Nashville – PowerPop… An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture

Willie Nelson – Whiskey River

After watching that Maria Muldaur video last week with Leon and Willie included…I wanted to listen to some of Nelson’s songs this past week. This one I remember as a kid. This song was on the album Shotgun Willie. It was a turning point for Willie Nelson…he left Nashville’s mainstream country for the Country Outlaw scene.

I remember Outlaw Country back when I was a kid. Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson, Charlie Daniels, Johnny Cash, and Willie Nelson are who I remember the most. It was a no-frills version of country music. This was not as polished as what you heard on country radio. It had an authentic and raw sound that people were happy to hear.

I always thought they brought the Rock image element and feel into country music with these artists. Many of them would have songs that crossed over to the pop charts like Waylon, Willie, and Kristofferson.

Willie is an American icon, reaching people like Johnny Cash did in country music and beyond. He crosses genres quite well with his music and laid-back image. I also love his guitar Trigger. That guitar is an N-20 Martin. He bought the guitar in 1969 when someone stepped on his Baldwin Guitar. He had the pickups on the Baldwin moved to the Martin. Willie came to love the guitar, he said: “One of the secrets to my sound is almost beyond explanation. My battered old Martin guitar, Trigger, has the greatest tone I’ve ever heard from a guitar. … If I picked up the finest guitar made this year and tried to play my solos exactly the way you heard them on the radio or even at last night’s show, I’d always be a copy of myself and we’d all end up bored. But if I play an instrument that is now a part of me, and do it according to the way that feels right for me … I’ll always be an original”

Shotgun Willie marked a huge departure from Nelson’s previous work. Out came the Willie Nelson that we now know. His look and music changed.

The song was originally written by Johnny Bush and Paul Stroud in 1972. Willie’s version would always be the definite version of the song. If you listen to Bush’s version compared to Willies…you will quickly see the difference between mainstream country and Outlaw country. This song did well for Nelson…it peaked at #12 on the Billboard Country Charts and #3 on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks charts. Bush was happy about Willie covering it…they were friends and Willie took the song to a huge audience. Outlaw country artists sought more creative control over their music, production, and image… breaking away from the Nashville establishment.

The late Toby Keith with “I’ll Never Smoke Weed With Willie Again” and yes it was a true story.

Whiskey River

Whiskey River take my mindDon’t let her mem’ry torture meWhiskey River don’t run dryYou’re all I’ve got, take care of me

I’m drowning in a whiskey riverBathing my mem’ried mind in the wetness of its soulFeeling the amber current flowin’ from my mindAnd warm an empty heart you left so cold

Whiskey River take my mindDon’t let her mem’ry torture meWhiskey River don’t run dryYou’re all I’ve got, take care of me

I’m drowning in a whiskey riverBathing my mem’ried mind in the wetness of its soulFeeling the amber current flowin’ from my mindAnd warm an empty heart you left so cold

Whiskey River take my mindDon’t let her mem’ry torture meWhiskey River don’t run dryYou’re all I’ve got, take care of me

Byrds – Drug Store Truck Driving Man

This song is on the Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde album by the Byrds. It’s a really good song and the song’s origin is interesting. It was written in response to an on-air argument with Ralph Emery, who was an all-night country DJ on a country radio station at the time. It was written by Roger McGuinn and Gram Parsons. The song was an open letter to Emery.

Before I get into the song which I really like…I want everyone to know I’m not downing Emery because of this. I grew up with Ralph Emery on television in the 1970s. I was never a fan because his show wasn’t in my age group. To be fair to Ralph…he did invite Roger McGuinn on his show in 1985 when Vern Gosdin covered Turn, Turn, Turn and Roger played guitar. He was on there more than once so it was all in the past by that time. Times had changed so much by the 80s…rock and country went together by then but in the 60s Buck Owens touched on it but not many people were doing both…the Byrds with Gram Parsons were pioneers in a way with Sweetheart Of The Rodeo.

In 1968 The Byrds were in Nashville promoting their new country album Sweetheart of the Rodeo and got a cool reception at the Grand Ole Opry. They got into an argument with Emery on air when he said that “You Ain’t Going Nowhere” wasn’t country and then proceeded to call them long-haired hippies and would not play the record. He also didn’t understand what the song meant and Roger told him that Dylan wrote it…well that didn’t help!

Ralph Emery would not budge…It was the 1960s in a very fifties Nashville and Ralph could not get past the hair although they didn’t have excessively long hair. It would open up a bit in the early seventies with Outlaw country music by Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, and Waylon Jennings. That movement would soon join traditionalists and the outlaw crowd together. They Byrds helped, in their own way, to make that happen.

The lyrics were about the narrow-mindedness of then certain segments of the country music industry. Lines like “He’s the all-American boy” and “he don’t like the way we play” reflect the hate that McGuinn and Parsons felt from some in Nashville. The title, “Drug Store Truck Drivin’ Man,” is a dig at Emery, suggesting that he was more of a conventional figure who could not appreciate or understand the Byrds’ approach to country music. But I’m glad it happened because we got a good country-rock song out of it.

Chris Hillman: “There was the funny story with Ralph Emery, the DJ in Nashville, where he had The Gilded Palace Of Sin tacked on the wall outside of his office, and with a big red pen it said, ‘This is not country music.’ Roger and Gram had gone to do an interview with him when we were all still with the Byrds, and Ralph was such a jerk to them then that they wrote that song “Drug Store Truck Driving Man”. A classic! I wish I’d written a part of that. But later, whenever I’d go on his show with the Desert Rose Band, Ralph would ask, “Did you write that song?” Finally, I had to say, “No, but I wish I had!” So when Roger was on later, Ralph would say, “Well, how is Gram doing?” and Roger would answer, “He’s still dead.” McGuinn was pretty darned quick in those situations!”

I’m adding a live version and a hell of a story by Jason and the Scorchers…on how they played this song and it found a spot on Ralph Emery’s TV show in the early 80s.

