Topic: Religious Folk Music Revival
Tommy Leonetti’s version of "Kumbaya" was released when the various components of the music industry were adapting to the transition from songs to performances. As mentioned in the posts for 12 April 2020 and 19 April 2020, radio acknowledged what then was called the generation gap with the creation of a separate adult, East Listening format that attracted different advertisers than did the one used by stations which played songs from Billboard’s top forty records.
The music publishing business already had adapted to the folk-music revival with popular collections like the one edited by Albert Gamse that was discussed in the post for 12 January 2020. When Leonetti’s version became popular, Gamse’s publisher repackaged his version under the name Bernard Gasso.
It issued a sheet music edition that attempted to reconstruct the African original for Leonetti’s arrangement. The spoken interlude asked the Lord to "speak to me" because the singer was "lost in a jungle of bewilderment." The deity was imagined as a "voice in the murmur of a breeze." It ended with a request that the Lord "come be here and help me find my way."
Gamse thought "Kum Ba Yah" came from Nigeria. When this was published, the Biafran war for independence was in its second year and footage of starving Igbo was being aired by United States television stations. [1]
The United Kingdom had taken control of the mouth of the Niger River in the 1865 and extended its control north to the area where the river forked. The Islamic Hausa lived north of the river, the Yorùbá to the west, and the Igbo to the east. The Igbo had revolted when they feared their autonomy was threatened by the increased power of groups in the north. [2]
Jazz historians had traced important elements of the music in Cuba and Brazil to the Yorùbá, [3] who had been exported as slaves to those areas after the slave trade with the United States ended. As mentioned in the posts for 8 September 2020 and 29 September 2019, Igbo were the primary group brought to Virginia.
The sheet music cover page alluded to this Afro-Caribbean heritage with a black-and-white woodblock reproduced on a yellow-orange background. The bare-chested African male was beating a large floor drum like the Congas used by Latin music groups in New York. [4]
Gamse probably had no say in the choice of artwork. It may only be a coincidence that he had begun as an arranger and adapter of Cuban music for United States artists.
Except for the interlude, the arrangement was the same as the one published earlier with the personalization of the lyrics to "I" and "me" rather than "someone." It ended with the "I need you" verse.
Performers
Vocal Soloist: single melodic line
Vocal Group: none
Instrumental Accompaniment: piano
Rhythm Accompaniment: none
Credits
"This was originally a Nigerian chant, interpreted in a negro gospel song as ‘Come By Here, Oh Lord’."
Adaptation by Bernard Gasso
© Copyright 1969 by Lewis Music Publishing Co., Inc.
Notes on Lyrics
Language: English
Pronunciation: no specification
Verses: kumbaya, crying, praying, need
Vocabulary
Pronoun: me, I
Term for Deity: Lord
Special Terms: spoken interlude used African imagery ("I’m lost is a jungle of bewilderment")
Basic Form: 5-verse song
Verse Repetition Pattern: none
Ending: none
Unique Features: spoken interlude between first and third verses
Notes on Music
Exactly like version discussed in post for 12 January 2020.
Notes on Performers
Bernard Gasso was a pen name used by Albert Gamse, [5] who was discussed in the post for 12 January 2020.
Availability
Sheet Music: Bernard Gasso. "Kum Ba Yah (Come By Here)." New York: Lewis Publishing Company, 1969.
End Notes
1. Wikipedia. "Nigerian Civil War," and "Biafran Airlift."
2. Wikipedia. "History of Nigeria."
3. Melville Herskovits suggested slaves from Dahomey sired drumming patterns in the New World. [6] The Oye Empire, Dahomey, and Yorùbá were terms that followed one another historically, but covered much the same area in Benin and Nigeria. [7] Marshall Stearns adopted Herskovits’ taxonomy of African-descended groups in the New World [8] in The Story of Jazz in 1956. [9]
4. The cover is reproduced in the copy of "African Iconography of ‘Kumbaya’" posted to Academia.edu.
5. Entry for "Guantanamera." 1968. Library of Congress. Copyright Office. Catalog of Copyright Entries. Third series. July-December. 1734. "adaptation & m arr. Bernard Gasso, pseud. of Albert Gamse."
6. Melville J. Herskovits. The Myth of the Negro Past. Boston: Beacon Press, 1958 edition. It first was published in 1941.
7. Paul E. Lovejoy. "The Yoruba Factor in the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade." 40-55 in The Yoruba Diaspora. Edited by Toyin Falola and Matt D. Childs. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2004.
8. Herskovits. 16.
9. Marshall Stearns. The Story of Jazz. New York: New American Library, 1958 edition. Chapters 2 and 3.
Sunday, April 26, 2020
Sunday, April 19, 2020
The Sandpipers - Kumbaya
Topic: Religious Folk Music Revival
The audience for Easy Listening radio in the late 1960s heard a mix of original songs from Broadway musicals and rearrangements of popular songs, often sung by artists who performed in Las Vegas. Herb Alpert marketed records for the genre by artists like Liza Minelli [1] and the Carpenters. [2] Artists weren’t judged by the originality of their songs, but by their renditions.
Alpert formed a recording company with Jerry Moss in 1962. Its first release was credited to Alpert and the Tijuana Brass. With the profits from that venture, A&M signed other artists. [3] Since Albert was a musician, he tended to let artists define themselves, and only intervened when necessary. [4] Moss handled the business side.
The Sandpipers were three men in their early twenties who were performing at a Lake Tahoe night club when they were signed by A&M. The first record by Jim Brady, Mike Piano, and Richard Shoff did not do well, and Alpert apparently asked Tommy LiPluma to take a more active part in producing their records. [5] The first change was their name: they had called themselves the Grads. [6]
In those years, record companies released single records, which were what were used by radio stations. If a song got air play, and hence record sales, the company would spend the money to release an album containing it and other songs. One of those would be released with the album to generate more interest among disc jockeys.
The Sandpipers’ first single under LiPluma was "Guantanamera." It had been introduced by The Weavers in 1963. [7] The trio sang the solos, while a woman joined them on the chorus. LiPluma did the recitation with the woman doing the part sung by Ronnie Gilbert. [8]
It was an immediate hit, rising to #9 on Billboard’s popular music chart and #3 on its Easy Listening one. The album, when it was released later, peaked at #13 on Billboard. [9]
The Sandpipers began touring the same sorts of places as the Heightsmen, mentioned in the post for 27 October 2019. They played the Boise State College homecoming in 1966 [10] and the Air Force Academy in 1967. [11] Unlike some folk groups, they also continued to be booked by casinos, usually in their lounges. [12]
The Guantanamera album set a pattern for the group: their subsequent releases featured one foreign-language song and one well-known folk-revival song, along with a mix of new materials and arrangements of songs made popular by others. They included John Denver’s "For Baby" on their second album, [13] the New Christy Minstrels’ "Today" on their third, [14] and Gordon Lightfoot’s "Softly" on their fourth. [15]
By 1969, LiPima was bored with the sameness at A&M, and left. [16] Allen Stanton produced the Sandpipers’ album that included "Kumbaya." Before the album was released, The Sandpipers toured Europe where they appeared on television in London, Madrid, and Berlin. A&M released "Kumbaya" in each city. [17]
What A&M did not realize was that Europeans would prefer a group version of Leonetti’s "Kumbaya" to his solo one. The record reached the charts in England, [18] and the album was called Kumbaya there [19] and in Germany, [20] rather than The Wonder of You.
Cash Box implied "Kumbaya" would be their single in the United States, [21] but instead "The Wonder of You," the album’s title song, and "Let Go!" were released. The latter made it to #36 on the Easy Listening chart, but the other made no dent. [22]
The Sandpipers’ version was close to that of Leonetti. His recitation fit the treatment they first used with "Guantanamera." Ann Lawton changed the final verse from "hears you" to "needs you," but it was hard to detect the difference. The instrumentation was close, with the addition of sleigh bells to the hand drum in the introduction.
