THE BRANDY SNIFTERS

 

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The Brandy Snifters, 2004, L-R: standing: Jon Pankake, Liz Lofgren, Lyle Lofgren.
Seated: Bud Claeson, Marcia Pankake.
(Photo and background artwork by Elizabeth Lofgren)

Uncle Willie and The Brandy Snifters, 1985.  Willard Johnson is on the left.
The rest of us have aged hardly at all.
(Photo by Steve Peck)

The Brandy Snifters are a living-room band who have been entertaining (mostly ourselves) in and around Minneapolis, Minnesota, since 1961. We concentrate on old-time and traditional music, particularly as it was played and sung in the Appalachian mountains of the American Southeast . We have occasionally appeared in coffeehouses and at the Minnesota Bluegrass & Old Time Music (MBOTMA) summer festival, where we have entertained hundreds of fans like the ones shown here. Until he retired, our titular leader was Uncle Willie (Willard Johnson), who directed our tastes toward string band music as it was played on 78 RPM records prior to 1935. We have tried to remain true to Uncle Willie's vision, with occasional foresliding into the 1940s.

For more Brandy Snifter lore, read this reprint of an article we wrote about ourselves, first published in the winter 2002 Old Time Herald.

There's the usual egocentric crap, plus pictures of some old-time musicians and others we've had the pleasure to meet over the years. Of those who are no longer with us: as Dock Boggs said the last time we saw him, we hope to meet them on another shore. (Updated: 2/8/2010).

A collection of some things that happened to happen while the tape recorder was running, and which may be of interest to others besides ourselves. Features Mississippi John Hurt, Mabel Hillery, Rev. Gary Davis, and Elizabeth Cotten. (6/9/2005).

A feature article in the Minneapolis Sunday Tribune, July 9, 1961, about the newly-established Folk Song Society of Minnesota. (9/10/2005)

As a guide for the perplexed who frequently ask questions about The Blues, we present a set of Frequently Asked Questions about The Blues, along with a matching set of Frequently Answered Answers. (2/2/2006)

A collection of wisdom from the Southern United States, some of which might be applicable to your life. (10/23/2006)

Check this out if you're interested in the difference between Old-Time and Bluegrass music (1/21/2010)

An article written by David E. Wunsch tabulating the sources of many Bluegrass pieces. An excellent reference source. (5/31/2010; updated 9/14/2010)

CLICK ON THE PIC FOR A LIST OF SOME OF OUR FAVORITE WEBSITES

We offer for sale four homemade CDs on the Lak-O-Tone label:
GOING NOWHERE FAST (Lak-O-Tone minus 001) is a reissue of Marimac cassette #9005, which was originally published in 1986.
In NOT OUT OF THE WOODS -- YET (Lak-O-Tone minus 002), published in 2003, Liz substitutes for Willie.
VOICE OF THE PORKCHOP (2007) has been a favorite with hungry fans of traditional music.
Our latest offering, PRACTICE NIGHT WITH UNCLE WILLIE & THE BRANDY SNIFTERS (2012), is a 2-CD set documenting some of the songs we tried during the first half of the 50 years we've been playing together.

All CDs come with copious notes and the first three have transcriptions of the lyrics (for lyrics to PRACTICE NIGHT, go to this site). You can possess any CD by sending $15 for each one ($20 for the 2-CD PRACTICE NIGHT album) to:

If you need more exhortation before buying, or want to use PayPal, send lylelofgren@visi.com an e-mail.

Following are the song listings, starting with the most recent CD:

PRACTICE NIGHT WITH UNCLE WILLIE & THE BRANDY SNIFTERS 2-CD set Lak-O-Tone minus 004 DISC ONE:   1.    TIM BROOK (2:31)   2.    I AIN'T GOING TO WORK TOMORROW (3:04)   3.    DOWN TO THE STILLHOUSE (2:19)   4.    GEORGIA RAILROAD (2:24)   5.    WHEN A MAN IS MARRIED (2:37)   6.    TEXAS RANGERS (2:52)   7.    RABBITS IN THE LOWLAND (2:19)   8.    FEAST HERE TONIGHT (2:33)   9.    I WISH I WAS IN BOWLING GREEN (2:47) 10.    JOHN BROWN'S DREAM (2:16) 11.    SHOO FLY (2:39) 12.    I WOULDN'T MIND DYING (2:55) 13.    SWEET SUNNY SOUTH (3:02) 14.    LITTLE LULIE (2:29) 15.    THE LONESOME VALLEY (3:26) 16.    OLD REUBEN (2:35) 17.    S-A-V-E-D (3:10) 18.    KATY KLINE (2:42) 19.    WINKING EYE (1:54) 20.    ROCKY MOUNTAIN GOAT (1:49) 21.    LATE LAST NIGHT WHEN WILLIE COME HOME (3:40) 22.    OLD SHIP OF ZION (2:44)   DISC TWO:   1.    GOLDEN SLIPPERS (3:20)   2.    GOING TO GEORGIA (3:32)   3.    I'VE BEEN ALL AROUND THIS WORLD (3:26)   4.    SAD AND LONESOME DAY (2:41)   5.    THE LITTLE CARPENTER (2:59)   6.    HENRY LEE (2:55)   7.    OH MY LITTLE DARLING (1:29)   8.    THEN IT WON'T HURT NO MORE (2:38)   9.    I'M THE CHILD TO FIGHT (3:22) 10.    DALLAS RAG (2:22) 11.    BAY RUM BLUES (4:03) 12.    LOVE HENRY (1:50) 13.    IT'S HARD TO LOVE AND CAN'T BE LOVED (1:43) 14.    FRANKIE SILVERS (3:01) 15.    JOHNSON BOYS (2:29) 16.    OLD MISS BROWN (2:35) 17.    KING WILLIAM / YONDER SHE COMES (2:15) 18.    NEVER BE AS FAST AS I HAVE BEEN (3:02) 19.    BILL CHEATEM / JOHN BROWN'S DREAM (2:26) 20.    GOING DOWN THE RIVER (2:15) 21.    THE STORY OF THE MIGHTY MISSISSIPPI (2:33) 22.    WE SHALL WEAR A CROWN (3:13)

