Hillbilly Hootenanny - Mid Wales, April 2011

The Hillbilly Hootenanny is a throwback to the travelling troupe shows that used to be the norm in small towns across 40s and 50s America. This particular band of hillbillies featured Ian Cal-Ford and the Railmen, Chuck Micallef and former Darts from man Bob Fish. The glue that held them all together and played with all three acts was the highly talented Dave Luke. Despite being based in mid Wales, he's the guitarist for Nashville stalwart Gail Davies, who also showed his prowess on mandolin and steel guitar. To be able to carry off those black and red cowboy boots he has to be good!

The night kicked off with a set from Canadian Micallef, who sang a mixture of some classics and a few self written tunes. He was joined throughout by Dave Luke on mandolin and duet vocals. I thought that Chuck had a Waylon Jennings feel to his voice and would have loved him to have done some Waylon. The highlight of his set for me were the one he wrote about his dad and Hank's Mind Your Own Business. Dave Luke remained on stage to back Bob Fish, whose plaintative vocals were the perfect foil for his autoharp. The crowd seemed to really enjoy his performance.

The final act was Wales' very own Man in Black Ian Cal-Ford and the Railmen. I first saw them in the 90's at an all-dayer in Bristol when Mac Curtis headed the bill, and was blown away by their authentic sound, with Sitdown Steve Tompsett playing great Scotty Moore and Chet Atkins licks. Nowadays they lean more heavily on the Johnny Cash songbook but still play the odd rockabilly track, as outlined by a stirring cover of Johnny Talley's Wild Wild Mind. The Sun classic Luther Played The Boogie was spot on and another highlight for me was I Still Miss Someone. The crowd were on their feat for a double bill of Ring of Fire and Walk The Line. Milkcow Blues Boogie complete with the "hold it fellas, that don't move me" start allowed Tompsett and Dave Grieves to show their skills. Their great set was rounded off with all the others joining them for a rousing sing-along of Hank's I Saw The Light. Somehow the night ended with Leavin' On A Jet Plane, which although at odds with the Eisenhower era feel of the night, again pleased the crowd and send everyone home in great spirits. If the Hillbilly Hootenanny comes your way, make sure you check it out. It's the real deal.

(Photo courtesy of Ian Cal-Ford).

Johnny Cash Bootleg Vol.2

Johnny Cash
Bootleg Vol.2 - From Memphis to Hollywood

From Memphis to Hollywood is the second volume in the Johnny Cash's Bootleg series. Again it's a double CD, this time focusing on the Sun Records period of 1954 to late ’57, and his first decade at Columbia Records from 1958 to 1969.
The first CD kicks off with a stunning 15-minute live May 1955 broadcast from KWEM in West Memphis, Arkansas hosted by Johnny himself. A mixture of live Sun songs and sponsorship announcements, it's historic value is up there with the Hank Williams Health & Happiness shows that first emerged many moons ago. What struck me was JC's voice when publisising the Home Equipment Company's wares - it doesn't actually sound like him, and it's strange to hear his uncertain manner, compared to the confident narrator he became. There's an Irish butcher's dozen of demos with just Johnny and his acoustic guitar - essential listening for Sun and JC afficianados. The sound quality is really good except for his demo of Rock 'n' Ruby, but it's inclusion is more than justified as it's great to hear Cash in rockabilly mode.
We also seven outtakes from Sun recording sessions, commencing with a driving Wide Open Road. The fun sun of ol JC comes to the surface in Leave That Junk Alone but the pick for me is his cover of Brakeman's Blues and a magical, acoustic rehearsal of Big River, with alternate lyrics. I was really looking forward to hearing his original demo of Restless Kid, a number that I love courtesy of Ricky Nelson. I'd love to have heard him do it with Luther and Marshall, but even so, this is a great demo, with Johnny's vocal sounding so manly compared to Ricky's - they both work equally well though, as the young gun sound of Ricky also fits the lyrics.

The second disc sees the Dyess Dark Dresser move to Columbia and features 23 studio numbers, including non-album singles, outtakes and b-sides (11 tracks of which have been previously unreleased) together with a pair of demos. The sound is crisp and clear with the songs having a spit and polish that seems miles away from disc one. The early highlights are the Johnny Yuma Theme (almost Restless Kid) and The Losing Kind. The single version of Locomotive Man is as good as anything he ever did. Foolish Questions is a rare treat, a funny song that can withstand repeat plays. It's so dry and gives a small insight into a man that obviously suffers fools lightly. Being a Forestry boy I also found a lot to enjoy in The Frozen Logger.

My only critisism of the second CD is that the alternative versions don't differ much from the released takes. But that's being picky - this is a quality release that will appeal to old and new Cash fans alike.

Johnny Cash t-shirt

Are you sick of seeing the same Johnny Cash t-shirt, the middle finger shot. It was great when it first came out but now that's about all you see. Here's an alternative you might like, direct from the good folks at ShakyShirts.

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Reasons to Love youTube No.10 - Johnny Cash, Big River, 1962

No need for words, just watch and enjoy some vintage Johnny Cash from 1962 - in stunning picture quality to boot.

George Jones - Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes

George Jones is 79 today. Check out this classic 1985 video for Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes? Apart from Willie, Merle and Jerry Lee I think all the others in it are dead. How the hell are the Killer, the Possum and the Red Headed Stranger still alive. Obviously the other guys didn't abuse themselves enough!

There's a few lumps in the throat moments in the video, like the clip of Jerry lee pounding the keys and a lovely smile from Marty Robbins. When it flashes to Johnny Cash the hair's on my neck stood up - what presence the man had.

Anyway, happy birthday George, take a ride into town and have a beer. There must be some gas in the lawn mower!

Reasons to love youTube No. 6 - Carl Perkins

There can't be many arguments that Carl Perkins is the true king of rockabilly in it's purest form. Check out these clips that run through the years. The Ranch Party clip is phenomenal. What a find these old clips were - footage that we never dreamed we'd see.

Your True Love (from Ranch Party tv show)

Turn Around (from Nashville Now - he was a great rockabilly, but just as awesome at country music)

Johnny Cash medley 1974

The Birth of Rock 'n' Roll ( from Class of '55)

Restless

Blue Suede Shoes/Matchbox medley from 1971 - I'm not sure which was worse, the waistcoat or the dance steps! The rest is great though.

TV chat with Scotty Moore

Matchbox with Duane Eddy and the Mavericks (what a line-up)

Rock 'n' Roll Art No.4

Here's great little gallery that has no details about the artist but plenty of wonderful paintings. The guy seems to specialise in the blues, and I love his Robert Johnson one.

The website is at:
http://blogs.myspace.com/graygallery

Josh Thompson - Way Out Here

I’d never heard of Josh Thompson until my mate Jeff borowed me this, his debut album. First impressions from the cover photo weren’t good. A ponytail ain’t my cup of tea until it’s on some blonde waitress in a little summer dress. As Jeff likes to say, "that doesn’t make me shallow does it?"

Josh Thompson was born in the late 70’s in Cedarburg, Wisconsin. The state might have spawned Bob Timmers, but it isn’t renowned for being a country music breeding spot. Thompson moved to Nashville five years ago as a songwriter and last year landed a recording contract with Columbia’s Nashville division. This is his debut album for them and there’s a handful of excellent numbers. He had a hand in writing all ten songs, all but one with co-writers. And what a high profile bunch of buddies to have with David Lee Murphy (Party Crowd, A Little Dust On The Bottle) collaborating on two numbers, Rhett Atkins (I Brake For Brunettes, Friday Night In Dixie) and George Ducas. It’s good to see Ducas on the scene, I loved his 90’s debut with the likes of Lipstick Promises, Teardrops and My World Stopped Turning.

The title track, Way Out Here pretty much tells you what the album is about and you’d swear this guy was a chest thumping redneck, “Our houses are protected by the good Lord and a gun, And you might meet ‘em both if you show up here not welcome son”. The chorus emphasises the point, “We’re about John Wayne, Johnny Cash and John Deere, Way out here”.

Other highlights of the set include the country rocker, You Ain’t Seen Country Yet, with the disturbing line, “if you ain’t made love to a Haggard cassette, well you ain’t seen country yet”. Now I’m a pretty big Merle fan myself, but I’ve never been tempted to put my pecker in one of his cassettes!

A Name In This Town is witty, with lines like “I still hold the land speed record down County Road 509, Judge Taylor said he was real impressed but wouldn’t waive the fine”. Another one I really liked was the opener, Beer On The Table which reminded me of the Not A Moment Too Soon Tim McGraw era, back when he was good. McGraw was country back, now the tastiest thing he does is Faith Hill.

There’s a couple of decent ballads in Sinners and the clever, I Won’t Go Crazy. Talking of crazy, Blame It On Waylon is also really good. It does just what it says on the tin and fades out to a Waylon beat complete with the Hoss guitar.

The album peaked at number 9 in the country charts and even made 28 on the pop charts, so Columbia and Thompson will no doubt be back for another ride next year. As for the singles, I see that Beer On The Table peaked at 17 whilst the tile track has just entered the top 40. An entertaining album that although it nods towards soft rock, stays the right side of country, and always has a clever or funny lyric thrown in.

Marshall Grant - I Was There When It Happened: My Life with Johnny Cash

I’m reading Marshall Grant’s book, I Was There When It Happened: My Life with Johnny Cash, at the moment. Published by Cumberland House in 2006, I must own up to borrowing it from Phil, but having got half way through I recommend it to anyone with an interest in JC, Sun Records or country music in general.

Marshall Grant was with Johnny Cash from the very beginning, being a founder member of the Tennessee Two with Luther Perkins. What I love about the book is the stories of life on the road and the pranks they pulled to alleviate the boredom.

He tells of a time in West Texas when JC and the T2 where touring with Elvis and Warren Smith. At a truck stop in Amarillo in the early hours of the morning, Grant put a pile of shaving cream onto a pumpkin pie, leaving Elvis and Johnny doubled up with laughter. They waited in vain for ages for someone to order the pie. In the end they had to leave but Elvis stayed another couple of hours just waiting, dying to see the face of some unsuspecting trucker order the pie. I just love the thought of these two future icons of America, Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash, sat in this truck stop, two young guys, howling at such a childish prank. The innocence of youth.

Get the book and enjoy other fun stories, but beware. The picture he paints of the pill-popping papa isn't so golden. Depending on whether he was strungout or straight, JC was too very different men.

Carl Smith - RIP

Country Music Hall of Fame Member Carl Smith Dies at Age 82

A Superstar of the '50s, He Was Singer-Songwriter Carlene Carter's Father
January 17, 2010; Written by Ronnie Pugh (CMT.com)

Country Music Hall of Fame member Carl Smith, one of the genre's most successful singers and entertainers during the 1950's, died Saturday (Jan. 16) at his home in Franklin, Tenn. He was 82.

Smith was so long out of the spotlight -- enjoying what was for most stars of his generation an early, atypical and genteel retirement -- many began to wonder if younger CMA electors would ever induct him into the Country Music Hall of Fame. When they finally did in 2003, Smith's few seconds back on national TV consisted of a silent smile and wave to his well-deserved standing ovation.


In 1977, the year he turned 50, Smith retired from the grind of recording sessions and personal appearances and thereafter enjoyed life as a gentleman farmer and horse breeder on his ranch. After this, he resolutely avoided contact with the music industry he'd helped to build, in spite of the fact that both his wives and his first child were also well-known entertainers.

He was married to June Carter from 1952 until 1957, and their daughter, Carlene Carter, gained prominence as a singer-songwriter during the late '70s. His subsequent marriage to country singer Goldie Hill began in September 1957 and lasted until her death in February 2005. Hill was the mother of his last three children, Lorri Lynn, Carl Jr. and Larry Dean, none of whom sought a career as a performer.

Carl M. Smith was born in East Tennessee at Maynardville (also Roy Acuff's hometown) on March 15, 1927. He loved music from his earliest days, especially the country music broadcast out of nearby Knoxville, Tenn. While in high school, he began his professional career in 1944 as a performer on radio personality Cas Walker's programs on WROL in Knoxville. After joining the military, Smith served in the Pacific on the USS Admiral Sims at the end of World War II and returned to Knoxville in 1946 to work as a guitarist with the Brewster Brothers, one of Cas Walker's radio bands.

His musical quest took him to other cities -- Asheville, N.C., and Augusta, Ga., in 1947-48 as a singer alongside banjoist Hoke Jenkins -- but Smith came back to Knoxville as bassist and part-time singer with Skeets Williamson and his famous singing sister, Molly O'Day. Afterwards, he worked with "Grandpappy" Archie Campbell, who years later achieved national fame as a comic on Hee Haw. While Smith worked for Campbell, the prolific Knoxville Dobro player and songwriter George "Speedy" Krise used him as a vocalist to demo some new songs he sent to Peer-Southern talent scout Troy Martin, who was most impressed with Smith's singing.

Sensing an opportunity to help himself and Smith, Martin passed the best demos along to Jack Stapp of Nashville's WSM radio and Don Law, peripatetic producer for Columbia Records. Smith moved to Nashville at Stapp's invitation in March 1950 as a part-time singer on WSM's early morning show, but he was not made a regular guest on the station's great Saturday night showcase, the Grand Ole Opry, until Don Law signed Smith to his first Columbia Records contract in May.

Success as a recording artist came slowly for Smith but was built with sure momentum after "Let's Live a Little," a song from his second Columbia session, cracked the Top 10 in 1951. It was followed later that year by "Mr. Moon" and a great song from old Knoxville buddy Carl Butler, "If Teardrops Were Pennies."

Befriended by such helpful WSM legends as Ernest Tubb and Hank Williams (who brought him songs to record and shared tour dates with the young hopeful), Smith gathered a talented band for recording and touring. Eventually dubbed the Tunesmiths, the group featured fiddler-manager Hal Smith, Hal's wife Velma on rhythm guitar, bassist Junior Huskey, steel guitarist Johnny Sibert and former Hank Williams electric guitarist Sammy Pruett.

