- Apr 11, 2015
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Country Music
- Thread starter Mitchell Madness
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Alrighty, I’m back once again from the wilderness for just a few days, just enough for the next history instalment - and this one will be the last that broke through in the 1970’s (it’s only taken about 2 years for me to get through the rich country 1970’s era). An assured, honey-voiced singer, our next artist had 2 # 1 hits right out of the gate in 1975, after finally deciding on performing songs himself rather than promoting songs for other big artists of the day. Bit despite this strong start he only truly hit his stride later in the decade and in the 1980’s “Urban Cowboy” era in country music. Cowboy boots, hats, jeans and big rigs (trucks that is) were hot. Movie soundtrack albums, such as “The Electric Horseman” and “Urban Cowboy” were big on the radio, but the music had an unmistakable “pop” sheen to it - and this was perfect for him.
Born William Browder in 1942 in the small town of Humboldt in Western Tennessee, as the nephew of the Grand Ole Opry comedian Rod Brasfield, he was exposed to music from the very start. His mother, who taught piano and was also a church gospel singer, gave him piano lessons throughout his childhood. Young William preferred, however, to sing - "I developed a love for harmonies and was really taken by music. I wanted to try to do that as my livelihood".
In 1957, at age 15, William ran away from home to try his luck in the large and then hot music hub of Memphis, just 140 km’s away - an hour closer to his home town than Nashville. But having no Memphis connections, no money or means of support, he roughed it, sleeping in the alley-ways and eating out of garbage cans behind the restaurants and bars, literally homeless. Then he had an incredible, extremely lucky break, as he explained - "One night, I was at a skating rink where my friend worked. I had skated for free and, when I walked outside, all of the lights had been turned off. Two or three Cadillacs pull up, and Elvis gets out from behind the wheel of the lead car, walks right up to me and asks, “Where are you going?” I was in shock. For God’s sake, Elvis Presley starts talking to a homeless 15 year-old kid? I told him I was leaving, as the rink was closing for the night. “No way,” he says, “they’re open for me. We skate here all night, play a little game called “Kill.” I’m a man short on my team. Will you take his place?”
We go inside, and it was like football on skates, crazy. You could get hurt really bad. We skated until 5 a.m. Elvis then asked if I was hungry, and, of course in those days, I was always starving. So we get in the car and head to Graceland, pull into the driveway, and again I’m thinking, “Is this really happening?” We had the famous peanut butter and banana sandwich.
When I got ready to leave, Elvis asked if I had a ride. I said no, I walked or hitchhiked wherever I went. He said he’d get somebody to drop me wherever I wanted to go …”. That was the unlikely start of a lifelong friendship with Elvis and the start of his music career, being fixed up with introductions to local musicians and a place to stay, after briefly staying at Gracelands.
Working in various bands, Browder gradually developed his stage skills over the years, learning how to put his own touch on the myriad of songs required to survive on the club and party circuit. At age 24 he was signed by Acton, recording as a pop artist under the name Brian Stacy. His first record, ’High School Days’ caused a few ripples on the pop charts in 1966, becoming a minor regional hit in the South. The resulting attention was just enough to bring him gigs as an opening act for some of the biggest acts in America, including The Animals, Jan & Dean and The Beach Boys.
However, his passion for music and the connections he had made were redirected to furthering the careers of others. the fledgling star veered off his musical course in late 1966. Reverting to his given name of Bill Browder, he became a record promoter for the Memphis based Hot Line Distributors. The job entailed calling radio stations, trying to persuade them to play his company's records. Initially, he promoted soul music from the famed Stax Studios in Memphis, but he did it so well he soon became the Southern regional promoter for RCA on a six figure salary. His natural, outgoing, engaging personality and the "gift of the gab" made him one of the music industry’s most successful record promoters. He helped break Elvis Presley's ’Suspicious Minds‘ (his relationship with Presley was by now professional as well as personal), Perry Como's ’It's Impossible´ and John Denver's ’Take Me Home Country Roads’ amongst many others.
While still working for RCA, Bowden also founded his own production and promotion company, Umbrella Productions (how that was allowed, I don’t know). In 1972, at age 30, Bawden found a song that would change his life forever. His astute ability to pick a song and promote it into a big hit had paid off for numerous artists, yet he had never quite forgotten his own youthful musical aspirations. He was convinced the Bobby David penned ’Devil In The Bottle‘ was destined to be a hit, yet this time his powers of persuasion failed him, having no success in pitching the tune to artist after artist and being turned down by 8 record labels in 18 months. Were it not for Waylon Jennings, the song would have never been produced at all. Sheppard was promoting Jennings’ latest record and one evening while they sat in a hotel room, they both started singing. Jennings was captivated by Sheppard’s voice and advised him to stop promoting records and become a singer himself. Still convinced ’Devil In The Bottle‘ would be a sure fire hit, Bawden decided to follow Waylon’s advice.
So Bowden recorded a demo of ’Devil In The Bottle‘ and headed to Nashville, expecting to record it for RCA but instead, at a chance meeting with Berry Gordy, he was signed to the Detroit based Motown, the mammoth R&B label that was now trying to establish a presence in country music. So though he was still promoting records for RCA by acts such as Waylon Jennings and Dolly Parton, ‘Devil’ was actually released in 1974 on Melodyland Records, a country subsidiary of Motown as his debut single and the first from his album “T.G. Sheppard” - with Bowden keeping the secret of his recording with Motown from his employer, RCA, by using the pseudonym T.G. Sheppard.
Sheppard (as he will henceforth be known) later noted the irony of the situation he was in - “I was promoting for RCA at the time, and it was unusual to be discovered by Berry Gordy. When you think of him and Motown, you don’t think of country music. You think of Diana Ross, Lionel Richie and those type of acts. But he loved country music and wanted to open up a country division of the label called Melodyland. They found the master tape of ‘Devil,’ and thought it could be the start of their country label”.
’Devil in the Bottle‘ was traditional honky tonk country at a time when Countrypolitan was in the ascendancy. But with the Outlaw era now about to break out, there was a market rejecting the lush “suburban” strings of Countrypolitan, looking for a return to hard core country, so the timing was perfect. Sheppard belief in this song was totally vindicated as his debut single peaked at # 1 in late 1974. The song, with a full on gospel sound, backing choir and all, but with a well worn country honky tonk theme, tells the tale of a man giving in to alcohol, even as it harms his wife as well as slowly killing himself -
"… And she knows the hell I'm going through / In this world inside my head /
There's a devil in the bottle / And he wants to see me dead …" -
Though his recording career was rapidly picking up steam, Sheppard knew how unstable the music business could be - so he kept his high paying day job at RCA under his real name of Bill Browder, even fooling one of his best friends and one of the artists he promoted in the process - “Elvis would go around the house singing the chorus of ‘Devil in the Bottle,’ because it had gospel overtones in it with the background singers. It freaked me out when I would be at Graceland, and I heard him singing it. Then, one day, I walked into Graceland, and there sat Elvis. As soon as I came in, he said, ‘Bill?’ I said, ‘Yes, Elvis?’ He said I could have told him that I was T.G. Sheppard. I told him, ‘I couldn’t tell you because I was afraid I would lose my job with RCA.’ His comeback was ‘Well, you fool. Don’t you know I am RCA.”
Sheppard followed up ’Devil in the Bottle‘ with the similarly themed and just as hard core traditional country ’Tryin' to Beat the Morning Home’, which in 1975 also went straight to # 1‘ -
“… Drunk and cold, can't get no help from nobody / I'd sell my soul to find one more drink left in that bottle /
They say that I'm worthless, that all hope for me is gone / Heaven help me; trying to beat the morning home … »
After the double-barrelled success of back to back # 1 hits’, Another Woman‘ reached # 14 and ’Motels and Memories‘ peaked # 7 in 1975, establishing Sheppard as a promising artist. Shortly after the release of ’Motels and Memories‘, Motown was sued by an L.A. church over the right to use the name Melodyland, so the label changed its name to Hitsville. Sheppard had 4 further hit singles on Hitsville - including a cover of Neil Diamond's ’Solitary Man‘ and the # 8 ’Show Me a Man’ in 1976 - before Motown finally decided to shut its country music division down - for aside from Sheppard, the Detroit based R&B label was just too culturally foreign and found no traction with other country artists. But, on the up-side, in 1976, as a token of nis friendship, Elvis gave Sheppard his first tour bus, which provided him the confidence to give up his highly lucrative promotion business altogether, taking the risk to hit the road full time - though initially his income dropped from well over $100,000 p.a. (a huge amount back then) to about $25,000 p.a.
By the time Hitsville collapsed, Sheppard was well on his way to becoming a star - Cash Box magazine named him Best New Male Artist of 1976 (at age 34) - so he was immediately snapped up by Warner. After a couple of lackluster singles, he teamed up with producer Buddy Killen and immediately found a groove. Sheppard became a genuine country star on the label, partially because his sound - a smooth fusion of R&B rhythms, pop production and country songwriting - became the blueprint for the urban cowboy movement (ref: Mickey Gilley, post # 908) that became country music’s most popular sub-genre of the late 1970s. After having two # 13 singles (’Mister D.J‘ & 'Don't Every Say Good-Bye") early in 1978, Sheppard released ’When Can We Do This Again‘. The single started a streak of 15 straight Top 10 hits that ran for the next 5 years. During that time, he had no less than 10 # 1 singles.
Songwriter Sonny Throckmorton was remodeling his house when he first started assembling ’Last Cheater’s Waltz‘, starting with the melody then the lyrics. At first, Sonny envisioned the storyline as two lovers meeting at a strawberry festival and dancing through the night. Using ’The Strawberry Waltz‘ as the initial working title, the writer soon realised the lyrics needed to match up with the melody’s sad “feel“. He eventually came up with ’Last Cheater’s Waltz’ – something that denoted a real sad ending. Throckmorton himself cut the song first, including it on an album he recorded in 1978. In single form, ’Last Cheater’s Waltz‘ was placed on the “B” side of ’Smooth Sailin’, which Sonny took to #47 in early 1979. Shortly afterward, Sheppard picked up both songs and had Top 10 hits with them in 1979 – with ‘Last Cheater’s Waltz‘ going all the way to #1 -
‘I’ll Be Coming Back for More’ was penned by Curly Putman and Sterling Whipple. The two songwriters were friends and one day, while Whipple visited Putman, they began brainstorming and settled on an idea about a sex-oriented song. They agreed it would be a perfect fit for Sheppard, who had already been successful with similar songs. Trying to make a seductive record can be difficult enough, but adding a cheating element makes it a longer reach. ’I’ll Be Coming Back For More‘ is gloriously (or ingloriously, if you prefer) lecherous and sleazy - and as such, it speaks the truth of so many. The opening line – in spoken word! – is ”I’ve been with girls and I’ve been with women”. He continues -
“You weren’t the first / You probably won’t be the last / But after last night’s lovin’ / I’ll bet my soul you’re the best …”
See, he has slept with loads of women, and planning on sleeping with more, but he wants more of this woman right now, by using the time honoured technique of whispering (sweet lies) that she’s better than the rest, she’s special -
“… But lady, after last night's lovin' / I'll bet my soul, you're the best / You put your lips where they belong /
You brought the love for my secret dreams / I’ve been held but never touched / You touch me now, I’ll never be the same …”
Then, in true country music style, comes the reveal that the man who has slept with this woman, plenty of women (and girls too!) before her, and plans to sleep with more is committing an act of betrayal by sleeping with her at all -
“… I know people stand between us / Someone loves me, someone loves you /
But baby, now I’ve tasted heaven / There’s nothin’ else that I can do / …” -
So it’s another wonderfully wrong song and another # 1 hit for Sheppard, his 4th -
Sheppard noticed how songs with storylines were becoming a favorite among country lovers, going by the success of ’The Gambler‘ and ’Coward of the Country‘ by Kenny Rogers (post # 934). Consequently, Sheppard also wanted to record a song with a back story, and Curly Putman, who had co-written ’Smooth Sailin’ got to work immediately. For some reason, he wanted to have a song that included both baptism and sex (they are connected - I guess). Thus, he wrote ’Do You Wanna Go to Heaven‘ while at home but experienced a mental block, so Bucky Jones completed the lyrics, pulling it off by the use of metaphor. It’s said that some purchased this single thinking it had a wholesome christian message, having not listened closely enough beyond the first verse. Others bought it because of the content beyond the first verse, enough to make it another # 1 hit, Sheppard’s 5th, in 1980 -
"… It was a lonely night in August / She was sitting at the end of the bar when I saw her /
With the little wine and a little time / she would be a prize to win / I'll never forget, I remember it yet /
the taste of that clear, pure water / But that preacher's words could not be heard / As she whispered, "Come on in“ …” -
So, as mentioned, after a highly successful, lucrative career in record promotion with RCA, on of the best in the nation, William Bowden, taking the name T.G. Sheppard for his own singing career, swept all the way up to # 1 with his first 2 singles in 1974/75, both being traditional hard core country songs. But further # 1 chart toppers eluded him until near the end of the decade, with his fusion of R&B rhythms, pop production techniques and solid country songwriting was right for the time, setting himself up for sustained success . During this period, his style rarely changed, and fans came to rely on his substantial recordings of well-crafted, slickly produced country-pop rhythms, highlighted by his evocative country based vocals. So we leave T.G. Sheppard for today, as he’s reached the top and ready to go into the 1980’s tomorrow or the next day to conclude his career - to date.
Born William Browder in 1942 in the small town of Humboldt in Western Tennessee, as the nephew of the Grand Ole Opry comedian Rod Brasfield, he was exposed to music from the very start. His mother, who taught piano and was also a church gospel singer, gave him piano lessons throughout his childhood. Young William preferred, however, to sing - "I developed a love for harmonies and was really taken by music. I wanted to try to do that as my livelihood".
In 1957, at age 15, William ran away from home to try his luck in the large and then hot music hub of Memphis, just 140 km’s away - an hour closer to his home town than Nashville. But having no Memphis connections, no money or means of support, he roughed it, sleeping in the alley-ways and eating out of garbage cans behind the restaurants and bars, literally homeless. Then he had an incredible, extremely lucky break, as he explained - "One night, I was at a skating rink where my friend worked. I had skated for free and, when I walked outside, all of the lights had been turned off. Two or three Cadillacs pull up, and Elvis gets out from behind the wheel of the lead car, walks right up to me and asks, “Where are you going?” I was in shock. For God’s sake, Elvis Presley starts talking to a homeless 15 year-old kid? I told him I was leaving, as the rink was closing for the night. “No way,” he says, “they’re open for me. We skate here all night, play a little game called “Kill.” I’m a man short on my team. Will you take his place?”
We go inside, and it was like football on skates, crazy. You could get hurt really bad. We skated until 5 a.m. Elvis then asked if I was hungry, and, of course in those days, I was always starving. So we get in the car and head to Graceland, pull into the driveway, and again I’m thinking, “Is this really happening?” We had the famous peanut butter and banana sandwich.
When I got ready to leave, Elvis asked if I had a ride. I said no, I walked or hitchhiked wherever I went. He said he’d get somebody to drop me wherever I wanted to go …”. That was the unlikely start of a lifelong friendship with Elvis and the start of his music career, being fixed up with introductions to local musicians and a place to stay, after briefly staying at Gracelands.
Working in various bands, Browder gradually developed his stage skills over the years, learning how to put his own touch on the myriad of songs required to survive on the club and party circuit. At age 24 he was signed by Acton, recording as a pop artist under the name Brian Stacy. His first record, ’High School Days’ caused a few ripples on the pop charts in 1966, becoming a minor regional hit in the South. The resulting attention was just enough to bring him gigs as an opening act for some of the biggest acts in America, including The Animals, Jan & Dean and The Beach Boys.
However, his passion for music and the connections he had made were redirected to furthering the careers of others. the fledgling star veered off his musical course in late 1966. Reverting to his given name of Bill Browder, he became a record promoter for the Memphis based Hot Line Distributors. The job entailed calling radio stations, trying to persuade them to play his company's records. Initially, he promoted soul music from the famed Stax Studios in Memphis, but he did it so well he soon became the Southern regional promoter for RCA on a six figure salary. His natural, outgoing, engaging personality and the "gift of the gab" made him one of the music industry’s most successful record promoters. He helped break Elvis Presley's ’Suspicious Minds‘ (his relationship with Presley was by now professional as well as personal), Perry Como's ’It's Impossible´ and John Denver's ’Take Me Home Country Roads’ amongst many others.
While still working for RCA, Bowden also founded his own production and promotion company, Umbrella Productions (how that was allowed, I don’t know). In 1972, at age 30, Bawden found a song that would change his life forever. His astute ability to pick a song and promote it into a big hit had paid off for numerous artists, yet he had never quite forgotten his own youthful musical aspirations. He was convinced the Bobby David penned ’Devil In The Bottle‘ was destined to be a hit, yet this time his powers of persuasion failed him, having no success in pitching the tune to artist after artist and being turned down by 8 record labels in 18 months. Were it not for Waylon Jennings, the song would have never been produced at all. Sheppard was promoting Jennings’ latest record and one evening while they sat in a hotel room, they both started singing. Jennings was captivated by Sheppard’s voice and advised him to stop promoting records and become a singer himself. Still convinced ’Devil In The Bottle‘ would be a sure fire hit, Bawden decided to follow Waylon’s advice.
So Bowden recorded a demo of ’Devil In The Bottle‘ and headed to Nashville, expecting to record it for RCA but instead, at a chance meeting with Berry Gordy, he was signed to the Detroit based Motown, the mammoth R&B label that was now trying to establish a presence in country music. So though he was still promoting records for RCA by acts such as Waylon Jennings and Dolly Parton, ‘Devil’ was actually released in 1974 on Melodyland Records, a country subsidiary of Motown as his debut single and the first from his album “T.G. Sheppard” - with Bowden keeping the secret of his recording with Motown from his employer, RCA, by using the pseudonym T.G. Sheppard.
Sheppard (as he will henceforth be known) later noted the irony of the situation he was in - “I was promoting for RCA at the time, and it was unusual to be discovered by Berry Gordy. When you think of him and Motown, you don’t think of country music. You think of Diana Ross, Lionel Richie and those type of acts. But he loved country music and wanted to open up a country division of the label called Melodyland. They found the master tape of ‘Devil,’ and thought it could be the start of their country label”.
’Devil in the Bottle‘ was traditional honky tonk country at a time when Countrypolitan was in the ascendancy. But with the Outlaw era now about to break out, there was a market rejecting the lush “suburban” strings of Countrypolitan, looking for a return to hard core country, so the timing was perfect. Sheppard belief in this song was totally vindicated as his debut single peaked at # 1 in late 1974. The song, with a full on gospel sound, backing choir and all, but with a well worn country honky tonk theme, tells the tale of a man giving in to alcohol, even as it harms his wife as well as slowly killing himself -
"… And she knows the hell I'm going through / In this world inside my head /
There's a devil in the bottle / And he wants to see me dead …" -
Though his recording career was rapidly picking up steam, Sheppard knew how unstable the music business could be - so he kept his high paying day job at RCA under his real name of Bill Browder, even fooling one of his best friends and one of the artists he promoted in the process - “Elvis would go around the house singing the chorus of ‘Devil in the Bottle,’ because it had gospel overtones in it with the background singers. It freaked me out when I would be at Graceland, and I heard him singing it. Then, one day, I walked into Graceland, and there sat Elvis. As soon as I came in, he said, ‘Bill?’ I said, ‘Yes, Elvis?’ He said I could have told him that I was T.G. Sheppard. I told him, ‘I couldn’t tell you because I was afraid I would lose my job with RCA.’ His comeback was ‘Well, you fool. Don’t you know I am RCA.”
Sheppard followed up ’Devil in the Bottle‘ with the similarly themed and just as hard core traditional country ’Tryin' to Beat the Morning Home’, which in 1975 also went straight to # 1‘ -
“… Drunk and cold, can't get no help from nobody / I'd sell my soul to find one more drink left in that bottle /
They say that I'm worthless, that all hope for me is gone / Heaven help me; trying to beat the morning home … »
After the double-barrelled success of back to back # 1 hits’, Another Woman‘ reached # 14 and ’Motels and Memories‘ peaked # 7 in 1975, establishing Sheppard as a promising artist. Shortly after the release of ’Motels and Memories‘, Motown was sued by an L.A. church over the right to use the name Melodyland, so the label changed its name to Hitsville. Sheppard had 4 further hit singles on Hitsville - including a cover of Neil Diamond's ’Solitary Man‘ and the # 8 ’Show Me a Man’ in 1976 - before Motown finally decided to shut its country music division down - for aside from Sheppard, the Detroit based R&B label was just too culturally foreign and found no traction with other country artists. But, on the up-side, in 1976, as a token of nis friendship, Elvis gave Sheppard his first tour bus, which provided him the confidence to give up his highly lucrative promotion business altogether, taking the risk to hit the road full time - though initially his income dropped from well over $100,000 p.a. (a huge amount back then) to about $25,000 p.a.
By the time Hitsville collapsed, Sheppard was well on his way to becoming a star - Cash Box magazine named him Best New Male Artist of 1976 (at age 34) - so he was immediately snapped up by Warner. After a couple of lackluster singles, he teamed up with producer Buddy Killen and immediately found a groove. Sheppard became a genuine country star on the label, partially because his sound - a smooth fusion of R&B rhythms, pop production and country songwriting - became the blueprint for the urban cowboy movement (ref: Mickey Gilley, post # 908) that became country music’s most popular sub-genre of the late 1970s. After having two # 13 singles (’Mister D.J‘ & 'Don't Every Say Good-Bye") early in 1978, Sheppard released ’When Can We Do This Again‘. The single started a streak of 15 straight Top 10 hits that ran for the next 5 years. During that time, he had no less than 10 # 1 singles.
Songwriter Sonny Throckmorton was remodeling his house when he first started assembling ’Last Cheater’s Waltz‘, starting with the melody then the lyrics. At first, Sonny envisioned the storyline as two lovers meeting at a strawberry festival and dancing through the night. Using ’The Strawberry Waltz‘ as the initial working title, the writer soon realised the lyrics needed to match up with the melody’s sad “feel“. He eventually came up with ’Last Cheater’s Waltz’ – something that denoted a real sad ending. Throckmorton himself cut the song first, including it on an album he recorded in 1978. In single form, ’Last Cheater’s Waltz‘ was placed on the “B” side of ’Smooth Sailin’, which Sonny took to #47 in early 1979. Shortly afterward, Sheppard picked up both songs and had Top 10 hits with them in 1979 – with ‘Last Cheater’s Waltz‘ going all the way to #1 -
‘I’ll Be Coming Back for More’ was penned by Curly Putman and Sterling Whipple. The two songwriters were friends and one day, while Whipple visited Putman, they began brainstorming and settled on an idea about a sex-oriented song. They agreed it would be a perfect fit for Sheppard, who had already been successful with similar songs. Trying to make a seductive record can be difficult enough, but adding a cheating element makes it a longer reach. ’I’ll Be Coming Back For More‘ is gloriously (or ingloriously, if you prefer) lecherous and sleazy - and as such, it speaks the truth of so many. The opening line – in spoken word! – is ”I’ve been with girls and I’ve been with women”. He continues -
“You weren’t the first / You probably won’t be the last / But after last night’s lovin’ / I’ll bet my soul you’re the best …”
See, he has slept with loads of women, and planning on sleeping with more, but he wants more of this woman right now, by using the time honoured technique of whispering (sweet lies) that she’s better than the rest, she’s special -
“… But lady, after last night's lovin' / I'll bet my soul, you're the best / You put your lips where they belong /
You brought the love for my secret dreams / I’ve been held but never touched / You touch me now, I’ll never be the same …”
Then, in true country music style, comes the reveal that the man who has slept with this woman, plenty of women (and girls too!) before her, and plans to sleep with more is committing an act of betrayal by sleeping with her at all -
“… I know people stand between us / Someone loves me, someone loves you /
But baby, now I’ve tasted heaven / There’s nothin’ else that I can do / …” -
So it’s another wonderfully wrong song and another # 1 hit for Sheppard, his 4th -
Sheppard noticed how songs with storylines were becoming a favorite among country lovers, going by the success of ’The Gambler‘ and ’Coward of the Country‘ by Kenny Rogers (post # 934). Consequently, Sheppard also wanted to record a song with a back story, and Curly Putman, who had co-written ’Smooth Sailin’ got to work immediately. For some reason, he wanted to have a song that included both baptism and sex (they are connected - I guess). Thus, he wrote ’Do You Wanna Go to Heaven‘ while at home but experienced a mental block, so Bucky Jones completed the lyrics, pulling it off by the use of metaphor. It’s said that some purchased this single thinking it had a wholesome christian message, having not listened closely enough beyond the first verse. Others bought it because of the content beyond the first verse, enough to make it another # 1 hit, Sheppard’s 5th, in 1980 -
"… It was a lonely night in August / She was sitting at the end of the bar when I saw her /
With the little wine and a little time / she would be a prize to win / I'll never forget, I remember it yet /
the taste of that clear, pure water / But that preacher's words could not be heard / As she whispered, "Come on in“ …” -
So, as mentioned, after a highly successful, lucrative career in record promotion with RCA, on of the best in the nation, William Bowden, taking the name T.G. Sheppard for his own singing career, swept all the way up to # 1 with his first 2 singles in 1974/75, both being traditional hard core country songs. But further # 1 chart toppers eluded him until near the end of the decade, with his fusion of R&B rhythms, pop production techniques and solid country songwriting was right for the time, setting himself up for sustained success . During this period, his style rarely changed, and fans came to rely on his substantial recordings of well-crafted, slickly produced country-pop rhythms, highlighted by his evocative country based vocals. So we leave T.G. Sheppard for today, as he’s reached the top and ready to go into the 1980’s tomorrow or the next day to conclude his career - to date.
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Though many of T.G. Sheppard's hits in the early 1980’s sometimes drifted toward soft rock, particularly when he adopted a subdued disco beat for songs like ‘Do You Wanna Go to Heaven‘ and ’I Loved 'Em Every One’, he finds it ironic he is now regarded as a traditional country act (confirmed by many YouTube comments these days along the lines of “this is real country”) when he was actually considered at the time he was topping the chart as on the other side of the spectrum - “I was the new guy on the block that was too pop. That was a changing of the guard - like there is now. That always happens. At that point, country had gone from Faron Young (posts # 261-266) and Marty Robbins (posts # 325-335) to more of a slick sound like Kenny Rogers (posts # 932-936) and myself. So we weren’t traditional then, but we are now. There’s one thing for sure in life - and that’s change. They can’t stay the same. Music is always going to evolve, and you’re always going to be labeled a traditional or a contemporary artist or whatever. I always got away with a lot more than I thought I could”.
The “promise” of T.G.’s early career (having won that Cashbox Most Promising Artist award in 1976 at age 34) continued into the 1980s, as he racked up one hit after another, achieving a remarkable 8 consecutive # 1 hits from 1980 to 1982. Let’s get to the best of them.
Buoyed by a haunting, minor-chord progression and a catchy, repetitive chorus enumerating past romantic exploits, ‘I Loved ‘Em Every One‘, penned by Phil Sampson, was timed perfectly. Various country acts had benefited in the recent past from hits that crossed over onto the pop chart, such as Charlie Rich, John Denver and Linda Ronstadt. Warner Bros. was likewise ready to capitalize on the trend with T. G. Sheppard. The company shipped ‘I Loved ‘Em Every One‘, the first single from the “I Love 'Em All“ album to pop and country stations at the same time and the record entered both charts the same day. Although ‘I Loved ‘Em Every One‘ didn’t perform well on the pop side, as Warner Bros had hoped (peaking at #37), the single vaulted to # 1 on the country chart in 1981, Sheppard's 7th # 1.
‘I Loved ‘Em Every One‘ recalls lots of good memories (we tend to repress the bad ones), reminiscing about the good old days spent with willing women – big and small, tall and short – he didn’t have a preference (unlike me). Now it’s fine by me to recall the good times and activities spent with women over the years in differing types of relationship - but having one thing in common. But when T.G. sings “… I wish I could’ve kept them all … ”, he goes way too far. Having the long termers, the short to medium termers and all the one nighters all collected together in one huge household - and maybe comparing notes - would be my worst nightmare! I wouldn’t last a night before at least one would probably kill me!! But apart from that unsettling thought, there’s lots of good memories to be had -
Sheppard wasn’t complacent and occasionally stepped out from the formula and try doing things different and a bit risky. Sometimes they connected. One such gamble was Sheppard’s 8th # 1, ‘Party Time’ Sheppard considered this tune “strictly for the guys”. When Bruce Channel wrote the song, it was meant for Jerry Lee Lewis. But Lewis put it on hold, but as Sheppard walked by the studio, he heard the demo of the song, but was disappointed to learn it was earmarked for Jerry Lee. It captivated him enough to request if Lewis wasn’t interested in recording the song, he was more than willing to give it a go. Sheppard’s wish came true when Lewis passed up on the song, leaving him to record it, making it his 8th # 1.
The song itself is more solidly country than his other pop-ringed hits of thAt early 1980’s time and even became a jukebox favourite in the hard-bitten honky tonks, where much of Sheppard’s hits would never be played. The song combines the classic country themes of splitting up, cheating and drinking to forget. But in this one, it seems both sides were at fault -
“… Now its time to call the heart / You know it wasn't all my fault /
You cheated too but you were never caught / Your friends lied all along …”
Bruce Channel, the writer of ‘Part Time’, was previously a performer who had had a big international hit in 1962 ‘Hey Baby’. At the height of his popularity, in 1962, Channel toured Europe and in England, he headlined a show featuring a relatively unknown group known as The Beatles. John Lennon, who had ’Hey! Baby‘ on his jukebox, was fascinated by its harmonica segment, inspiring Lennon's playing on the Beatles' first hit single, 1962's ’Love Me Do‘ as well as later Beatles records and also the harmonica break on Frank Ifield's ’I Remember You’. Channel, who found he didn’t like touring, decided to retire from performing, basically as a one hit wonder, and settled down in his native Texas with his English wife, only to up-sticks years later in 1978 and move to Nashville, where he established himself as a highly successful songwriter. At age 83, he is still actively involved in songwriting and music publishing in Nashville.
After ‘I Loved ‘Em Every One‘ had topped the chart in 1981, songwriters Bucky Jones and Michael Garvin decided to use its melody as a basis for recording ‘Only One You’, the studio staff who listened to it agreed it would be another perfect fit for Sheppard, who quickly noted how the two songs resembled each other When he first heard it, But he went to the familiar well again. There is nothing particularly original or compelling here. Just a generic Urban Cowboy production with a catchy refrain and a vocal that isn’t as loyal to one key as the lyric is to one woman. But, of course, this music being the fashion of the time, despite being quite formulaic, the slickly produced tune scored Sheppard another # 1, his 3rd in 1981 alone, his 5th consecutive and 9th overall -
Sheppard’s 11th # 1 hit in 1982, ‘War Is Hell (On The Home Front Too), written by Curly Putman, Bucky Jones and Dan Wilson, is one of those songs that wouldn’t be written or recorded now, as it describes a 16 year old boy (or young man as he would’ve been described at the time) being seduced into having his virginity taken by a married woman. But he tells it as a positive experience- and it describes a situation that was not uncommon in its WW2 setting, so it’s another example of a country song telling a truth. It tells the story of a woman who has been lonely ever since her husband went to war. The protagonist is only 16 and has never been intimate with a woman, but this lonely wife is ready to take advantage of the teenager. She lures him to her satin-sheet-covered bed, and due to her guilt, she can only get intimate after placing her husband’s picture face down. She reasons, in bitter-sweet sadness, that even if men go through hell on the battlefield, the women back home also face hell -
“… Her long blond hair was flowing, and she smelled like sweet perfume / When I laid the groceries down /
She said, "You don't have to leave so soon" / A woman sure gets lonely when her man's gone off to fight
She reached out for my trembling hand as teardrops filled her eyes …”
After working with producer Buddy Killen for a just couple of years, from 1980 to 1982, which resulted in 8 consecutive # 1 hits, Sheppard finally cut ties with Killen to give another producer, Jim Ed Norman, a chance. Having played piano on The Eagles’ 1975 hit ‘Lyin’ Eyes‘ and arranged material for several of the group’s albums, including “Desperado“ and “Hotel California”, Norman was eager to use the same instrumentation for Sheppard. Thus, when Charlie Black and Tommy Rocco presented the lyrics of ‘Slow Burn‘, Norman went to work and produced the song to his liking. It was the first song Norman and Shepard collaborated on, and it became an instant hit, going straight to # 1 in 1983.
“She’s got that dark hair falling ‘cross her shoulders / There’s not a man alive that wouldn’t want to hold her /
And the way she moves, just the way she moves / Well, that’s enough to keep me on a slow burn …” -
Although ‘Slow Burn’ was their only #1 single together, Norman and Sheppard proved quite successful in their brief 2 album association. Spurred by the famous tag-line from Clint Eastwood’s 1983 “dirty Harry” movie Sudden Impact, Sheppard cut ‘Make My Day’ with Esatwood, reaching #12. Three last Top 10 singles wrapped up Sheppard’s Warner era - ‘Somewhere Down The Line’, ‘One Owner Heart‘ and ‘You’re Going Out Of My Mind‘.
Now aged in his 40’s, Sheppard continued to chart well throughout the latter half of the 1980’s and between 1986 and 1987 he had a further # 1 hit - his 14th and last # 1, ‘Strong Heart‘, followed by 3 consecutive # 2 hits - ‘Half Past Forever (Till I'm Blue in the Heart)‘, ’You're My First Lady’ and ’One for the Money’ - after he switched labels to Columbia. However, in 1987 he took some time off for reflection after divorcing his very low profile and private first wife - of which very little is known. But on his return, he found his audience had dipped dramatically in 1988, when his radio-ready sound was usurped the neo-traditionalist tide that swept through country music, led by George Strait and other performers like Dwight Yoakam, Randy Travis and Keith Whitley, making the Urban Cowboy sound quickly dated and out of favour.
By 1990, at age 48, Sheppard found himself wondering how he fitTed into the new mould - and basically concluded he didn’t, so he withdrew from recording and was soon dropped by Columbia. In 1991, he briefly returned to the charts with the Curb/Capitol single ’Born in a High Wind‘, but it only reached # 63 and he didn't remain with the label long. In 1995, he took a 2 year hiatus from the road to perform exclusively for 8 months a year at T.G. Sheppard’s Theatre In The Smokies, a then SOTA theatre in the heart of the Great Smoky Mountains, enjoying the luxury of going home every night after a show. But the wanderlust of a road musician was inescapable as he hit the road again in 1997 and for the remainder of the 1990’s, he continued to tour and play concerts across the country to a loyal fan-base but he no longer troubled the charts.
Sheppard had also made a name for himself as an astute businessman. In 1988, he opened his private residence in the Great Smoky Mountains as a B&B. The 160 y.o log home was an instant success and is still a popular tourist destination, although He was also one of the original investors in the highly popular chain of country nightclubs, Guitars & Cadillacs. The clubs, located throughout the Midwest, serve as showcase venues for many emerging country singers as well as some of the biggest stars. He also served as the national spokesperson for the Folgers’ NASCAR racing team for 8 years.
In 2007, after a 6 year relationship, during which she battled breast cancer with chemotherapy, Sheppard married longtime singer/songwriter, Kelly Lang, who has recorded several albums of her own and has written songs for numerous artists including George Jones, Ricky Skaggs, Crystal Gayle and, of course, her husband T.G., who lacked this one ability. She is also a talented oil-painter, a comedian and an author of a book outlining her survival from breast cancer and detailing her close friendship she had with Olivia Newton John, who, as we know, sadly wasn’t as fortunate (posts # 738-741).
Sheppard continued to focus on live performances throughout the 2000’s, including regular Grand Ole Opry appearances, occasionally stepping into the studio to re-record his old songs. He started to branch out on his records of the 2010s, first releasing the gospel collection “Because You Love Me in 2012” (anyone who has followed this history over the last few years may notice the number of performers who have released a gospel album or two after their halcyon years came to an end), then the duets album “Legendary Friends & Country Duets” in 2015 with an all-star line-up including Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, George Jones, Jerry Lee Lewis, Conway Twitty, his wife Kelly Lang, Ricky Skaggs, The Oak Ridge Boys, Englebert Humperdink, Lorrie Morgan, Crystal Gayle, Delbert McClinton, The Whites, Mickey Gilley, Steve Cropper, Jimmy Fortune and Wayne Jackson and the Memphis Horns. Sheppard, going right back to his Memphis roots, where he once worked promoting records for the legendary Stax Studio (still a must see attraction in Memphis), then devoted himself to soul on his 2019 album “Midnight in Memphis”. Sheppard, who last visited Elvis just hours before his fatal heart attack in 1977 and found him in good spirits, now hosts his own show on Sirius XM's Elvis Radio.
