.So when I listened to “St. Vincent De Paul.” the first track on Ed Romanoff‘s self-titled debut album for the second time on my four mile run tonight, it reminded me of Mary Gauthier‘s album The Foundling. Wait you listened to the song twice! I thought this album must be very short! But, no the run was really long! The ten track album clocks in at about 40 minutes, at which point, I was still a little way from my finish and was struggling along at about 11 minute per mile pace
Now back to the music! There’s a reason that the song reminded me about Gauthier’s album. Well, that’s because it appeared on Mary Gauthier’s album The Foundling. Ed wrote the song after he accompanied Mary to the orphanage where Mary had been left on the day she was born! After the trip, they became good friends, subsequently, Ed at Mary’s request joined her on the road as a sideman, writing partner, and later in taking a DNA test. Mary wanted to learn more about her biological past, but Ed got the shock! In taking the test, Ed found the father he grew up with was not his biological father. “Sometimes you write a song and sometimes it writes you back,” he says.
About Ed Romanoff
Now this a great collection of well-crafted songs about life, the good and the bad. It’s not really a pick me up album. However, I think, the album was a good pick for today’s run. What did I say the other night? ” misery loves company” Well, I needed the company tonight because my left leg was giving me misery! But because I was going so slow, I was able to focus on the music rather than the pain in my leg and there was alot to pay attention to:
There’s a song about unrequited love “Breakfast for one on the 5th of July” , one about the disappearance of a man on a winter’s day “Lady Luck”, and the random shooting of a man and woman necking in a car, “Yellow Rose”. He made it, she didn’t. See not much to put you in a good mood there, is there.
“I Must Have Done Something Right” is the one somewhat humorous song on the album. In the song a guy recalls all the terrible things he’s done to his best friend. However, somehow the friend remains loyal through it all. All included: that night I slept with your sister/You know I meant to keep that a secret”
The album has been on all the charts. It’s currently No 12 on the Euro-Americana Chart and No 22 on the FAR Chart. In addition, Ed was the 1st place winner in the lyrics category of the 2011 USA Songwriting Competition. “Breakfast for One on the 5th of July” was the winning song.
Crit Harmon produced the album. Harmon has worked with: Martin Sexton, Lori McKenna, and Mary Gauthier. Josh Ritter, Tift Merritt, Meg Hutchinson, and Mary Gauthier provide harmony vocals on the album!
So once again the run was tough, really the pits, but the music was great! Here’s a performance of the award winning “Breakfast for One on the 5th of July”
Tom Russell’s release Folk Hotel has been in my music rotation for a week or so now, and I like the album more and more each time I listen to it. There are few songwriters whose songs send me to Wikipedia to look up references the way Tom’s does. In fact, I was sent scurrying on the first track: “Up in the Old Hotel.”
The first reference I chased was Joseph Mitchell, whose ghost wanders the halls of Tom’s Folk Hotel. Here’s what I found:
Joseph Mitchell and Up in the Old Hotel
(July 27, 1908 – May 24, 1996) was an American writer best known for his work in The New Yorker. He wrote careful portraits of eccentrics and people on the fringes of society, especially in and around New York City. His book Up in the Old Hotel collects the best of his writing for The New Yorker. Mitchell’s last book was Joe Gould’s Secret (1964). From 1964 until his death in 1996, Mitchell went to work at his office daily, but never published anything significant again. Read More
Dylan Thomas and the Hotel Chelsea
The second reference in the song points to the death of poet Dylan Thomas and his infamous final days:
On 3 November 1953, Thomas spent the day drinking in New York. He returned to the Hotel Chelsea declaring, “I’ve had 18 straight whiskies. I think that’s the record!” Later that week, he fell gravely ill and was admitted to St. Vincent’s Hospital, where he died on 9 November 1953 of acute alcohol-related complications. Read More
One Song, Countless Stories
I love that about Tom Russell’s songs. One verse can send me looking up a writer I’d never heard of, while the next leads me to a poet, a painter, or some forgotten corner of American history. His songs aren’t just stories—they’re invitations to keep exploring.
I’ll have more to say about Folk Hotel in another post, but for now I’ll leave you with Tom performing “Up in the Old Hotel.”
More Tom Russell Stories
If you’d like to read more about one of my favorite songwriters, continue with:
Folk Monday: Old Friend Slaid Cleaves and Tom Russell – How Mesabi first entered my music rotation and led to plans for a special concert.
Tom Russell Live at Jammin’ Java – My memories of seeing Tom and Thad Beckman perform many of these songs live in an intimate setting.
