Jug Band - Jug Band Revival

Jug Band Revival

One of the first recordings of the folk era jug band revival was by The Orange Blossom Jug Five, made in 1958 for the poorly-distributed Lyrichord label, "Skiffle in Stereo." It was also the first recording by New York folksinger Dave Van Ronk, and featured Sam Charters, author of 'The Country Blues',and his wife Ann as well as Len Kunstadt, co-owner of the Spivey Records label. Van Ronk would revisit the genre in 1964 with the album "Dave Van Ronk and the Ragtime Jug Stompers," a modern classic, though his ragtime guitar picking and repertoire influenced many subsequent jug bands. Another early recording group was Jolly Joe's Jug Band, led by record collector Joe Bussard, and released on his own Fonotone label-as 78 rpm records. Eventually these were collected on LP by the Piedmont label.

Gus Cannon's "Walk Right In" was a #1 hit for The Rooftop Singers in 1963, the only time a jug band song topped the charts. These one-hit wonders even made an appearance at that year's Newport Folk Festival before fading into obscurity. The song's success brought Cannon himself back into the Stax Records studios in Memphis for his last recording that same year at age 79. The album, called "Walk Right In," features Cannon on banjo and old friends Will Shade on jug and Milton Roby on washboard. The album consists of a run through of a baker's dozen of his old hits with Cannon interjecting comments and telling stories about the songs.

This brief flurry of interest in the genre sparked the formation of a few jug bands that reached national prominence. The Jim Kweskin Jug Band of Cambridge, Mass., which recorded for the Vanguard label, featured the washtub bass and jug player Fritz Richmond, who later played jug on Warren Zevon's "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead." The New York based Even Dozen Jug Band was the Elektra label's answer to the Kweskin band and featured (among others) Maria D'Amato, Joshua Rifkin, David Grisman, Stefan Grossman, John Sebastian, and Steve Katz. Maria D'Amato then joined The Jim Kweskin Jug Band, later marrying guitarist Geoff Muldaur. The Austin, Texas band The 13th Floor Elevators formed as an electric jug band, featuring Tommy Hall as electric jug player. A similar revival began in the UK in the 1960s, possibly as an offshoot of the USA revival. A number of jug bands appeared there in the late 60s in addition to the skiffle bands including the Anglo-American Ffilharmonious Jug Band.

The musicians playing in jug music revival groups went on to form other bands. John Sebastian founded the pop music group The Lovin' Spoonful and later continued as a successful solo artist. Country Joe and the Fish came from The Instant Action Jug Band. Mungo Jerry, who had evolved from an earlier blues group Good Earth, were in effect a jug band on their first live performances and recordings, thanks to their use of jug (played by the group's banjo player Paul King, who left in 1972), and washboard, contributed by regular 'extra member' Joe Rush. Jesse Colin Young moved to the west coast and formed The Youngbloods, whose first hit was "Grizzly Bear," a jug band standard. Another group with jug band roots was Grateful Dead. Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, and Ron "Pigpen" McKernan were in Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions before forming The Warlocks, which evolved into Grateful Dead. A self-titled CD of Mother McCree's jug band music recorded in 1964 was released in 1999. Maria Muldaur, Geoff Muldaur, David Grisman, and Stefan Grossman all continued with successful solo careers.

Pop-rock tributes to jug band music include "Willie and the Poor Boys" by Creedence Clearwater Revival and "Jug Band Music" by The Lovin' Spoonful. The Spoonful also mined the old songs. In addition to doing versions of songs from the classic jug band repertoire on their first album "Do You Believe In Magic" (1965) such as "Blues In The Bottle," "Sportin' Life," "My Gal," "Fishin' Blues," and "Wild About My Lovin'," Sebastian's "Younger Girl" used the melody of Gus Cannon's "Prison Wall Blues." Indeed, the song "Do You Believe In Magic," a Top Ten hit, mentioned the genre in its lyrics: "If you believe in magic, don't bother to choose / If it's jug band music or rhythm and blues / Just go and listen, it'll start with a smile / That won't wipe off your face no matter how hard you try." That instantaneous joy many have felt upon first listening to jug band music contributes to its fans' longlasting affection and the genre's longevity.