With 14 # 1 hits and 33 placed in the Top 10, T.G.Sheppard’s commercial success can’t be denied, regardless of what one may think of his music (you may tell I don’t go for his more pop oriented stuff, and his lack of awards tells a story). For all his songs about womanising and cheating (not that he actually wrote any of them, just sang ‘em), his wife Kelly Lang credits her narrow breast cancer survival to his constant, steadfast support when she was at her lowest ebb - and this was before they were married. And if you’ve wondered, like I did, what T.G. stands for - “The T.G. in my stage name is really and truly just initials“.
So that’s it for another week and a bit, as the road calls me again, though this time just in the very familiar West of Victoria, but I expect to be back before Christmas for our very first 1980 (when he first came to prominence) artist. And it’s a special artist, one long looked forward too.
The “promise” of T.G.’s early career (having won that Cashbox Most Promising Artist award in 1976 at age 34) continued into the 1980s, as he racked up one hit after another, achieving a remarkable 8 consecutive # 1 hits from 1980 to 1982. Let’s get to the best of them.
Buoyed by a haunting, minor-chord progression and a catchy, repetitive chorus enumerating past romantic exploits, ‘I Loved ‘Em Every One‘, penned by Phil Sampson, was timed perfectly. Various country acts had benefited in the recent past from hits that crossed over onto the pop chart, such as Charlie Rich, John Denver and Linda Ronstadt. Warner Bros. was likewise ready to capitalize on the trend with T. G. Sheppard. The company shipped ‘I Loved ‘Em Every One‘, the first single from the “I Love 'Em All“ album to pop and country stations at the same time and the record entered both charts the same day. Although ‘I Loved ‘Em Every One‘ didn’t perform well on the pop side, as Warner Bros had hoped (peaking at #37), the single vaulted to # 1 on the country chart in 1981, Sheppard's 7th # 1.
‘I Loved ‘Em Every One‘ recalls lots of good memories (we tend to repress the bad ones), reminiscing about the good old days spent with willing women – big and small, tall and short – he didn’t have a preference (unlike me). Now it’s fine by me to recall the good times and activities spent with women over the years in differing types of relationship - but having one thing in common. But when T.G. sings “… I wish I could’ve kept them all … ”, he goes way too far. Having the long termers, the short to medium termers and all the one nighters all collected together in one huge household - and maybe comparing notes - would be my worst nightmare! I wouldn’t last a night before at least one would probably kill me!! But apart from that unsettling thought, there’s lots of good memories to be had -
Sheppard wasn’t complacent and occasionally stepped out from the formula and try doing things different and a bit risky. Sometimes they connected. One such gamble was Sheppard’s 8th # 1, ‘Party Time’ Sheppard considered this tune “strictly for the guys”. When Bruce Channel wrote the song, it was meant for Jerry Lee Lewis. But Lewis put it on hold, but as Sheppard walked by the studio, he heard the demo of the song, but was disappointed to learn it was earmarked for Jerry Lee. It captivated him enough to request if Lewis wasn’t interested in recording the song, he was more than willing to give it a go. Sheppard’s wish came true when Lewis passed up on the song, leaving him to record it, making it his 8th # 1.
The song itself is more solidly country than his other pop-ringed hits of thAt early 1980’s time and even became a jukebox favourite in the hard-bitten honky tonks, where much of Sheppard’s hits would never be played. The song combines the classic country themes of splitting up, cheating and drinking to forget. But in this one, it seems both sides were at fault -
“… Now its time to call the heart / You know it wasn't all my fault /
You cheated too but you were never caught / Your friends lied all along …”
Bruce Channel, the writer of ‘Part Time’, was previously a performer who had had a big international hit in 1962 ‘Hey Baby’. At the height of his popularity, in 1962, Channel toured Europe and in England, he headlined a show featuring a relatively unknown group known as The Beatles. John Lennon, who had ’Hey! Baby‘ on his jukebox, was fascinated by its harmonica segment, inspiring Lennon's playing on the Beatles' first hit single, 1962's ’Love Me Do‘ as well as later Beatles records and also the harmonica break on Frank Ifield's ’I Remember You’. Channel, who found he didn’t like touring, decided to retire from performing, basically as a one hit wonder, and settled down in his native Texas with his English wife, only to up-sticks years later in 1978 and move to Nashville, where he established himself as a highly successful songwriter. At age 83, he is still actively involved in songwriting and music publishing in Nashville.
After ‘I Loved ‘Em Every One‘ had topped the chart in 1981, songwriters Bucky Jones and Michael Garvin decided to use its melody as a basis for recording ‘Only One You’, the studio staff who listened to it agreed it would be another perfect fit for Sheppard, who quickly noted how the two songs resembled each other When he first heard it, But he went to the familiar well again. There is nothing particularly original or compelling here. Just a generic Urban Cowboy production with a catchy refrain and a vocal that isn’t as loyal to one key as the lyric is to one woman. But, of course, this music being the fashion of the time, despite being quite formulaic, the slickly produced tune scored Sheppard another # 1, his 3rd in 1981 alone, his 5th consecutive and 9th overall -
Sheppard’s 11th # 1 hit in 1982, ‘War Is Hell (On The Home Front Too), written by Curly Putman, Bucky Jones and Dan Wilson, is one of those songs that wouldn’t be written or recorded now, as it describes a 16 year old boy (or young man as he would’ve been described at the time) being seduced into having his virginity taken by a married woman. But he tells it as a positive experience- and it describes a situation that was not uncommon in its WW2 setting, so it’s another example of a country song telling a truth. It tells the story of a woman who has been lonely ever since her husband went to war. The protagonist is only 16 and has never been intimate with a woman, but this lonely wife is ready to take advantage of the teenager. She lures him to her satin-sheet-covered bed, and due to her guilt, she can only get intimate after placing her husband’s picture face down. She reasons, in bitter-sweet sadness, that even if men go through hell on the battlefield, the women back home also face hell -
“… Her long blond hair was flowing, and she smelled like sweet perfume / When I laid the groceries down /
She said, "You don't have to leave so soon" / A woman sure gets lonely when her man's gone off to fight
She reached out for my trembling hand as teardrops filled her eyes …”
After working with producer Buddy Killen for a just couple of years, from 1980 to 1982, which resulted in 8 consecutive # 1 hits, Sheppard finally cut ties with Killen to give another producer, Jim Ed Norman, a chance. Having played piano on The Eagles’ 1975 hit ‘Lyin’ Eyes‘ and arranged material for several of the group’s albums, including “Desperado“ and “Hotel California”, Norman was eager to use the same instrumentation for Sheppard. Thus, when Charlie Black and Tommy Rocco presented the lyrics of ‘Slow Burn‘, Norman went to work and produced the song to his liking. It was the first song Norman and Shepard collaborated on, and it became an instant hit, going straight to # 1 in 1983.
“She’s got that dark hair falling ‘cross her shoulders / There’s not a man alive that wouldn’t want to hold her /
And the way she moves, just the way she moves / Well, that’s enough to keep me on a slow burn …” -
Although ‘Slow Burn’ was their only #1 single together, Norman and Sheppard proved quite successful in their brief 2 album association. Spurred by the famous tag-line from Clint Eastwood’s 1983 “dirty Harry” movie Sudden Impact, Sheppard cut ‘Make My Day’ with Esatwood, reaching #12. Three last Top 10 singles wrapped up Sheppard’s Warner era - ‘Somewhere Down The Line’, ‘One Owner Heart‘ and ‘You’re Going Out Of My Mind‘.
Now aged in his 40’s, Sheppard continued to chart well throughout the latter half of the 1980’s and between 1986 and 1987 he had a further # 1 hit - his 14th and last # 1, ‘Strong Heart‘, followed by 3 consecutive # 2 hits - ‘Half Past Forever (Till I'm Blue in the Heart)‘, ’You're My First Lady’ and ’One for the Money’ - after he switched labels to Columbia. However, in 1987 he took some time off for reflection after divorcing his very low profile and private first wife - of which very little is known. But on his return, he found his audience had dipped dramatically in 1988, when his radio-ready sound was usurped the neo-traditionalist tide that swept through country music, led by George Strait and other performers like Dwight Yoakam, Randy Travis and Keith Whitley, making the Urban Cowboy sound quickly dated and out of favour.
By 1990, at age 48, Sheppard found himself wondering how he fitTed into the new mould - and basically concluded he didn’t, so he withdrew from recording and was soon dropped by Columbia. In 1991, he briefly returned to the charts with the Curb/Capitol single ’Born in a High Wind‘, but it only reached # 63 and he didn't remain with the label long. In 1995, he took a 2 year hiatus from the road to perform exclusively for 8 months a year at T.G. Sheppard’s Theatre In The Smokies, a then SOTA theatre in the heart of the Great Smoky Mountains, enjoying the luxury of going home every night after a show. But the wanderlust of a road musician was inescapable as he hit the road again in 1997 and for the remainder of the 1990’s, he continued to tour and play concerts across the country to a loyal fan-base but he no longer troubled the charts.
Sheppard had also made a name for himself as an astute businessman. In 1988, he opened his private residence in the Great Smoky Mountains as a B&B. The 160 y.o log home was an instant success and is still a popular tourist destination, although He was also one of the original investors in the highly popular chain of country nightclubs, Guitars & Cadillacs. The clubs, located throughout the Midwest, serve as showcase venues for many emerging country singers as well as some of the biggest stars. He also served as the national spokesperson for the Folgers’ NASCAR racing team for 8 years.
In 2007, after a 6 year relationship, during which she battled breast cancer with chemotherapy, Sheppard married longtime singer/songwriter, Kelly Lang, who has recorded several albums of her own and has written songs for numerous artists including George Jones, Ricky Skaggs, Crystal Gayle and, of course, her husband T.G., who lacked this one ability. She is also a talented oil-painter, a comedian and an author of a book outlining her survival from breast cancer and detailing her close friendship she had with Olivia Newton John, who, as we know, sadly wasn’t as fortunate (posts # 738-741).
Sheppard continued to focus on live performances throughout the 2000’s, including regular Grand Ole Opry appearances, occasionally stepping into the studio to re-record his old songs. He started to branch out on his records of the 2010s, first releasing the gospel collection “Because You Love Me in 2012” (anyone who has followed this history over the last few years may notice the number of performers who have released a gospel album or two after their halcyon years came to an end), then the duets album “Legendary Friends & Country Duets” in 2015 with an all-star line-up including Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, George Jones, Jerry Lee Lewis, Conway Twitty, his wife Kelly Lang, Ricky Skaggs, The Oak Ridge Boys, Englebert Humperdink, Lorrie Morgan, Crystal Gayle, Delbert McClinton, The Whites, Mickey Gilley, Steve Cropper, Jimmy Fortune and Wayne Jackson and the Memphis Horns. Sheppard, going right back to his Memphis roots, where he once worked promoting records for the legendary Stax Studio (still a must see attraction in Memphis), then devoted himself to soul on his 2019 album “Midnight in Memphis”. Sheppard, who last visited Elvis just hours before his fatal heart attack in 1977 and found him in good spirits, now hosts his own show on Sirius XM's Elvis Radio.
With 14 # 1 hits and 33 placed in the Top 10, T.G.Sheppard’s commercial success can’t be denied, regardless of what one may think of his music (you may tell I don’t go for his more pop oriented stuff, and his lack of awards tells a story). For all his songs about womanising and cheating (not that he actually wrote any of them, just sang ‘em), his wife Kelly Lang credits her narrow breast cancer survival to his constant, steadfast support when she was at her lowest ebb - and this was before they were married. And if you’ve wondered, like I did, what T.G. stands for - “The T.G. in my stage name is really and truly just initials“.
So that’s it for another week and a bit, as the road calls me again, though this time just in the very familiar West of Victoria, but I expect to be back before Christmas for our very first 1980 (when he first came to prominence) artist. And it’s a special artist, one long looked forward too.
Last edited:
Well it turns out I was kidding myself when last here I said I should have time to squeeze in a special artist before Christmas. I never came close to having the spare time (I should’ve known better), so the next feature had had to be put back until a little after the new year.
Meanwhile, Christmas Eve started with some sad news this morning -
www.savingcountrymusic.com
Now for an updated index. It’s taken almost 2 years to get through the 1970’s (roughly based upon when an artist breaks through to sustained prominence/stardom). The index to the history includes the sub-genre types of each artist or group. You can use this as a guide to peruse any artist or country sub-genre at your leisure (and I've covered far more artists than I ever intended to when the lockdown inspired me to do this).
Hope y’all have a great Christmas, wherever you are or whoever you’re sharing it with.
Name, Post/s number, State of origin, Key to sub-genre.
TF = Traditional and/or folk country (as established by Vernon Dalhart, The Carter Family and Jimmy Rodgers)
TC = Traditional Country but without the folk influence.
G = Gospel
WC = Western Cowboy or trail songs
WM = Western movie music
WS = Western Swing
HT = Honky Tonk (baroom "adult" music - usually about breakups, heartaches, drinking, cheating etc) that generally appealed to the rural and working class base.
BG = Bluegrass (usually traditionally acoustic using traditional instruments including banjo and slap bass)
RR = Rockabilly and/or rock'n'roll (rockabilly generally retaining a more country flavour than straight out R&R) that in the 1950's was generally confined to the youth, mostly teenage base. Also the later rock influence in country music, especially in the Outlaw era.
CR = Country Rock, still definably country but with a heavily rock influenced sound, especially the accompanimen.
NS = Nashville Sound, a more sophisticated 'pop country' sound than honky tonk, deliberately appealing to a mass suburban, more middle class audience, thus expanding the country music market.
CP = Countrypolitan, an even more refined “Nashville Sound”, with smooth vocals and instrumentals, sometimes including soul or jazz influences.
CB = Country Ballad, e.g. Marty Robbins' 'El Paso' and Johnny Hortons 'Battle of New Orleans', popular in the late fifties to early sixties.
PC = Pop Country. Lighter pop/rock sound appealing to beyond the traditional country market to middle clas suburbia, with Sonny James and particularly Glenn Campbell as breakthrough artists.
TM = Tex/Mex aka Tejano - traditional Mexican, esp North Mexican Norteno and South Texas European influence - including use of mixed English & Spanish lyrics and accordions.
OC = Music associated with the Outlaw era of the mid to late seventies, often with a heavier Country rock influenced sound.
UC = 1980’s “Urban Cowboy” Country Pop sound developed by Mickey Gilley
GW = Gulf & Western Laidback Island sound with Calypso and/or Reggae influence, developed by Jimmy Buffett. Also called ‘Trop Rock’.
