A collection remembering a lesser-known member of the Seeger clan, but with all the talent of her famous family.
Sonya Cohen Cramer (1965–2015) came from a family with an impeccable American folk pedigree. Her father was John Cohen of The New Lost City Ramblers, and her mother was Penny Seeger. Been a Friend to Me’ is a first collection featuring Sonya’s singing, and it reveals the full arc of her musical life through collaborations with her aunt and uncle Pete and Peggy Seeger, Elizabeth Mitchell, Jeb Loy Nichols, and Suzzy and Maggie Roche amongst others.
Cramer isn’t one of the better-known members of the Seeger clan. She was never drawn to a career in music. “She saw how challenging that was for a family,” says her husband, Reid Cramer. So, this collection rounds up a variety of collaborations like ‘A Squirrel Is A Pretty Thing’ with Peggy Seeger on piano taken from an album called ‘Animal Folksongs for Children and Other People’ released in 1992.
She was also singer for the chamber folk ensemble Last Forever, appearing on four of their albums. ‘Hide and Seek’ has an almost Judee Sill quality in the layered vocals with Dulcimer, Spinet and Cello giving a slightly Chinese feel to the music. The four Last Forever songs at the heart of this album are among the most interesting of the tunes on offer here. Her take on Carter Family favourite ‘You’ve Been A Friend To Me’ became a signature song later in her life as she struggled with cancer is a delicate poignant piece with Elizabeth Mitchell on guitar. ‘When I Was Most Beautiful’ sees Sonya accompanied by her Uncle on guitar, working from a translation of a Japanese poem which Pete Seeger originally set to music in 1969.
Townes Van Zandt’s ‘No Place To Fall’ however is the highlight of the album. Guitar, and Fiddle provide a sparse backing to a song that proves Cramer had inherited the family vocal talent. After the post-civil war tune ‘The Blackest Crow,’ another duet with Elizabeth Mitchell, the two remaining songs are described as “bonus tracks.” What that seems to mean is less well recorded, although ‘Sidewalk Wildflower’ from the Wesleyan Women’s Singer/Songwriter Collective is a fine original piece with descending guitar chords cutting through a tune that would have brought her wider recognition if she had wanted it.
It’s tempting to wonder why a collection of songs spread across decades of sporadic activity is needed now. As a nonprofit record label Smithsonian Folkways is the home for non-commercial recordings like this. There must be many Sonya Cohen Cramer’s quietly making music for themselves and their friends. Just because they aren’t interested in chasing fame doesn’t mean they aren’t worth hearing. Her main career was as a graphic designer which included many album sleeves for Smithsonian Folkways, and that is also worth recalling as the examples in the liner notes suggest a lively graphic style with occasional nods to Blue Note’s Reid Miles. In the end we’ve only heard Cramer’s music because of her family legacy, but the songs, and the extensive liner notes including a heartfelt essay from Dick Connette, leader of Last Forever record a life that ended too soon and should be commemorated.
