Oh Shenandoah, I Love Your Daughter

I knew I had probably heard too many versions of too many songs when I turned on one of seemingly countless children's versions of "Shenandoah," heard some poor 8 or 9 year old boy overdo the articulation to his earnest declaration of love for Shenandoah's little girl, and knew that my only possible reaction was to laugh. And then to cry, when I realized that that same children's recording was being sold on at least half a dozen children's albums, under different titles and presenters (a common tactic among children's records, wherein the actual performers aren't named). A Veggie Tales recording of the song goes further, having one of the characters say, "oh, boy, this is ridiculous."

"Shenandoah" has become one of the enduring musical symbols of Americana. It is the closing track for countless albums, and a showcase both for instrumentalists and vocalists. It's relatively simple, yet rugged and beautiful imagery, has resonated with both audiences and performers. The song is nearly 2 centuries old, perhaps older. But its rise as all-purpose Americana is relatively recent. Among the more than 335 recordings of "Shenandoah" documented in this site, only three -- by Dame Clara Butt in 1925, by Paul Robeson and Captain Richard Maitland in the late 1930s -- predate 1950. When Pete Seeger first recorded it in the late 1950s, it was still thought of, primarily, as a sea shanty. Maitland's field recording with Alan Lomax reveals the perception of the song in the early part of the century; after explaining his perceptions of the song's origins as being from logging men, Lomax asked asked what kind of work Maitland did when singing the song. Maitland replied, "We generally sang it in the pub!"

Perhaps the perception changed somewhat when Michael Landon sang it in a western setting for a 1962 Bonanza album. Or perhaps the perception changed two years later when Judy Garland went on her short-lived television show and put a stunning vocal to it.

Over the past 3 decades, more there have been more than 265 recordings of "Shenandoah" -- easily the most of any song on "The Seeger Sessions." There have been more than 100 instrumental recordings of "Shenandoah," with a nearly endless array of instruments used: harmonica, electric guitar, harp, pedal-steel guitar, pipe, flute, cello, piano, violin, hammered dulcimer, hindustani slide guitar, taba, banjo, saxophone, harp guitar, theater organ, synthaxe, and bagpipes are just some of the featured instruments that have been used in recordings of the song. There have also been more than 30 a capella recordings of "Shenandoah" noted for this site. The vast majority of instrumental and a capella recordings have occurred since 1990. "Shenandoah" has been recorded in several settings by both the Boston Pops and Cincinnati Pops Orchestras, has been included in various formats for several Ken Burns TV specials, and was recorded for numerous post 9/11 healing albums.

There are far too many notable performances of "Shenandoah" to list out -- even without the poor unnamed child's hopeless declaration of love for Shenandoah's daughter. Some of the notable artists who have recorded the song include Oscar Brand, The Weavers, Harry Belafonte, The Kingston Trio, Lawrence Welk with Dick Dale, Odetta, Duane Eddy, The Statler Brothers, James Galway, Tingstad & Rumbel, Bob Dylan, The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Arlo Guthrie, Jerry Garcia & David Grisman, The Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles, Daniel Lanois with Emmylous Harris, The Chieftans with Van Morrison, Jane Siberry, Dave Alvin, Richard Thompson, Roger McGuinn, and Marilyn Horne.

Full length audio of Captain Richard Maitland, Odetta, Paul Robeson, Roger McGuinn and Pete Seeger, as well as full length video of The Statler Brothers, is available from the audio page of this site.