During the present era, as the Iraq war grinds on, Americans are trying belly-button gazing, trying to remember a history where America regarded itself as world citizen, and came to the aid of many nations in trouble and nearing despair.
It is true that this is part of our national heritage and America as a whole is, or at least used to be, known the globe over for the generosity of its people.
Like any story, there are multiple narrative threads at work in defining such a history, and at least one has been all but forgotten and virtually erased by numerous politicos since the 1980s.
Ry Cooder's My Name Is Buddy offers a view of an America in deep trouble with itself during the Great Depression when it either couldn't -- or wouldn't? -- feed its own people.
Cooder's narrative is told in his own versions of folk tales through the voices of Buddy Red Cat, Lefty Mouse, and the Reverend Tom Toad.
They are set during the Dust Bowl era of the '30s when many people were economically forced to relocate or become ramblers and hoboes, roaming listlessly over the continental terrain.
The truth behind these stories is an official part of American history, yet they were all but absent in "popular culture" during the last two decades with few exceptions.
Music has recently -- in the mid-'90s tribute to Woody Guthrie, and in the music of Bruce Springsteen, Michael Franti, Mike Ness, and Bob Dylan -- addressed this period and on occasion gotten into the charts.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Suitcase in My HandRy Cooder | Ry Cooder | Play | 02:54 | 6 MB | 0 MB |
| 2 | Cat and MouseRy Cooder | Ry Cooder | Play | 05:02 | 11 MB | 0 MB |
| 3 | Strike!Ry Cooder | Ry Cooder | Play | 05:07 | 11 MB | 0 MB |
| 4 | J. EdgarRy Cooder | Ry Cooder | Play | 02:37 | 6 MB | 0 MB |
| 5 | Footprints in the SnowRy Cooder, Traditional | Ry Cooder | Play | 03:07 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 6 | Sundown TownJoachim Cooder, Ry Cooder | Ry Cooder | Play | 02:57 | 6 MB | 0 MB |
| 7 | Green DogRy Cooder | Ry Cooder | Play | 07:33 | 17 MB | 0 MB |
| 8 | The Dying Truck DriverRy Cooder | Ry Cooder | Play | 04:56 | 11 MB | 0 MB |
| 9 | Christmas in SouthgateRy Cooder | Ry Cooder | Play | 03:27 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 10 | Hank WilliamsRy Cooder | Ry Cooder | Play | 04:09 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 11 | Three Chords and the TruthRy Cooder | Ry Cooder | Play | 05:02 | 11 MB | 0 MB |
| 12 | My Name Is BuddyRy Cooder | Ry Cooder | Play | 03:12 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 13 | Cardboard AvenueRy Cooder | Ry Cooder | Play | 04:33 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 14 | Farm GirlRy Cooder | Ry Cooder | Play | 03:54 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 15 | There's a Bright Side SomewhereRy Cooder, Traditional | Ry Cooder | Play | 04:49 | 11 MB | 0 MB |
| 16 | Red Cat | Ry Cooder | Play | 03:08 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 17 | One Cat, One Vote, One BeerI | Ry Cooder | Play | 04:16 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 70 mins | 162 MB | |||||
| 0 mins | 0 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aisha Ayers | Production Assistant |
| 2 | Karina Benznicki | Production Supervisor |
| 3 | Buddy Red Cat | Guitar, Vocals |
| 4 | Rene Camacho | Bass |
| 5 | Julliette Cammagere | Main Personnel, Vocals |
| 6 | Eli Cane | Production Coordination |
| 7 | Cardboard Avenue Jaywalkers | Performer |
| 8 | René Comacho | Bass |
| 9 | Juliette Commagere | Vocals |
| 10 | Joachim Cooder | Composer, Drums, Keyboards, Main Personnel, Percussion |
| 11 | Ry Cooder | Audio Production, Bajo Sexto, Banjo, Bass, Bass Instrument, Composer, Guitar, Keyboards, Main Personnel, Mandola, Package Design, Primary Artist, Vocals |
| 12 | Mike Elizondo | Bass |
| 13 | Terry Evans | Main Personnel, Vocals |
| 14 | Jon Hassell | Main Personnel, Trumpet |
| 15 | Flaco Jiménez | Accordion, Main Personnel |
| 16 | Jim Keltner | Drums, Main Personnel |
| 17 | Bobby King | Main Personnel, Vocals |
| 18 | Bobby "Blanco" King | Vocals |
| 19 | Lefty Mouse | Fiddle |
| 20 | Sunny D. Levine | Engineer |
| 21 | Paddy Moloney | Main Personnel, Uillean Pipes, Whistle, Whistle (Human) |
| 22 | Van Dyke Parks | Main Personnel, Piano |
| 23 | Martin Pradler | Engineer, Mastering, Mixdown Engineer, Package Design |
| 24 | Mike Seeger | Banjo, Fiddle, Harmonica, Jaw Harp, Main Personnel |
| 25 | Pete Seeger | Banjo, Main Personnel |
| 26 | Don Smith | Engineer, Mixdown Engineer |
| 27 | Jacky Terrasson | Main Personnel, Piano |
| 28 | Susan Titelman | Photography |
| 29 | Reverend Tom Toad | Tambourine |
| 30 | Traditional | Composer |
| 31 | Robert Edridge Waks | Editorial Coordinator |
| 32 | Roland White | Mandolin, Vocals |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |