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Blackbird

Ed Sweeney and Cathy Clasper-Torch

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In 1968 the Civil Rights Movement had been growing over the past ten years. Different events kept revealing the worst behavior of people stood against Civil Rights, Racial Equality, and the Vietnam War. In 1968 both Read more

In 1968 the Civil Rights Movement had been growing over the past ten years. Different events kept revealing the worst behavior of people stood against Civil Rights, Racial Equality, and the Vietnam War. In 1968 both Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy had been assassinated.

Against this background The White Album by The Beatles was released. In 1968 everyone heard Blackbird for the first time. Paul McCartney wrote Blackbird to be an expression of hope to children trying to integrate schools in the southern United States. These children needed the protection of the National Guard and Military in order to go to school.

It is sad that the messages which helped bring about the writing of Blackbird are now being presented as “normal” by the current political powers.

In the past 55 years plus Blackbird is one of those songs that everyone knows. The opening guitar lick and words are embedded in our culture just like any folk song. Like any folk song Blackbird is being passed from generation to generation. Blackbird never made it on the pop charts (until the cast of Glee sang it). However, it has become truly iconic.

Cathy and I wanted to emphasize the melody in our instrumental version. We know everyone will naturally sing the words to Blackbird with their voices or in their heads and hearts.

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    Blackbird 2:32
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A Sunday Drive

“Overall, this is a refreshing, clever concept album at a time when other artists insist on serving up nothing but suit-approved singles. This unique tuneful trek through many miles of Americana is eclectic, exceptional, and a fine example of the pair's personal performing tastes and Sweeney's on-the-road experiences and assorted influences. So pick up Ed Sweeney's A Sunday Drive, featuring Cathy Clasper-Torch, and enjoy "A Little Traveling Music"” - Will Phoenix

— Steemit

A Sunday Drive

Ed Sweeney with Cathy Clasper-Torch

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CD + Digital Download Download

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A Sunday Drive was inspired by an image my friend, photographer Cindy Wilson, shared on social media. Cindy’s photo is of an old car sitting in front of a gas station. Everything, including the station, had been abandoned Read more

A Sunday Drive was inspired by an image my friend, photographer Cindy Wilson, shared on social media. Cindy’s photo is of an old car sitting in front of a gas station.

Everything, including the station, had been abandoned for years: the car, tire rims, license plates, gas pumps - one of the pumps had leaded gasoline at $0.32 cents a gallon.

I have driven over 500,000 miles performing over the years and have seen similar images time and time again. You find these markers of what life used to be when you are willing to travel off the main highway.

A Sunday Drive is an eclectic collection of markers. I, with the help of my friend Cathy Clasper-Torch, wanted to capture the variety of music heard over the car radio, heard at a farmer’s market, sung or played from a front porch as you drive around. A few of the songs and instrumental are markers of what used to be. A couple of songs and instrumentals are markers of what I have seen.

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  1. 1
    Auld Lang Syne 2:20
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  2. 2
    A Long Time Traveling 3:55
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  3. 3
    Right Foot Out 3:32
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  4. 4
    Bury Me Not On The Lone Prairie 3:48
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  5. 5
    While My Guitar Gently Weeps 3:49
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  6. 6
    Lament For The Death Of The Reverend Archie Beaton 3:21
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  7. 7
    Walking Boss 3:00
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  8. 8
    A Little Traveling Music 2:13
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  9. 9
    When I Get Home 2:35
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  10. 10
    A Childhood Medley 2:20
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    Distant Shore 3:55
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Passing Through

“Much like the man, the music Ed chooses to record is friendly and warm-hearted. ....Delicately crafted arrangements invite the listener to create their own storyline” - Mary Ann Rossini

— Motif Magazine

Passing Through

Ed Sweeney & Friends

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A instrumental collection of American folk songs, hymns, ragtime from the Revolutionary War to World War 1. Featuring six and twelve string guitar, 5 string banjo, fretless banjo, hammered dulcimer, Appalacian dulcimer, fiddle, piano, tin whistle and clarinet.

