Contents
* 1 Early life
* 2 Vermont
* 3 Portland
* 4 Bicentennial tour
* 5 Nevada
* 6 Later years
* 7 Partial discography
* 8 Notes and references
* 9 External links
Early life
Born in Wilmington, Delaware, to highly religious parents, Harry and Edna Frederick, Jeffrey spent most of his early years in rural Vermont. He went so far as to become an Eagle Scout, but quit the Scouts at age 14 to start his first band, the Renegades.
Vermont
In the late 1960s Jeffrey, Jill Gross, Morgan Huber, John Raskin, and Robert Nickson (Froggy) established the original Clamtones band in Vermont. In the early 1970s, Jeffrey made some changes and started Automatic Slim & the Fat Boys (celebrated in Michael Hurley's song by the same name on his first Rounder Records album, Snockgrass). In addition to Jeffrey, the band consisted of his close friend, Michael Hurley (vocals, guitar, banjo), Doug Southworth (piano, guitar), and Melting Snow (Tom Hayes) (guitar).
Jeffrey developed many of his best-known songs during this period, such as "What Made My Hamburger Disappear" (which was borrowed by the TV program, Sesame Street, even though it is actually written from the perspective of somebody having a heart attack), "Robbing Banks" (which Jeffrey claimed was written for his great-uncle, "Gentleman" Willie Sutton), "Stolen Guitar", and many others. His songs were almost invariably inspired by real people and events. For instance, during this period, in northern Vermont there was increasing tension between conservative rural and establishment Vermonters and the young "hipster" crowd. A corrupt undercover officer, Paul Lawrence, staged a fraudulent drug bust at a St. Albans tavern where Automatic Slim and The Fat Boys often played. As a consequence, the proprietor, Otto Kremer, lost the bar, was forced to plead guilty to a variety of narcotics crimes and leave the state within 72 hours (all charges were later overturned).[1] These events inspired Jeffrey's song, "Poor Otto". They also helped convince Jeffrey to leave the area in which he had grown up.
Portland
Jeffrey moved to Portland, Oregon, in 1975 at the urging of the Holy Modal Rounders' Robin Remaily. His singing partner, Jill Gross, joined him later that year and together they started the Clamtones on the West Coast. In an unusual arrangement, the band performed as the Clamtones when Jeffrey was the frontman and as the Holy Modal Rounders when Steve Weber was frontman. These "two bands in one" often shared the same stage, with the Clamtones typically playing the opening and closing sets, as documented in Jeffrey Frederick and the Clamtones, B.C. and Steve Weber and the Holy Modal Rounders, B.C. (Frederick Productions). In addition to Jeffrey and Jill, the band consisted of Dave Reisch (bass and vocals), Robin Remaily (guitar and mandolin), Teddy Deane (horns and woodwinds), Richard Tyler (piano), and R. "Willy" North (drums). They soon gained the reputation of "the greatest... f---ing bar band in America".[2]
Bicentennial tour
In 1976 the bands took off on a 9,000 mile Bicentennial tour of the perimeter of the United States. During this tour, Jeffrey was arrested in Texas for performing in a dress, and the band was escorted out of Alabama by the state police, for singing the irreligious gospel tune, "Let Me Down" ("Take these nails right out of my hands/And I swear you will get to the promised land/All your sins are forgiven/now let me down..."). [3] During the tour, Jeffrey recorded Have Moicy! ("best album of the year," Village Voice, "the top folk album of the rock era," Rolling Stone Magazine) with Jill, Michael Hurley, Peter Stampfel, Paul Presti, Dave Reisch, Robin Remaily, Wax Iwaskiewicz and Robert Nickson. His contribution to this groundbreaking record is widely recognized. For example, rock critic Robert Christgau has described Jeffrey as "the secret hero of my beloved Have Moicy."
