"El-A-Noy" from the Old Town School Songbook, Vol 4

Old Town School Co-Founder Win Stracke leads off the Old Town School of Folk Music Songbook, Volume Four with his rendition of "El-A-Noy", backed by current Old Town School instructor Mark Dvorak on guitar and vocalss. Win's vocal & original backing track date from 1968 (Win passed away in 1991), and Mark's contributions were added in August 2007. We don't quite span the entire 50-year history of the school with this one track, but we came real close.

This song is available on The Old Town School of Folk Music Songbook, Volume 4, which will be released on November 20th! All Old Town School Recordings are available at your favorite record store, the Different Strummer, directly from Bloodshot Records, and in the iTunes store, eMusic, Amazon.com and many other online retailers. New video and edit by Bob Medich.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Old
• Town
• School
• of
• Folk
• Music
• Songbook
• Win
• Stracke
• Mark
• Dvorak
• Illinois
• CD
• Bloodshot
• iTunes

[momsham]

Hi Mark, Looking forward to the concert tomorrow! Love this song. I saw Win in concert when I was about 6 or 7. Between him and The Weavers 45s my mom used to play it's no wonder folk music is my favorite!

[fordebrian1]

hell yeah. A productive use of technology!!!!

[johnsterx]

Hey, does anyone know what he means when he sings "Shes's crawfish in the swampy-land, the milk-sick and the shakes"?

Usually I only hear of crawfish in the context of enjoying it in New Orleans cuisine, but here it seems like a bad thing ("but these are slight diversions which take not from the joy"), and whats the milk-sick and the shakes?

[CriticalListener]

I've always loved this song as sung by Win. It always made me proud to have grown up here. I grew up listening to him on TV, heard his radio jingle for Maurice Lennell cookies (which bakery closed last year, alas), and listened to this song & others sung by him on the Midnight Special. God rest you, Win--you live on in our hearts.

[warhater]

Mark Dvorak's new CD is fantastic as he's been involved singing, performing, writing folk music songs his entire life. Surely, he's a human history icon keeping the great songs alive.

Recently, he toured the country with Weavermania, an exuberant performance celebration of "The Weavers". The Weavers were a popular 50's, protest song group with Pete Seeger & others, who were wrongly blacklisted from showbiz by the false paranoia of McCarthyism. Today, we feel a similar false paranoia in the USA.

[marsh820]

Two generations of the essence of the Old Town School. Two of the best - Win and Mark! Fantastic!

[sensei48]

Win Stracke on YT! Uncle Win! - Most anyone of a certain age who grew up in Chicago likely watched his daily TV show after school in the 50s - with Burl Ives on the radio, our first intro to folk music. Win had an earlier (than 1968) version of this song a capella - best version still that I've ever heard. Good job on this one, though.

[tessiree]

I love duets with Win Stracke and Jim Post. The contrast between their voices is amazing.

I believe I once heard Win & Jim sing 'Lord of the Dance' on WFMT's Midnight Special.

If not...wouldn't it have been grand?

[GoodOldGar]

Win Stracke and Mark Dvorak, how appropriate! I always request this song when I see Mark perform.

[swimminkutie620]

GO Mark!!!!!!