Country Music

[Professor Knowall]

Love your work, Prof. Thanks for continuing my education, and expanding my musical boundaries.

For something that started as a way of occupying myself when I unexpectedly found too much spare time when the first 2020 covid lockdown commenced, it's really has gone way beyond what I originally imagined. It's been both a pleasure and an addiction - and don't worry, I've also learnt a lot along the way. Though I'm busier now than in those lockdowns, I've committed myself to seeing this through to the end of the seventies - including the "Outlaws", after which I'll reassess whenever that time comes - and I still haven't forgotten Fred Eaglesmith.

 

[Professor Knowall]

You'all most probably never heard of the next artist in this history, who had his first hit in 1972, who was
never a major star - he only had a handful of top 10 hits, none charted above # 5 - and by 1978 he was finished.
So why is he here? Two reasons - his very first song has lived on through many covers to become one of the greatest honky tonk songs of them all. The second is - I'm making a subjective "authors discretion" call here - though relatively obscure, he was one of the very best in my favourite country genre - honky tonk. He was a talented, uncompromisingly hardcore traditional country singer whose emotional style harked back to the honky tonk of 1950's. So be ready for (to once again again repeat the old clique) 3 chords and the truth - this time in spades, best consumed kicking back with a generous serve of smooth Tennessee whiskey or maybe a some Kentucky bourbon. This is going to be country music pretty much as pure as it gets. And if you know the words (you may at least know of the first song), don't hesitate to
sing along.

Born King Malachi Street (gotta love those wired biblically inspired Appalachian names) in an Appalachian valley town in western Virginia, even his date of birth is uncertain - most sources list it as 1933, his gravestone has 1936 but his family claims 1935, which is more probable. The son of a coal miner, Street was brought up in a musical family (seems every Appalachian family was musical back then) and first performed publicly on a radio show at age 15. He married, had a family, and moved around Ohio for a few years working as an electrician on radio transmission towers and also as a honky tonk singer. For 4 years Street was a jack-of-all-trades worker by day and an entertainer by night. He started performing in Niagara Falls clubs and bars in 1960 and simultaneously learned auto repair (being from the rural south, he no doubt had a fairly good knowledge on auto maintenance from childhood).

Mel Steet (why he didn't stick to his more interesting original first and middle names I don't know) built his savings up sufficiently to move to West Virginia, just across the border from his old Virginian hometown and opened up his own automobile paint and body work shop in 1963. He also continued singing in local bars and honky tonks and by word of mouth, he eventually landed his own Saturday night show on a local TV station (when local TV stations which had their own shows still existed) which ran from 1968 to 1972. This led to him becoming well known - but only in the remote rural West Virginian mountain communities covered by the local TV station, nowhere else.

In 1970, Street wrote what would - eventually - be recognised as an absolute classic honky tonk standard, and he even recorded and released it as his first single - but it was on the obscure Tandem label, which had no publicity or distribution network. Therefore, although 'Borrowed Angel' sold well around his local Appalachian area where Sreet was a small town celebrity thanks to his TV show and live performances, no-one else got to hear this classic hit until 2 years later when it began catching on in an ever widening area. The tiny Tandem label found that they couldn’t keep pace with the sales so they sold the master to Royal American Records, who quickly arranged for radio airplay and national release, becoming a # 7 hit in 1972.

The song itself, with its beautiful melody and aching lyrics of desire and peaceful ecstasy mixed with sharp regret and unfulfillment, almost gives cheating a sacrimonious status. Surely this would've been a runaway # 1 hit if it had been released by established country music icons like Merle Haggard or George Jones, instead of an unknown newcomer -
"... I wish that I could have her more than just tonight / We can't go on like this it isn't right /
When that lonesome feeling comes knocking on my door / I'll call my borrowed angel to ease the pain once more ..." -

Naturally, this song has been covered by heaps of artists since - two that stand out for me is a studio version by Ricky Van Shelton in 1997 and a live TV (now on Youtube) performance by Mo Pitney just a few years back.

Street signed to Metromedia and had his first and only Top 5 hit with the follow-up, 'Lovin' on the Back Streets', in 1973. The back streets referred to in the song refer to those ultra quiet country lanes where liaisons may be had unobserved by nosey townsfolk (or even worse - family members). A simple enough, unsophisticated recording - just the way a good honky tonk song should be done - the lyrics exploring and contrasting the fleeting pleasures of an affair against the consequences of guilt, suspicion and strain. Real life stuff here. Notice how the first verse concludes -
"... And for a while we shared the sweet affection / That makes it worth the sorrow and the shame ..."
contrast with (or outright contradicts) the end of the second verse verse -
"... Then once again I hate myself for living / And wonder just how long my mind can stand this strain ..."



Street's next single 'Walk Softly On The Bridges' reached # 11 in 1973. Here we have more traditional honky tonk, with it's crying steel guitar by the master, Lloyd Green and it's floating fiddle with a song where the singer gives some sage advice of someone who has experienced a bit about life - and the message here is basically about foregivness - for you never know what may lay ahead, as the very last line indicates -
"... Walk softly on the bridges / You may want to knock upon her door again ..."



