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Earning My Spurs (2018/CD)

$15.00

Earning My Spurs
My first album was all yodeling songs. So as I learned more songs, especially nonyodeling songs, it occurred to me that I was truly earning my spurs for the cowboy and western song repertoire, especially since many of the new songs were familiar traditional songs from the first half of the twentieth century. I have developed quite an affection for the beauty and simplicity of the songs that were sung by my cowboy heroes from the movies of my youth and the songs that were popular on radio before and after I was born in 1940. So here is a trip down nostalgia lane plus a few newer songs that should be pleasing to your ear. My yodeling has progressed and I have learned how to play the guitar, unlike the first album, Yodeling Familiar Trails, where Greg provided all of the instrumentals. Once again, I am privileged to work with Greg Latta, an amazing musician and singer in his own right. 1. When the Bloom is on the Sage (2:25) Fred Howard and Nat Vincent (1930) Howard and Vincent, also known as the Happy Chappies, composed this song in 1930 while performing on KFRC, San Francisco, when a caller offered them $250 if they could do so and perform it before the end of the show. They collected the $250 and composed many more. 2. Tumbling Tumbleweeds (2:34) Bob Nolan (1932)(Song Writers Guild, Music of the West) Bob Nolan was one of the original members of Sons of the Pioneers, the most influential and well known western song group of the 20th century. He wrote many of their songs. This is one of the two signature songs of the Pioneers and one of the most well known in the entire repertoire. 3. Waltz Across Texas (3:00) Ernest Tubb (Ernest Tubb Music Inc.) I heard McDonald Craig sing this song just as I was starting to develop my western repertoire and fell in love with it. He did not yodel in the song but I heard one in my head and several years later developed one that fit very nicely. 4. Hittin’ the Trail Tonight (2:40) Bruce Kiskaddon and Hal Cannon Bruce Kiskaddon is one of the great cowboy poets from the early 20th century and one of my very favorites. Hal Cannon is one of the finest arrangers of western music. KG and the Ranger introduced this song to me and I have made it my own with this version. I love the poetry. 5. Cool Water (4:27) Bob Nolan (1936)(Song Writers Guild, Music of the West) This song was also one of the signature songs of the Sons of the Pioneers. The group included Tim Spencer, Leonard Sly (Roy Rogers), and the Farr brothers. It carries a subtle spiritual connotation for me as well as reflecting the critical importance of water in the west. 6. She Taught Me to Yodel (3:08) Paul Robertson and Tom Emerson (Universal MCA) Kevin McNiven from Wyoming took this song that has its roots in alpine yodeling and rearranged it to reflect a cowboy theme, modifying the yodels to give it more of a western flavor. It took me some time and a lot of practice to master the yodels. 7. My Adobe Hacienda (2:45) Louise Massey and Lee Penney (1941) I remember this song so well from my grade school days. When I began singing western songs in 2007, I promised myself that this would be one of the first non-yodeling songs that I would learn. It is about Massey’s home in the Hondo Valley, NM, and is one my very favorites. 8. Mexicali Rose (3:00) Jack Tenney and Helen Stone (1923)(Dunhill Music) This is another song that I remember so well from my youth. Written during prohibition, it reflects the booming business in alcohol that hit the Mexican towns just south of the border, in this case across from California. Tenney was the conductor of a band playing there. 9. Dear Old Western Skies (1:55) Gene Autry (1938)(Gene Autry Music) Roy Rogers sang this song on one of his albums. He is one of my yodeling heroes, with his lovely tenor voice and clear, precise yodeling. The yodels on this song are slow but beautiful. 10. Ridin’ Down the Canyon (2:38) Smiley Burnett and Gene Autry (1934)(Gene Autry Music) History has it that Smiley Burnett and Gene Autry and his wife were driving across Arizona when Gene bet Smiley $5 that he couldn’t write a cowboy song in five minutes. Smiley won the bet with this song that became a classic. 11. Except for You (3:28) Ben Peters (Ben Peters Music) I learned to yodel in 2007 from the instructional tape by Margo Smith. I purchased two of her albums and found this lovely song on one of them. It has inspired me to learn how to play a finger picking style on the guitar to accompany this song. 12. Those Old Tex Morton Blues (3:00) Owen Blundell Australia has a long and rich cowboy and yodeling tradition. Many of them are called bush ballads. I have several CD’s by some outstanding Australian yodelers, one of whom is Owen Blundell. Tex Morton was one of the original great Aussie country/western singers and yodelers. Credits Produced by Tom Hawk and Greg Latta (http://greglatta.com) Recorded and Mastered at the Latta Sound Works, Frostburg, Maryland, 21532. Audio Engineering by Greg Latta. Cover and Booklet Design by Kt Pepper Photographs by Nancy Varga (http://nvarga.com) FOR BOOKINGS AND RECORDINGS, CALL OR WRITE: Tom Hawk, 778 MacDonald terrace, Cumberland, MD 21502 301-722-0815. Email: tom@tomhawkyodeler.com Web Site: https://wwwtomhawkyodeler.com
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Earning My Spurs (2018/MP3)

