[Announcer] Idaho Experience is made possible with funding from the James and Barbara Cimino Foundation, devoted to preserving the spirit of Idaho, from Anne Voillequé and Louise Nelson, from Judy and Steve Meyer, the Friends of Idaho Public Television, the Idaho Public Television Endowment and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

[Announcer] Up next, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons sing “Idaho.” [Singing] Idaho.

[Narrator] The state of Idaho has figured prominently in the musical landscape of our popular culture.

Whether it’s the B-52s proclaiming, [B-52s] You’re living in your own private Idaho.

You’re living in your own private Idaho.

[Narrator] Or Ronee Blakely’s passionate performance in the film “Nashville.” [Ronee Singing] And now that I’m older and I’m out on my own, I still love my mom and daddy best in my Idaho home.

For mom and daddy.

[Narrator] When Roger Miller visited Idaho in the 1960’s he was inspired to write the classic lyrics to King of the Road.

[Roger Miller Singing] Trailers for sale or rent, rooms to let fifty cents.

[Narrator] In this episode of Idaho Experience, we tune the dial in search of future classics that could someday populate our airwaves.

[Erin Hall Singing] If I sing you a lullaby, can I sing you to sleep?

[Group Talking] Cool waters on the rocks below.

Cool waters on the rocks, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Right there.

[Steve Fulton] I love all those pieces and parts of the process.

But my real passion is is creating that piece of music and then sharing that.

That's the thing that I get the most joy out of.

[Music] [Curtis Stigers] Songs always expand on stage.

The version that you hear when we play it live, it's got a shout chorus now, Bap.

[Narrator] Join us as we celebrate the heart of our cultural heritage that is, Idaho in Song.

is like one of the most important things When when we're producing documentaries like Idaho Experience.

[Idaho Experience theme music.]

[Bill Krumm] One of the founding principals of Idaho Experience, one of our key mission points, was we wanted to highlight the successes of Idahoans.

It's a state that's full of talent.

And it would be contrary to our mission to choose a musical composer that wasn't an Idahoan.

It was kind of a no brainer that Steve Fulton would be at the top of that shortlist because he's respected in Idaho's music scene, border to border.

[Steve Fulton] Yeah, sounds good.

[Idaho Experience theme music] [Steve] The way that I structured “Idaho Experience” was a classical structure, with definitive movements.

[Jennie Sue Weltner] The right music The history of Idaho, in the very beginning, it was about the wonder and the discovery.

And then there was challenges, like war.

When you overcome those things, you end up having victory.

I was looking for something that was inspiring.

And so I wanted to build from a single instrument all the way through until the bigger kind of a crescendo at the end.

And so that’s, that's where I went.

[Jennie Sue] It's a big concept.

And he did such a great job in capturing what we were trying to do.

[Erin Hall Singing] If I sing you a lullaby.

[Steve] Feedback that I get from people on creations that I've made is the real thing.

[Erin] He has incredible skill in how you build a song.

[Steve] This was a real joy working with Erin Hall.

You know, this beautiful song that she wrote about her and her father going up 55 to McCall.

And it's, something that just, just such a beautiful song.

[Rich Hall Singing] You're my best friend.

[Erin] My dad, Rich Hall, was an incredible human being, and incredible crooner.

He was diagnosed with cancer in 2017.

I said, where do you want to go?

Because it was pancreatic cancer.

It was, you know, a big one.

And, he said, I just want to go to the cabin.

He also was an insomniac.

He passed in October of 2020.

And this song came to me.

I really wanted to think about driving him to McCall because that drive is so beautiful.

[Steve] So She came to me to produce this.

She was singing, and then her husband Gabe was playing the guitar.

And that’s all they had.

They laid down her vocal and his guitar live.

In the way that I produce people that don't have a full band, we usually work like that.

And then we were trying to decide the best thing next.

And the first thing we wanted was Dave Manion on the pedal steel.

And then I really thought that the Wurlitzer piano, the electric piano would be a nice texture.

