Me And Jesus

Over the years, Jesus has made his way into a ton of songs, many of which are on my i-pod today. Here's the official STWOF Jesus mix:

01. Talladega Nights – Baby Jesus Grace
02. Ernest Tubb - What A Friend We Have In Jesus
03. Tom T. Hall - Me And Jesus
04. Kinky Friedman - High On Jesus
05. Paul Newman - Plastic Jesus
06. The Bad Livers - Jesus Is On The Mainline
07. Loretta Lynn - I'd Rather Have Jesus
08. Bobby Bare - Dropkick Me, Jesus
09. Bobby Charles - Save Me Jesus
10. Help Yourself - I Must See Jesus For Myself
11. The Byrds - Jesus Is Just Alright
12. Buck Owens - Bring It To Jesus
13. Billy Joe Shaver - Jesus Christ, What A Man
14. Johnny Cash - It Was Jesus
15. Emmylou Harris - Jerusalem Tomorrow
16. John Prine - Jesus The Missing Years
17. Lightnin' Hopkins - Jesus Would You Come By Here
18. Tom T. Hall - One More Song For Jesus

"I like to party, so I like my Jesus to party..."

More Flying Burrito Brothers "Originals"

You may have noticed that I've been in the process of posting the original version of every song covered by Gram Parsons and his various bands (The International Submarine Band, The Byrds, and The Flying Burrito Brothers). Here are six songs covered by The Flying Burrito Brothers that I neglected to include in my first Flying Burrito Brothers post.

To my knowledge, the FBB cover versions of these songs were all studio outtakes first appearing on the Sleepless Nights compilation. While some of them may not be widely identified with the Flying Burrito Brothers, they are all absolutely killer songs.

1. George Jones – Your Angel Steps out of Heaven (out of print)
2. Ray Price - Crazy Arms (buy)
3. Buck Owens - Together Again (buy) (More at Sundazed Music).
4. The Rolling Stones - Honky Tonk Women (buy)
5. Porter Wagoner - Green, Green Grass of Home (buy)
6. Joe Maphis - Dim Lights, Thick Smoke (And Loud, Loud Music) (out of print)

See also:
The Safe At Home Originals
The Original Sweetheart Of The Rodeo
The Flying Burrito Brothers Originals, Part I

(Note: Three originals covered by the FBB on the Sleepless Nights LP have already been posted in this series and three more--Gram Parsons solo outtakes--will be posted in the final installment.)

Flying Burrito Brothers "Originals"

I've already posted the Safe At Home and Sweetheart Of The Rodeo "originals." Now it's time for the "original" versions of the covers recorded by The Flying Burrito Brothers during the Gram Parsons era (1969-1970).

[I realize that the Burrito's version of Wild Horses was released before The Stones' version, but it's still a Jagger/Richards composition, so that's close enough.]

These "originals" show the R&B/Honky-Tonk/Rock mixture that inspired the Burrito's innovative country-rock style.

From The Gilded Palace Of Sin:

1. Aretha Franklin - Do Right Woman, Do Right Man (buy)
2. James Carr - Dark End Of The Street (buy)

From Burrito Deluxe:

3. Conway Twitty - Image Of Me (buy)
4. Bob Dylan - If You Gotta Go, Go Now (buy)
5. Hank Williams - Farther Along
6. The Rolling Stones - Wild Horses (buy)

From Hot Burritos! Compilation:

7. Dave Dudley - Six Days On The Road (buy)
8. Buck Owens - Close Up The Honky Tonks (buy)
9. George Hamilton IV - Break My Mind (buy)
10. Merle Haggard - Sing Me Back Home (buy)
11. Merle Haggard - The Bottle Let Me Down (buy)
12. The Bee Gees - To Love Somebody (buy) (This one is great!)

More:

The Box Tops - Break My Mind (buy) (This version was released around the same time as George Hamilton IV's more well-known version of John D. Loudermilk's tune.)

Jerry Lee Lewis - Break My Mind (buy) (Included just because I like Jerry Lee so much.)

Sam Cooke - Farther Along (buy) (Here's a nice gospel rendition from one of the alltime greats.)

Mississippi John Hurt - Farther Along (buy) (And here's a rootsier version.)

See also:
The Safe At Home Originals
The Original Sweetheart Of The Rodeo

Favorite Country Artist Results, Nos. 15-11

The "best damn fiddle player in the world" is only the 13th most favorite country artist according to your votes.

