Goebel Reeves Hobo's Lullaby (CD)

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catalog number: BCD15680
weight in Kg 0.107

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1-CD with 44-page booklet, 26 tracks. Playing time approx. 80 mns. More from country... more

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Goebel Reeves: Hobo's Lullaby (CD)

1-CD with 44-page booklet, 26 tracks. Playing time approx. 80 mns.

More from country music's dark past, these incredibly rare recordings were made between 1929 and 1934. Reeves cloaked himself in obscurity, wandering from town to town, recording infrequently and performing at local radio stations. He sang about his hobo's life in his songs. He recorded the original Hobo's Lullaby, later popularized by Arlo Guthrie, and, accompanying himself on the guitar, recorded a total of 28 songs (all here), like The Drifter, Blue Undertaker Blues, The Texas Drifter's Warning, The Cowboy's Prayer, and The Kidnapped Baby. His incredible story is also revealed at last in the text.

As an early country singer in the authentic mold with a pleasing tenor or high baritone voice who recorded numerous examples of songs and poems reflecting the lonely hobo's life, Goebel Reeves has long been highly regarded by students and collectors alike. Accompanying himself on guitar, Reeves possessed the artistic talent and the intellectual capacity to convert his experiences to recorded accounts which were both artistically and commercially successful.

John Edwards, the late Australian authority on country music, perhaps first recognized Reeves' importance. Edwards made numerous attempts to locate him but was unsuccessful even though the autobiographical nature of Reeves' songs provided clues. He was almost certainly a drifter, a loner. One of his songs, The Drifter's Buddy, relates how he wanders into the little Oklahoma town of Wilburtown and meets his old buddy from World War I, Harold F. 'Speedy' Caldwell. In the mid-1950s Edwards contacted Caldwell's widow who still resided there, but she had not heard of Reeves since 1938. Other leads had proved equally disappointing.

It was as if Reeves had intentionally cloaked himself in obscurity. In fact, one of his songs, The Oklahoma Kid, recorded under his 'Texas Drifter' pseudonym, presaged his own death. He relates how the death in a train wreck of a hobo known as the Oklahoma Kid reminded him of an earlier experience in the Ozark Mountains:

And as I stood on top of a mountain, watching the pale moon shine Casting its shadows around me, by the side of a whispering pine I noticed a mound beside, oblong, sinister, and queer And a little board bearing these words: 'Goebel Reeves lies here.'

Finally through a correspondent Edwards obtained an address for Reeves in Bell Gardens, California, a semi-rural, working-class suburb of Los Angeles. Edwards and I had been corresponding about Reeves for awhile, and with considerable anticipation I agreed to investigate. Edwards prepared the way by writing to Reeves and explaining our interests. One evening in August, 1957, I drove to the address where lay a small wooden-frame house. An elderly man, of rather short and slight stature, came to the door.

Acknowledging that he was indeed the Texas Drifter, he invited me in and conducted me through his home and small 'museum' of mementoes and scrapbooks at the rear. Obviously impressed by Edwards' letter and the fact that anyone in Australia would be this interested in him, he readily agreed to a taped interview which would be sent to Edwards.

Several days later I returned for the interview. Reeves was friendly and responsive but affected a dramatic recitational style that invoked the techniques of the entertainer and storyteller. He had obviously developed his style before many an audience. He claimed to have been born and raised on a ranch near Pecos, Texas, as a wild cowboy. He would often excuse his not discussing a certain matter on the grounds that it wasn't really suited to a story.

The authenticity of much of what he said seemed improbable. When I was later able to learn the details of his early life from his sister, Hila (`Stormy') Weathers, my suspicions that his dramatic inclinations had seriously thwarted his accuracy were confirmed. However, in addition to factual details about his life, I sought to understand his basic philosophies: why he chose to become a drifter, how ...

Article properties: Goebel Reeves: Hobo's Lullaby (CD)

Interpret: Goebel Reeves
Album titlle: Hobo's Lullaby (CD)
Genre Country
Label Bear Family Records
Preiscode AH
Artikelart CD
EAN: 4000127156808
weight in Kg 0.107

