Ramblin' Jack Elliott Comes to Town (Part II)

Jack Elliott and friends at Live Oak Music Hall & Lounge (1311 Lipscomb Street, just off Magnolia) in Fort Worth, Texas (continued).

Ramblin' Jack sort of complimented Larry Mahan's black hat look with his own white hat and red suspenders, cowboy clothes, boots and acoustic guitar. He did "Old Shep" after a story abut his dog Caesar who would occasionally take the wheel of an old pickup truck and drive very slowly. He tuned up, said this was the final stop on his latest five week or so tour, that this was the first time he really tuned his guitar right. "It's an honor to break in a new edifice," he said.

Of his moniker, he noted "there’s no 'g' in his name except in England," where they say "Rambling Jack." Put his shades on after a while. Told about Jesse Fuller, the "Lone Cat," and did Fuller's "San Francisco Bay Blues," explained how the Lone Cat created his own multi-faceted instruments.

At some point, Ramblin' Jack got tired of his voice cracking due to touring and "weather changes," and asked for a medicinal drink from the bar. Live Oak owner Bill Smith brought him a glass of whiskey or its equivalent on ice.  Jack: "There’s too much ice . . ." He explained that too much ice is bad for one's humors (or humours, if you prefer), especially while singing and talking.

He told tales about busking around Europe for years in the 1950s, right into the early 1960s, with his wife at the time, June (Hammerstein/Elliott, now Shelley).  They eventually parted ways and later she became a special assistant to The Rolling Stones during their great Exile On Main St. (1972) period in France. He mentioned her memoir, Even When It Was Bad... It Was Good (Xlibris, 2000) -- more to tell about the whole episode, maybe in another post.   

After a particular breakup (with June?), Ramblin' Jack found himself in the middle of a snowstorm in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, a local appearance cancelled on account of the weather, so he made his way to a DJ friend's radio station and did some stuff on air until the DJ decided to close down the station. Before he did, Jack climbed a hundred rungs up the radio tower into the storm, head thrust into snow swirling all around, before coming back down, feeling bleak and cold. The DJ took him to a mountaintop hunting lodge, made a fire and they settled down to venison, Wild Turkey and a Bob Dylan album. This was when he learned (despite being a slow learner, he said) Dylan's "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" (and later recorded it, in the late 1960s).  When he first played it with Bob Dylan in the audience, Dylan said, "I relinquish it to you, Jack." And then, after this storied introduction, Ramblin' Jack played the song and it was a truly groovy moment!   

At various times, Ramblin' Jack's live singing style reminds me of Willie Nelson, Woody Guthrie, Nick Cave, Neil Young and Bob Dylan.  Here he did "Diamond Joe" and a mix of folk, blues, country and country rock.

 

He also did one version of  Jelly Roll Morton's "Windin' Boy," which has the line "I’m the Windin’ Boy, don’t deny my name." (He referenced Alan Lomax here -- and there are two versions, both ribald but one version more so than the other -- as in NC-17 rating).

Ramblin' Jack Elliott is a living reminder that recorded music really only goes back about a century. What's incredible is that he (like Chuck Berry and B. B. King, dudes I've also turned out to see in the near past) has been playing and singing for more than half of its entire arc. How humbling and cool is that? My motto: any artist 65 or over, get out and see 'em before they retire or otherwise stop performing -- if possible.

Today's Rune: Journey.