SGQ = Southern Gospel Quartet I
Vernon Dalhart 114-115 Texas TF
The Carter Family 117-119 Virginia TF, G
Jimmie Rodgers 120-122 Mississippi TF, HT
Sons of the Pioneers 123-124 California WC, WM
Gene Autry 125-126 Texas WC, WM
Bob Wills & The Texas Playboys 132-140 Texas WS
Roy Acuff 147-149 Tennessee TF, G
Jimmie Davis 150-153 Louisiana TF
Roy Rogers 154-157 Ohio WC, WM
Elton Britt 159-160 Arkansas WC, TF
Ernest Tubb 161-165 Texas HT
Milton Brown 163 Texas WS
Al Dexter 166-168 Texas HT
Spade Cooley 169-171 Oklahoma WS
Tex Williams 172 Illinois WS
Red Foley 173 & 176-178 Kentucky TF, HT, RR, G
Tex Ritter 179-180 Texas TF, HT, WM
Bill Monroe &
The Bluegrass Boys 181-183 Kentucky BG
Merle Travis 184-186 Kentucky HT, TF
The Stanley Brothers 187-188 Virginia BG
Eddy Arnold 189-191 Tennessee TF, HT, NS, WC
Flatt & Scruggs 194-195 Tennessee BG
Tenessee Ernie Ford 196-197 Tennessee TF, RR
Moon Mullican 198-199 Texas HT, RR
Hank Snow 202-204 Novia Scotia (Can) TF, HT
Hank Williams 205-214 Alabama HT, TF, RR, G
Lefty Frizzell 216-219 Texas HT, TF
Mother Maybelle &
The Carter Sisters 222 Virginia TF, G
Anita Carter 225-232 Virginia TF
Carl Smith 233-234 Tennessee HT, RR
Hank Thompson 235-237 Texas WS, HT, RR
Kitty Wells 238-239 Tennessee HT
Webb Pierce 240-250 Louisiana HT, RR
Jean Shepard 251 Oklahoma HT
Slim Whitman 252-254 Texas WT
Frankie Laine 255-256 Illinois WM
Faron Young 261-262 & 266 Louisiana HT, TF
Ray Price 269-275 Texas HT, TF, NS
Elvis Presley 278-286 Alabama RR, TF, G
Carl Perkins 287-291 Tennessee RR, TF
The Louvin Brothers 294-295 Tennessee TF, G
Johnny Horton 296 & 301 & 308 California. HT, RR, CB
Sanford Clark 311-313 Arizona RR, WT
Marty Robbins 325-330 & 335 Arizona HT, RR, TF, WC, CB, WS, NS, G
Johnny Cash 338-345 Arkansas RR, HT, TF, CB, WT, NS, G
Charlie Feathers 346-348 Tennessee RR
Jerry Lee Lewis 349-352 & 365-367 Louisiana RR, HT, TF, G
Chet Atkins 353-356 Tennessee - world class guitarist and producer of NS
Ferlin Husky 362-364 Missouri NS, G
The Browns 368-369 Arkansas TF, G
Jim Ed Brown 371-372 Arkansas TF, HT
Helen Cornelius 372 Missouri TF, HT
Bobby Helms 377 Indiana RR, TF
Hank Locklin 378-379 Florida HT, TF
Jim Reeves 383-386 Texas NS
Patsy Cline 387-389 Virginia NS
Cowboy Copas 390 Oklahoma TF
The Everly Bros 393-399 Illinois RR, TF
Don Gibson 400-404 North Carolina HT
George Jones 405-412 Texas HT, TF
Western movie themes to 1962 416-419 WM
Leroy Van Dyke 423-424 Missouri RR, HT, TF
Jimmy Dean 428-429 Texas RR, TF, CB, NS
Porter Wagoner 430-432 Missouri TF, G
Roy Drusky 433-434 Georgia NS, TF
Claude King 440-441 Louisiana CB, WC, TF, HT
Ray Charles 443-445 Georgia Soul country
Skeeter Davis 446-448 Kentucky NS, TF
Bill Anderson 449-452 South Carolina TF, NS, BG, G
Bakersfield Sound 455 HT
Buck Owens 456-463 Texas HT
Bobby Bare 464-468 Ohio TF, HT, OC
Nat King Cole 469 Alabama pop country influencer
Sonny James 474-478 Alabama NS PC (influenced by Nat King Cole)
Roger Miller 479-482 Texas TF
Connie Smith 483-486 Indiana NS, TF, G
David Houston 487-488 Louisiana HT, NS
Loretta Lynn 489-493 Kentucky TF, HT
Jack Greene 494-495 Tennessee TF, NS
Merle Haggard 497-502 California TF, HT
Tammy Wynette 503-506 Mississippi TF, HT
Glen Campbell 507-509 Arkansas TF, PC
Charley Pride 510-513 Mississippi NS, PC
Conway Twitty 514-520 Mississippi RR, NS, PC
Western Movie Themes 1964-1970 521-524
Bobby Gentry 531-535 Mississippi TF, PC
Jeannie Riley 537-540 Texas PC, G
Tom T. Hall 543-550 Tennessee TF, BG, CB
Townes Van Zandt 551-555 Texas TF,
Gram Parsons 560-570 Florida HT, TF
Lynn Anderson 573-575 North Dakota, TF, PC, BG, WC, G
Dolly Parton 581-607 Tennessee TF, PC, BG, WC, HT, CB, G
Tom T Hall 611-617 Tennessee TF, BG, CB
Freddie Hart 622-625 Alabama TF, PC, G
Mal Street 627-631 Tennessee HT, TF
Donna Fargo 647 North Carolina PC
Mel Tillis 648-657 Florida RR, HT, TF, PC, OC
Kris Kristofferson 661-667 Texas TF, NS, HT, PC, RR, G, OC
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band California 674-680 TF, BG, RR
John Prine Illinois 685-691+695 TF, CB
Gordon Lightfoot Ontario 696-702 TF, CB, PC
Charlie Rich Arkansas 706-70. RR, CP, G
Johnny Rodriguez Texas 713-716 TM, HT,
Billy “Crash” Craddock North Carolina 721-723. RR, PC, TC
Ronnie Milsap North Carolina 732-737 PC, HT
Olivia Newton John UK/Australia 738-741 PC
John Denver New Mexico 744-748 PC, TF
Don Williams Texas 757-759 TC, TF, CP
Freddy Fender Texas 764-766 TM, CP, PC
Pussycat, Netherlands, 771 PC
Outlaw Artists outline
Billy Joe Shaver Texas 773 OC
Waylon Jennings Texas 774-781 TC, HT, NS, CR, OC
Willie Nelson Texas 782-793 TF, TC, G, WC, CB, HT, CR, OC
Hank Williams Jr Louis 800-807 TC, HT, NS, CR, OC
Johnny Paycheck Ohio 815-821 TC, HT, NS, OC
Sammi Smith Okla 822-823 NS, TC, OC
Tanya Tucker Texas 824-828 TC, NS, CR, OC
David Allan Coe Ohio 830-836 TC, HT, CR, OC
Gary Stewart Florida 840-842 HT, TC, OC
Jerry Jeff Walker New York 844-847 OC, TF, GW
Guy Clark Texas Texas 848-856 TF, OC, TC
Emmylou Harris Alabama 860-873 TF, TC, OC, CR
Linda Ronstadt Arizona 889-893 TC, RR
Crystal Gayle Kentucky 897-902 PC, NS, TC
Mickey Gilley Mississippi 907-909 UC, PC, TC
Jimmy Buffett Alabama 911-924 GW, TC, PC, CR
Kenny Rogers Texas 932-936 PC, CR, UC
Dottie West Tennessee 939-940 NS, PC
Anne Murray Novia Scotia (Can) 946-948 PC, CR
The Statler Bros Virginia 949-952 SGQ, TC, PC, G
The Oak Ridge Boys, Tennessee 961-964 SGQ, TC, PC, RR, G
Eddie Rabbitt, New Jersey, 972-974, TC, PC, UC, CR
T.G. Sheppard, Tennessee, 977-978, TC, PC, UC
Meanwhile, Christmas Eve started with some sad news this morning -
Founding Dixie Chicks Member Laura Lynch Dies in Car Accident -...
Founding member of The Dixie Chicks and well-regarded bass player Laura Lynch has died in a car accident in Texas. Lynch founded The Dixie Chicks in 1989 as a bluegrass and traditional country band. She was 65 years old.
www.savingcountrymusic.com
Now for an updated index. It’s taken almost 2 years to get through the 1970’s (roughly based upon when an artist breaks through to sustained prominence/stardom). The index to the history includes the sub-genre types of each artist or group. You can use this as a guide to peruse any artist or country sub-genre at your leisure (and I've covered far more artists than I ever intended to when the lockdown inspired me to do this).
Hope y’all have a great Christmas, wherever you are or whoever you’re sharing it with.
Name, Post/s number, State of origin, Key to sub-genre.
TF = Traditional and/or folk country (as established by Vernon Dalhart, The Carter Family and Jimmy Rodgers)
TC = Traditional Country but without the folk influence.
G = Gospel
WC = Western Cowboy or trail songs
WM = Western movie music
WS = Western Swing
HT = Honky Tonk (baroom "adult" music - usually about breakups, heartaches, drinking, cheating etc) that generally appealed to the rural and working class base.
BG = Bluegrass (usually traditionally acoustic using traditional instruments including banjo and slap bass)
RR = Rockabilly and/or rock'n'roll (rockabilly generally retaining a more country flavour than straight out R&R) that in the 1950's was generally confined to the youth, mostly teenage base. Also the later rock influence in country music, especially in the Outlaw era.
CR = Country Rock, still definably country but with a heavily rock influenced sound, especially the accompanimen.
NS = Nashville Sound, a more sophisticated 'pop country' sound than honky tonk, deliberately appealing to a mass suburban, more middle class audience, thus expanding the country music market.
CP = Countrypolitan, an even more refined “Nashville Sound”, with smooth vocals and instrumentals, sometimes including soul or jazz influences.
CB = Country Ballad, e.g. Marty Robbins' 'El Paso' and Johnny Hortons 'Battle of New Orleans', popular in the late fifties to early sixties.
PC = Pop Country. Lighter pop/rock sound appealing to beyond the traditional country market to middle clas suburbia, with Sonny James and particularly Glenn Campbell as breakthrough artists.
TM = Tex/Mex aka Tejano - traditional Mexican, esp North Mexican Norteno and South Texas European influence - including use of mixed English & Spanish lyrics and accordions.
OC = Music associated with the Outlaw era of the mid to late seventies, often with a heavier Country rock influenced sound.
UC = 1980’s “Urban Cowboy” Country Pop sound developed by Mickey Gilley
GW = Gulf & Western Laidback Island sound with Calypso and/or Reggae influence, developed by Jimmy Buffett. Also called ‘Trop Rock’.
SGQ = Southern Gospel Quartet I
Vernon Dalhart 114-115 Texas TF
The Carter Family 117-119 Virginia TF, G
Jimmie Rodgers 120-122 Mississippi TF, HT
Sons of the Pioneers 123-124 California WC, WM
Gene Autry 125-126 Texas WC, WM
Bob Wills & The Texas Playboys 132-140 Texas WS
Roy Acuff 147-149 Tennessee TF, G
Jimmie Davis 150-153 Louisiana TF
Roy Rogers 154-157 Ohio WC, WM
Elton Britt 159-160 Arkansas WC, TF
Ernest Tubb 161-165 Texas HT
Milton Brown 163 Texas WS
Al Dexter 166-168 Texas HT
Spade Cooley 169-171 Oklahoma WS
Tex Williams 172 Illinois WS
Red Foley 173 & 176-178 Kentucky TF, HT, RR, G
Tex Ritter 179-180 Texas TF, HT, WM
Bill Monroe &
The Bluegrass Boys 181-183 Kentucky BG
Merle Travis 184-186 Kentucky HT, TF
The Stanley Brothers 187-188 Virginia BG
Eddy Arnold 189-191 Tennessee TF, HT, NS, WC
Flatt & Scruggs 194-195 Tennessee BG
Tenessee Ernie Ford 196-197 Tennessee TF, RR
Moon Mullican 198-199 Texas HT, RR
Hank Snow 202-204 Novia Scotia (Can) TF, HT
Hank Williams 205-214 Alabama HT, TF, RR, G
Lefty Frizzell 216-219 Texas HT, TF
Mother Maybelle &
The Carter Sisters 222 Virginia TF, G
Anita Carter 225-232 Virginia TF
Carl Smith 233-234 Tennessee HT, RR
Hank Thompson 235-237 Texas WS, HT, RR
Kitty Wells 238-239 Tennessee HT
Webb Pierce 240-250 Louisiana HT, RR
Jean Shepard 251 Oklahoma HT
Slim Whitman 252-254 Texas WT
Frankie Laine 255-256 Illinois WM
Faron Young 261-262 & 266 Louisiana HT, TF
Ray Price 269-275 Texas HT, TF, NS
Elvis Presley 278-286 Alabama RR, TF, G
Carl Perkins 287-291 Tennessee RR, TF
The Louvin Brothers 294-295 Tennessee TF, G
Johnny Horton 296 & 301 & 308 California. HT, RR, CB
Sanford Clark 311-313 Arizona RR, WT
Marty Robbins 325-330 & 335 Arizona HT, RR, TF, WC, CB, WS, NS, G
Johnny Cash 338-345 Arkansas RR, HT, TF, CB, WT, NS, G
Charlie Feathers 346-348 Tennessee RR
Jerry Lee Lewis 349-352 & 365-367 Louisiana RR, HT, TF, G
Chet Atkins 353-356 Tennessee - world class guitarist and producer of NS
Ferlin Husky 362-364 Missouri NS, G
The Browns 368-369 Arkansas TF, G
Jim Ed Brown 371-372 Arkansas TF, HT
Helen Cornelius 372 Missouri TF, HT
Bobby Helms 377 Indiana RR, TF
Hank Locklin 378-379 Florida HT, TF
Jim Reeves 383-386 Texas NS
Patsy Cline 387-389 Virginia NS
Cowboy Copas 390 Oklahoma TF
The Everly Bros 393-399 Illinois RR, TF
Don Gibson 400-404 North Carolina HT
George Jones 405-412 Texas HT, TF
Western movie themes to 1962 416-419 WM
Leroy Van Dyke 423-424 Missouri RR, HT, TF
Jimmy Dean 428-429 Texas RR, TF, CB, NS
Porter Wagoner 430-432 Missouri TF, G
Roy Drusky 433-434 Georgia NS, TF
Claude King 440-441 Louisiana CB, WC, TF, HT
Ray Charles 443-445 Georgia Soul country
Skeeter Davis 446-448 Kentucky NS, TF
Bill Anderson 449-452 South Carolina TF, NS, BG, G
Bakersfield Sound 455 HT
Buck Owens 456-463 Texas HT
Bobby Bare 464-468 Ohio TF, HT, OC
Nat King Cole 469 Alabama pop country influencer
Sonny James 474-478 Alabama NS PC (influenced by Nat King Cole)
Roger Miller 479-482 Texas TF
Connie Smith 483-486 Indiana NS, TF, G
David Houston 487-488 Louisiana HT, NS
Loretta Lynn 489-493 Kentucky TF, HT
Jack Greene 494-495 Tennessee TF, NS
Merle Haggard 497-502 California TF, HT
Tammy Wynette 503-506 Mississippi TF, HT
Glen Campbell 507-509 Arkansas TF, PC
Charley Pride 510-513 Mississippi NS, PC
Conway Twitty 514-520 Mississippi RR, NS, PC
Western Movie Themes 1964-1970 521-524
Bobby Gentry 531-535 Mississippi TF, PC
Jeannie Riley 537-540 Texas PC, G
Tom T. Hall 543-550 Tennessee TF, BG, CB
Townes Van Zandt 551-555 Texas TF,
Gram Parsons 560-570 Florida HT, TF
Lynn Anderson 573-575 North Dakota, TF, PC, BG, WC, G
Dolly Parton 581-607 Tennessee TF, PC, BG, WC, HT, CB, G
Tom T Hall 611-617 Tennessee TF, BG, CB
Freddie Hart 622-625 Alabama TF, PC, G
Mal Street 627-631 Tennessee HT, TF
Donna Fargo 647 North Carolina PC
Mel Tillis 648-657 Florida RR, HT, TF, PC, OC
Kris Kristofferson 661-667 Texas TF, NS, HT, PC, RR, G, OC
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band California 674-680 TF, BG, RR
John Prine Illinois 685-691+695 TF, CB
Gordon Lightfoot Ontario 696-702 TF, CB, PC
Charlie Rich Arkansas 706-70. RR, CP, G
Johnny Rodriguez Texas 713-716 TM, HT,
Billy “Crash” Craddock North Carolina 721-723. RR, PC, TC
Ronnie Milsap North Carolina 732-737 PC, HT
Olivia Newton John UK/Australia 738-741 PC
John Denver New Mexico 744-748 PC, TF
Don Williams Texas 757-759 TC, TF, CP
Freddy Fender Texas 764-766 TM, CP, PC
Pussycat, Netherlands, 771 PC
Outlaw Artists outline
Billy Joe Shaver Texas 773 OC
Waylon Jennings Texas 774-781 TC, HT, NS, CR, OC
Willie Nelson Texas 782-793 TF, TC, G, WC, CB, HT, CR, OC
Hank Williams Jr Louis 800-807 TC, HT, NS, CR, OC
Johnny Paycheck Ohio 815-821 TC, HT, NS, OC
Sammi Smith Okla 822-823 NS, TC, OC
Tanya Tucker Texas 824-828 TC, NS, CR, OC
David Allan Coe Ohio 830-836 TC, HT, CR, OC
Gary Stewart Florida 840-842 HT, TC, OC
Jerry Jeff Walker New York 844-847 OC, TF, GW
Guy Clark Texas Texas 848-856 TF, OC, TC
Emmylou Harris Alabama 860-873 TF, TC, OC, CR
Linda Ronstadt Arizona 889-893 TC, RR
Crystal Gayle Kentucky 897-902 PC, NS, TC
Mickey Gilley Mississippi 907-909 UC, PC, TC
Jimmy Buffett Alabama 911-924 GW, TC, PC, CR
Kenny Rogers Texas 932-936 PC, CR, UC
Dottie West Tennessee 939-940 NS, PC
Anne Murray Novia Scotia (Can) 946-948 PC, CR
The Statler Bros Virginia 949-952 SGQ, TC, PC, G
The Oak Ridge Boys, Tennessee 961-964 SGQ, TC, PC, RR, G
Eddie Rabbitt, New Jersey, 972-974, TC, PC, UC, CR
T.G. Sheppard, Tennessee, 977-978, TC, PC, UC
PatsFitztrick
Debutant
- Mar 5, 2020
- 61
- 132
- AFL Club
- Carlton
Happy Christmas to you and yours, Prof.
And thanks again for this meticulous and always entertaining thread.
And thanks again for this meticulous and always entertaining thread.
Engimal v3
**** m**nl*nd*rs
Good country band out of Victoria
I’m back for some more history. The calendar might say it’s 2024, but here we’ve just stepped into 1980. I originally hadn’t intended to introduce our next artist until I reached the 1990’s, when he finally irrevocably committed to being a full time musician and came to some prominence. However, as it took me some 2 years just to get through the 1970’s and I can’t be sure I’ll even get to the 1990’s in this project, and I had an old promise to fulfil, I found the perfect excuse to bring him in to open the 1980’s - for 1980 was the year he released his first album.
In truth, I may well have made a massive blunder by overlooking this great artist altogether, as he hasn’t had even one charting single in the U.S., let alone a string of them - and he’s a Canadian. Though I had an awareness of him, I’d never actually really closely enough listened to him. I’ve since been amused by the many varying descriptions of this artist’s (obviously hard to succinctly define) music, but there’s one one description that can never appear - pop. Whatever other descriptions are applied to his music, his prolific song-writing is magnificent hard-core country (more on that later). The reason for my avoiding the blunder of omission goes down to a great post (# 544) back in Oct 2021 by PatsFitztrick which caused me to listen avidly to his 10 song selections (all of which will be included here, as I trust the judgement of a long time dedicated and knowledgeable fan far more than me on all things about this artist). It was thanks to that post that I was set right - so here he is!
Born Fred Elgersma in 1957 in Southern Ontario, near the large city of Hamilto, Canada, his country credentials (apart from not being from the American South) are perfect - he was the 6th of 9 children, growing up on a (far too small) 200-acre farm. His upbringing was hard and strict. Besides school, he had to do his share of daily farm chores and made to attend church 5 times a week by his evangelical minister father. His one escape was music - young Fred grew up hearing country music on small-town U.S. radio stations whose signals crossed nearby Lake Erie. At age 9, he saw Elvis Presley perform on T.V. - "I thought, 'Man, this is all this guy has to do and he's rich and happy? That's what I'm gonna do. I wrote my first song that day". He bought his first guitar with $12 he saved from all his chores and hard work.
