigan Waltz, James Nobles, 1952 The Michigan Waltz, Theodore Bruce Rider, 1951 The Michigan Waltz, words by Sidney Holden and music by Harry D. Squires, 1953 Michigan Waltz, Sam Messenhelmer, 1955 Michigan Waltz, Frances B. Roy, 1955 Michigan Waltz by Michael Farenga, 1955 The Michigan Waltz, words by Edward W. Boyle and music by Kenny Roberts, 1959 Michigan Waltz by Fred J. Boyle, 1959 Michigan Waltz by L. Roberts, 1959 Michigan Waltz, words and music by Katherine Gertrude Harwood, 1954 Michigan Waltz, by John Edward Haselbarth, 1954 Michigan Waltz, words and music by Louis August Shefke, 1949 The Michigan Waltz, words by Oliver Booth and music by Don Deadman, 1971 Michigan Waltz, N.B. Vasilopulos, 1921 Michigan Waltz, words and music by Dallas V. Stacks, 1961 Michigan Waltz, words and music by Johnny F. Wolfe, 1961 Michigan Waltz, by W. Miles, 1909. Michigan Waltz by William Wellington Noble in 1952
A search in Google Books also uncovers some additional versions of Michigan waltzes:
Advertisement for Michigan Waltz, piano sheet music by Staab published in 1868 by J.L. Peters.
In 1927, Joe Lanin's Waltz Kings recorded a Michigan Waltz on GEX 555-A, reported in the book The American Dance Band Discography 1917-1942.
The March 20, 1971 issue of Billboard Magazine makes reference to a record containing Michigan Waltz and Michigan Polka by Big Daddy Lackowski. No other trace of the record was found.
According to the Michigan Folklife Reader by Dewhurst and Lockwood, published in 1987, C. J. Whitney wrote Borders of Lake Michigan Waltz in 1866.
For those who have made it all the way to the bottom, here are lyrics and a simplified score of Papa Crow's grandfather's The Michigan Waltz.
Lyrics
In the north woods of Michigan, Land that I love, We sat beneath the northen tree with the moon up above. And then we quarreled. Oh now, I know it was my fault While the band across the lake so blue played the Michigan waltz Now why did we quarrel Oh why, why did we part Come back, my darling, for you are Breaking my heart For I'm sad and I'm lonesome I am heart broken and blue. And when i hear the Michigan waltz, Darling I think of you. Well I've traveled on down south dear Away out east and out west and I can't forget you darling Though I'll do my best. And I long for the day when we will be sweethearts again and I'll sing you this song dear, Good old Michigan. Now why did we quarrel Oh why, why did we part Come back, my darling, for you are Breaking my heart For I'm sad and lonesome Why, I'm heart broken and blue. And when I hear the Michigan waltz, Darling I think of you. When I hear the Michigan waltz, Darling I think of you.
Massachusetts has no official state waltz although it does have an official state march, a state folk song, a state glee club song, a state ode and a state polka. In fact, Massachusetts waltzes are in very short supply. There are many Massachusetts songs including one of the Bee Gees' biggest hits, a folk song by Arlo Guthrie, a rock anthem by the Dropkick Murphys, a country ballad by Aaron Lewis, and even a cartoon salute to the state by Peter of the TV series, Family Guy. But all of these are in duple time, not a waltz among them. Maybe songwriters are challenged by forcing the four syllables of Massachusetts into the the three beats of a waltz?
There is, however, a song titled Massachusetts Waltz. It evades the four-syllables-in-three-beats challenge by never mentioning the name of the state. In fact, the only thing connecting the waltz to the state of Massachusetts is that the band, High Diner, is based in Boston, Massachusetts. High Diner describes themselves as a band that unites" retro vibes with modern sounds" - something like a cross between Herman's Hermits and R.E.M. Their Massachusetts Waltz, co-written by John Murphy and Jordan Zylak, is a delightfully whimsical stream of nonsense and totally unlike any other state waltz encountered so far in this blog. You can listen to it here:
There are some earlier Massachusetts waltzs from the 1950's that can be found by copyright searches but they were apparently never published or recorded:
The Massachusetts Waltz, words and music by Charles Davis Pike
Massachusetts Waltz by Matthew Pilegard
First Lady of Massachusetts Waltz by Vincent Mottola
To be complete, among the seven state songs officially recognized by the Massachusetts legislature is a song in triple meter. On November 16, 2000, the Massachusetts state legislature named a "waltz" titled Ode to Massachusetts by Joseph Falzone (1924-2016) as the official "ode of the commonwealth." According to his obituary, Falzone worked most of his life at Suffolk Downs, a thoroughbred race track in East Boston. He worked on the side as a comedian and musician, remembered by many as "Joe, the one man band" who marched in parades in East Boston. You can find a score for his Ode to Massachusetts, probably the score he provided to the legislature, here. It is an unusual song. It is "through composed", there is no repetition of melody or chord pattern - like a Schubert art song. The score performance notes suggest "slow, gospel feel." You will find two videos of Ode to Massachusetts on YouTube - both use the same recording as a sound track for a Massachusetts slide show. This blog has been unable to learn who made the recording - if you know, please leave a comment. To this listener, the recording does not fulfill the "slow, gospel" potential of the song. Judge for yourself below.
