Happy Land: Musical Tributes to Laura Ingalls Wilder

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CD - Digi-Pak

  • Release Date: 11/14/2006
  • Original Release: 2005
  • Sales Rank: 29,434
  • Label: PA'S FIDDLE
  • UPC: 892037001675

Listener Rating: (1 ratings)

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  • Editorial Reviews
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Track List
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Happy Land: Musical Tributes to Laura Ingalls Wilder

1LISTENThe Girl I Left Behind Me / Jep Bisbee 0:30
2LISTENThe Girl I Left Behind Me / Pat Enright 2:49
3LISTENSweet By and By / Andrea Zonn 3:28
4LISTENThe Blue Juniata / Riders in the Sky 2:04
5LISTENOh, Susannah / Keith Little 2:27
6LISTENRoll the Old Chariot Along / Princely Players 4:10
7LISTENHighland Mary / Deborah Packard 3:18
8LISTENArkansas Traveler/Devil's Dream / Pa's Fiddle Band 2:25
9LISTENCaptain Jinks / Riders in the Sky 3:17
10LISTENOft in the Stilly Night / Deborah Packard 2:40
11LISTENThe Big Sunflower / Douglas B. Green 2:51
12LISTENHappy Land / Peggy Duncan Singers 2:30
13LISTENBarbara Allen / Deborah Packard 5:27
14LISTENNelly Was a Lady / Dave Olney 3:45
15LISTENUncle Sam's Farm / Douglas B. Green 3:31
16LISTENPromised Land / Harpeth Valley Sacred Harp Singers 0:37
17LISTENOn Jordan's Stormy Banks / Walnut Grove Church 2:48
18LISTENThe Devil's Dream / Jep Bisbee Bonus Track 3:05

Editorial Reviews

In case you don't know, Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote the Little House on the Prairie books, and in their pages she referenced some 126 songs and folk tunes, hoping to give people the flavor of the times. She included folk songs, parlor songs, fiddle tunes, minstrel show songs, play party songs, Scottish and Irish songs and more in her books. She once said about her semi-autobiographical books: "There is one thing that will always remain the same to remind people of little Laura's days on the prairie, and that is Pa's fiddle." This album was first released in 2005, and was reissued in 2007 to compliment The Arkansas Traveler, the second CD in a project that intends to produce ten CDs documenting the songs Wilder included in her books. The album opens and closes with fiddle tunes by Jep Bisbee, recorded by Thomas Edison in 1923. Bisbee was around the same age as Pa Ingalls, and played in a traditional style. He contributes "The Girl I Left Behind Me" and "The Devil's Dream," one of the best known fiddle tunes of the time. The contemporary artists who contribute to the CD play in a traditional manner. Pat Enright's version of "The Girl I Left Behind Me" is the cowboy version of a song that originally came from Ireland called "Mountain Dew," and slightly more polished than Bisbee's. Riders in the Sky contribute "The Blue Juniata" a story sympathetic to the plight of the Native Americans forced to move away from their traditional lands by the white settlers claiming their land, and "Captain Jinks," a comic song full of quips that were probably hilarious back in 1868. The term "high jinks" owes its origin to this tune. Ranger Doug from Riders in the Sky takes a solo turn on the minstrel show tune "The Big Sunflower," a sentimental song about love that sounds a bit dated and "Uncle Sam's Farm" a hit for the Hutchinson Family Singers. The Hutchinson Family was a close harmony group that sang at anti-slavery, women's suffrage and Lincoln for President rallies. The song is a march, full of optimism celebrating the riches waiting people brave enough to head west and homestead. "Oh Susanna," probably Stephen Foster's greatest hit, gets an old-time string band treatment. Songwriter David Olney sings Foster's "Nelly Was a Lady," one of the first songs to treat an African-American relationship with the respect the white folks of the time reserved for themselves. Three lovely hymns are given beautiful readings: "Roll the Old Chariot Along" is done a cappella by the Princely Players, "On Jordan's Stormy Banks" is sung by members of the Walnut Grove Church with string band accompaniment and "Sweet by and By" is sung simply by Andrea Zonn. The 18 tracks here give us a good overview of the songs that became the foundation of the music we now call Americana, the tunes that people sang to entertain themselves before the advent of mass media. J. Poet, All Music Guide

Customer Reviews

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Happy Land: Musical Tributes to Laura Ingalls Wilderby Anonymous

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August 04, 2005: Playing Time – 51:42 -- Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867-1957) wrote a famous series of eight “Little House” books which trace her family’s history through the west from 1867 to 1885. The books, published between 1932-1943, have become classics in American children’s literature. Within her stories are references to 126 songs. There are songs from the parlor, stage, minstrel shows, church and school. Laura’s guiding musical spirit was her singing and fiddling father, Charles “Pa” Ingalls. On this musical tribute, we are treated to contemporary renderings of 18 of the 126 referenced songs. The set recognizes the esteemed place that music-making once held within the lives of ordinary American families and pioneers. In a sense, this concept album is a soundtrack for the books. Fans of the “Little House” books will especially thrill in being able to hear the music that was an integral part of pioneer life on the prairie. Dale Cockrell recruited well-known mandolinist Butch Baldassari to co-produce the project, and they were backed by a grant from Blair School of Music. Top Nashville musicians were enlisted. Participants include Riders in the Sky, Dave Olney, Andrea Zonn, Deborah Packard, Pat Enright, Doug Green, Keith Little, Jep Bisbee, John Mock, Butch Baldassari, Peggy Duncan Singers, Harpeth Valley Sacred Harp Singers, and The Princely Players. “Arkansas Traveler/Devil’s Dream” and “Happy Land” are played by Pa’s Fiddle Band (including various instrumentalists). The result is a set of contemporary renditions of American folk music, a melting pot of hymns, minstrel show songs, spirituals and fiddle tunes. A 16-page CD booklet provides background about the songs and lyrics, where applicable. One should imagine the days before radio and television when music-making was a family endeavor, and the activity was pursued for fun, entertainment and intellectual pursuit. For that same reason, families today will obtain plenty of enjoyment together with the rediscovery of such classics as “The Girl I Left Behind Me,” “Oh! Susanna,” “Highland Mary,” “Barbara Allen,” and others. New discoveries are also awaiting within the 52 minutes on this disc. Songs like Captain Jinks, Oft in the Stilly Night, The Big Sunflower, Uncle Sam’s Farm, and Promised Land deserve a much wider listen. The title cut, “Happy Land,” appears more often in Wilder’s books than any other hymn and came to epitomize family strength and opposition to unruly outside influences. Wilder’s eight children books inspired two television series – one that ran from 1974-1983, and the other which had a limited airing in 2005. With this CD in the schools, librarians and reading teachers can work hand-in-hand with music teachers to help kids discover a rich part of American’s musical heritage and legacy. (Joe Ross)

This review was written about the CD edition.