Chesapeake Born

Maryland-based songwriter and educator Tom Wisner’s (1930–2010) first album for Folkways also marks the label’s first documentation of the culture of the Chesapeake Bay. According to Wisner’s liner notes, “[t]he songs on this recording were given to me while I was becoming more aware of myself and my relationship to the Chesapeake Bay and her people.” With songs and singing by both Tom and his son Mark Wisner, the album features vocal contributions by Theresa Whitaker, guitars by Marty Dutcher, and Bill Caldwell on guitar and banjo. Three songs are a cappella. The handwritten liner notes include lyrics and dedications for each song, biographies of the musicians, and four drawings by Wisner.

Track Listing

101	Native Land	Tom Wisner, Mark Wisner	03:30
102	Made of Water	Tom Wisner, Mark Wisner	01:31
103	Winter Mornin' Sea	Tom Wisner, Mark Wisner	02:52
104	Wild River	Tom Wisner, Mark Wisner	04:11
105	Lazy Floating Feather	Tom Wisner, Mark Wisner	01:41
106	Susquehanna Down	Tom Wisner, Mark Wisner	04:32
201	Clear Water Remembered	Tom Wisner, Mark Wisner	02:48
202	Blowed and Torn	Tom Wisner, Mark Wisner	02:17
203	Spring Lightnin' Thunder	Tom Wisner, Mark Wisner	03:06
204	Southern Maryland River	Tom Wisner, Mark Wisner	04:00
205	Dredgin' is My Drudgery	Tom Wisner, Mark Wisner	02:31
206	Chesapeake Born	Tom Wisner, Mark Wisner	04:22