The Wilders, a self-proclaimed “hillbilly stringband” from Kansas City that plays Raleigh’s Hideaway BBQ on Thursday night (10.18), has been known to dip into the past for songs from Jimmie Rodgers, the Carter Family, and Lefty Frizzell. But a recent recording found them reaching back farther than usual. On the three-disc Song of America, they tackle “Jefferson & Liberty,” a composition that dates back to the early 1800s.
The thing is, “Jefferson & Liberty” is somewhere in the middle when it comes to the vintages of the tunes on Song of America. To give you an idea of the collection’s breadth, the threes discs are labeled “1492-1860,” “1861-1945,” and “1946-present.” The likes of “Lakota Dream Song” and “God Save the Queen” give way to disc 2’s “John Brown’s Body” and “Home on the Range,” while the third disc places Grandmaster Flash’s “The Message” (as interpreted by Shortee Wop), Springsteen’s “Streets of Philadelphia” (claimed by soul powerhouse Bettye LaVette), and Alan Jackson’s “Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning” (by the Wrights) in its homestretch.
Song of America began almost 10 years ago as a collaboration of sorts between Nashville-based singer-songwriter-producer Ed Pettersen and his aunt, then-US Attorney General Janet Reno, with a goal of presenting a history of this country in song. I recently had the opportunity to ask Pettersen several questions about the ambitious set’s own history. (more…)