Reeves, Goebel - Hobo's Lullaby (CD) CD 1
01	The Tramp's Mother	Goebel Reeves
02	I Learned About Women From Her	Goebel Reeves
03	The Drifter (part 1)	Goebel Reeves
04	The Drifter (part 2)	Goebel Reeves
05	When The Clock Struck Seventeen	Goebel Reeves
06	Blue Undertaker's Blues (part 1)	Goebel Reeves
07	Blue Undertaker's Blues (part 2)	Goebel Reeves
08	Fortunes Galore	Goebel Reeves
09	My Mountain Gal	Goebel Reeves
10	A Song Of The Sea	Goebel Reeves
11	In The Land Of Never Was	Goebel Reeves
12	The Texas Drifter's Warning	Goebel Reeves
13	Cowboy's Lullaby	Goebel Reeves
14	Hobo's Lullaby	Goebel Reeves
15	The Drifter's Buddy (The Drifter's Prayer)	Goebel Reeves
16	The Cowboy's Prayer	Goebel Reeves
17	Happy Days (I'll Never Leave Old Dixieland..)	Goebel Reeves
18	The Wayward Son	Goebel Reeves
19	Reckless Tex	Goebel Reeves
20	The Soldier's Return	Goebel Reeves
21	Miss Jackson, Tennessee	Goebel Reeves
22	My Mountain Girl	Goebel Reeves
23	Cold And Hungry	Goebel Reeves
24	Meet Me At The Crossroads, Pal	Goebel Reeves
25	The Yodeling Teacher	Goebel Reeves
26	The Kidnapped Baby	Goebel Reeves

Goebel Reeves Den aus Texas stammenden Goebel Reeves, einen eigenwilligen Sänger... more

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"Goebel Reeves"

Goebel Reeves

Den aus Texas stammenden Goebel Reeves, einen eigenwilligen Sänger und Gitarristen, kennt man besonders wegen der Songs, die von seinem Leben als Herumtreiber handeln. Er wird gewöhnlich mit Jimmie Rodgers verglichen, weil er wie dieser seine Songs mit Jodeln und stimmlichen Tricks unterbrach. Doch anders als Rodgers bezog er sich kaum auf die afroamerikanische Bluestradition. Reeves flotter Stil erinnerte mehr an Vaudeville und war vergleichbar mit dem von Frank Crumit, einem Radio- und Schallplattenpionier. Sammler, die Country Music aus der Zeit vor dem Zweiten Weltkrieg kaufen, schätzen Reeves. Das anspruchsvolle und für die Wiedergeburt der Folk-Music verantwortliche städtische Publikum jedoch, beachtete seine sonderbaren Aufnahmen nicht. Viele ordneten seine bekannteste Komposition, The Hobo's Lullaby, Woody Guthrie zu, einem Singer-Songwriter, dessen eigenes Leben und Karriere auf tragisch-kuriose Art und Weise dem von Reeves ähnelte.

Goebel Leon Reeves wurde am 9. Oktober 1899 in Sherman, Texas, geboren. Sein politisch ehrgeiziger Vater wurde Abgeordneter des Staates Texas und die Familie zog nach Austin, der texanischen Hauptstadt. Als Jugendlicher zeigte Reeves wenig Interesse an seiner Schulbildung und verbrachte lieber Zeit in einem Varieté im Stadtzentrum. Durch die politischen Verbindungen seines Vaters bekam er einen Job als Page in einem Büro der Staatsregierung.

Reeves versuchte sich an Klavier und Trompete. Als er jedoch den heute längst vergessenen Vaudeville-Künstler Al Wilson Jodel-Tricks zur Gitarre aufführen sah, änderte sich sein Focus. In dieser Zeit freundete er sich auch mit Hobos an, die durch Austin kamen. Als Heranwachsender war er von deren Geschichten über Essenschnorren, Versteckspielen mit der Eisenbahnpolizei und dem Aufspringen auf Güterzüge fasziniert.

Als die Vereinigten Staaten in den Ersten Weltkrieg eintraten, ging Reeves zur Armee und wurde nach Europa verschifft. Nach einer Verwundung an der Front wurde er entlassen und nach Hause geschickt. Zunehmend ruheloser, griff er seine Gitarre, machte sich auf den Weg und sang für Trinkgeld an Straßenecken. 1921 schrieb sich Reeves bei der Handelsmarine ein und verbrachte den Großteil der kommenden fünf Jahre kreuz und quer auf dem Atlantik und mit gelegentlichen längeren Aufenthalten in Europa.

1957 entdeckte John Edwards, ein australischer Sammler früher Country-Aufnahmen, den zurückgezogen lebenden Goebel Reeves in Bell Gardens, California. Auf Edwards Bitte hin, interviewte sein Sammlerfreund Fred Hoeptner den Sänger; dessen oftmals übertrieben klingenden Behauptungen ließ er sich später persönlich von Reeves Schwester bestätigen. Reeves starb am 26. Januar 1959 nach langen Jahren quälender Herzprobleme.

Goebel Reeves Hobo's Lullaby
Read more at: https://www.bear-family.com/reeves-goebel-hobo-s-lullaby.html
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