Country Club 55: Twin Mandolins

You've heard of twin guitars and twin fiddles in Western Swing,  how about twin (electric) mandolins!


This is Al Dressen's Super Swing Revue performing Johnny Gimble's tune "Mandolopin'" with Jason Roberts and Paul Glasse on mandolin.  It was recorded at the 18th Annual Texas Natural & Western Swing Festival  held on May 15 2010 in San Marcos, Texas.

The mandolin is typecast as a bluegrass instrument, but it actually has lots of versatility.  Electric mandolin, while not an essential instrument in Western Swing, have a long history in the genre.  Most famously, Tiny Moore began playing a Gibson electric mandolin with the Bob Wills band in 1946.  Instead of using the eight strings of the standard mandolin (four courses tuned in unisons), Moore used only four strings.  In the 1950s, Moore, playing in Billy Jack Wills' band, commissioned a 5 string electric mandolin from Paul Bigsby. Before Moore, Leo Raley played electric mandolin in the 1930s with the Western Swing band of Cliff Bruner, most likely the first electric mandolin.  The legendary Johnny Gimble, composer of the tune featured above, played electric mandolin and violin with the Wills band. There was an overlap in their tenure and there must have been some twin mandolins.  Most likely, the Tiffany Transcriptions captured some of this.

Here's a picture of Moore (second from right) with Bob Wills from the early 1950s. There is another mandolin player, possibly Gimble to Moore's right.  (Photo is from Musings Of A Muleskinner--Deke Dickerson's Blog.)

Because the mandolin is tuned identically to the violin, many Western Swing double on the two instruments.

Country Club 53: Goodnight, Irene--the country hits

"Goodnight, Irene" has become an American standard. It is usually associated with the Weavers who had a hit in 1950. It first reached the Billboard charts on June 30, 1950 and spent 25 weeks on the chart, reaching Number One.  But the Weaver version wasn't the only hit version.  Within weeks of the Weavers release, "Goodnight Irene" was covered by Frank Sinatra  and three other pop artists charted with their own covers later in the year.  It was a Number 5 hit for Sinatra, one of his few chart-toppers in the period, but reportedly he hated the song and rebuffed fan's calls to perform it.

It was also a country hit.  Red Foley and Ernest Tubb recorded this version that was a number one country hit in the summer of 1950.

Moon Mullican had a lesser hit the same year.

All these hits came a year after Goodnight Irene's composer Leadbelly died. He had recorded it for the Library of Congress in the 1930's, but said he learned the song from an uncle and had begun singing it around 1908. Some people say it is a Tin Pan Alley song from 1886, and not a folk song. Charles Wolfe and Kip Lornell, authors of the The Life and Legend of Leadbelly report that Leadbelly's song was most likely an adaptation of n 1886 song by the early African American songwriter Gusie Lord Davis. (pp. 53-56).  There does seem to be an argument that Leadbelly modified the rhythm, melody, and lyrics of the song enough to be credited as composer. though

There doesn't seem to be any justification for Alan Lomax to have claimed co-writer credits and royalties. The song was already in Leadbelly's repertoire when the Lomaxes first met him.

Interestingly, Wolfe and Lornell write that the ARC company did not appreciate the diversity of Leadbelly's music when they recorded him.

...they had a simplistic perception of black folk music. They divided folk and folklike music into two camps:  Whites performed hillbilly and cowboy songs, while black  singers played blues and spirituals.  A black man like Hudie, whose complicated repertoire ranged across these arbitrary lines, seemed problematic to them. They finally did consent to record "Irene" but it was never released. (p. 158)

Wikipedia's entry on "Goodnight, Irene" notes that

the Weavers chose to omit some of Leadbelly's more controversial lyrics, leading Time magazine to label it a "dehydrated" and "prettied up" version of the original. Due to the recording's popularity, however, The Weavers' lyrics are the ones generally used today.

The next edition of Country Club will provide further evidence of just how popular "Goodnight, Irene" was.

Country Club 52: Bloodshot Eyes from Western Swing to Jump Blues

Hank Penny was a Western Swing musician from the late 1930s to the 1970s with an affinity for jazz (and comedy). He employed jazz-oriented sidemen like Jimmy Wyble, Benny Garcia, and Noel Boggs, as well as Merle Travis. He even recorded "Hillbilly Be-Bop" for King Records in 1949. In 1950, he wrote a hit "BloodShot Eyes," which became a souped-up jump blues hit for Wynonie Harris a year later. He had a long stretch in Las Vegas and worked for a while at a Wichita radio station.

