My Various Hobbies... And What I Think About It...
The last time I went to Clarksville, I got three CD's out of the bargain rack at Borders for $1.00 each. They were:
Wanda Jackson -"Rockin' With Wanda" - According to the album notes, "A collection of great country songs in the rhythmic singing style of Wanda Jackson." I will have to be in the right mood to listen to much of this one. It is a bit too squally for me.
Peter Rowan & Don Edwards - "High Lonesome Cowboy: Appalachia to Abilene" - This is a pleasant album of folk-style western music, much of which was written and/or arranged by Peter Rowan and Don Edwards. Rowan is the "Appalachia" of the duo as his background is bluegrass music, and Edwards is the "Abilene" as he's been writing and singing western music for a long time now.
Hank Thompson & His Brazos Valley Boys - "Vintage Collections" - 20 classic country hits, including "Humpty-Dumpty Heart," "Six Pack To Go, and "The Wild Side of Life." Hank Thompson is a great singer with an amazing history in country music. I'm enjoying the talent of the Brazos Valley Boys as well. The collection includes two instrumentals. Merle Travis plays lead guitar on many of the songs. Merle learned to play the guitar in Muhlenburg County, KY, just 20 or 30 miles north of us.
Not too bad for $3.27 (with sales tax.)
3 comments:
I haven't heard of any of those before, i'll have to see if i can find clips of them online.
Well, we're talking some older stars here, which could well be why they're unfamiliar to you.
Wanda Jackson was most popular during the mid-50's through mid-60's. Her sound was "Rock-a-billy" (in her own unique style). I think she has recorded some gospel albums in more recent times. I knew her name which is why I bought the CD, but she was popular before I really started listening to music much. She was probably a victim of the music revolution that started with the Beatles
Hank Thompson has been in the country music business for my entire life, and I think he's still performing though he's getting old. His sound is "Western Swing". I like Western Swing a lot. In general, it has a good dancing rhythm and a jazzier, more cheerful and upbeat sound to the music, and traditionally, a fiddle in the band.
Still, I was surprised to see on Hank Thompson's website that he is calling himself the "King of Western Swing". Personally I will never grant that title to anyone but Bob Wills.
For an authentic but modern interpretation of Western Swing, I recommend the band, Asleep At The Wheel. I like them a lot and they are properly respectful to the real King of Western Swing, Bob Wills, and even recorded an album with him and have more recently done a tribute album dedicated to him.
Don Edwards is a writer/performer of Western music (not country, or country-and-western). His songs are about the American West -- that is, he writes cowboy songs. I feel a strong connection to the American West due to growing up on a ranch, so I like Don Edwards' songs a lot.
Thanks for the info, yeah that is before my time lol
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