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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 12, 2008
Charlie Haden Family and Friends - The work of a lifetime
Charlie Haden Family and Friends' 'Rambling Boy' is literally the work of a lifetime. Before taking up the bass and playing on some of the 20th Century's most seminal works, Charlie Haden was a child singer, performing with his siblings and parents as part of the Haden Family.
Led by his parents, Carl and Virginia, and including his siblings Carl Jr., Mary, and Jim, the Haden Family crisscrossed America, playing the day's standards, as well as originals like "Moberly Mine Disaster" and "Ozark Moon." Eventually, the group ended up in Shenandoah, Iowa - and not entirely on purpose.
"They were on their way to Des Moines when a snowstorm came up," Charlie recalls. "They stopped at a motel in Shenandoah, where my dad called the local radio station and asked if they could come in and audition. They got the job and ended up staying there." It was right there, in Shenandoah, where Charlie Haden was born in 1937.
Charlie made his debut on the family's radio show at just two years old. The "little two-year-old yodelin' cowboy," as his father introduces him, can be heard singing and yodeling on the album's penultimate track, "Old Haden Family Show." This segues into a poignant rendition of a mature Charlie singing "Oh, Shenandoah," which closes the album.
The family eventually moved the show to Springfield, Missouri's KWTO, where Charlie continued as a vocalist until the age of 15, when he contracted bulbar polio. His vocal chords severely weakened so Charlie took up the bass. One night, he heard Charlie Parker playing as part of a "Jazz at the Philharmonic" concert in Omaha, and it changed his life forever.
Despite half a century playing music that was wildly divergent from the Haden Family, Charlie has always maintained a deep love of American roots music. Now, he's returned to his origins, and recruited his wife, Ruth, son Josh, and daughters Rachel, Petra, and Tanya - all of whom are established musicians in their own right - as well as his son-in-law, Jack Black, and some notable friends to celebrate this collection of deep American music with him.
Featured artists include his longtime collaborator Pat Metheny, and Elvis Costello, Rosanne Cash, Vince Gill, Bruce Hornsby, Ricky Skaggs, and Dan Tyminski.
