Civil War Songs;Scottish Open Golf

Tonight are featured some songs with a Civil War theme:"Dixie" and a cover version of "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down."
"Dixie" is of uncertain authorship,but dates from the 1850s,before the Civil War,and became one of the most popular American songs of the nineteenth century.Indeed,it was a favourite of Abraham Lincoln,who used it for his campaign rallies.During the Civil War,it became the unofficial anthem of the Confederacy.A new set of lyrics with a military theme were written in the war period,but the sung version given here,by the 2nd South Carolina String Band,uses the original minstrel show lyrics of the prewar period.An instrumental version by the The Canadian Brass and Nexus is also offered.
The cover version of "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" is by American folk singer Joan Baez.Her high quality voice and perfect diction makes listening to it worthwhile.Last time was featured the original version by The Band.Given the current atmosphere in the United States,you have to wonder whether a radio station would dare to play such a song written from the Confederate perspective.Have no fear,dear readers:you can listen to the song on this blog.For that matter,"Dixie" has also been criticised for being racist,even though Lincoln himself loved it.Would a radio station dare to play that song today?This blog will so that you can decide for yourselves.
Will such songs as "Dixie" still be sung in the public schools where we sang them years ago?For that matter,we had Christmas parties at public schools.*
At the Scottish Open at the Gullane Golf Club in East Lothian,Scotland,Englishman Daniel Brooks topped the leader board with his excellent second round eleven under par 65.Graeme McDowell of Northern Ireland,American Ryan Palmer and four others shared second place at eight under par.Phil Mickelson,who won the tournament in 2013,was well down the leader board in 48th place with his three under par 68,but will still get to play the weekend and have an outside chance to win.

Golfer Jason Day Collapses at the US Open;The Band

Australian golfer Jason Day collapsed from a dizzy spell at the eighteenth hole,casting a pall on the second round of the US Open Championship at Chambers Bay in University Place,Washington on the Puget Sound.Day fell to the ground and was reached by medical personnel in about five minutes,who helped him get to his feet and complete his round with a two under par 70,in a good position for the two remaining rounds,should his health permit.
For the past month or so,Day has been complaining of intermittent vertigo,but a battery of medical tests revealed nothing out of the ordinary.Supported by medics on either side,Day was able to sign his scorecard to officially register his round,then retreated to his mobile home parked on site.Tiger Woods said he will call Day to see how he is.
As of time of publication,Americans Dustin Johnson and Jordan Spieth topped the leaderboard along with Henrik Stenson of Sweden at five under par.*
Tonight is featured another track by the Canadian-American group The Band,"Across The Great Divide." The Band originated as the backing group for American singer Ronnie Hawkins,who took his drummer Levon Helms with him up to Toronto from Arkansas because the pay was better there.He recruited Canadian musicians guitarist Robbie Robertson,organist Garth Hudson,bassist Richard Danko and pianist Richard Manuel.All of them played other instruments as well ranging from string bass to trombone.Eventually,the musicians tired of Hawkins and his restrictions,at the same time growing closer into an independent act,what with four of them being Canadians and all five having distinctive musical personalities.
Ironically,though most of the members were Canadians,The Band's music was often obsessed with Americana and American historical themes such as the Civil War and the Old West.
Before starting The Band,however,they were recruited again in 1964 to serve as Bob Dylan's backing band when they did some recording with Dylan's producer Bob Johnston in New York.In 1968,they released their first LP "Music From Big Pink" as The Band.The Band continued to work with Bob Dylan off and on,recording "The Basement Tapes" with him in 1967,which was illegally released as a bootleg recording and admired by college students.They also toured with him and backed him again on his "Planet Waves" album,in between their own projects.In 1976,lead guitarist and principal songwriter Robbie Robertson left The Band to pursue a solo career as recording artist,film score composer and music supervisor in Hollywood.He worked closely with his good friend the eminent director Martin Scorsese on several film projects.
Robertson,whose real name is Jaime Royal Robertson,will be 72 on 5 July.He is an aboriginal Canadian on his mother's side,who was a Mohawk from the Six Nations Reservation.He became increasingly involved with his aboriginal roots as time passed,absorbing aboriginal musical influences and culture.
Robertson purchased the rights to The Band's material from the other members and became the group's curator.
The other members of The Band continued on with new personnel until Richard Danko's death in 1999.Richard Manuel committed suicide in 1986;Rick Danko died of heart failure in 1999;and Levon Helms died of throat cancer in 2012.Hudson and Robertson remained active in their solo careers.