Today’s batch of artists…

11. Loretta Lynn
12. Buck Owens
13. Bob Wills & The Texas Playboys
14. The Louvin Brothers
15. Dolly Parton

Today’s batch of songs…

This one really captures Loretta’s feisty attitude:

Loretta Lynn – Fist City (buy album)

And this one really captures the Bakersfield sound:

Buck Owens – I’ve Got A Tiger By The Tail (buy album)

Here’s one from Bob Wills’ last recording session:

Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys – That’s What I Like ‘Bout The South (buy album)

This Louvin Brothers’ tune later became a hit for Emmylou:

The Louvin Brothers – If I Could Only Win Your Love (buy album)

Maybe the best of Dolly’s many melodramatic hillbilly hits:

Dolly Parton – Coat Of Many Colors (buy album)



Is anybody out there?

Give Me Your List, Please!

I'm taking a break.

I'll be back in a month or so. Until then I’ll still be posting a few tracks over at Star Maker Machine and occasionally updating the sidebar here.

While I'm gone, you can check here for some great stuff on other blogs.

Now for the real purpose of this post: I love lists. I made one (below) and I want to see yours.

Please submit a ranked list of your top 10 favorite country artists/bands of all time. (Feel free to include explanations of your choices if you wish, or even an mp3 link, but all that's required is a ranked list.)

When the lists start coming in, the Classic Country Research Department here at STWOF will begin crunching the numbers. Then, after a month or so, I'll return with a highly entertaining and informative post about the results. It should be fun! And the more submissions the better, so let’s set a new record for the number of comments here.

Who’s eligible? Any country artist or band. (If in doubt, check AMG to see if the artist or band in question fits into any of these style categories. Feel free to include bluegrass, country-folk, country-rock, and alt-country performers. Note, however, that if you pick a performer who only occasionally dabbled in country styles, like Bob Dylan for instance, your vote should be based only on that artist’s country material. No extra credit for Like A Rolling Stone.)

I’m looking forward to reading your lists. Here’s mine (for the moment):

1. Hank Williams. No explanation necessary. He set the rules for all who followed.

Hank Williams – Jambalaya (On The Bayou) (buy album).

2. Tom T. Hall. A little high you say? Maybe. But this project is not about an objective view of accomplishments. It’s about individual favorites. Tom T. Hall’s funny and insightful songs really get me.

Tom T. Hall – The Year That Clayton Delaney Died (buy album).

3. George Jones. That voice. Nobody can deliver a country song like the possum.

George Jones - A Girl I Used To Know (buy album)

4. Merle Haggard. George had the voice. Merle had the attitude and he wrote a ton of brilliant country songs.

Merle Haggard – I Can't Hold Myself In Line (buy album).

5. Johnny Cash. The Man in Black might be the most enduring of the 1950's pop artists (including Elvis Presley). Cash made his name and his best material in 1950’s, but his legacy was sealed by the great work he did in the 1990’s. A true giant.

Johnny Cash – Drive On (buy album).

6. Bob Wills & The Texas Playboys. No music makes me happier than western swing. Bob’s band wrote the book on that style.

Bob Wills – Bring It On Down To My House (buy album).

7. Gram Parsons. The kid with a big trust fund wasn’t the greatest live performer, but he was also an innovator and a great songwriter responsible for an impressive number of classic tunes in his short life.

Gram Parsons – Brass Buttons (buy album).

8. Townes Van Zandt. I’m a sucker for Texas-based songwriting geniuses.

Townes Van Zandt – To Live Is To Fly (buy album).

9. John Hartford. See here for the explanation.

John Hartford – Back In The Goodle Days (out of print)

10. Buck Owens. Love that Bakersfield sound.

Buck Owens – Act Naturally (buy album)

Some more contenders for my list: Patsy Cline, The Flatlanders, Lefty Frizzell, Jason & The Scorchers, Waylon Jennings, Jerry Lee Lewis, Bill Monroe, Willie Nelson, Jimmie Rodgers, Ernest Tubb

I'm looking forward to reading your top ten lists!

A trip to the record store

On a recent work trip to Ann Arbor the other day I snuck off to a few record stores and picked up these great L.P.s.

George Jones - I'll Share My World With You (Purchased at Encore Records for $10). This one, on the Musicor label, was my favorite pick of the day. Lot's of great (and humorous) tunes like these:

George Jones – I Don't Have Sense Enough (To Come Out Of The Pain)

George Jones – When The Wife Runs Off

Jeannie C. Riley - Harper Valley P.T.A. (Purchased at Wazoo Records for $5). I mostly bought this one for the cover, but it's actually pretty interesting. (Read the AMG review.) Here is a Tom T. Hall-penned track that gives the back story about Shirley Thompson, who, as you all know from the album's title track, "sure uses a lot of ice whenever [her husband's] away":

Jeannie C. Riley – Sippin' Shirley Thompson (buy album)

Ernest Tubb - Ernest Tubb And His Texas Troubadours (Purchased at Wazoo Records for $3). I always pick up a new Tubb album whenever I see one. On this one, from the Vocalion label, Ernest shows his sensitive side:

Ernest Tubb – You Don't Have To Be A Baby To Cry

Buck Owens - In Japan! (Purchased at Wazoo Records for $4). I loved the cover on this one too. It's funny to hear Buck speak really slow English to his Japanese audience (not on this track).

