Burl Jam 2009: Last night at Hugh’s Room in downtown Toronto Canada, my ol’ pal Jaymz Bee organized Burl Jam 2009, which was a commemoration of the life of Burl Ives and his music. The date of June 15th was picked because ol’ Burl would have been 100 years old yesterday. Above is a video of the lovely and talented Alex Pangman doing “My Gal Sal” with the evening’s house band. Lotsa great performers hit the stage, but sadly no one asked me to bash through a rendition of Buckeye Jim on guitar. *sigh*
I actually met Burl Ives in person once. I was with Jaymz in Vancouver back in the early 90s, and he said “I have a standing invitation to visit Burl Ives (who lived in Washington state, just over the border) anytime, so let’s do it!” And so Jaymz, Kevin Hearn and I hopped in the truck the next day and went over the border for a wee visit. We ate cookies with Burl and his wife Dorothy, sat in Burl’s study and watched a bit of an old Jimmy Stewart film on the TV, listened to a few risque jokes told by Burl himself, and Kevin even played The Moon Is The Northwind’s Cookie on the piano in the living room. A lovely day in the USA, wouldn’t ya say?
2 years ago • Notes