And, finally, just because it is clever the video below is offered in liu of another Massachusetts waltz.
The official Maryland state song, Maryland, My Maryland, happens to be in 3/4 time, like a waltz, although like the Iowa state song the tune is more likely to make you feel like decorating a Christmas tree than to dance a waltz since they both share the tune with O Tannenbaum. The lyrics, on the other hand, inspire other feelings. The lyrics come from a nine stanza poem written and first published in 1861 by James Ryder Randall. The Wikipedia article about Maryland, My Maryland tells its story well so it won't be repeated here but suffice it to say it became an anthem for the Confederate army with lyrics so controversial that the Maryland Senate has recently considered dropping it as a state song or at least altering the lyrics to make it more acceptable. Today, most public performances include only the third verse. One such performance by the U.S. Naval Academy Glee Club is shared below.
Should the state of Maryland choose to mandate a new state song or to create an official Maryland state waltz, there are several choices. The most recent Maryland Waltz is that composed by Bob Donaldson, who in his "real job" is a popular science teacher at Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Springs, Maryland. Its nuanced view of Maryland's position as a border state in the American Civil War is quite a contrast to Maryland, My Maryland. Here is Donaldson singing his Maryland Waltz:
If you would like a version with a little more visual interest, here is a video of Donaldson singing his Maryland Waltz at the Montgomery Blair High School Magnet Arts Night in 2016. Singing with Donaldson is fellow science teacher, Elizabeth Duval, and a grandson, Will Donaldson. Playing the piano (and singing) is another grandson, Ian Donaldson. And, two students provide string accompaniment - Stephan Loh on viola and Calvin Liu on violin.
Sheet music is available in the Notated Music collection of the U.S. Library of Congress for two 19th century Maryland waltzes. The oldest is Maryland Waltz, a piano piece composed by George Willig, Jr. in 1847. In 1889, Wilhelm Diederichs composed the Rose of Maryland Waltz. A computer generated performance of this latter waltz can be heard below.
In 2007, Laurence Baer, a singer/songwriter from the Baltimore, Maryland area, released a CD, Across a Bering Strait Bridge, which also contains a Maryland Waltz. You can hear it in the YouTube video below.
The final example of Maryland Waltz was recorded in 1960 on a 45 rpm record on the Jay Jay Record label (Jay Jay 210) by Eddie Lash. Lash is a Chemnitzer concertina player from Chicago who is best known for his polkas. In fact, the primary side of the record containing Maryland Waltz features Tricky Fingers Polka. Sadly, no audio track for either tune is available.
Not included:
A search of Google Books and the Internet Archive found four additional examples of Maryland waltzes. Since no further evidence of publication or recording was found, they were not included in the discussion above. The four are:
My Maryland Waltz, words and music by Edwin G. Gittings, piano arrangement by LeRoy Heine. Published by E.G. Gittings Music. Copyright issued in 1965
Maryland Waltz by Walker W. Lilley. Copyright in 1971
The Beautiful Maryland Waltz, words and music by Robert William Larkin, arranged by Albert Holloway. Copyright, 1954.
The 1846 edition of the Boston Musical Gazette makes reference to a Maryland Waltz by Mise Spreer.
And finally, a simplified score and lyrics for Bob Donaldson's Maryland Waltz are provided below. Mr. Donaldson holds the copyright to the song which appear here with his permission.
Note: This is a simplified score. As you listen to Donaldson sing the song, you will note that considerable musical judgement is applied to the timing in phrases notated as three quarter notes per measure.
Lyrics:
The Maryland Waltz
When I looked in your
eyes as we walked by the bay
I knew you could never
be false
No thoughts of the
dark clouds that gathered that day
As we danced to the Maryland Waltz
Chorus:
You know I must leave
tomorrow my dear
Wearing my coat of
blue
Please wait for me and
don’t shed a tear
You
know I will come back to you.