Buck Owens – Roll Out The Red Carpet (buy album)

Who invented country rock?

This post is inspired by an e-mail from reader Tom who took issue with my off-the-cuff comment in an earlier post that Gram Parsons “wrote the book” on country rock. I had been referring to Parsons' work with The Byrds, The Flying Burrito Brothers, & as a solo act, and wrongly implied that Parsons invented country rock. Tom, who knows his stuff, pointed out that several country rock songs were released before The Byrds put country-rock on the map in the Summer of 1968 with Sweetheart of the Rodeo.

This got me thinking about who did invent country rock? Let's look back at the period between 1954 (when rock and roll was first popularized) through 1968 (Sweetheart) to see if we can find an answer to that burning question.

Sweetheart of the Rodeo (1968)

Sweetheart of the Rodeo, released in the Summer of 1968, was the Byrds first and only LP made with country-rock icon Gram Parsons. While Sweetheart may not have been the first instance of country rock, its released marked the arrival of country-rock as a full-fledged "style."

Here is Gram Parsons' vocal and songwriting highlight from Sweetheart:

The Byrds - Hickory Wind (buy album) (1968).

Hickory Wind played a key role in the The Byrd’s legendary March 15, 1968 visit to the Grand Ole Opry. Read about it here.

Here's a video of The Byrds (sans Parsons) performing another song from the same album. On this cover of Bob Dylan’s You Ain’t Going Nowhere, The Byrds are joined by bluegrass great Earl Scruggs:



Now let's turn back the years...

Rock and Roll’s Origins (Elvis Presley, The Everly Brothers, & Jerry Lee Lewis)

All music styles are combinations of earlier styles. Rock and roll is a mixture of country, blues and R&B. Country's influence can be heard in Elvis Presley's cover of this Bill Monroe classic:

Elvis Presley - Blue Moon Of Kentucky (buy album) (1954).

The Everly Brothers were another early rock group with a strong country element, and they also served as a key influence on The Beatles and Gram Parsons.

The Everly Brothers - When Will I Be Loved (buy album) (1960).

After the peak of their popularity in the early 1960’s, the Everly Brothers re-located to California and, in 1968, released a great "lost" country-rock LP called Roots

Another early rock and roll great heavily inspired by country music was Jerry Lee Lewis. Check out this Hank Williams cover from Jerry Lee's incredible Live at the Star Club.

Jerry Lee Lewis – Your Cheating Heart (Hank Williams cover) (buy album) (1964).

Here's another Sun Record star, Johnny Cash, playing one of his greatest country/rock hits: VIDEO - Folsum Prison Blues (Live).

With country-influenced artists like Elvis, The Everly Brothers, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, and Buddy Holly (who learned to sing copying Hank Williams' Lovesick Blues) present at the birth of "rock," it's easy to see why rock was such a fertile ground for the development "country rock" as a distinct style.

The Beatles

Beatles fanatics claim that the Fab Four invented pretty much every recent style of popular music from folk-rock to psychedelic to heavy metal. When it comes to country rock (another claimed Beatles innovation) they might have something of a point. Steve Earle called Beatles For Sale the “hillbilly Beatles record.” It's no question that The Beatles were fans of country music and incorporated some country sounds into their music. Their record contract apparently included a provision calling for them to receive advance copies of all Buck Owens’ releases. You can hear some Beatles' twang in this track from the Hard Day’s Night soundtrack:

The Beatles – I’ll Cry Instead (buy album) (1964).

More twangy Beatles' songs from 1964-1966 include I’m A Loser, Baby’s In Black, Honey Don’t (Carl Perkins cover), I Don’t Want To Spoil The Party, Everybody’s Trying To Be My Baby (Rex Griffin cover), Act Naturally (Buck Owens cover), I’ve Just Seen a Face, Run For Your Life, and What Goes On.

Here's a video of Ringo doing his best Buck Owens: VIDEO - Act Naturally (Live).

The pre-Sweetheart Byrds

Interestingly enough, one of the most proficient country-rock acts before Sweetheart was The Byrds themselves. They exhibited a country influence from the very start of their recording career, primarily due to the influence of Chris Hillman, who later left the band with Gram Parsons to form the Flying Burrito Brothers. Here are three country-rock songs from three albums released before Sweetheart.

