b'THE ARIZONA DUUUDEDolan Ellis, Arizonas Official Balladeer, Part 1By Bob Roloff, The Arizona DuuudeYou can follow Bob Roloff on Facebook.D olan Ellis was born Marchfolk singing. So when Randy went to put this thing 1st, 1935 in Kansas.together, he knew me, knew my talents, and asked if He has been Arizona\'sI\'d like to throw my hat in the ring. I thought it was official state balladeer since 1966, as appointed first bya great, great idea, so I said yes. So I drove over to Governor Sam Goddard and then by ten consecutivethe west coast. We did all of our rehearsing in Los governors. In his role as balladeer, Dolan has writtenAngeles. I stayed in houses of friends and slept on more than three hundred songs and performed themcouches. I had a Volkswagen at the time and carried a throughout Arizona, in most of the United States, assleeping bag with me. well as in twenty foreign countries. The first album we recorded when Randy was out Dolan is knowntrying to get a record label for us. We were staying for his 12-stringat his house which had some stables out back along guitar, his baritonewith some bunkhouses. He came home one day andbecause it was built a long time ago. Those balconies go voice, his uniquesaid that Columbia had signed us, but they asked if weright up; they are stacked on top of each other. Because it arrangements, andhad an album ready to go, and Randy said sure. Theywas built before sound systems, you could almost reach songs about Arizonawanted to start recording the next Thursday. Well, weout and touch the people. That one really sticks with me and the Americandidn\'t have an album ready to go. We recorded duringand being a regular on Andy Williams show. We were Southwest. Histhe daytime, and then we would come home at night toon national television, eighty million people a week roots are as a jazzrehearse the songs we would be doing in the next couplehearing us sing. It was beyond my imagination that I musician. He wasor three days. So we were just one step in front of thewould be involved in something like that. an original memberrecording session all the time.of the New Christy Dolan added, I almost became a jazz musician, I Minstrels and wasI asked Dolan about the name of the group and hecut my teeth on old jazz. I had an older brother that with them for theirrecounted that the New Christy Minstrels were namedwas a jazz musician. I listened to old jazz musicians, first five albums, several gold records, their Grammyafter an old group out of the 1800s, The ChristyBeiderbecke, Jack Teagarden, Louise Armstrong, all in 1963 for best group, major concert appearances,Minstrels, owned by Edwin P. Christy. They took thethose old jazz players. What prevented me from being and a full season from 1962 to 1963 as regulars on themusic by Stephen Foster who was unknown at the time,a jazz singer is that I would have to wear a suit, and not nationally televised Andy William\'s Show.and sang it and made his music famous. Dolan said,just a suit, I\'d probably have to wear a tuxedo because Randy Sparks our leader had a whole bunch of songsthe Playboy clubs back in those days or the venues In 1966, Dolan founded the Arizona Folklore Preserve,he wanted to get published. He thought if it workedwanted that. I did not want to go through life putting located in Ramsey Canyon in the Huachuca Mountains.for Stephen Foster it might work for him. Most of theon a tuxedo every night. I wanted to sing songs that Now operated by the University of Arizona South, thesongs we sang were Randy\'s songs. We got hit recordssaid something about life, and thats what folk music preserve features guest artists on most weekends andoff of them and brought his music to fame. The songis. It has something to say about life. It was music with monthly performances by Dolan himself. In 2014, DolanI liked was, Todaywhile the blossom\'s still cling toa message and a down-home lifestyle that went with was featured in the documentary film Wall of Dreams.the vine." That song has really endured time. The Girlit. Thats the secret. Thats why I\'m a balladeer, I write Dolan Ellis is now with the Christy\'s again, participatingScouts and Boy Scouts use it as a campfire song.story songs. I love Arizona so I write story songsin their recordings and tours. about Arizona.I inquired about Dolans favorite memory of his timeRecently I sat down with Dolan and listened while hewith the Minstrels.He quickly answered, When weAlong I-17 north of Phoenix near Sunset Point, there is related about his life as Arizona\'s Official Balladeer. I hadplayed Carnegie Hall, which was amazing. I couldn\'tan old desert tree that someone has been decorating for a few questions and was mildly surprised at his answers.believe we were on that stage. That was an amazing stageChristmas for a long time. You wrote a song about it, The question I was first curious about was Dolan\'stell us about that. Dolan said, So the I-17 Mystery connection with the New Christy Minstrels, andChristmas Tree is what it is called. Somebody has where it all started. Dolan said, Back in those yearsbeen decorating that tree for decades. Nobody there were really two families of folk singers, thereally knows who does it or if they do know West Coast and the East Coast. The east was Petethey\'re not telling. Its a secret evidently. Millions Seeger and Ed McCurdy, kind of esoteric historicof people have seen that tree by now. Hundreds people. The west, were entertainers and I fit into theof thousands of people see it every year. It has West Coast. My main job is an entertainer.become part of the folklore of the state. People look for it at Christmas time. So its really become So thats where the Kingston Trio, the Limelighters,part of our Christmas here in Arizona. So I just the New Christy Minstrels, and such, came from,felt it needed two things, one thing I felt it needed the West Coast. I am an entertainer, I entertainwas a name. So I named it Scrubby because it first, I entertain people, and then I try to teachreally is not a pretty tree. A scrubby looking tree, them as much as I can while I entertain them.so I told the story about it. I felt it needed to be So I fit into the West Coast, especially with thedocumented. Scrubby almost got burned this adjacency of Arizona to the west coast. So I waslast year. The Daisy Mountain Fire Department traveling, I had an agent on the west coast, and wasprotected that tree and kept the fire away from it. working different folk clubs in the western states.The mystery of it demonstrates the true giving of Christmas.Thank you to the people that decorate Dolan went on, Randy Sparks had this idea forScrubby" every year without recognition.the New Christy Minstrels. We all knew each other because we were part of that West Coast group.Well continue our interview with Dolan EllisWe had all worked together in the different clubsnext month. 38 December 2019'