Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CDLII--Merle Haggard: Big City

 This week's tune is another that I discovered thanks to the hundreds of promotional singles CBS used to send to record stores back in the day.  Unlike some of the other songs I've featured from said promos, this one--like much of my life--is seen today through a little different lens than I saw it in the early eighties.  Some of that is because of what I've learned about Haggard's politics, and some is from what politics in America have become....

To say that Merle Haggard's career did not follow the usual trajectory of most successful musicians would be something of an understatement.  Haggard lost his father at the age of nine, and for the next fourteen years he would be in and out of trouble for crimes ranging from truancy to armed robbery.  Haggard eventually ended up in San Quentin but had a come to Jesus moment while there and turned his life around.  He taught himself to play the guitar at the age of twelve, and it would pay off in the early sixties when his career as a country singer began to take off.  Haggard became one of Country Music's true icons, and through the years managed to rack up an impressive array of accolades:  Country Music Hall of Fame, Songwriters Hall of Fame, Kennedy Center Honors, two Grammys, and a Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award.  For his career, Haggard released sixty-six studio albums, with twelve of them hitting #1 on the Country Albums chart, and eighty-four singles, with a whopping thirty-eight of them topping the Country Singles chart.  Haggard passed away in 2016 (on his birthday) at the ripe old age of seventy-nine from complications from double pneumonia, leaving behind one of the truly great legacies in the history of Country Music.

"Big City" was released in 1982 as the second single from his rather inventively named album, Big City.   The single hit #1 (with a bullet!) on the Country Singles chart, while the album peaked at #3 on the Country Albums chart.

Fun Fact:  Haggard was finishing a grueling two-day recording session in Los Angeles for this week's album when he took a minute to check in with Dean Holloway, an old friend and his tour bus driver.  Holloway wasn't in much of a mood and told Haggard that he was "tired of this dirty old city."  Inspiration struck and it became the first line of this week's tune. Haggard even stopped at one point to ask his friend where he'd like to be ("somewhere in the middle of damn Montana" was the answer and minus the word "damn" it ended up in the chorus).  The best part?  Haggard gave Holloway half of the writing credit, which netted the bus driver a cool half million dollars....

There's a line in the chorus of "Big City" where Haggard refers to America's retirement program as "so-called Social Security" which is a doubled edged sword.  Even forty years later, there are questions as to whether the benefits we give senior citizens (disclaimer--I collect Social Security) are enough.  But what can't be questioned is the millions of older Americans who have been kept out of poverty by the most successful government program in our nation's history.  That being said, in the end the song is about being somewhere you don't want to be and having a dream of someplace you'd like to go...and those are feelings many of us have felt at one time or another in our lives.  Throw in a little class warfare, a lot of one of the truly great Country vocalists, some slide guitar, and a catchy ass melody and you have one hell of a song to add to the annals that are Friday Night Jukebox.

Lyric Sheet:  "Been working every day since I was twenty/Haven't got a thing to show for anything I've done/There's folks who never work and they've got plenty/Think it's time some guys like me had some fun..."

Enjoy:

Republicans = Nazis

Peace,

emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCCLXXIV--Doug Stone: I'd Be Better Off (in a Pine Box)

 My introduction to this week's tune came from my Camelot Music days and a young woman who worked for me, who, when I initially interviewed her for a job, told me the only kind of music she didn't care for was Country.  After a few years of working in the store, she discovered that Country Music had a lot to offer and began asking me to open numerous country artists for our in-store-play selections.  This week's song was from one of those artists, and a hell of a song it was.

Doug Stone (born Douglas Jackson Brooks) was born in 1956 in Marietta, Georgia, and had his musical debut at the ripe old age of seven when he sang with Loretta Lynn.  His auspicious start was not, unfortunately for him, a sign of early success, and Stone played numerous local events and gigs while working as a mechanic before a record label manager discovered him singing at a VFW hall.  His debut album was released in 1990 at an age (thirty-four) when most music artists are well into their careers.  Stone quickly made up for lost time and scored a number of hits over the next five years; sadly, a heart attack in 1995 and a minor stroke in 1996 slowed his career.  Stone would come back in the late nineties and continues touring (as well as the occasional acting part) to this day.  For his career, Stone has released ten studio albums and 33 singles (with eight #1's on Billboard's Hot Country Singles Chart). He has also been nominated for a Grammy Award (in fact, for this week's featured tune).

