I ain't dead yet, my bell still rings

THE ANSWER MY FRIENDS

No offense to the other Bob, but he's been known to tell tall tales. 

Was he a carnie in New Mexico? A hobo? Does his driver's license say Jack Frost, Elston Gunn or Robert Zimmerman? Only the shadow knows.

I finally had the opportunity to talk to the sweetest woman living in Riverdale, New York, Delores Dixon. We had promised ourselves a visit with each other back when we met in May of this year. Somehow, that engagement stretched out all the way until today, a sunny and blustery Bronx day in November.

It's not everyday you get to have pizza and chat with a Greenwich Village Folk pioneer. Her name may not be known in every household, but she played an important role in the propagation of American Folk songs in the early 1960s with her trio, and sometime quartet, the New World Singers.

Gil Turner, Bob Cohen, Happy Traum and a young lady named Dee Dixon joined forces to create a band that would go on to be the very first to record the most replicated and re-recorded song of all time, Bob Dylan's 'Blowin' in the Wind.'

It was on a record called Broadsides and legend has it that a young Bobby Dylan showed up at Gerde's one day with the song when he was finally satisfied with the final product. He 'wowed' Gil Turner with the historic song in the basement, and Dylan let Gil be the first to perform it for an audience upstairs at Folk City. 

But the song had to come from somewhere. Of course, the melody had been 'borrowed,' in the folk process form of the word, from a song called 'No more auction block for me.' Delores Dixon became an accomplished singer and pianist playing such Gospels for her church amongst other numerous engagements and concerts. She was pals with 'Robert' and one day in East Harlem, they were tooling around with melodies and arrangements…Jamming, as it were, verbally.

"I watched him as he wrote the lyrics at my mother's house. He had a journal full of lyrics. He could put lyrics together in minutes. He liked the melody I had come up with.''

The other Bob is a little too busy confirm, clarify or to wax poetic about the past. But Dee Dixon just spilled some beans on film for me. Mr. Dylan also said in ''Chronicles'' that Delores was a dancer, journalist and from Alabama, neither of which are true. Make of it what you will.

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I will be continuing to make the definitive documentary on the legendary Folk cabaret, Gerde's Folk City. It's called POSITIVELY PORCO. It's a story made by braiding together all the first person accounts from all the originals on the 'scene.' Delores was there. Robert was there. Gil Turner. Mike Porco. Arlo Guthrie. Odetta. Oscar Brand. John Lee Hooker. Suze Rotolo. Ratso. Stoner. Hammond. Feliciano. The club was truly home to American music history. 

I'm happy to become witness to the most interesting collection of memories and tales I could think of. And I'm more than happy to call Delores a friend, too. She doesn't want me to set the record straight or make a fuss. She speaks matter-of-fact about her past. And you can't change the past. She was part of the first group to record 'Blowin.' Case closed. Robert was at the recording session and was happy to share it with his friends. I think Dylan said it best in that Super Bowl commercial: You can't fake original.

~Porco

FOLK CITY at 54

Rod MacDonald watches POSITIVELY PORCO

YES, friends, My grandfather's world renown Folk Music stadium - Gerde's Folk City - opened for business under the name Folk City for the first time exactly 54 years ago. For just 5 months prior to that, it was called THE FIFTH PEG. It was the brain child of three complete strangers: Mike Porco, Tom Prendergast and Israel Goodman Young. Actually, Mike had nothing to do with making his restaurant into a Folk cabaret, but we're glad he kept it open when Izzy handed the idea to Mike Porco in late May 1960.

It's just one topic in the upcoming documentary being made about Gerde's Folk City and its illustrious owner, Mike Porco. 

The documentary is called POSITIVELY PORCO.

It's nearing completion. If you have any interest in the music spawned in the restaurant, you will want to see it. Basically, the American singer/songwriter genre has its roots planted at Gerde's. 

All music lovers should know. Your mother should know. And somewhere in Cincinnati, there's a kid waiting for the school bus, listening to ''his parents music'' on his headphones, and he hears the 60s in his head. HE SHOULD KNOW.

Reach him with some press for me, please. I'll give you dollars and doughnuts for publicity and HEADLINES talking UP this film.

Here are some pictures from my most recent week of action. I'm busy. Dig?

Executive Producers with large pockets should know. Operators are standing by.

~Bob

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THE NEW WORLD SINGERS

These people saw the first sneak peak of
Positively Porco. You missed it.

An astounding time was had learning and listening with THE NEW WORLD SINGERS.

Yes, Bob Cohen, Delores Dixon and Happy Traum gave 60 people a rare performance from a set once touring the nation 60 years ago. Legendary. I loved it... Realized I have a thing for older black women after meeting Delores. Don't tell her. 

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Mr. ROD MACDONALD

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Mr. ERIK FRANDSEN

a fixture on Macdougal Street…once a fixture at Folk City

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PS-

AND don't forget, music lovers, that POSITIVELY PORCO has a trailer. You should share it with the Cincinnati Kid and your parents. More sneak peaks will be offered for the public in coming weeks. One will be at MIKE AND RUTHY'S SUMMER HOOT in August. NYC show announced soon. Press. Publicity. Word of mouth. pass it on.

ALL THE FOLK NEWS THAT'S FIT TO PRINT

I NEED PRESS.
Someone write 500 words and get it printed and I will stoop to pay you, ben franklin!
The Village Voice will do. Those raggy tabloids on the subway, too. 

One mention of POSITIVELY PORCO in print or internet headline, gets you and your friends one hundred smackeroos.

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I'm not an honest blogger.
I mean, I AM. Whoever you are (and where ever the 330 million readers of my blog are) I definitely tell you what's on my mind and what's going on with the Folkies on the street,

It's just that I'm not there. I'm not even here. I'm not online at all. I'm on a train writing this…or is it the potty? But if I'm there, how can I be here? 

I'm emailing myself on a smartphone. Then I cut and paste on the blog and dash.

It's digital masturbation. After the cut and paste, I click "share" to Facecrook or Tweeter and it goes from the train directly to the NSA and 7 billion folk music fans.

And I ask now for little something.

NUMERO UNO: Always, have a gander at my past posts, please. I have a lot of cool pictures here. Enjoy.

BUT also, please "share" with the button in the top right screen or cut and paste the address for this blog in a text or email to a friend or whom ever. (They will want to see this if they like music).

AND lastly,
Please note and please try to make your way to Woodstock Wednesday May 28th at the Woodstock Jewish Congregation. Address is here: wjc

Cantor Bob Cohen, of the New World Singers fame, will be concluding his special lecture series with a get together with ORIGINAL bandmates Happy Traum and Delores Dixon.

This doesn't happen often, I can assure you.

And I'll be giving a free sneak peak of over 20 minutes of my film POSITIVELY PORCO.
11am class. Wednesday morning.

The film is getting done. Come and see the progress in a short video about Izzy, Mike and The Fifth Peg.

Importantly!!! THE NEW WORLD SINGERS will be together again. Today they're considered Folks that helped carve the way forward.

(I still need press! Bad press, good press, don't matter. Write a review. Get it print. I'll pay you for it. How's that? If not I'll do what I always do….ghostwrite)

Thank you!



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Please take a look at the official trailer for POSITIVELY PORCO- the definitive documentary on Gerde's Folk City.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5O6T44CC0M


PS- There will be OTHER sneak peaks for POSITIVELY PORCO this Summer. MIKE AND RUTHY'S HOOT series of Folk fiestas in Ashokan, will be receiving a sneak peak at over 45 minutes of 'final draft' cuts. That is worth the publicity. get some