Performers
Vocal Soloist: male recitation [23]
Vocal Group: Jim Brady, Mike Piano, Richard Shoff, and unidentified woman
Instrumental Accompaniment: guitar
Rhythm Accompaniment: drums, bells
Credits
A. Lawton. [24]
Good Sam Music [25]
Ann C. Lawton copyrighted "Kumbaya" in April 1969 for Good Sam music. The only thing known about her is she requested the copyright from New Mexico. [26]
Notes on Lyrics
Language: English
Pronunciation: KUM by yah
Verses: kumbaya, crying, praying, come by here, needs you
Vocabulary
Pronoun: Someone
Term for Deity: Lord
Special Terms: none
Basic Form: 3-verse song with spoken interlude between verses 2 and 3
Verse Repetition Pattern: A-x-x-x-x-A-A
Ending: repeat "kumbaya" verse
Unique Features: recitation
Influences: Tommy Leonetti
Notes on Music
Opening Phrase: 1-3-5
Tempo: moderate
Basic Structure: changes in key and volume underscore the progression of the lyrics
Singing Style: one syllable to one note, except for final "Lord;" hummed one iteration
Harmony: parallel chords
Vocal-Accompaniment Dynamics: introduction by hand drum and bells; strummed guitar added on "praying"
Influences: Tommy Leonetti
Notes on Performance
When The Sandpipers were appearing on college campuses in the early years, their promotion materials implied they were their own instrumentalists: Brady and Piano on guitar, and Shoff on string bass. They made a point of saying they were self-trained. [27]
By 1969, when "Kumbaya" was recorded, The Sandpipers had a backup group led by Larry White. [28] In Ottawa, before they left for Europe, it included White on piano, bass, drums, and two female backup singers. [29] In Windsor, Ontario, after their return, they had one singer. A Detroit reporter observed they "have a good gimmick going with the secrecy surrounding Pamela Ramcier who stands in the shadows and sings all the high notes for the trio. She hands out guitars and wears a mean mini." [30]
Audience Perceptions
The Sandpipers promoted themselves as the clean-cut alternative to rock and folk-music-revival musicians, in the same way Easy Listening music was poised as the alternative to popular music. [31]
In 1966, Carol Deck noted they "all have rather short hair, dress in suits, sports jackets or maybe a sharp sweater at their casualest, can carry a tune in 11 different languages." She added: "They have a sort of novelty act—they can sing very well and have proven it." [32]
In New York City, after "Kumbaya" was released, Ed Ochs reported the
"Eight -year veterans who have held their ground in the middle of the road by nature of their smooth, rhythmic hymns, the Sandpipers bring to the classy Rainbow Grill youth with the usual youthful cliches distilled out. The result is a fountain of youth as strained and purified as spring water, but cool and refreshing going down." [33]
Notes on Performers
Brady, Piano and Shoff worked together from 1955 [34] to 1960 [35] in the Richard Mitchell Boys Choir in Los Angeles. They began when they were 11-year-old [36] sopranos, [37] and left when their voices changed.
Mitchell had begun the choir for Saint Brendan’s Roman Catholic church in 1934. The choir sang for masses on radio, then was hired by film producers. [38] Then, the group had 33 members, but by the 1950s film studios only were willing to pay for 8 singers. [39]
Originally, the choir was part of the church’s parochial school. [40] In 1954, Mitchell began hiring his own tutors to teach the boys in the morning. The afternoons were spent learning music and rehearsing. [41]
The most important choir member when the three were there was Tony Butala. He sang with the group until 1954, then stayed as an assistant while he finished high school. In 1961, just after the future trio outgrew the school, Butala began making hit records with his group, The Lettermen. [42] In many ways, they were the prototype for The Grads. [43]
Availability
Album: The Sandpipers. "Kumbaya." The Wonder of You. A and M Records. SP 4180. 1969.
YouTube: The Sandpipers. "Kumbaya" Uploaded by Universal Music Group North America on 21 November 2014.
End Notes
1. Minelli recorded for A & M records from 1968 until 1971. [44]
2. The Carpenters recorded for A & M records from 1969 until Karen Carpenter’s death in 1983. [45]
3. Wikipedia. "Herb Alpert." It was actually just Alpert overdubbing himself on trumpet. When demand developed for personal appearances, he had to hire musicians to be the Tijuana Brass.
4. "‘If there was ever the perfect label for a musician at that time, it was A&M,’ Frampton says. ‘They wanted the artists to become themselves’." Peter Frampton was quoted by Mandalit del Barco. "A&M Records: Independent, With Major Appeal." National Public Radio website. 14 November 2012.
5. Wikipedia. "The Sandpipers." The casino was Harrah’s Lake Club.
6. Brady recalled: "They stuck us in a library for two days with a dictionary, looking up names of animals and we had to choose from three. We chose Sandpipers because we disliked it the least." Quoted by Mary Campbell. "Sandpipers Cultivating Smooth Sound." Associated Press published by Gettysburg [Pennsylvania] Times. 26 December 1968. 2.
7. Weavers. "Guantanamera." Reunion At Carnegie Hall. Vanguard VSD 2150. Recorded in March 1963. Pete Seeger recorded it later that year and his version became the more popular. [46] The Weavers were discussed in the post for 3 October 2017.
8. Michael Bourne. Interview with Tommy LiPuma. Billboard. 16 September 1995. Tribute to LiPuma section. On how he produced "Guantanamera," L18, L20.
9. Wikipedia, Sandpipers.
10. Kathy Amos. "‘The Sandpipers’ To Appear In Concert." Boise College Roundup. 13 October 23 1967. 2. They performed in the gymnasium.
11. "Sandpipers Show Slated." [Air Force Academy] Falconews. 26 April 26 1968.
12. They played the lounge in the Golden in 1966. [47] This probably an abbreviated name, since everyone in Reno would know the reference.
13. Sandpipers. "For Baby." The Sandpipers. A&M Records. SP 4125. 1967. Discogs website.
14. Sandpipers. "Today." Misty Roses. A&M Records. SP-4135. December 1967. Discogs website.
15. Sandpipers. "Softly." Softly. A&M Records. SP4147. 1968. Discogs website.
16. LiPuma interview. L20. "It had gotten to the point where I felt I needed a change." A&M recognized the general problem and began signing rock acts in 1969. They included Joe Cocker and the Flying Burrito Brothers. [48]
17. "Sandpipers On Tour." Cash Box. 15 March 1969. 59.
United Kingdom: The Sandpipers. "Kumbaya." A and M Records AMS 744 . 1969. [Discogs website.]
Germany: The Sandpipers. "Kumbaya." A&M Records 210 063. 1969. [Discogs website.]
France: The Sandpipers. "Kumbaya." A&M Records 210 064. 1969. [Discogs website.]
Madrid: The Sandpipers. "Kum-ba-yah." Hispavox H 455. 1969. [Discogs and WorldCat websites.]
18. Wikipedia, Sandpipers.
19. The Sandpipers. "Kumbaya." A&M Records AMLS 935. United Kingdom 1969. [Discogs website.]
20. The Sandpipers. "Kumbayah." A&M Records 212 066. Germany, 1969. [Discogs website.]
21. Cash Box. "The next single, ‘Kum-Ba-Ya’ b/w ‘Lo Mucho to Quiero,’ will be released in all countries they will be visiting within the next week." Perhaps the version was too close to that of Leonetti to pass legal muster, or perhaps A&M’s promotion people felt the U. S. market for the song was then still saturated by Leonetti.
22. Wikipedia, Sandpipers.
23. LiPuma had done the recitation on the recording of "Guantanamera," but when The Sandpipers toured, Mike Piano took the part. Michael Kirby said he had a "soothing knack for recitation." [49] I don’t know if A&M hired someone for the "Kumbaya" recording session, or if Piano took the role.
24. Discogs website for United Kingdom single.
25. Discogs website for United States promotion version of album.
26. United States Copyright Office. Catalog of Copyright Entries. Third Series. January-June 1969. 349.
27. Campbell.
28. Wikipedia, Sandpipers, said White was their musical director from 1964 to 1966. White only said on his website that "after college he toured world-wide, performing with the vocal group ‘The Sandpipers’." He gave no birth date.