Fun Fact:  Once he was offered a recording contract, Doug Brooks changed his name to Doug Stone because he was worried that people might confuse him with Country superstar Garth Brooks.  

"I'd Be Better Off (in a Pine Box)" was the first single from his first album, the aptly entitled Doug Stone.  The song would reach #4 (with a bullet!) on the Country singles chart, while the album would peak at #12 on the Top Country Albums Chart.

As regular readers (both of you) know, I readily admit that Country Music isn't for everyone, but if there was ever a song to make one a fan of country music, this ballad is it.  Stone sings the tale of a man who realizes that the one-time love of his life is in love with the man she's now with, and that he will never share his love with her again.  You can hear the sound of heartbreak in Stone's vocals, which, at least for this particular song, rank right up there with George Jones at his best.  And while the lyrics won't make anyone forget Edna St. Vincent Millay, they capture quite remarkably the everyday heartaches of everyday folks like us.  Even in 1990 it was a throwback to the best of what Country Music had been, and most likely, will continue to be.

Lyric Sheet:  "I said the night you left me/Nothin' worse could ever happen/But seeing you with someone else proved that I was wrong..."

Enjoy:

Republican = Traitor

Peace,

emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCCLXXI--The Statler Brothers: Flowers on the Wall

 My introduction to this week's tune came, surprisingly enough, from a Kurt Vonnegut essay in his book Palm Sunday.  Vonnegut's piece (he considered the song poetry and related how it reflected his life at that point in time) caused me to seek it out and give it a listen.  While the song didn't have quite the effect on me it had on Vonnegut (he'd just gone through a divorce from his first wife and felt the song accurately portrayed the end of his usefulness...about which I'm sure Vonnegut changed his mind after his second marriage), I did come to love it and appreciate its take on the newly divorced man....

The Statler Brothers got their start in the mid-fifties singing Gospel Music before catching a humongous break in 1964 when they became the opening act (and backing vocals) for Johnny Cash.  They would remain with Cash (though recording their own material) through the mid-seventies before amicably parting and taking their career to another level in the Country Music world.  They would have a number of hits through the seventies and eighties, culminating in their own weekly variety show (the cleverly named The Statler Brothers Show) on TNN for seven years from 1991-98.  Like Jo Stafford a few weeks back, the Statlers became known for incorporating comedy in their act and became a popular touring band.  For their career, the Statler Brothers released 38 studio albums and 96 singles (and had four #1 hits on the Country singles chart).  The Statlers won three Grammy Awards, and have been inducted into both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Gospel Hall of Fame.  The Statler Brothers had a farewell tour in 2002 before retiring that same year.

Fun Fact:  While Harold and Don Reid were brothers, Phil Balsley and Lew Dewitt were not, and none of them had the name Statler.  The band was actually named after a brand of tissue that was in a hotel room in which they were staying.  The Statlers would joke in later years that they just as easily could have been named the "Kleenex Brothers."

"Flowers on the Wall," released in 1965, was the first single from the Statlers first album, the aptly named Flowers on the Wall.  The single would reach #2 on the Hot Country Songs chart, and #4 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100.  The album peaked at #10 on the country album chart, but only reached #125 on the Billboard 200.

"Flowers on the Wall" is the story of a recently single man who is mustering all the bravado (and self-deprecation) he can muster to convince his friends (and himself) that his life is going swimmingly without his lady love.  The song is delivered with a jaunty melody (and plenty of an emaycee fave, the banjo), and the Statlers make the most of their respective voices (lead, tenor, baritone, and bass).  As I've noted a time or two here, it takes some talent to perform a song that has all the earmarks of being a novelty hit and not let it become one, and the Statlers do it with aplomb on this one.  "Flowers on the Wall" is another featured tune that might not be for everyone (especially if you're not a fan of Country Music), but it's definitely one of Country's all-time great tunes, and another in a long line of poignant songs about the end of a relationship that capture its sorrow and heartache with grace and great care.