The children's Christmas special, "Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas", based on a book written by Lillian Hoban and Russell Hoban, features a jug band composed of woodland-creature Muppets and a soundtrack composed by Paul Williams. The show first aired in 1977.

Jug bands have continued to exist and evolve to the present day. John Sebastian still leads The J-Band, which included not only musicians from the modern folk revival such as the late Fritz Richmond from the Kweskin band, but also the late Yank Rachell, mandolin player and jug band leader from the original era. Some bands remain faithful to the original roots, while others continually expand the jug band repertoire to include other folk music, popular music, jazz and classical music forms, such as The Juggernaut Jug Band of Louisville, Kentucky (formed in the late 1960s and possibly the only full-time jug band in existence at this time), The Cincinnati Dancing Pigs (who also have been together for 40 years), The Carolina Chocolate Drops (an African American jug band that also plays old-time African American fiddle tunes), The Hobo Gobbelins, The Kitchen Syncopators and The Inkwell Rhythm Makers. The Connecticut-based Jugadelics continue the traditions of the genre as they employ both homemade and traditional instruments while infusing their own original material in the jug band style. In San Francisco, there's Devine's Jug Band, which is one of the few jug bands today that actually uses a jug blower full time. And also in the Bay Area, the "Mother of Jug Band Music", Maria Muldaur, has formed a new jug band called The "Garden of Joy Jug Band", which include members of the Crow Quill Night Owls and the Gallus Brothers. The Canadian contribution, The Genuine Jug Band from Vancouver, British Columbia has most of the original members who have played together since 1968. In Connecticut, The Bluelights (formerly Washboard Slim And The Blue Lights) incorporate the blues with the usual ragtime repertoire, as well as original material. Tennessee-based Jake Leg Stompers continue the traditional Memphis style. The South Austin Jug Band is a young Austin, Texas group that plays newer variations on traditional music but does not include a jug player and is not related to the earlier Austin Jug Band which featured vocalists Danny Barton and Galen Barber. Finally, The Philadelphia Jug Band have been playing authentic classic jug band music virtually unchanged for over 45 years. the Crow Quill Night Owls from Washington play a mix of 1920's blues, jazz and hillbilly music which they learn from the 78 rpm records they collect.

There has been an Annual Battle of the Jug Bands in Minneapolis, Minnesota held since 1980. Over 20 jugbands compete for the "Coveted Hollywood Waffle Iron" trophy, including The Jook Savages, a jugband that predates Kweskin's band and is still together. The competition is held the Sunday after the Super Bowl.

The annual San Francisco Jug Band Festival is held in San Francisco, California each August and there is a JugFest gathering of jug bands each September in Sutter Creek, California. Both of these free, outdoor, festivals feature a wide variety of jug bands in an all-day format that gives each band plenty of time to stretch out and play a full set. The National Jug Band Jubilee was launched in Louisville, Kentucky, the probable birthplace of jug band music, in October 2006. The 1st Annual West Coast Jug Band Jubilee took place in August 2010 in Berkeley, California.

A documentary by Todd Kwait about the history and influence of jug band music, Chasin' Gus' Ghost, first screened at the 2007 San Francisco Jug Band Festival. The film features numerous well-known musicians in interviews and performances, including John Sebastian, Jim Kweskin, Geoff Muldaur, David Grisman, Fritz Richmond, Maria Muldaur, and Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead, as well as Taj Mahal as the voice of Gus Cannon. Many of these musicians performed at a sold-out concert at the San Francisco Jug Band Festival. Chasin' Gus' Ghost will have its film festival premiere in October 2007 at the Woodstock Film Festival.