Musician Jerron Paxton is known for performing music from the 1920s and '30s. He just came out with an album of his own songs, called Things Done Changed. Paxton brought some of his instruments to his conversation with Sam Briger. Also, Terry Gross talks with author Michael Owen about Ira Gershwin, the lyricist behind many of the most enduring songs in The Great American Songbook. TV critic David Bianculli reviews the documentary Beatles '64.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Chapter 1: Who is Jerron Paxton and what is his new album about?
From WHYY in Philadelphia, I'm Sam Brigger with Fresh Air Weekend. Today, folk musician Jerron Paxton brings some instruments to play for our conversation. He plays guitar, banjo, and harmonica. Paxton is known for performing music from the 1920s, but he just came out with an album of his own songs called Things Done Changed.
Most of these songs, if not all these songs, came from a little bit of inspiration and also at least a little bit of pushing the pencil along the page, I think, as Irving Berlin said.
Also, Terry talks with author Michael Owen about Ira Gershwin, the lyricist behind many of the most enduring songs in the Great American Popular Songbook. Songs like Fascinating Rhythm, I Got Rhythm, Swonderful, Embraceable You, Let's Call the Whole Thing Off, and They Can't Take That Away from Me. He has a new book about Gershwin.
And TV critic David Bianculli reviews a new Beatles documentary on Disney+. That's coming up on Fresh Air Weekend. This is Fresh Air Weekend. I'm Sam Brigger. Prior to his new album, Jerron Paxton has been entertaining audiences with his take on music that's mostly 100 years old or older. Some of the music dates back to the Civil War.
He plays folk music, blues, hot jazz, ragtime, and fiddle and banjo tunes, among others. He's released several albums, but this new album, Things Done Changed, is his first where all the tracks were written by him.
Songs that are deeply rooted to music of the 20s and 30s and older, but reflects Paxton's contemporary feelings and observations about things like love, lost and found, gentrification, and finding yourself far from home. Paxton was generous enough to bring some of the instruments he plays to the studio today. If he had brought all the instruments he plays, he would have had to rent a van.
Guitar, fiddle, piano, harmonica, banjo, and the bones is not even a complete list. Paxton, who is 35, grew up in Los Angeles near Watts and has called himself a throwback in a family of throwbacks. He now lives in New York. Let's hear the title track from the new album. This is Things Done Changed.
And it's sad, baby, and it hurt me to my heart. Together so long, now we got to get apart. Some things have changed between you and me. Seems just like time can't be like they used to be. Have it done, fizzle out, don't think of change between you and me. It seems like time can't be like they used to.
And faces sure could always be found And I seem like your smile don't want me around Seems like things have changed Between you and me Seems just like time can be Like they used to be
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Chapter 2: What inspired Jerron Paxton to write his own songs?
And I heard when you were getting ready that this is quite an old guitar, huh?
Oh, yeah, this is the cheapest guitar that Gibson made. It cost $4.95 when it was for sale, a little Kalamazoo.
And when you say $4.95, I think you mean $4.95. $4.95, half a week's wages. So how old is this guitar then?
Is it about 100 years old? I think it's from 28, 29.
So not yet a century yet. So you said that when you're playing a guitar solo, you want it to sound like a bunch of instruments kind of playing together. Could you show us what that's like on the guitar?
All right, all right. I got you there. I got you there. All right. Well, when you want that nice full sound out of the guitar, you've got to have a nice little rhythm behind you, and that could be just about anything. Let's try this one. That's the rhythm of the song. So now you have this nice accompaniment.
back up anything you want and then you've got your voice which you can lay on top of it which i ain't doing nothing now but talking but you also got some fingers that you can play with too and give the guitar a nice little voice
That's Jerron Paxton with his guitar joining us today. He's a new album of all original compositions called Things Done Changed. Jerron, you grew up in South Los Angeles near Watts. What was your home like?
It was a lovely place, I'd say. We didn't have too much money, but I was surrounded by the one thing you couldn't get enough of, which was love. And had a big multi-generational family. I was in the house with my mother and my grandmother. And for the first few years, it was my grandpa, my uncle, my aunt. So it was with me, it was six of us in there.
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