Ralph Emery when he invited McGuinn on his show in 1985

Drug Store Truck Drivin’ Man

He’s a drug store truck-drivin’ man
He’s the head of the Ku Klux Klan
When summer rolls around
He’ll be lucky if he’s not in town

Well, he’s got him a house on the hill
He plays country records till you’ve had your fill
He’s a fireman’s friend he’s an all-night DJ
But he sure does think different from the records he plays

He’s a drug store truck-drivin’ man
He’s the head of the Ku Klux Klan
When summer rolls around
He’ll be lucky if he’s not in town

Well, he don’t like the young folks I know
He told me one night on his radio show
He’s got him a medal he won in the War
It weighs five-hundred pounds and it sleeps on his floor

He’s a drug store truck drivin’ man
He’s the head of the Ku Klux Klan
When summer rolls around
He’ll be lucky if he’s not in town

He’s been like a father to me
He’s the only DJ you can hear after three
I’m an all-night musician in a rock and roll band
And why he don’t like me I can’t understand

He’s a drug store truck-drivin’ man
He’s the head of the Ku Klux Klan
When summer rolls around
He’ll be lucky if he’s not in town

He’ll be lucky if he’s not in town

This one’s for you, Ralph

Marty Stuart – Hummingbyrd

I’m a fan of Marty Stuart and the guitarist to this song is dedicated. As you see in the title…it was written by Stuart in tribute to Byrds member Clarence White. The song is an instrumental from his 2010 album Ghost Train: The Studio B Sessions. It was recorded at the historic RCA Studio B in Nashville. The song reminds me a little of the Buck Owens song Buckaroo.

Marty Stuart is one of the best guitarists I’ve ever seen live. He showed up before Bob Dylan went on stage and Bob asked him to play with him. Not to play for a song or two…but for the complete show…that is how good this man is. He has been around since the 70s playing music. One of his big influences was Clarence White of The Byrds and Kentucky Colonels. This song managed to win a Grammy. He has been nominated 15 times and won 5 altogether.

He played with artists such as The Everly Brothers, Joe Cocker, Ricky Nelson, the Monkees, Randy Newman, Gene Clark, Linda Ronstadt, Arlo Guthrie, Jackson Browne, and many more.

He is perhaps best known for developing and using the B-Bender guitar, which he co-invented with fellow musician Gene Parsons. This device allowed him to bend the B-string up a whole tone, enabling pedal steel-like sounds on the guitar. This innovation became a hallmark of his playing style and significantly influenced country rock guitarists. To make it bend…you gently push the guitar down on the strap and it will bend the string. When Marty Stuart first listened to Sweetheart of the Rodeo he wanted to know who played the steel guitar on some of the songs…it ended up being White playing the B-Bender.

Marty Stuart bought this guitar from White’s family. He gave them a blank check and told them to fill in the amount within reason. He then told them if it wasn’t within reason he would get a loan. They filled it in with $1495.00 which was way below price…even in 1980. The guitar had the first B-Bender so it was historical just for that. Marty played the guitar on this album with and uses it regularly.

Tragically, Clarence White’s life was cut short when he was killed by a drunk driver on July 15, 1973, at the age of 29. He and his brother Roland White were loading equipment in their car and a drunk driver killed Clarence but Roland survived. Roland just passed away in 2022 at the age of 83. Marty met Clarence once and played with his brother a lot.

I was talking to obbverse the other day about including more technical guitar talk. I hope it doesn’t bore you reading but I won’t have that much…but in this post, I thought it was necessary.

One short story about what Marty Stuart found in Clarence’s guitar. Once he got it he started to clean it and took it apart. He found something that he thought he knew what it was…but he sent it to a lab…and it was an acid blotter that Clarence had tucked away.

The story of how Stuart bought Clarence White’s guitar…it’s very interesting and shows the kind of person Marty Stuart is. It’s only six minutes and thirty five seconds long.

I included this video to show you what a B-Bender does. I’ve thought about adding one to my telecaster. They also have one called a “hip shooter” as it’s not as invasive on the telecaster as this version.

No lyrics…sit back and enjoy

Hometown Artist…Don Williams

Dave from A Sound Day wanted us to write about our Hometown and for us to write either a song about our hometown or highlight an artist from there.

It’s my sister’s birthday today so I thought I would post this since she is in it. Dave posted this a while back.

If you have read my blog for a while…you already know a couple of these stories so I do apologize. When someone asks me where I’m from I usually say Nashville. I was born there but I lived/live in a small town north of Nashville. It’s a town called Ashland City and it’s your typical two-redlight town. I could write about Nashville but that would cover around 20 posts so I’ll go with the town I grew up in.

Now to confuse everyone…there are 3 towns close to each other in the same county. Ashland City, which is the capital of the county, Pleasant View, and Chapmansboro where I live now…they are all within 7-8 miles of each other so “Ashland City” pretty much covers them all…at least in our minds.

3 major country stars lived in our small area while growing up at that time. Don Williams, Mel Tellis, and Randy Travis. I was at my sister’s house in the eighties and I heard her scream and then run out and slam the door. She woke me up with her oohing and ahhing and I asked what was going on. Someone was riding a horse down tout dirt road. Tammy (my sister) went out and talked a little and she came back all happy.

I asked who it was and she said it was Randy Travis. I was a total modern country snob back then…I told her…when Eric Clapton rides by on a horse…then you wake me up. Make it someone worth it…yea I know I wasn’t nice. The reason for the snobbery…if you live here you are expected to like country music…but I couldn’t take it…except early country music. You start to rebel against music that is thrown at you constantly. That may be the reason I liked British rock artists more than country artists in my backyard. As I got older I started to appreciate them more.

Why did I say, Eric Clapton? Many of us think he might have visited our town in the 70s. The reason was that he was good friends with Don Williams. Now I did like Don Williams a lot. I also liked Mel Tillis but Randy Travis was part of that new country at the time that I didn’t really care for. I personally think my sister just loved the way he looked more than anything else.

