Category: Music

Iris DeMent and Friends, Will the Circle be Unbroken?  Iris DeMent and Emmy Lou Harris, Our Town.  Nanci Griffith, Boots of Spanish Leather John Prine, Hello in There. This great song goes out to Dave Burn who introduced me to it back in '71. Remember Fred Neil?  One of the  luminaries of the '60s folk…

Dionne Warwick, Walk On By Leroy Van Dyke, Walk On By.  Same title, different song. Patsy Cline, Walkin' After Midnight Gus Cannon, Walk Right In, 1929.  Is that a kazoo I hear? Rooftop Singers' 1962 version. Rufus Thomas, Walking the Dog, 1965 Ventures, Walk Don't Run. The boys are aging nicely.  A big hit back in 1960.…

I post what I like and I like what I post. Elmore James, Dust My Broom Doors, Crystal Ship Clancy Bros., When the Ship Comes In. Elvis Presley, Marie's the Name of His Latest Flame Elvis Presley, Spanish Eyes Bob Dylan, It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Take a Train to Cry, Cutting Edge take.  Albert King, Crosscut Saw Ray…

Mississippi Sheiks, Sitting on Top of the World Phil Upchurch Combo, You Can't Sit Down Mose Allison, (I'm sittin' over here on) Parchman Farm Mississippi Fred McDowell, I Wish I Was in Heaven Sitting Down George Jones, I Don't Need Your Rockin' Chair.  Clever lyrics. Eric Clapton, Rocking Chair. The old Hoagy Carmichael tune from…

Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's . . . Have you stateside readers settled accounts with the Infernal Revenue Service?  If yes, order up one scotch, one bourbon, and one beer and enjoy this live version of Taxman  featuring Harrison and Clapton.  Stevie Ray Vaughan's blistering version.  . . . and render unto God the things that…

Johnny Cash, I've Been Everywhere, man, crossed the deserts bare, man/I've breathed the mountain air, man/Of travel I've had my share, man/I've been everywhere. Pete Seeger, Passing Through.  "Yankee, Russian, white or tan, Lord a man is just a man/We're all brothers and we're only passing through." Soggy Mountain Boys, I am a Man of Constant Sorrow Karla…

Mike Bloomfield, Carmelita Skiffle A bar or two is all it takes recognize the signature sound of Michael Bloomfield, Jew, who exemplifies cultural appropriation at its best. My second guitar hero. My first was Dick Dale who, though not a Jew, gave us a version of Misirlou. Warren Zevon, Carmelita Billy Joel, Piano Man Don MacLean, American Pie Gordon…

Robert Glynn Luman (15 April 1937 – 27 December 1978) was an American country and rockabilly singer–songwriter. (Wikipedia) He is best known for his 1960 crossover hit that made it to the #7 spot on the Billboard Hot 100, Let's Think About Living.  How quaint the reference to the fellow with the switchblade knife. It was a tamer time. Red Cadillac…

There are one-hit wonders whose hits have endured and one hit wonders whose hits have pretty much sunk into oblivion, which is why you need me to prowl the musty mausoleum of moldy oldies for these moth-eaten memories.  Norma Tanega and her  Walkin' My Cat Named Dog belong to the latter category.  If you remember this curious tune from 1966  I'll…

I recently discovered this masterful 1981 cover of Jackson Browne's "The Pretender." I'm going to be a happy idiot And struggle for the legal tender Where the ads take aim and lay their claim To the heart and the soul of the spender And believe in whatever may lie In those things that money can…

You might have received the wrong impression from the movie, Amadeus. Salieri (1750-1825) was no slouch of a composer.   Sinfonia Veneziana   Requiem   Mozart versus Salieri (a scene from Amadeus)

Gary U. S. Bonds, From a Buick 6.  Wow! Undoubtedly the best cover of the Dylan number. And better than the original. Sorry, Bob. Bonds had a number of hits in the early '60s such as Twist, Twist, Senora. Cute video. The girls look like they stepped out of the '40s. They remind me of…