Lyric Sheet:  "Counting flowers on the wall, that don't bother me at all/Playing solitaire till dawn with a deck of fifty-one/Smoking cigarettes and watching Captain Kangaroo/Now don't tell me I've nothing to do..."

Enjoy:

Republican = Racist

Peace,

emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCCXLV--Charlie Rich: Rollin' with the Flow

 My list of the songs I'm going to feature each week is filled out a couple years in advance, and for some odd-ass reason I must have been in a Country Music state of mind when I filled it out a few years back because this is the fifth straight song that has a Country flavor to it.  For my loyal readers (both of you) who are ready to leave Shitkickersville behind, next week will leave that fine city in the rearview...for at least a week.

Charlie Rich was born in Colt, Arkansas in 1932, and began his career in earnest while he was in the Air Force.  After his discharge in 1956 Rich began playing gigs around Memphis and not too long after had a recording contract.  He had his first hit in 1960, and struggled thereafter to produce more until he hit a strong patch in the 1970's.  It was also at this time that his graying hair earned him the nickname "The Silver Fox."  Rich--who was also quite a jazz and blues singer--would go on to have eight #1 singles on the Hot Country Singles Chart, and one on the Billboard Hot 100.  For his career, Rich released twelve studio albums (with five #1's on the Country album chart and two top 30 albums on the Billboard 200) and 41 singles.  He also won two Grammy Awards, and was the Country Music Association Entertainer of the year in 1974.  Sadly, Rich passed away in 1995 at the all too young age of 62 from a pulmonary embolism.

(Not So) Fun Fact:  While doing my half-assed research, I wondered why a performer with a career as illustrious as Rich's had not been inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.  Turns out that Rich was the presenter of the Entertainer of the Year Award at the 1975 CMA Awards, and during the presentation he stumbled drunkenly over the nominees, then proceeded to set the envelope with the winner's name on fire before announcing John Denver as the winner.  The industry was not amused, and Rich's career promptly took a nosedive.  In fact, from 1982-1992 he didn't release any albums and performed sparingly.  

"Rollin' with the Flow" was released in 1977 on Rich's album entitled, surprisingly enough, Rollin' with the Flow.  It would be the last #1 Country hit of his career, and hit #101 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard  pop chart; the album peaked at #19 on the Country album chart.

Every now and again a song comes along that bears very little relation to you or your life (the Velvet Underground's "Heroin" comes to mind, though I am in no way comparing it to this week's tune), but nonetheless it strikes a chord (so to speak) and becomes a loved favorite.  "Rollin' with the Flow" is that kind of song for me, as it tells the story of a man who's still raising hell and refusing to grow old...and that was never my life (nor Rich's--he was married to the same woman for forty-three years and had four kids).  Still, every time I hear it, it brings me great joy.  Rich's vocals capture perfectly the self-satisfied son of a bitch at the heart of the song, and the strings and steel guitar...uh, roll with the flow of the song.  It's a hell of a number celebrating the acceptance of the hand we're dealt in life, and that there can still be a lot of joy even if it isn't a straight flush.

Lyric Sheet:  "Some might be callin' me a bum/But I'm still out there havin' fun/And Jesus loves me, yes, I know/So I keep on rollin' with the flow..."

Enjoy:

People Who Refuse the COVID-19 Vaccine Are Why Our Lives Can't Return to Normal

Peace,

emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, CCCXLII--Faith Hill: Breathe

 I discovered this week's tune when I heard it repeatedly over the store's loudspeakers while I was throwing hundreds of pounds of grocery freight every day.  It was a good sixteen or seventeen years after it had been a hit, but when it comes to a good song, it's always better late than never...