'The Town Where You Lived' is a song for broken hearted truck drivers. Another fine honky tonk song with the aching steel of Lloyd Green. Perhaps the fact this sound was like a throwback to the 1950's and certainly not what was in fashion in the early seventies - no Nashville Sound, no Countrypolitan, no Outlaw here, just straight out traditional honky tonk -
may explain why this only got to # 38 in 1973



Haven't heard enough cheating songs today? Well you're in luck - here's another! 'Lovin' On Borrowed Time' went to #11 in 1974. So top up your whiskey again, sit back, relax and think about old memories of lost loves as you're soothed by more cathartic honky tonk, more pedal steel, more floating fiddle, what's not to love? -


Tomorrow will have more from the enigmatic Mel Street, who with his longish hair (for a traditional country singer of the time) and seventies fashion, looked more like a pop star than country singer. But he was as country as they come.

 

[Toump Ass]

Sorry to interrupt your class,

Here's a little history lesson some might like:


It's a really nice series.

As an aside, Dolly Parton is really good live, still. I've seen her last two tours.
For those that don't know, she's also covered in tattoos. Not a lot of things I wouldn't do to get a nice view of those!

 

[Professor Knowall]

A few years back, I was at a bar - it was in Austin I recall and must've been relatively early in the night - maybe it
was the afternoon - and having a discussion about country music with a few others when I was asked what I thought constituted "real" country music. Straight away I answered "Mel Steet, look him up". Well he went and took my advice and thanked me for it later. But time to get back to the honky tonk and on with his music, starting with a couple of
singles from his 1975 Album "Smokey Mountain Memories". Make sure your glass is full and drink along -

'Pass Me By (If You're Only Passing Through)', written by H.B. Hall, has been recorded by multiple artists but was originally released by Johnny Rodriguez and became a top 10 hit. Street recorded it for his second album in 1973
and I just thought it too good a version not to include here -


'Forbidden Angel' tells about a not uncommon honky tonk hazard - those hot and willing pieces of jailbait with fake i.d.
out for a good time. Here, despite admitting the temptation, the singer does the right thing - but he's also willing to
wait. (FTR, I've reached beyond the age now where this secenario could play out for me). This reached #16 in 1975 -



The title track from Street's "Smoky Mountain Memories" album is a bit different from the normal honky tonk song for Street (though no less traditional). Released a couple of years after Loretta Lynn's autobiographical 'Coal Miners Daughter' and Dolly Parton's 'My Tennessee Mountain Home', Street, though Appalachian, wasn't from the Smokey Mountains of Tennessee (Dolly was), but here, in another beautiful song, he laments the girl he left behind there -



"Pour me another, barman while I put another coin in the jukebox" is the mood here, as we have another 1975 single from the album "Smokey Mountain Memories", '(This Ain't Just Another) Lust Affair'. It's just another great Mel Street honky tonk cheating song -



Street's music invokes memories of old jukebox tunes playing in a small town dimly lit, smokey filled honky tonk beer-joint, while ceiling fans whirl above and everyone knows everyone (except for me). The songs may be called simplistic
but they beautiful melodies heartfelt lyrics about (for many) true life experiences - and then theirs the extra beauty of
the pedal steel and floating fiddle. So to round up today's session, here's, yes, yet another cheating song - but this one has a twist as the singer isn't the cheater, but the cheated. Three (easy) chords and the truth, that's all you need for a good song, as 'I Met A Friend Of Yours Today'. Released in 1975, this was Street's third top 10 hit (or fifth top 11) -


George Strait did a really good cover of this one in 1994.

By the end of 1975, Street, despite sticking true to a traditional country style that wasn't really the fashion of the day, being neither countrypolitan on one side or outlaw / country rock on the other, had built up a loyal and expanding fan base through his frequent touring. At least one country superstar, George Jones, had become an admirer of his hard country sound and talent. Street, at age 40, seemed destined for better things (remember this was an era when country veteran "journeymen" like Conway Twitty, Tom T Hall and Freddie Hart finally broke through to major stardom around this age). But for Mel Street, a darkness started to derail his life - which only worsened the more he toured and his popularity increased. His life was taking on the aspect of a honky tonk song - and the outcome will be seen - tomorrow.

 

[Professor Knowall]

Sorry to interrupt your class,

Here's a little history lesson some might like:

It's a really nice series. ...

No need to be sorry - Interruptions like this are welcomed. That looks well worth checking out.
There's also the great Ken Burns Burns Country Music history doco that's still available (for free) on SBS catch-up - though the 8 one hour episodes is only half the length of the original 2 hour episodes shown in the U.S., hence the
edited SBS series omits many of the greats.

 

[Professor Knowall]

Though never becoming a major stat, Mel Street had enough hits to afford his own band and he adopted a rigorous touring schedule, spending much of his time, when he wasn't recording, on the road and very little with his wife and kids. It seems he increasingly really did live a sort of lonely honky tonk life that his songs were often about - romanticised in his songs but unhealthy in real life. What I noted from videos from his emergance in 1972 to 1978 was that he seemed
to age 20 years in that time.

Getting reasonably assured facts on Green's personal life was difficult and he remains an elusive figure. According to multiple sources, Street was diagnosed with clinical depression, but none had any details of who made the diagnosis,
what triggered the diagnosis, when was he diagnosed or what treatment he received - which makes me doubt it ever happened. What I don't doubt was he started drinking more and more heavily. Time to look at the last stage of his career.