29. Bill Fox. "Sandpipers Get Along Just Fine without Teenage Audience Hysteria." Ottawa [Canada] Citizen. 17 February 1969. 28.
30. Detroit [Michigan] Free Press. 7 June 1969. 28. Posted by svjim on 2 March 2019 without the headline or byline.
31. Amos probably was quoting their publicity when she mentioned "their cleancut, well-groomed appearance" in her story published before they performed.
32. Carol Deck. "The Sandpipers Are Following Herb Alpert’s Good Example." [Hollywood] Beat. 31 December 1966. KRLA, Glendale, California, edition. 10.
33. Ed Ochs. "Sandpipers Come in Soft And Clear at Rainbow Grill." Billboard. 29 November 1969. 22. He observed, they were "supported by a combo and lone femme soprano."
34. Campbell wrote in 1968 they had known each other for "more than 13 years."
35. Deck.
36. Wikipedia, Sandpipers, said all three were born in 1944.
37. Deck.
38. Valerie J. Nelson. "Bob Mitchell dies at 96; silent-movie organist was house musician for Dodgers." Los Angeles Times. 9 July 2009.
39. Warren M. Sherk. "The Robert Mitchell Choirboys." Dimitri Tiomkin website. January 2009; last updated February 2009.
40. Wikipedia. "Robert Mitchell (Organist)."
41. Sherk.
42. Wikipedia. "Tony Butala."
43. Kirby wrote "From the beginning, the Grads were an ‘easy listening’ vocal act following a path set by comparable trio The Lettermen."
44. Discogs website entries for Minelli.
45. Wikipedia. "The Carpenters."
46. Pete Seeger. "Guantanamera." "We Shall Overcome." Columbia CL 2101. Recorded 8 June 1963.
47. Item. Reno [Nevada] Gazette-Journal. 29 January 1966. 68.
48. Patrice Eyries, Dave Edwards, & Mike Callahan. "A&M Album Discography." Both Sides Now Publications website. Last updated 9 August 2001.
49. Michael Jack Kirby. "The Sandpipers: Guantanamera." Way Back Attack website. "The next single. ‘Santo Domingo’ utilized Mike Piano's soothing knack for recitation (as had ‘Guantanamera’)."
The audience for Easy Listening radio in the late 1960s heard a mix of original songs from Broadway musicals and rearrangements of popular songs, often sung by artists who performed in Las Vegas. Herb Alpert marketed records for the genre by artists like Liza Minelli [1] and the Carpenters. [2] Artists weren’t judged by the originality of their songs, but by their renditions.
Alpert formed a recording company with Jerry Moss in 1962. Its first release was credited to Alpert and the Tijuana Brass. With the profits from that venture, A&M signed other artists. [3] Since Albert was a musician, he tended to let artists define themselves, and only intervened when necessary. [4] Moss handled the business side.
The Sandpipers were three men in their early twenties who were performing at a Lake Tahoe night club when they were signed by A&M. The first record by Jim Brady, Mike Piano, and Richard Shoff did not do well, and Alpert apparently asked Tommy LiPluma to take a more active part in producing their records. [5] The first change was their name: they had called themselves the Grads. [6]
In those years, record companies released single records, which were what were used by radio stations. If a song got air play, and hence record sales, the company would spend the money to release an album containing it and other songs. One of those would be released with the album to generate more interest among disc jockeys.
The Sandpipers’ first single under LiPluma was "Guantanamera." It had been introduced by The Weavers in 1963. [7] The trio sang the solos, while a woman joined them on the chorus. LiPluma did the recitation with the woman doing the part sung by Ronnie Gilbert. [8]
It was an immediate hit, rising to #9 on Billboard’s popular music chart and #3 on its Easy Listening one. The album, when it was released later, peaked at #13 on Billboard. [9]
The Sandpipers began touring the same sorts of places as the Heightsmen, mentioned in the post for 27 October 2019. They played the Boise State College homecoming in 1966 [10] and the Air Force Academy in 1967. [11] Unlike some folk groups, they also continued to be booked by casinos, usually in their lounges. [12]
The Guantanamera album set a pattern for the group: their subsequent releases featured one foreign-language song and one well-known folk-revival song, along with a mix of new materials and arrangements of songs made popular by others. They included John Denver’s "For Baby" on their second album, [13] the New Christy Minstrels’ "Today" on their third, [14] and Gordon Lightfoot’s "Softly" on their fourth. [15]
By 1969, LiPima was bored with the sameness at A&M, and left. [16] Allen Stanton produced the Sandpipers’ album that included "Kumbaya." Before the album was released, The Sandpipers toured Europe where they appeared on television in London, Madrid, and Berlin. A&M released "Kumbaya" in each city. [17]
What A&M did not realize was that Europeans would prefer a group version of Leonetti’s "Kumbaya" to his solo one. The record reached the charts in England, [18] and the album was called Kumbaya there [19] and in Germany, [20] rather than The Wonder of You.
Cash Box implied "Kumbaya" would be their single in the United States, [21] but instead "The Wonder of You," the album’s title song, and "Let Go!" were released. The latter made it to #36 on the Easy Listening chart, but the other made no dent. [22]
The Sandpipers’ version was close to that of Leonetti. His recitation fit the treatment they first used with "Guantanamera." Ann Lawton changed the final verse from "hears you" to "needs you," but it was hard to detect the difference. The instrumentation was close, with the addition of sleigh bells to the hand drum in the introduction.
Performers
Vocal Soloist: male recitation [23]
Vocal Group: Jim Brady, Mike Piano, Richard Shoff, and unidentified woman
Instrumental Accompaniment: guitar
Rhythm Accompaniment: drums, bells
Credits
A. Lawton. [24]
Good Sam Music [25]
Ann C. Lawton copyrighted "Kumbaya" in April 1969 for Good Sam music. The only thing known about her is she requested the copyright from New Mexico. [26]
Notes on Lyrics
Language: English
Pronunciation: KUM by yah
Verses: kumbaya, crying, praying, come by here, needs you
Vocabulary
Pronoun: Someone
Term for Deity: Lord
Special Terms: none
Basic Form: 3-verse song with spoken interlude between verses 2 and 3
Verse Repetition Pattern: A-x-x-x-x-A-A
Ending: repeat "kumbaya" verse
Unique Features: recitation
Influences: Tommy Leonetti
Notes on Music
Opening Phrase: 1-3-5
Tempo: moderate
Basic Structure: changes in key and volume underscore the progression of the lyrics
Singing Style: one syllable to one note, except for final "Lord;" hummed one iteration
Harmony: parallel chords
Vocal-Accompaniment Dynamics: introduction by hand drum and bells; strummed guitar added on "praying"
Influences: Tommy Leonetti
Notes on Performance
When The Sandpipers were appearing on college campuses in the early years, their promotion materials implied they were their own instrumentalists: Brady and Piano on guitar, and Shoff on string bass. They made a point of saying they were self-trained. [27]
By 1969, when "Kumbaya" was recorded, The Sandpipers had a backup group led by Larry White. [28] In Ottawa, before they left for Europe, it included White on piano, bass, drums, and two female backup singers. [29] In Windsor, Ontario, after their return, they had one singer. A Detroit reporter observed they "have a good gimmick going with the secrecy surrounding Pamela Ramcier who stands in the shadows and sings all the high notes for the trio. She hands out guitars and wears a mean mini." [30]
Audience Perceptions
The Sandpipers promoted themselves as the clean-cut alternative to rock and folk-music-revival musicians, in the same way Easy Listening music was poised as the alternative to popular music. [31]
In 1966, Carol Deck noted they "all have rather short hair, dress in suits, sports jackets or maybe a sharp sweater at their casualest, can carry a tune in 11 different languages." She added: "They have a sort of novelty act—they can sing very well and have proven it." [32]
In New York City, after "Kumbaya" was released, Ed Ochs reported the
"Eight -year veterans who have held their ground in the middle of the road by nature of their smooth, rhythmic hymns, the Sandpipers bring to the classy Rainbow Grill youth with the usual youthful cliches distilled out. The result is a fountain of youth as strained and purified as spring water, but cool and refreshing going down." [33]
Notes on Performers
Brady, Piano and Shoff worked together from 1955 [34] to 1960 [35] in the Richard Mitchell Boys Choir in Los Angeles. They began when they were 11-year-old [36] sopranos, [37] and left when their voices changed.