And so Gabe plays piano and sang with her.

[Erin] And then my sister, I asked her if she'd sing some backup vocals.

[Steve] And I sang a little harmony as well.

[Erin] I really love vocal harmonies.

They blend so well with a song, or they add so much to a song.

And that's really influenced my songwriting.

[Erin Singing] If I sing you a lullaby, can I sing you to sleep?

If I sing you a lullaby, can I sing you to sleep?

Let the worries of your mind dissipate within these rhymes.

Let me take you to the place that you love.

Let my voice become the drive, heading north on 55.

Where the ponderosa pines surround you.

As you fall asleep.

As you fall asleep.

If I sing you a lullaby, can I sing you to sleep?

If I sing you a lullaby, can I sing you to sleep?

Cool waters on the rocks below.

Take it in and take it slow.

I'll keep my eyes on the road to guide you.

Soon the turning will subside, Mountains open to the endless sky.

Soon we will arrive to the place you love, as you fall asleep.

As you fall asleep.

If I sing you a lullaby, can I sing you to sleep?

If I sing you a lullaby, can I sing you to sleep?

Let the humming birds arrive.

Let the stars erupt at night.

Let the tamarack unveil their golden pine.

Let the quaking Aspen shake.

Let us marvel at the leaves they make.

Let the golden light take away all your trouble.

As you fall asleep.

As you fall asleep.

If I sing you a lullaby, Can I sing you to sleep?

If I sing you a lullaby, can I sing you to sleep?

If I sing you a lullaby, can I sing you to sleep?

If I sing you a lullaby, can I sing you to sleep?

[Steve] Yeah.

I love all those pieces and parts of the process.

But my, biggest passion is when I actually finish a creation that I'm proud of and, and I want to share.

I’m always writing.

And as I would go up to Cascade and McCall and stuff, I went up there as a kid quite a bit.

Off the right side of 55, you would, just before you got to Cascade, there was this small building.

It wasn't a barn.

But it was a it was an old outbuilding that was always leaning.

And, it made me think of this idea of a song about a barn that had fallen down like that, and then the history of that about that barn.

That's what this song is about.

The Old Barn.

[Music] The old barn fell down today.

How many times did we drive by and say, how long will she lean?

How long will she stay, till the old wood gives way?

If we could go back to the day it was raised, imagine the horses and picture the hay.

And all of the neighbors came over to help.

They want to, because they'd been through it themselves.

They said, the years will be long.

She will stand strong, hand built by women and men.

When the old barn finally fell down, no one that built her back then was around.

The wood that was piled there is now hauled away.

And memories haunt the bare ground.

[Guitar Solo] Someone just told me a story today of a farmer who lost every thing that he made.

And how someone donated all of the wood, to build him a new barn where his old one had stood.

When the old barn finally did fall, all of the neighbors came to offer their all, to reclaim the wood to be used once again, to build a new barn for family and friends.

When the old barn fell down today, how many times did we drive by and say, how long will she lean?

How long will she stay till the old wood gives way?

[Narrator] Surprising as it may one of Idaho’s earliest recording studios was located inside the Old State Penitentiary where inmates could record their plaintive songs of woe.

In this next tune songwriter Curtis Stigers reflects on the difficult living conditions which may have ignited the 1973 riots that preempted its closure.

This is a song I wrote with my brother Jake.

It's called “Burn It Down.” It comes from my album, “Songs from my Kitchen, Volume 1.” [Guitar Strumming] [Curtis Singing] I have a daughter but she don’t know my name.

Her mama left town when the gavel came down to spare her the shame.

Burned every bridge I ever had in this town.

Burn it down.

Burn it down.

Burn it down.

They put me in here, I was 19 years old.

Cadillac joyride, 25 inside, with no parole.

Now I'm just waiting for the fire bell to sound.

Burn it down.

Burn it down.

Burn down the walls that keep me in here.

Burn down the walls that stole my pride.

Burned down the angry child that used to be me.

Burn down the walls to stay alive.