Here are two stories that I’ve told before…The first star I met was Loretta Lynn and I had breakfast with her at her ranch (in a town called Waverly) which was the coolest breakfast I ever had while I was 8 years old. I would see other stars (Jerry Reed and Kenny Rogers) also once in a while but only really talked to two…Loretta Lynn and the featured artist today.

I was around 10-12 and I played baseball at the city ballpark. I would go there after school and practice. There were days I would just hang around and talk to people. I saw this man mowing the grass that had this old cowboy hat on. After a little while, he stopped and talked to me and asked me how I was doing. I knew the guy’s face and it came to me… I was talking to Don Williams. The reason I knew him was because of my mom’s country albums. I wasn’t into country music but some songs I did like.

I would see him off and on throughout my teenage years and he always was as nice as can be. I went to school and played baseball with his son. Don would mow the city park and the high school field. I’m not sure if he was bored or just wanted to help the community…he was a super guy either way. One of the last things he did was help raise money to get his church a new building. He passed away at 78 years old in 2017.

Williams had songs like It Must Be Love and I Believe In You…plus many more.

I Believe in You peaked at #1 on the Country chart in 1980. It also peaked at #1 in Canada on the Country Charts. It ended up being Don Williams’ only Top 40 song on the Billboard 100, the song peaked at #24 in the Billboard 100, #4 in New Zealand, and #20 in Australia.

It Must Be Love peaked at #1 on the Billboard Country Charts and #2 on the Canada Country Charts in 1979.

All together Williams had 21 #1 singles on the Country Charts and a total of 25 studio albums and 62 singles.

Eric Clapton and Pete Townshend were admirers of Don Williams and both covered his songs. Eric Clapton would cover Tulsa Time and take it to #30 in the Billboard 100.

…

Kris Kristofferson – Why Me

Good morning to everyone on this fine Sunday morning! This was a song that I heard on my mom’s country stations along with the AM pop stations that my sister listened to. It crossed genres and was a massive hit.

It peaked at #1 on the Billboard Country Charts and Canada’s Country Charts, #16 on the Billboard 100, and #19 on Canada’s RPM Charts in 1973.

Kristofferson is an incredible songwriter but he gave up a lot to be one. He is very intelligent and he was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University.

Kristofferson came from a military family. Both of his grandfathers were military men, his dad was a general in the Air Force, and his brother was in the Navy. Kris himself had made a name for himself in the armed forces, achieving the rank of captain and being offered a teaching position at West Point.

Instead, he moved to Nashville and ended up working odd jobs to support his disabled son while trying to break into the music business. When his mother found out about the music business she wrote a letter to him that he was an embarrassment to the family and he was disowned. Someone showed the letter to Johnny Cash, who believed in Kristofferson, and Cash told him ‘Always nice to get a letter from home, isn’t it, Kris?’

I feel lazy doing this but Kristofferson tells the story of the song better than I can. He went to church with country music artist Connie Smith and this happened.

Kris Kristofferson: “The night before we’d been down in Cookeville with a bunch of people, doing a benefit for Dottie West’s High School band or something and then Connie took me over to church the next day to Jimmie Snow’s church. And I had a profound religious experience during the session, something that never had happened to me before. And ‘Why Me’ came out of it.

Everybody was kneeling down and Jimmie said something like if anybody’s lost, please raise their hand. And I was kneeling there. I don’t go to church a lot and the notion of raising my hand was out of the question and I thought, ‘I can’t imagine who’s doing this.’ And all of a sudden I felt my hand going up and I was hoping nobody else was looking because everybody had their head bent over praying.

And then he said, ‘If anybody is ready to accept Jesus, come down to the front of the church.’ I thought that would never happen and I found myself getting up and walking down with all these people and going down there. And I don’t really know what he said to me. He said something to me like, ‘Are you ready to accept Jesus Christ in your life?’ And I said: ‘I don’t know.’ I didn’t know what I was doing there. And he put me down, said, ‘Kneel down here.’ I can’t even remember what he was saying but, whatever it was, was such a release for me that I found myself weeping in public and I felt this forgiveness that I didn’t know I even needed.”

Why Me

Why me Lord, what have I ever done
To deserve even one
Of the pleasures I’ve known
Tell me Lord, what did I ever do
That was worth loving You
Or the kindness You’ve shown

Lord help me Jesus, I’ve wasted it
So help me Jesus, I know what I am
Now that I know that I’ve needed you
So Help me Jesus, my soul’s in Your hand

Tell me Lord, if you think there’s a way
I can try to repay
All I’ve taken from You
Maybe Lord, I can show someone else
What I’ve been through myself
On my way back to You

Lord, help me Jesus, I’ve wasted it
So Help me Jesus, I know what I am
Now that I know that I’ve needed you
So help me Jesus, my soul’s in Your hand

Jesus, my soul’s in Your hand

Colin Linden – When The Spirit Comes

CB sent me a link to this song and I liked it on the first listen. It didn’t need to grow on me or take time to gel…first off I liked it. I started to listen to more of the album and again…first time I heard it was great.

Colin Linden is a great Canadian guitarist who has played with many artists. To name a few Bruce Cockburn, Lucinda Williams, T-Bone Burnett, Kevin Gordon, Colin James, Emmylou Harris, Leon Redbone, Rita Chiarelli, Chris Thomas King, The Band, Keb’ Mo’, Charles Esten, and last but not least Bob Dylan. He now makes his home near me…in Nashville.

Colin fulfilled a dream with this recording. He was always a huge fan of The Band. Garth Hudson and Rick Danko are on this song with him. If you listen to near the last verse you can hear Danko’s unmistakable harmony voice that he was so great at. Danko sings the last verse right before the solo. Along with that, you can hear Garth Hudson playing like only Hudson can…not many keyboard players have a certain sound…but Garth sure does. Danko and Linden met each other in 1985 in Toronto at the Diamond Club. Linden was opening up for The Band at the time. They got along well musically and personally.

As soon as you hear Rick Danko sing near the end he turns the song into Americana by just opening his mouth. The end of the song has a cool music breakdown of Linden’s guitar and Hudson’s organ taking the song in a really cool direction. Every song should have an ending like this one.