Your brother wears
gray and your father as well
Our state divided and
lost
But hold me once more
and we’ll dance through it all
Maine does not have an official state waltz. In fact, it appears that there have been no waltzes written containing the words "Waltz" and "Maine" in the title. A state with no state waltz represents an opportunity for song writers but makes for a rather short blog entry.
There is a YouTube entry titled Maine Waltz but it is not in 3/4 time and thus, a waltz in title only. It was written by Mike Golay and is available on his across the bridge CD first released in 2005 on Banshee Records but now available through the CD Baby label. You can listen to it here on YouTube.
A thorough YouTube search will also uncover a tune subtitled Maine Contradance Waltz with the main title being Eileen O'Donnell. It is in fact the traditional Irish tune, Eibhlí Gheal Chiúin Ní Chearbhail. You can listen to it here on YouTube.
A search of copyrights, various University sheet music collections and the Library of Congress reveals no 19th or 20th century songs titled Maine Waltz although some interesting waltzes with the word Maine in the title are found. On of those is O'er the Hills of Dear Old Maine which was composed by E.H. Orne and popularized by Rudy Vallee in 1931. It is a ballad in 4/4 time but the refrain is a pleasant waltz. A computer generated version of that refrain is provided below.
The Maine Songwriters Association has been challenged to write a Maine Waltz and this blog posting will be updated if they succeed.
Louisiana does not have an official state waltz, but ...
The Cajuns are second only to the Viennese in loving a good waltz. Cajun waltzes make up the majority of the nearly thirty songs with the words "Louisiana" and "waltz" in the title. Twenty-two of those are, in fact titled Louisiana Waltz. But the most covered waltz celebrating Louisiana is Louisiana Rambler Waltz (sometimes rendered as Louisiana Rambler's or Ramblers Waltz) composed by Eddie Shuler. It was first recorded in 1969 in Shuler's own Goldband studios in Lake Charles, Louisiana by Nolan Cormier and his Ramblers with vocal by Robert Bertrand on a 45 rpm record (Goldband 1211). A wonderful, homestyle performance of Louisiana Rambler's Waltz by the late Charlie "Wine" Thibodeaux - accordion, Popa Robin (Bruck) - fiddle and Beth Fontenot (Fogleman) - guitar is provided below.
There is also a live performance on YouTube of Louisiana Ramblers Waltz performed by T'Monde - Kelli Jones (fiddle, vocal), Drew Simon (accordion) and Megan Brown (guitar) - in a August 17, 2014 performance in Seattle. (If you enjoy this one, check out their performance of one of their original tunes,The Two Step des Yeux Bleus.)
There are three other versions of Louisiana Rambler Waltz available on YouTube.
And then there is Louisiana Waltz. There are at least twenty-two versions, each one by a different composer, and that doesn't count those that received copyrights but were never captured in sheet music or records. A curated selection is highlighted below followed by a list of the rest.
There are only two live performance of Louisiana Waltz available on YouTube. The one with the most views is a curiously lifeless performance at the Triple Door in Seattle, Washington. It is performed by the composer, Eric Apoe, and a set of musicians who gathered for a reunion with Cajun star Doug Kershaw who, unfortunately, had not joined them yet in this January, 2008 performance.
The second live performance is by Mike Montana whose Louisiana Waltz was written with the memory of his mother in mind. This is far from a polished video production, but it's a well written song.
The earliest recorded Louisiana waltz is Valse de la Louisianne recorded in 1929 by accordion player Angelas LeJeune on the Brunswick label in New Orleans. According to the superb blog, Early Cajun Music, the first recording of Cajun music was in 1928, so this is a very early recording. It is probable but not certain that he wrote the tune also.
In 1948, fiddler, Floyd LeBlanc (1924-1975) from Mermentau, Louisiana recorded Louisiana Waltz on the Opera label (Opera 107). The record label indicates that LeBlanc also wrote the song. The audio track from the record paired with some vintage video:
The Hackberry Ramblers were founded in 1933
by fiddler, Luderin Darbone and guitarist, Ed Duhon, who named the
group after their hometown of Hackberry, Louisiana. While the musicians have all changed, the group still exists today. The group's first
record in 1936 introduced the world to the Cajun classic Jolie Blonde (which is undoubtedly the most popular and most covered Cajun waltz). They went on to become the premier Cajun band of the 30's and 40's but
drifted apart in the 50's. In 1963, Chris Strachwitz (founder of Arhoolie Records) tracked down
Darbone and regathered the group (a few of the originals had to be
replaced by new members) and made a record which contains their version
of Louisiana Waltz.