Smith's first No. 1 record, the near-million-selling "Let Old Mother Nature Have Her Way," came in 1951. The next year brought Smith big hits with "(When You Feel Like You're in Love) Don't Just Stand There" and a double-sided smash with the Louvin Brothers' "Are You Teasing Me" and Boudleaux Bryant's "It's a Lovely, Lovely World." Bryant also wrote the two biggest hits of Smith's many in 1953, "Just Wait Till I Get You Alone" and the immortal "Hey Joe."

The handsome and full-throated Smith was obviously at his best with such happy love songs, and his combination of good looks, good singing, good songs and flashy attire (his white suits giving way by the mid-1950s to trim Western cut suits for himself and his band) made him a favorite with country's female fans. As a pre-Elvis heartthrob, he was a natural choice to help country music break into television.

In 1952, he was one host of Kate Smith's NBC-TV show, Main Street Music Hall, her segment plugging the Opry's brief New York City engagement at the Hotel Astor. In 1955-56, Smith often hosted half-hour shows in Albert Gannaway's syndicated color TV series, Stars of Country Music. Gannaway cast Smith as one star of his 1956 motion picture, Buffalo Guns (alongside Marty Robbins and Webb Pierce), and there were other low-budget film appearances in the 1960s, although major screen stardom never came his way.

In the late '50s, Smith often traveled to Springfield, Mo., to host or guest on ABC-TV's Jubilee USA, formerly the Ozark Jubilee. By then, Smith had left the Opry after it fired his business partner, Jim Denny. (Smith, Denny and country star Webb Pierce had co-founded the lucrative Cedarwood Music publishing company in 1953. The Opry fired Denny was fired in 1956 for alleged conflict of interest.)

It was at Denny's behest that Smith toured the nation for 18 months in 1957-58 as a headliner of the Philip Morris Country Show tour, which also featured Smith's new wife, Goldie Hill. Smith's land, business interests and recording career kept his home base in Nashville, though, and that career weathered the onslaught of rock 'n' roll in reasonably good shape. To augment his sound, he had added drummer Buddy Harman to his Tunesmiths as early as 1954. He also enjoyed a steady supply of good songs from the growing stable of Cedarwood songwriters, including Danny Dill, Marijohn Wilkin and Mel Tillis.

Smith's appeal as a TV performer lasted through the '60s with an alternating hosting role in 1961 for Five-Star Jubilee, ABC's follow-up to Jubilee USA. In 1964, he filmed the first of some 190 episodes as host of his own popular Canadian series, Carl Smith's Country Music Hall.

Although he claimed only one Top 10 hit in the '60s ("Deep Water" in 1967), there was not a single year between 1951 and 1973 that Smith's Columbia Records did not reach the country charts somewhere, a consistency only surpassed in those years by Marty Robbins (1952-83). He took a break from recording for about a year, and resurfaced on Hickory Records from 1975-78, though none of his seven chart singles for Hickory got any higher than No. 67 on the Billboard country chart.

He stopped touring in 1977, and his long and placid life thereafter as breeder of quarter horses won him a whole new set of friends and peers who often didn't even know he had once been a major country music star. Smith, however, fondly remembered his singing days and was always helpful to writers and researchers on various record reissue projects. He occasionally sat for remarkably frank broadcast interviews about his career -- on TNN: The Nashville Network with his old boss Archie Campbell for Yesteryear in Nashville, with Ralph Emery live on TNN's Nashville Now and then back at WSM with Eddie Stubbs for a salute and career retrospective on his 70th birthday in 1997.

Smith's earliest recordings and most of the reissues still circulate among collectors. Among them is Satisfaction Guaranteed, a five CD boxed set of entire Columbia recordings from the '50s. Compiled by the German label, Bear Family Records, the collection features extensive liner notes written by the late Dr. Charles Wolfe, a country music historian and scholar. Regrettably, there is no published Carl Smith biography or autobiography.

Courtesy of CMT.com.

Don Gibson

Can white men sing da blooze, can Nashville sing da blooze?
I like artist you can`t pigeonhole, Jerry Lee rocks but he honky tonks with panache too, Charlie Rich went from jazzy infelcted rockin blues to countrypolitan and then there's his Nashville equivalent Don Gibson, an awesome song writer who penned classic after classic and with Chet and the A team cut some of the finest of the fine in RCA studio B off Broadway in music city. Here's a few clips of the great man in action with some of his best songs, there's some cool later clips on the tube of you with a duet with ole Chet, a Porter Wagoner show with Don doing the Jimmie Skinner classic Doin My Time (so beloved by Mr Cash).

