Recordings of Cyril Tawney's concert and club appearances are needed for inclusion in his Archive, which will be held by the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library at the English Folk Dance and Song Society in London, and I wonder if any of your readers can help. I have already received several very useful items, but there are still some gaps to be filled, particularly by the many traditional songs in his repertoire which were not recorded commercially.
I'm also keen to have examples of his more quirky items, for my own pleasure and for the Archive - here are some examples to jog memories:
Music-hall songs - Married on Pension Day, With Me Little Bit Of Hair On The Top etc.
Popular songs - She Wears Red Feathers (yes, the Guy Mitchell hit), also the Andrews Sisters songs Her Bathing Suit Never Got Wet and Three Little Sisters.
Most of all in this category I would love to have a recording of Baltimore Oriole, a beautiful, bluesy Hoagy Carmichael song which Cyril rarely sang in public. Here's a reminder of the opening lines:
'Baltimore Oriole, took one look at that mercury, forty below, no life for a lady, to be draggin' her feathers around in the snow'
We have no recordings of the themed presentations which he occasionally gave at Festivals and Arts Centres: "Tawney in Depth", "Hands to Dance and Skylark" and "Royal Navy Humour". Does anyone have these, please?
Even if the songs you have are covered elsewhere, Cyril's introductions were very much a part of his performances and the live sessions will help to complete the record of his career.
Thank you very much Rosemary Tawney www.cyriltawney.co.uk
Contact details: tawney3@tiscali.co.uk
Tel: 01392 426 055 Address: 10 Sivell Place, Heavitree, Exeter, EX2 5ET, UK.

Steve Goodman: Facing the Music by Clay Eals

Steve Goodman was diagnosed with a fatal disease at age 20, he managed to survive and thrive to write an anthem of his generation and become what many considered the most galvanizing entertainer of his time. What lessons did he learn and share with others while privately, then publicly, fending off leukemia for more than 15 years?

The answers lie in Clay Eals' "Steve Goodman: Facing the Music." This is the comprehensive, untold story of a young man whose hilarious, touching and provocative music — "City of New Orleans," "You Never Even Call Me by My Name," "Banana Republics," "A Dying Cub Fan’s Last Request" and many more stellar songs — uplifted millions from the late 1960s to the early 1980s and continues to do so today.

The book features fresh interviews with more than 1,050 sources, including Arlo Guthrie, John Prine, Steve Martin, Jimmy Buffett, Kris Kristofferson, Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris, Randy Newman, Paul Anka, David Allan Coe, Judy Collins, Tom Paxton, Pete Seeger, John Sebastian, Leo Kottke, Gordon Lightfoot and Goodman's high-school classmate Hillary Rodham Clinton and is available from Amazon amongst others

Rock’n’Reel has been completely redesigned in full colour with reader friendly layouts. The review section is divided into categories of styles allowing readers to locate their favourite music in a more satisfying and absorbing way.

Visit the web-site www.rock-n-reel.co.uk or by purchase nationally from WH Smiths, Virgin, HMV, Our Price, Borders and all good newsagents.

Seamus Heffernan is promoting monthly gigs at the local Community Centre at Mellor Brook (half-way between Blackburn and Preston) most of which are in a folk vein. For further details follow this link

Folk in Blackpool