North Dakota takes center stage here, thanks in part to the state's tourism folks who came up with several great suggestions to add to this edition of my Midwest music mix list series. Check it out!
Bubbles in the Wine-Lawrence Welk, an accordionist and bandleader born in Strasburg, North Dakota, began his musical career in the 1920s. His traveling band played "Champagne Music" in the 1930s, and this particular song, along with bandleader's strong Russian-German accent, became a trademark of Welk's. I remember the song running over the closing credits of Welk's uber wholesome and corny television variety show that ran from 1955 until 1982, and for a number of years after that in reruns.
Take Good Care of My Baby-Bobby Vee (born Robert Thomas Velline in Fargo) scored a #1 hit with his release of this classic Goffin-King tune. Another of Vee's claims to fame was that fact that his fledgling career got a major boost in early 1959 when the then-15-year-old singer stepped in to replace Buddy Holly and the Crickets in Moorhead, Minnesota just after Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper died in a plane crash. Tough gig, but the young Vee was a success and went on to chart with several other hits in the 1960s.
The Story of Hazel Miner-Chuck Suchy, folk musician and songwriter from Mandan, immortalized the very sad story of North Dakota hero Hazel Miner with this song. Hazel was a 15-year-old girl attending a one-room school in 1920 with a younger brother and sister. The Miner siblings became lost in a blizzard, and Hazel saved her brother and sister by laying her coat and her own body over them to keep them warm. She lost her own life in the process. Many of Suchy's songs also draw from his own experience as a working farmer and Great Plains life.
Hard Rain-This was Gwen Sebastian's first single, released in 2009. A couple of years later, the singer from Hebron, North Dakota made a real name for herself as a contestant on reality singing competition show, The Voice. She didn't win the competition, but she later toured the country with her mentor from the show, country star Blake Shelton.
Sundown (November Song)-Jessie Veeder lives on her family's cattle ranch near the western end of the North Dakota badlands where her great grandfather first settled in the early 1900s. Veeder, described as a progressive, alternative and folk musician, performs with her father's vintage or alt country band, Lonesome Willie. The fusion of the two genres injects a fresh take on old classics like Red River Valley and Can't Help Falling in Love, in addition to offering fresh music about life and nature in North Dakota.
Black and Yellow-Yeah, it's a song referring to the black and gold color scheme of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and its sports teams, but rapper Wiz Khalifa began life as Cameron Jibril Thomaz in Minot, North Dakota. Born to military parents, he lived in Germany, the UK and Japan before landing in Pittsburgh as a high school student. I found several collaborations between Wiz Khalifa and Snoop Dogg, including a mix of this song with Juicy J and T-Pain. (Fair warning: Most of Khalifa's lyrics and videos are definitely not G-rated)
Lie to Me-Jonny Lang, born Jon Gordon Langseth, Jr. in Fargo, started playing guitar when he was twelve years old. Lang first recorded Lie to Me as a 15-year-old, although if you didn't see the video, you'd swear he was a grizzled old blues musician, judging from his strong, rugged voice and muscular guitar playing. These days, the Grammy Award-winning Lang continues to grow and experiment as a musician by writing more of his own music and exploring other musical genres.
Is That All There Is?-Peggy Lee-Grammy Award winning singer/songwriter and Academy Award nominated actress Peggy Lee began life as Norma Delores Egstrom in Jamestown, North Dakota. She became "Peggy Lee" at the suggestion of a program director at a Fargo radio station where she sang, and she got her big break when her singing caught the attention of Big Band great Benny Goodman. She won the 1969 Grammy for Best Contemporary Vocal Performance with this song.
I trust this isn't all there is when it comes to North Dakota talent or other Midwest musicians and songs. Are there any other Midwest music or artists you can suggest that I check out?
Also, be sure to check out previous posts in this series that include music mix lists for Michigan, Ohio, Minnesota and Indiana.
I'm glad you have Jessie Veeder on your list. I had the privilege of meeting her this past spring, and her dad was one of my mentors in college before he returned to western ND. Along with being a talented musician, she's also a gifted writer and photographer.
It's nice to see a good variety of North Dakota music. Thanks for the post!
Posted by: Linda | September 15, 2012 at 06:31 PM
Linda-This list, in particular, was a lot of fun to compile as I had little clue as to the music scene in North Dakota...I knew Lawrence Welk came from ND, but most of the others were either new to me, or people I was surprised to learn from the state.
Now, if only I could find out about enough South Dakota music folks so I could do a music mix centered on that state!
Posted by: Dominique King | September 16, 2012 at 04:32 AM