I first heard Don doing Sea Of Heartbreak (no live clips one here , sob!) on Radio Lux and I thought it was a new Elvis 45, it`s the one countryish song I wish El had covered in that golden 60 -62 period where he did everything from Neopolitan opera thru Chuck Wills and Lowell Fulsom. Later I got some Don on the old Country Guitar VA series of eps that RCA put out in the UK and eventually a Best Of Don Gibson lp which had 12 stone cut gems on it, and in those days there would be weeks if not months between pocket money purchases and it got played to death in Casa Flip, even my dad who didn't dig the beat grew fond of the Donster by persistent osmosis from my lil ole red n cream Dansette and I was even allowed to play it on the family Radiogram in the living room, moving mam n dad`s Frankie Laine and Doris day back to the dark n dusty cupboard underneath.

Watch out for the equally great (and equally tragis) Hank Garland in his prime.

Flip

Don Gibson (and Gene Sloan)- Lonesome Number One

Don Gibson (and Hank Garland)- Its Been A Blue Blue Day

Don Gibson - Oh Lonesome Me

Flip's Killer Klip # 4

JLL, Johnny Cash & Carl Perkins live Stuttgart Germany - 1981

Back in 70s and 80s good ole boy promoter Mervyn Conn used to bring to Uk and Europe some stunning country festivals, the London Wembley ones were usually filmed by the BBC for later highlights transmissions, the first one I attended in 81 has matchbox, Wanda jackson, carl perkins and jerry lee on a rockabilly night, the highlight being when Carl came out to play a couple of songs with JLL at the end of the show,I even bought my first Betamax video so I could ecord the BBC show later that year, then in Paris they did it again (a real wild ending which is also on video) and then in Holland and Germany JLL and Carl joined Cash to jam on gospel and rock n roll numbers at the end of his set. Rodany Crowell later mixed the german show for release as the Survivors album on Columbia, a few years later the Class Of 55 album was cut in Memphis by Chips Moman with the Big O joining in.

I`ve never seen any footage of the 81 Stuttgart show until fairly recently and here`s a chunk of JLL with Cash and his band doing Will The Circle Be Unbroken, joined by Carl as well,enjoy this historical recreation of three quarters of the Million Dollar Quartet.

Flip

Battle of the Song No.4 - A Legend In My Time

A Legend In My Time - As peformed by;
Don Gibson, Ricky Nelson, Everly Brothers, Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash

Don Gibson was one hell of a songwriter with a portfolio that included no less than Oh Lonesome Me, Blue Blue Day, Sea of Heartbreak and I Can’t Stop Loving You. I read once, I think in Now Dig This that he considered himself more of a songwriter who sang than a singer who wrote. And that’s probably fair, because although his voice was good, his songs were brilliant. I was surprised during my research to learn that the only version to reach the country charts was by Ronnie Milsap in 1975.

Country music is built on it’s lyrics, and the saying goes, the sadder the better. Throw in a big hunk of pity and you’re starting to get here. No song plays the pity card any better than A Legend In My Time. “If loneliness meant world acclaim / Everyone would know my name / I'd be a legend in my time”. The upshot though is that they don’t, “But they don't give awards / And there's no praise or fame / For a heart that's been broken / Over love that's in vain”.

When Gibson was interviewed about the song in Nashville on 7th September 1973 he said, “This song was written on the road to Knoxville, Tennessee, in a car with Mel Foree. I was reading an article in a magazine I had picked up about an entertainer. He was talking about show business and his career and how he would like to be a legend in his time. I told Mel that that would be a good title for a song, so I started humming.” The guy was a genius with the pen, but how does his version stack up against the others?

Don’s original is pure Nashville circa 1960. The sympathetic backing courtesy of the A Team had the right amounts of backing vocals, piano and guitar to allow Don’s voice to portray the pity in the message.

The Ricky Nelson version from his 1963 long player, “Sings For You” is a really good cover. The backing is very similar with James Burton adding a few extra embellishments. Ricky’s vocal performance is strong and belied his teeny bopper image.

Roy Orbison’s version was probably the first time I’d heard the song. My mate, the much missed Alan Galbraith, used to play it all the time. It was on the earth-shatteringly great Lonely & Blue album which included no lesser gems than Only The Lonely and Blue Angel. The Big O’s version of Legend is quite different to Gibson’s. The session from mid September 1960 was held at Nashville RCA studios, with his usual producer and engineer, Fred Foster and Bill Porter, using string arrangements to augment the same, without ever threatening to drown out the Bob Moore led country pickers. The haunting, atmospheric sax solo gives the words an extra dimension. On top of that, Roy plays with the lyrics for all they’re worth. A stunning masterpiece where the singer, the musicians and the material, bond in perfect harmony. He recorded the song again in 67 for the "Sings Don Gibson" album and that's great, but the first version is the best.

I love the Everly Brothers and think they are the tightest unit in rock history, but there’s something not quite there with their version of Legend. There’s just something missing that I can’t put my finger on. Their vocal performance actually reminds me of the style they were to employ in their 80’s comeback albums, EB84 and Born Yesterday.

