In the slipstream of Johnny Cash came what would become known as the Outlaw Movement, an informal response to Nashville's easy listening, corporate and safe style, often recorded in Texas, reviving the honky tonk sounds of Hank Williams with strong lyrical content. Starting in the mid-'60s with singers like Bobby Bare, Tompall Glaser and Johnny Darrell, the sub-genre's standard bearers would include Waylon Jennings and his wife Jessi Colter, Willie Nelson (after he grew his hair), Kris Kristofferson, Leon Russell, Billy Joe Shaver, Hank Williams Jr, Jerry Jeff Walker and Gram Parsons. More traditionally-minded country stars, many mentored [...]
Carnival Saloon regulars with long memories will know that I love 'answer songs'. In my recent post about Wanda Jackson's My Big Iron Skillet I mentioned Kitty Wells' 1952 single It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels , which was an answer song to Hank Thompson's The Wild Side of Life. What I didn't know until someone commented about that post on Facebook was that Kitty's second big hit Paying For That Back Street Affair was an answer song to the Webb Pierce track Back Street Affair. [...]
In this segment we briefly turn our focus on some of the individuals featured on this mix and the 1950/51 compilation . Pictured on the cover is the 1952 Cadillac in which Hank Williams died of heart failure on New Year's Day 1953, aged 30 (though he always looked much older than that). His was the first of a series of young celebrity deaths that created legends for all times. Among the more unexpected names in country must be that of Ole Rasmussen , a western swing bandleader who with [...]
As before, this album refers to artists and songs featured on both 1940s compilations. The importance to country music of Ernest Tubb 's Walking The Floor Over You cannot be underestimated. It was not the first honky tonk record, nor the first to use the new-fangled electric guitar. But it was the first really big hit to use electric guitar solos, performed by Fay 'Smitty' Smith, and is considered the breakthrough record for honky tonk music, a label that was variously used for different genres, but now [...]
On the sixth day of Rocktober, Hank Thompson gave to me...BEER! Hank Thompson & His Brazos Valley Boys - Six Pack of Beer.mp3 From : Every Which Way But Loose Soundtrack (1978, out of print) Nothing like drinking beer and watching a trucker movie! Per wikipedia : "Clint Eastwood's appearance in the film, after his string of spaghetti western and Dirty Harry roles, somewhat startled the film industry and [...]
Country music is a fertile field for answer records. So here we'll look at three answer records from that genre. Kitty Well's response to Hank Thompson was a massive hit, a breakthrough for country's first female superstar that outsold the hit song it was responding to. And I defy anyone not to like, even secretly, these songs — few things annoy me so much than people claiming categorically that they hate "all country music". * * * Should he stay or should he go now? [...]
Country music is a fertile field for answer records. So here we'll look at three answer records from that genre. Kitty Well's response to Hank Thompson was a massive hit, a breakthrough for country's first female superstar that outsold the hit song it was responding to. And I defy anyone not to like, even secretly, these songs — few things annoy me so much than people claiming categorically that they hate "all country music". * * * Should he stay or should he go now? [...]
Fans of modern country music might not immediately recognize his name, but for a couple of decades the charismatic and talented Hank Thompson was one of the biggest stars around, a master of Western Swing who was equally at home with romantic ballads or pure honky-tonk. Henry William Thompson was yet another of the many Texans who have always populated the music world, and he took to it from an early age. His first instrument was the harmonica, quickly followed by the guitar, and by the time he was a teenager he was using all his skills to [...]
Well folks, that's it for the drinking songs. Another box checked off the STWOF to-do list... I know I missed some good ones, but I'm all out of booze (and out of steam), so the rest will have to wait for another day. Right now, I just need some sleep! Until we meet again, enjoy these tunes: Ted Hawkins - Sorry You're Sick ( buy ) Lefty Frizzell & Johnny Bond - Sick, Sober & Sorry ( buy ) George Jones - Heartaches & Hangovers [...]
Today's theme is a mishmash. It's talking animals, Disney and nursery rhymes. It's a bit of imagination set to music. MP3 File yousendit
Absent Friends Ike Turner, I'm Lonesome Baby. Ike and Tina Turner, Sexy Ida (Pt. 1). Porter Wagoner, Midnight. Janis Martin, Will You Willyum. Clifford Brown and Max Roach, Powell's Prances. Oscar Peterson, Blues Etude. Cannonball Adderley, Mercy, Mercy, Mercy. Karlheinz Stockhausen, Studie ii. Nellie Lutcher, Come and Get It, Honey. Hank Thompson, A Six Pack To Go. The Mamas and the Papas, I
Harlan (on the left) taking it all in. Who's the greatest country songwriter of all time? That's an easy one. The answer is Hank Williams. (What did you expect me to say?) Other greats include Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Tom T. Hall, Fred Rose, and—of course—the legendary Harlan Howard of Detroit, Michigan. (If I'm forgetting anybody, please remind me in the comments). Howard epitomized the classic country songwriter. His personal style went a long way towards defining the genre. Interestingly, he suffered a severe case of writer's block [...]
One of the most important qualities of a great performer is a sense of humor . A good bass player goes a long way too. I guess that's why LCD Soundsytem is one of my favorite modern acts. This music is not the slightest bit twangy (if that's what you came here for), but there's a lot to love. The lyrics are smart and often quite hilarious. And the bass sound kills, especially on this morning's first featured track. (I know it's a cliche, but I'm going to have to ask you to listen [...]
Sam Phillips had slapback at Sun, and Capitol Records built large reverb rooms into the basement of their Hollywood studios, which can be heard to great effect by Speedy West, who joins Hank Thompson on "Waiting In The Lobby Of Your Heart." In this song Hank describes the painful wait that sometimes a man must endure, not knowing whether he's here nor there, or where he should be - suffering an existential mind-fuck, or maybe just lost in space. [...]
In 1952, Hank Thompson cut this gem. It was a #1 hit on the hillbilly charts for three months. A tale about a girl shunning her would-be husband for a life as a honky tonk girl. Songwriter J.D. Miller in turn composed the answer song and shopped it around for a Nashville for singer, where he was turned down by nearly everyone except Kitty Wells who came out of semi-retirement to record what would be one of the biggest selling country hits of all time."It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels" shot to #1 on the charts, but was [...]
Tra la la... Sorry, I was practicing my imitation of Morrissey imitating Kermit the Frog. Erm... Welcome back to day 2 of the Big Rock Candy Mountain Top 100 Drinking Songs. We hope your enjoy our little attempt at presenting only the finest vintages of boozers, weepers, and winos. And remember, if you don't like the list, if you're outraged that your favorite song didn't make the cut, you
"It's not you, really, it's me." Apologies for being MIA lately. The usual reasons: work has me working, my free time has been costly, and then there's this little thing known as an impending move. Posts will be sporadic for the next few weeks. To make up for it, here's a massive jukebox upchuck full of favorite songs of late. Dusty Springfield – "So Much Love" I've been listening to so much Dusty In Memphis lately, ever since my trip to Louisville. (Must have been the "Southern" exposure.) [...]
Any Major Dude With Half A Heart
Carnival Saloon
Rockstar Aimz
Geezer Music Club
Setting The Woods On Fire
Keep the Coffee Coming
Locust St.
Boogie Woogie Flu
bigrockcandymountain
Good Moanin'
Out This Week 2/14
Diplo - "Climax" (MP3 Stream)
Jackback Feat. David Guetta & Nicky Romero – Wild One Two
Skrillex Uses Satanic and Homosexual Influence to Win Grammys