Mitchell had begun the choir for Saint Brendan’s Roman Catholic church in 1934. The choir sang for masses on radio, then was hired by film producers. [38] Then, the group had 33 members, but by the 1950s film studios only were willing to pay for 8 singers. [39]
Originally, the choir was part of the church’s parochial school. [40] In 1954, Mitchell began hiring his own tutors to teach the boys in the morning. The afternoons were spent learning music and rehearsing. [41]
The most important choir member when the three were there was Tony Butala. He sang with the group until 1954, then stayed as an assistant while he finished high school. In 1961, just after the future trio outgrew the school, Butala began making hit records with his group, The Lettermen. [42] In many ways, they were the prototype for The Grads. [43]
Availability
Album: The Sandpipers. "Kumbaya." The Wonder of You. A and M Records. SP 4180. 1969.
YouTube: The Sandpipers. "Kumbaya" Uploaded by Universal Music Group North America on 21 November 2014.
End Notes
1. Minelli recorded for A & M records from 1968 until 1971. [44]
2. The Carpenters recorded for A & M records from 1969 until Karen Carpenter’s death in 1983. [45]
3. Wikipedia. "Herb Alpert." It was actually just Alpert overdubbing himself on trumpet. When demand developed for personal appearances, he had to hire musicians to be the Tijuana Brass.
4. "‘If there was ever the perfect label for a musician at that time, it was A&M,’ Frampton says. ‘They wanted the artists to become themselves’." Peter Frampton was quoted by Mandalit del Barco. "A&M Records: Independent, With Major Appeal." National Public Radio website. 14 November 2012.
5. Wikipedia. "The Sandpipers." The casino was Harrah’s Lake Club.
6. Brady recalled: "They stuck us in a library for two days with a dictionary, looking up names of animals and we had to choose from three. We chose Sandpipers because we disliked it the least." Quoted by Mary Campbell. "Sandpipers Cultivating Smooth Sound." Associated Press published by Gettysburg [Pennsylvania] Times. 26 December 1968. 2.
7. Weavers. "Guantanamera." Reunion At Carnegie Hall. Vanguard VSD 2150. Recorded in March 1963. Pete Seeger recorded it later that year and his version became the more popular. [46] The Weavers were discussed in the post for 3 October 2017.
8. Michael Bourne. Interview with Tommy LiPuma. Billboard. 16 September 1995. Tribute to LiPuma section. On how he produced "Guantanamera," L18, L20.
9. Wikipedia, Sandpipers.
10. Kathy Amos. "‘The Sandpipers’ To Appear In Concert." Boise College Roundup. 13 October 23 1967. 2. They performed in the gymnasium.
11. "Sandpipers Show Slated." [Air Force Academy] Falconews. 26 April 26 1968.
12. They played the lounge in the Golden in 1966. [47] This probably an abbreviated name, since everyone in Reno would know the reference.
13. Sandpipers. "For Baby." The Sandpipers. A&M Records. SP 4125. 1967. Discogs website.
14. Sandpipers. "Today." Misty Roses. A&M Records. SP-4135. December 1967. Discogs website.
15. Sandpipers. "Softly." Softly. A&M Records. SP4147. 1968. Discogs website.
16. LiPuma interview. L20. "It had gotten to the point where I felt I needed a change." A&M recognized the general problem and began signing rock acts in 1969. They included Joe Cocker and the Flying Burrito Brothers. [48]
17. "Sandpipers On Tour." Cash Box. 15 March 1969. 59.
United Kingdom: The Sandpipers. "Kumbaya." A and M Records AMS 744 . 1969. [Discogs website.]
Germany: The Sandpipers. "Kumbaya." A&M Records 210 063. 1969. [Discogs website.]
France: The Sandpipers. "Kumbaya." A&M Records 210 064. 1969. [Discogs website.]
Madrid: The Sandpipers. "Kum-ba-yah." Hispavox H 455. 1969. [Discogs and WorldCat websites.]
18. Wikipedia, Sandpipers.
19. The Sandpipers. "Kumbaya." A&M Records AMLS 935. United Kingdom 1969. [Discogs website.]
20. The Sandpipers. "Kumbayah." A&M Records 212 066. Germany, 1969. [Discogs website.]
21. Cash Box. "The next single, ‘Kum-Ba-Ya’ b/w ‘Lo Mucho to Quiero,’ will be released in all countries they will be visiting within the next week." Perhaps the version was too close to that of Leonetti to pass legal muster, or perhaps A&M’s promotion people felt the U. S. market for the song was then still saturated by Leonetti.
22. Wikipedia, Sandpipers.
23. LiPuma had done the recitation on the recording of "Guantanamera," but when The Sandpipers toured, Mike Piano took the part. Michael Kirby said he had a "soothing knack for recitation." [49] I don’t know if A&M hired someone for the "Kumbaya" recording session, or if Piano took the role.
24. Discogs website for United Kingdom single.
25. Discogs website for United States promotion version of album.
26. United States Copyright Office. Catalog of Copyright Entries. Third Series. January-June 1969. 349.
27. Campbell.
28. Wikipedia, Sandpipers, said White was their musical director from 1964 to 1966. White only said on his website that "after college he toured world-wide, performing with the vocal group ‘The Sandpipers’." He gave no birth date.
29. Bill Fox. "Sandpipers Get Along Just Fine without Teenage Audience Hysteria." Ottawa [Canada] Citizen. 17 February 1969. 28.
30. Detroit [Michigan] Free Press. 7 June 1969. 28. Posted by svjim on 2 March 2019 without the headline or byline.
31. Amos probably was quoting their publicity when she mentioned "their cleancut, well-groomed appearance" in her story published before they performed.
32. Carol Deck. "The Sandpipers Are Following Herb Alpert’s Good Example." [Hollywood] Beat. 31 December 1966. KRLA, Glendale, California, edition. 10.
33. Ed Ochs. "Sandpipers Come in Soft And Clear at Rainbow Grill." Billboard. 29 November 1969. 22. He observed, they were "supported by a combo and lone femme soprano."
34. Campbell wrote in 1968 they had known each other for "more than 13 years."
35. Deck.
36. Wikipedia, Sandpipers, said all three were born in 1944.
37. Deck.
38. Valerie J. Nelson. "Bob Mitchell dies at 96; silent-movie organist was house musician for Dodgers." Los Angeles Times. 9 July 2009.
39. Warren M. Sherk. "The Robert Mitchell Choirboys." Dimitri Tiomkin website. January 2009; last updated February 2009.
40. Wikipedia. "Robert Mitchell (Organist)."
41. Sherk.
42. Wikipedia. "Tony Butala."
43. Kirby wrote "From the beginning, the Grads were an ‘easy listening’ vocal act following a path set by comparable trio The Lettermen."
44. Discogs website entries for Minelli.
45. Wikipedia. "The Carpenters."
46. Pete Seeger. "Guantanamera." "We Shall Overcome." Columbia CL 2101. Recorded 8 June 1963.
47. Item. Reno [Nevada] Gazette-Journal. 29 January 1966. 68.
48. Patrice Eyries, Dave Edwards, & Mike Callahan. "A&M Album Discography." Both Sides Now Publications website. Last updated 9 August 2001.
49. Michael Jack Kirby. "The Sandpipers: Guantanamera." Way Back Attack website. "The next single. ‘Santo Domingo’ utilized Mike Piano's soothing knack for recitation (as had ‘Guantanamera’)."
Sunday, April 12, 2020
Tommy Leonetti - Kum Ba Yah (Come By Here)
Topic: Religious Folk Music Revival
No musical style lasts forever. Various forms of swing developed in the Depression, and big bands became associated with World War II. Frank Sinatra changed the focus from musicians to the vocalist in 1942. [1] Elvis Presley didn’t modify the vocal-soloist format so much as he altered the instrumental accompaniment and redirected the emphasis from the song to the performance.