Faith Hill was born in Ridgeland, Mississippi in 1967, and discovered at an early age that she had quite a talent for singing and began performing at local churches as a youngster.  At nineteen she moved to Nashville in hopes of landing a recording contract and having a career in the music business, and though it took her a few years she did get that contract and went on to become one of the most successful country music singers ever.  Hill has sold over 40 million records, won five Grammy Awards, a slew of lesser awards, and with country music legend (who just also happens to be her husband) Tim McGraw had the most successful country music tour ever in 2006, bringing in over $90 million.  For her career she has released eight studio LP's (with four #1's and all of them reaching the top ten on the country album chart as well as three #1's on the Billboard 200), and four compilations.  She's also released forty-six singles, with fifteen of them hitting #1 (eleven on both country and pop charts, plus four more topping just the country chart).  While Hill continues to perform, she's only released one album since 2008 (an album of duets with her husband in 2017)--be that as it may, I'll take a wild guess and surmise that her legion of fans haven't heard the last of her.

Fun Fact:  During her time in Nashville before being signed to a record deal, Hill spent some time working at McDonald's.  Amazingly, it was not her dream job:  "Fries, burgers, cash register--I did it all, I hated it...."

"Breathe" was released in the year in which we partied like it was, well, 1999, on her album entitled, surprisingly enough, Breathe.  The single hit #1 on the country singles chart, but peaked at #2 (with a bullet!) on the pop charts; the album was #1 on both country and pop album charts.  That's quite a bit of success....

Regular readers (both of you) know that emaycee loves his female vocalists, and I could tell you that for starters as to what it is about "Breathe" that I so love.  Or I could tell you about Hill's wondrous vocals, or the swirling heartfelt chorus, or that sometimes a love song can be a powerful piece of music.  All of that combined is enough to make for a great pop hit, but what really takes "Breathe" over the top is the moment in each chorus when Hill's voice goes up an octave (or two, or three) when she hits the word "supposed" in the line,"...isn't that the way love's supposed to be"--I've heard the song many, many times now and I still get goosebumps every time she hits that note.  A truly great love ballad.

Lyric Sheet:  "Caught up in the touch/The slow and steady rush/Baby, isn't that the way love's supposed [enter goosebumps here] to be..."

Enjoy:

Taxing the Wealthy Is Good Politics for the Democratic Party

Peace,

emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCCXLI--Maura O'Connell: Feet of a Dancer

This week's tune was discovered on a folk compilation I came across during my troubadour phase in the mid to late nineties.  If I'd had but world enough and time, I'm sure a lot more such songs would be featured here on Friday Night Jukebox....

Maura O'Connell was born in Ennis, Ireland in 1958, and started out working in her family's fish shop before beginning to make music.  At the ripe old age of twenty-two she spent six weeks touring America as a backup vocalist for Irish band De Dannan, gained acclaim by performing on their next album, and then began her solo career.  O'Connell's work has been heavily influenced by American Country and Bluegrass, and while she's never had a lot of commercial success (a little more so in her native Ireland), she's done well enough to make a living from her singing.  For her career, O'Connell has released eleven studio albums, one compilation, and has appeared either as a guest vocalist or a backup singer on at least twenty-two other LPs (including emaycee faves Nanci Griffith, John Prine, and Rosanne Cash).  In 2013, she announced her retirement from her solo career.

"Feet of a Dancer" was released in 1988 on her album Just in Time.   The song was not released as a single and the album did not chart.

While not quite as sparse as old-timey Woody Guthrie nothing but a voice and a guitar folk, "Feet of a Dancer" features a lot of what makes folk, well, folk.  There's some nice touches of steel guitar, a little acoustic guitar here and there, some well placed mandolin playing, and, in what may be an FNJ first (or not--the number of songs featured is getting quite high), wonderful bongo playing to keep the song moving rhythmically.  But what carries the song--as happens quite often with a folk tune--is O'Connell's vocals, which are just north of heavenly.  Her voice shines with all the hope the song  proffers--essentially it's a parent telling a child that life is hard, hoping for the best for you, but regardless, we're always going to be here.  If there's one trait folks is known for is songs that speak to our better angels...and this one has halos floating all around it.

Lyric Sheet:  "I hope you find someone who cares/I hope you find all the right directions, everywhere/Everywhere...

