DAWSON GRAHAM DEBUTS ON SWING LOW SWEET CHARIOT

Not so long ago, Mick and Louise brought a friend (Dawson) along to The Shed. They reckoned  Dawson would fit The Shed vibe pretty well. They said that he liked music with a gospel tinge, or laced with a bluesy feel. Not only that, said they, Dawson can sing and play guitar at the same time!!

Sounded good to us.

So in came Dawson. He toted a Resonator and a clutch of original songs.

It quickly became apparent that Dawson has a powerful, soul filled voice, and can wring some very tasty sounds out of  his guitar. And, for that matter, his uke.

It is sort of normal (if anything in the Shed might be described as ‘normal’ ) that we ask newbies whether they have a song they feel very confident playing and or singing.

When we asked Dawson, he launched into a solo rendition of Swing Low Sweet Chariot.

It sounded pretty special, so we made a mental note to consider recording it as a solo effort.

And so it came to pass that as soon as Neil came back from swanning all over Europe we decided we’d ask Dawson to front the microphones and put down a version of Swing Low.

And THIS is what happened.

Swing Low Sweet Chariot is believed to have been written by Wallis Willis, a Choctaw freedman, around 1860. A Choctaw freedman is a freed slave who has joined the Choctaw tribe of native Americans.

The first known recording of Swing Low was made in 1909. It has since been covered by zillions of people, including Eric Clapton. No pressure there Dawson!  It was also performed by Joan Baez at the seminal Woodstock. Festival in 1969.  Perhaps strangest of all, Swing Low Sweet Chariot is the anthem of the English Rugby Union Team. Huh ??

Dawson is now, to our great pleasure, a regular Shedder so if you watch this space you will hear more of his playing and singing.

Welcome to the PBGB Family Dawson !

You can read more about Dawson’s musical history by clicking HERE