Country & Western Appreciation

[ed2962]

I actually remember Jason and the Scorchers being on MTV



An old Dylan cover. Fun trivia: "To live outside the law you must be honest" was the tagline to The Batman and the Outsiders comic.

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Lefty Frizzell with his monster hit from 1959: "Long Black Veil"

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Speaking of Lefty Frizzell, in the late 1940s he became friends with Ray Price, who was just breaking into the industry as a songwriter. Frizzell helped Price get established in Nashville, where he became close friends with Hank Williams. (When Hank's wife kicked him out of the house for drunkenness, he moved in with Price.) Price went on to become a major star, and he in turn mentored the young Willie Nelson when he was starting out. Here's Ray Price with one of his hits, "Crazy Arms".

[The Darknight Detective]

Speaking of Lefty Frizzell, in the late 1940s he became friends with Ray Price, who was just breaking into the industry as a songwriter. Frizzell helped Price get established in Nashville, where he became close friends with Hank Williams. (When Hank's wife kicked him out of the house for drunkenness, he moved in with Price.) Price went on to become a major star, and he in turn mentored the young Willie Nelson when he was starting out. Here's Ray Price with one of his hits, "Crazy Arms".

I believe Lefty had a hand in helping Merle Haggard at his start, too (though Wynne Stewart was the Hag's biggest mentor). As for Ray Price (who also gave Roger Miller his first break, BTW), very early songs of his sound like ol' Hank himself. What a journey he made from that time to when I first heard him back in the early '70s!

[The Darknight Detective]

Lefty Frizzell with his monster hit from 1959: "Long Black Veil"

My favorite Lefty karaoke song. Saginaw, Michigan is also great.

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From 1936: the "Big Band" Western swing sounds of Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys, with "Steel Guitar Rag"

[The Darknight Detective]

From 1936: the "Big Band" Western swing sounds of Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys, with "Steel Guitar Rag"

Aha! Take it away, Leon!

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Let's have another one from Lefty Frizzell - "If You've Got the Money I've Got the Time", from 1950.

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A fine example of the "Bakersfield sound": Buck Owens with "Together Again", from 1964

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We need to add some more female vocalists to this thread, so here's Loretta Lynn with one of her hits, "Don't Come Home A-Drinkin' "

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Another female vocalist to add to the thread: Jeanne Pruett, with "Satin Sheets"

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And it would be a mistake to leave out Connie Smith, here with her first big hit "Once A Day"

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And for a duet, here are Jean Shepard and Ferlin Husky in 1953 with one of the most "plumb pitiful" songs ever, "Dear John"

[The Darknight Detective]

Despite being born in Brooklyn and living on Long Island during my formative years, my family and I grew up on C&W. My father was a fan of the music as a kid (how many Brooklynites listened to the Grand Old Oprey like he did back then?), while my mother couldn't stand the pre-Nashville Sound stylings of Hank Sr., Kitty Wells, Ernest Tubb, etc. However, she started listening to it by the late '60s and became a fan of it herself (but she still hates the real old stuff to this day ). So by the time I started noticing the radio around 1973 on WHN 1050, country music was really the only music we listened to in our car.

[seismic-2]

Despite being born in Brooklyn and living on Long Island during my formative years, my family and I grew up on C&W. My father was a fan of the music as a kid (how many Brooklynites listened to the Grand Old Oprey like he did back then?), while my mother couldn't stand the pre-Nashville Sound stylings of Hank Sr., Kitty Wells, Ernest Tubb, etc. However, she started listening to it by the late '60s and became a fan of it herself (but she still hates the real old stuff to this day ). So by the time I started noticing the radio around 1973 on WHN 1050, country music was really the only music we listened to in our car.

Yeah, I was just thirteen, you might say I was a
Musical proverbial knee-high
When I heard a couple new-sounding tunes on the tubes
And they blasted me sky-high
And the record man said every one is a yellow sun
Record from Nashville
And up north there ain't nobody buys them
And I said, "But I Will" - John Sebastian, "Nashville Cats", recorded by The Lovin' Spoonful in 1966