The commercial folk music that featured vocal groups like The Kingston Trio [2] lasted from 1958 to 1968. The general musical style continued with solo artists like Judy Collins, John Denver, Donovan, and Cat Stevens who were played by Middle of the Road radio stations that promoted themselves as a melodic alternative to ones playing rock. [3] Their lyrics dealt more with personal problems than political ones.
The pivotal event was the election of Richard Nixon in 1968. His national security advisor, Henry Kissinger, made clear the administration would ignore demonstrations and escalate the war in southeast Asia. The lottery was introduced in December 1969 to counter protests against the draft. The final blow to student activism was dealt by National Guardsmen who killed protestors at Kent State University in May 1970. [4] Earth Day replaced political protests as a vehicle for change. [5]
During this tumultuous period, Tommy Leonetti converted "Kumbaya" from an improvised, a la carte, secular song into a ballad of religious salvation. He reordered the verses into a narrative sequence beginning with crying, then praying. He turned the "come by here" stanza into a spoken interlude asking the Lord to intercede on his behalf. This was followed by an expression of thanks in the singing verse and a repetition of kumbaya.
It was an anomalous recording because it seems to have been a one record contract with no expectations for further work. [6] Leonetti had never had a major hit record. Most recently he had had a secondary, recurring role on the television series Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. [7]
The recording probably was made in mid September, before Leonetti went to Australia to begin hosting a ten-week variety program on a local television station. [8] The record was "being rushed for a holiday release" on 14 December 1968. [9] That was one week after he registered his copyright, [10] and would have been just after his commitment in Sydney ended.
Bill Justis was given credit for the arrangement, [11] and Leonetti’s wife, Cindy Robbins, wrote the spoken part. [12] The sheet music, as so often was the case, named Otto Zucker and Leonetti as the recipients of the royalties. Zucker was a pen name for Justis. [13]
Justis had been an arranger for Sun Records in the 1950s where he worked with artists like Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis. [14] He left Sun in 1959, and worked for Mercury Records between 1962 and 1966. Next, he moved to Los Angeles. [15]
In 1968, he probably was working as a free-lance arranger, and maintaining contacts with people in Nashville. [16] The year before, Carl Perkins, a former Sun artist, had written "Daddy Sang Bass." Cash,, another early Sun performer, recorded it in October 1968, [17] but gossip already may have spreading about his planned religious album before he entered the studio. [18]
For those in the music industry, "Daddy Sang Bass" may have signaled the existence of a market for songs that reworked familiar folk-song material. Perkins alluded to the Carter Family’s "Can the Circle Be Unbroken," which James Leisy had noted already was popular among folk-revival musicians in 1966. [19]
"Daddy Sang Bass" entered Billboard’s country charts on 7 December. The next week, Cash Box ran a full-page advertisement for Leonetti’s record that featured a white circle against a wheat field. The headline was "This Time We’ll Listen" and the interlude was reprinted in the circle.
The bottom of the ad proclaimed "The light of love shines out of the ‘dark continent’." It promised the "African folk song [. . .] expresses the needs and hopes of the times." [20]
Performers
Vocal Soloist: Tommy Leonetti
Vocal Group: at least one man and one woman
Vocal Director: Bill Justis
Instrumental Accompaniment: something like a single violin (seems too early for a synthesizer)
Rhythm Accompaniment: drum, perhaps a bongo or snare drum with the wires loosened
Credits
Sheet music
Adaption and Arrangement by Otto Zucker and Tommy Leonetti
Copyright © 1968 by Cintom Music Co., Los Angeles, Calif.
Notes on Lyrics
Language: English
Pronunciation: koom by YAH
Verses: kumbaya, cryin’, prayin’, hears you, come by here, singin’
Vocabulary
Term for Deity: Lord
Special Terms: none
Basic Form: 6-verse song with spoken interlude between verses 3 and 4
Verse Repetition Pattern: kumbaya sung as first and last verses
Ending: final "oh, Lord kumbaya" slower, followed by humming
Unique Features: changed third line of "someone’s crying" verse to "someone needs you"
Notes on Music
Sheet music
Opening Phrase: 1-3-5
Time Signature: 3/4
Tempo: moderately
Key Signature: no sharps or flats; changes to two sharps
Guitar/Autoharp Chords: C F G changed to D G A
Recording
Basic Structure: changes in key and volume underscore the progression of the lyrics
Singing Style: one syllable to one note except for final "Lord"
Solo-Group Dynamics: Leonetti generally blended into the group, except for the recitation when he spoke and the group hummed
Vocal-Accompaniment Dynamics: a single hand drum was used throughout; during the recitation a violin-like instrument was added as a descant
Notes on Performance
Cover art on sheet music: profile of woman’s head with a single rose in front of it. It was a green on white lithograph.
Notes on Audience
"Kum Ba Yah" entered the Billboard Easy Listening chart on 29 December 1968, and slowly rose to fourth place on 1 March 1969. It stayed in the position for a week, then fell to #11 on 22 March 1969. It disappeared in a few more weeks, [21] but was ranked #25 on Billboard’s 1969 year-end list of top Easy Listening singles. [22]
The record penetrated Billboard’s popular music chart on 18 January 1969 in the 93rd position [23] and was # 90 on Cash Box’s list for that week. [24] It peaked at # 54 in Billboard on 8 March [25]
In total, radio stations were actively programming the record for three months from the end of December 1968 until the end of March 1969. Before that, some disc jockeys were telling Billboard they were broadcasting it. [26]
Notes on Performers
Leonetti’s parents were Italian immigrants who settled in Bergen County, New Jersey. [27] He began singing with his sisters with Tony Pastor’s band in 1946. [28] By the middle 1950s, Leonetti was being promoted by mobsters who controlled the juke boxes at the time. [29] He later joined Your Hit Parade’s cast in its final season. [30]
He was raised in the Roman Catholic church, but didn’t consider himself particularly devout. When he was battling cancer in 1977, he told a reporter "I’m not religious, but I do believe that God’s natural laws work." He added:
"I believe that God’s laws work through whatever dogmatic package you want to put them in. They all work for us in the most natural ways and on an impartial basis. The simple premise is what you sow, you reap. And man sows something every minute of the day, by every thought he thinks and, in turn, man reaps either the benefit or the destruction of those thoughts. I think prayer works in exactly that way — you don’t have to get on your knees and pray for 15 minutes. The moment you’ve thought it, you’ve prayed, the thought form is registered and energy is given to it." [31]
Leonetti’s wife also may have been raised as a Catholic. Cynthia Robinaux was raised in southeastern Louisiana. [32] She played minor roles in television before her marriage to Leonetti. [33] While she was in Australia, she published a children’s book, Little Dream, about a spirit waiting to be born as someone’s dream come true. [34]
Justis’ lived in Birmingham, but moved to Memphis where he was sent to a Roman Catholic high school. [35] He may not have been particularly religious: his memorial service was held by a funeral home. [36] However, his daughter was buried as a Baptist. Her obituary indicated his estate had established a music scholarship fund at Belmont College. [37]
His wife remembered "that in church everyone would sing the melody and Justis would hum an arrangement around it." [38]
Availability
Single: Tommy Leonetti. "Kum Ba Yah." Decca 32421. 1968. [39]
YouTube: Tommy Leonetti. "Kumbaya." Uploaded by The Orchard Enterprises on 8 November 2014.
Sheet Music: Otto Zucker and Tommy Leonetti. "Kum Ba Yah (Come By Here)." Miami Beach: Charles Hansen Publication.
End Notes
1. Wikipedia. "Frank Sinatra."
2. The Kingston Trio was discussed in the post for 13 October 2019.
3. Wikipedia. "Adult Contemporary (Chart)." At the time, Billboard used the term "Easy Listening" and described it as "middle-of-the-road." [40]
4. Wikipedia. "Opposition to United States Involvement in the Vietnam War."
5. Wikipedia. "Earth Day." Agitation for Earth Day began in 1969, and the first one in this country was held in April 1970, three weeks before the shootings at Kent State in Ohio.
