 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Music Program
During the months of March, April and May in 2009
there was a series of programs
held at the Stoughton Public Library.The source for this series
was Stephen Puleo's well researched book,Dark Tide: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919
(Beacon Press, Boston, 2004)
One of these programs was
presented by Roger Hall, whose topic was titled,"Runnin' Wild" - Molasses and Music Merriment
Mr. Hall's program used popular songs to trace the years of the Dark Tide book.
His program title from the popular song, "Running Wild," was played and was chosen for its words which could be used to describe the horrific disaster of 2.3 million gallons of molasses that exploded from a storage tank in Boston on January 15, 1919:
Runnin' wild, lost control,
Runnin' wild, feeling bold...Ending with these two lines:
Don't love nobody, it's not worth while
All alone, runnin' wild.
This program included other vintage recordings from that era, including rare recordings of Scott Joplin playing his popular "Maple Leaf Rag"; George Gershwin playing his first hit song, "Swanee" (1919) and the popular song from that era; "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles."
Mr. Hall is a respected music preservationist
and Director of the Center for American Music Preservation
He is the author of these reference guide books,A Guide to Film Music - Songs and Scores
Remembering Radio: Great Songwriters and Singers
See the list of music programs presented by Mr. Hall at this link:
For more about the Boston Molasses Flood of 1919,
see the article at Wikipedia
Related Links
Essential American Recordings Survey (1759-1959)
Popular Songs - Civil War to Cold War
© 2009 PineTree Productions. All Rights Reserved.