The 1976 'Looking Out The Window Through The Pain', (notice what he did there) is one about the time honoured honky tonk theme of losing the love of one's life to another - and the hope she'll come back -


George Strait, who covered several of Street's songs, had the most popular cover of 'Looking Out The Window Through The Pain' in 1994.

With all his great cheating songs, examining both the circumstances of meeting up and the conflicting feelings of ecstatic pleasure rolled in with the guilt and anxiety, one can't help but wonder how much, given he spent so long away from his wife on the road touring (with all its well known temptations and opportunities), Street sang from first hand experience. I'm pretty sure it's a lot, even though, unlike so many other travelling country musicians, I've found no actual info about him philandering on the road. 'Guilty As Sin', from the 1976 album "Country Colors", is another song that really nails those conflicts one feels within when in this situation -
Yes the devil knows my weakness / On the other side of town /
When temptation gets the upper hand / My resistance tumble's down /
My conscience tells me treat her right / But I lose control again
Lord she loves me like a saint / But I'm as guilty as sin -



Street signed on to major label Polydor at the end of 1976 and 2 albums followed in 1977 and 1978, and had 3 more hits with 'Barbara, Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know' reaching # 19, 'Nothing More Lonesome' at # 15 and the # 9 'If I Had a Cheating Heart'. But while both were good songs, I find this one, 'Never Been To Heaven', from his 1978 album "Country Soul" even better and too good to omit from here. The theme of this song is simple enough and evokes good memories - that heavenly feeling when one gets to attract the attention of the hottest chick in the bar (not always easy and can be dangerous) to talk, buy a drink or more, dance, talk some more and take her back to the room -



With his latest top 10 hit in 1978, Street was rewarded with a lucrative new contract with major label Mercury, and serious stardom appeared to be just around the corner. However, Street had been battling depression and alcohol problems and as his touring schedule took more and more of a toll on his family life, he became increasingly unable to cope. 'Just Hangin On', seemingly reflecting Street's real feelings, was released in October 1978 on his 43rd birthday



On the day of the release of 'Just Hangin On', October 21, 1978 - Street's 43rd birthday - there was some sort of dispute (never made public though some unverified rumours are found on the web about an affair with his sister-in-law) while having a family dinner at home. He excused himself from the table, went upstairs to his bedroom and shot himself in
the head, dead. His family were devestated, as was his fan base. Country legend and admirer, George Jones, sang at
his funeral.

After his tragic death, Street still had some more hits with the #17 ‘The One Thing My Lady Never Puts In Words’ in
1979 and in 1980 came the top 30 hit, 'Tonight Let's Sleep On It Baby' then this Street's final top 40 hit (#36), the appropriately titled 'Who'll Turn Out The Lights', another real nice honky tonk tune, tinged with sadness and regret -



In 1981, the TV-advertised album "Mel Street’s Greatest Hits" sold a remarkable 400,000 copies. But sadly, his tremendous potential was never fully tapped and over the years since, he has slipped into relative obscurity - except
to lovers of traditional honky tonk, where he remains on the pantheon of honky tonk heroes that we drink and sing
along with. He also won't be the last honky tonk hero in this history.

Now I'm about to head off to beautiful Hobart for a few days, so there'll be another break in the history, but I should resume it sometime late in the week or next weekend.

 

[CliffMcTainshaw]

Here's one for you Prof, Wanita Bahtiyar. She has a documentary out, with an amazing storyline. Hard to know what to believe when you hear it. Great voice though.

 

[Professor Knowall]

Here's one for you Prof, Wanita Bahtiyar. She has a documentary out, with an amazing storyline. Hard to know what to believe when you hear it. Great voice though.

Thanks for that, Cliff. I haven't yet seen the Wanita doco but hope to. She sure has a strong voice and an original take to some old classics - e.g. the New Orleans Jazz style accompiament to the Hank Williams 'You Win Again' (the first song), and the blues bordering on soul treatment (she has the voice for it) on the Sanford Clark rockabilly standout 'Tne Fool'. While I think mainstream success will elude her for several reasons, despite her voice, at least she has the documentary and she's cut a whole album of her music at the renowned Beaird Studios in Nashville. Apparently she also has a lifetime ambition to sing at the Opry - but I doubt they'd be brave enough to allow her.

Meanwhile, just back to Mel Street, his signature song was 'Borrowed Angel', but it was cut by a minor label right at the very start of his recording career and perhaps would've been done better a few years later with a few years of recording experience behind him. Nevertheless, after so many others like George Jones, Mel Tillis and especially Ricky Van Shelton recorded it to make it a honky tonk standard (and also thinking of the covers posted here of Tom T Hall's 'That's Why
I Went to Memphis', I thought I'd post my favourite version (and with over 7 million downloads and still growing with 319,000 over the last 3 months, others seem to agree), the live Mo Pitney version from 6 years ago - not flawless (as is usually the case for live acts) but Pitney, from a bluegrass background, nails the vowel bending and extending technique that the Texan legend, Lefty Frizzell, introduced to country music in c1950/51 and was taken up by other legends like George Jones and Merle Haggard amongst others.