$10.00

Earning My Spurs
My first album was all yodeling songs. So as I learned more songs, especially nonyodeling songs, it occurred to me that I was truly earning my spurs for the cowboy and western song repertoire, especially since many of the new songs were familiar traditional songs from the first half of the twentieth century. I have developed quite an affection for the beauty and simplicity of the songs that were sung by my cowboy heroes from the movies of my youth and the songs that were popular on radio before and after I was born in 1940. So here is a trip down nostalgia lane plus a few newer songs that should be pleasing to your ear. My yodeling has progressed and I have learned how to play the guitar, unlike the first album, Yodeling Familiar Trails, where Greg provided all of the instrumentals. Once again, I am privileged to work with Greg Latta, an amazing musician and singer in his own right. 1. When the Bloom is on the Sage (2:25) Fred Howard and Nat Vincent (1930) Howard and Vincent, also known as the Happy Chappies, composed this song in 1930 while performing on KFRC, San Francisco, when a caller offered them $250 if they could do so and perform it before the end of the show. They collected the $250 and composed many more. 2. Tumbling Tumbleweeds (2:34) Bob Nolan (1932)(Song Writers Guild, Music of the West) Bob Nolan was one of the original members of Sons of the Pioneers, the most influential and well known western song group of the 20th century. He wrote many of their songs. This is one of the two signature songs of the Pioneers and one of the most well known in the entire repertoire. 3. Waltz Across Texas (3:00) Ernest Tubb (Ernest Tubb Music Inc.) I heard McDonald Craig sing this song just as I was starting to develop my western repertoire and fell in love with it. He did not yodel in the song but I heard one in my head and several years later developed one that fit very nicely. 4. Hittin’ the Trail Tonight (2:40) Bruce Kiskaddon and Hal Cannon Bruce Kiskaddon is one of the great cowboy poets from the early 20th century and one of my very favorites. Hal Cannon is one of the finest arrangers of western music. KG and the Ranger introduced this song to me and I have made it my own with this version. I love the poetry. 5. Cool Water (4:27) Bob Nolan (1936)(Song Writers Guild, Music of the West) This song was also one of the signature songs of the Sons of the Pioneers. The group included Tim Spencer, Leonard Sly (Roy Rogers), and the Farr brothers. It carries a subtle spiritual connotation for me as well as reflecting the critical importance of water in the west. 6. She Taught Me to Yodel (3:08) Paul Robertson and Tom Emerson (Universal MCA) Kevin McNiven from Wyoming took this song that has its roots in alpine yodeling and rearranged it to reflect a cowboy theme, modifying the yodels to give it more of a western flavor. It took me some time and a lot of practice to master the yodels. 7. My Adobe Hacienda (2:45) Louise Massey and Lee Penney (1941) I remember this song so well from my grade school days. When I began singing western songs in 2007, I promised myself that this would be one of the first non-yodeling songs that I would learn. It is about Massey’s home in the Hondo Valley, NM, and is one my very favorites. 8. Mexicali Rose (3:00) Jack Tenney and Helen Stone (1923)(Dunhill Music) This is another song that I remember so well from my youth. Written during prohibition, it reflects the booming business in alcohol that hit the Mexican towns just south of the border, in this case across from California. Tenney was the conductor of a band playing there. 9. Dear Old Western Skies (1:55) Gene Autry (1938)(Gene Autry Music) Roy Rogers sang this song on one of his albums. He is one of my yodeling heroes, with his lovely tenor voice and clear, precise yodeling. The yodels on this song are slow but beautiful. 10. Ridin’ Down the Canyon (2:38) Smiley Burnett and Gene Autry (1934)(Gene Autry Music) History has it that Smiley Burnett and Gene Autry and his wife were driving across Arizona when Gene bet Smiley $5 that he couldn’t write a cowboy song in five minutes. Smiley won the bet with this song that became a classic. 11. Except for You (3:28) Ben Peters (Ben Peters Music) I learned to yodel in 2007 from the instructional tape by Margo Smith. I purchased two of her albums and found this lovely song on one of them. It has inspired me to learn how to play a finger picking style on the guitar to accompany this song. 12. Those Old Tex Morton Blues (3:00) Owen Blundell Australia has a long and rich cowboy and yodeling tradition. Many of them are called bush ballads. I have several CD’s by some outstanding Australian yodelers, one of whom is Owen Blundell. Tex Morton was one of the original great Aussie country/western singers and yodelers. Credits Produced by Tom Hawk and Greg Latta (http://greglatta.com) Recorded and Mastered at the Latta Sound Works, Frostburg, Maryland, 21532. Audio Engineering by Greg Latta. Cover and Booklet Design by Kt Pepper Photographs by Nancy Varga (http://nvarga.com) FOR BOOKINGS AND RECORDINGS, CALL OR WRITE: Tom Hawk, 778 MacDonald terrace, Cumberland, MD 21502 301-722-0815. Email: tom@tomhawkyodeler.com Web Site: https://wwwtomhawkyodeler.com
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Yodeling Familiar Trails (2010/CD)

