Musical Countdown to Christmas: I Wonder and I Wander by John Jacob Niles

 

Welcome to Day 10 of my musical countdown to Christmas. Remember to enter a comment for your chance to receive my gift of the day.

Who was John Jacob Niles?

Born in Louisville, Kentucky in 1892
Learned music theory from his mother and began writing music as a teenager
Served in the first world war
Studied music in France after the war
Sang opera and then toured the United States with Marion Kirby
A historian, song-writer, and recording artist
Traveled across the Appalachian Mountains to find folk music
Felt it was his duty to collect, preserve, and revive American musical folklore
Created dulcimers
Farmer
Wrote several books on music
Called the “Dean of American Balladeers”
A Contemporary of Joan Baez, Burl Ives, and Peter, Paul and Mary
There is a John Jacob Niles Center for American Music at the University of Kentucky which displays a number of instruments he crafted

The Story behind I Wonder as I Wander

On July 16, 1933 John Jacob Niles heard a little girl (Annie Morgan) singing a song he’d never heard before. She was dirty and wearing tattered clothes, but sang the song beautifully. The tune caught his attention because of the haunting melody.
She told him it had been passed on to her by her mother who heard it from her mother, etc.
Annie Morgan repeated the song seven times for Niles in exchange for a quarter
John Jacob Niles took the fragment of song he collected and used it to compose I Wonder as I Wander, consisting of a melody of four lines with three different stanzas
He completed the song on October 4, 1933 and first performed it on December 19, 1933
Listen to the recording below of I Wonder as I Wander as recorded by John Jacob Niles

Historical Context – What happened in 1933?

It was the worst year of the Great Depression
One in four people was unemployed
Adolf Hitler opened the first concentration camp at Dachau
A loaf of bread cost 7 cents; The average labourer earned $20/week
The Prohibition was repealed
Strong winds formed dust bowls in the Midwest
The vaccine for diphtheria was introduced in the United States

Looking for more details?

http://www.john-jacob-niles.com/
http://theartisticchristian.wordpress.com/2014/12/04/i-wonder-as-i-wander-a-hauntingly-beautiful-reminder-of-christmas/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Jacob_Niles
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Wonder_as_I_Wander
http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/1933.html

My Gift for today:

Enter a comment below for an opportunity to receive the 1,000 piece puzzle.