San Diego Folk Song Society

We've been getting together to sing and play since SDFSS was first founded by Sam Hinton in the 1950s. We meet on the second Sunday of each month at Old Time Music in North Park, at 2:00 PM, unless otherwise stated on the Meetings page. We welcome all instruments and people at all levels of musicianship, from beginners up, so, please, don't be shy. We invite you to come, bring your songs, your instruments, and, your friends, to join us anytime.

SDFSS RAMBLINGS

Sam Hinton will be 90 on March 31st . Time has taken Sam down many roads and he has touched us all along the way. I’ve always wondered how people can give so much while staying committed and not having their egos choke off their creativity and kindness. Sam has left a musical imprint on our world and the many people with whom he has crossed paths. He has provided us with a road map and a key to doors of enjoyment and satisfaction that no amount of money or power can buy. Every time we get together and play we all gain from the common interest we share. We’re a lucky group of people who have a special part of life which allows us to express ourselves creatively and also brings enjoyment to others. Thank you again, Sam, for sharing your generous musical spirit with us.

Sam Hinton has worn many hats in his life. He's an original -- a folk singer, songwriter, scientist, artist, father, and diatonic harmonica player. In December, 2006, Sam moved up to Berkeley to be near his daughter Leanne. The San Diego folk music community is already missing him, but treasuring the time he lived and sang among us.

Sam created SDFSS back in 1957 and we'll be celebrating our 50th year in March 2007. What can I say about Sam that hasn't been said already and felt by the many he sang to and educated? I met Sam a few years ago. I've treasured his presence at our meetings this past year. In my earlier years, Sam had been just a face on a record cover and a real joy to hear on my turntable. Sometimes you meet people who are famous and sometimes you meet people like Sam, who while being famous, hasn't let the stars get in his eyes and kept him from seeing the real world.

When I think of great American folk musicians, Woody Guthrie comes to mind, joined by Cisco Houston, Pete Seeger, The Weavers, Ledbelly, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, and yes, Sam Hinton. Sam knew Woody and spent time with him in California. Both were born in East Texas. I've felt their connection every time Sam's been around us.

We've been lucky to have shared music and many things more with Sam. Words can never capture the gifts we received from him. Many of our members are folkies because Sam sang at their schools. Sam sang to children, not at children. He respected them, brought them the gift of music and left them with a life of joy and interest that continues on today.

When I shook hands with Sam at his farewell party, I teared up a bit. I felt the comfort of Sam's big, warm hand and caught the smile in his eyes. I knew we'd meet again and wished him peace.

Sam Hinton was gracious to all of us who came to sing one song more with him at his farewell party. Allen Singer, shown here shaking his hand, felt Sam's touch on his life like so many of us. This article by him eloquently expresses what so many of us attending folkies feel about this lovely human being.

Sam Hinton's Books

About 600 books from Sam Hinton's library will be in a special collection at the UCSD library that will eventually be available to the public. A large number of his books are now at D.G. Wills bookstore in La Jolla for resale. Mr. Wills has offered special prices to the folk music community. D.G.Wills Bookstore is at 7461 Girard Avenue in La Jolla.

August '06 Meeting at Sam's Home

The picking and grinning by those who attended our last SDFSS meeting gave us the opportunity to show Sam Hinton how he has influenced many of us. It was one of our best get-togethers, one we'll not soon forget.

Sam visited with another fine musician, Johnny Walker, AKA "The Yorkshire Tyke", who showed up later in the day with his wife Almarine.

photo:Steve Gardner

I think the standout moments for me personally was when Sam used my guitar to play a song, and later when he sang Trusty Lariat with me, and then even later when he did the thing which blew my mind when we were kids....playing the harmonica without using his hands.

photo:Steve Gardner

Sam singing "The Trusty Lariat" with me. He came to my school when I was a kid and this was the song which made such a strong impression on me that I became hooked on folk music. (Scott is sitting next to Sam and my hubby Larry is to my left.)

photo:Steve Gardner

Allen, Sandy and John adding to the musical mix.

photo:Steve Gardner

Sam playing the harmonica without using his hands.

----Tanya

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TROUBADOUR ARTICLE
ABOUT YOUR EDITORS IN JULY 2006 ISSUE!