6. A different record company released a single Leonetti made with his stepdaughter on 4 June 1968. Bill Justis was the producer. [41] His wife’s daughter, Kimberly Beck, had small roles in a few films, including Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter. [42]
7. Wikipedia. "Tommy Leonetti." He appeared as Corporal Nick Cuccinelli in the 1964–1965 season.
8. Item. The Sydney [Australia] Morning Herald. 28 September 1968. 208. " He arrived this week."
9. "Tommy Leonetti Inked By Decca." Cash Box. 14 December 1968. I6.
10. United States Copyright Office. Catalog of Copyright Entries. Third series. July-December 1969. 1817. "Appl. states previous reg 2 Dec 68."
11. Randy Dennis posted a copy of the record label when he uploaded a copy of "Kum Ba Yah" to YouTube on 12 April 2018. The label read "arranged and produced by Bill Justis."
12. Cash Box, Leonetti.
13. The copyright application read: w. Tommy Leonetti, adaptation and arr. William Justiss, a. k. a. Otto Zucker. [43]
14. Wikipedia. "Bill Justis."
15. "Bill Justis." Rockabilly website.
16. The biographies are vague for this period. So far as I could discover on the internet, Justis had no earlier projects with Decca.
17. Johnny Cash. "Daddy Sang Bass." Columbia 4-44689. 1968.
Wikipedia. "Daddy Sang Bass."
18. Cash went to Israel after he married June Carter on 1 March 1968. [44] In January 1969, Columbia issued his The Holy Land [45] that included tapes he made on the trip. [46]
19. James F. Leisy. The Folk Song Abecedary. New York: Bonanza Books, 1966. 52. "It is quite popular today with banjo-flailing city billies." Leisy was discussed in the posts for 15 December 2019, 22 December 2019, and 9 February 2020.
20. Advertisement for "Kum Ba Yah." Cash Box. 14 December 1968. 27. Everything was in capital letters.
21. Billboard website. Adult Contemporary Charts.
22. "Top Easy Listening Singles - 1969." Billboard. 27 December 1969. 17.
23. Len. "New this week in ’69: January 18." 45 Ruminations Per Megabyte website. 19 January 2019.
24. Bob Lovely. "Cash Box Top 100 Singles. Week ending February 1, 1969." Posted to "Weekly Top 10 - February 1, 1969" thread in Music Corner section of Steve Hoffman’s website.
25. "Tommy Leonetti. Chart History. Hot 100." Billboard website.
26. Billboard promoted it the first time the week before the advertisement appeared in Cash Box. Disc jockeys were alerted it "comes out of left field with a beautiful interpretation of this haunting folk ballad, enhanced by moving narration. Could easily prove a surprise winner." [47] Bob Ouelette of Longview, Texas, [48] and Terry Green in Wichita, Kansas, [49] listed it as their "best littlefield pick" on 14 December 1968 and 28 December 1968.
27. "Tommy Leonetti." Find a Grave website. 19 May 2003.
Pam R. "Domenico Rocco Leonetti." Find a Grave website. 16 February 2014. His father.
Pam R. "Domenica Mira Leonetti." Find a Grave website. 16 February 2014. His mother.
28. "Tommy Leonetti, 50, a Singer On ‘Your Hit Parade’ in 1957-58." The New York Times. 18 September 1979. B17.
29. Gus Russo said Leonetti’s agent was John Ambrosia, and that he was "personally handled by the notorious Felix "Milwaukee Phil" Alderisio. [50] The Washington Post noted Leonetti "was cleared of any involvement before he was called" by the Senate Labor Rackets Committee. [51]
30. Your Hit Parade began on television in 1953. Russell Arms, Dorothy Collins, Snooky Lanson, and Gisèle MacKenzie sang the top seven songs each week. Viewership fell after the advent of Presley. In 1957, the producers replaced the cast with Alan Copeland, Jill Corey, Virginia Gibson, and Leonetti. It wasn’t enough to save the show and it was cancelled in 1958. [52]
31. Sue Rhodes. "Tommy Leonetti: My Battle with Cancer." The Australian Women’s Weekly. 21 December 1977. 19–21. Quotations, page 21.
32. Estienne Robichaut was one of the original settlers in French Acadia, and Robichauds were among the Cajun migrants to Louisiana. [53] However, she was born in Hammond, Louisiana, [54] which was not a Cajun community. [55]
33. Wikipedia. "Cindy Robbins."
34. Cynthia Leonetti. Little Dream. Roseberry, New South Wales, Australia: Sungravure, 1969. Tanya Murray summarized the plot. [56] Marianne published posts from several people who recalled the importance of the book to them as children. [57]
35. Wikipedia. "Bill Justis."
36. "Justis Services Set Tomorrow." The [Nashville] Tennessean. 18 July 1982. 16.
37. "Karen Leigh Justis." The [Nashville] Tennessean website. 9 February 2017. Belmont College was affiliated with the Tennessee Baptist Convention until 2007. [58]
38. Yvonne Harris Justis. Quoted by "Heritage of Sun Records." 706 Union Avenue website.
39. "Tommy Leonetti – Kum Ba Yah." Discogs website.
40. Billboard. 14 December 2019. 56.
41. Tommy Leonetti With Daughter Kim. "Let’s Take A Walk." Columbia 4-44568. Released 4 June 1968. Source: Discogs website for song. The other side was "All the Brave Young Faces of the Night."
42. Wikipedia. "Kimberly Beck."
43. United States Copyright Office.
44. Wikipedia. "Johnny Cash."
45. Johnny Cash. The Holy Land. Columbia KCS 9726 . 1969.
46. Wikipedia. "The Holy Land (Album)."
47. "Top 60 Pop Spotlight" listing of records predicted to reach the top 60 of the Top 100 Chart." Billboard. 7 December 1968. 64.
48. Item in "Programming Aids." Billboard. 14 December 1968. 40.
49. Item in "Programming Aids." Billboard. 28 December 1968. 22.
50. Gus Russo. The Outfit. New York: Bloomsbury, 2003. 191.
51. "Tommy Leonetti, 50, Band Singer." The Washington Post website. 23 September 1979.
52. Norman Felsenthal. "Your Hit Parade." Museum of Broadcast Communications. Encyclopedia of Television. Edited by Horace Newcomb. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn, 1997.
53. Tim Hebert. "The True Acadian Period: 1604-1755." Acadian-Cajun website.
54. Wikipedia, Cindy Robbins.
55. Wikipedia. "Hammond, Louisiana" and "Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana."
56. Tanya Murray. "Dreams Fulfilled." Suburban Jubilee website. 19 May 2010.
57. Marianne. "Look what I found next to the Funk & Wagnalls." Sunderwrap website. 3 April 2011.
58. Wikipedia. "Belmont University."
No musical style lasts forever. Various forms of swing developed in the Depression, and big bands became associated with World War II. Frank Sinatra changed the focus from musicians to the vocalist in 1942. [1] Elvis Presley didn’t modify the vocal-soloist format so much as he altered the instrumental accompaniment and redirected the emphasis from the song to the performance.
The commercial folk music that featured vocal groups like The Kingston Trio [2] lasted from 1958 to 1968. The general musical style continued with solo artists like Judy Collins, John Denver, Donovan, and Cat Stevens who were played by Middle of the Road radio stations that promoted themselves as a melodic alternative to ones playing rock. [3] Their lyrics dealt more with personal problems than political ones.
The pivotal event was the election of Richard Nixon in 1968. His national security advisor, Henry Kissinger, made clear the administration would ignore demonstrations and escalate the war in southeast Asia. The lottery was introduced in December 1969 to counter protests against the draft. The final blow to student activism was dealt by National Guardsmen who killed protestors at Kent State University in May 1970. [4] Earth Day replaced political protests as a vehicle for change. [5]
During this tumultuous period, Tommy Leonetti converted "Kumbaya" from an improvised, a la carte, secular song into a ballad of religious salvation. He reordered the verses into a narrative sequence beginning with crying, then praying. He turned the "come by here" stanza into a spoken interlude asking the Lord to intercede on his behalf. This was followed by an expression of thanks in the singing verse and a repetition of kumbaya.