One non-Cajun version of Louisiana Waltz deserves a place in this set because of the novelty of a state waltz being part of an original movie score. It was composed by the French, jazz pianist and composer Claude Bolling for the Philippe de Broca movie Louisiana which starred Margot Kidder. The movie was French and was never released to U.S. theaters although a sub-titled version appeared on U.S. Television. Following is from the soundtrack. Lyrics are by Felix Landau, orchestra conducted by Claude Bolling and vocals by Dee Dee Bridgewater.
Claude Tissendier also recorded a cover of Bolling's Louisiana Waltz which can be heard here.
Other Cajun versions of Louisiana Waltz include those of:
And one final honorary member of this list is Louisiana (without the word waltz) suggested by reader, Wade Falcon. It was recorded by Harry Choates and his Louisiana String Band on Goldstar 1336. Listen on YouTube.
There are a number of country or hillbilly style songs titled Louisiana Waltz including those of:
Don Rich (birth name Donald Eugene Ulrich) and the Buckaroos. Rich was the guitarist and fiddler who led the band that backed Buck Owens of Hee Haw fame. This is an instrumental featuring Rich's fiddle playing. Composer unknown. Recorded in 1970 on the Capitol LP, ST-643. Still available on an imported CD. Listen on YouTube.
Frank Lester, composed by Jad Dees. Recorded in 1956, on Vik 4X-0198. No audio file available.
In addition to all those songs titled Louisiana Waltz, there are also several songs which contain the words "Louisiana" and "Waltz" in the title which qualifies them for a place in this blog:
Louisiana Bayou Waltz by Link Davis, Jr. performed by Link Davis, Jr. and the Sons of Cajun Crawdaddy. Recorded on Buttermilk VRRNP-487. No audio file available.
La Louisiane Waltz by Chris Ardoin, performed by Chris Ardoin. Recorded in 2015 on the Maison de Soul album, Zydeko Fever. Listen on YouTube
Items found but not included:
Louisiana Waltz Song - Achildren's song. Not its correct name although there is a YouTube video so titled.
The following were issued copyrights but no evidence was found that the songs were ever published or recorded:
Irwin Joseph Picou for The Louisiana Waltz, in 1958
Robert Hinson, Harry and Mildred Bell for That Louisiana Waltz in 1958
Bob McNett and Patsy Montana for Louisiana Waltz, in 1976
Richard J. Anson for Louisiana Waltz in 1961
Donald Anstett for Louisiana Waltz in 1961
G.L. Curth for Louisiana Waltz in 1966
Below is a simplified score for Louisiana Ramblers Waltz. If a reader could help with the French lyrics, it would be appreciated.
This score represents just the backbone of the song. All performers "improve" it with a bit of swing, a bit of fill behind the four-beat held notes and occasionally with a different note. You can play this score behind four of the five versions of Louisiana Ramblers Waltz on this blog and sound good. The exception is the version by T'Monde who play it in the key of C# instead of C. Cajun music is "locked in" to the key of the accordion since they play in only one key and in most cases, that key is C. It is quite unusual to find a single row, Cajun accordion in the key of C# but Drew Simon plays one here. Why? Probably because it makes the sound a bit "brighter" and makes them stand out relative to other Cajun bands. Famed Irish concertina player, Noel Hill, does the same thing. He plays many of his solo concerts on a C#/G# Anglo concertina just to make his sound different and brighter than others. He also keeps a C/G concertina handy to use if another musician joins him on stage.
You have reached the bottom of this blog and since rarely does a reader make it to this point, I will risk a few personal recollections. I grew up in Orange, Texas just across the Sabine River from Louisiana. While Louisiana can claim most Cajuns, the southeast corner of Texas, particularly the "golden triangle" of Orange - Port Arthur - Beaumont, is home to many Cajuns. I went to school with kids who spoke no English when they started school - French was the language of their home, their friends and their radio. My father spoke "Cajun French" in his job in the personnel office of the Levingston Shipyards so he could hire welders and pipefitters for the company. We lived for a while on the banks of Cow Bayou just downstream of B.O.'s Sparkle Club where on a Saturday night, you could hear the Cajun music coming from the club through the open windows of our 1949 Plymouth as we drove across the bridge over Cow Bayou on Highway 87. The waltzes of this state are special to me.