The family was very poor, and times were hard - “My mother was going through psychological troubles - 9 kids and no money, you can imagine. I tried to leave home at 13 and 14, but they wouldn't let me. Finally at 15, I stuck out my thumb and hitchhiked north to catch a freight train. That's when I started hopping trains“. Young Fred rode the rails off and on for several years - “I saw the very end of that era … There wasn’t the bureaucracy there is now, where it would be a felony or something. The engineers used to come back and turn up the heat when you were cold”. Initially surviving precariously by performing in youth hostels or wherever else he was allowed,
Friends had already given Fred Elgersma the easier-to-pronounce nickname of Eaglesmith, so he adopted it for professional use. Dreaming of a music career, and seeing his parents lose their farm and possessions in a foreclosure auction, he wrote songs prolifically, a habit that has never left him, once quipping that for him, having writer's block meant he hadn't written a song for 2 weeks, and he could write several dozen during a short burst of activity. In 1980 he released the album Fred J. Eaglesmith on his own label. He recorded infrequently throughout the remainder of the decade, releasing only 2 more albums, his second album "The Boy That Just Went Wrong" and then “Indiana Road”. However, Eaglesmith gradually became an underground favorite in his native Canada, thanks largely to a relentless touring schedule in tandem with bassist Ralph Schipper and mandolinist Willie Bennett. In 1991, he released the double live collection “There Ain't No Easy Road”.
By that time Eaglesmith was married to his high school sweetheart, Mary, and the pair were soon raising 3 children - “I had kids and everything, but I had no idea how it worked, I had no business even dabbling in that world. I had a trying childhood, my parents’ relationship was not great. Lots of stuff affected my ability to have a relationship.” He returned to farming as a back-up plan, using his savings to buy a 100-acre market garden farm on the edge of Toronto’s outskirts (think Werribee), and to make it pay they began raising flowers to sell wholesale in the farmers' markets in Toronto. The flower business initidally prospered, eventually employing 28 people and reaching $6 million in annual sales. The family's move to the Toronto outskirts also gave Eaglesmith the chance to perform in clubs a couple of nights a week and to hone his songwriting skills by listening to Toronto folk performers like David Essig. He released the albums “The Boy That Just Went Wrong“ in 1983 and “Indiana Road” in 1987, often employing his difficult upbringing as raw material for his heartland narratives.
Eaglesmith's leap to making music full time came after his flower business went bankrupt in 1991. Although the family's financial condition had collapsed and his marriage likewise going through unhappy times, Eaglesmith caught the silver lining - "I believe you can't write good material when you're on safe ground. You have to live on the edge to write on the edge“. By the time he released his “There Ain't No Easy Road“ album in 1991, he had assembled the road band the Flying Squirrels - Scott Merritt on banjo and guitar, Canadian songwriter Willie P. Bennett on mandolin and harmonica and Ralph Schipper on bass. Through extensive touring and positive word of mouth, Eaglesmith developed a loyal following, so when his farm went bankrupt in the early '90s, he decided his best bet was to continue with his music, pursuing it in earnest, honing his songcraft as a hardcore troubadour. Eaglesmith's songs and his raspy, soulful voice began to earn him fans not only across Canada but also in small U.S. venues, especially in songwriter-loving Texas. And so now it’s time for a listen to his music, starting with 2 tracks from the 1993 “Things Is Changin“ album (his first that was also sold in the U.S.) that were listed in PatsFitztrick’s top 10 list in post # 544. Songs marked with an * are from PatsFritrick’s list on # 544.
* ‘Summerlea‘ paints a vivid picture of a woman pining for a cowboy who seems to prioritise his ranch and rodeo life over his relationship with her. She's become accustomed to his disappearing acts and the way he smells like horses and tobacco when he returns to. She accepts his shrugging off of her concerns, but the song highlights the sadness and isolation that accompany being in love with someone who is faithful to his career - or the life of a rambler - but not to his romantic relationship -
“… Next month it'll be those damned old rodeos and fairs / And he'll be gone for six weeks straight /
To God only knows where / And he won't win any money / And worst than that, he won't care /
When she asks him, he'll just smile / He had a really good time out there …”.
The lines, "She's been in love a couple of times before, but never quite like this" speak to the depth of her affection for him despite the considerable distance between them when he leaves. But just when we think the love flows only one way here, comes this -
“… He's been out in the rain most of the night / And he ought to be getting back / He's been thinking about the colour of her hair /
And the touch of her hand / And the way she quietly smiles / Whenever she looks at him …”.
Overall, the song captures the complexity and complications of a relationship that is tested by competing desires. The last lines points to a sadness and an uncertain future, despite their mutual love -
“He's been in love a couple times before / But never quite like this /
Nighttime's falling on the Summerlea / And supper's getting cold” -
Also from the 1993 ‘Things Is Changin’ album, * ‘Rodeo Rose’ tells the story of a young couple deeply in love and inseparable, as they wander up and down the streets of their town together. Kelly lived near the race track and made a living by breaking horses, dealing in cattle, and gambling. Rodeo Rose had a wild spirit and loved adventure, but she also had a desire for a settled life with Kelly. However, she soon realises Kelly’s love for carousing, danger, and living life on the edge seems to prevent him from ever truly settling down. As a result, Rodeo Rose leaves Kelly, and he is left feeling devastated and confused, unable to understand why she left.
* ’Rodeo Rose’ is another Eaglesmith testament to the complexity of relationships and how difficult annd unpredictable they can be. Kelly and Rodeo Rose deeply loved one another, but their conflicting lifestyles and desires for the future ultimately drove her away from him. The song then goes on to how difficult it can be to let go of a relationship where the feelings for each other went deep. Both Kelly and Rodeo Rose struggle to move on and continue to suffer the consequences of their choices - Kelly goes half crazy and runs right off the rails every few weeks while Rodeo Rose becomes an unhappy suburban housewife, her life devoid of excitement, her one solace alcohol brings up her own wildness and old memories -
“… And when she does, she gets wild / She gets crying about horses, and underfed cattle / And always a month behind /
'Cause she wanted him crazy / But not that crazy / Wild, but not that wild …”.
The song’s opening and final line, “They say that a man just doesn't grow up / Till he's forty odd years old” suggests that Kelly may have eventually matured and changed his ways, but it was all far too late for him to win back the love of his life -
Eaglesmith released several more independent albums; 1994's “From the Paradise Motel” was drawn from a concert he gave at the La Casa folk music series in Detroit. he began traveling to Nashville, trying to sell songs to performers and publishers. His bleak, hard-edged songs about farm families in trouble found few takers, although one song, ’Thirty Years of Farming‘, later (in 2002) became a # 1 bluegrass success for James King. By the mid-1990s Eaglesmith was trying to broaden his songwriting beyond farm themes. Touring with his band, the Flying Squirrels (who included Canadian songwriter Willie P. Bennett on harmonica and the wildly spontaneous Washboard Hank on percussion), he began to add a rock edge to his songs. He still had little success in cracking the mainstream country market, but with the 1995 album “Drive-In Movie” (voted one of the top 50 albums of the century in a Dutch poll), he gained wider recognition. The album title suggests a nostalgic feel (the once ubiquitous drive-in theatres of the 1950’s to 1970’s by now becoming a rarity) as Eaglesmith recognises that the lifestyle he grew up with and loved is now drifting into the past (something I fully get). The remaining songs here are all from the 1996 “Drive-In Movie” album.
Trains. As I’ve previously declared (somewhere, some time back) in this history, I really do like them - I have some history of my own with them. Right from the start, trains been a classic theme of country music - the very first song in this history series, way back on post # 114, Vernon Dalhart’s ‘Wreck Of The Old 97’, is about a real life train crash, while country music legends such as Roy Acuff’s ‘Wabash Cannonball’ (# 147), Hank Williams (# 945), Hank Snow (# 202 & 203) and Johnny Cash (# 342), amongst others, enriched this “sub-genre”. We’ve already learned the freight train hopping young Eaglesmith (following the example of legends like Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson), obviously really loved trains. Does every album he’s ever released seem have a train song on it? Seems like it. Despite the temptation to include them all here, I’ll limit it to just this one, where he freely declares his love - and when he proclaims ‘I Like Trains‘ in 1996, it really sounds like he means it. And although not quite the best in sound quality, I chose this youtube clip because of the good assortment of train pics, mostly American or Canadian, but with one from Flinders St Station -
OK, I know I said no more trains songs, and now comes this! My excuse is that here, the train references are all just metaphorical, the song itself, ‘49 Tons’ all about fleeing a really bad relationship (and one may ponder what inspired Eaglesmith to write this). Anyway, I really like the melody and the metaphorical lyrics. The only slight quibble I have is that 49 tons is very light for a locomotive - actually quite puny (99 tons is even small - and Eaglesmith would know that). So is Fred actually secretly suggesting he might be willing to go back to his nemesis? -
“… Everywhere you go there's a train wreck baby / Everywhere you go there's a runaway train /
Play my heart like a bottleneck baby / Sliding up and down and and pulling my strings /
Everywhere you go everybody knows / You're looking for someone to do /
Forty-nine tons of diesel locomotive / Couldn't drag me back to you …” -
We’ve all known them - at least in our youth - those high spirited, headstrong but alluring girls or young women who seek out excitement and like to get your attention for a fast time - and possible trouble - but can also lead to real intense, passionate turbulent times. Well here, in ’Wilder Then Her’, again from 1996, such a woman has met her match - she’ll go far - but not too far. Actually, Eaglesmith shows his ability to tap into deep emotions, exploring themes of love and longing, with a touch of danger thrown in, with poignant lyrics that paint a vivid picture of a tumultuous relationship -
“… When we go driving in our cars, racing through the night / She can drive as fast as me but she stops at all the lights /
She says it's 'cause I'm crazy, she's probably right / But I think the reason is that I'm twice as wild …”.
I love these refrain lines -
“… But she's a summer storm / I'm a hurricane / One just blows through town / one blows the town away …” -
That’s it for today - it feels a little different, a bit weird even, ”introducing” Fred Eaglesmith, knowing that my most loyal reader here has long known of his life and appreciated his body of work far more than myself. I hope my own song selections, in addition to yours, meet with your approval, PatsFitztrick! Of course, there’s much more to say about Fred Eaglesmith and more to listen to, so stay tuned.
In truth, I may well have made a massive blunder by overlooking this great artist altogether, as he hasn’t had even one charting single in the U.S., let alone a string of them - and he’s a Canadian. Though I had an awareness of him, I’d never actually really closely enough listened to him. I’ve since been amused by the many varying descriptions of this artist’s (obviously hard to succinctly define) music, but there’s one one description that can never appear - pop. Whatever other descriptions are applied to his music, his prolific song-writing is magnificent hard-core country (more on that later). The reason for my avoiding the blunder of omission goes down to a great post (# 544) back in Oct 2021 by PatsFitztrick which caused me to listen avidly to his 10 song selections (all of which will be included here, as I trust the judgement of a long time dedicated and knowledgeable fan far more than me on all things about this artist). It was thanks to that post that I was set right - so here he is!
Born Fred Elgersma in 1957 in Southern Ontario, near the large city of Hamilto, Canada, his country credentials (apart from not being from the American South) are perfect - he was the 6th of 9 children, growing up on a (far too small) 200-acre farm. His upbringing was hard and strict. Besides school, he had to do his share of daily farm chores and made to attend church 5 times a week by his evangelical minister father. His one escape was music - young Fred grew up hearing country music on small-town U.S. radio stations whose signals crossed nearby Lake Erie. At age 9, he saw Elvis Presley perform on T.V. - "I thought, 'Man, this is all this guy has to do and he's rich and happy? That's what I'm gonna do. I wrote my first song that day". He bought his first guitar with $12 he saved from all his chores and hard work.
The family was very poor, and times were hard - “My mother was going through psychological troubles - 9 kids and no money, you can imagine. I tried to leave home at 13 and 14, but they wouldn't let me. Finally at 15, I stuck out my thumb and hitchhiked north to catch a freight train. That's when I started hopping trains“. Young Fred rode the rails off and on for several years - “I saw the very end of that era … There wasn’t the bureaucracy there is now, where it would be a felony or something. The engineers used to come back and turn up the heat when you were cold”. Initially surviving precariously by performing in youth hostels or wherever else he was allowed,
Friends had already given Fred Elgersma the easier-to-pronounce nickname of Eaglesmith, so he adopted it for professional use. Dreaming of a music career, and seeing his parents lose their farm and possessions in a foreclosure auction, he wrote songs prolifically, a habit that has never left him, once quipping that for him, having writer's block meant he hadn't written a song for 2 weeks, and he could write several dozen during a short burst of activity. In 1980 he released the album Fred J. Eaglesmith on his own label. He recorded infrequently throughout the remainder of the decade, releasing only 2 more albums, his second album "The Boy That Just Went Wrong" and then “Indiana Road”. However, Eaglesmith gradually became an underground favorite in his native Canada, thanks largely to a relentless touring schedule in tandem with bassist Ralph Schipper and mandolinist Willie Bennett. In 1991, he released the double live collection “There Ain't No Easy Road”.
By that time Eaglesmith was married to his high school sweetheart, Mary, and the pair were soon raising 3 children - “I had kids and everything, but I had no idea how it worked, I had no business even dabbling in that world. I had a trying childhood, my parents’ relationship was not great. Lots of stuff affected my ability to have a relationship.” He returned to farming as a back-up plan, using his savings to buy a 100-acre market garden farm on the edge of Toronto’s outskirts (think Werribee), and to make it pay they began raising flowers to sell wholesale in the farmers' markets in Toronto. The flower business initidally prospered, eventually employing 28 people and reaching $6 million in annual sales. The family's move to the Toronto outskirts also gave Eaglesmith the chance to perform in clubs a couple of nights a week and to hone his songwriting skills by listening to Toronto folk performers like David Essig. He released the albums “The Boy That Just Went Wrong“ in 1983 and “Indiana Road” in 1987, often employing his difficult upbringing as raw material for his heartland narratives.
Eaglesmith's leap to making music full time came after his flower business went bankrupt in 1991. Although the family's financial condition had collapsed and his marriage likewise going through unhappy times, Eaglesmith caught the silver lining - "I believe you can't write good material when you're on safe ground. You have to live on the edge to write on the edge“. By the time he released his “There Ain't No Easy Road“ album in 1991, he had assembled the road band the Flying Squirrels - Scott Merritt on banjo and guitar, Canadian songwriter Willie P. Bennett on mandolin and harmonica and Ralph Schipper on bass. Through extensive touring and positive word of mouth, Eaglesmith developed a loyal following, so when his farm went bankrupt in the early '90s, he decided his best bet was to continue with his music, pursuing it in earnest, honing his songcraft as a hardcore troubadour. Eaglesmith's songs and his raspy, soulful voice began to earn him fans not only across Canada but also in small U.S. venues, especially in songwriter-loving Texas. And so now it’s time for a listen to his music, starting with 2 tracks from the 1993 “Things Is Changin“ album (his first that was also sold in the U.S.) that were listed in PatsFitztrick’s top 10 list in post # 544. Songs marked with an * are from PatsFritrick’s list on # 544.
* ‘Summerlea‘ paints a vivid picture of a woman pining for a cowboy who seems to prioritise his ranch and rodeo life over his relationship with her. She's become accustomed to his disappearing acts and the way he smells like horses and tobacco when he returns to. She accepts his shrugging off of her concerns, but the song highlights the sadness and isolation that accompany being in love with someone who is faithful to his career - or the life of a rambler - but not to his romantic relationship -
“… Next month it'll be those damned old rodeos and fairs / And he'll be gone for six weeks straight /
To God only knows where / And he won't win any money / And worst than that, he won't care /
When she asks him, he'll just smile / He had a really good time out there …”.
The lines, "She's been in love a couple of times before, but never quite like this" speak to the depth of her affection for him despite the considerable distance between them when he leaves. But just when we think the love flows only one way here, comes this -
“… He's been out in the rain most of the night / And he ought to be getting back / He's been thinking about the colour of her hair /
And the touch of her hand / And the way she quietly smiles / Whenever she looks at him …”.
Overall, the song captures the complexity and complications of a relationship that is tested by competing desires. The last lines points to a sadness and an uncertain future, despite their mutual love -
“He's been in love a couple times before / But never quite like this /
Nighttime's falling on the Summerlea / And supper's getting cold” -
Also from the 1993 ‘Things Is Changin’ album, * ‘Rodeo Rose’ tells the story of a young couple deeply in love and inseparable, as they wander up and down the streets of their town together. Kelly lived near the race track and made a living by breaking horses, dealing in cattle, and gambling. Rodeo Rose had a wild spirit and loved adventure, but she also had a desire for a settled life with Kelly. However, she soon realises Kelly’s love for carousing, danger, and living life on the edge seems to prevent him from ever truly settling down. As a result, Rodeo Rose leaves Kelly, and he is left feeling devastated and confused, unable to understand why she left.
* ’Rodeo Rose’ is another Eaglesmith testament to the complexity of relationships and how difficult annd unpredictable they can be. Kelly and Rodeo Rose deeply loved one another, but their conflicting lifestyles and desires for the future ultimately drove her away from him. The song then goes on to how difficult it can be to let go of a relationship where the feelings for each other went deep. Both Kelly and Rodeo Rose struggle to move on and continue to suffer the consequences of their choices - Kelly goes half crazy and runs right off the rails every few weeks while Rodeo Rose becomes an unhappy suburban housewife, her life devoid of excitement, her one solace alcohol brings up her own wildness and old memories -
“… And when she does, she gets wild / She gets crying about horses, and underfed cattle / And always a month behind /
'Cause she wanted him crazy / But not that crazy / Wild, but not that wild …”.
The song’s opening and final line, “They say that a man just doesn't grow up / Till he's forty odd years old” suggests that Kelly may have eventually matured and changed his ways, but it was all far too late for him to win back the love of his life -
Eaglesmith released several more independent albums; 1994's “From the Paradise Motel” was drawn from a concert he gave at the La Casa folk music series in Detroit. he began traveling to Nashville, trying to sell songs to performers and publishers. His bleak, hard-edged songs about farm families in trouble found few takers, although one song, ’Thirty Years of Farming‘, later (in 2002) became a # 1 bluegrass success for James King. By the mid-1990s Eaglesmith was trying to broaden his songwriting beyond farm themes. Touring with his band, the Flying Squirrels (who included Canadian songwriter Willie P. Bennett on harmonica and the wildly spontaneous Washboard Hank on percussion), he began to add a rock edge to his songs. He still had little success in cracking the mainstream country market, but with the 1995 album “Drive-In Movie” (voted one of the top 50 albums of the century in a Dutch poll), he gained wider recognition. The album title suggests a nostalgic feel (the once ubiquitous drive-in theatres of the 1950’s to 1970’s by now becoming a rarity) as Eaglesmith recognises that the lifestyle he grew up with and loved is now drifting into the past (something I fully get). The remaining songs here are all from the 1996 “Drive-In Movie” album.