Johnny Cash cut the song sometime between 2002 and 2003 just prior to his death. It was released late in 2004 as American V, and as with most of the American series it’s a dark, acoustic version. His worn, tired vocals gave most of the American recordings a hard edge that gave the mainly death and religious material an added effect. His take on Legend is no different and it was an inspired choice of song for that final period in his life.

The two that missed the boat with this song are my two main heroes. I would absolutely have loved to hear Jerry Lee do it at the London Sessions. When he did No Headstone On My Grave he had the upstart British musicians eating out of his hand and he knew it. His ego grew even more and he told them he didn’t want a headstone he wanted a damn monument. You can just imagine him doing this and shouting out that he’s already a legend in his time. Obviously the other guy who should have covered this was Elvis. In the early 60’s he’d have slayed it. Take a listen to Suspicion or Fame and Fortune and tell me that this wasn’t the perfect voice. With the Nashville band giving him the same backing as Don Gibson’s original, it would be phenomenal, and it wouldn’t take a rocket scientist to know that this would be the perfect version.

I know there’s been loads of other versions, including Hank Snow but I have got a life and the five above will have to do. To be honest the handful I’ve looked at are the cream of the crop. As it is, the winner of today’s battle of the song is Roy Orbison. Beautifully sung, totally convincingly sung by the king of pain.

If heartaches brought fame in love's crazy game,
I'd be a legend in my time.
If they gave gold statuettes for tears and regrets,
I'd be a legend in my time.
But they don't give awards, and there's no praise or fame
For a broken heart that's been broken over love that's in vain.
If loneliness meant world acclaim,
Then everyone would know my name --
I'd be a legend in my time.

Flip's Clips No.5 - Merle Haggard

Merle Haggard - Working Man Blues

After all that retro 60s colour here's one from probably the 70s in film noir shades. This is my all time fav stone country tune which I first heard when JLL did a raunchy Chuckachug version on Mercury 40 years ago this month. That got me to buy my first Merle Haggard best of on UK Capitol which almost made me buy a second stereo as I couldn`t stop playing the darn thing for months. I was so amazed to find a 60s artist who cut country as good as Mr Cash / Willaims / Gibson / Lewis / Robbins / Pierce / Owens.

Bakersfield guys had a much more pure twangy country sound than a lot of the bastardised forms of alleged country sneaking out of late 60s/early 70s Nashville in that dreaded countypolitan- stringdrenched-choir screeching- over mixed mishmash with snoring session players literally doing it in their sleep.

Long before Waylon became an "outlaw" Merle was the genuine fallen to the bottom ex jailbird who picked himself up and kicked musical ass all over the world for the next few decades.

This clip has a few minus points (should be in colour and what the heck are the horns doing there??) but listen to the awesome lyric, Merle's cool incantation and the legend that is Roy Nicholls on lead playing the heck out of it in his solos. Like Steve of the Railmen he kicks musical butt whilst sitting on his own, inspiring ole Merly Whirly to take a lick or two, roll over Muskogee and tell Memphis the news.

To quote young (well, compared to me) Mr Mather its shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhiiiiiiiithottttttttttttttttt sooperbbbbb.

Flip`s clips No.2 - Dave Dudley

If Chuck Berry had lusted over a big semi instead of Caddies then he coulda written and recorded this, the greatest trucking song of all time. Ladies 'n gentlemens I give you Mr Dave Dudley doing 6 Days On The Road on his debut Opry appearance in 1966 in absolutely magnificent retro-colour.

Dig the guitar, the Presley-Cash-ish slurring on the end of lines. Didn't the censors spot the Little White pills line, all this fuss bout Jagger/Morrison breaking the rules on Sullivan (hell Bo n Elvis did that in 55-57). This is the bible belt temple of American values here in Nashville and he gits away with that line, white line fever in deed.

There's only one decent Dudley CD and I think that is now deleted. So why have BF ignored the consistently great albums he did for Mercury in the 60s/70s, go figure ( I mean they`ve even done Pat Boone and that`s without a rope n feathers ----;-))).

Behind the scenes with Hayden Thompson at Hemsby

Shaun and I were invited along with Rod Pyke, to attend a final rehearsal by Hayden Thompson at Hemsby around 10 years ago, we chatted for ages before he sat at the piano and regaled us with impressions of JLL and Charlie Rich (an awesome On My Knees and a stunning Midnite Blues), had great stories such as being with JLL when he cut GBOF and that JLL gave him his red waistcoat that Hayden had admired, he sang several requests (songs that he didn't have time to do on stage at Hemsby such as his brill Boy From Tupelo) and did hilarious take offs of Elvis and especially Johnny Cash.

He stayed chatting for ages and even posed for pics with all of us having upturned collars and a sneer. This couple of hours was probably the most enjoyable Hemsby experience of all for me personally, a charming and gracious man, very like Carl Perkins.

