In the early 60s my family, father, mother, and two brothers were living in Portland, Oregon.
On one occasion that I clearly remember a friend of my mother coming to visit our family. She came from the same small town of Sydney, Montana where my mother had been raised. Her name was Mary McDorney and was an accomplished musician and singer who had a huge collection of what today we might consider "folk music". That musical label is a bit blurry actually because early country music was also from this source.
She brought her banjo to our house which for me was the first time that I'd ever seen such an instrument up close. She sat in our living room and played tunes, which my mother loved especially. My mother and she sat for hours and hours remember old times and showing us boys these songs.
Many years later I had my first job of teaching elementary music in a school in Medford, Oregon and it occurred to me that the kids might enjoy some of these old songs. So, I hunted around and found a version of the song in an old songbook, but it wasn't the one that I'd heard years prior. So, I took the lyrics and combined them with what I recalled from my childhood. My version was a hybrid.
In 1996 I recorded this version in combination with the other selections as a part of my release "Hafa Adai! Fun Songs From Guam And Around The World". Obviously this collection of songs then becomes very eclectic to listeners wherever they might be. But, it is all a part of my personal musical heritage. This song from that early confrontation with my mother's background in Montana.
What might be interesting to many people is that this song has shown a considerable following. I thought it would be a sleeper when I recorded it but instead I believe people have hunted this song down via internet search for the title "Dunderbeck". I hope it is of interest to you too.
Dunderbeck on Amazon.com
On one occasion that I clearly remember a friend of my mother coming to visit our family. She came from the same small town of Sydney, Montana where my mother had been raised. Her name was Mary McDorney and was an accomplished musician and singer who had a huge collection of what today we might consider "folk music". That musical label is a bit blurry actually because early country music was also from this source.
She brought her banjo to our house which for me was the first time that I'd ever seen such an instrument up close. She sat in our living room and played tunes, which my mother loved especially. My mother and she sat for hours and hours remember old times and showing us boys these songs.
Many years later I had my first job of teaching elementary music in a school in Medford, Oregon and it occurred to me that the kids might enjoy some of these old songs. So, I hunted around and found a version of the song in an old songbook, but it wasn't the one that I'd heard years prior. So, I took the lyrics and combined them with what I recalled from my childhood. My version was a hybrid.
In 1996 I recorded this version in combination with the other selections as a part of my release "Hafa Adai! Fun Songs From Guam And Around The World". Obviously this collection of songs then becomes very eclectic to listeners wherever they might be. But, it is all a part of my personal musical heritage. This song from that early confrontation with my mother's background in Montana.
What might be interesting to many people is that this song has shown a considerable following. I thought it would be a sleeper when I recorded it but instead I believe people have hunted this song down via internet search for the title "Dunderbeck". I hope it is of interest to you too.
Dunderbeck on Amazon.com