Jeffrey's only full-length solo studio album, Spiders in the Moonlight, was recorded in 1977 after the completion of the tour. Shortly thereafter, Jeffrey and Jill went back to Boston for a "short break", and Steve Weber and Robin Remaily went their own ways. Jeffrey came back to Portland alone and formed a new band, Les Clams. The lineup was Jeff, Dave Reisch, Roger North, Bruce Sweetman or Lex Browning (depending on who was around) and Michael Shade.
Nevada
Les Clams rocked the area until Jeffrey moved to the Comstock region of Nevada in 1983. There he gathered a group of northern Nevada musicians and formed the Jeffrey Frederick Band. The lineup consisted of Morgan Huber (bass, mandolin, piano, guitar), Willis Allen (keyboards); Sport Arnold (drums, vocals); Darius (clarinet, sax, guitar), Johnny Fingers (lead guitar), B. B. Morse (later of Willie Nelson's band) (bass, vocals), Tommy Ward lap steel guitar, and the Horn Brothers, Dolph and Rookie Fischer (trumpet and trombone). The Jeffrey Frederick Band became wildly popular among the infamous saloons of Virginia City, the clubs of Reno and Lake Tahoe, and the bars of Dayton, Yerington and Fallon, Nevada.
Later years
On New Years Eve, 1983, Jeffrey married Kathryn Noel Bennett and informally adopted her children. Shortly after, Jeffrey and Kathryn acquired the infamous Dayton, Nevada saloon, The End Of The Trail. Owning the bar allowed Jeffrey to perform regularly while maintaining a stable family life. The Fredericks eventually wearied of running a bar and Jeffrey returned to playing gigs, shuttling between Nevada and Portland. He was recording a new album with his Nevada band when he received a nearly fatal head injury in 1986. After a prolonged recuperation, he returned to writing and playing music as well as working a variety of jobs to help support his new family.
In 1996, the Fredericks moved back to Portland, Oregon. Jeffrey reformed the Clams and began working with old colleagues and new musicians such as Turtle Vandemarr (Freak Mountain Ramblers,Christmas Jug Band, previously with Dan Hicks), Kevin "Bingo" Richey (Bingo Dream Band), and Jim Boyer (Freak Mountain Ramblers). Highly charismatic and an inveterate prankster, Jeffrey once again achieved near-legendary status both within and without the musical community. When he succumbed to liver failure (related to treatment for his head injury) in March 1997, Jeffrey's memorial service was attended by hundreds of mourners, including Portland's mayor, Bud Clarke, and the local PBS television station, WOPB, played videotapes of his performances continuously all day. He was survived by his wife, Kathryn, her children Robyn and Paul Bennett, his son, Jake Ray, his sister, Eileen Gilander, and his parents. Jeffrey's surviving band members, protegés and admirers are currently recording a series of tribute albums highlighting his songwriting, the first of which was released by Frederick Productions in Fall, 2008.
"To Jeffrey it wasn't a successful show unless he 'made 'em dance' and he always had us dancing." Kathryn Frederick.
Partial discography
* Have Moicy! (1976), Rounder Records
* Spiders In The Moonlight (1977), Rounder Records. Out of print, but a remastered and expanded version has been issued on CD as Resurrection of Spiders In The Moonlight (2007), Frederick Productions.
* I Make A Wish For A Potato (as "Holy Modal Rounders and Friends") (2003), Rounder Records
* Jeffrey Frederick Band, Live At The Icehouse (2003), Frederick Productions
* Oooh La La… Les Clams (2004), Frederick Productions
* Jeffrey Frederick, Clamtones B.C (2005), Frederick Productions
* St. Jeffrey's Day: The Songs of Jeffrey Frederick, Volume I (2008), Frederick Productions
Notes and references
1. Davis, Hamilton E. (1978). Mocking Justice: America's Biggest Drug Scandal. New York: Crown Publishers, Inc.
2. Gallagher, Jack. Clinton Street Quarterly, Vol. 3 No. 2, Summer 1981.
3. For stories of their road trip see Dave Reisch's "A Piece of Work" section of the Freak Mountain Rambler's web site, Freakmountain.com.