Hayden is still a high class act on stage and on record, he's cut some great rockabilly and country cds in the last few years and apparently another rab cd with the great Barnshakers is in the pipeline. Here`s a great clip of Hayden doing Midnite Blues recently in Finland,superb backing which augurs well for the new CD.

Flip.

George Jones - youTube update

Mellow kindly wrote to me regarding the George Jones youTube clip I posted the other day. He points out that the other musicians are the Tennessee Three, Marshall Grant, WS Fluke Holland and the legendary Luther Perkins. You're right Mellow, I hadn't even looked in the background for some reason. Looking at it again I even noticed that Johnny Cash himself is the guy twiddling with George's left ear at the end.

Rockin' Song of the Week No. 70 - Carlene Carter

Rockin' Song of the Week No. 70
Carlene Carter & Dave Edmunds - Baby Ride Easy

Carlene Carter is a result of a couple of minutes of rompy pompy between country legends Carl Smith and future Mrs Cash, June Carter. She is a country rock singer who has had some hardships along the way, together with some pretty good records. I like her bopper I Fell In Love in the early 90's but it's Baby Ride Easy that sums her up for me.

In the early 80's she was married to Rockpile's Nick Lowe who was starting to influence her sound. It resulted in Musical Shapes, Carter's third album. The best song, and only hit from the album, was Richard Dobson's Baby Ride Easy, a deut with the great Welsh rocker, Dave Edmunds.

It's got a rockabilly guitar line throughout and the their vocals compliment nicely.
The alternating lines were Americana fueled and came over like a modern day Johnny and June ala Jackson or If I Were A Carpenter. "If I drove a truck, And I were waitress, And I ordered coffee, And I poured you some. Then you'd stop by on your
way sometime later, And if we arm-wrestled, I'd say that you won".

Routes of Rockabilly - Various Artists

Routes of Rockabilly – Various Artists
Fantastic Voyage FVTD026

DISC 1
1. Thats All Right (Arthur Big Boy Crudup)
2. Love My Baby (Little Juniors Blue Flames)
3. Freight Train Boogie (The Delmore Brothers)
4. Move It On Over (Hank Williams)
5. Thirty Days To Come Back Home (Ernest Tubb)
6. Drinking Wine Spoli Oli (The Five Strings)
7. Welcome To The Club (Charline Arthur)
8. Country Cattin (Jimmy Swan)
9. Dign And Datin (Gene Henslee)
10. Peepin Eyes (Charlie Feathers)
11. Split Personality (Bill Taylor and Smokey Jo)
12. Juke Box Help Me Find My Baby (The Rhythm Rockers)
13. Im A Little Red Caboose (Maddox Brothers and Rose)
14. Daddys Got The Deep Elem Blues (Jimmie Revard)
15. Who Shot Willie (Arthur Guitar Boogie Smith)
16. False Hearted Girl (Tennessee Ernie and Ella Mae Morse)
17. Jersey Rock (Zeb Turner)
18. Rocking Chair On The Moon (Bill Haley)
19. Thirteen Women And Only One Man In Town (Dickie Thompson)
20. Motor Head Baby (Chuck Higgins)
21. Right String But The Wrong Yo Yo (Piano Red)
22. The House Of Blue Lights (Merrill E Moore)
23. The Milk Cow Blues (Jimmie Rogers Snow)
24. Blue Moon Of Kentucky (Elvis Presley)
25. Baby Lets Play House (Arthur Gunter)

DISC 2
1. Cash On The Barrelhead (The Louvin Brothers)
2. Bear Cat (Rufus Hound Dog Thomas Jr)
3. Mystery Train (Little Juniors Blue Flames)
4. I Dont Care If The Sun Dont Shine (Elvis Presley)
5. Get Rhythm (Johnny Cash)
6. My Kind Of Carrying On (Doug Poindexter)
7. My Gal Gertie (Dub Dickerson)
8. Corrine Corrina 1947 Radio Transcription (Bob Wills)
9. Settin The Woods On Fire (Hank Williams)
10. Long Gone Daddy (Lou Graham)
11. Granpaws A Cat (Jimmy Murphy)
12. Catfish Boogie (Tennessee Ernie)
13. Rock A Bye Baby (Skeeter Bonn)
14. Kitty Kat (Bill Mack)
15. Alligator Come Across (Arlie Duff)
16. Rockin With My Baby (Malcolm Yelvington)
17. Movie Magg (Carl Perkins)
18. Feelin Low (Ernie Chaffin)
19. Lie To Me Baby (Johnny Tyler)
20. I Wont Be Rockin Tonight (Jean Chapel)
21. Choo Choo boogie (Kenny Roberts)
22. Fujiyama Mama (Annisteen Allen)
23. Forty Cups Of Coffee (Danny Overbea)
24. Im Coming Home (Johnny Horton)
25. The Rockaway Rock (The Collins Kids)