Trains. As I’ve previously declared (somewhere, some time back) in this history, I really do like them - I have some history of my own with them. Right from the start, trains been a classic theme of country music - the very first song in this history series, way back on post # 114, Vernon Dalhart’s ‘Wreck Of The Old 97’, is about a real life train crash, while country music legends such as Roy Acuff’s ‘Wabash Cannonball’ (# 147), Hank Williams (# 945), Hank Snow (# 202 & 203) and Johnny Cash (# 342), amongst others, enriched this “sub-genre”. We’ve already learned the freight train hopping young Eaglesmith (following the example of legends like Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson), obviously really loved trains. Does every album he’s ever released seem have a train song on it? Seems like it. Despite the temptation to include them all here, I’ll limit it to just this one, where he freely declares his love - and when he proclaims ‘I Like Trains‘ in 1996, it really sounds like he means it. And although not quite the best in sound quality, I chose this youtube clip because of the good assortment of train pics, mostly American or Canadian, but with one from Flinders St Station -
OK, I know I said no more trains songs, and now comes this! My excuse is that here, the train references are all just metaphorical, the song itself, ‘49 Tons’ all about fleeing a really bad relationship (and one may ponder what inspired Eaglesmith to write this). Anyway, I really like the melody and the metaphorical lyrics. The only slight quibble I have is that 49 tons is very light for a locomotive - actually quite puny (99 tons is even small - and Eaglesmith would know that). So is Fred actually secretly suggesting he might be willing to go back to his nemesis? -
“… Everywhere you go there's a train wreck baby / Everywhere you go there's a runaway train /
Play my heart like a bottleneck baby / Sliding up and down and and pulling my strings /
Everywhere you go everybody knows / You're looking for someone to do /
Forty-nine tons of diesel locomotive / Couldn't drag me back to you …” -
We’ve all known them - at least in our youth - those high spirited, headstrong but alluring girls or young women who seek out excitement and like to get your attention for a fast time - and possible trouble - but can also lead to real intense, passionate turbulent times. Well here, in ’Wilder Then Her’, again from 1996, such a woman has met her match - she’ll go far - but not too far. Actually, Eaglesmith shows his ability to tap into deep emotions, exploring themes of love and longing, with a touch of danger thrown in, with poignant lyrics that paint a vivid picture of a tumultuous relationship -
“… When we go driving in our cars, racing through the night / She can drive as fast as me but she stops at all the lights /
She says it's 'cause I'm crazy, she's probably right / But I think the reason is that I'm twice as wild …”.
I love these refrain lines -
“… But she's a summer storm / I'm a hurricane / One just blows through town / one blows the town away …” -
That’s it for today - it feels a little different, a bit weird even, ”introducing” Fred Eaglesmith, knowing that my most loyal reader here has long known of his life and appreciated his body of work far more than myself. I hope my own song selections, in addition to yours, meet with your approval, PatsFitztrick! Of course, there’s much more to say about Fred Eaglesmith and more to listen to, so stay tuned.
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It’s a been a long day but eventually I’m back to continue Fred Eaglesmith‘s story and music. Efforts to pin down Fred to a particular genre appears to be (amusingly to me) in vain. I’ve read descriptions starting with the basics - country, folk, rock
- then applying these to all the possible combinations - country, country folk, folk-rock etc. Then theirs the term alternative (or alt) country oft applied - but I’ve long had a problem with the term “alt” as a descriptive term. To, me it seems a lazy term, simply describing what it ain’t (just an “alternative” to something, rather than what it is. I know it’s meant to mean as an alternative to mainstream commercial music, but I have long argued the so-called “alt-rock” sub-genre was created and clever marketed in the 1990’s for new music that was never at all “alternative“, but was instead aimed squarely at the mainstream market - as proved by its commercial success in the 1990’s, thus contradicting its (false) “alternative“ branding
But the term “alt” (be it alt-country or alt-rock) may well be applied to Eaglesmith (though I still think the term “alternative” is a lazy descriptor) as his music has remained stubbornly non-commercial, without a hint of pop. He is one of those accomplished artists who couldn’t be pop if he tried. Suffice to say that his music combines elements, to a greater or lesser extent, depending on the album or individual song, of folk, country, and rock. His craggy vocals are (by his own admission) “limited”, though he’s made the best of his voice to suit his music perfectly. His greatest talent, his true gift, is in song-writing. His writing is grounded and fortified on rock-solid country themes, based on his own real life experiences.
Often employing his difficult upbringing as raw material for his heartland narratives. Rural life, dogs, guns, drinking and farming/ranching are common themes. Many of his songs are about failing farms and small businesses - both of which he had painful first hand experience. Eaglesmith's songs are populated with down and out characters dealing with loss of love or livelihood, and quirky rural folk. He sings of places he has been, small towns dying or dead and people he has known - tried-but-true blue-collar working class guys, tired cowboys and their tired lovers, young boys in love, bare-knuckled farmers, heartbreakingly good women, beautifully bad women, lonesome good guys, bravura bad blokes, Friday-night criminals and everyone in between. Says Eaglesmith,p - "I think the bottom of the barrel is where the answers are“. Other songs are telling stories about machines or vehicles, including trains, tractors, trucks, cars and engines. His songwriting uses many of the techniques of superior short-story writing, including unreliable narrators, surprise endings and plot twists.
Today’s music selection (in which, as per yesterdays post, the songs marked with an * were on PatsFitztrick’s list on post # 544), continues from where we left the off yesterday, with another from the 1996 “Drive-in Movie” album. The album, as outlined yesterday, had nostalgic themed songs, but the nostalgia was often laced and lacerated, wrapped in things now lost and decayed. Don’t be fooled by the flowery title of * ‘White Rose’ - this is one of those bittersweet (overall more bitter than sweet) songs of a now lost past. The title is the name of a petrol station in a tiny town that had little or nothing else there, and was the social hub of the town (in a way that city folk can only try to imagine but not really feel).
Eaglesmith mixes some good memories with the grim reality of what became of it as times changed -
“Gas was fifty cents a gallon / They'd put it in for you / They'd bump your tires and check your oil / And wash your windows too / …
And the girls would spend a couple of bucks / Just to meet the boys workin' at the pumps / And we'd pull up and fall in love /“ - but then comes a jarring line - “And they've all moved away …”.
Then we find out the fate of what was once the centre and heartbeat of the town -
“Strangers used to stop and ask / How far they've driven off the map / And then they built that overpass /
And now they stay out on the highway / … And that neon sign was the heart and soul / Of this ol' one horse town /
And it's like it lost its will to live / The day they shut it down / …”
The refrain outlines a familiar sight to be seen in many a dying or dead tiny town of today -
“… And now there's plywood for glass / Where the windows all got smashed / And there's just a chunk a'concrete /
Where those old pumps used to stand / There's a couple a'cars half outta the ground /
And that old sign still spins 'round 'n 'round / I guess the White Rose fillin' station's just a memory now”.
The YouTube clip of the original recording had a pretty, but pretty ridiculous, assortment of flower pics (maybe the creator was deceived by the song title), that didn’t at all match the song’s theme and lyrics. So instead, I’ve gone with this clip from the Annual "Sound Of Music" Festival in Burlington, outer suburban Toronto, much later in 2019, showing Eaglesmith and his second wife Tif Ginn (more about her another day). In the first 3 minutes of the clip, Eaglesmith, also renowned for his great storytelling at his live gigs, recounts the true story of the White Rose from his childhood -
As indicated in Fred’s preamble, Toby Keith recorded * ‘White Rose‘ in 2007 for his “big Dog Daddy” album.
Another from the 1996 “Drive-In Movie” album, the lyrics of * ‘Soda Machine’ paints a bleak and desolate picture of a town filled with broken streetlights and abandoned places. The song starts with the imagery of cans on the sidewalk that are "worthless" and flickering streetlights. The singer's pain and heartbreak are evident as he ponders on unfortunate events on the streets, most notably the break-up with his lover, evident in the lyrics - "… You step on a crack, she ain't coming back. / Even a blind man could see that… “. The deserted town is not the same without his lover, and the emptiness of a soda machine at Charlotte and Queen only confirms the sad reality. The nostalgia is highly felt when he declares -
“… And the lights of the diner / Even seem brighter / When she's not there / To turn down the shine / …”.
The song's melancholic, dark mood is complete when he sings of banging and kicking in the innocent soda machine, treating it as a punching bag, taking out his anger, realising at the end that he was never that thirsty - except, It’s clear to us, for her -
You might expect, from its title, and the overall theme of the album, for ‘Drive-in Movie’, the title track of Fred’s 1996 album, to be a song reminiscing about the golden era of drive-in movies. But no, not at all, the drive-in being just a fleeting metaphor for car light beams at night as they crest a country hill. Instead the song evokes the bleakness of the mistake of falling in love with someone who doesn’t reciprocate the love -
“… And how were you to ever know / How much I loved you so - You thought that I was only dreaming /
What a surprise it must have been / To realise I was one of them / Not a king, but just a man /
Not an angel / Hardly a friend / And not someone you could believe in …” -
I resisted (only just), including the third train related song ‘Freight Train’ from the “Drive-In Movie” album, ‘Freight, but 13 years later, Alan Jackson recorded ‘Freight Train’ as the title track for his 2010 “Freight Train” album. Eaglesmith’s 1996 “Drive In Movie“ album won him the Juno (the Canadian equivalent of a Grammy) for Best Roots & Traditional Album. As Fred, always a great raconteur at his concerts tells it - "One night I was in Memphis and my manager called and said, 'We just won a Juno award.' And the guy that was with me said, 'What are we gonna do now?' I said, 'The second set”.
But back to Eaglesmith, thanks to his visits to Nashville, he struck a deal with the successful American independent label Razor & Tie for 1997's magnificently titled “Lipstick, Lies & Gasoline” album, in which Eaglesmith strips the sound down for a set of tough, raw-nerved songs with production and arrangements that pushed his sound closer to rock, building a lot out of relentless rhythm tracks.
From the “Lipstick, Lies & Gasoline” album, ‘Thinking’ (About You) conveys the singer's infatuation with someone, captured through vivid details of their actions and appearance. The repeated over and again phrase "I'm thinkin' about you" emphasises the intensity of this infatuation, as well as its inability to be confined to a single moment or thought. The singer's focus on the person's smile, moves, and breath alludes to the physical attraction that underlies their thoughts. In fact, the song has a few possibilities here - is it of a person in that rapturous early stage of falling in love? - or do we have, instead, the dangerous obsessiveness of a stalker? In either case, it seems he doesn’t know what he’s gunna do about it or knows if the object of his desires is even much aware of his thoughts -
“ …And I don't know what I should do / And I don't know if you're feelin' it too / But you don't know what I'm goin' through …” -
‘Thinkin Bout You’ was featured on the soundtrack of the 2006 Toby Keith movie, “Broken Bridges.”
Eaglesmith explains today’s final song selection, also from 1997’s “Lipstick, Lies & Gasoline” album - “My neighbour’s car got stole, and my wife at the time said, “I’m going to start locking the doors, and I said (chuckling), “Maybe it’s time we should get a gun.” We weren’t raised in a gun culture, so that song is exactly true. … in Canada, nobody locks their doors. Especially on the farm, nobody locks their doors. And most people don’t have a gun. When something happens, you have a weird flash of mind, so it depends on what your values are and what you think. It’s a quick flash of mind, and those are cool things to write about. … Not to slam you Americans, but as an observer, it’s amazing to me, conversely, how you guys all do lock your doors. And Americans are very afraid. They lock their cars. They lock their doors. At my house, where I lived the last 10 years before moving, I didn’t take the keys out of the ignition. And it was in town”.
Eaglesmith’s scratchy, weathered twang leans into the chorus of * ‘Time To Get A Gun’, as a herd of voices cry, “Time to get a gun / That’s what I been thinking.” The colloquialisms throughout contribute to the earthy air, as does the humorous lament - “… I could afford one / if I did just a little less drinking…”. But such a rustic veneer belies a fairly serious meditation on the power of fear. Trust holds communities together, and Eaglesmith subtly asks what happens when that trust begins to erode. Well, clearly, for at least some (mostly Americans), it’s just time to get a gun -
In 2009, Miranda Lambert recorded * ‘Time to Get a Gun‘ for her “Revolution” album.
I have to go again now, but of course there’s more coming on Fred Eaglesmith - either some time later today or tomorrow.
- then applying these to all the possible combinations - country, country folk, folk-rock etc. Then theirs the term alternative (or alt) country oft applied - but I’ve long had a problem with the term “alt” as a descriptive term. To, me it seems a lazy term, simply describing what it ain’t (just an “alternative” to something, rather than what it is. I know it’s meant to mean as an alternative to mainstream commercial music, but I have long argued the so-called “alt-rock” sub-genre was created and clever marketed in the 1990’s for new music that was never at all “alternative“, but was instead aimed squarely at the mainstream market - as proved by its commercial success in the 1990’s, thus contradicting its (false) “alternative“ branding
But the term “alt” (be it alt-country or alt-rock) may well be applied to Eaglesmith (though I still think the term “alternative” is a lazy descriptor) as his music has remained stubbornly non-commercial, without a hint of pop. He is one of those accomplished artists who couldn’t be pop if he tried. Suffice to say that his music combines elements, to a greater or lesser extent, depending on the album or individual song, of folk, country, and rock. His craggy vocals are (by his own admission) “limited”, though he’s made the best of his voice to suit his music perfectly. His greatest talent, his true gift, is in song-writing. His writing is grounded and fortified on rock-solid country themes, based on his own real life experiences.
Often employing his difficult upbringing as raw material for his heartland narratives. Rural life, dogs, guns, drinking and farming/ranching are common themes. Many of his songs are about failing farms and small businesses - both of which he had painful first hand experience. Eaglesmith's songs are populated with down and out characters dealing with loss of love or livelihood, and quirky rural folk. He sings of places he has been, small towns dying or dead and people he has known - tried-but-true blue-collar working class guys, tired cowboys and their tired lovers, young boys in love, bare-knuckled farmers, heartbreakingly good women, beautifully bad women, lonesome good guys, bravura bad blokes, Friday-night criminals and everyone in between. Says Eaglesmith,p - "I think the bottom of the barrel is where the answers are“. Other songs are telling stories about machines or vehicles, including trains, tractors, trucks, cars and engines. His songwriting uses many of the techniques of superior short-story writing, including unreliable narrators, surprise endings and plot twists.
Today’s music selection (in which, as per yesterdays post, the songs marked with an * were on PatsFitztrick’s list on post # 544), continues from where we left the off yesterday, with another from the 1996 “Drive-in Movie” album. The album, as outlined yesterday, had nostalgic themed songs, but the nostalgia was often laced and lacerated, wrapped in things now lost and decayed. Don’t be fooled by the flowery title of * ‘White Rose’ - this is one of those bittersweet (overall more bitter than sweet) songs of a now lost past. The title is the name of a petrol station in a tiny town that had little or nothing else there, and was the social hub of the town (in a way that city folk can only try to imagine but not really feel).
Eaglesmith mixes some good memories with the grim reality of what became of it as times changed -
“Gas was fifty cents a gallon / They'd put it in for you / They'd bump your tires and check your oil / And wash your windows too / …
And the girls would spend a couple of bucks / Just to meet the boys workin' at the pumps / And we'd pull up and fall in love /“ - but then comes a jarring line - “And they've all moved away …”.
Then we find out the fate of what was once the centre and heartbeat of the town -
“Strangers used to stop and ask / How far they've driven off the map / And then they built that overpass /
And now they stay out on the highway / … And that neon sign was the heart and soul / Of this ol' one horse town /
And it's like it lost its will to live / The day they shut it down / …”
The refrain outlines a familiar sight to be seen in many a dying or dead tiny town of today -
“… And now there's plywood for glass / Where the windows all got smashed / And there's just a chunk a'concrete /
Where those old pumps used to stand / There's a couple a'cars half outta the ground /
And that old sign still spins 'round 'n 'round / I guess the White Rose fillin' station's just a memory now”.
The YouTube clip of the original recording had a pretty, but pretty ridiculous, assortment of flower pics (maybe the creator was deceived by the song title), that didn’t at all match the song’s theme and lyrics. So instead, I’ve gone with this clip from the Annual "Sound Of Music" Festival in Burlington, outer suburban Toronto, much later in 2019, showing Eaglesmith and his second wife Tif Ginn (more about her another day). In the first 3 minutes of the clip, Eaglesmith, also renowned for his great storytelling at his live gigs, recounts the true story of the White Rose from his childhood -
As indicated in Fred’s preamble, Toby Keith recorded * ‘White Rose‘ in 2007 for his “big Dog Daddy” album.
Another from the 1996 “Drive-In Movie” album, the lyrics of * ‘Soda Machine’ paints a bleak and desolate picture of a town filled with broken streetlights and abandoned places. The song starts with the imagery of cans on the sidewalk that are "worthless" and flickering streetlights. The singer's pain and heartbreak are evident as he ponders on unfortunate events on the streets, most notably the break-up with his lover, evident in the lyrics - "… You step on a crack, she ain't coming back. / Even a blind man could see that… “. The deserted town is not the same without his lover, and the emptiness of a soda machine at Charlotte and Queen only confirms the sad reality. The nostalgia is highly felt when he declares -
“… And the lights of the diner / Even seem brighter / When she's not there / To turn down the shine / …”.
The song's melancholic, dark mood is complete when he sings of banging and kicking in the innocent soda machine, treating it as a punching bag, taking out his anger, realising at the end that he was never that thirsty - except, It’s clear to us, for her -
You might expect, from its title, and the overall theme of the album, for ‘Drive-in Movie’, the title track of Fred’s 1996 album, to be a song reminiscing about the golden era of drive-in movies. But no, not at all, the drive-in being just a fleeting metaphor for car light beams at night as they crest a country hill. Instead the song evokes the bleakness of the mistake of falling in love with someone who doesn’t reciprocate the love -
“… And how were you to ever know / How much I loved you so - You thought that I was only dreaming /
What a surprise it must have been / To realise I was one of them / Not a king, but just a man /
Not an angel / Hardly a friend / And not someone you could believe in …” -
I resisted (only just), including the third train related song ‘Freight Train’ from the “Drive-In Movie” album, ‘Freight, but 13 years later, Alan Jackson recorded ‘Freight Train’ as the title track for his 2010 “Freight Train” album. Eaglesmith’s 1996 “Drive In Movie“ album won him the Juno (the Canadian equivalent of a Grammy) for Best Roots & Traditional Album. As Fred, always a great raconteur at his concerts tells it - "One night I was in Memphis and my manager called and said, 'We just won a Juno award.' And the guy that was with me said, 'What are we gonna do now?' I said, 'The second set”.