VOICE OF THE PORKCHOP The Brandy Snifters Lak-O-Tone minus 003   1.    AIN'T IT HELL, BOYS (2:56)   2.    WAY DOWN IN NORTH CAROLINA (3:19)   3.    COUNTRY HAM AND RED GRAVY (3:36)   4.    ELLEN SMITH (2:24)   5.    GETTING UPSTAIRS (3:10)   6.    RAILROAD RAG / SOUTHERN JACK (2:42)   7.    GIVE ME BACK MY FIFTEEN CENTS (2:27)   8.    JAWBONE (2:27)   9.    I HOPE SHE'S SATISFIED (3:58) 10.    STACKERLEE (2:28) 11.    THE MURDER OF THE LAWSON FAMILY (2:46) 12.    OTTO WOOD, THE BANDIT (2:53) 13.    I SAW A MAN AT THE CLOSE OF DAY (3:09) 14.    OLD SHOES AND LEGGIN'S (2:56) 15.    CHASED OLD SATAN THROUGH THE DOOR (2:56) 16.    SADIE RAY (3:00) 17.    ROCKING MY SUGAR LUMP (2:47) 18.    I HEARD THE VOICE OF A PORKCHOP (3:50) 19.    CROQUET HABITS (2:48) 20.    WHEN IT GETS DARK (2:47) 21.    HIDE AWAY (2:37) 22.    BONAPARTE'S RETREAT (1:46) 23.    I MET HER AT A BALL ONE NIGHT (2:20) 24.    WISH I HAD STAYED IN THE WAGON YARD (3:35)

NOT OUT OF THE WOODS — YET The Brandy Snifters Lak-O-Tone minus 002   1.    COME OVER AND SEE ME SOMETIME (2:41)   2.    WAITING FOR THE BOYS TO COME HOME (3:13)   3.    LONG JOHN DEAN (2:45)   4.    MARCH WINDS (2:42)   5.    POISON IN A GLASS OF WINE (3:30)   6.    COONEY ON THE RAIL (1:49)   7.    JOHN HENRY (4:35)   8.    BUDDED ON EARTH (3:54)   9.    THERE AIN'T NO FLIES ON AUNTIE (2:52) 10.    WHEN THE MOON DRIPS AWAY INTO BLOOD (3:13) 11.    DARLING, I AM STILL IN LOVE WITH YOU (3:43) 12.    THE HANDSOME GIRLS (1:55) 13.    ME AND MY TAPEWORM (4:23) 14.    CATCH MY HORSE (1:24) 15.    DID YOU EVER SEE THE DEVIL, UNCLE JOE? (2:24) 16.    I'LL RISE WHEN THE ROOSTER CROWS (3:36) 17.    JUST GIVE ME THE LEAVIN'S (4:09) 18.    THE WHITE SLAVE (3:08) 19.    MY BONES GONNA RISE AGAIN (2:25) 20.    SWEET WILLIE (3:16) 21.    GANGSTER YODEL (2:46) 22.    I GOT A BULLDOG (2:56) 23.    GEORGIA MAN (2:28)

GOING NOWHERE FAST UNCLE WILLIE & THE BRANDY SNIFTERS Lak-O-Tone CD minus 001   1.   WALK RIGHT IN BELMONT (2:48)   2.   THE VILLAGE SCHOOL (2:32)   3.   I KNOW MY NAME IS THERE (2:32)   4.   TANNER'S RAG (1:46)   5.   HERE'S A PINT OF APPLE BRANDY (2:52)   6.   BEEN TO THE EAST, BEEN TO THE WEST (2:36)   7.   SEVEN LONG YEARS IN PRISON (3:14)   8.   THE WHIP-POOR-WILL'S SONG (2:40)   9.   GEORGIA HOBO (2:56) 10.    THEY SLEEP TOGETHER NOW AT REST (3:02) 11.    ARKANSAS PULLET (2:32) 12.    IT WILL NOT BE LONG 'TIL MY GRAVE IS MADE (3:02) 13.    TELL IT TO ME (2:35) 14.    GAY SPANISH MAID ** (3:20) 15.    GEORGIA BUCK ** (2:32) 16.    RATTLER TREED A POSSUM (2:57) 17.    MARRIED LIFE BLUES (2:49) 18.    THE OLD MILLER'S WILL (3:20) 19.    JOHN LOVER IS GONE (1:26) 20.    BEER DRINKING BLUES (3:17) 21.    DANIEL IN THE DEN OF LIONS (2:57) 22.    I'LL SAIL THE WIDE WORLD O'ER (1:46) 23.    THEM ROLLING MILLS ARE BURNING DOWN (3:37) 24.    CLAUDE ALLEN ** (3:56) 25.    CRUEL WILLIE ** (1:48) 26.    GEORGIA BLACK BOTTOM (2:26) (** = These were not on the original cassette)

ABOUT LAK-O-TONE RECORDS:

These CDs are manufactured using the New ElectroBeam Recording Method, which emulates the fidelity of the original Gennett New ElectroBeam Recordings. Lak-O-Tone is strongly committed to providing equal access for the musically challenged.

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