Joan Baez altered the melody to "Kumbaya" in her 1962 In Concert recording. [1] The published melody used exactly the same triad of notes for the statement in each of the first three lines. The refrain of the second line descended, while it went a note higher on the other two lines.
Baez began on E, rather than middle C, which fit her soprano voice. On the first "yah" of the first and third lines she sang the note then raised it slightly. On the second line she did not go as high, creating a smaller, more minor interval.
The Seekers recorded her melody in Australia in 1963, but used the standard lyrics. [2] The minor interval was more obvious during the refrain played by a banjo and guitar in the introduction, and when the group sang together, than when Judith Durham sang alone. She introduced more variations in her treatment of "Lord" in the third line, and did not sing the final "Lord" with two tones. Instead she held it.
Which version was responsible for the song entering the European choral repertoire is more difficult to determine. The two performers appealed to different segments of the commercial folk-music revival that had begun in 1958 when The Kingston Trio’s recorded "Tom Dooley." [3] They recast folk songs as a form of popular music, separate from the older, niche genre represented by Pete Seeger, The Weavers, and the Newport Folk Festival where they performed.
From the beginning, Baez recorded her own, unique repertoire, and accompanied herself with an acoustic guitar. The Seekers recorded "Kumbaya" twice: in 1963 with acoustic instruments, and in 1964 with additional orchestral strings. Their two albums drew primarily from the existing commercial repertoire: the first included Peter, Paul and Mary’s "The Hammer Song," the Weavers "Lonesome Traveller," and Baez’s "All My Trials." [4]
The Seekers did not develop their own repertoire until they went to England in 1964 and met songwriter Tom Springfield. [5] They became famous with his "I’ll Never Find Another You." He wrote their other popular hits, including "Georgy Girl," which was used in a 1966 film. [6] They may not then have sung "Kumbaya" in their concerts, but fans who collected their earlier records would have heard it.
The discographies of the two performers reflected the difference between the purist Baez and the popular Seekers. Baez signed with Vanguard, a specialty jazz label that had international distribution agreements. Discogs reported the In Concert album existed in 57 versions in December 2017. [7] Twenty-six of those were released between 1962 and 1969, and, of those, 13 were released in Europe. Another 20 albums carried no date; many of the 10 European versions may have come from that decade.
The Seekers did not work for a major label until "Another You." Their earlier records were for an Australian company, while the World Record Club [8] originally signed them in England. [9] The combined number of releases of The Seekers two versions was at least 56, with 34 in the 1960s, and 21 on undated albums. Sixteen of the dated issues were in Europe, and 10 of the undated ones. [10]
The number of individual releases of "Kumbaya" were roughly the same for Baez and The Seekers, but Baez probably had more recorded sales. As mentioned in the post for 23 January 2018, statistics in those years were drawn from major record companies, and did not include discount or record club labels. Their importance was suggested by one fan who remembered:
"First stumbled upon the Seekers when I forgot to send my record club card back in the 60’s and this song made me a fan forever." [11]
Baez was part of the more traditional group whose fans also were singers. She supplemented her album with a songbook in 1964. The version of "Kumbaya" showed her key, with a note on differences between the published chords and her performance. It did not transcribed her melodic change in the second line. [12]
The Seekers were part of the popular stream within the revival. Decca released "Kumbaya" in the United Kingdom in 1965 as the B side of the single "Chilly Winds," [13] which registered on the Billboard charts in this country. [14] A German label paired it with "This Train." [15] Their version might not have been seen as a potential hit record, but was recognized as popular enough to support sales.
The chart before the End Notes shows when and where the different albums containing "Kumbaya" by Baez and The Seekers were released in the 1960s. It does not signify sales, but decisions by marketing specialists that enough interest existed to justify the expense of printing new labels and album covers to assemble a different product.
The difference in record company philosophies may have distorted the pattern a little since Baez’s album never went out of print and may always have been available to distributors. With that caveat, the table shows a cultural division: Baez’s album was the only one issued in countries that historically were Roman Catholic, while the Seekers’ albums were released in countries with large Protestant populations.
The map at the far right, which is updated with new posts, suggests the actual distribution of versions of "Kumbaya" sung by European performers.
Performers
Vocal Soloist: Judith Durham
Vocal Group: Athol Guy, Keith Potger, Bruce Woodley
Instrumental Accompaniment: Woodley, guitar; Potger, banjo; Guy, string bass [16]
Rhythm Accompaniment: none
Credits
None on original album. [17]
Notes on Lyrics
Language: English
Pronunciation: Durham did not pronounce the /d/ in Lord
Verses: kumbaya, crying, singing, praying
Vocabulary
Pronoun: one
Term for Deity: Lord
Special Terms: none
Basic Form: three-verse song framed by kumbaya verses at start and end
Verse Repetition Pattern: none
Ending: none
Unique Features: none
Notes on Music
Opening Phrase: 1-3-5
Tempo: quick
Basic Structure: instrumental introduction, followed by repetitions that varied little once a pattern was set.
Singing Style: unadorned, with one syllable to one note.
Solo-Group Dynamics: Durham sang the first verse alone. The three men echoed the final line, while she began the next verse. They joined her on the second line and continued through the end, when the interverse echo was repeated.