But back to Eaglesmith, thanks to his visits to Nashville, he struck a deal with the successful American independent label Razor & Tie for 1997's magnificently titled “Lipstick, Lies & Gasoline” album, in which Eaglesmith strips the sound down for a set of tough, raw-nerved songs with production and arrangements that pushed his sound closer to rock, building a lot out of relentless rhythm tracks.
From the “Lipstick, Lies & Gasoline” album, ‘Thinking’ (About You) conveys the singer's infatuation with someone, captured through vivid details of their actions and appearance. The repeated over and again phrase "I'm thinkin' about you" emphasises the intensity of this infatuation, as well as its inability to be confined to a single moment or thought. The singer's focus on the person's smile, moves, and breath alludes to the physical attraction that underlies their thoughts. In fact, the song has a few possibilities here - is it of a person in that rapturous early stage of falling in love? - or do we have, instead, the dangerous obsessiveness of a stalker? In either case, it seems he doesn’t know what he’s gunna do about it or knows if the object of his desires is even much aware of his thoughts -
“ …And I don't know what I should do / And I don't know if you're feelin' it too / But you don't know what I'm goin' through …” -
‘Thinkin Bout You’ was featured on the soundtrack of the 2006 Toby Keith movie, “Broken Bridges.”
Eaglesmith explains today’s final song selection, also from 1997’s “Lipstick, Lies & Gasoline” album - “My neighbour’s car got stole, and my wife at the time said, “I’m going to start locking the doors, and I said (chuckling), “Maybe it’s time we should get a gun.” We weren’t raised in a gun culture, so that song is exactly true. … in Canada, nobody locks their doors. Especially on the farm, nobody locks their doors. And most people don’t have a gun. When something happens, you have a weird flash of mind, so it depends on what your values are and what you think. It’s a quick flash of mind, and those are cool things to write about. … Not to slam you Americans, but as an observer, it’s amazing to me, conversely, how you guys all do lock your doors. And Americans are very afraid. They lock their cars. They lock their doors. At my house, where I lived the last 10 years before moving, I didn’t take the keys out of the ignition. And it was in town”.
Eaglesmith’s scratchy, weathered twang leans into the chorus of * ‘Time To Get A Gun’, as a herd of voices cry, “Time to get a gun / That’s what I been thinking.” The colloquialisms throughout contribute to the earthy air, as does the humorous lament - “… I could afford one / if I did just a little less drinking…”. But such a rustic veneer belies a fairly serious meditation on the power of fear. Trust holds communities together, and Eaglesmith subtly asks what happens when that trust begins to erode. Well, clearly, for at least some (mostly Americans), it’s just time to get a gun -
In 2009, Miranda Lambert recorded * ‘Time to Get a Gun‘ for her “Revolution” album.
I have to go again now, but of course there’s more coming on Fred Eaglesmith - either some time later today or tomorrow.
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Listening to old-time Canadian country singer, Wilf Carter and the Cowboy Singers first inspired Eaglesmith. Then, his interest in music "catapulted" with Elvis, but it was John Prine (posts # 685-691) who most influenced his songwriting - "He was a sardonic writer and it wasn't pretty, but it was beautiful. A lot that was going on then wasn't pretty. He was writing about the edge that I'd been living on. The only thing I had to do was plug the holes and write the truth, like he did”.
Eaglesmith has also long drawn inspiration from mechanical things, the machinery of the old rural Canada where he grew up - “This is all music. If it wasn’t about this, there wouldn’t be the music.” His farm he used to have was littered full of cars and buses, all scattered around the landscape, machinery he worked on himself, admitting - “I got a little out of control. You could call it hoarding, but now they call it collecting”. He gave that land to his first wife when they divorced, and he pulled back on the tinkering with motors and such stuff. But he still keeps what’s left in a 3,000-square foot warehouse, including 3 beat-up buses, he famously uses for touring or “personal use”.
But that’s a product of how he grew up poor - “My father made me straighten nails“. The old man once told his son that he was raising his 9 kids on $3,000 a year - “He never really approved of this singing thing. That raspy non-voice, which is popular now, was not popular then. When I got a publishing deal, he was so surprised, he said, ‘Don’t tell anybody.’ I had been so discouraged when I was a kid by the community and family, it was such a shock to them that I was being paid to write 10 songs a year”. He’d make $17,000 on that deal. They thought he was rich.
But the world doesn’t hit on all cylinders. Listening to Eaglesmith, it’s easy to draw parallels between trains (or trucks, tractors or buses) and relationships, which he compares to adjusting a carburator - “You think the set screw should should go to the left, but it actually goes right”.
Now on to today’s music selection, starting with another from his 1997 “Lies, Lipstick and Gasoline“ album (that’s such a great album title)”. Once again, PatsFitztricks selections from post # 544 will be marked with an *.
’Alcohol and Pills’ is about how fame and fortune - and more specifically, as per the title, the deadly effect of alcohol and drug abuse - have taken down so many of the great musicians, naming Hank Williams, Janis Joplin, Gram Parsons and Jimi Hendrix specifically in the lyrics (and he could’ve included so many more except it would take too long). Fred’s soulful vocals creates a mood which matches the lyrics, and concludes with a telling truth -
“… Fame doesn’t take away the pain / it just pays the bills / And you wind up / on alcohol and pills.” -
The final track from his 1997 “Lies, Lipstick and Gasoline“ album, * ’Water In The Fuel’, possibly Eaglesmith‘s most popular song, isn't, I think, his best wordsmithing by any stretch. A song is about a truck driver with a decrepit truck - seemingly a metaphor for the state of his personal life, his lover having just left him because he's never present - confronting the harsh truth of her leaving him and his inability to cop. He reminisces about a time when they were happy, spinning circles with his truck on a frozen lake before cuddling up, but now he’s on thin ice, and he mightn’t make it. When he thinks - "You wanted to buy that little trailer, out on the edge with the money you were saving. It had a carport, a colour TV and no place to turn around" he sees that both of them wanted a better life but their definitions of that better life were different. She just wanted him, but he wanted to stay out on the road, despite - or is it because - of his old beat up truck lacking some essentials like reliable brakes. Their path diverged and he's realising the reasons why and the impact that will have - is it the end for him?
I’ve noticed that on YouTube videos of his live concerts, Eaglesmith, as if realising the “Water In The Fuel” metaphor doesn’t really stand out strongly in the lyrics, could simply be taken literally and thus requires a bit of extra punch, first tells an amusing story of his tour bus and its occupants being given the once over by the highway patrol and then, as if starting the song while strumming the guitar, delivers an rhythmic introduction that goes like this -
“… There's a light in every diesel truck and it says water in the fuel / When it comes on, well it means you have water in the fuel /
Leave that light on too long, and your truck just dies / Leave that light on too long, and your bus just dies /
Leave that light on too long, and your heart just gets broken….”
This stark, melancholy introduction sets the right tone for * ‘Water In The Fuel’ -
1999's “50 Odd Dollars” was a gritty middle-of-the-road country-rock crunch and his first album to include percussionist Hank Fisher, aka Washboard Hank, whose eccentric style became a major part of Eaglesmith‘s live show. From this album came ‘Carter’, a tribute to bluegrass legend Carter Stanley) who passed away in 1966, some 20 years prior to when Eaglesmith wrote this, tells a story about loss and the impact it has on those left behind. The images are powerful, the evocative lyrics paint a picture of a community shaken. The mention of "… Waffle's in the morning … " and "… Turkey's in the grain …" suggest the mundane routines and thoughts that are disrupted by Carter's departure, symbolising the void his absence leaves behind. The line "… Desperate boys in windswept fields, running for the train… " could symbolise the fleeting nature of life and how people are always in motion, trying to keep up with the demands of the world around them. This could be a metaphor for Carter's own struggles and ambitions. "… Skin soaked revelations, whiskey before dawn… " portrays a sense of late nights and indulgence, possibly a way for those left behind to cope with the loss. However, the repeated forlorn statement "… it won't be the same now that Carter's gone", highlights how irreparable the situation feels.
The reference to "white doves in the heart" and the acknowledgment that "nobody's ever going to play those songs that way again" speaks to the uniqueness and irreplaceability of Carter's presence. He had a significant impact on the community through his music, and his absence leaves a void that cannot be filled. As the song reaches its conclusion, the narrator drives through Kentucky, struggling with their emotions and trying to distract themselves by tearing through the gears. But ultimately, they admit they can't play another song because it won't sound the same without Carter. The final declaration that "… things will never be the same now that Carter's gone" emphasises the permanent change his absence brings. In summation, ’Carter‘ reflects on the loss of a beloved individual and the lasting impact they had on their community. It explores themes of grief, remembrance, and the difficulty of moving forward when faced with the absence of someone who was so essential in their world -
“… Drive-ins on the state line / That high and lonesome sound / Wake up on that hilltop / Carter's in the ground /
It makes you kind of hang your head / Cry into the dawn / 'Cause it won't be the same now that Carter's gone …” -
Moving on to 2002 and the “Falling Stars and Broken Hearts” album. Eaglesmith has chosen to alter his sound a bit. In general, the country elements of this album are more traditional than Eaglesmith's previous efforts. ‘Indian Motorcycles’ presents a nostalgic image of the past and is rich with evocative imagery of the youthful rural exuberance of the 1950’s and 1960’s. The opening lines mention Indian Motorcycles, which were popular with bikies at the time as a cheaper alternative to the Harleys. This sets the scene for a series of reminiscences about cars, girls, and nights out on the town. The song draws heavily on the sense of freedom and escapism that these experiences offered young rural people of the era, and presents a somewhat romanticised view of a simpler time.
Throughout the song, the singer waxes lyrical about his memories of growing up in - well in his case, rural Ontario but could be set in the American mid-west or South, and (if you swap in Holdens and Fords for the ‘57 Chevy) large parts of rural Australia even in the 1970’s and 80’s and beyond. Tne song recalls Saturday night citations and one-pump petrol stations, which were typical of the era. The sound of revving engines, radiators steaming, and the sight of falling stars all add to the sense of nostalgia. The quintessential image of the car culture era, the '57 Chevy, is mentioned several times, and the singer reminds us he was born in the springtime of that particular vehicle (as Fred really was). The chorus speaks of the desire to return to this time in his life, to revisit the memories of his youth. The moonlight over the water, shadows on the porches, and firing engines all contribute to the sense of excitement and anticipation the singer feels. The concluding lines make reference once again to Indian Motorcycles, suggesting the enduring appeal of this particular brand of motorcycle to those looking for adventure, freedom - or is it just plain old nostalgia? -
In 2003, Eaglesmith changed his sound again, bringing out the bluegrass influenced album ‘Blain’, with a “new” band, The Flathead Noodlers. in fact, this “ ew” band bands had much the same lineup as the Flying Squirrels, but played bluegrass instead of the Flying Squirrels folk and country rock. From this album, I couldn’t resist another train song - plus I have the excuse that I was obligated (albeit happily) to include this - and it’s profound. Not to be confused with the Hank Snow train hit ‘The Golden Rocket’ of a generation earlier (post # 202), Eaglesmith’s * ‘The Rocket’ is profound. Headaches and heartaches and all kinds of pain, these are the parts of the country music train - one of the great metaphors writers use to shine the light on the far reaches of the human heart - to demonstrate the comings and goings of love, loneliness - or loss. There are hundreds of songs that use trains to tell the stories of the hearts’ travels, and ‘The Rocket‘ is one of the very best of them.
Spoiler alert - as its left to the very last lines to deliver its gut-punch, so maybe it’s best to listen first before proceeding -
* ‘The Rocket’ is written from the perspective of a man who has experienced a loss so devastating he cannot fully transcend his sorrow, so he has ritualised his grief in order to deal with it. He’s compelled to visit and re-visit the site where he last saw his son alive, the place where he sent him off to war 40 years prior - the eponymous train station. He is an old man now, bent over with regret, and he has lost most, if not all, of his faith. His body is also failing him, he has trouble with the stairs, and is forced to ask strangers to help him make his way up and down the flights for his weekly pilgrimage.
The utter brilliance of * The Rocket’ lies in the fact that old man doesn’t visit his son’s grave on his weekly pilgrimage. Instead, he chooses to visit the departure site, the place where he sent his boy off to war. It’s as though he is engaging in a penance for his actions, trying to make some kind of atonement for what he believes he did. We also get the feeling that the old bloke sits and stares at the trains trying to understand the enormity of what’s transpired, hoping somehow that if he stares long enough and hard enough, he might change the ending of the story.
His grandkids drop him off at the station, but they don’t join him there to watch the trains anymore, he’s left on his own to talk to the strangers who help him navigate the stairs -and the emotions. He is compelled to tell his story each time, perhaps finding comfort in the telling. The universal human reaction to tragedy, to grief, is the need to tell and re-tell our story, it helps us move through the sorrow. But this old man is trapped in his pain, and he cannot find his way out of the maze. He feels responsible for his son’s death, and as we witness his pain, as expressed emotively by Eaglesmith at the end, we feel compassion for him -
Relentlessly touring and performing up to 300 shows a year (surely an addiction issue here - addicted to being on stage with an audience - Eaglesmith gained a dedicated grassroots following in the US, Europe and Australia. In 2002 he performed at a large festival devoted to Canadian songwriting held at New York's prestigious Lincoln Centre, but ironically he grew less popular in Canada than in the US. Eaglesmith moved into a house and recording studio in a converted bait shop in Port Dover, Ontario, on Lake Erie. He continued to visit and work his family's farm but lived away from his wife and children - never to return as the marriage fell apart.
But more remains of his story and his music, to be told in a day or two.
Eaglesmith has also long drawn inspiration from mechanical things, the machinery of the old rural Canada where he grew up - “This is all music. If it wasn’t about this, there wouldn’t be the music.” His farm he used to have was littered full of cars and buses, all scattered around the landscape, machinery he worked on himself, admitting - “I got a little out of control. You could call it hoarding, but now they call it collecting”. He gave that land to his first wife when they divorced, and he pulled back on the tinkering with motors and such stuff. But he still keeps what’s left in a 3,000-square foot warehouse, including 3 beat-up buses, he famously uses for touring or “personal use”.
But that’s a product of how he grew up poor - “My father made me straighten nails“. The old man once told his son that he was raising his 9 kids on $3,000 a year - “He never really approved of this singing thing. That raspy non-voice, which is popular now, was not popular then. When I got a publishing deal, he was so surprised, he said, ‘Don’t tell anybody.’ I had been so discouraged when I was a kid by the community and family, it was such a shock to them that I was being paid to write 10 songs a year”. He’d make $17,000 on that deal. They thought he was rich.
But the world doesn’t hit on all cylinders. Listening to Eaglesmith, it’s easy to draw parallels between trains (or trucks, tractors or buses) and relationships, which he compares to adjusting a carburator - “You think the set screw should should go to the left, but it actually goes right”.
Now on to today’s music selection, starting with another from his 1997 “Lies, Lipstick and Gasoline“ album (that’s such a great album title)”. Once again, PatsFitztricks selections from post # 544 will be marked with an *.
’Alcohol and Pills’ is about how fame and fortune - and more specifically, as per the title, the deadly effect of alcohol and drug abuse - have taken down so many of the great musicians, naming Hank Williams, Janis Joplin, Gram Parsons and Jimi Hendrix specifically in the lyrics (and he could’ve included so many more except it would take too long). Fred’s soulful vocals creates a mood which matches the lyrics, and concludes with a telling truth -
“… Fame doesn’t take away the pain / it just pays the bills / And you wind up / on alcohol and pills.” -
The final track from his 1997 “Lies, Lipstick and Gasoline“ album, * ’Water In The Fuel’, possibly Eaglesmith‘s most popular song, isn't, I think, his best wordsmithing by any stretch. A song is about a truck driver with a decrepit truck - seemingly a metaphor for the state of his personal life, his lover having just left him because he's never present - confronting the harsh truth of her leaving him and his inability to cop. He reminisces about a time when they were happy, spinning circles with his truck on a frozen lake before cuddling up, but now he’s on thin ice, and he mightn’t make it. When he thinks - "You wanted to buy that little trailer, out on the edge with the money you were saving. It had a carport, a colour TV and no place to turn around" he sees that both of them wanted a better life but their definitions of that better life were different. She just wanted him, but he wanted to stay out on the road, despite - or is it because - of his old beat up truck lacking some essentials like reliable brakes. Their path diverged and he's realising the reasons why and the impact that will have - is it the end for him?
I’ve noticed that on YouTube videos of his live concerts, Eaglesmith, as if realising the “Water In The Fuel” metaphor doesn’t really stand out strongly in the lyrics, could simply be taken literally and thus requires a bit of extra punch, first tells an amusing story of his tour bus and its occupants being given the once over by the highway patrol and then, as if starting the song while strumming the guitar, delivers an rhythmic introduction that goes like this -
“… There's a light in every diesel truck and it says water in the fuel / When it comes on, well it means you have water in the fuel /
Leave that light on too long, and your truck just dies / Leave that light on too long, and your bus just dies /
Leave that light on too long, and your heart just gets broken….”
This stark, melancholy introduction sets the right tone for * ‘Water In The Fuel’ -
1999's “50 Odd Dollars” was a gritty middle-of-the-road country-rock crunch and his first album to include percussionist Hank Fisher, aka Washboard Hank, whose eccentric style became a major part of Eaglesmith‘s live show. From this album came ‘Carter’, a tribute to bluegrass legend Carter Stanley) who passed away in 1966, some 20 years prior to when Eaglesmith wrote this, tells a story about loss and the impact it has on those left behind. The images are powerful, the evocative lyrics paint a picture of a community shaken. The mention of "… Waffle's in the morning … " and "… Turkey's in the grain …" suggest the mundane routines and thoughts that are disrupted by Carter's departure, symbolising the void his absence leaves behind. The line "… Desperate boys in windswept fields, running for the train… " could symbolise the fleeting nature of life and how people are always in motion, trying to keep up with the demands of the world around them. This could be a metaphor for Carter's own struggles and ambitions. "… Skin soaked revelations, whiskey before dawn… " portrays a sense of late nights and indulgence, possibly a way for those left behind to cope with the loss. However, the repeated forlorn statement "… it won't be the same now that Carter's gone", highlights how irreparable the situation feels.
