What group did a remake of the old Tennesee Ernie Ford song "16 Tons"? It seemed very creative for the Nashville assembly line. Probably why I only heard it once.
you forgot gram parsons. people have no idea who he is, but he had a huge influence on a lot of bands, including the stones.
To me country music begins and ends with Willie Nelson. I like the old stuff Mr. MEOWGI listed. The only new stuff I like is Southern Culture and Lyle Lovett. I'm of the opinion the rest of it is prefab country pop.
It's a shame about Doug Supernaw. (mentioned above) I almost put "Reno" on my favorites list. I don't listen to that much country - usually when I'm forced to at work or something. I do like the old school stuff better; I just don't know as many of the songs.
Really I listen to a LOT of Johnny, Willie, Merle, and Waylon - the more you explore the more there is that isn't necessarily on any of the 'Greatest Hits...' Some of my favorites from some mixed country CDs I made for myself that aren't mostly those guys. The Devil's Right Hand - Johnny Cash Ain't No God in Mexico - Waylon Me & Paul - Willie Worried Man - Willie Tulsa Time - Don Williams Sunday Mornin' Come Down - Kris Kristofferson Streets of Baltimore - Gram Parsons Mississippi Flush - Ray Wylie Hubbard Saginaw Michigan - Lefty Frizzell Teenage Immigrant Welfare Mothers On Drugs - Austin Lounge Lizards Put the O Back in Country - Shooter Jennings (remake of Neil Young song) I think I'll just stay here and drink - Merle Haggard Pretty Boy Floyd - the Byrds Sangria Wine - Jerry Jeff Walker Girl of the North Country - Bob Dylan Dear Doctor - The Rolling Stones Portland, Oregon - Loretta Lynn Can't Let Go - Lucinda Williams If that ain't country - David Allen Coe Windfall - Son Volt The Night They Drove Ol' Dixie Down - The Band 16 days - Whiskeytown Spanish Fandango - Bob Wills Leaving Louisiana in the Broad Daylight - The Oakridge Boys The Right Left Hand - George Jones Big In Vegas - Buck Owens Devil Woman - Marty Robbins I'm Gonna Miss Her - Brad Paisley Red Cadillac and a Black Mustache - Bob Dylan
Isn't he from Bellville? I've played with him a few times in situations where he showed up someplace where my band was playing. I've seen him do well, but I've seen him when he was wasted and not worth a crap. My favorite was one night at the little bar out in the country near Chappell Hill when he showed up and me and a buddy had set up our instruments to jam a little bit. Doug Supernaw and a friend of his played along with us. Doug sang a bunch of songs, but he would never sing 'Alibis.' After some arm twisting and some tequila, he tried it. We had to help him remember the words and he didn't know how to play it on the guitar. He was always nice to me though. I've heard that he's got like ten kids and that's why he's broke.
Gram Parsons is the father of country-rock. The Eagles would have never existed without Gram Parsons paving the way. Huge influence on Keith Richards, he is also the man who steered the Byrds towards country music with "Sweethearts of the Rodeo" and he is the person who discovered Emmylou Harris. My old band in Los Angeles played the GramFest Music Festivals of 1997 and 1998 out in Joshua Tree. The festival is a big Gram Parsons celebration and concert. The first year, we stayed in room 8 of the Joshua Tree Motel, the room where Gram Parsons died.
There have been a lot of rerecording of that one - Johnny Cash does a good one - but that's because he was Johnny Cash . 'Weed with Willie' is a pretty damn funny song.
May have been born in Bellville, but he and his family lived in Inwood Forest and he graduated from Eisenhower High School. He was a grade ahead of me. He was on the Golf team in high school. I had no idea he was a musician. He may have become one after high school. A freind of mine from high school told me he was popular in country music so I bought one of his CD's. I couldn't believe it was the same guy. In high school he was tall and skinny with the blondest hair you ever saw. On the CD he looked like he hit the weights and had brown hair. But after reading the Thanks To: on the CD I saw he thanked his sister Jessica (who was a good golfer herself) I knew it was him.