$15.00

Yodeling Familiar Trails
Tom Hawk: Vocals Greg Latta: 6 and 12 string acoustic guitar, electric guitar, banjo, electric base, tambourine, harmonica, and sleigh bells
1. I Want to be a Cowgirl’s Sweetheart (2:47) © Patsy Montana/MCA Music (ASCAP) This Patsy Montana classic, with the original title of “I Want to be a Cowboy’s Sweetheart,” has been sung by many yodelers of all ages. It is remarkable to listen to girls twelve and under sing the original of this song with real western style and yodeling skills. 2. Roundup Time (3:05) Traditional All of my research on this song has resulted in the conclusion that it is a traditional Australian cowboy tune with no identifiable composer. I first heard KG and the Ranger sing this tune and immediately wanted to sing it. 3. Way Back When (3:22) © Margo Smith & Fran Powers/Fort Wayne Music (ASCAP) The only recording I know of this song is on a Margo Smith CD. It was the first yodeling song I learned and allowed me to use one of the yodels I learned from Margo’s instructional tape. It captures the essence of learning to yodel in an extended family that really likes music. 4. The Last of the Yodeling Cowgirls (2:44) © Darrell Glenn/Nancy Gail Music (ASCAP) The first time I heard Taylor Ware sing this song and yodel I was transfixed and promised myself that I would learn to do both. Darrell Glenn wrote this song in 1985 for Shauna Smith, the only other person I know who recorded it. 5. Sweet Little Bluebird Girl (3:01) © Cecelia Clark This song was written by Yodeling Slim Clark’s first wife, Cecelia. Slim’s daughter, Jewell, was a blond, blue-eyed little girl at the time and liked to think that she was the subject of the song. Cecelia was a fine singer in her own right. 6. Out on the Lone Prairie (4:11) © Harry Miller/WB Music Corp. This is another song I learned from a KG and the Ranger CD. When I contacted KG about the song, she said that she added another verse to the original. Even with the added verse, I didn’t want the song to end so I have added still another verse to it. 7. There’s a Love Knot in My Lariat (2:58) © Wilf Carter/Southern Music (ASCAP) This is a song written by one of the greatest yodelers ever, Wilf Carter, who also was a prolific song writer, many of which have great yodeling sections. I heard Janet McBride do this song on a CD and thought that it would be a fine song to add to my repertoire. 8. Yodel Sweet Molly (2:28) © Anne Young/Central Songs and Beechwood Music Corp. My first exposure to this song was Janet McBride’s version, one which is a duet. I liked the song so much that I decided to modify it so that I could sing it solo. This is a song that can be performed as both western and alpine in character, with slight changes in the words. 9. My Little Yoho Lady (2:55) © Wilf Carter/Southern Music (ASCAP) This is another Wilf Carter gem that appealed to me. It is an easy song to learn and one I recommend for those starting out at learning yodeling. It is also a song that can move from the western repertoire to the alpine repertoire without any difficulty. 10. Santa’s Yodeling Song (3:12) © Janet McBride & Liz D’Lizzaraga (BMI) Here is wonderful song for the kids during the holiday season. I have seen the joyous reaction and smiles of kids and adults alike to the wonderful words, melody, and yodels written by Janet McBride and Liz D’Lizarraga. 11. When You’re Blue Just Yodel (2:33) © Smilie Sutter When I first heard Yodeling Slim Clark sing this song, I promised myself I would learn it. It is one of my most favorite yodeling songs. Singing this song certainly lifts my spirits for the day. And I can always see the smiles on the faces of those listening to it. 12. Chime Bells (2:46) © Elton Britt & Bob Miller/Universal (MCA) This is one the greatest yodeling classics ever and it has been sung by many yodelers. But the most impressive version is the one sung by Elton Britt, who, in my opinion, is on the top of the all-time yodeling charts.
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Yodeling Familiar Trails (2010/MP3)