This clip features a who's who of Nashville music veterans in both the band and the audience, who would know the difference between talent and mere pretence. Three members of the band had actually played at one stage or another
for Mel Street, including the great pedal steel master, Mike Johnson, whose performance here is another reason I love
this performance (though Mel Street's original cut featured the great Lloyd Green on the pedal steel). Anyway, honky tonk is no longer (for now) mainstream, but's it's not yet dead and showing signs of revival. Look at Linda Davis' reaction to Pitney's expression at c1.11 in, Junior Brown totally into it at 2.25 and at 3.15 they just can't help themselves ... to sing along, which is the essence of baroom honky tonk -

 

[Professor Knowall]

Having just returned from Hobart, I was to continue the history this weekend but now I have to scoot off to Adelaide for some days (not that I would ever complain about travel after those long lockdowns we endured in Melbourne). Anyway it means no more history for another week.

 

[Schauermann]

Not sure, perhaps I posted him before. Great stuff.

 

[Professor Knowall]

Not sure, perhaps I posted him before. Great stuff.

He was only 17 when he wrote and sang that (he's now 18)! Another Appalachian musical product (where people are still poor and isolated). This kid seems beyond his years. Here's an interview of him -

Logan Halstead - Q&A with Jay — Hippies & Cowboys

April of 2017. As I was scrolling through Youtube looking for new music, I stumbled upon a video that sent chills down my spine. The artists name was Tyler Ch

www.thehippiesandcowboys.com

 

[CliffMcTainshaw]

This has plenty of my favourites. For a start it has the amazing Bela Fleck, Molly Tuttle, Sierra Hull and Billy Strings along with a bunch of seriously good musicians.

 

[CliffMcTainshaw]

Robert Plant with a song by the man of many suits, Porter Wagoner.

 

[CliffMcTainshaw]

And this is the Man behind the iconic suits of so many Country and Western musicians..........and Elvis..........and so many others.

 

[THE A5]

Never really explored a whole lot of country music except for alt country eg Wilco and Ryan Adams, but I’ve been listening to Gene Clark and Jackson C. Frank and really like the general style.

Any other reccs?

Give Ryan Bingham a crack


Turnpike are another I've come to love recently

 

[THE A5]

He was only 17 when he wrote and sang that (he's now 18)! Another Appalachian musical product (where people are still poor and isolated). This kid seems beyond his years. Here's an interview of him -

Logan Halstead - Q&A with Jay — Hippies & Cowboys

April of 2017. As I was scrolling through Youtube looking for new music, I stumbled upon a video that sent chills down my spine. The artists name was Tyler Ch

www.thehippiesandcowboys.com

Haven't really got into him that much Cole Chaney is another one that people rate

 

[Professor Knowall]

And this is the Man behind the iconic suits of so many Country and Western musicians..........and Elvis..........and so many others.

Though the Outlaw era of the mid seventies pushed the Nudie suit out of the mainstream country music fashion, it seems he ain't been entirely forgotten -

 

[blackshadow]

And this is the Man behind the iconic suits of so many Country and Western musicians..........and Elvis..........and so many others.

A friend of mine and a well known man about town has several Nudie suits.

 

[Professor Knowall]

Just in case anyone's wondering, having returned from Adelaide, I've now been called back to country Vic for this week - so no more history for yet another week. I'll just leave this random selection for now -

 

[stax on the mull]

Just in case anyone's wondering, having returned from Adelaide, I've now been called back to country Vic for this week - so no more history for yet another week. I'll just leave this random selection for now -

Sanford's LP "They Call Me Country" which includes this song had a legit re-issued in 2019 on Numero records but might already be hard to find. Remember seeing it in listings with its striking cover (how big is that cactus!), although Numero website currently lists it as "SOLD OUT". Good, reliable company - they've done a few country records. I've purchased some soul/funk stuff from them in the past though shipping since Covid is getting expensive.

Release notes say:
"Propelled by his 1956 Lee Hazlewood-produced hit “The Fool,” Sanford Clark was already a rockabilly legend in his own right by the time he swapped his hair gel and switchblade for a pair of cowboy boots on They Call Me Country. Recorded between 1965-67 and originally released as a series of singles for Phoenix’s Ramco label, the 12 tracks on this LP borrow Bakersfield’s outlaw sound and ignore Nashville’s countrypolitan flair, standing as a true lost masterpiece of country music’s third generation. Clark’s booming baritone tells tales of bar fights, heartaches, and drinking til you can’t stand, while Waylon Jennings provides a backdrop of fuzzed out guitar twang. Mastered from the original session tapes and back on vinyl for the first time since the Nixon administration."

 

[Professor Knowall]

Sanford's LP "They Call Me Country" which includes this song had a legit re-issued in 2019 on Numero records but might already be hard to find. Remember seeing it in listings with its striking cover (how big is that cactus!), although Numero website currently lists it as "SOLD OUT". Good, reliable company - they've done a few country records. I've purchased some soul/funk stuff from them in the past though shipping since Covid is getting expensive.

Release notes say:
"Propelled by his 1956 Lee Hazlewood-produced hit “The Fool,” Sanford Clark was already a rockabilly legend in his own right by the time he swapped his hair gel and switchblade for a pair of cowboy boots on They Call Me Country. Recorded between 1965-67 and originally released as a series of singles for Phoenix’s Ramco label, the 12 tracks on this LP borrow Bakersfield’s outlaw sound and ignore Nashville’s countrypolitan flair, standing as a true lost masterpiece of country music’s third generation. Clark’s booming baritone tells tales of bar fights, heartaches, and drinking til you can’t stand, while Waylon Jennings provides a backdrop of fuzzed out guitar twang. Mastered from the original session tapes and back on vinyl for the first time since the Nixon administration."

