Morning Has Broken

Michelle and Charlie were honored to be asked to play a few tunes last weekend at the funeral services for Vernon Peyton, the older brother of Floodster Emeritus David Peyton. Vernon was old friend of The Flood — in fact, a couple of years ago, we played at his 91st birthday party; a few years before that, we also played at the memorial service for Lillian, Vernon’s wife of 70 years, so these roots run deep. For last Saturday’s services, Vernon’s daughter, Karol, asked Michelle to sing a favorite song, “Morning Has Broken,” a hymn that she revisited at last night’s regular Flood rehearsal. Incidentally, as you listen to this, you’ll here some lovely harmony being sung by Kate Long, who was visiting us all last night. Kate, who’s a great singer-songwriter in her own right, will be the featured guest at the next Route 60 Saturday Night show Nov. 17, and we’re working up some arrangements so that The Flood can accompany her that night on a couple of her beautiful compositions. More on that in the weeks ahead. Meanwhile, Vernon, this one’s for you, old friend.

Blue Skies

More than 90 years ago, Irving Berlin composed this tune as a last-minute addition to a little known Rodgers and Hart musical called “Betsy.” The show itself was a flop — it had fewer than 40 performances — but the song, “Blue Skies,” was an instant hit in those early days of radio and movies. In fact, in 1927, the year after it was composed, “Blue Skies” became one of the first songs to be featured in a talkie, when Al Jolson performed it in “The Jazz Singer.” Today it’s one of the beloved and most recorded tunes in The American Songbook, done by everyone from Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey and Artie Shaw to Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland and Mel Torme to Willie Nelson, Lyle Lovett and Dr. John. Here’s Michelle leading us on a Flood rendition of “Blue Skies” at a rehearsal last summer, with sweet solos by Doug, Paul and Sam.

October Winds

As we’re preparing for this weekend’s October edition of Route 60 Saturday Night, we’re collecting our autumn songs for The Flood’s house band duties, including this lovely ancient Irish lullaby. Charlie learned “October Winds,” also called “The Castle of Dromore,” from the singing of the great Liam Clancy, and he recently taught it to the rest of the band, specifically for this show. The lyrics were written more than a hundred years ago by Harold Boulton, but the melody may be much, much older. We look forward to sharing it with friends this Saturday night. The 90-minute show is this Saturday night, Oct. 20, at Route 60 Music Co., 60 Peyton Street in Barboursville. Our guest artists are jazz guitarist Dr. Mark Zanter and beloved West Virginia singer-songwriter Colleen Anderson. The fun starts at 7 p.m. Admission is $5 and this month, all proceeds go to the good works of the Huntington Cabell-Wayne Animal Shelter. Come on out for good times for a good cause.

Crazy

Fifty-six years ago this week, Patsy Cline released the song she may be best known for, her performance of a beautiful ballad called “Crazy” by a little known songwriter named, uh, Willie Nelson. Willie had written the song earlier that year — 1961 — as he worked as a journeyman singer-songwriter in Nashville. He originally intended the song for country singer Billy Walker, who turned it down because, he said, it was “a girl’s song.” Bad move, Billy. Anyway, the story goes that Willie was hanging out in a bar called Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge near the Grand Ole Opry and put his own rendition of “Crazy” on the jukebox. One night Patsy Cline’s husband, Charlie Dick, heard it and wanted it for Patsy. He and Willie proceeded to get drunk together, then Charlie drove home, and, while Willie hunkered down in the car, Charlie pitched it to Patsy. “Crazy” became the No. 2 country hit that year, and, because of its genre-bending nature, it has been covered by various artists over the years, from Neil Young and Elvis Costello to Chaka Khan and Kenny Rogers. Here’s Michelle and Doug’s take on this great American songbook standard from last night’s rehearsal.

Star of the County Down

If a band is around long enough, it has its own legends and legacies, treasures and heirlooms in the form of stories and especially songs. Among The Flood’s old gold is the Irish tune called “Star of the County Down,” which Joe Dobbs brought to us, oh gosh, more than 40 years ago. Now, Joe had a special version of it, slower and more stately than it is usually rendered, and with a curious variation in the traditional melody. Back in the 1970s, Joe taught it to Roger Samples, and Rog taught it to Dave and Charlie, and over the decades the song — Joe’s version of it — has been learned and re-learned by new generations of Floodsters. Well, of course, Joe and Roger are gone now, but “Star of the Country Down” is still very much with us, as evidenced here at last night’s rehearsal, when Doug, Paul, Randy and Charlie revisited the Joe Dobbs classic.

A Hard Night for Love Songs: For Stephen

Some nights, like last night, are hard nights for love songs. Five weeks ago, we were stunned and deeply grieved by the untimely death of Stephen Lewis, Michelle’s dear husband and soulmate. We in the band had known Stephen from the first days of his courtship of our loveliest band mate. In fact, Michelle brought him to meet her Flood family during the intermission of a show way back in 2011, and over the next seven years, we grinned and waved at Stephen’s frequent smiling face in the front row. His death at the end of August has left us all with an enduring lump in our throats. Well, musicians tell their sorrows in their songs and this tune from last night’s gathering is everything we need to say about how we’re feeling this autumn. Rest in peace, dear friend.

Georgia on My Mind

Hoagy Carmichael tunes have always been on The Flood playlist. We can’t remember when started doing “Up a Lazy River,” and nearly 20 years ago Joe Dobbs had us doing “Stardust” to record on what would become his favorite solo CD, “Fiddle and The Flood.” Well, lately another Hoagy Carmichael composition, “Georgia on My Mind,” had been circling back into the Flood’s stream of consciousness. Here’s our take on the tune at the beginning of a rehearsal a few weeks ago. As the track begins, Randy, Paul, Doug and Charlie already already in their seats. Then mid-song, you can hear Sam arrive, find out the key — “We’re in C, Sam!” — and immediately take a solo. That’s our Sam. By the way, about “Georgia," Hoagy Carmichael was already an established professional songwriter when he penned this melody in early 1930 and played at a party at which an old college friend, Stuart Gorrell from Indiana University, heard it. The story goes that Stuart and Hoagy stayed up all night working on the song, and Gorrell ended up writing the lyrics. Incidentally, Stuart Gorrell later became a banker and never wrote another lyric in his life. Too bad! Meanwhile, “Georgia on My Mind” was recorded 88 years ago this week by Hoagy and his orchestra with jazz legend Bix Beiderbecke on muted cornet. It was Bix’s last recording session. It’s part of the reason that “Georgia” just stays on our mind.