Blue Sky Boys : Dust on the Bible [ purchase ] For a song chain theme, one writes quickly and posts the first song that comes to mind. When I heard the beautiful silky smooth voice of Loreena McKennitt singing "All follow this and come to dust," it made me think of the Blue Sky Boys harmonizing on "Dust on the Bible." It's one of those sweet traditional bluegrass gospel tunes that comes from the brother duos of the 1930s and 1940s. We like to pick and sing the song with [...]
On this day in country music history - July 14, 1973 - Phil Everly threw a dang old fit, smashing his guitar after performing the song, "('Till) I Kissed You" and walking off the stage, effecti
The second article in the history of country music covered the trends and artists of the depression and pre-war years, 1930-41. Here we'll look at some of the songs of the era. The photo on the cover comes from a superb series of colour photos from the US in the 1930s and '40s . * * * Rock 'n' roll grew out of R&B and various shades of country, especially rockabilly, a sub-genre [...]
The titles of posts in this series may be a bit confusing. They will refer to the timespan covered in the mixes. But this post looks at the era from about 1930 to about 1941. The next post will include the 1937-41 mix, but the text will be a sidebar to this article, also referring to 1930-41. I hope that nakes sense... Record sales collapsed dramatically with the Depression, with sales dropping from 104 million in 1927 to just 6 million in 1932. Some records still sold prodigiously, [...]
As I mentioned yesterday, my attention this year, as far as music goes, has been diverted in a variety of ways. Doing a 2009 playlist seemed to miss the thrust of what my year was all about (and probably redundant with every other blog out there); doing a collection of old yet new-to-me stuff would have missed all the music that wasn't new to me that I spent so much time with. So instead I offer this: a 75-track playlist that comes as close as I can to giving some impression of what my listening year has really [...]
Delmore Brothers : I´ve Got The Big River Blues Monroe Brothers : Nine Pound Hammer Is Too Heavy Blue Sky Boys : Are You From Dixie? [ purchase ] With Christmas approaching fast, it´s high time for [...]
The folk song Knoxville Girl was made famous by the Louvin Brothers in their opus "Tragic Songs of Life," but was merely a tradition of several hundred years of folk tales, street songs, and eventually folk songs. Recorded first in the United States by the Carter Family (that I know of), Knoxville Girl is the story of a man that kills his girlfriend/acquaintance in a fit of passion. The song is usually not very explicit, but through the various bluegrass renditions and into the country/alt-country renditions it becomes much darker and detailed. Nick [...]
( pic via ) More straight-up gospel than last week's , except where it isn't. It keeps an eye on the afterlife, there's the whiff of a narrative... though I wouldn't pay too much attention to themes or stories as I liberally appropriated any directional intent for the cause. (The Staples' classic is now, of course, about nothing but Chevrolet automobiles.) Not much in the way of brimstone, though it's hard not to admire Reverend Nix' bald contempt for his congregation. Of the belters in these 80 minutes - Coates, Mahalia, that [...]
Young ghosts and ghouls will be making the rounds from door to door tonight seeking sweet rewards for their frightful efforts. Once again, it is time for telling ghost stories around a flickering campfire or visiting the local mega-plex to be scarred senseless by Hollywood's latest slasher movie sequel. When our children were young my wife would accompany the little goblins on their quest for sugary treasure on Halloween, while I remained at home to dole out the candy. I would keep the lights low while the eerie pipe organ of Bach's "Toccata and Fugue in D [...]
Read an amazing news article yesterday. A recent study said that one in every 100 Americans are currently in jail. There are 230 million adults living in the Land of the Free, and 2.32 million of them are behind bars. For some groups this percentage is even higher: every one in 36 adults with a Hispanic background is doing time, and one in 15 black adults. Even worse: one in 9 black men between the ages of 20 and 34 are locked up as we speak. Staggering figures, right? Makes you think. But don´t worry, as a European I´m not going [...]
ALABAMA BOOGIE John Lee Federal : 1951 Available on: Rural Blues vol. 1 1934-1956 Document : 1995 [Buy It] ALABAMA MAN Earl Scott Chascamp c. 1960 (?) Available on: Nashville Rockabilly Stomper Time : 2004 [Buy It] THE STORY OF ALABAMA BOUND Jelly Roll Morton c. 1938 Available on: The Complete Library of Congress Recordings Rounder : 2005 [Buy It] The great state [...]
100 Years (in Ten Jumps) 1936: Bing Crosby (with Jimmy Dorsey's Orchestra), I'm an Old Cowhand. Bill "Jazz" Gillum, I Want You By My Side. Bill Boyd, River Blues. Adelaide Hall, I'm in the Mood For Love. Memphis Minnie, Man You Won't Give Me No Money. King Radio, Unfortunate Bridegroom. Jesse James, Southern Casey Jones. Benny Goodman Quartet, Dinah. Don Albert Orchestra, Liza. Béla Bartók,
Star Maker Machine
City Pages - Gimme Noise
Any Major Dude With Half A Heart
Keep the Coffee Coming
Pretty Goes with Pretty
tangelO
heartonastick.blog-city.com
Old Blue Bus
For The Sake Of The Song
Moistworks
Locust St.
Video: Beach House on Jools Holland, pt. 2
The National - The Rains Of Castamere [Game of Thrones Soundtrack]