Thanks, Stax - I wasn't aware of the LP re-issue. The notes above add to the history of Sanford on posts # 311-315, which covers both his rockabilly and then his hardcore western material, which for me is top shelf stuff.

 

[Professor Knowall]

I've finally found time for a little more history, if only for a day. Today features an artist who (after Loretta Lynn and
Dolly Parton, becomes just the third female singer-songwriter in this series. Two of the songs she penned may perhaps
be remembered by anyone here who was around and recalls some of the big hits of 1972/73 - when she was known
as the twangiest girl in the whole USA. As we've seen, most country music stars came from poor backgrounds, many suffering childhoods of grinding poverty and hard work out on the fields, and their music often reflected hard times along with themes of cheating, booze and sometimes even violence. Not so this one. She came from a comfortable small town upbringing and her music reflected her positive, optimistic outlook on life (too much so for some people's taste, but at a time when America was war weary, ripped apart by protest and riots, her bright and breezy music found a ready market).

The daughter of a prosperous tobacco farmer, Yvonne Vaughan was born in Mount Airy, a town at the edge of the Appalachian Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina in 1945, and she sang in church as a child. After high school, she attended and graduated from the University of Southern California. After graduation, she taught English at a major LA High School, California and, obviously gifted with words and communication, became head of the English Department. When not teaching, she performed in local clubs, where she was discovered by record producer, Stan Silver, who also became her manager and, in 1968, her husband (and 54 years later, they're still together). In 1966, she moved to Phoenix, Arizona where she took the stage name “Donna Fargo” and began recording.

Fargo released 5 singles from 1967 to 1969, but all failed to chart, so she continued her high school teaching career. However she also continued performing, including once as an opening act for an Ray Price concert and an occasional appearance on country TV shows in LA. She also was putting her English language skills to use in developing her songwriting. Finally, in 1972 she came up with a song that broke through big time, first going all the way to # 1,
then, 2 months later as the song was declining from the country charts, it crossed over to the pop charts and also
became an international hit, even reaching # 3 in Australia, amongst other countries.

It's so easy to dismiss 'I'm The Happiest Girl In the Whole USA' as a bit of trite soppiness, given its "skippity-doo-da-day" lyrics and it's OTT "happiness" - but this is a deceptively cleverly composed song, that builds up with a nice little melody and lyrics describing the most simple, almost banal details of everyday life, into its powerful hook. Consider this, mixing up the rhythm, yet still catching the rhyme and also deftly inserting "spoken" dialogue -
"... You make the coffee I'll make the bed / I'll fix your lunch, and you'll fix mine! /
Now tell me the truth do these old shoes look funny? / Honey, it's almost nine /
Now you be careful, got to go / "I love you, have a beautiful day!" /
And kiss the happiest girl in the whole U.S.A. ..."

Probably the "happiest" country song ever, describes what in 1972, when the big majority of marriages was still of
young couples who had never lived together previously, was well understood as the euphoria of a young bride in
the first weeks of blissful married life (before the reality of the inevitable first fight and later on when kids came
along). And as mentioned above, the market, beyond the confines of country music, and even beyond the USA,
was ready for such a totally light, OTT feel good number. She wrote it and here she is singing it (without the aid
of a 21st century auto-tuned microphone) at the motherchurch of country music, the Ryman -



The song was soon covered by others including Tammy Wynette, Nancy Sinatra and another newcomer in 1973, Tanya Tucker, though none quite had Donna's Appalachian twang that somehow added to the song. The way that Fargo broke and rejoined the rhythm in her verses while all the time building to the hook has since been studied in many music courses. There was one thing Fargo couldn't do in writing the song - the title was originally intended to be 'Happiest
Girl in the World,' but the rhyme scheme got to be too unnatural, so Fargo changed from being the happiest girl in the world to merely being the happiest girl in the whole USA.

Of course, Fargo's huge breakthrough "happy" hit didn't appeal to all, and many must've thought she couldn't top it. But top it she did, with an even bigger hit - and another shamelessly sentimental song (country being the one music genre where sentimentality is not only tolerated but encouraged), 'Funny Face'. Structurally simpler than 'I'm The Happiest Girl', the title came from her husbands term of endearment for her (she in turn called him "fuzzyface"), so the songs lyrics again reflect that of a happily married couple (as Fargo was and still remains in real life), but this time the lyrics at least show that at least by now, they've had their arguments.

Once again, this not only went to # 1 but crossed over, reaching # 5 on both the pop and adult contemporary charts
(a very rare feat for a country song in the early 1970's). It was also a big hit in Australia, going to # 2 in the Top 40 charts. Here is Fargo live at the Rynam again -



Fargo finished her stellar year of 1972 by winning the Grammy in March 1973 for "Best Female Vocalist" (surely the most twangy voice to win this) and also the CMA Award for “Single of the Year” for 'The Happiest Girl' along with Academy of Country Music awards for “Top Female Vocalist,” “Song of the Year,” “Single of the Year” and “Album Of The Year”. For one year, she was the biggest thing in country music and even a major pop star - something she wasn't comfortable with and she soon shed as she stuck fast to her country music roots.

Although Fargo never had such crossover hits again as her first two, she still continued to write and rack up further # 1 hits, including the somewhat ironic and cynical 'Superman' in 1973 (proving she could write hits that weren't just mushy and romantic), and then, dipping her writing skills in the long tradition of a sad country song - singing of her regret of losing a parent before she was able to speak to him/her as an adult. This became her 4th # 1 hit in 2 years in 1973 -



By 1975, in just 3 years, Fargo had chalked up 5 # 1 hits and a # 2 as well as 3 more in the top 10. 'Whatever I Say (Means I Love You)', despite being the title track of her 1975 album, only reached # 38 at the time but has endured
to be amongst her most downloaded songs over the past decade. It's theme is typical of Fargo's songwriting -



I'll finish Fargo's music selection with one she didn't write. Just last month, in post # 610, I reported the death, at age 89, of the last of the original honky tonkers, Stonewall Jackson (this was his actual birth name), and then posted 2 hits of his from 1964, including my favourite, 'Don't Be Angry', which Stonewall took to # 4. Twelve years later, in 1976, Fargo's cover of this song went even better, reaching # 3, and becoming in time the most successful cover of this standard - and it's clear why this has endured. With it's rollicking Ray Price beat and strong bass line and, of course, the steel guitar along with plenty of strings, Fargo's version perfectly captured the classic country sound of the early 1960's, making
this a timeless country sound -



Recognized as one of the leading country songwriters of the era, Fargo's songs were recorded by Tammy Wynette, Sonny James, Kitty Wells, Tanya Tucker, Jody Miller, Marty Robbins, Dottie West and other artists. Additionally, almost everything Fargo recorded for years was self-penned.

By 1978, Donna Fargo had her own TV variety show (produced by the Osmond Brothers) and another top 10 hit, but
that same year, after some years of often poor health, she was diagnosed with MS, which put a big brake on her career. Despite having to permanently cut back on her performing and recording, she was still determined to live life to the fullest possible and, supported by her husband, She recorded a gospel album in 1980 and established a line of greeting cards, “The Donna Fargo Collection”, making further use of her writing and rhyming skills. She has also since published a number of collections of poetry.

Although her career waned a bit in the 80's, Fargo continued to record albums and singles throughout that particular decade and charted most years until 1991 with her last charting song, 'Soldier Boy', a reference to the Gulf War at the time. She still continued to tour and perform in concerts, not just in the US, but across the world including Australia. In 2008 Fargo recorded her last single 'We Can Do Better in America'. She still performed on an occasional basis up until 2017 when she suffered a stroke, for which she underwent extensive rehab therapy, but she's mainly concentrated on
her writing career, publishing 7 books and her autobiography. At age 76, she's still apparently quite happy.

Now I'm required back in the CBD for the first time in a while, so it may be another week before I'm back with more history - which will be on one of country music's greatest songwriters who - eventually, after many years of trying - also made it into the big time as a performer.

 

[Professor Knowall]

This history series is based on performers who had commercial success and not on songwriters per se - with just two exceptions made for Townes Van Zandt and Gram Parsons, given the innovative and enduring influence of their work. But other great great country music songwriters like Fred Rose, Cindy Walker, Hank Cochrane, Harlan Howard. Jeff Walker and Guy Clark, who were destined to write their many big hits for others but have very limited or no success for themselves as performers won't have their own dedicated write-ups. Our next artist seemed destined to fall into this category after writing numerous hits for others for 15 years - until he finally had a # 1 hit of his own in 1972 - and followed up with a string of hits through the seventies, enough to make him feature here - but firstly I will cover a few of his earlier hits for others before I get to his own performing in the seventies.

Born Lonnie Melvin Tillis, in 1932, one of 4 children, Mel grew up in a tiny town near Tampa, Florida. He contracted malaria at age 3 and the disease - along with emotional difficulties brought on by his father's neglect - left him with a permanent stutter. that often rendered him unable to voice even the simplest words. The Tillis' were very poor (as usual here) and when Mel was 7 his father deserted the family for 5 years. During his school days, various treatments failed to cure this speech problem but growing up in a small town, Tillis was rarely mocked for his stutter. Instead, his classmates and teachers accepted him and encouraged him to explore his talents. In high school he played drums in the band and was a star player on the football team. He learned to play guitar and fiddle and also discovered he didn't stammer when he was singing. At 16 he made his performance debut in a town talent show and decided he wanted to be a musician. Even before he graduated from high school, Tillis was writing songs.

Tillis won local talent contests in the early 1950s and attended the University of Florida briefly. His first paying gig was
in 1951 at a Jacksonville hotel during the Gator Bowl. He served in the Air Force during the Korean War. Stationed in Okinawa, he worked as a cook and baker and sang regularly on Armed Forces Radio - but was mocked and experienced discrimination because of his stutter. He was discharged in 1955 when for a short time he attended the University of Florida. Bored, he dropped out and worked at various tasks including strawberry picking and truck-driving. He then travelled to Nashville to try his luck in the music industry in 1956 and made some contacts. He moved there in 1957, leaving Florida, as he later recalled, “in my ‘49 Mercury with a busted windshield, a pregnant wife, and $29 in my pocket.”

Initially, Tillis copped the same prejudice from executives in Nashville as he had in the Air Force. Most of them scoffed at the idea of a shy, stuttering Florida boy who wanted to be a country star. Tillis did have talent, however, and he was soon able to sell his songs to other artists. This enabled him, as he said later - "to get the hell out of the strawberry patch in a hurry". In 1957 his composition 'I'm Tired' became a hit for Webb Pierce and enabled Tillis to secure full time employment with Cedarwood Publishing Company (which he would later come to own).

