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 [...]
The missing chapter of Mel Tillis' singing career A decade before Mel Tillis found 1970s fame as a singer on Kapp and MGM, he recorded a number of terrific, often adventurous sides for Columbia. Tillis had been writing hits for years charting sides with Webb Pierce, Bobby Bare, Stonewall Jackson and others, but his own singles, including "The Violet and a Rose" and "Sawmill," found only limited success. Legacy's 24-track collection, a digital download reissue of Collectors' Choice' out-of-print CD , is a treasure-trove of Tillis originals, many co-written with Wayne Walker. Many [...]
Mel Tillis : Ruby, Don't Take Your Love To Town [Out of print, it seems] "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love To Town" was a hit for Kenny Rogers and The New Edition in 1969 at the height of the Vietnam War, and so was perceived by many to be about that conflict. When country singer Mel Tillis, who wrote the song, first released it in January 1967, the "old crazy Asian war" he was referring to was the Korean conflict of the early 1950s. The storyline is simple: a [...]
Last weekend's Stagecoach , the country music cousin to Coachella, capped three consecutive weeks of music at the Empire Polo Field in Indio, offering a diverse lineup of veterans, commercial stars and indie artists. Photographer Scott Dudelson sent along this gallery. For a good read, check out Randy Lewis' review in the Times.
Mel Tillis has been recording for over a half-century, and yet the latest offering from the Florida native represents a first for the singer. You Ain't Gonna Believe This, released on Show Dog/Universal, is his debut comedy album. Tillis says the material for the project had been piling up for some time. "I left Nashville for Branson in 1990," he tells LimeWire Music Blog, "and I had a theatre out there for 19 years, and I taped all my shows— every one of them. I wound up with a whole bunch of comedy and stories. [...]
I set my laptop on record when me and my boys were rehearsing the other night. Here's the video of my song Diamonds from my album Jonestown , and Ruby, Don't take your love to town , originally written by Mel Tillis but best known through Kenny Rogers.
Ah, Easter. That holiday I always forget until my mom calls and tells me it's time to go to the country, eat a ton of food and fall asleep. Forget the religious implications; that sounds pretty alrigh... Continue reading "Weekend Round-Up: Golden Egg Style Part 2" >
I was in two minds (only two?) over what to title this post : Ruby... was certainly a guilty pleasure during my childhood, not cool at all to enjoy country music. But it's an excellent, if understated, story song too - not the classic verse-after-verse sort, but one where your mind fills in all the details & history. You create your own image of a crippled ex-soldier, and of Ruby - contemplating a night out... all made-up, hair tinted & curled; even of the house where our story-snippet [...]
Horace Eldred "Danny" Dill's died Thursday at the age of 83. While I don't know much about the total scope of his life, I wanted to take a moment and acknowledge him for having a hand in writing two of country music's saddest songs of all time. "Detroit City" (above), most famous as a 1963 hit for Bobby Bare, is a depressing song about failing in the big city and being afraid to tell your family back home that Dill co-wrote with Mel Tillis. However, embarrassed moping over a lack of success doesn't [...]
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REMIX SUNDAYS- May 27th, 2012