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    A Land of Rest 1:48
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    When I Get Home 1:50
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    Sandy River Bells 2:27
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    When Johnny Comes Marching Home 1:35
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  5. 5
    Talk About Suffering 3:00
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  6. 6
    When Jesus Wept 2:19
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  7. 7
    Calliope Rag 2:20
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  8. 8
    My Old Kentucky Home 2:51
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    The Glendy Burke 1:27
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    Cripple Creek/Old Joe Clark 1:41
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    Pretty Saro 0:11
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    Hyfrydol 3:09
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    A Mole in the Ground 1:11
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    The Eighth of January 1:00
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    Blue Bells 1:51
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    The St. Louis Tickle 2:07
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    West Fork Girls 0:50
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    Sweet Betsy from Pike 1:41
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    Grandfather's Clock 2:24
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    Liberty 1:50
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What Lies Ahead

“ An outgrowth of when Sweeney hooked up with members of the Silk Road Ensemble, this cross cultural mash up is serious but has none of the seriousness of too much world beat. But there's no disrespect in it's air either. Ya heard much Chinese Celtic lately? Equal parts ear opener and door opener, the armchair traveler has a treat here that hasn't been his way in some time. Well done. ” - Chris Spector

— Midwest Records

What Lies Ahead

Ed Sweeney & Yang Wei

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CD Download

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Our introduction to one another was short and to the point: “Yang Wei, this is Ed. He plays banjo. Ed, this is Yang Wei. He plays pipa. You two should talk.” It was 2006 in Chicago, and talk we did that night throughout Read more

Our introduction to one another was short and to the point: “Yang Wei, this is Ed. He plays banjo. Ed, this is Yang Wei. He plays pipa. You two should talk.” It was 2006 in Chicago, and talk we did that night throughout dinner and for hours the following day.
A few months later in Rhode Island, we picked up where we left off. This time, dinner was at my home, where we swapped stories and songs and discovered how much we enjoy each other’s music, musicianship and company.

The following spring we presented our first concert together. Inspired by that collaboration, we headed into the recording studio to capture a few ideas. Ensuring concerts and studio sessions expanded our initial concepts into this recording – a potpourri of traditional music from China, the United States, Russia, Ireland, traditional hymns and Gregorian chant.

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    Medley: K'ang Ting Love Song/Star of County Down 5:02
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    Medley: Veni Creator Spiritus/The Lourdes Hymn 2:49
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    Old Six Beats 2:16
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  4. 4
    Liu Yang River 3:05
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  5. 5
    Miss Hamilton 3:19
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  6. 6
    Send Me A Thornless Rose 3:49
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  7. 7
    Meadowlands 3:06
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  8. 8
    O Come O Come Emmanuel 2:39
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  9. 9
    Bang Chhun-hong (Longing For A Spring Breeze) 5:11
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    Simple Gifts 3:04
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  11. 11
    Talk About Suffering 4:11
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  12. 12
    Medley" Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring/Scotland the Brave/Sourwood Mountain 2:58
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  13. 13
    Please Stay with Me Friend from Far Away 3:14
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  14. 14
    Snowflake Reel 1:09
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  15. 15
    Home on the Range 2:49
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Scratching The Surface

“Ed Sweeney's wry articulate and evocative singing, his exquisite musicianship, and his eclectic collection of obscure songs do much more than merely scratch the surface and shouldn't be missed”

— the Binghamton (NY) Sun

Scratching The Surface

Ed Sweeney

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An eclectic group of songs and instrumentals. A mixture of humorous as well as serious, It was partially recorded at Ramblin' Conrad's in Norfolk Virginia during a springtime concert in 1986. Some songs are timeless and Read more

An eclectic group of songs and instrumentals. A mixture of humorous as well as serious, It was partially recorded at Ramblin' Conrad's in Norfolk Virginia during a springtime concert in 1986. Some songs are timeless and poignant as others like First Things First written by Dr. Alex Comfort (the author of the Joy of Sex who was an anti nuclear activist) may feel dated.

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    Dead Cat Blues 3:04
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    Blue Bells 1:49
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    Bourgeois Blues 2:39
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    Medley" Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring/Scotland the Brave/Sourwood Mountain 3:02
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  5. 5
    Beeping Sleuty 1:58
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    Simple Gifts/Johnson Boys 2:24
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  7. 7
    Younger Men/Older Women 2:18
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  8. 8
    The Hug Song 2:40
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  9. 9
    Banish Misfortune 2:39
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  10. 10
    First Things First 3:38
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  11. 11
    Acceptable Risks 4:31
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    The Star of County Down 1:43
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    Railroad Bill (and the cat) 3:10
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The Times, They Are Something Like They Used To Be

Inside Fezziwig's, The Spirit of Christmas Past

It's Christmas Time In The City

Commonplaces