This song was the title cut to the album released in 1988. Danko, Hudson, and Levon Helm contributed to it. Along with his solo career he played with many artists on the way. He has released 14 albums in all beginning in 1980 and the last one called bLOW in 2021. He has also won multiple Juno awards for his contributions.

Colin joined Tom Wilson and Stephen Fearing in Hamilton, Ontario to form Blackie and the Rodeo Kings. I’ll be covering something by them soon.

The lyrics were nowhere to be found. After transcribing them I got an assist from CB on them…a thanks to him on that.

Colin Linden: “Rick’s way of looking at things is very much in keeping with what I feel about priorities, he’s a very Zen guy and he has a very positive aura about him. He looks at the world in a truly unjaded way–and he sees a lot of shit. The prospect of playing with him was so appealing to me because he treats life with a lot of respect, and that’s a perfect vibe for playing music and playing it well.”

When The Spirit Comes

When the spirit comes, electrons will charge through your veins
It won’t take any money, it won’t give you a name
When the spirit comes, you’re going to ride the fastest rail
And whatever you may try, no way you can fail
You will feel like superwoman, like you just discovered electricity
Here ye I’ll wait and I’m ready when the spirit comes

When the spirit comes, it will catch you mostly off guard
It will make things seem so easy, the same things that once seemed so hard
But you can’t force the spirit inside you, like you can’t force the dead to rise
And you can’t be on 10, and be ready when the spirit comes

When the spirit comes, sit down by your plough and be ready
When the spirit comes, throw away your crutches and be ready
When the spirit comes, put away your sheep suit and be ready
Be ready
Be ready
Be ready
When the spirit comes

When the spirit comes, you are gonna jump straight up in the air
And you will see the world from great heights, and you won’t have to travel anywhere
And there will be no tears or no funerals, and no preachers on TV
Just an intermittent spark that will let you know when the spirit’s come

Here ye I wait and I’m ready when the spirit comes

Jason and The Scorchers – Golden Ball and Chain

Jason & The Scorchers had a cult following in Nashville and around parts of the world in the 80s and got some airplay on MTV at the time…they were led by frontman Jason Ringenberg and they released a couple of EPs before releasing their debut album Lost & Found in 1985. They were classified at one time as alt-country but I would add rock/punk/rockabilly in there also.

I first heard them do a live version of “The Race Is On”…the old George Jones song and it won me over. They were really a big deal in the southeast in the middle eighties and should have spread more. Their music seemed to have a kinship to the Georgia Satellites but they were a little more country. Seeing them live is an event…Jason is all over the stage.

The band was formed in 1981. They were together through the 80s till the drummer Perry Baggs was diagnosed with diabetes and could not finish a 1990 tour. They have regrouped since then off and on and altogether have released 15 albums with the last one being in 2010. In 2012 Perry Baggs passed away because of diabetes.

They played a mixture between country and rock and fell into the cracks. They seemed to rock for country and too country for rock. Live they were unbeatable.

One of the things that made the band different is Jason wanted to sound country but guitar player Warner Hodges wanted to sound like AC/DC…that interplay made them unique. This song was off of their 1986 album Still Standing. The album peaked at #91 on the Billboard Album chart in 1987.

Golden Ball and Chain (written by Ringenberg) peaked at #16 in the Billboard Rock Mainstream Songs.

Golden Ball and Chain

“Oh hello there” you coughed and smiled
Your hair messed up enough, a little wild
You said, “I’m sorry but it’s all a waste
Not a whole meal just a little taste”

Now you’ve nothing left to fight and gain
Another line another carved link of your name
On the golden ball and chain

L.A. it calls and London grooms the star
Get on the phone to find out who you are
But happiness was a dying trend
You say you saw that train around the bend

That was carrying its weight in pain
The engine straining on the full weight of your name
And the golden ball and chain

You saw it then, you saw the sign
A drowning sailor in a jug of wine
First it was her, but now it’s you
No psychoanalyst is there to tell you what to do

So now you whimper like a helpless child
You broke when they quit saying you were wild
But your tears they are like grass in sand
They speak to no one, they give no command

No there’s nothing left to cleanse the stain
Another line another carved link of your name
On the golden ball and chain

Jerry Lee Lewis – Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On

Electric…that is the best way I can describe Jerry Lee Lewis. From those old black and white clips in the fifties, the Killer was doing just that. Using all of his limbs to pulverize the piano. The song peaked at #3 on the Billboard 100, #8 in the UK, and #1 on the Billboard Country Chart in 1957. It is one of the most recognizable songs of the 1950s.

This song was written by Roy Hall (using the pseudonym Sunny David) and Dave “Curly” Williams. Hall was a songwriter/piano player who ran a music venue in Nashville and played in Webb Pierce’s band. Lewis’s version sold over 6 million copies. Roy didn’t get to enjoy the money from the song for too long…he had to sign his royalties away to his ex-wife.

“Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” was Lewis’s second single, following “Crazy Arms,” which had failed to chart. But Lewis, well aware of his own talent, was pushed by producer Sam Phillips’s work in Sun Studio and brought “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” into the recording sessions confident that it could be a hit. Recording sessions took place in February 1957, in Sun Studios.

Lewis claimed to have heard the song from the singer Johnny Littlejohn at the Wagon Wheel nightclub in Natchez, Mississippi. He was a force of nature… he transformed the landscape of any song he moves through, and “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” was no different.

This song was the first of Lewis’ four Top 40 hits, which all occurred in a period of about a year and a half… but he had a huge country career starting in the 60s.

Whole Lot of Shakin’ Goin’ On

Come along my baby, whole lotta shakin’ goin’ on
Yes, I said come along my baby, baby you can’t go wrong
We ain’t fakin’, while lotta shakin’ goin’ on

Well, I said come along my baby, we got chicken in the barn
Woo-huh, come along my baby, really got the bull by the horn
We ain’t fakin’, whole lotta shakin’ goin’ on

Well, I said shake, baby, shake
I said shake, baby, shake
I said shake it, baby, shake it
And then shake, baby, shake
Come on over, whole lotta shakin’ goin’ on
Oh, let’s go!