It was an anomalous recording because it seems to have been a one record contract with no expectations for further work. [6] Leonetti had never had a major hit record. Most recently he had had a secondary, recurring role on the television series Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. [7]
The recording probably was made in mid September, before Leonetti went to Australia to begin hosting a ten-week variety program on a local television station. [8] The record was "being rushed for a holiday release" on 14 December 1968. [9] That was one week after he registered his copyright, [10] and would have been just after his commitment in Sydney ended.
Bill Justis was given credit for the arrangement, [11] and Leonetti’s wife, Cindy Robbins, wrote the spoken part. [12] The sheet music, as so often was the case, named Otto Zucker and Leonetti as the recipients of the royalties. Zucker was a pen name for Justis. [13]
Justis had been an arranger for Sun Records in the 1950s where he worked with artists like Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis. [14] He left Sun in 1959, and worked for Mercury Records between 1962 and 1966. Next, he moved to Los Angeles. [15]
In 1968, he probably was working as a free-lance arranger, and maintaining contacts with people in Nashville. [16] The year before, Carl Perkins, a former Sun artist, had written "Daddy Sang Bass." Cash,, another early Sun performer, recorded it in October 1968, [17] but gossip already may have spreading about his planned religious album before he entered the studio. [18]
For those in the music industry, "Daddy Sang Bass" may have signaled the existence of a market for songs that reworked familiar folk-song material. Perkins alluded to the Carter Family’s "Can the Circle Be Unbroken," which James Leisy had noted already was popular among folk-revival musicians in 1966. [19]
"Daddy Sang Bass" entered Billboard’s country charts on 7 December. The next week, Cash Box ran a full-page advertisement for Leonetti’s record that featured a white circle against a wheat field. The headline was "This Time We’ll Listen" and the interlude was reprinted in the circle.
The bottom of the ad proclaimed "The light of love shines out of the ‘dark continent’." It promised the "African folk song [. . .] expresses the needs and hopes of the times." [20]
Performers
Vocal Soloist: Tommy Leonetti
Vocal Group: at least one man and one woman
Vocal Director: Bill Justis
Instrumental Accompaniment: something like a single violin (seems too early for a synthesizer)
Rhythm Accompaniment: drum, perhaps a bongo or snare drum with the wires loosened
Credits
Sheet music
Adaption and Arrangement by Otto Zucker and Tommy Leonetti
Copyright © 1968 by Cintom Music Co., Los Angeles, Calif.
Notes on Lyrics
Language: English
Pronunciation: koom by YAH
Verses: kumbaya, cryin’, prayin’, hears you, come by here, singin’
Vocabulary
Special Terms: none
Basic Form: 6-verse song with spoken interlude between verses 3 and 4
Verse Repetition Pattern: kumbaya sung as first and last verses
Notes on Music
Sheet music
Opening Phrase: 1-3-5
Time Signature: 3/4
Tempo: moderately
Key Signature: no sharps or flats; changes to two sharps
Guitar/Autoharp Chords: C F G changed to D G A
Recording
Basic Structure: changes in key and volume underscore the progression of the lyrics
Singing Style: one syllable to one note except for final "Lord"
Solo-Group Dynamics: Leonetti generally blended into the group, except for the recitation when he spoke and the group hummed
Vocal-Accompaniment Dynamics: a single hand drum was used throughout; during the recitation a violin-like instrument was added as a descant
Notes on Performance
Cover art on sheet music: profile of woman’s head with a single rose in front of it. It was a green on white lithograph.
Notes on Audience
"Kum Ba Yah" entered the Billboard Easy Listening chart on 29 December 1968, and slowly rose to fourth place on 1 March 1969. It stayed in the position for a week, then fell to #11 on 22 March 1969. It disappeared in a few more weeks, [21] but was ranked #25 on Billboard’s 1969 year-end list of top Easy Listening singles. [22]
The record penetrated Billboard’s popular music chart on 18 January 1969 in the 93rd position [23] and was # 90 on Cash Box’s list for that week. [24] It peaked at # 54 in Billboard on 8 March [25]
In total, radio stations were actively programming the record for three months from the end of December 1968 until the end of March 1969. Before that, some disc jockeys were telling Billboard they were broadcasting it. [26]
Notes on Performers
Leonetti’s parents were Italian immigrants who settled in Bergen County, New Jersey. [27] He began singing with his sisters with Tony Pastor’s band in 1946. [28] By the middle 1950s, Leonetti was being promoted by mobsters who controlled the juke boxes at the time. [29] He later joined Your Hit Parade’s cast in its final season. [30]
He was raised in the Roman Catholic church, but didn’t consider himself particularly devout. When he was battling cancer in 1977, he told a reporter "I’m not religious, but I do believe that God’s natural laws work." He added:
"I believe that God’s laws work through whatever dogmatic package you want to put them in. They all work for us in the most natural ways and on an impartial basis. The simple premise is what you sow, you reap. And man sows something every minute of the day, by every thought he thinks and, in turn, man reaps either the benefit or the destruction of those thoughts. I think prayer works in exactly that way — you don’t have to get on your knees and pray for 15 minutes. The moment you’ve thought it, you’ve prayed, the thought form is registered and energy is given to it." [31]
Leonetti’s wife also may have been raised as a Catholic. Cynthia Robinaux was raised in southeastern Louisiana. [32] She played minor roles in television before her marriage to Leonetti. [33] While she was in Australia, she published a children’s book, Little Dream, about a spirit waiting to be born as someone’s dream come true. [34]
Justis’ lived in Birmingham, but moved to Memphis where he was sent to a Roman Catholic high school. [35] He may not have been particularly religious: his memorial service was held by a funeral home. [36] However, his daughter was buried as a Baptist. Her obituary indicated his estate had established a music scholarship fund at Belmont College. [37]
His wife remembered "that in church everyone would sing the melody and Justis would hum an arrangement around it." [38]
Availability
Single: Tommy Leonetti. "Kum Ba Yah." Decca 32421. 1968. [39]
YouTube: Tommy Leonetti. "Kumbaya." Uploaded by The Orchard Enterprises on 8 November 2014.
Sheet Music: Otto Zucker and Tommy Leonetti. "Kum Ba Yah (Come By Here)." Miami Beach: Charles Hansen Publication.
End Notes
1. Wikipedia. "Frank Sinatra."
2. The Kingston Trio was discussed in the post for 13 October 2019.
3. Wikipedia. "Adult Contemporary (Chart)." At the time, Billboard used the term "Easy Listening" and described it as "middle-of-the-road." [40]
4. Wikipedia. "Opposition to United States Involvement in the Vietnam War."
5. Wikipedia. "Earth Day." Agitation for Earth Day began in 1969, and the first one in this country was held in April 1970, three weeks before the shootings at Kent State in Ohio.
6. A different record company released a single Leonetti made with his stepdaughter on 4 June 1968. Bill Justis was the producer. [41] His wife’s daughter, Kimberly Beck, had small roles in a few films, including Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter. [42]
7. Wikipedia. "Tommy Leonetti." He appeared as Corporal Nick Cuccinelli in the 1964–1965 season.
8. Item. The Sydney [Australia] Morning Herald. 28 September 1968. 208. " He arrived this week."
9. "Tommy Leonetti Inked By Decca." Cash Box. 14 December 1968. I6.
10. United States Copyright Office. Catalog of Copyright Entries. Third series. July-December 1969. 1817. "Appl. states previous reg 2 Dec 68."
11. Randy Dennis posted a copy of the record label when he uploaded a copy of "Kum Ba Yah" to YouTube on 12 April 2018. The label read "arranged and produced by Bill Justis."
12. Cash Box, Leonetti.
13. The copyright application read: w. Tommy Leonetti, adaptation and arr. William Justiss, a. k. a. Otto Zucker. [43]
14. Wikipedia. "Bill Justis."
15. "Bill Justis." Rockabilly website.
16. The biographies are vague for this period. So far as I could discover on the internet, Justis had no earlier projects with Decca.
17. Johnny Cash. "Daddy Sang Bass." Columbia 4-44689. 1968.
Wikipedia. "Daddy Sang Bass."
