Seasons In Your Mind-Easter Egg Page: Middle Earth

One ring to rule them all...

It was in the mid/late-60s when The Hobbit and The Lord Of The Rings became required reading for the kids. Here was a fantastic world filled with elves and orcs, wizards and hobbits, fighting men and trees, and Mount Doom, overseen by the all-seeing eye. It was good vs evil in black and white. It was poetry and prose, some in a language wholly made from cloth. A metaphor for the world wars our world had just survived.

JRR Tolkien, Oxford professor, created that fanciful world, first as stories sent to his son from the trenches of France. In 1967, Donald Swann wrote music to accompany the poetry found in these books and recorded them with William Elvin singing the words. To complete the album, Tolkien read selections from The Adventures Of Tom Bombadil, and, in Elvish, A Elbereth Gilthoniel.

	Poems And Songs Of Middle Earth
	Caedmon TC-1231
	10/67 [UK: 4/68]

	Back Cover

Side One The Adventures Of Tom Bombadil
The Adventures Of Tom Bombadil	Tolkien	4:00
The Mewlips	Tolkien	1:21
The Hoard	Tolkien	3:25
Perry-The-Winkle	Tolkien	4:26
The Man In The Moon Came Down Too Soon	Tolkien	5:16
Side Two
A Elbereth Gilthoniel*	Tolkien	0:14
The Road Goes Ever On
The Road Goes Ever On	Swan-Tolkien	1:00
Upon The Hearth The Fire Is Red	Swan-Tolkien	1:35
In The Willow-Meads Of Tasarinan	Swan-Tolkien	2:35
In Western Lands	Swan-Tolkien	2:15
Namárië	Swan-Tolkien	1:25
I Sit Beside The Fire/Refrain: A Elbereth Gilthoniel	Swan-Tolkien	3:38
Errantry	Swan-Tolkien	3:43

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JRR Tolkien-narrator (Side 1; Side 2-Cut 1) [*Elvish]
William Elvin-vocals (Side 2-Cuts 2-8)
Donald Swann-piano (Side 2-Cuts 2-8)
with:
W H Auden-liner notes
§Cover Art-Pauline Baynes
Produced by:

In 1975, Caedmon released two albums of 1952 recordings done by Tolkien from The Lord Of The Rings:

	Reads And Sings His The Hobbit And The Fellowship Of The Ring
	Caedmon TC-1477
	1975 [UK: ?/75]

	Back Cover

Side One The Hobbit
Chapter V: Riddles In The Dark	Tolkien	29:47
Side Two The Fellowship Of The Ring
Book One, Ch II: The Shadow Of The Past	Tolkien	0:51
Book One, Ch III: Three Is Company	Tolkien	0:16
Book One, Ch III: Three Is Company	Tolkien	1:00
Book One, Ch III: Three Is Company	Tolkien	0:39
Book One, Ch V: A Conspiracy Unmasked	Tolkien	0:41
Book One, Ch V: A Conspiracy Unmasked	Tolkien	0:28
Book One, Ch VI: The Old Forest	Tolkien	1:02
Book One, Ch IX: At The Sign Of The Prancing Pony	Tolkien	1:53
Book One, Ch XI: A Knife In The Dark	Tolkien	0:25
Book One, Ch XI: A Knife In The Dark	Tolkien	3:06
Book One, Ch XII: Flight To The Ford	Tolkien	2:40
Book Two, Ch I: Many Meetings	Tolkien	0:30
Book Two, Ch IV: A Journey In The Dark	Tolkien	1:42
Book Two, Ch VI: Lothlórien	Tolkien	1:44
Book Two, Ch VII: The Mirror Of Galadriel	Tolkien	1:00
Book Two, Ch VIII: Farewell To Lórien	Tolkien	0:47

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JRR Tolkien-narrator
§Cover Art-Conversation With Smaug by J R R Tolkien
Produced by:

	Reads And Sings His 'The Lord Of The Rings': The Two Towers/Return Of The King
	Caedmon TC-1478
	1975 [UK: ?/75]

	Back Cover

Side One
The Two Towers	Tolkien	20:14
Side Two
Return Of The King	Tolkien	21:09

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JRR Tolkien-narrator
§Cover Photo-uncredited
Produced by:

Note: and then there were the movies...

