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Miss The Mississippi And You - Originally released September 1, 2017

We were hired to play a wedding a few years ago and the couple had one request. For their first dance they wanted a waltz originally recorded by the great "yodeling brakeman," the father of country music, Jimmie Rodgers (1897-1933). Miss The Mississippi And You is a sentimental ballad in which the singer, exiled to the big city, longs for his home and his sweetheart back on the banks of the Mississippi River.

Jimmie Rodgers was born near Meridian, MS, his father a foreman on the Mobile and Ohio Railroad. Working as a water boy and later a brakeman on the New Orleans and Northeastern Railroad, he learned to sing and play guitar from the other workers and hoboes he lived and worked among. After contracting tuberculosis, he was forced to give up the railroad life and eventually set out as an entertainer. His big break came in July 1927 when he auditioned for the Victor Talking Machine Co. in Bristol, TN and was recruited to record in Camden, NJ the next month. In his following session for Victor, Rodgers recorded a song, written with his sister-in-law Elsie McWilliams, called Blue Yodel (aka "T For Texas"). This record sold half a million copies, launched his career and made Jimmie Rodgers a household name.

Our version of Miss The Mississippi And You (which Rodgers recorded shortly before his death) features a vocal by Panorama front-man Ben Schenck (with additional lyrics written by Ben) plus, for the first time, resonator tenor guitar with dobro overdubs by Georgi Petrov and string bass by Martin Masakowski (instead of our usual banjo and tuba).

Thanks to New Orleans fret man Matt Bell who loaned us his brand new (to him) National Steel tenor guitar before he even had a chance to get his hands on it!

BTW, we're indebted to Wikipedia (and contributing writers) for information used in these liner notes. Panorama donates to support their work and you can too!

lyrics

I'm growing tired of the big city lights
Tired of the glamour and tired of the sights
In all my dreams I am roaming once more
Back to my home on the old river shore

Chorus:
I'm so sad and weary far away from home
Miss the Mississippi and you dear
Days are dark and dreary everywhere I roam
I miss the Mississippi and you

Roaming the wide world over
Always alone and blue, so blue

Nothing seems to cheer me under heaven's dome
Miss the Mississippi and you.

(Yodel)

Verse (spoken):
When you live in the city, you end up making all kinda horrible sacrifices.
You're unable to connect because you're wedded to your electronic devices!
(sung)
All's I want is to take the canoe
Then float down the river and snuggle with you.

Chorus:
Memories are bringing happy days of yore
Miss the Mississippi and you
Mockingbirds are singing 'round the cabin door
Miss the Mississippi and you

Roamin' the wide world over
Always alone and so blue

Longing for my homeland, muddy water shore
Miss the Mississippi and you

(Yodel)

credits

from Let The Music Play You (3rd compilation from our "Good Music For You" series, track released April 12, 2018
Recorded May 10, 2017 at Oak Street Recording, New Orleans, LA

Ben Schenck - Vocal, Clarinet
Tomas Majcherski - Alto Saxophone
Charlie Halloran - Trombone
Michael Ward-Bergeman - Accordion
Georgi Petrov - Tenor Guitar and Dobro
Martin Masakowski - String Bass
Doug Garrison - Drums

Words and music by William Heagney (aka Bill Haley) and arranged by Ben Schenck (Snack Daddy Music). Additional lyrics by Ben Schenck.
Recorded, edited, mixed and mastered by Lu Rojas at Oak Street Recording, New Orleans, LA
Graphic design by Ben Schenck
Cover photo by Greg Miles

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Panorama Jazz Band / Panorama Brass Band - New Orleans New Orleans, Louisiana

"New Orleans' genre fluid jazz band"

The Panorama Jazz Band and the Panorama Brass Band have been working steadily in New Orleans and beyond since 1995. Many hundreds of nightclub gigs, festivals, weddings, crawfish boils and Mardi Gras parades have added to this community of musicians' collective experience, all of which they bring to each of their recordings. ... more

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