I just wanted to add three more bands, to this discussion about American music.
Please look on the Youtube [tm] site, or anywhere else, + listen to a few tunes from these bands:

—The 1940s, A & P Gypsies [tm]…radio show,

—Or, if you can’t find the A & P Gypsies’s show, please try the 1940s music of Benny Goodman. Mr. Goodman was [a jazz, orchestra-type band leader, I think], + a super clarinetist.

—Please also listen to the 1923 + 1920s, [from The USA], musical…variety radio show-The Clicquot Club Eskimos [tm].

These bands are a lot of fun. 😀 😀

(P.S.-The Clicquot Club Eskimos show, I think- just uses cartoon images of Eskimo scenes + cool northern lands, as a theme. The name, “Clicquot Club” is a brand of ginger ale, with a northern lands’s theme to it.

So,
I think- The C. Club ginger ale used northern themes + images, to get buyers to think of cool-temperature places, + to make them think of cool drinks.
The Clicquot Club ginger ale was made to rival Canada Dry [R] ginger ale.

“Clicquot” is pronounced, “klee-ko”. )

So,
Please listen to some of these band’s songs. I think you’ll like them. 😀

Cheers,

TR

I wound up serving in Germany, but I had a gut feeling that those young men were headed for Nam. I still wonder what became of them and others with whom I trained.

I mentioned in my post that my friend had a SET of Fireside songbooks. There were two. One was the American one and the other was of folk songs. Many in the latter were also American, and it turns out that was the one that had “Shenandoah” in it.

One is “A Treasury of American Songs,” copyright 1940 (I have a 1984 reprint) and the notes mention the Indian chief’s daughter, without including the specific verse. I had not ever read that before, so am glad to add to my stock of Trivia.

The NYT had a review, including a picture of the original page in the paper:
“Songs America Has Sung; A TREASURY OF AMERICAN SONG. By Olin Downes and Elie Siegmeister. 408 pp. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. $5.” By William Schuman June 13, 1943

A SECOND edition of “A Treasury of American Song” provides a welcome opportunity to draw attention again to a remarkable volume. The material presented covers a gamut of the main currents of American folksong. What is more, it is presented in a practical manner suitable for the average performer. This is no esoteric dissertation on the literature of our folk music. The readability and popular nature of the offering in no way detract from the authority Mr. Siegmeister brings to his task as arranger of the music. It is no small achievement to write piano parts which are so playable and at the same time give so reasonable an approximation of the original settings.

The principal interest of the collection is, of course, the songs themselves. But the text that accompanies each selection sheds additional light through the inclusion of relevant material. Also, Mr. Downes has written an introduction which reviews the entire question of folk material. These opening pages supply a clear exposition for the uninitiated.

The discussion defining the various types of folksong is a completely pragmatic one-a wholesome and welcome departure from the standard academic interpretation. Mention is made too of the relationship between art music and folk music. But most important is the mirror of our national life as reflected in these unself-conscious creations. “The songs in this treasury are those of multitudes and generations who have made America. They have been selected from an overwhelmingly rich store of material with a view to providing informal entertainment.”

“But there is more than that in the matter. If ever there was a time in the history of the nation that our people should know themselves and renew faith in the purposes and traditions which are part of us, that time is now. This faith and these accretions of the national experience are contained in the most characteristic of our songs.”

The songs have been listed under sixteen general sections which have loose historical and geographic unity wholly suited to their nature. The first of these, “Plymouth Rock to Bunker Hill,” has Pilgrim, colonial songs and early ballads. The last section, entitled “Broadway to Route 66,” has songs of the Thirties and Forties. In between, to mention but a few, are sea chanteys, spirituals, minstrels, mountain songs, work songs, honky-tonk songs and songs of immigrants. In short, this collection is indispensable for any song-minded gathering of Americans.

Older version
https://archive.org/details/treasuryofameric0000down/mode/2up

Reprint 1984
https://www.amazon.com/Treasury-American-Song-Siegmeister-Downes/dp/0895243164

The other book is “The Family Songbook” published by Warner Brothers in 1979, which includes some newer songs from the 1960s and 1970s along with the older favorites. Its copy of Shenandoah has fewer verses and no notes. It’s probably NOT the one you remember, unless there was an earlier edition, which is possible. The big commercial publishers keep updating their anthologies.

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vintage-family-songbook-warner-4703615158

Thanks for the tip!
I get a lot of songs off the internet, and so does my ukulele teacher, but often after I play what she sends me (especially those with piano scores), I think — that’s not quite right. I go to my bookshelves and files and can frequently find an old printed copy showing what the composer actually wrote and published.
I inherited a lot of music from my aunts and friends.

A lot of times what people post on the internet is their memory of a song, not what actually was written.
However, like Wikipedia, it’s a good first start.

There are several subscription sites which will also provide music free or for a fee, depending on copyright and arranger. MuseScore and MusicNotes are two we use. Also IMSLP aka /Petrucci Music Library/ is a good source.

There are a couple of dedicated sites just for religious music which are invaluable researching tools for old hymns. Hymnary is one I use often.

As for the old copy of my favorite book, $219 is a bit steep for nostalgia – I just want the songs, so the reprinted copy is good enough for me! I thought it was interesting to see the old cover, and that there was still a market for that sort of thing.

I have a book with a complete collection of his works, and some historical notes.
Fascinating genius.

I can appreciate that sentiment!