Michael Murphy was good back when he did coffee houses and small clubs, through Geronimo’s Cadillac. After going mainstream (and adding Martin to his moniker), he slipped off my radar screen. Some of you alternative country fans might like Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks, which has a very jazz and "Margaritaville" flavor to much of his music. (although he had a leg up on Buffett as far as when he started doin' it) Dan still tours, occasionally, with the Hot Licks, and can put on a mean set, despite getting up there in age. Highly recommend him. Return To Hicksville is a terrific intro. First saw him and the Hot Licks when they were one of the opening acts for Joe Cocker's Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour, at the Houston Music Hall. (I think that was the concert... could have been earlier. too many concerts and overloaded brain cells) Just blew me away. They had the most eclectic concerts back then. Constant surprises. Hayes, you have a great list there, bro.
Thanks! I'll check out Dan Hicks! I don't know if there's anything like this still around, but back in 97/98 IIRC there was a site called gigabeat that my wife and I used. You could put in a group/singer you liked and it made this spiral chart of other groups/singers that sounded like, where inspired by, inspired themselves etc the artist you put in. The breadth of our musical tastes expanded exponentially from that - people never realize how much influence country has on other genres and the other way around. I get disappointed when I hear people (and have had close friends say) 'i hate country music.' Willie doesn't sound like Lyle which doesn't sound like Uncle Tupelo which doesn't sound like....(you get the point). Its like assuming all rock sounds like fleetwood mac (nothing against fleetwood mac ). The funny thing is that despite the old stereotype about the 'Nashville Sound,' country music has become the refuge for a lot of acts that don't have a home in rock or blues or folk or bluegrass. John Prine and Butch Hancock are also pretty good for those interested.
Heck yes! I actually prefer Eddie Spaghetti's solo album though, "The Sauce". It's a bunch of covers of old country songs I'd never heard, but they're mostly all great. Also a couple of originals on there that are quite solid.
my mom listened to country music all the time while i was growing up, and even though it's one of my least favorite genre's, there are still songs that remind me of the good old days driving to school with my mom listening to a country song: these were my favorites: Sold - John Michael Montgomery Be My Baby Tonight - John Michael Montgomery That's My Story - Colin Raye Chattahoochee - Alan Jackson Don't Rock the Jukebox - Alan Jackson Standing Outside The Fire - Garth Brooks Friends In Low Places - Garth Brooks Fishin in the Dark - Nitty Gritty Dirt Band i liked a lot of songs by the artists listed above, but those are the songs that were by far my favorite. i also liked vince gill, doug stone, and george strait..though i absolutely hated with a passion full of the seven flaming fires of hell the man they call dwight yokam. but yeh, i don't listen to any country anymore...i actually really don't like country at all -- but somehow those songs bring back good memories from my childhood.
Today my friend reminded me of a song "I'm the Only Hell My Mama Raised." He couldn't remember who the artist was...
I have a friend here in NC who was into the early Austin music scene. He was in those early dank dressing rooms with Willie Nelson, Jerry Jeff Walker et al. He tells me that Michael Murphy is heavily into Cowboy music; you might see him on The History Channel from time to time. Anybody remember Willis Alan Ramsey?
Yeah, I have his one album. He plays at hitone in memphis sometimes. You can hear his influence in Lyle Lovette today. His work has to be listened to a lot to really get what he is trying to do.
http://www.cowboylyrics.com/tabs/nelson-willie/i-gotta-get-drunk-8707.html It all begins and ends with Willie Nelson Well I gotta get drunk and I sure do dread it cause I know just what I'm gonna do I'll start to spend my money callin everybody honey and I'll wind up singin the blues I'll spend my whole paycheck on some old wreck And brother I can name you a few Well I gotta get drunk and I sure do dread it cause I know just what I'm gonna do I gotta get drunk, I just can't stay sober There's a lot of good people in town Who like to see me holler, see me spend my dollar and I wouldn't dream of lettin 'em down There's a lot of doctors tell me that I'd better start slowing it down But there's more old drunks than there are old doctors So I guess we'd better have another round