$10.00

Yodeling Familiar Trails
Tom Hawk: Vocals Greg Latta: 6 and 12 string acoustic guitar, electric guitar, banjo, electric base, tambourine, harmonica, and sleigh bells
1. I Want to be a Cowgirl’s Sweetheart (2:47) © Patsy Montana/MCA Music (ASCAP) This Patsy Montana classic, with the original title of “I Want to be a Cowboy’s Sweetheart,” has been sung by many yodelers of all ages. It is remarkable to listen to girls twelve and under sing the original of this song with real western style and yodeling skills. 2. Roundup Time (3:05) Traditional All of my research on this song has resulted in the conclusion that it is a traditional Australian cowboy tune with no identifiable composer. I first heard KG and the Ranger sing this tune and immediately wanted to sing it. 3. Way Back When (3:22) © Margo Smith & Fran Powers/Fort Wayne Music (ASCAP) The only recording I know of this song is on a Margo Smith CD. It was the first yodeling song I learned and allowed me to use one of the yodels I learned from Margo’s instructional tape. It captures the essence of learning to yodel in an extended family that really likes music. 4. The Last of the Yodeling Cowgirls (2:44) © Darrell Glenn/Nancy Gail Music (ASCAP) The first time I heard Taylor Ware sing this song and yodel I was transfixed and promised myself that I would learn to do both. Darrell Glenn wrote this song in 1985 for Shauna Smith, the only other person I know who recorded it. 5. Sweet Little Bluebird Girl (3:01) © Cecelia Clark This song was written by Yodeling Slim Clark’s first wife, Cecelia. Slim’s daughter, Jewell, was a blond, blue-eyed little girl at the time and liked to think that she was the subject of the song. Cecelia was a fine singer in her own right. 6. Out on the Lone Prairie (4:11) © Harry Miller/WB Music Corp. This is another song I learned from a KG and the Ranger CD. When I contacted KG about the song, she said that she added another verse to the original. Even with the added verse, I didn’t want the song to end so I have added still another verse to it. 7. There’s a Love Knot in My Lariat (2:58) © Wilf Carter/Southern Music (ASCAP) This is a song written by one of the greatest yodelers ever, Wilf Carter, who also was a prolific song writer, many of which have great yodeling sections. I heard Janet McBride do this song on a CD and thought that it would be a fine song to add to my repertoire. 8. Yodel Sweet Molly (2:28) © Anne Young/Central Songs and Beechwood Music Corp. My first exposure to this song was Janet McBride’s version, one which is a duet. I liked the song so much that I decided to modify it so that I could sing it solo. This is a song that can be performed as both western and alpine in character, with slight changes in the words. 9. My Little Yoho Lady (2:55) © Wilf Carter/Southern Music (ASCAP) This is another Wilf Carter gem that appealed to me. It is an easy song to learn and one I recommend for those starting out at learning yodeling. It is also a song that can move from the western repertoire to the alpine repertoire without any difficulty. 10. Santa’s Yodeling Song (3:12) © Janet McBride & Liz D’Lizzaraga (BMI) Here is wonderful song for the kids during the holiday season. I have seen the joyous reaction and smiles of kids and adults alike to the wonderful words, melody, and yodels written by Janet McBride and Liz D’Lizarraga. 11. When You’re Blue Just Yodel (2:33) © Smilie Sutter When I first heard Yodeling Slim Clark sing this song, I promised myself I would learn it. It is one of my most favorite yodeling songs. Singing this song certainly lifts my spirits for the day. And I can always see the smiles on the faces of those listening to it. 12. Chime Bells (2:46) © Elton Britt & Bob Miller/Universal (MCA) This is one the greatest yodeling classics ever and it has been sung by many yodelers. But the most impressive version is the one sung by Elton Britt, who, in my opinion, is on the top of the all-time yodeling charts.

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