DISC 3
1. Hound Dog (Willie Mae Big Mama Thornton)
2. Red Hot (Billy The Kid Emerson)
3. Sittin On Top Of The World (Bob Wills)
4. Honky Tonk Blues (Hank Williams)
5. No No Baby (Al Ferrier)
6. Tom Catin Around (Jimmy Selph)
7. Rockin And Rollin With Grandmaw (Carson Robison)
8. Oakie Boogie (Ella Mae Morse)
9. Burning The Wind (Billy Wallace)
10. Dont Cry Baby (Cal Veale)
11. Dig Boy Dig (Freddie Hart)
12. Honky Tonk Man (Johnny Horton)
13. Tennessee RocknRoll (Bobby Helms)
14. Stop Look And Listen (Patsy Cline)
15. Mamas Little Baby (Junior Thompson)
16. Dont Go Baby Don t Go (Al Coker)
17. Take And Give (Slim Rhodes)
18. Crazy Arms (Jerry Lee Lewis)
19. Whole Lotta Shakin Goin On (Roy Hall)
20. Sag Drag And Fall (Sid King and The Five Strings)
21. Catty Town (Pee Wee King)
22. Party (The Collins Kids)
23. Just Because (Elvis Presley)
24. Trucker From Tennessee (Link Davis)
25. Down The Road A Piece (Chuck Miller)



The latest release from the emergent Fantastic Voyage label takes a look at the roads that led us to Rockabilly Central. The musical highways and bye-ways that gave us rockabilly are featured, from the Blues Highway to the Rural Route. Listen to Hank plead the Honky Tonk Blues for the perfect example of both styles in one magical two minute stroll. Not everything in life is black and white though, so we also get a few of the lesser trodden paths like western swing. To top it all we get a handful of songs from the town where all these routes converged, Memphis.

When I got into rockabilly/rock ‘n’ roll in the ‘80s I was soon digging out anything relating to its roots and quickly started to worship at the House of Hank. The likes Ernest Tubb and Tennessee Ernie Ford entered my conscience a little later and never quite thrilled me like the Drifting Cowboy. A big of digging to see what made Elvis tick led me to Arthur Crudup and Arthur Gunter and the jigsaw was starting to come together. There were some brilliant compilations in the ‘80s that shaped the rst of my lifes musical taste. And while that took a lot of collecting and searching, this 3CD set gives it to you in one fell swoop.

Why buy it then? Well, as well as the well known artists mentioned above, there’s a whole host of less obvious singers. Oklahoma deejay Gene Henslee’s 1954 Imperial single Dig’n And Datin’ is a rural rocker with honky tonk piano and a hypnotic shuffle beat. I’ve always loved the great Arthur Smith boogie, Who Shot Willie and there may be some out there unfamiliar with the early Bill Haley gem Rocking Chair On The Moon. I love his Thirteen Women, but here we get the Dickie Thompson original which I can’t recall hearing before. It’s bluesy and Thompson plays a mean guitar.
The second CD has a trio of numbers that might not be known to everyone but will definitely appeal to your taste buds -You’ll love Skeeter Bonn’s RCA Rock A Bye Baby, Bill Mack’s Kitty Kat and Arlie Duff’s superb Alligator Come Across. Johnny Tyler’s Lie To Me Baby is raw, country bopper shows that the Starday label was as hot as any label in 1956.


The only tracks that didn’t hit the spot for me were the two gals Jean Chapel and Charline Arthur and Bob Wills’ Corrine, Corrina. Three poor tracks, perhaps that’s why it sells for £9.99 not a tenner! These three are more than made up for by the stupendously brilliant, Burning The Wind by Billy Wallace. I’ve been saying “ah, play it Mr Gibson” to every acoustic guitar break since I first bought the Mercury Rockabillies album many moons ago.

Released this week and retailing at under a tenner for a triple set, this 75 song set is an absolute steal and will please new fans and seasoned collectors alike. This is the type of set that will stay in the car for years. The road between Pontrhydfendigaid and Aberystwyth might not be one of the Routes of Rockabilly, but it’s certainly heard a bit of it over the years, and with this set in the glove compartment it's going to hear a bit more for some time yet.

Great photo of Johnny, Ricky and Gene

This photo was believed to be taken in Hollywood, sometime in 1957/58. Johnny Cash, Ricky Nelson and Gene Vincent are pictured with Stew Carnall the guy who ran off with Lorrie Collins. Apparantly she broke Ricky Nelson's heart because they were an item at the time. I didn't know if it was just me so I've just checked with the misses and she's confirmed that Stew Carnall must have something that we couldn't see in the photo. I know one thing he must have had the next day after being out with Gene and Johnny - a hangover!