Enjoy:

You Have a Choice:  Pass a Voting Rights Bill, or Welcome Fascism to America

Peace,

emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCXCVII--Dwight Yoakam: Streets of Bakersfield

 My introduction to this week's tune came courtesy of a one time employee of mine at Camelot Music.  She had heard good things about Dwight Yoakam and asked if we could open his latest for our in store play list.  Always open to a good new tune, I told her to give it a shot--the entire crew ended up loving the record and if I remember correctly I sold a copy to every employee I had working for me at that time.  Funny thing, too--the young lady told me at one time that she hated Country music.  Oh the things we'll learn when our minds get opened up a bit.

Dwight Yoakam has made a career out of playing music the way he wanted to play it--and while he hasn't always been the most popular music artist among music industry insiders, he's certainly had one hell of a career.  Yoakam left Columbus, Ohio in 1977 for Nashville, and when he found out Nashville wasn't interested in his honky tonk music, he set his sights on Los Angeles.  Once there, Yoakam got his start by opening for punk bands.  Eventually his style caught on in a big way, and the rest, as they say, is history.  For his career, Yoakam has released 17 studio albums (his first three all went to #1 on the Billboard Country Album chart), nine compilations, and two live albums.  He's also released 49 singles, with two of those hitting the top of the chart.  Yoakam is also quite the Renaissance man, having appeared in 22 movies and 14 television shows.  He's also played with more musicians than a human being ought to be allowed, won two Grammy Awards (among 16 nominations), and has his own line of food called Bakersfield Biscuits.

Fun Fact:  This probably isn't of much interest to anyone outside of my family, but Dwight Yoakam's mother and my mother shared the same name:  Ruth Ann.  Yet more fascination from Friday Night Jukebox....

"Streets of Bakersfield" was released as a single in 1988 from Yoakam's marvelously titled LP, Buenas Noches from a Lonely Room.  Both the single and the album would hit #1 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard charts.  The song was originally released as a single in 1973 by Buck Owens (who duets with Yoakam on the version featured this week), but it wasn't much of a hit.

"Streets of Bakersfield" tells the story of Homer Joy, the song's writer, who, after being invited to Bakersfield to write some songs for Buck Owens' new album agreed to do such only if he was given some time to record his own material.  Once he got there, though, he got the brush off from Owens' management, and the song chronicles his walking the streets of Bakersfield and being pissed off over being screwed out of his studio time.  Yoakam and Owens do a wonderful job vocally of capturing Joy's frustration, and Yoakam, ever the creative musician, turns the song into a Tex-Mex masterpiece.  There's some dynamic guitar picking from Yoakam, and a nice turn on an instrument that never gets used enough, the accordion.  In the end, "Streets of Bakersfield" showcases the best of old Country and the best of new Country--and takes its place among the greatest Country songs ever.

Lyric Sheet:  "I came here looking for something/I couldn't find anywhere else/Hey, I'm not trying to be nobody/I just want a chance to be myself..."

Enjoy:

200,000+ Dead Americans

Fuck Donald Trump,

emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCLXXXIV--George Jones: He Stopped Loving Her Today

I can't even begin to remember the last time I devoted a Friday Night Jukebox to a country song--I'm sure there's been a handful of country rock tunes, but not a straight up bona fide country one.  This week's song has an extra bonus:  it's considered by some to be the greatest country song of all-time, and at the very least, will probably show up in every country top ten single of all-time list for all eternity.

George Jones certainly had his ups and downs throughout his long and storied career.  Beginning in 1954, Jones would continue recording through 2005, and performing live right up until his death at the age of 81 in 2013.  He had a severe drinking problem which left him virtually incapacitated by the late 70's (it included an inability to appear at his own concerts, which earned him the not so endearing nickname of "No Show Jones"), but managed to eventually conquer his alcoholism (more or less) and finish out his career as a legend.  For his career, Jones released  87 studio albums, 3 live albums, 43 compilation records, and eight tribute LPs.  He recorded over 900 songs, 150 of which would hit the country charts, 13 of them reaching #1.  He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1992, was a Kennedy Honors recipient, won several Grammy Awards, and was voted #43 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Greatest Singers of All-Time.  His legion of fans included stars from Frank Sinatra to Keith Richards to Elvis Costello (who had a hit in the U.K. with a cover of Jones' "A Good Year for the Roses").