Alright

Well, I said come along my baby, we got chicken in the barn
Whose barn? What barn? My barn
Come along my baby, really got the bull by the horn
We ain’t fakin’, whole lotta shakin’ goin’ on

Easy now
Shake it
Ah, shake it, baby
Yeah
You can shake it one time for me
Ye-ah-ha-ah, I said come on over, baby
Whole lotta shakin’ goin’ on
Now, let’s get down real low one time now
Shake, baby, shake
All you gotta do, honey, is kinda stand in one spot
Wiggle around just a little bit, that’s when you got it, yeah
Come on baby, whole lotta shakin’ goin’ on
Now let’s go one time

Shake it baby, shake, shake it baby, shake
Woo, shake baby, come on babe, shake it, baby, shake
Come on over, whole lotta shakin’ goin’ on

Webb Wilder

Webb Wilder: It’s sorta like we’re a roots band for rock ‘n’ roll fans and a rock band for roots fans” He also uses these phrases…“Swampadelic”, “Service-station attendant music”, “Uneasy listening”, “Psychobilly.”

Good morning everyone…since posting about the Scorchers yesterday…I thought Wilder would be good to go over today. Webb deserved more attention than he got. Good songwriting and his voice fits the roots music he plays.

In 1991 I was walking through a street fair in Nashville and there he was, playing with his band. He had just put out an album called Doo Dad that got some local and national airplay. His music is a mixture of rock/country/rockabilly/punk and anything else he can throw in. The man has the gift of gab also. His music is just different. He looks like he dropped out of a 50’s black-and-white detective show. I also saw him shortly later at the Exit Inn.

Webb Wilder’s quote when asked what kind of music he plays.

“I came to Nashville as kind of a hunch, an educated guess that it would be a good place for me. Rock ‘n’ roll and country have more in common than not. We don’t have the typical Nashville country sound, but we thought we could use that to our advantage. It’s sorta like we’re a roots band for rock ‘n’ roll fans and a rock band for roots fans” he also adds these phrases…“Swampadelic”, “Service-station attendant music”, “Uneasy listening”, “Psychobilly.”

His real name is John “Webb” McMurry and according to wiki “The Webb Wilder character was created in 1984 for a short comedy film created by friend called “Webb Wilder Private Eye.” The character was a backwoods private detective who fell out of the 1950s and happened to also be a musician. The short appeared on the television variety show “Night Flight.”^[Whatever it is… it works.

This song I first heard on our local then rock radio station WKDF in Nashville. Poolside is what first drew me in. After I saw him in Nashville at a street fair I was a fan for life. I like unique…and Webb is unique…God bless him…

It also has elements of the 80s cowpunk music and just good rock and roll. I saw him twice through the nineties and he was excellent each time I saw him. This song was released in 1986 and it was on the album It Came From Nashville. Again…the local play in Nashville turned it into a regional hit.

My favorite song by Wilder is this one called Meet Your New Landlord. I purchased the Doodad album and this song is what I zeroed in on. The hit off the album was Tough It Out which peaked at #16 on the Mainstream Charts. It included guest appearances by Al Kooper and Sonny Landreth.

The guitar riff is instantly catchy and the first verse was about losing your house/land in a poker game. A great storytelling song.

He slapped his cards down on the table
Said, “Boys, I got me a winning hand.”
But the sight that made old T. Jim tremble
Was the king that took his land

This was probably his closest thing to a hit in America. In Nashville, it was played a lot on local rock stations. The song peaked at #16 in the Mainstream Rock Songs in 1992. This song came off of Doo Dad and is about the time I saw him for the first time. This song was being played on MTV at the time.

In 1990 this song charted on the Australian charts and it got a lot of airplay here.

Human Cannonball

Saw the ad in the paperSaid the hell with it allTook a gig with the circusAs the human cannonball

It didn’t take longTo learn my tradeVery first show, manI blew the folks awayNow the job’s a little riskyBut I’m my own bossI gotta tell ya, JackIt really gets me off

I live in a tent withThe world’s strongest manWhen I met the motherLike to broke my handMy baby she’s a ladyIn the high wire actWhen I’m feeling tenseShe walks on my back

Now the pay’s OKThe benefits are greatI get to shoot the bullWith the world’s smartest ape

Ahh hahhhI’m the human cannonballI’m the human cannonball y’all

Well, I’m a hot shotI’m a cool breezeUnderneath the big topI’m the big cheeseI lay it on the lineLet it all hangWhen I go least I knowI’ll go with a bang

I reckon I’m livingEvery kid’s dreamIt’s a buzz, its a gasIt’s a real scream

Ahh hahhhI’m the human cannonballI’m the human cannonball y’all

Yeah…

Alright folks, just make yourself at homeHave a snow cone and enjoy the show

They put me on the coverOf the USA TodayTell the world what theHuman cannonball got to sayOn the Carson showThey said “HC.What you do you got to beRight out of your tree”

Well, it’s a little riskyBut I’m my own bossI got to tell you, John,It really gets me off

Ahh hahhhI’m the human cannonballI’m the human cannonball y’all

I’m the human cannonballI’m the human cannonball y’all

Yeah…

HahahahahaNow blast off!I said… Blast Off

AhhahahhhahhhahhhaAhhahahhhahhhahhhaAhhahahhhahhhahhha

Bruce Springsteen – The River

My friend Dave from A Sound Day wanted some bloggers to pick a song that has lyrics that we liked or can relate to. He stated, “I just want you to pick one song that you think has fantastic lyrics, or one you like because of the lyrics, and say a bit about why you love it.”

I went through many songs to get to this one. Dylan songs mostly before I realized this one hit home. This was the title track to Bruce’s 1980 double album. I picked this song because it is so easy to relate to. I’ve known friends who have lived this song. This is not a party starter song by any stretch of the imagination. The lyrics are downright sad because they are so damn real. It contains one of my favorite Springsteen lines “And for my nineteenth birthday I got a union card and a wedding coat.”