Vocal-Accompaniment Dynamics: a guitar played the melody in chords in the introduction with the banjo playing arpeggios. While the group was singing the men played an accompaniment that was soft when Durham was singing, and louder when they joined her.
Notes on Performers
The four members of the group were all interested in music in high school, but did not begin performing professionally until after they graduated. Then, they found jobs on the periphery of the industry: Athol Guy worked for local television outlets before going to work for an advertizing agency; [18] Keith Potger was a producer for Australian Broadcasting radio; [19] Bruce Woodley worked in a restaurant where they were able to perform. [20]
Potger and Guy merged their groups into the Escorts, an all-male quartet that moved from doo-wop to folk-revival music. [21] When their lead tenor left, Guy remembered telling "the boys we really want to get a girl like Ronnie, that you know, sings a bit like Ronnie Gilbert with The Weavers, with Pete Seeger’s band." [22]
Durham had considered being a pianist and studied at the University of Melbourne Conservatorium. By the time she started work as a secretary at Guy’s advertizing agency, she was singing with a jazz group that had made a record with a local company, W & G. [23] She apparently knew he as looking for singer when she introduced herself; that night she joined them at the club where they were performing. Guy remembered:
"Bruce brought her to sing with us that night and when we got into When the Stars Begin to Fall the harmonies just dropped straight into place and not just the harmonies but the blend and when you get a blend you almost get a fifth voice, you get real chume about you’re trying to produce." [24]
Potger used his contacts to make the demo tape they sent to the record company were Durham already was known. [25] They began doing backup work for other artists. After their album was released they were hired as the house band for a cruise ship going to England, where they played folk music in the afternoons and rock in the evenings. [26] They sent copies ahead to a potential agent, who marketed them as "a genuine true-blue Aussie band" [27] who sang "Waltzing Matilda" [28] for the British folk-revival audience.
Availability
Single: "This Train" and "Kumbaya." W & G. June 1963. [29]
Album: Introducing The Seekers. W & G WG-B-1655. 1963.
Reissues: See the general Discogs entry for The Seekers.
YouTube: several people have uploaded tapes made from the album.
Table
| 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | Unknown | |
| UK |
B
|
S
|
S
|
S
|
S
|
||||
| France |
B
|
B
|
|||||||
| Germany |
B
|
S
|
S
|
Both
|
|||||
| Denmark |
S
|
S
|
|||||||
| Holland |
S
|
||||||||
| Italy |
B
|
B
|
|||||||
| Austria |
B
|
||||||||
| Greece |
B
|
||||||||
| Portugal |
B
|
||||||||
| Spain |
B
|
Based on data reported by Discogs for individual albums. B = album by Joan Baez. S = album by The Seekers. Both = albums by both Baez and The Seekers were available.
End Notes
1. Baez and this version were discussed in the post for 9 October 2017.
2. The fact they knew the standard lyrics, and sang the verses in the same order, meant they learned the words from a songbook.
3. Kingston Trio. "Tom Dooley." The Kingston Trio. Capitol Records T-996. 1958.
4. "The Seekers - Introducing The Seekers." Discogs website.
5. Springfield was the brother of Dusty Springfield and had produced material for her group before she left as a soloist.
6. Georgy Girl starred Lynn Redgrave and Alan Bates. Silvio Narizzano directed the film. Springfield wrote the music for Jim Dale’s lyrics. (Wikipedia. "Georgy Girl.")
7. "Joan Baez - In Concert." Discogs website.
8. After The Seekers were successful their record company, EMI, took over World Record Club in 1965. ("World Record Club." Discogs website.)
9. Wikipedia. "The Seekers."
10. Discogs website posts for Introducing The Seekers (1963), Hide And Seekers (1964), The Seekers (1967), and Introducing The Seekers Big Hits (1967).
11. Ed Tobin1 comment posted to YouTube in December 2016 on "The Seekers - Kumbaya." It was uploaded by The Seekers - Kumbaya on 2 July 2009.
12. The Joan Baez Songbook. Edited by Maynard Solomon. New York: Ryerson Music Publishers, 1964. 130-131.
13. "The Seekers - Chilly Winds / Kumbaya." Discogs website.
14. Wikipedia. "The Seekers Discography."
15. Ariola 18 686 AT, no date given. "The Seekers - Kumbaya / This Train." Discogs website. This may have been a reissue of the original Australian single which was not mentioned by Discogs.
16. I could not confirm the identity of the people playing the instruments I heard. This was based on their usual configuration in 1963.
17. Discogs, Introducing The Seekers.
18. Wikipedia. "Athol Guy."
19. Wikipedia, Seekers.
20. Wikipedia. "Bruce Woodley."
21. Wikipedia, Seekers.
22. Athol Guy. Quoted by Ian Horner. "Georgy Girl, The Musical: Celebrating The Seekers..." Hawksbury [Richmond, Australia] Gazette website. 28 April 2016. I corrected some errors that appeared to have been introduced by digitization.
23. Wikipedia. "Judith Durham."
24. Guy. Quoted by Horner.
25. Wikipedia, Durham.
26. Gary James. "Interview With Athol Guy of The Seekers." Classic Bands website
27. Guy. Quoted by Horner.
28. Wikipedia, Seekers. "Their debut single was the traditional historic Australian bush ballad from 1894, ‘Waltzing Matilda’."
29. George Hilder. "Festival Distrib for A & M Label." Billboard, 29 June 1963. 48.
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