If you go to www.sandiegotroubadour.com and access "The Front Porch" section of the July 2006 issue, you will find a very nice article about Larry and me written by our very own Allen Singer. Allen's article tells a lot about what you might want to know about us.

As you well know, Allen is an articulate writer and this is an accurate recounting of our musical journey and life together. Mentioned in this article is our debt to Sam Hinton, the man who really put us on the path of singing traditional music when we were both youngsters. We were so pleased that he came to the February 2006 meeting. His presence makes each song circle complete and we hope to have him attend many, many more.

This 2-CD set, produced by George Winston and Adam Miller, amply illustrates Sam's innovative achievements on this staple instrument of folk music. From his national debut on the Major Bowes radio show in 1937 to the studio tracks recorded in 2000 (at the age of 83!) Sam has enthralled audiences with his warmth and skill. The stunning harmonica music on this CD set is unlike anything ever recorded by any other harmonica player. The album includes extensive liner notes.

This great recording is available at Eagle's Whistle Music. You can order Sam's CD by writing to them at P. O. Box 620754, Woodside, CA 94062 or calling (650) 804-2049, or visiting www.samhinton.org.

Editor's note: Sam is an absolute genius, a true renaissance man. He plays not only many types of harmonicas but everything from a penny whistle to a ukelin! What a joy to listen to this CD. Sam's warm personality is so apparent as he explains these songs' origins and plays them with consummate skill. It was fun to hear him as a young man playing on the Major Bowes radio show, his soft Texas drawl so apparent, and then hearing him through the years as the audiences whooped it up at various concerts. This CD is an absolute must for harp players as well as for those of us who love to hear a true master play.

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We are the Coal Holders

Ever since the cave dwelling beginning, there's always been the guy who's job it was to carry the last hot coal. (Remember?) See, when the tribe moved on, someone had to carry the last hot coal to start up the next fire at the next campsite. They needed this fire to cook with, sleep near, talk and sing around. Now, many of these coal-holders, over time, became folk singers.

Later on, some went electric. Some even became rock and roll singers, punkers and rappers. Hey, different tribes, different instruments. But the job itself has never changed. My dad was one of these guys. And a lot of his songs were pretty damned hot!

We are Woody's coal-holders. We do this to keep our present day tribe warm, fed, and informed.

Sometimes it gets real cold out there (Have you noticed?) and it seems like a chilly wind is just going to blow us all off the map.

A lot of people are feeling the effects of the chill; no food, no shelter, no singing, no rights. And other people are chilling inside; no warmth, no joy, no song, no tribe.

They will be the ones who will make it possible to build the next fire. They will be the ones to serve up our next hot meal or our next warm talk. And though it seems that there are no bonfires burning just yet, I do feel that things are warming up!

WHY DO WE CARE?

"When someone asks, why all this fuss and bother, this endless trouble and expenditure of time on an old song, the answer is: because this old song, in its mere, sheer commonness, strikes to our very roots. There is no obligation on these old things to survive. They have lived on in the minds and hearts of countless men and women, untainted by compulsion, for the purest and most disinterested reason possible to be conceived: because they have continued to give joy and solace, on the basic levels of artistic experience, to generation after generation of our humankind.

'The proper study of mankind is man, and so long as this precept remains valid, folk song will continue to be an important subject for human inquiry."

"The piano may do for lovesick girls who lace themselves to skeletons and lunch on chalk, pickles and slate pencils. But give me the banjo, when you want genuine music, music that will come right home to you like a bad quarter, suffuse your system like strychnine whiskey, ramify your whole constitution like the measles, and break out on your hide like the pin-feather pimples on a picked goose--when you want all this, just smash your piano, and invoke the glory-beaming banjo!"

Sam Hinton

The San Diego Folk Song Society

SDFSS RAMBLINGS

Sam Hinton's Books

August '06 Meeting at Sam's Home

TROUBADOUR ARTICLE ABOUT YOUR EDITORS IN JULY 2006 ISSUE!

We are the Coal Holders

WHY DO WE CARE?

TROUBADOUR ARTICLE
ABOUT YOUR EDITORS IN JULY 2006 ISSUE!