Official website
www.jeffreyfrederick.com
Tell Me Why
Jeffrey Frederick Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A song of love for every boy and girl
The sky is blue and fields are green
And laughter is the language of the world
Then I wake and all I see
Is a world full of people in need
Tell me why is there something I have missed
Tell me why (why) cos I don't understand
When so many need somebody
We don't give a helping hand
Tell me why
Everyday I ask myself
what will I have to do to be a man
Do I have to stand a fight
To prove to everybody who I am?
Is that what my life is for
To waste in a world full of war
Tell me why does it have to be like this
Tell me why is there something I have missed
Tell me why cos I don't understand
When so many need somebody
We don't give a helping hand
Tell me wa hay
Tell me wa hi
Tell me wa hay
Just tell me why
Tell me why does it have to be like this
Tell me why is there someyhing I have missed
Tell me why cos I don't understand
When so many need somebody
We don't give a helping hand
Tell me why
Tell me why
Tell me why
Can Someone tell us why we let the forest burn
Tell me why
Tell me why
Can someone tell us why we let ocean die
Tell me why
Tell me why
Can someone tell us why we cannot just be friends
In these lyrics, Jeffrey Frederick expresses his frustration with the state of our world. He starts off by describing a beautiful dream where he hears children singing a song of love and the world is a happy place. However, this dream is shattered when he wakes up to the reality of the world we live in, and all he sees is a world full of people in need. He questions why the world has to be like this, why we don't give a helping hand to those in need, and why we let forests burn and oceans die when we could all just be friends.
Furthermore, Frederick questions his own role in this situation, wondering what he needs to do to be a man and if he has to fight to prove himself. He feels as though his life is being wasted in a world full of war and destruction. He ends the song by repeating the phrase "tell me why", begging for answers to the problems the world is facing.
Overall, these lyrics convey a sense of helplessness and frustration with the way things are. Frederick is pleading for answers and for people to come together to make the world a better place.
Line by Line Meaning
In my dream, children sing
I imagine a world where the joyous voices of children fill the air
A song of love for every boy and girl
They sing songs that celebrate love for every person, regardless of gender
The sky is blue and fields are green
The natural world is vibrant and full of life, with a clear blue sky and lush green fields
And laughter is the language of the world
Laughter brings people together and is a universal form of communication
Then I wake and all I see
Unfortunately, when I wake up, reality sets in
Is a world full of people in need
Rather than the idyllic world of my dreams, the real world is full of people who are struggling and need help
Tell me why does it have to be like this
I'm searching for an explanation for why the world is so difficult and full of suffering
Tell me why is there something I have missed
I'm wondering if there's something important that I haven't yet understood or discovered
Tell me why (why) cos I don't understand
I'm struggling to make sense of the injustices and struggles that I see around me
When so many need somebody
There are so many people who are struggling and need help from others
We don't give a helping hand
Despite the fact that people are in need, many of us are unwilling to help or give support
Everyday I ask myself
Each day, I reflect on my life and the choices that I make
what will I have to do to be a man
I'm wondering what it means to be a mature, responsible adult
Do I have to stand a fight
I wonder if I have to be aggressive or confrontational in order to succeed
To prove to everybody who I am?
Perhaps I feel pressure to prove my worth or identity to others
Is that what my life is for
I'm questioning the purpose of my existence
To waste in a world full of war
It seems tragic to spend my life in a world that's characterized by conflict and violence
Tell me wa hay
I'm calling out for an answer to my questions
Tell me wa hi
I'm asking for insight and understanding from anyone who might be willing to offer it
Can Someone tell us why we let the forest burn
I'm looking for an explanation for why we allow natural resources to be destroyed and lost
Can someone tell us why we let ocean die
I'm searching for understanding around why we're not doing more to protect marine environments
Can someone tell us why we cannot just be friends
I'm questioning why there is so much animosity and conflict in the world, when it seems we could just choose to get along
Contributed by Evelyn A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Kris Aguilar
Ahh...those good ol' days at the Euphoria.