Let's start with the Penny original.



And, here is Harris.



Both Penny and Harris were largely performing on the West Coast at the time, but they recorded for Cincinnati-based King Records, which specialized in "hillbilly" and "race" records and encouraged the sharing of songs between the two sides of the label.

There is a chapter on Penny in Rich Kienzle's 2003 book "Southwest Shuffle: Pioneers of Honky-Tonk, Western Swing and Country Jazz."

And, this fascinating article "Hank Penny's Cowboy Swing" by Burgin Matthews and "Forgotten Artists: Hank Penny" by Paul W. Dennis are also recommended.

There are a number of CDs of Penny's career which would be worth checking out.

Country Club 51 Tommy Duncan after Bob Wills

Stephen Thomas Erlewine writes informatively about Tommy Duncan on allmusic.com.
 

As the lead singer for the classic lineup of Bob Wills' Texas Playboys, Tommy Duncan was the definitive Western swing vocalist. Crossing the smooth croon of Bing Crosby with the twang of Jimmie Rodgers and the bluesy inclinations of Emmett Miller, Duncan had a warm, distinctive, and welcoming voice that helped the Playboys cross over to a wider audience. Not only was he a wonderful, trendsetting vocalist, Duncan also wrote many of the Texas Playboys' biggest hits, including "Time Changes Everything," "Stay a Little Longer," "Take Me Back to Tulsa," "New Spanish Two Step," and "Bubbles in My Beer."'

Duncan split from Wills, or more accurately, was fired  in 1948.  "Gambling Polka Dot Blues" was his one big hit on his own. In the 1960s, Wills and Duncan reunited for a while and Duncan then continued an independent career.

Country Club 50: country loves hippies

This is cool. The Bellamy Brothers, a country pop duo have followed their hit "Old Hippie" with updates through the decades. Some of remember a time, let's call it Okie from Muskogee time, when country fans hated hippies. That changed quite a while ago.


The Brothers had a Number One pop hit in 1976 with "Let Your Love Flow," a song written by Larry Williams, a former roadie for Neil Diamond, who turned to song down. In 1979, they had their first number one country song with "If I Said You Had a Beautiful Body Would You Hold It Against Me"

Country Club 49: long haired redneck

The lead-off song to David Alan Coe's Long-Haired Redneck album, the single was the follow-up to "You Never Even Called Me by My Name" and was a fairly big hit reaching number 17 on the charts. Besides the references to the "outlaw country" movement, it is notable for the chorus which features Coe impersonating classic country artists Ernest Tubb, "Whisperin" Bill Anderson, and Merle Haggard.

I recognized the impersonations, but I have no idea which Tom T. Hall melody Coe borrowed for this song.

Country Club 48: a little too late

Tanya Tucker had here first country hit in 1972 at the age of 13 with her recording of "Delta Dawn." Since then, she has had a string of hits, including 1993 s "It's a Little Too Late," which reached number 2 on the country charts.

Country Club 47: the country side of Charlie Haden

Charlie Haden, the great jazz bassist died on July 11.  He is most famous for being part of the revolutionary Ornette Coleman Quartet.  I was fortunate enough to discover Coleman before I graduated from high school. 

In 2009, a wrote a post on George Strait and Haden and commented  about Haden's then new CD, Rambling Boy

a country CD. Not country-twinged jazz or some hybrid. But straight out country. Rambling Boy is not even contemporary country, the music harks back to an older time, circa 1930s-1940s. Haden grew up in a family that was sort of a Midwest Carter family, making a radio debut at age two.

Here's a trailer for a video documentary of Haden. The whole documentary can be seen here.



Here is a performance of the group on the David Letterman show.



Tom Jurek reviewed it on allmusic.com very perceptively (though it is one of those infuriating reviews where you read the review, look at the star rating --3 1/2--and think I thought he was gong to rate it higher.  I would have given it at least 4 stars.)

This 19-song set features all the members of his immediate family -- daughters Petra, Rachel, and Tanya, as well as son Josh. The players and vocalists are numerous but they include guitarist Pat Metheny, Rosanne Cash, Vince Gill, Bruce Hornsby, Stuart Duncan, Jerry Douglas, the Whites, Sam Bush, Ricky Skaggs, Elvis Costello, and Russ Barenberg, among others. Despite the wide range of players here, this album can only be called Americana in the strictest sense of the term as its selections are new readings of mostly traditional folk and country songs.

On his 1997 CD with Pat Metheny, Beyond the Missouri Sky, Haden included "The Precious Jewell" a country classic by Roy Acuff.



And, here is the original

Country Club 46 Hank Jr.'s Two Liberal Songs

Hank Williams, Jr. has the kind of reactionary, red-wing politics that uninformed pundits like Richard Cohen think that Merle Haggard has. Haggard dud right some jingoists songs back in the 1960s and 1970s, but Haggard has mellowed and evolved. Looks for my "Left Side of Merle" playlist here later in 2014.

The same can't be said about Hank, Jr. He's far more a musical spokesman for the Tea Party than Merle Haggard who Richard Cohen cited in an infamous column, in which he misreads the Hag's "Are the Good Times Over for Good" as the national anthem of the tea party, neglecting to mention that the Hag lent support to Hillary (with a song, no less) and Obama.

In that same column,  Cohen wrote that "People with conventional views must repress a gag reflex" when thinking of inter-racial marriage.  Yet, Haggard recorded a pro-interracial romance song "Irma Jackson" in 1969. Strangely, even progressive bloggers who know country music didn't call Cohen on this.

That's enough of a digression for now.  Sometime I'll do a post on Hank Jr. reactionary songs, but this Saturday, I'll highlight his two liberal songs. (If I've missed any let me know in the comments.

"I'm for Love" was written and recorded by Hank, Jr. in 1985 and was his seventh number one hit. There's a nice touch in the first verse where what you think is going to be anti-union ("The unions against the workers...") turns out not to be in the next phrase. ("... working against their will")



Hank Jr. recorded,  but did not write, "Red, White, and Pink Slip Blues" on his 2009 album, 207 Rose Avenue.  The album also included a song "Sounds Like Justice" which is a paean to vigilante justice.

I'm for Love lyrics

Mothers against drunk drivers, the Pope is against the pill
The unions against the workers working against their will
The Presidents against the Congress, the Senate is against the House
People are against politicians and Im against cats in the house

But Im for love and Im for happiness
And Im for 'If you dont like it, cant you just let it pass?'
And Im for turning off the music, turning down the lights
Cause Im for nothing else but me and you tonight

The cities against the counties, the counties against the state
The state is against the government and the highways still aint paved
The bankers against the farmer, the farmers against the wall
Doctor's against me smoking and the devil is against us all

But Im for love and Im for happiness
And Im for 'If you dont like it, cant you just let it pass?'
And Im for turning off the tube and turning down the lights
Cause Im for nothing else but me and you tonight

The cops are against the robbers, the laws are against the cops
Justice is against the system and some people are blowing their tops
The horse is against the automobile, the bus is against the train
The train is against the jumbo jet and Im against fishing in the rain

But Im for love, Im all for happiness
And Im for 'If you dont like it, cant you just let it pass?'
And Im for turning off the tube and turning down the lights
And Im for nothing else but me and you tonight

Hey, Im for love, Im all for happiness
And Im for 'Not looking for something to make us mad'
Im all for turning off the music and turning down the lights
And Im for nothing else but me and you t

Red, White and Pink Slip Blues lyrics

I used to love this town and this neighborhood
The streets were safe, the schools were good
The mill was hummin' twenty-four seven
I was formin' on the line, three to eleven
But eighteen months, two days ago
The Mill closed down and moved to Mexico

I payed my bills, I payed my dues
I payed my share of taxes too
Now I cant buy my baby shoes
Ive got the red, white, pink-slip blues

I hide the pickup truck in Ricky Browns garage
Over on the next block, cause there's Repo's to dodge
I slip out the back door Lord, I never thought Id live to see this day
Where gonna need that truck when they come to take the house away

You know I love my country and I'm not one to complain
But there's a lot of us that feel like we've been left out here
Out in the rain

I payed my bills, I payed my dues
I payed my share of taxes too
Now I cant buy my little baby shoes

Country Club 45: pedal steel master Buddy Emmons

Steel guitar is the quintessential country instrument, with dues respect to banjos, mandolins, and fiddles.  Buddy Emmons is arguably the foremost steel guitarist ever. He has played on hundreds, if not thousands, of country sides, but is stylistically cathollic, having recording in jazz, country-rock, folk, and other idioms. Here's a short display of Emmons' virtuosity.



There are a number of videos of Emmons performing at Steel Guitar conventions and the like on Youtube.  If you like clip above, check them out.

Allmusic.com has a discography of albums issued under Emmons' name.  Some are worth noting.   In 1963, Emmons recorded a highly regarded album for Verve Records, Steel Guitar Jazz, with sidemen such as saxophonist Jerome Richardson. In the 1970s, he recorded with Lenny Breau (Minors Aloud) and Danny Gatton (Red Neck Jazz Explosion) and, still later, did performed and recorded several fine albums with Ray Pennington as the Swing Shift Band, a grouping of Nashville area musicians who did swing and western swing on the side.

Country Club 42: you'll never leave Harlan alive

Darrell Scott's song "You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive: has been featured in the television show "Justified" with versions by Brad Paisley, Ruby Friedman, and Dave Alvin. I'm not sure whether Patty Loveless's recording has been included, but it's very nice. Here is a live version.

Country Club 40: Blame it on Texas

Steve Huey says that Mark Chestnutt's "style combine[s}George Jones, Merle Haggard, and Bob Wills." It has been a creative combination indeed. Chestnutt had five hit singles on each of his first two albums (1990's Too Cold at Home) and 1992's Longnecks & Short Stories). 



For tour, merchandise, and other information, check out Chestnutt's website.

Counry Club 37: Pick me up on your way down

Here's Wanda Jackson, the first lady of rockabilly, singing a great Harlan Howard song that has become a country standard "Pick Me Up on Your Way Down," originally a hit for Charlie Walker in 1958. (There is a nice video of Walker performing his signature tune at the Grand Ol' Opry in the 1980s.)

Growing up in Oklahoma City, Jackson was discovered by Hank Thompson, taught to sing rockabilly by Elvis Presley, combined country and rockabilly on two sides of a single, had a career in straight country when rockabilly faded, and has been rediscovered in recent years.




Harlan Howard was one of the most prolific songwriters in country music history.  His songs include "Heartaches By The Number"; "I Fall to Pieces","Busted", originally a hit for both Ray Charles and Johnny Cash.and later for John Conlee. In 1961 alone he had 15 of his compositions on the country music charts.  Howard also wrote Joe Simon's #1 R&B chart hit "The Chokin' Kind", a million-selling record in 1969.

Jackson is still performing. Her website, which features a beautiful painting of Jackson,  has a listing of what seem to be 2014 tour dates. For more information on her extensive discography check out this page at allmusic.com and for compilations here.

The Smithsonian Channel has an hour-plus biography of Jackson called "The Sweet Lady with a Nasty Voice."

Country Club 35: Brandy Clark Get High

Brandy Clark is one of a rising group of outstanding women artists in country music. I don't think they are selling as much as the current crop of male performers, but they are doing really substantial music. There have been some un-offical videos of this song from her highly acclaimed debut CD 12 Stories, but this looks like the official video.

Country Club #34: instrumental virtuosos

There's a long history of country music virtuosos and few, if any, stand out more than the long-time duo of Speedy West on pedal steel and Jimmy Bryant on electric guitar. Here's one of their pieces.



Jazz guitarist Bill Frisell, in 2011,toured a musical tribute to the music of Speedy Weat and Jimmy Bryant. He commented 

My first impression was, ‘Man alive! This is insane! The speed, technique….wacky! I’d never heard anything like it.

If you want to hear, there are some other tunes on YouTube and some fine collections on CD.

• West and Bryant,  Stratosphere Boogie  Razor and Tie collection
• West and Bryant,Flamin' Guitars Bear Family box 
• West and Bryant. Bustin' Thru: Flippin' the Lid 
• Jimmy Bryant Frettin' Fingers  3-cd set

Country Club #33: PBR

Via Gene at Harry's Place who blogged about "Hipsters, rednecks and Pabst Blue Ribbon beer" who ponders the strange fact that today's hipsters and yesterday's rednecks beer of choice coincidentally happens to be Pabst Blue Ribbon and that conservatives have recently written books attacking hipsters and rednecks. (Greg Gutfeld’s Not Cool: The Hipster Elite and Their War on You and Charlotte Hays When Did White Trash Become the New Normal? A Southern Lady Asks the Impertinent Question).