Cold water, biscuit and a bed made of straw.

Living like an animal in the name of the law.

I swear someday I'll bring this place to the ground.

Burn it down.

Burn it down.

Burn it down.

Whoa.

Ehhh.

Whoa.

I hear it started down in cell block 13.

Burn down the dining hall and the guard house between.

No turning back now, no peace where I'm bound.

Burn it down.

Burn it down.

Burn down.

Burn it down.

[Narrator] Curtis' repertoire spans a variety of genres.

In another tune, he pays tribute to his love for jazz, and the mentor who encouraged his musical pursuits.

All right.

We're going to do a song of some local interest.

This is a song I wrote for an old friend of mine.

A hero of mine, a mentor of mine, and someone I think a lot of you loved very much.

This is a song I wrote about my old friend Gene Harris.

[Music] [Saxophone Solo] [Curtis Singing] Now it’s a Tuesday night, the kids are sleeping tight.

But they're swinging down at 10th and Main.

The city streets are bare, nobody anywhere, but they’re swinging down at 10th and Main.

Now, when the big man sits down to play piano, ain't nobody feeling any pain.

I'm gonna grab my ax and I'll be making tracks, to where they’re swinging down at 10th and Main.

Swing it now, Matthew.

[Piano Solo] [Curtis] One Tuesday evening I went downtown and I walked into the lobby of the Idanha Hotel.

And then this big, smiling African American man with huge forearms sat down to the piano and my life was transformed.

[Gene Harris Playing Piano ] [Curtis] Mr.

Gene Harris.

One of the greatest musicians in the world, one of the great jazz pianists, letting people, anyone come play music with him on a Tuesday night, you know, in Boise, Idaho.

You know, I’d play a solo.

And at the end of the night, he'd always say, “Yeah, baby, that sounds great.

Keep practicing.” [Laugh] [Bill Cope] He just gave himself over to the kids playing, you know, no ego at all involved.

[Paul Tillotson] Gene fueled my, my, my inspiration for music, and to continue to do it.

[Music] [Curtis] Paul had a little trio.

And Paul said, you should come sit in with us.

So I went over, and we started playing together.

And at some point we realized that we'd all sort of been brought up by Gene.

And he named us.

He said, oh, yeah.

You’re the Young Lions, the young jazz lions.

And boom, that was the name of our band.

Paul Tillotson was so gifted.

He was able to hear things and just play them.

He was really, a very naturally talented musician.

Always was.

[Billy Mitchell] And Paul was just a gas to play with.

He was just like playing with Gene.

[Laugh] [Gene Harris playing piano] [Curtis] When I moved to New York City, Gene Harris called me and he said, hey, I'm going to be playing in New York next week.

I'll put you on the list.

It's, this place.

Here's the address.

And he gave me the address on, on West Third Street.

It was the Blue Note, and he was playing with Ray Brown, another legend of jazz.

And it just dawned on me.

Oh, this is who Gene is.

Gene is a legend.

He's not just our pal from Boise who took us under his wing and helped us to play better music.

[Music] [Curtis Singing] That man could play the blues.

Yeah, you know he’s paid his dues, when you hear him swinging down at 10th and Main.

He's bound to make you cry, when he lets those fingers fly, swinging down at 10th and Main.

Now he's a good man.

Always kind and gracious.

And he’s glad to let you share his stage.

But you better hold on tight, cause the jam is hot tonight.

Swinging down at 10th and Main.

Oh, yeah.

Swinging down at 10th and Main.

Hey, baby.

Swinging down at 10th and Main.

[Song finale] [Curtis laughs] Oh, that's fun.

We get paid for that.

It doesn't really seem fair.

But that is fun, good Lord.

[Announcer] Idaho Experience is made possible with funding from the James and Barbara Cimino Foundation, devoted to preserving the spirit of Idaho, from Anne Voillequé and Louise Nelson, from Judy and Steve Meyer, the Friends of Idaho Public Television, the Idaho Public Television Endowment and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.