18. Cash went to Israel after he married June Carter on 1 March 1968. [44] In January 1969, Columbia issued his The Holy Land [45] that included tapes he made on the trip. [46]
19. James F. Leisy. The Folk Song Abecedary. New York: Bonanza Books, 1966. 52. "It is quite popular today with banjo-flailing city billies." Leisy was discussed in the posts for 15 December 2019, 22 December 2019, and 9 February 2020.
20. Advertisement for "Kum Ba Yah." Cash Box. 14 December 1968. 27. Everything was in capital letters.
21. Billboard website. Adult Contemporary Charts.
22. "Top Easy Listening Singles - 1969." Billboard. 27 December 1969. 17.
23. Len. "New this week in ’69: January 18." 45 Ruminations Per Megabyte website. 19 January 2019.
24. Bob Lovely. "Cash Box Top 100 Singles. Week ending February 1, 1969." Posted to "Weekly Top 10 - February 1, 1969" thread in Music Corner section of Steve Hoffman’s website.
25. "Tommy Leonetti. Chart History. Hot 100." Billboard website.
26. Billboard promoted it the first time the week before the advertisement appeared in Cash Box. Disc jockeys were alerted it "comes out of left field with a beautiful interpretation of this haunting folk ballad, enhanced by moving narration. Could easily prove a surprise winner." [47] Bob Ouelette of Longview, Texas, [48] and Terry Green in Wichita, Kansas, [49] listed it as their "best littlefield pick" on 14 December 1968 and 28 December 1968.
27. "Tommy Leonetti." Find a Grave website. 19 May 2003.
Pam R. "Domenico Rocco Leonetti." Find a Grave website. 16 February 2014. His father.
Pam R. "Domenica Mira Leonetti." Find a Grave website. 16 February 2014. His mother.
28. "Tommy Leonetti, 50, a Singer On ‘Your Hit Parade’ in 1957-58." The New York Times. 18 September 1979. B17.
29. Gus Russo said Leonetti’s agent was John Ambrosia, and that he was "personally handled by the notorious Felix "Milwaukee Phil" Alderisio. [50] The Washington Post noted Leonetti "was cleared of any involvement before he was called" by the Senate Labor Rackets Committee. [51]
30. Your Hit Parade began on television in 1953. Russell Arms, Dorothy Collins, Snooky Lanson, and Gisèle MacKenzie sang the top seven songs each week. Viewership fell after the advent of Presley. In 1957, the producers replaced the cast with Alan Copeland, Jill Corey, Virginia Gibson, and Leonetti. It wasn’t enough to save the show and it was cancelled in 1958. [52]
31. Sue Rhodes. "Tommy Leonetti: My Battle with Cancer." The Australian Women’s Weekly. 21 December 1977. 19–21. Quotations, page 21.
32. Estienne Robichaut was one of the original settlers in French Acadia, and Robichauds were among the Cajun migrants to Louisiana. [53] However, she was born in Hammond, Louisiana, [54] which was not a Cajun community. [55]
33. Wikipedia. "Cindy Robbins."
34. Cynthia Leonetti. Little Dream. Roseberry, New South Wales, Australia: Sungravure, 1969. Tanya Murray summarized the plot. [56] Marianne published posts from several people who recalled the importance of the book to them as children. [57]
35. Wikipedia. "Bill Justis."
36. "Justis Services Set Tomorrow." The [Nashville] Tennessean. 18 July 1982. 16.
37. "Karen Leigh Justis." The [Nashville] Tennessean website. 9 February 2017. Belmont College was affiliated with the Tennessee Baptist Convention until 2007. [58]
38. Yvonne Harris Justis. Quoted by "Heritage of Sun Records." 706 Union Avenue website.
39. "Tommy Leonetti – Kum Ba Yah." Discogs website.
40. Billboard. 14 December 2019. 56.
41. Tommy Leonetti With Daughter Kim. "Let’s Take A Walk." Columbia 4-44568. Released 4 June 1968. Source: Discogs website for song. The other side was "All the Brave Young Faces of the Night."
42. Wikipedia. "Kimberly Beck."
43. United States Copyright Office.
44. Wikipedia. "Johnny Cash."
45. Johnny Cash. The Holy Land. Columbia KCS 9726 . 1969.
46. Wikipedia. "The Holy Land (Album)."
47. "Top 60 Pop Spotlight" listing of records predicted to reach the top 60 of the Top 100 Chart." Billboard. 7 December 1968. 64.
48. Item in "Programming Aids." Billboard. 14 December 1968. 40.
49. Item in "Programming Aids." Billboard. 28 December 1968. 22.
50. Gus Russo. The Outfit. New York: Bloomsbury, 2003. 191.
51. "Tommy Leonetti, 50, Band Singer." The Washington Post website. 23 September 1979.
52. Norman Felsenthal. "Your Hit Parade." Museum of Broadcast Communications. Encyclopedia of Television. Edited by Horace Newcomb. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn, 1997.
53. Tim Hebert. "The True Acadian Period: 1604-1755." Acadian-Cajun website.
54. Wikipedia, Cindy Robbins.
55. Wikipedia. "Hammond, Louisiana" and "Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana."
56. Tanya Murray. "Dreams Fulfilled." Suburban Jubilee website. 19 May 2010.
57. Marianne. "Look what I found next to the Funk & Wagnalls." Sunderwrap website. 3 April 2011.
58. Wikipedia. "Belmont University."
Sunday, April 5, 2020
African Iconography of Kumbaya
I was scheduled to read a paper on the "African Iconography of ‘Kumbaya’" at the annual meeting of the Western States Folklore Society at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon, on 18 April 2020. Needless to say, the meeting was cancelled.
I placed a copy in the Academia.edu website where it should be available to anyone who is interested. It only requires a Facebook account to access material. Below is a copy of the abstract.
"Kumbaya" developed from an African-American religious song, "Come by Here." However, many believed it came from Africa. Publishers used art work with images of Africa to attract attention. A watercolor in a music textbook illustrated a primitive African lifestyle for nine-year-old students. A woodcut on a sheet-music cover showed a Nigerian drummer. In a later edition of the school book, a statue of an African-American man in prayer replaced the watercolor. The pieces of art combined bits of knowledge their creators had assimilated from many sources. Members of the targeted audiences responded because each had a similar reservoir of folklore, book learning, and popular facts. This constituted part of the shared culture associated with "Kumbaya" that contributed to its persistence as a folk song.
The watercolor by Carl Martin appeared in a textbook edited Charles Leonhard that is discussed in the post for 8 July 2018. The revised edition with the photograph of a statue by Ed Wilson is the subject of the entry for 10 August 2018.
The sheet music accompanied a version by Albert Gamse. It is discussed in the posts for 26 April 2020 and 21 February 2021. His first version was featured in the post for 12 January 2020. It is preceded by the version by Tommy Leonetti that is discussed 12 April 2020.
I placed a copy in the Academia.edu website where it should be available to anyone who is interested. It only requires a Facebook account to access material. Below is a copy of the abstract.
"Kumbaya" developed from an African-American religious song, "Come by Here." However, many believed it came from Africa. Publishers used art work with images of Africa to attract attention. A watercolor in a music textbook illustrated a primitive African lifestyle for nine-year-old students. A woodcut on a sheet-music cover showed a Nigerian drummer. In a later edition of the school book, a statue of an African-American man in prayer replaced the watercolor. The pieces of art combined bits of knowledge their creators had assimilated from many sources. Members of the targeted audiences responded because each had a similar reservoir of folklore, book learning, and popular facts. This constituted part of the shared culture associated with "Kumbaya" that contributed to its persistence as a folk song.
The watercolor by Carl Martin appeared in a textbook edited Charles Leonhard that is discussed in the post for 8 July 2018. The revised edition with the photograph of a statue by Ed Wilson is the subject of the entry for 10 August 2018.
The sheet music accompanied a version by Albert Gamse. It is discussed in the posts for 26 April 2020 and 21 February 2021. His first version was featured in the post for 12 January 2020. It is preceded by the version by Tommy Leonetti that is discussed 12 April 2020.
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