I grew up in a small town with a population of around a thousand or so at the time. The jobs there were dead-end jobs and the pay was even worse. I saw a cycle even at an early age by seeing parents and their kids doing the same thing generation after generation. Nothing wrong with that but they hated doing what they were doing. It was enough inspiration for me to explore and find new things…and to get out. Some of my friends never made it out. They are doing now what they swore they wouldn’t do before.

I saw my sister get into the same position as the Mary character in the song. It ended many years later in a divorce but at least she is happy now so there are good endings. Her son was the best thing that happened to her. The funny thing is I ended up moving back near that town but I’m doing what I want to be doing not in a job or rut that I hate. Some of my friends are not in that position.

I came to realize…it wasn’t the location at all. It was and still is a nice small town…no that wasn’t it. It was the expectations at the time set upon every one that made it seem pre-ordained for bad choices to happen.

The wedding in the song relates to Springsteen’s sister, who got married when she was still a teenager. She knew it was about her and her husband the first time she heard it. It was also based on conversations Springsteen had with his brother-in-law. After losing his construction job, he worked hard to support his wife and young child but never complained.

The song’s lyrics are outstanding. Even the opening lines are so close to how I grew up. I did grow up in a valley. “I come from down in the valley,
Where mister when you’re young, They bring you up to do like your daddy done.” So it’s easy to relate to.

Bruce saves the best for last though. He is talking about the dreams we have when we are younger about what we are going to do in life until life wakes us up with a bang…at least that is what I interrupt.

Now those memories come back to haunt me
They haunt me like a curse
Is a dream a lie if it don’t come true
Or is it something worse

The song didn’t chart in America or Canada but did make it to #35 in the UK. The album was #1 in the Billboard album charts, #1 in Canada, and #2 in the UK.

The River

I come from down in the valley
Where mister when you’re young
They bring you up to do like your daddy done
Me and Mary we met in high school
When she was just seventeen
We’d ride out of that valley down to where the fields were green

We’d go down to the river
And into the river we’d dive
Oh down to the river we’d ride

Then I got Mary pregnant
And man that was all she wrote
And for my nineteenth birthday I got a union card and a wedding coat
We went down to the courthouse
And the judge put it all to rest
No wedding day smiles no walk down the aisle
No flowers no wedding dress

That night we went down to the river
And into the river we’d dive
Oh down to the river we did ride

I got a job working construction for the Johnstown Company
But lately there ain’t been much work on account of the economy
Now all them things that seemed so important
Well mister they vanished right into the air
Now I just act like I don’t remember
Mary acts like she don’t care

But I remember us riding in my brother’s car
Her body tan and wet down at the reservoir
At night on them banks I’d lie awake
And pull her close just to feel each breath she’d take
Now those memories come back to haunt me
They haunt me like a curse
Is a dream a lie if it don’t come true
Or is it something worse
That sends me down to the river
Though I know the river is dry
That sends me down to the river tonight
Down to the river
My baby and I
Oh down to the river we ride

Steve Earle – I Ain’t Ever Satisfied

I first found out about Steve Earle through this song. It has remained one of my favorite songs. Steve has released a lot of great songs since but it’s the honesty of this song that I like so much.

I was working at a factory and going to college and I had a radio on while driving a tow motor. After I heard it I immediately bought the album “Exit 0” and enjoyed the complete album. The lyrics ring true of the human spirit…we are never satisfied. Steve Earle was one of the highlights of the 80s for me. Down to earth music and very rootsy.

The night after I got Exit O I learned this song and our band played it. I went to my first Bob Dylan concert on August 20, 1989, and Steve Earle opened up for him. That was one of the best pairings I’ve seen. He played this song and the night was complete…Copperhead Road was pretty good also! I’ve seen Dylan 8 times but this was probably the worse. He played for maybe 40 minutes and left the stage. I remember someone behind me screaming…”I know you are an old son of a b****” but come on… Bob was 48 that year.

Steve is such an underrated American songwriter. The year before this song he released his breakout album Guitar Town. He was straddling the line between country and rock at this period. It’s hard to classify Earle and no need to…he writes great songs that many can relate to.

The song peaked at #26 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Charts in 1987. The album Exit 0 peaked at #15 on the Billboard Album Country Charts and #36 in Canada.

Just a cool note… Waylon Jennings makes a cameo appearance at the end of the video.

I Ain’t Ever Satisfied

I was born by the railroad tracksWell the train whistle wailed and I wailed right backWell papa left mama when I was quite youngHe said now “One of these days you’re gonna follow me son”

Woh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-ohI ain’t ever satisfiedWoh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-ohI ain’t ever satisfied

Now I had me a woman she was my worldBut I ran off with my back street girlNow my back street woman could not be trueShe left me standin’ on the boulevard thinkin’ ’bout you

I’ve got an empty feeling deep insideI’m going over to the other sideLast night I dreamed I made it to the promise landI was standin’ at the gate and I had the key in my handSaint Peter said “Come on in boy, you’re finally home”I said “No thanks Pete, I’ll just be moving along”

Woh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-ohI ain’t ever satisfiedWoh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-ohI ain’t ever satisfied

Tommy Roe – Sheila

Another B side that Disc Jockeys flipped over and became a huge #1 hit.

In the mid-eighties, I was in a cage…a parts cage in a place that sold printers and copiers. I was the stock boy and had my radio tuned in to the oldies station on 96.3 in Nashville. They played the 50s, 60s, and softer 70s.

When I heard this my first thought was Buddy Holly. I had a Buddy Holly greatest hits album at that time and I wondered why this wasn’t on it. After the second or third time, I heard it… the DJ said “another one by Tommy Roe.” I knew the song Dizzy rather well never heard this one. It didn’t have that drive that Buddy Holly songs had but it has a simple charm.

It peaked at #1 in the Billboard 100, #1 in Canada, and #3 in the UK in 1962.