Fun Fact:  After Jones had recorded "He Stopped Loving Her Today." he told his producer, Billy Sherrill, "Nobody'll buy that morbid son of a bitch."  After a few years, Jones would credit the song with revitalizing a career that most in the music industry had written off for dead because of his drinking problems.

"He Stopped Loving Her Today" was in released in 1980 on Jones' album I Am What I Am (the first album title, I believe, mentioned her on FNJ  which is also a direct quote from famed cartoon character Popeye).  The single would hit #1 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Country Chart, win a Grammy, and also was listed as song #275 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All-Time.

In the annals of popular music, there are many shiny, happy songs..."He Stopped Loving Her Today" is decidedly not one of them.  It weaves the tale of a man who just cannot give up the love he has for the woman who would always remain the woman of his dreams until today, the day he died.  While Jones initially considered the song morbid, I myself just find it a sad, sad tale of a man whose love will be forever unrequited.  The song features some melancholy slide guitar, a little lonesome harmonica, and lush strings, all of which add to its luster.  But it's Jones' vocals which make the song a classic, capturing all the pathos of the protagonist's broken heart, as if he himself were singing of the longing he's known since the day their relationship ended.  I first heard "He Stopped Her Today" a few years after it was released, and it was one of those songs that I knew right then and there that I was listening to the sound of greatness.  A master work by a master singer, a song for the ages.

Liner Notes:  "You know she came to see him one last time/Oh, we all wondered if she would/And it kept running through my mind/This time he's over her for good..."

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCXXV--Kane, Welch, & Kaplin: I Can't Wait

This week's tune, like last week's tune, is another I discovered by listening to the folk channel on Pandora while slaving my ass off for pennies.  The joys of the digital age...

Kieran Kane, Kevin Welch, and Fats Kaplin could really use a primer on choosing interesting band names, but interesting name or no, they've released three more albums than I have.  Kane had some success with John O'Hara in a country band called the O'Kanes, which had six top twenty country singles on the Billboard charts including one #1 (with a bullet!) before disbanding in 1990.  Kane then went on to a solo career with seven studio albums and eight singles reaching the Billboard Hot Country chart, sandwiched around albums released with various artists such as Welch and Kaplin.  Welch joined with Kane to found Dead Reckoning Records, which seems to feature a variety of bluegrass/country/folk artists.  He has released six albums on his own and has had five singles reach the Country charts.  In addition to having a memorable nickname (one hopes his parents didn't name him "Fats"), Fats Kaplin plays the accordion (among many other instruments including banjo and fiddle), which is really kind of cool (more on that later).  He has released five solo LPs and two more with his wife, musician Kristi Rose.  All in all, the three of them have managed to make a living making music and there ain't nothin' wrong with that at all.

"I Can't Wait" was released in 2006 on their album Lost John Dean, whose title I thought, silly me, might make reference to the John Dean of Watergate fame, but which, rather, makes mention of a character named John Dean who hails (and most perfectly for a rhyming scheme) from Bowling Green,  "I Can't Wait" was not released as a single, though it would have made a fine entry on the Christian charts if I might ever be so bold.

It'd been a while since I listened to "I Can't Wait" and when I did again a few days ago, the first thing that hit me was the opening instrumental, and as I listened the instrument became obvious and I broke into a big smile, and said to myself, "That's a fucking accordion!"  Ah, it's the little things in life.  Kaplin gets the song off to a rousing start before Kane and Welch jump in with their acoustic guitars (that's it--no other instruments need apply), before breaking into what is essentially a plaintive prayer about a more compassionate world.  The song is most definitely gospel influenced but even for a non-believer like me it is one of the more beautiful songs I've heard in my life, the acoustic guitars juxtaposing every so prettily with the soft and hopeful vocals of Kane and Welch.  As with the Chatham County Line song last week, "I Can't Wait" might not be for everybody, but for an old fart folkie like me, it's a slice of heaven.

Lyric Sheet:  "Someday we'll roll away the stone/That we have carried for so long/All our burdens will be gone/And I can't wait..."

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee