Louvin Brothers Duets

Arriving on track 10, posts from January of 2010:

01-4-10... We give the order, the subconscious does the work.

Lyrics like these must come from the cosmos, the conduit Johnny Cash, the song Big River.



01-6-10... To know the truth about any condition heals it.

Evolving from the brother duos of the 1930's like the Blue Sky Boys and Charlie and Bill Monroe, the Louvin Brothers revived the style in the 1940's and '50's. With Ira on mandolin and Charlie on guitar, the Louvin Brothers elevated the vocal stylings to new levels by use of clever interplay of their voices, each of them alternating between lead and backup several times within one song.





Today's post is a perfect example. After singing the first line, Ira fades back in holding the vowel while letting Charlie take the lead, and then Ira pops the high tenor with ear-piercing accuracy as the brothers sing melody and harmony together. I Don't Believe You've Met My Baby



01-8-10... The real name of Grandpa Jones was Louis Marshall. He began his career on radio in the 1930's and developed the Grandpa character long before aging into the role. The bit was comedy, but none of it would've worked had he not been a talented singer and musician with guitar, banjo, and hammer dulcimer. He was a standard on the Grand Ole Opry for 50 years, and was greatly loved for continuing to perform the old-time styles of country and gospel throughout, despite the coming and going popularity of other sounds like honky tonk and countrypolitan.

This song from 1958 is all about message, and although his backup singers on occasion do a poor job of synchronizing with him, Louis "Grandpa Jones" Marshall rings out loud and clear these important lyrics while adding some good guitar work to enhance the catchy melody. Falling Leaves

Links to the mp3 samples of these songs are HERE

Loretta Lynn and Sheldon Silverstein

12-21-09... This here is a great song -- unless you live in Topeka. Recorded and made a hit by Loretta Lynn, "One's On the Way" is just one of Sheldon Silverstein's compositions that combines uniquely clever lyrics and storytelling with catchy melody. Arguably, his best known is Johnny Cash's "A Boy Named Sue", but Silverstein's also penned classics such as "Sylvia's Mother," "The Cover of the Rolling Stone" by Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show, plus Bobby Bare's evil anthem, "Marie Laveau."



12-23-09... Having problems? Welcome to the club. The only solution is to contact the divine Power within your soul and set it to work on those problems. It's a daily process, and obviously the worst should be focused on first.

George Jones has a problem. His baby has roving eyes, but this was recorded by a youthful George Jones. Surely by now he knows that looking's for free. If You Wanna Be My Baby


Now, for a special Christmas treat, take a journey through twelve days of a bad mixture, with funny lady Fay McKay's The Twelve Daze of Christmas.



12-25-09... Get a definite method of working, of tapping into your inner wisdom to guide you toward your goal. Maybe upon first awakening when your mind is receptive. Maybe after work when your mind is reflective. Whatever you choose, stick with it long enough to see if it works. Adjustments of schedule can be made if you feel you're on a treadmill going nowhere.

Here's a rare Hank Williams song in that it has a mandolin solo break. As for the tempo-driving music and mournful voice, it's pure Hank. May You Never Be Alone Like Me

Links for these mp3 audios are HERE
.

Bill Monroe b4 Bluegrass

12-14-09... I'm not sure why I'm posting this. Really, darlin', do you have to grovel? Me and some of my buddies used to call it I Swallow Feces when we'd hear it -- jokingly, of course, or maybe not, depending on how many mugs we'd downed. So, here's why: if the melody sticks to your brain like a magnet, and the vocals, orchestral arrangements and performances are world class, and you can dance to it, then the lyrics don't really matter. Do they?

No, they don't. That's why Patsy Cline and I both do what it say... I Fall to Pieces


12-16-09... An engine that has been intelligently designed has no essential parts missing. Nor are any unnecessary parts attached. The universe is intelligently designed. There cannot be disharmony because all parts must work together for the common good. There can be no lack. With this in mind, remember that you are part of the universe, a little piece of one big whole, identical.

Jimmie Davis bought the copyright to this song before recording it in 1940. Stories of the price vary from $15 to $500, either way a bargain because the next year it was recorded twice more -- one by Gene Autry, the other by Bing Crosby -- and became one of the most popular songs ever. Still is one of the most familiar melodies ever. This is Jimmie Davis's version. You Are My Sunshine



12-18-09... Once you have contacted the Power within, it will direct and govern all your affairs from the greatest to the smallest, and it will do so without mistakes.