The Byrds – Mr. Spaceman (buy album) (1966).
The Byrds – Time Between (buy album) (1967).
The Byrds – Wasn't Born To Follow (buy album) (1968).

The Byrds also covered the country standard Satisfied Mind on their second album, Turn! Turn! Turn! in 1965.

While Gram Parsons may have pushed The Byrds into making an entire album of country music, it probably took only a slight nudge, especially with Hillman's help.

Gene Clark & The Gosdin Brothers

Gene Clark left the Byrds in 1966 to pursue a solo career. His first effort was an excellent, but unappreciated, country-rock album called Gene Clark With The Gosdin Brothers. The Gosdin Brothers were a bluegrass duo who went on to record an important country rock album of their own in 1968 called Sounds of Goodbye. Also featured on Gene Clark's first solo album were Chris Hillman, brilliant country guitarist Clarence White, and Doug Dillard of The Dillards (later a collaborator with Gene Clark on The Fantastic Expedition of Dillard & Clark)

Gene Clark – Tried So Hard (buy album)(1967).

The Gosdin Brothers later recorded this killer country-rock track (which went unreleased until 2006):

The Gosdin Brothers – Georgia (buy album) (1969).

The International Submarine Band

Gram Parsons first release came as the leader of the International Submarine Band. ISB formed on the East coast as The Like and were coaxed by Parsons to move west where they eventually broke up. Shortly after they broke up, Parsons and guitarist John Nuese obtained a recording contract from Lee Hazlewood's LHI label and, with new member Chris Ethridge, recorded the country-rock album Safe At Home under the International Submarine Band name. Shortly after the album was released Parsons joined The Byrds, dooming Safe At Home to obscurity for years.

The music on Safe At Home is great country-rock. There are some great Parsons originals, such as Blue Eyes and Luxury Liner, as well as a number of well-played country covers, like Miller's Cave and Do You Know How It Feels To Be Lonesome?

International Submarine Band – Luxury Liner (1968)
International Submarine Band – Miller's Cave (1968)
(buy album).

There is a good article about the International Submarine Band in Oxford American.

Ray Charles

Ian Dunlop, an original member of the International Submarine Band is quoted in Ben Fong-Torres' book Hickory Wind saying that Ray Charles 1965 album Country and Western meets Rhythm and Blues was "key" in breaking the barriers between the band members and getting them "into this amalgram of truer country music, but with a rock or a slight rhythm-and-blues treatment."

Ray Charles – I've Got A Tiger By The Tail (Buck Owens cover) (buy album) (1965).

From the Country Side (Buck Owens & The Dillards)

Country-rock did not only develop on the rock side. Country music also changed in the 1960's as a reaction to the popularity of rock music. A number of acts added drums and became more electricfied. The leader of this movement on the country side was Bakersfield California's Buck Owens.

Buck Owens – My Heart Skips A Beat (buy album) (1964).

Here's a video of Buck Owens and Don Rich from 1966: VIDEO - Love's Gonna Live Here (Live).

In the meantime, The Dillards were experimenting with a combination of blue grass and folk/pop/rock. Here's one from their masterpiece Wheatstraw Suite:

The Dillards – Reason To Believe (Tim Hardin cover) (buy album) (1968).

Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan was heavily influenced by Hank Williams and famously recorded a number of songs with Johnny Cash. He was also a major innovator during the Sixties. So it’s not surprising that he was involved in the birth of country rock when he released the LP John Wesley Harding in late 1967:

Bob Dylan – I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight (buy album) (1967).

Here's a gum-chewing (?) Bob Dylan with Johnny Cash: VIDEO - One Too Many Mornings.

Pioneering Sixties Rock Bands

The Byrds and The Beatles were not the only major 1960s rock bands to dabble in country sounds. Here are four more bands from the same era:

The Lovin' Spoonful - Nashville Cats (buy album) (1966).

I just love this tune. It's a grower, but a quick one. After a few listens I was completely hooked. I especially like the line: "Well there's 1,352 guitar pickers in Nashville, and they can pick more notes than the number of ants on a Tennessee anthill. Yea, there's 1,352 guitar cases in Nashville, and anyone that unpacks his guitar can play twice as better than I will...."

Buffalo Springfield – Go And Say Goodbye (buy album) (1966).

Neil Young's, Steven Still's, and Richie Furay's first band is probably second only to The Byrds as a driving force behind country rock.