Roe wrote this song when he was just 14 years old and it was influenced by Peggy Sue. This was initially recorded in 1960 for a small label called Judd Records, which was run by Jud Phillips, the brother of Sam Phillips of Sun Records. When Roe accepted a deal with ABC Paramount, the song was re-recorded with a different arrangement, and released as the B-side to “Save Your Kisses.” When DJs flipped the record and started playing “Sheila” instead, the song took off.

The song had some major players backing Tommy Roe. The hit version of this song was recorded at RCA Studios in Nashville with producer Felton Jarvis. On guitar was Jerry Reed, who later became a Country star as a solo act. The backup singers were The Jordanaires, who sang behind Elvis Presley on many of his hits.

Roe was labeled “bubblegum” and that label was pretty much correct… and he quietly had a string of hits. He had six Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, including the number one hits, Dizzy in 1969 and this song in 1962.

Tommy Roe: When I was around 14, I started writing poems, and I wrote a poem for a girl named Frida that I had a crush on (laughs). And around the same time, my dad taught me three chords on the guitar. So I thought…if I could put some music to these poems, I could become a songwriter. And then in high school, I formed a band called Tommy Roe & The Satins.

When I was 20, I had an opportunity to audition for a record producer. I sang “Frida” for him, and he said, “Man, I love that song ‘Frida,’ but I’m not crazy about that title.” So we ended up changing the title to “Sheila,” and as they say…the rest is history. It became my first number one hit, and it launched my career.

Sheila

Sweet little Sheila, you’ll know her if you see her
Blue eyes and a ponytail
Her cheeks are rosy, she looks a little nosy
Man, this little girl is fine

Never knew a girl like-a little Sheila
Her name drives me insane
Sweet little girl, that’s my little Sheila
Man, this little girl is fine

Me and Sheila go for a ride
Oh oh oh oh, I feel all funny inside
Then little Sheila whispers in my ear
Oh oh oh oh, I love you Sheila dear

Sheila said she loved me, she said she’d never leave me
True love will never die
We’re so doggone happy just bein’ around together
Man, this little girl is fine

Never knew a girl like-a little Sheila
Her name drives me insane
Sweet little girl, that’s my little Sheila
Man, this little girl is fine

Me and Sheila go for a ride
Oh oh oh oh, I feel all funny inside
Then little Sheila whispers in my ear
Oh oh oh oh, I love you Sheila dear

Sheila said she loved me, she said she’d never leave me
True love will never die
We’re so doggone happy just bein’ around together
Man, this little girl is fine
Oh, this little girl is fine
Yeah, this little girl is fine
Oh, this little girl is fine

Hank Williams – Jambalaya (On the Bayou)

Hank Williams only lived to be 29 years old. It’s hard to believe because he wrote so many classic songs during his short recording career. “The Hillbilly Shakespeare” was one of his nicknames.

He had not been in a studio for 6 months but this song brought him back. He recorded it on June 13, 1952, in Nashville. There was speculation that Hank Williams co-wrote the song with a gentleman named Moon Mullican. Williams had the sole credit but it has been said that Williams’s publishing agent Fred Rose stepped in and wanted William’s publishing company to get the credit and the money. It has been said that Rose possibly paid Mullican so he wouldn’t have to split the publishing with Moon’s label King Records. Williams got the inspiration for the song while listening to Cajuns talk on a bus trip.

The melody is based on the Cajun song “Grand Texas.” The song peaked #1 on the Country Charts for fourteen, non-consecutive weeks. The song also peaked at #20 on the US Billboard Most Played By Jukeboxes. Hank Williams was born with spina bifida occulta, a disorder of the spinal column and he killed the pain with narcotics and alcohol. If you look at pictures of Williams he looks much older than in his twenties, especially in the last year of his 29 on earth.

Before his death, he had been known to take morphine and drink heavily. On New Year’s Day 1953, he took his seat in the back of his 1952 powder blue Cadillac. As his driver, college student Charles Carr, headed toward a New Years show in Canton, Ohio, Williams’ health took a turn for the worse. Finally, after not hearing from the singer for two solid hours, the driver pulled the car over in Oak Hill, West Virginia, at 5:30 in the morning. Williams was pronounced dead a short while later.

Hank Williams was a genius when it came to songwriting. He influenced so many genres of music from Johnny Cash, The Beatles, Bob Dylan, and many more. He left a huge mark on the world in such a short time.

Williams was among the first class of artists inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1961, and in 2010, the Pulitzer Board awarded him a special citation for songwriting.

Charles Carr, the teenager who was driving Williams to his concert:

“Hank’s song ‘Jambalaya’ was just out on the radio and he asked me what I thought of it, I told him I didn’t care for it, that it didn’t make a bit of sense to me. Hank laughed and said, ‘You son of a bitch, you just understand the French like I do.

“We were just a couple of young guys on a car trip having fun.”

My favorite version of this song was by John Fogerty.

Jambalaya (On the Bayou)

Goodbye Joe me gotta go me oh my oh
Me gotta go pole the pirogue down the bayou
My Yvonne the sweetest one me oh my oh
Son of a gun we’ll have big fun on the bayou

Jambalaya and a crawfish pie and filé gumbo
Cause tonight I’m gonna see my ma cher amio
Pick guitar fill fruit jar and be gay-o
Son of a gun we’ll have big fun on the bayou

Thibodaux Fontaineaux the place is buzzin’
Kinfolk come to see Yvonne by the dozen
Dress in style and go hog wild me oh my oh
Son of a gun we’ll have big fun on the bayou
Settle down far from town get me a pirogue
And I’ll catch all the fish in the bayou

Jambalaya and a crawfish pie and filé gumbo
Cause tonight I’m gonna see my ma cher amio
Pick guitar fill fruit jar and be gay-o
Son of a gun we’ll have big fun on the bayou

Later on, swap my mon, get me a pirogue
And I’ll catch all the fish on the bayou
Swap my mon, to buy Yvonne what she need-oh
Son of a gun we’ll have big fun on the bayou

Jambalaya and a crawfish pie and filé gumbo
Cause tonight I’m gonna see my ma cher amio
Pick guitar fill fruit jar and be gay-o
Son of a gun we’ll have big fun on the bayou

Loretta Lynn and Jack White – Portland Oregon

I was listening to Led Zeppelin earlier and now I have switched gears. After Loretta Lynn passed away I spent the night listening to her Van Lear Rose album and finding again how great that album is. I would recommend taking a listen to this song. It works for country, rock, and pop. I love the opening line… Well, Portland, Oregon and sloe gin fizz, If that ain’t love then tell me what is, uh huh, uh huh.

