Peter Penhallow

1 month ago | acousticguitar.com | Peter Penhallow |Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers |Adam Perlmutter

It is said that the shore in this song is the shore of the Jordan River, and that Michael is St. Michael, who guides us at least metaphorically, if not at one time literally, to the Jordan shore. I enjoyed “Michael” at age seven, when the Highwaymen made this wonderful spiritual a big hit on the radio. You can hear their version on Michael, Row the Boat Ashore: The Best of the Highwaymen. “Michael” uses a four-chord progression, arranged here in D (D, F#m, G, A7).

Dec 11, 2024 | acousticguitar.com | Peter Penhallow |Scott Nygaard |Adam Perlmutter |Maurice Tani

“Don’t Let Your Deal Go Down” is a standard in bluegrass circles today, but the song predates the genre. Like many classic folk songs, its origins are murky, with some verses appearing to be mashups of even older traditional folk songs. The first popular recording was made in 1925 by Charlie Poole and the North Carolina Ramblers, and it sold over 100,000 copies—a huge number at the time.

Jul 7, 2024 | acousticguitar.com | Nick Millevoi |Peter Penhallow |Adam Perlmutter |Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers

The traditional song “I Know You Rider” circulated widely through the 1960s—performed by Joan Baez, the Kingston Trio, the Grateful Dead, the Byrds, Janis Joplin, Hot Tuna, John Renbourn (as “I Know My Babe”), James Taylor (as “Circle ’Round the Sun”), and many more. These versions vary musically and lyrically, but likely all trace back to a song published as “Woman Blue” in John and Alan Lomax’s 1934 book American Ballads and Folk Songs.