Clocking in under two minutes, 'I’m Tired' is a fine example of Tillis’ mastery of economy. Webb Pierce released his single version in 1957, taking it to # 3, and his lonesome hillbilly whine is a natural fit for the exhausted, heartbroken character at the center of the story. In 3 short verses, he moves from searching, to hoping against all odds, to bitter def - “Oh Lord, I’m tired of living this old way,” he sighs in the refrain, and we know better than to expect a happy resolution at the end -


Following the sucess of 'I'm Tired', Webb Pierce continued his collaboration with Tillis, who came up with a hardcore honky tonk hit in 1957, at a time when honky tonk was pretty much the "hard rock" of that era - played loud and often in bars, taverns, honky tonks but shunned in the burgeoning middle classes of suburbia. This was the first Tillis written #1 hit -


Tillis wrote wrote 'I Ain’t Never' for Webb Pierce and each performer enjoyed a major country hit with the indignant tune more than a decade apart. Pierce’s version came first, in 1959, a rockabilly-tinged shuffle with Nashville polish that made it all the way to # 2 and enjoyed some crossover success on the pop charts. Tillis released his own recording of it in 1972, a more rock-oriented production sung in a lower register than Pierce’s. That one became Tillis’ first # 1 as an artist. At a time when the soft, smooth, suburban 'Nashville Sound' had replaced honky tonk as the dominant fashion trend, Pierces 1959 still rocked. Other recordings over the years include everyone from Connie Smith to John Fogerty's great cover on his 1973 solo album 'The Blue Ridge Rangers' album -

If anyone has had the perseverance to have followed this history from its early stages, you just might recall these same
3 Mel Tillis songs on the Webb Pierce instalment (see post # 250). This is a really good excuse to post these honky tonk classics from the 1950's again.

Tillis didn't just write for the honky tonk king Pierce. In 1959 he wrote a hit in a very different style. Listening to 'Ten Thousand Drums' immediately evokes the memory of Johnny Horton and his huge 1959 historical saga hit 'Battle of
New Orleans (see post # 308). However, catching on to the big saga craze of the time - and somewhat shamelessly "knocking-off" both the subject matter and the sound of Horton's major hit, Tillis demonstrated his versatility as a songwriter (as did honky tonker Carl Smith as a saga singer) in this # 5 hit, which also crossed over to the pop charts -


A moody contemplation on what it’s like to be replaced by a new love, this served as the B-side of Patsy Cline’s 1962 # 1 hit 'She’s Got You' (see post # 388). Boosted by Cline’s mighty vocals and Owen Bradley’s tropics-tinged production, the tune has endured - and not just as a country favorite. Alt-rock band The Czars covered it and more recently Alex Turner, lead singer of Arctic Monkeys, also performed an acoustic version. On the Cline tribute disc from 2003, Michelle Branch gave it a sensuous reading as well -


You may wonder what was going on with Mel Tillis' own performing career in the time from went he went to Nashville in 1955 up until when we leave off here in 1962. The short answer - not so well, despite all the success and reputation he had acquired as a first rate song-writer. From 1955 to 1962 he released 12 singles of his own, but only 2 charted at all - 'The Violet and The Rose' reaching # 24 and 'Finally, going to # 28, both in 1958. So by 1962, his career and fame rested very much on his songwriting for other artists. Tomorrow will follow his career into the sixties.

 

[Professor Knowall]

Through the 1960's, Mel Tillis continued to write for other singers, giving Bobby Bare a huge # 1 hit with 'Detroit
City' in 1963 (see post # 464). Many rural Southerners found steady work in the mid-century by moving north,
but the tradeoff was they were often separated from the families they were laboring to support. Tillis’ 'Detroit City
(I Wanna Go Home)' captures that anxiety and homesickness, imagining a man who carries on the charade that everything is fine while dreaming of the cotton fields back home when he lies down at night. Billy Grammer and
Bobby Bare both released recordings of the song in 1963, with later recordings by Tom Jones and Dean Martin.
Bare’s, with its unforgettable walking guitar intro, was a Number Six hit. By the end, his narrator is defeated –
prepared to swallow his pride and hop a southbound train, no richer than when he left -


Penned by Tillis with Wayne Walker, 'Burning Memories' is a song about moving on from a relationship by destroying
all evidence it ever happened was a Top 10 hit for Tillis in 1977, not long after he was crowned CMA Entertainer of the
Year. But it had already reached # 2 in 1964 in a lush pop country production for Ray Price. Others who would record
it included Waylon Jennings in 1964, Kitty Wells a year later and Jerry Lee Lewis in 1969 -


In December 1965, Charley Pride was newly signed to Nashville’s RCA label, but radio promoters were cautious about revealing his race to the public. What 'The Snakes Crawl at Night', which was released that month, revealed immediately was an extraordinarily talented vocalist who would soon be the most successful African-American artist in country music. A small field, to be sure, but with “Cowboy” Jack Clement as his producer, Pride managed to get hold of some exceptional material. But this chilling Tillis tune, about a man who watches in the shadows as his wife and another man carry on an affair then takes deadly revenge on both of them, was probably a bit too intense for country listeners, as it failed to chart -