Johnny Russell's recording of "Rednecks, White Socks, and Blue Ribbons" was a hit in 1973.  



Lyrics

There's no place that I'd rather be than right here
With my red necks, white socks and blue ribbon beer
The barmaid is mad 'cause some guy made a pass
The juke box is playin' "There Stands the Glass"
And the cigarette smoke kind-a hangs in the air
Red-necks, white socks and blue ribbon beer
A cowboy is cussin' the pin-ball ma-chine
A drunk at the bar is gettin' noisy and mean
And, some guy on the phone says ill be home soon dear
Red-necks white socks and blue ribbon beer


No we don't fit in with that white collar crowd
We're a little too rowdy and a little too loud
There's no place that I'd rather be than right here
With my red-necks white socks and blue ribbon beer

The semis are passing on the highway outside
The four thirty crowd is about to arrive
The sun's go-in' down and we'll all soon be here
Rednecks, white socks and blue ribbon beer


There's no place that I'd rather be than right here
With my red-necks, white socks and blue ribbon beer
"There Stands the Glass" was a Number 1 country hit for Webb Pierce in 1953.  (Video)
 

Country Club #32: Under appreciated

Eddie Rabbitt is an under appreciated country artist.  Perhaps it is his last name, which is his real family name and, unlike John Melloncamp's stage name Cougar, not imposed by a manager. Perhaps it is that he grew up in Brooklyn and New Jersey and, by our geographic stereotypes. Perhaps it is that country music is taken less seriously than other American song moments. should have been a rock-and-roller.  Perhaps it is Rabbitt was an impure country artist, crossing borders, mixing non-country styles, rather than a neo-traditionalist,   Still, he made some very fine music, including some songs which could be considered neo-traditional.

Tom Roland appreciates on allmusic.com

One of country music's most innovative artists during the late '70s and early '80s, Eddie Rabbitt has made contributions to the format that have often gone overlooked. Especially in songs like the R&B-inflected "Suspicions" and the rockin' "Someone Could Lose a Heart Tonight," Rabbitt challenged the commonly recognized creative boundaries of the idiom.

And, he was a very successful artist.

In 1976, he started a string of Top Ten hits that ran uninterrupted until 1989. During that time, he had 16 number one singles,

Here is "Suspicions." one of the most un-country songs ever to reach #1 on the country charts.

It's even been covered by Tim McGraw.


Here's "Drivin' My Life Away," one of many songs based on Chuck Berry's "Too Much Monkey Business" and Bob Dylan's "Subeterranean Home Sick Blues."

And, here, is "On Second Thought," with a video styled to resemble a country TV show from the 1950s or 1960s.

Country Club #31: Patty Loveless

Written by Harlan Howard and Kostas, Patty Loveless' "Blame it on your lying, cheating heart " spent 20 weeks on the Billboard Hot Country Singles and Tracks chart, reaching No. 1 during the week of June 19, 1993.


Loveless has had a long country career. She has had more 40 records on Billboard's top country list including five number one hits. She has recorded 14 albums. Her 1994 When Fallen Angels Fly was the Country Music Association's Album of the Year. It's a very fine album.

Country Club #30: Shotgun Boogie

Country boogie was a link between western swing and rock'n'roll. Tennessee Ernie Ford , most famous for "Sixteen Tons, " had a big hit with Shotgun Boogie in 1951, which spent 14 week atop the country charts. Here are two versions from the period. The first features the legendary Jimmy Bryant on guitar and Speedy West on pedal steel.

Country Club #29: Time Jumpers Revive Western Swing

The Time Jumpers is a group of Nashville-based musicians who have gotten together to play Western Swing since 1998.  Much like the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis jazz band, they started out of love of the music playing a regular gig at what had been a club's offnight. Country music superstar Vince Gill joined the band in 2012 and is featured on the group's album, the self-titled The Time Jumpers. In case you're wondering, this is a different song than the classic blues by Ray Charles (and others)"I'm Going to Move to the Outskirts of Town."

The Time Jumpers has a very nice web site and you can find more Time Jumpers videos at You Tube.