Here's what Bill Monroe did before developing what became bluegrass. He and his brother Charlie were one of many brother acts during the 1930's. Charlie sings this one. I'm Leaving You

Link to the mp3's is HERE

Album at Amazon

 

 

Dusty Springfield Suggestive

Thought I might throw in an extra week at midweek. From second week of December 2009:

12-9-09... First time I heard this song was on Hank Williams III's album, Risin' Outlaw, or so I thought. My brain seemed to remind me I had another version on a compilation album, and it was right.

It's Bobby Edwards and his #11 hit from 1961. You're the Reason

12-11-09... Dusty Springfield had a maddeningly sexy voice and hair -- very, very big hair. Adding to such temptation, this particular selection includes a saxophone that speaks orally -- breathy and wet, if you catch my drift. To seal the deal, suggestive lyrics and the always-innovative, always unpredictable chord progressions and memorable melody of Burt Bacharach should take us all to dreamyland. The Look of Love

Link page to the mp3's HERE

Ray Price is Lonesome

I'm trailing six months behind, which means we're ready for December 2009.

12-2-09... For starters, I trot out my old reworking of a Christmas song, O Holy Night.


Next, sometimes a song leaves me speechless. It's the Louvin Brothers, and even though I cut it up I'm sure you'll still be able to hear why I have nothing to add. Cash on the Barrel Head


12-4-09... You know whatever you put in the mixing bowl is going to be in the cake, and whatever you leave out will be missing. Choose well the ingredients you mix in your bowl.

How about a weekend of laying back and doing nothing? The cut of this vinyl spin might get you in the right mood, a little Donny Hathaway song soulfully sung by Roberta Flack. These are Tryin' Times.




12-7-09... Countrypolitan: Ray Price has had two careers, the first in the 1950's, when he popularized the honky-shuffle style with big 1956 hit, Crazy Arms. He was a roommate and protege of Hank Williams before Williams's death, and even used the Drifting Cowboys as his backup band. By mid-1960's he started moving to a more pop sound, helping many future songwriters and musicians by recording their songs while they were members of his band the Cherokee Cowboys. Names include Willie Nelson, Roger Miller, Johnny Paycheck and Harlan Howard. Ray Price's recording of Kris Kristofferson's "For the Good Times" brought Price fully into the lush style of country-pop in 1970, along with full orchestrations of strings and brass.

Today's song is from that genre. Lonesomest Lonesome

Links to the mp3's are HERE

Carl Perkins Re-kicks It

Yes, I'm resurrecting the Corn Pone at my web site, so will pick up where I left off here. Last week of November, 2009, with link to page at bottom of text.

11-23-09... The thoughts and beliefs that fill our minds ultimately make their way into our life experience. I suppose you can see how important it is to choose wisely which thoughts you care to entertain, and which ones you should quickly cast out.

Here's a good song with lyrics for a quick history lesson in country music. Add to this the skilled vocals of Hank Locklin, and you've got a tune worth a couple minutes of your time. Country Hall of Fame



11-25-09... Do you wisely choose the foods you eat? Do you ingest information intelligently, or accept whatever you hear without critical thinking? Do you choose intelligently the words used while raising your children, or performing your function at work? The world needs more intelligence. There is plenty of will power, but without an intelligent plan, actions can take us to places we don't want to go, which creates a need for much more effort to get where we need to go.

Carl Perkins is smart. He wants to take his woman to a picture show so he can get her out of her house. That way, he avoids the man living there he doesn't like. Avoids conflicts. Lessens stress. Gives him a better chance of getting lucky with Mag. Movie Mag



11-27-09... I don't know, Patsy, seems to me you'd be better off with his records. If she's got him, then he wants her and not you, Patsy Cline. I suspect the records will be worth more to you after a few months have passed. Maybe you'll find some man who loves the other guy's taste in music, and your new guy will peform for you like a Trojan warrior. Patsy Cline will swoon, but for now, her brilliant voice is emotionally shook up. She's Got You



11-30-09... Knowledge that you do not actually use is only intellectual knowledge, which is barren and will fade away from lack of use.

Today's song features a melody which is far from barren. It has been used in many different songs through several decades, a fact made clear by Johnny Bond and Cowboy Copas when they sing Thinkin' Tonight.

Links to mp3 audio samples (free to hear) for these songs is here:

HERE