More (Mostly) Folk Music

Joe Gordon Folk Four   •   Scotland's Joe Gordon Folk Four

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  • Scotland's Joe Gordon Folk Four
    • 1964 - Monitor Records MF (S) 423 LP (USA)
  • Side One
    1. If You Will Marry Me
    2. Govan Is A Busy Place (Roddy McMillan)
    3. Yithenside
    4. Donald Blue
    5. Ludgin Wi' Big Aggie (Ain Wee Hoose)
    6. Scarlet Ribbons (Evelyn Danzig, Segal)
    7. Barnyards O' Delgaty
  • Side Two
    1. You're Me Wee Gallus Bloke Nae Mair
    2. Afford Vale (La Teste)
    3. The Wedding O' McGinnes Tae His Crossed-Eyed Pet (Willie Kemp)
    4. Bonnie George Campbell
    5. Medley
      1. Kitty Birdie
      2. Three Men Went A Hunting
      3. The World Must Be Coming To An End
    6. The Roving Baker Of Milngavie
    7. The Fox
    8. The Highland Chorus

  • Musicians
    • Joe Gordon: Guitar, Vocals
    • George Hill: Electric Guitar
    • Dick Campbell: Bass
    • Callum Sinclair: Guitar
  • Credits
    • All Tracks: Trad. Arr. Joe Gordon, unless otherwise noted.

Sleeve Notes

IF YOU WILL MARRY ME — A Glasgow version of "Paper of Pins". I suppose this proposal song is known all over Britain.

GOVAN IS A BUSY PLACE — A fine rollicking song written by a Scottish actor, Roddy MacMillan, with typical Glasgow humor.

YITHENSIDE — A lovely ballad — once again from the Aberdeenshire district near the river Yithen. I have had to condense this song quite a bit.

DONALD BLUE — A favorite "Bothy" song often sung to the tune of "Johnny Cope'', but the melody sung here is apparently the original one.

LUDGIN WI' BIG AGGIE (Ain wee'hoose) — This song speaks for itself, although perhaps I should explain a "single end'' is a one-roomed house in Glasgow.

SCARLET RIBBONS — For years this has been a favorite ballad of mine and although it is not of Scottish origin, I have no hesitation in including it in the program.

BARNYARDS O' DELGATY — Our favorite Cornkister from the North East of Scotland. This has become more or less our signature tune.

YOU'RE ME WEE GALLUS BLOKE NAE MAIR — A Glasgow street song — "Gallus Bloke" could be loosely translated for the Sassenachs as "smarty pants" (Smart Alec).

AFFORD VALE (Tune of Kelvin Grove) — A poem by La Teste, a well-known Elgin poet, which has been set to the air "Kelvin Grove".

THE WEDDING O' MCGINNES TAE HIS CROSS-EYED PET — One of the many fine songs by Willie Kemp, a well-known "Bothy" ballad singer in the North East of Scotland. This song is in good Aberdeenshire dialect. You probably won't understand a word, but nevertheless it has a fine beat

BONNIE GEORGE CAMPBELL — A ballad from the borders in classic tragic style, set to music by Rory and Alec McEwan, from whom I learned the song.

MEDLEY: Kitty Birdie; Three Men Went A Hunting & The World Must Be Coming To An End — Three children's songs which, as you may hear, these four children really enjoy singing.

THE ROVING BAKER OF MILNGAVIE — Since I have set up house in the village of Milngavie (Mulguy), near Glasgow, I picked up the words of this song and set them to my own melody.

THE FOX — A ballad of the fox coming out on the town is sung all over the world, and the Tod is merely a Scottish version.

THE HIGHLAND CHORUS — What can I say about this but that it is sheer nonsense — it is great fun though.

Notes by JOE GORDON


JOE GORDON, dubbed by the press "The Gay Gordon", is one of Scotland's most talented young entertainers. Since the age of 14 he has been interested in folk music, particularly Scottish folk music, and he has collected a very extensive repertoire over the years. His first musical instrument was the harmonica and he formed a trio during his service with the R.A.F. Later he took to guitar and played and sang with a skiffle group while building a career as a commercial artist. During this period he broadcast for the BBC and was asked to form a group of his own. This led to a regular series of programs both for radio and television and has brought his happy personality into the homes of countless fans throughout Scotland, while his records are earning him acclaim far beyond the borders. Joe, like all great artists, is a perfectionist, who works unsparingly on his material, rehearsing many hours on each new item he includes in his shows: then having performed them, he will continue to mold and shape; adding a new emphasis to give more point to a lyric; slowing a phrase, the better to express the melodic line, always endeavoring to improve an already fine performance.

The songs which Joe sings so effectively are almost entirely folk songs, and the selection he has chosen for this LP emanates from all parts of Scotland, though many are sung to different words or music in other parts of the world.

As to the recording, this took place before a specially invited audience at the St. Andrews Hall in Glasgow, and has a particularly warm and friendly feeling with the lads and lassies joining in, completely free and unrehearsed, which is very much more personal than many such audience recordings.