Southern Raised – Sixteen Tons
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
Wow
I still have the 45 and LP with this song by Ernie Ford, groves extremely well worn.
It was my mother’s favorite song, played on a ‘secession’ of equipment.
Alton: my father would sing/hum this sometimes.
A lot of people forgot company stores/towns…where the low pay went right back to management as food-rent…a rigged system that caused crushing poverty and early deaths with Pinkertons murdering unionists. Only then did the baseball bats come out.
To this day, Lamar County Alabama is a democratic hold-out except for Trump voting.
Lest any think to red bait them…they wouldn’t know an image of Che’ from a housecat. My parents were from that area which has a lot of elderly folks. Picking cotton with bleeding fingers dunked in kerosene at the end of the day…and how their parents never complained…but they were farmers at least. Their hands were all scars.
Back then it was democrats who filled the pews-when the handful of Republicans were hitting the links: the horse doctor…the sell-out union rep’s kid they used as a caddy…and a spy; the town lawyer, the mayor and his boss-the company owner who might darken the churchhouse door just long enough to hand the barefoot kids candy canes while the parents bit their lips ’till they bled. NOW you know what that song means.
Jeff Wright:
Not lost on someone who’s family is from the South, and lived there a fair amount, myself. Still, the American Dream is that the progeny will do better than the progenitors. Remember where you came from, but no need to live it.
I fear globalism is returning us to those days under the disguise of capitalism.
Reagan through free trade weakened America in a de facto redistribution of wealth that made our enemies stronger. In the 7O’s China had not one private auto. It’s like the party of transgender snail-darter lives matter is TRYING to give the DNC a bad name so that the CHASE banks can slide a Romney in. He opposes infrastructure out of wanting low taxes-but let’s blame the Greens who want to save a darter that has a red spot above one eye instead of a blue spot behind the other like all the rest. Outside of Musk I hate businessmen from personal experience.
Older men who remember 5O’s-7O’s good wages looked with disdain upon libertarian college kids pushing those political test cards like Jack Chick tracts.
When my Dad called them “communist free traders” when I thought that was a contradiction in terms-like a lot of young college kids-I thought my Dad was losing it.
A very, very long time ago…believe it or not…I was one of those Rand worshippers.
What changed?
I grew up.
I like remakes/covers that add something different. I stumbled across the Geoff Castellucci version of 16 tons a while back.
It’s interesting to consider this along side John Henry. They have a lot in common.
One of the reasons I loathed “grunge” so much: What the heck are you suburban rich kids whining about?!?!
Good song and band. I have never seen a cello like that. I guess that is a more portable version to lug to that location.
Jay……
It’s called a stand-up Cello, also a walking stick cello in a smaller thinner version. The acoustic version is rather common in ApplachIan folk music use.
The electric type is very interesting in the hands of a lady player. To be very PC. ,—NOT!!
Tuna Guo – world-class player:
https://youtu.be/G0OpnBcB9OQ
Jay…
Number #2
Amadeus Electric Quartet
Walking Stick Cello – Electric
https://youtu.be/QugLFzedHzkw
markedup2 mentioned John Henry.
Liked that song as a kid. ‘A steel-drivin’ man.’ As an adult, maybe different connotations.
Alton,
Thanks! I did not know that they made an electric cello. I did not look it up, but I am willing to bet they made an electric bass cello (the even bigger brother of the cello) too.
That is why I come to this site, to learn new things.
Jay-
Tried to find some video of Ian Anderson [Jethro Tull] playing his electric flute, and I stumbled across this video. (Had no clue whatsoever these instruments existed!)
“Paige Long is a world-renowned flutist. She’s also one of a small number of people who can play the three largest flutes in the flute family: the double subcontrabass, the subcontrabass and the contrabass.”
https://youtu.be/ouJDvdg7EZI
3:01
Thanks ! Wayne !!!
I Enjoyed this one Too ?