Links!

The Tolkien Society web site
The One Ring fan web site

The Harvard Lampoon poked fun at all us "middle-earthers."

	Bored of the Rings
	Signet
	1969

In 1970, Swedish musician Bo Hansson created a musical trip through Middle Earth with this album (check out the link for the story of creating the music). The album was released in the US in October 1972, after a successful launch in England. The album was rereleased in 1977 with a new cover, and CDs were issued on 1988 (with "bonus tracks" from other, non-ME tracks) and 2002.

	Bo Hansson: Music Inspired By Lord Of The Rings
	Charisma CAS 1059
	10/72 BB [UK: 10/72]

	Back Cover Original Swedish Cover 1977 Reissue Cover

Side One
Leaving Shire	Hansson	2:47
The Old Forest/Tom Bombadil	Hansson	3:42
Fog On The Barrow Downs	Hansson	2:28
The Black Riders/Flight To The Ford	Hansson	3:48
At The House Of Elrond/The Ring Goes South	Hansson	4:23
Side Two
A Journey In The Dark	Hansson	1:07
Lothlorien	Hansson	3:22
Shadowfax	Hansson	0:50
The Horns Of Rohan/The Battle Of The Pelennor Fields	Hansson	3:58
Dreams In The Houses Of Healing	Hansson	1:50
Homeward Bound / The Scouring Of The Shire	Hansson	2:11
The Grey Havens	Hansson	4:56

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Bo Hansson-organ, Moog synthesizer, bass, guitar
with:
Gunnar Bergsten-saxophone
Sten Bergman-flute
Rune Carlsson-drums
§Cover Art-Jane Furst
Produced by: Anders Lind, Bo Hansson

Links!

Wiki page on Hansson recording

American musicians

Strangely, I couldn't find any bands in Tolkien's country of England that appropriated character names for their group. Ah, but we Americans...

The Hobbits and Gandalf both released albums in the late 60s, but they didn't do much to emphasize the connection.

A California group released a single in 1967:

The Hobbits
Frodo Lives / Jolly Good Fellow
ZAR 25, 8/67
Reissued as by The Magic Garden on Smash (S-2128), 11/67

Gandalf The Grey issued an album in 1972 and the original (limited) release sells in the thousands of dollars. Oh well, you can see what all this fuss is about here:

Gandalf The Grey

	The Grey Wizard Am I
	Grey Wizard GWR-007
	?/72 [UK: N/R]

	Back Cover

Side One
The Grey Wizard Am I	Gandalf The Grey	2:37
My Elven Home	Gandalf The Grey	2:28
From The Grey Havens	Gandalf The Grey	2:55
Here On Eighth Street	Gandalf The Grey	7:42
Go And See	Gandalf The Grey	2:31
Side Two
The Christmas Song	Gandalf The Grey	2:50
Old Town Church	Gandalf The Grey	3:13
The Home Coming (The Sun Is Down)	Gandalf The Grey	2:20
I Don't Know Why The People	Gandalf The Grey	3:04
Mr Joe's	Gandalf The Grey	3:13
Sunshine Down The Line	Gandalf The Grey	4:07

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Recorded in Lothlorien by Elves
Words and music by Gandalf The Grey
Liner notes by Zacherley

Note: Gandalf The Grey is actually Chris Wilson, who now offers CD of his record on his web site: Wizard TV web site.

Oh, and some pointy-earred hollywood actor released an album in 1968 that contained this hit single:

The Ballad Of Bilbo Baggins / Cotton Candy (On A Summer Day)
Grean (2:18) / Ralke (2:34)
Dot 45-17028, 7/67
Beam us up, Scottie