SITTIN' ON TOP OF THE WORLD 1
(Traditional -- featuring Ma & Pa Gutterman)
Sittin' on top of the World 1 Sample
Bernice Simon: vocal
Patrick VW: vocal, cuatro
Aimee Donahue: harmonium
Recorded By: Patrick VW
Mixed by Pierre Grill
I met Bernice Simon (then Gutterman) about 100 years ago when my soon to be wife, Marilyn, introduced us. They were classmates in college. We would have fun music parties and sing-alongs in Brooklyn.
Bernice sang this song and I loved it. She sounded like a Brooklyn hillbilly.
About 98 years later, she was visiting in California and stopped by. I was excited to show her this new arrangement that I had worked out for the song, on my new cuatro.
I asked her if she would record it with me and she laughed, but saw that I was a little bit serious, so we did a few takes and came up with this version. It felt good right away.
She went back to New York and I sat with this song for a while. I called another terrific musician, stylist, Aimee Donahue, and asked her to bring over her harmonium. It's like a chord, pump organ and has a great old timey feel to it. Aimee played a few tracks and it felt perfect.
So, here's one of our many versions of this song.