Moby Grape – Ain't No Use (buy album) (1967). (The extended remastered version is out of print as a CD, but still can be downloaded from Amazon.)

For more about this great album see here.

The Band - Long Black Veil (buy album) (1968).

The Band had been mining American roots music for years while working as The Hawks and backing Bob Dylan. Their first album, Music From Big Pink, released within days of The Byrds' release of Sweetheart of the Rodeo, included this cover of a Lefty Frizzell song.

Conclusion

No single person "invented" country rock. It's creation was the natural result of a rock musicians being open to the influence of country music, and vice versa. But I would still call Gram Parsons the face of country rock, if nothing else. Here's one of his best songs:

The Flying Burrito Brothers – Sin City (buy album) (1969).

Special thanks to The Rising Storm for having so much great material to link to in this post.

Queen Of The Coast - Laura Cantrell, Bonnie Owens, Merle Haggard, Buck Owens, and more!

Photo by Ted Barron (who also has a heck of a blog).

Laura Cantrell is one of the most interesting country performers to come along in recent years. As I noted in a previous post, she sings a lot like Kitty Wells, but her music is innovative enough to have won high praise from the late great John Peel.

Cantrell is a student of music history. For years she has been the "proprietess" of a great New York radio show called The Radio Thrift Shop, which features great old country, bluegrass, and swing music scoured from "bargain bins, church bazaars and yard sales."

On her excellent debut LP, Not The Tremblin' Kind, Cantrell put her historical knowledge to use in a song about Bonnie Owens (pictured) called Queen Of The Coast. Bonnie Owens married and sang back-up for the two giants of California country music, Buck Owens (husband #1) and Merle Haggard (husband #2). She continued to sing back-up for Merle Haggard after their divorce, which plays into Cantrell's song.

Laura Cantrell – Queen Of The Coast (buy album).

She was the queen of the coast back in 1965,
Prettier than most, she could keep a room alive,
With the catch in her voice and the beehive on her head.
Do you remember anything she ever said?

Well, some stars fade faster than the rest,
And the promise wore off though she did her best.
She finally looked around for somethin' else to do.
What she found was a man who needed what she knew.

Have you forgotten? Have you forgiven?
Tell me are you livin' just a little in your past every day.
Time sure has changed you; it's walked right on by you.
Does it satisfy you to have so little to say?

For the next ten years she rode around on the bus.
She did washin' and ironin' and pickin' up.
She had a place to stand at the back of the stage.
She was there every night, lookin' her age.

She lent her voice, but she gave her heart.
And, I guess, that must've been the hardest part.
She figured out exactly what was goin' on,
All the love she had given for a song.

Then things unravelled like they usually do.
She got her old heart busted up by husband number two.

[Chorus]

I'm not quite sure when she got back on the bus.
But she's still washin' and ironin' and pickin' up.
If you look all the way to the back of the stage,
She's standin' at her mic, lookin' her age.

In a roadstop in Reno at supper time,
The waitress comes over with a look in her eye.
Says: "I saw you in Modesto almost thirty years ago,
And I can still remember every song in your show."

Please Help Me, I'm Falling, Don't Come Home A-Drinking,
Well, there's a pair of Swingin' Doors for every Cowboy's Sweetheart tonight.

Time sure has changed you; it's walked right on by you.
Does it satisfy you to have so little to say?

Here are the other songs mentioned in the last part of Queen Of The Coast:

Hank Lockin - Please Help Me I'm Falling (buy album).

Loretta Lynn - Don't Come Home Drinkin' With Lovin' On Your Mind (buy album).

Merle Haggard - Swingin' Doors (buy album).

Patsy Montana - Cowboy's Sweetheart (buy album).

Maybe the coolest thing about Queen Of The Coast is how the mandolin intro and outro mimics the guitar lead used in this classic Merle Haggard song:

Merle Haggard - I'm A Lonesome Fugitive (buy album).

Here are some Merle Haggard songs featuring Bonnie Owens:

Merle Haggard & Bonnie Owens – Just Between The Two Of Us

Merle Haggard & Bonnie Owens – Forever And Ever

Merle Haggard & Bonnie Owens – Too Used To Being With You

(buy album).



And here are a couple tunes from the great Buck Owens:

Buck Owens - Waitin' In Your Welfare Line (buy album).

Buck Owens – Love's Gonna Live Here (buy album).

Now back to Laura Cantrell. All of her stuff is great, in my opinion, but my favorite (getting the highest STWOF seal of approval) is Not the Tremblin' Kind. Here's a poppy song from that album that I really enjoy:

Laura Cantrell - Pile Of Woe (buy album). (Joe Flood cover).

Many more great Laura Cantrell downloads are available at her website.