Just Dave Van Ronk
Encyclopedia
Just Dave Van Ronk is a 1964 album by folk/blues singer Dave Van Ronk
. It has not been released on CD.
that Bob Dylan
— who was a close friend of Van Ronk's at the time — used on his 1962 debut album Bob Dylan
. Van Ronk discusses this in Martin Scorsese's
documentary No Direction Home
. In the interview, Van Ronk said that he was intending to record it at that time, and that Dylan copied his version of the song.
Dave Van Ronk
Dave Van Ronk was an American folk singer, born in Brooklyn, New York, who settled in Greenwich Village, New York, and was eventually nicknamed the "Mayor of MacDougal Street" ....
. It has not been released on CD.
History
It is probably this arrangement of "House Of The Risin' Sun" that was developed by Dave Van RonkDave Van Ronk
Dave Van Ronk was an American folk singer, born in Brooklyn, New York, who settled in Greenwich Village, New York, and was eventually nicknamed the "Mayor of MacDougal Street" ....
that Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
— who was a close friend of Van Ronk's at the time — used on his 1962 debut album Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (album)
Bob Dylan is the debut album by the American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released in March 1962 on Columbia Records. It features two original compositions, the rest being old folk standards, and was produced by Columbia's legendary talent scout John H...
. Van Ronk discusses this in Martin Scorsese's
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...
documentary No Direction Home
No Direction Home
No Direction Home is a documentary film by Martin Scorsese that traces the life of Bob Dylan, and his impact on 20th century American popular music and culture. The film does not cover Dylan's entire career; it concentrates on the period between Dylan's arrival in New York in January 1961 and his...
. In the interview, Van Ronk said that he was intending to record it at that time, and that Dylan copied his version of the song.
Reception
Writing for Allmusic, music critic Richard Meyer wrote "... Van Ronk's understated guitar style is perfect for these intimate performances. His naturally rough voice allows him to sing these songs believably without any ethnic affectation or false energy."Track listing
- "Candy Man" (Gary DavisReverend Gary DavisReverend Gary Davis, also Blind Gary Davis, was an American blues and gospel singer and guitarist, who was also proficient on the banjo and harmonica...
) – 2:29 - "Frankie's Blues" (trad arr. Dave Van Ronk) – 4:36
- "Bad Dream Blues", (Dave Van Ronk) – 4:57
- "Pastures of PlentyPastures of Plenty"Pastures of Plenty" is a 1941 composition by Woody Guthrie. Describing the travails and dignity of migrant workers in North America, it is evocative of the world described in John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath. The tune is based on the ballad "Pretty Polly," a traditional English-language folk...
" (Woody GuthrieWoody GuthrieWoodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie is best known as an American singer-songwriter and folk musician, whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, ballads and improvised works. He frequently performed with the slogan This Machine Kills Fascists displayed on his...
) – 3:25 - "'Didn't it Rain" (Traditional) – 3:00
- "Wanderin'" (Sammy Kaye) – 2:33
- "God Bless the ChildGod Bless the Child (Billie Holiday song)"God Bless the Child" is a song written by Billie Holiday and Arthur Herzog, Jr. in 1939, first recorded on May 9, 1941 under the Okeh label.Holiday's version of the song was honored with the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in...
" (Billie HolidayBillie HolidayBillie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing...
, Arthur Herzog Jr.Arthur Herzog Jr.Arthur Herzog, Jr. was a songwriter most known for work with Billie Holiday. He co-wrote several jazz songs she popularized, including "Don't Explain" and "God Bless the Child".-External links:*[ All Music page]...
) – 4:22 - "Blue MondayBlue Monday (Fats Domino song)"Blue Monday" is a song originally written by Dave Bartholomew, and first recorded by Smiley Lewis in 1954.It was later popularized in a recording by Fats Domino in 1956, on Imperial Records , on which the songwriting credit was shared between Bartholomew and Domino. Most later versions have...
" (Fats DominoFats DominoAntoine Dominique "Fats" Domino, Jr. is an American R&B and rock and roll pianist and singer-songwriter. He was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Creole was his first language....
, Dave BartholomewDave BartholomewDave Bartholomew is a musician, band leader, composer and arranger, prominent in the music of New Orleans throughout the second half of the 20th century...
) – 1:59 - "Baby, Let Me Lay It on YouBaby, Let Me Follow You Down"Baby, Let Me Follow You Down" is a traditional folk song popularised in the late 1950s by blues guitarist Eric Von Schmidt. The song is best known from its appearance on Bob Dylan's debut album Bob Dylan.-Early years of the song:...
" (Gary DavisReverend Gary DavisReverend Gary Davis, also Blind Gary Davis, was an American blues and gospel singer and guitarist, who was also proficient on the banjo and harmonica...
) – 1:35 - "The House of the Rising SunThe House of the Rising Sun"The House of the Rising Sun" is a folk song from the United States. Also called "House of the Rising Sun" or occasionally "Rising Sun Blues", it tells of a life gone wrong in New Orleans...
" (Arr. Dave Van Ronk) – 5:35