An early Valentine for Stan fans

[gerisullivan]

The Stan in question is Canadian folksinger Stan Rogers. A few weeks ago, I stumbled across and ordered One Warm Line: The Legacy of Stan Rogers. Friday night, I watched the 1989 CBC documentary for the first time. It won't be the last. The bonus tracks include footage of Stan & his band performing two live songs: Archie Fisher's "Witch of the

Comments

[n6tqs]

Garnet Rogers is performing in Portsmouth RI on 7 Mar.

Sweet!

[lsanderson]

Nice!

[malkingrey]

I count myself lucky to have heard Stan Rogers live twice while I was a grad student in Philadelphia, lo-these-many-years-ago. (Amusing fact: our local dentist was in dental school at Temple University during those same years, and he and his later-wife were at a lot of the same folk concerts Himself and I and the rest of the Philly-area SCA used to go to -- we never crossed paths at the time, but all four of us ended up here in the same exceedingly small town in the frozen North.)

To this day, I know that cabin fever season is setting in hard when my brain radio starts playing "Canol Road" on repeat.

[n6tqs]

A Stan Rogers story few of you know, I suspect. In February 1983 the ship MARINE ELECTRIC sank off the coast of Virginia with 34 crew on board. She was a T2 tanker converted to a bulker, and was in pretty sad shape. Only 3 of the crew survived- Bob Cusick ascribed his survival in part to "Mary Ellen Carter" in his head keeping his spirits up. Cusick, Coast Guard Captain Dominic Calicchio, and Robert Frump from the Philadelphia Inquirer succeeded in causing the VERY lax inspection program that had cleared the ship to be tightened, and the Coast Guard started their rescue swimmer program and required survival suits on board. Cusick was scheduled to meet Rogers, but Rogers death intervened. Frump wrote a "Until the Sea Shall Free Them" about it- the subtitles are song lyrics, too, IIRC.

I have personally benefited from their work.

[gerisullivan]

The documentary includes Bob Cusick telling the story about the sinking and the song, but not the additional 4-part harmony about the inspection program or the rescue swimmer program and survival suits. :-) (Bob's clip is at the beginning of the "Mary Ellen Carter" video at the link.)

I thought of you a lot while watching One Warm Line, no more so than when Bob spoke. (Because reasons.)

[n6tqs]

It all comes round- hearing Cusick speak was very touching. I'd not realized they were headed for here.
And many other sailors benefited from their work, started by Cusick, inspired by Rogers.

[thinkum]

More Stan Rogers? Must own! Must own! *prepares to scurry off in quest of the DVD and album*

Hope you'll have a lovely time at Boskone -- we'll be thinking of you. :-)