In 1967, years before he grew his hair long and wrested control of his recording career, Waylon Jennings could nevertheless execute moments of musical brilliance. This twangy Top 15 rendition of 'Mental Revenge', a song that
Tillis would also hit the charts with in 1976, was certainly among Jennings’ earliest examples of that. It’s also one
of Tillis’ most acerbic, irony-free tunes, where every hope is tied to some inconvenient, catastrophic or even tragic outcome. Among the many others who have tackled it through the years - Johnny Bush, Linda Ronstadt, Johnny
Darrell, Barbara Mandrell and Gram Parsons -


Tillis took real-life inspiration from the murder-suicide of a World War II veteran and his wife to write the
ominous story of post-war jealousy that became the classic 'Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love to Town'. Tillis, a
Korean War veteran, framed it around injuries sustained in a “crazy Asian war,” but imagined his damaged
Hemingway hero growing increasingly emasculated by his inability to keep his wife from dressing up and
walking out the door. Johnny Darrell was the first to record it in 1967 and the Killers would cut a version
in 2004, but it was Kenny Rogers and the First Edition who came up with the definitive version in 1969 –
a combination of upbeat rhythm and heavenly backing vocals that conspired to make Rogers’ soulful croon
sound extra sinister when he caressed the line, “... I’d take my gun and put her in the ground....” Every bit
as scary today as it was when it was released -


By the time Kenny Rogers' version of 'Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love to Town' hit the charts in 1969, Mel Tillis, after a dozen years of writing hits for others (of which I've shown only a sample here - he wrote many others including a pop hit Brenda Lee as welll as other hits for Webb Pierce, Ray Price, Stonewall Jackson and Lloyd Green) he was finally starting to have some success as a performer in his own right. So tomorrow we will look at Tillis's own performing career as he started to really take off from the late sixties onwards.

 

[Professor Knowall]

Tillis began recording as soon as he reached Nashville but initially achieved only modest success as a singer. He obtained a lot of exposure on Porter Wagoner’s TV show (that launched Dolly Parton's career) throughout the 1960s, and in 1966 he had his first top 20 hit with his recording of 'Stateside'. That song would lend its name to Tillis’s band, the Statesiders - and Tillis, with his songwriting royalties and astute business acumen, ensured his band were all top-notch musicians.
His 1967 recording of 'Life Turned Her That Way' climbed up the charts to # 11, and he finally cracked the top 10 as a performer, not just a songwriter in 1968 with 'Who’s Julie?'. In fact, ironically, Tillis didn't even write his first top 10 hit, instead it was written by Wayne Carson. It's both a warning about the dangers of talking in ones sleep and being careful what one asks oones partner. This clip is from the Porter Wagoner TV show, and also shows another Tillis quality - a ready sense of humour -


At the end of the '60s, Tillis and his esteemed new backing band, the Statesiders, really came into their own as performers - after two 1969 Top 10 hits, 'These Lonely Hands of Mine' and 'She'll Be Hanging Around Somewhere',
he scored back-to-back Top 5 hits in 1970 with a throwback fusion of honky tonk and Western swing (the Western
swing derived "Ray Price" 4/4 shuffle beat was developed by Price as an answer to sudden rise of rock'n'roll in 1956
- see post # 269). Tillis had written several big hits for Price in the early sixties, including 'Heart Over Mind' which Price took to # 5 in 1961 (see post # 272). Tillis also recorded it as the title song for his album "Heart Over Mind and other
Big Hits", also released in 1961 (the original version is easily found on YouTube). Tillis revived this sound in 1970, going against the then dominance of the pop influenced countrypolitan sound of the day, by re-recording and releasing this song as a single. Tillis soon found there was still a market for honky tonk in it's purest and finest form, with 'Heart Over Mind' reaching # 3 in 1970, even better than the great Ray Price achieved with it in 1961. It remains a Western swing standard that's still guaranteed to fill the Texan dance floors -


Tillis' third top 5 hit of 1970 (with another reaching # 8), by the time 'The Arms Of A Fool' reached # 4, Tillis had established himself as a performing star in his own right, to go with his long established fame as one of Nashville's
top songwriters of the era (probably only Harlan Howard outranked him). For his honky tonk classics, one hears the
clear influence of Buck Owens and the Bakersfield Sound, but with the distinct 4/4 Ray Price shuffle -


In August 1970, Tillis released the album "One More Time", in which recorded hits he originally had written for others over the past years dozen years. A single from the album 'Heaven Everyday', went to # 5, but in hindsight the album title song 'One More Time', previously a # 5 hit for Ray Price in 1961, should've also been released - Tillis' version has endured to become honky tonk Western swing standard. Tillis used at least 2 and sometimes 3 fiddles to maximum affect, along with the pedal steel, and, of course, that Ray Price 4/4 shuffle beat -


After his multiple hits in 1970, Tillis' momentum slowed a little in 1971 with just one top 10 solo hit (though he also scored 2 top 10 duet hits with Sherry Bryce). His solo hit, the # 8 'Brand New Mister Me', performed at a slightly slower tempo than his 1970 hits, is a real honky tonk weeper - but like the best country songs, it describes something all too real - and causes much grief - to so many fathers - though in true honky tonk tradition, he puts the blame for his loss squarely on himself -


We leave Mel Tillis in 1971 now firmly established as a star performer in his own right - but his best, most successful years were still ahead of him.