She did a lot for women in the business and paved the way for later stars. Songs like The Pill and X Rated were largely ignored by country radio at the time but that didn’t stop them from hitting #1. She was one of the best songwriters in country history.

The White Stripes dedicated their 2001 album, ”White Blood Cells,” to her and she found out about them. Jack was still with the White Stripes at the time, but he approached her backstage and the two had a conversation that led to him following Lynn home to Tennessee and making an album with her.

They recorded and released this album in 2004. She wrote this song years before about a romance that wasn’t…she pretended to have a romance with her guitar player at the time to make her cheating husband jealous.

This one is a duet between Jack and her and it’s great. As I said yesterday…if modern country was like this…I would listen. Their voices go really well with each other. Country radio would not play it but the album still peaked at #2 on the Country Charts and #24 on the Billboard 200 in 2004. They didn’t win any country music awards but came away with two Grammys.

jack White must have liked Nashville because, in 2009, White opened the doors to his very own Nashville-based record label, Third Man Records.

Jack White: “I said when I was first asked about her what I thought and I said years ago that I thought she was the greatest female singer-songwriter of the 20th century. I still believe that, she was such an incredible presence and such a brilliant genius in ways that I think only people who got to work with her might know about. What she did for feminism, women’s rights in a time period, in a genre of music that was the hardest to do it in, that’s just outstanding and will live on for a long time.”

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The top video is Lynn and White receiving a Grammy… I would recommend watching the Letterman show version of the song at the bottom. The youtube police took the good quality one away but I found another. I like how White and the band make a LONG build-up…and the anticipation mounts before Lynn comes on. Jack White has that country band really rocking. Their voices sound so good in this song.

The video below is Lynn and White winning a Grammy…its really funny.

Portland Oregan

Well, Portland, Oregon and sloe gin fizzIf that ain’t love then tell me what is, uh huh, uh huhWell I lost my heart, it didn’t take no timeBut that ain’t all, I lost my mind in Oregon

In a booth in the corner with the lights down lowI was movin’ in fast, she was takin’ it slow, uh huh, uh huhWell, I looked at her and caught him lookin’ at meI knew right then we were playin’ free in Oregon

Next day, we knew last night got drunkBut we loved enough for the both of us, uh huh, uh huhIn the morning when the night had sobered upIt was much too late for the both of us in Oregon

Well, sloe gin fizz works mighty fastWhen you drink it by the pitcher and not by the glass, uh huh, uh huhHey bartender, before you closePour us one more drink and a pitcher to go

And a pitcher to go(And a pitcher to go)And a pitcher to go(And a pitcher to go)

And a pitcher to go(And a pitcher to go)Yeah

And a pitcher to goAnd a pitcher to go

Jake Bugg – Two Fingers

This song caught my attention in 2012 when it was released. It has an older feel to it. It did not chart in America but it did peak at #28 in the UK charts. I like the echo in his voice and the chorus will stick with you.

In December of 2018 my son and I saw him at 3rd and Lindsley in Nashville with Kelsey Waters opening up. There was an even mixture of young and old to see the 23-year-old play. He has listed influences as diverse as Jimi Hendrix, Donovan, to Nick Drake.

Jake Edwin Kennedy is his real name…but he records under the name of Jake Bugg. He grew up in the Clifton area of Nottingham and started playing guitar at the age of 12. He was later signed by Mercury Records after he appeared at the 2011 Glastonbury Festival. The song we hear is the demo he made. He wanted to go back and re-record it in a proper studio but the label loved it and released it as it was.

Jake Bugg’s debut album debuted at #1 on the UK charts. He was only 19 years old, he became the youngest British male ever to have an album enter the charts at the top position.

The song was about his home life growing up. He said it wasn’t exactly like the video but not far off.

I knew the two fingers meant something insulting so I looked it up… The “two-fingered salute” in which the index and middle fingers are put up at or to another person with the palm outward, is an obscene gesture of scorn or defiance. Its use as an insulting sign is largely restricted to the UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand.

And….

British, informal

: to make an obscene gesture by holding up the index finger and the middle finger of one hand in the shape of a V while keeping the palm turned inward

Jake Bugg: “It’s a very personal song for me, I wanted to express how I felt, it’s a song about growing up and escaping and just life in general. I wanted to put it in the best words possible but also detailed and keeping everyone happy.”

Two Fingers

I drink to remember, I smoke to forget
Some things to be proud of
Some stuff to regret
Run down some dark alleys in my own head
Something is changing, changing, changing

I go back to Clifton to see my old friends
The best people I could ever have met
Skin up a fat one, hide from the Feds
Something is changing, changing, changing

So I kiss goodbye to every little ounce of pain
Light a cigarette and wish the world away
I got out, I got out, I’m alive but I’m here to stay
So I hold two fingers up to yesterday
Light a cigarette and smoke it all away
I got out, I got out, I’m alive but I’m here to stay
He’s down in the kitchen drinking White Lightning
He’s with my momma, they’re yelling and fighting
It’s not the first time praying for silence
Something is changing, changing, changing

There’s a story for every corner of this place
Running so hard you got out but your knees got grazed
I’m an old dog but I learned some new tricks yeah

So I kiss goodbye to every little ounce of pain
Light a cigarette and wish the world away
I got out I got out I’m alive but I’m here to stay
So I hold two fingers up to yesterday
Light a cigarette and smoke it all away
I got out I got out I’m alive but I’m here to stay

Hey, hey it’s fine
Hey, hey it’s fine
Hey, hey it’s fine
I left it behind