The reference to "white doves in the heart" and the acknowledgment that "nobody's ever going to play those songs that way again" speaks to the uniqueness and irreplaceability of Carter's presence. He had a significant impact on the community through his music, and his absence leaves a void that cannot be filled. As the song reaches its conclusion, the narrator drives through Kentucky, struggling with their emotions and trying to distract themselves by tearing through the gears. But ultimately, they admit they can't play another song because it won't sound the same without Carter. The final declaration that "… things will never be the same now that Carter's gone" emphasises the permanent change his absence brings. In summation, ’Carter‘ reflects on the loss of a beloved individual and the lasting impact they had on their community. It explores themes of grief, remembrance, and the difficulty of moving forward when faced with the absence of someone who was so essential in their world -
“… Drive-ins on the state line / That high and lonesome sound / Wake up on that hilltop / Carter's in the ground /
It makes you kind of hang your head / Cry into the dawn / 'Cause it won't be the same now that Carter's gone …” -
Moving on to 2002 and the “Falling Stars and Broken Hearts” album. Eaglesmith has chosen to alter his sound a bit. In general, the country elements of this album are more traditional than Eaglesmith's previous efforts. ‘Indian Motorcycles’ presents a nostalgic image of the past and is rich with evocative imagery of the youthful rural exuberance of the 1950’s and 1960’s. The opening lines mention Indian Motorcycles, which were popular with bikies at the time as a cheaper alternative to the Harleys. This sets the scene for a series of reminiscences about cars, girls, and nights out on the town. The song draws heavily on the sense of freedom and escapism that these experiences offered young rural people of the era, and presents a somewhat romanticised view of a simpler time.
Throughout the song, the singer waxes lyrical about his memories of growing up in - well in his case, rural Ontario but could be set in the American mid-west or South, and (if you swap in Holdens and Fords for the ‘57 Chevy) large parts of rural Australia even in the 1970’s and 80’s and beyond. Tne song recalls Saturday night citations and one-pump petrol stations, which were typical of the era. The sound of revving engines, radiators steaming, and the sight of falling stars all add to the sense of nostalgia. The quintessential image of the car culture era, the '57 Chevy, is mentioned several times, and the singer reminds us he was born in the springtime of that particular vehicle (as Fred really was). The chorus speaks of the desire to return to this time in his life, to revisit the memories of his youth. The moonlight over the water, shadows on the porches, and firing engines all contribute to the sense of excitement and anticipation the singer feels. The concluding lines make reference once again to Indian Motorcycles, suggesting the enduring appeal of this particular brand of motorcycle to those looking for adventure, freedom - or is it just plain old nostalgia? -
In 2003, Eaglesmith changed his sound again, bringing out the bluegrass influenced album ‘Blain’, with a “new” band, The Flathead Noodlers. in fact, this “ ew” band bands had much the same lineup as the Flying Squirrels, but played bluegrass instead of the Flying Squirrels folk and country rock. From this album, I couldn’t resist another train song - plus I have the excuse that I was obligated (albeit happily) to include this - and it’s profound. Not to be confused with the Hank Snow train hit ‘The Golden Rocket’ of a generation earlier (post # 202), Eaglesmith’s * ‘The Rocket’ is profound. Headaches and heartaches and all kinds of pain, these are the parts of the country music train - one of the great metaphors writers use to shine the light on the far reaches of the human heart - to demonstrate the comings and goings of love, loneliness - or loss. There are hundreds of songs that use trains to tell the stories of the hearts’ travels, and ‘The Rocket‘ is one of the very best of them.
Spoiler alert - as its left to the very last lines to deliver its gut-punch, so maybe it’s best to listen first before proceeding -
* ‘The Rocket’ is written from the perspective of a man who has experienced a loss so devastating he cannot fully transcend his sorrow, so he has ritualised his grief in order to deal with it. He’s compelled to visit and re-visit the site where he last saw his son alive, the place where he sent him off to war 40 years prior - the eponymous train station. He is an old man now, bent over with regret, and he has lost most, if not all, of his faith. His body is also failing him, he has trouble with the stairs, and is forced to ask strangers to help him make his way up and down the flights for his weekly pilgrimage.
The utter brilliance of * The Rocket’ lies in the fact that old man doesn’t visit his son’s grave on his weekly pilgrimage. Instead, he chooses to visit the departure site, the place where he sent his boy off to war. It’s as though he is engaging in a penance for his actions, trying to make some kind of atonement for what he believes he did. We also get the feeling that the old bloke sits and stares at the trains trying to understand the enormity of what’s transpired, hoping somehow that if he stares long enough and hard enough, he might change the ending of the story.
His grandkids drop him off at the station, but they don’t join him there to watch the trains anymore, he’s left on his own to talk to the strangers who help him navigate the stairs -and the emotions. He is compelled to tell his story each time, perhaps finding comfort in the telling. The universal human reaction to tragedy, to grief, is the need to tell and re-tell our story, it helps us move through the sorrow. But this old man is trapped in his pain, and he cannot find his way out of the maze. He feels responsible for his son’s death, and as we witness his pain, as expressed emotively by Eaglesmith at the end, we feel compassion for him -
Relentlessly touring and performing up to 300 shows a year (surely an addiction issue here - addicted to being on stage with an audience - Eaglesmith gained a dedicated grassroots following in the US, Europe and Australia. In 2002 he performed at a large festival devoted to Canadian songwriting held at New York's prestigious Lincoln Centre, but ironically he grew less popular in Canada than in the US. Eaglesmith moved into a house and recording studio in a converted bait shop in Port Dover, Ontario, on Lake Erie. He continued to visit and work his family's farm but lived away from his wife and children - never to return as the marriage fell apart.
But more remains of his story and his music, to be told in a day or two.
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I’ve been thinking today of which artists in this history that could be compared to Fred Eaglesmith - artists who were great song-writers but usually with “limited“ vocals (as Fred self-describes his own), and were generally outside the mainstream - though pretty much all the names here weren’t so outside the mainstream as Fred. Names that come to mind to me are Tom T Hall (posts # 543-550 & 611-617), Billy Joe Shaver (# 773), Gary Stewart (# 840-842) and Jerry Jeff Walker (# 844-847). Even nearer to the mark is Townes Van Zandt (# 551-555), who Eaglesmith matches in bleakness and empathy, if not in poetry. Guy Clark (# 848-856) I consider the closest match of all, except, of course, John Prine, (# 685-691) who, as per yesterday’s introduction, Eaglesmith nominated as his biggest influence and inspiration.
Others Eaglesmith could be compared with that I haven’t covered (at least not yet) are Woodie Guthrie, Mary Gauthier, Chris Knight, Joe Ely, James McMurtry, Todd Snider, Hayes Carll, Ryan Bingham, Robert Earl Keen, Steve Earl and Justin Townes Earl. It’s no coincidence the vast majority of these names, both in the previous paragraph and here, are Texans, while those few not raised in Texas, like Chris Knight, mostly based themself in Texas. Eaglesmith, being Canadian, is the odd one out here, but as we move into the 21st century, he too spent a lot of time in Texas.
It’s worth noting that Eaglesmith is the fourth Canadian in this history series, which is about double the numbers of American Northeners, despite the massive population difference. Each of the Canadians have been different - singer-songwriter Hank Snow (# 202-204) from Nova Scotia, established himself in Nashville as one of the giants of traditional mainstream country music in the 1950’s and 1960’s, and was also the first major country star to tour extensively worldwide, including Australia. He was briefly Elvis Presley’s manager until the (faux) Colonel Parker lured him away from under his nose. Singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot (# 696-702) always based himself in Canada and had strong folk and country rock elements like Eaglesmith. But his vocals were smoother and he was certainly more mainstream. Another Nova Scotian, Anne Murray (# 946-948) is almost the complete antithesis of Eaglesmith - she had the most pure, velvety, pitch perfect vocals, a result of professional training at a young age, and her music softly, silkily, caresses you She makes extensive use of pop elements - hence her cross-over success. Besides being a Canadian musician and also in this history, she is everything Fred Eaglesmith is not. I‘m sure she never left home at 15 and hopped freight trains - perhaps that’s why she never became a songwriter.
By 2002, Eaglesmith was spending as many as 300 days on the road per year and had built a fiercely loyal following of fans. He'd released 10 albums since his 1980 debut, and he's earned the respect of his peers. His songs had been recorded by the likes of Cowboy Junkies, Dar Williams, Kelly Willis and James King. So in 2002 "The Songs of Fred Eaglesmith : A Tribute" album was released, with 15 songs all penned by Eaglesmith, a fitting tribute to an artist that has proven himself to be among the finest songwriters to ply the trade. Australia was well represented - Kasey Chambers and her Texas loving father Bill Chambers (more on him to come) duet on ’Carter‘ while Audrey Auld gave a tear-jerking performance on ’He's a Good Dog’.
Eaglesmith further asserted his creative independence by converting a former bait shop into a private recording studio in Port Dover, Ontario, not very far from where he was raised. He amusingly, or ironically, named his record label “A Major Label“ (so he could truthfully boast he owned and recorded on a major label!) and he cut 2006's acoustic-oriented “Milly's Cafe”. The following 4 songs are all from this album, including 2 from PatsFitztrick’s list marked with an *.
‘18 Wheels’ follows the plight of a lovelorn truckdriver trying to fight the urge to plead his way back into the arms of his estranged lover - or, in Eaglesmith’s own pithy précis - "The guy has a tank truck full of alcohol and he keeps stopping in these storms - the stops are metaphors, he keeps calling the girl, she's not there so in a snow storm he swings around and goes back but it's too late”. If only I could be so succinct! To me, the lyrics seem like a sequel to, or just a continuation of, the ‘Water In The Fuel’ song from yesterday. But don’t look for any happy resolution here, for Fred just doubles down on the truck drivers misery, with the frigid wintry weather a metaphor for his heart and soul -
“… Blinding snow / Sioux City Iowa / It dawned on me / She was gone to stay /
I jammed the brakes / I swung it around / Now I'm headin' back / But it's way too late …” -
Just as an aside - like his somewhat puny ‘49 Tons’ locomotive song of a few days back that I remarked upon, driving 18 wheels no longer cuts it as a big rig - American trucks can go up to 28 wheels, while Australian truckies wouldn’t boast of anything with less than 34 wheels - or over 40 once one gets to the real outback. And on another note- the lyrics ”… blinding snow …” is a reminder on how bitterly, and by Australian standards, unbelievably freezing cold it gets in the American annd Canadian mid-west winters. You might think northern European winters are cold (and they are) but the mid-west takes frigid conditions to a whole new level.
Another in a long line of Eaglesmith cowboy songs comes the heartbreaking ’Rocky’, which follows the correspondence between two weathered and ailing cowboys withering away in separate retirement homes. The letter to his old cowboy friend, Rocky, relates that his grandkids put him the Sunset Home and took everything he owns. He also heard Rocky's eyesight is failing him and his mouth is too sore to speak. The song reflects on the often grim realities of aging and friendship, made more poignant by the thought of these two old cowboys, who once had the wide rangeland expanses as their “office” are now confined thus. The singer has some regrets about his relationship with Rocky but also acknowledges they had some good times together. He has a sense of his own mortality, given he is now living in a retirement home. The lyrics also touch on the cowboy lifestyle, with references to rodeos, Western movies and chewing tobacco, giving the song - like so many other Eaglesmith odes, especially those with cowboys, a nostalgic, wistful tone -
“… They don't show many Westerns on TV here / They took away my gun /
But I still got that Western saddle / The one we stole from Freddie's son …” -
* ‘Milly’s Café’ is a story that captures the essence of life’s unpredictability and the consequences of our actions - in the perfect setting of West Texas (which I count as the part west of the ape is River), a ruggedly beautiful but harsh area with very few tourists, interesting characters and memorable honky tonks that I could wax lyrical about but better not. The song lyrics tell a tragic story of thwarted hopes, dashed dreams and unfulfilled potential. There is a sense that Milly and Billy had chances to live a different life, but for whatever reason, they chose to turn to crime. The song paints West Texas in a romantic light, referencing cowboys, young girls, and the state's legendary winds. Yet, at the same time, it recognises life is tough out in this landscape and there are no easy solutions to the challenges people face. The song's refrain of ”… there's always a hill to climb on the West Texas skyline…“ suggests even when one problem is solved, another lies ahead, the cycle of hardship and endurance depicted in the song will continue without end -
“… And the roads just get rougher / Out in West Texas / The cowboys are tougher /And the young girls are restless /
And the winds take the towns / And there ain't any signs / But there's always a hill to climb / On the West Texas skyline …”
Next comes * ‘Mrs Hank Williams’. Was that Miss Audrey - the first Mrs Williams, or Billy Jean, the second Mrs Hank who lost both Hank and Johnny Horton on the lost highway after their respective final concerts at the Skyline Club in Austin? Fred explains - "It's about Audrey and musicians' girlfriends in general, how they get these bad reputations and how everyone says they're great gals until their backs are turned". With so many songs from so many artists over the decade about the immortal Hank Williams, trust Eaglesmith to think of writing a song featuring his wife instead -
“… She doesn't watch the show / She just stays in the car / And watches the young the young girls /Outside the stage door /
And they're there to tell you how much / They'd be ready & willing / To take the place anyway / Of Mrs. Hank Williams -
By his relentless touring to his devoted fan-base and a king and selling his albums on his own label, thus keeping the profits, Eaglesmith had prospered financially. But in Feb 2006, shortly after he recorded “Milly’s Cafe”, before its release, a fire burned down his Port Dover houseboat home and recording studio. Eaglesmith, now aged 49, was rushed to hospital after he suffered smoke inhalation but the master tape of his “Milly’s Cafe” album had already been sent to the manufacturer. But he lost invaluable guitars, recording equipment, tapes and personal treasures including his original paintings. A latter day Buddhist, Eaglesmith phlegmatically took it as a not so subtle spiritual message - "It's a reminder that I don't need all this crap. The Buddhist way allows 17 possessions. I had too many. I got smoked but it's no big deal. I woke up about 8:30 and smelled smoke. I tried to pour water on the fire. I thought the whole building would go, so I got out onto the roof and started yelling. I was only in hospital for 20 minutes. I still have my hands and no one got hurt. I was lucky the firemen let me back in to salvage some of my guitars. Worse things have happened to me".
With that attitude, Fred soon bounced back - with a little help from his huge song catalogue, which by then boasted covers by then major stars like Toby Keith and a number of minor stars, building another studio at nearby Vittoria - “It's about 700 kilometres (metaphorically - in reality about 10 kms) from the remains of the gutted houseboat at Port Dover. I was insured for about a third of what I lost. But, like all human beings, I have lots of junk again”.
Eaglesmith’s next album was the ironically named 2008, “Tinderbox”, his idea of a gospel album, but like all of Eaglesmith's work, it was his own unique (some might say) skewed version of gospel - he was a Buddhist by then. “Tinderbox" will always have an emotional resonance for Eaglesmith as it turned out to be the last one he made with Willie P. Bennett, his longtime sidekick and musical soul-mate, who died of a heart attack at age 56 a month be for the album was released. It took Eaglesmith longer to recover from this person blow than the fire 2 years prior.
Eaglesmith then embarked his 5th Australian tour with ‘The Flying Squirrels’ where he was joined by a close friend he had made in Texas a few year previous - Bill Chambers. It seems Canadian country singers have an affinity with fellow Australian artists. A couple of decades earlier, Hank Snow had developed a similar close friendship with Slim Dusty.
In 2011’s ”Cha Cha Cha’ album, he set out to make a bossa nova record, so he says, but, typically, he got sidetracked by the sounds of late 1950s/early-1960s rock & roll. The music resonates with sounds of that era - female backing harmonies, big reverb-drenched guitars, simple chord progressions and the faux Latin beats referenced in the album's title - but it's the 1950s as seen through Eaglesmith's own singular vision.
From the ‘Cha Cha Cha’ album comes a song whose compelling title alone first grabbed my attention, ’Dynamite and Whisky’. The lyrics are open to interpretation, but they could be seen as a commentary on the cyclical nature of life and the repetition of destructive patterns. The opening lines "Dynamite and whiskey, it's all the same …" suggests an equivalence between two seemingly different things - explosive violence and alcoholism - and these destructive forces have a common root. The mention of "… tobacco in the sunshine, sleeping in the rain …" and the repeating refrain "it's all the same" suggest that despite the variation of experiences he may have in life, they all lead to similar outcomes.
The song then goes on to describe the life of a man "… with no eyes …" wandering by the roadway and water, living a life without direction or meaning - "… ain't no tomorrow …" for him. He has a "… rabbit in his blood …" and is haunted by his past, as evidenced by the line "… I've seen some things I won't see again..". The repetition of "it's all the same" throughout the song reinforces the message that no matter what his experience in life, the consequences will likely be the same - a bleak and aimless existence. The final line "… I think it's gonna rain…" adds to the sense of despair and hopelessness -
In 2010, Eaglesmith was featured on the Late Show with David Letterman as the musical guest, performing ’Careless‘ from his “Cha Cha Cha” album - perhaps the nearest he became to mainstream recognition in the wider world, beyond the confines of his devoted “Fredheads’ ban base. But of course, Fred Eaglesmith could never be mainstream. Tomorrow will conclude the music of this great song writer - with a couple of more stories to be told (and I have to omit far more than I include).
Others Eaglesmith could be compared with that I haven’t covered (at least not yet) are Woodie Guthrie, Mary Gauthier, Chris Knight, Joe Ely, James McMurtry, Todd Snider, Hayes Carll, Ryan Bingham, Robert Earl Keen, Steve Earl and Justin Townes Earl. It’s no coincidence the vast majority of these names, both in the previous paragraph and here, are Texans, while those few not raised in Texas, like Chris Knight, mostly based themself in Texas. Eaglesmith, being Canadian, is the odd one out here, but as we move into the 21st century, he too spent a lot of time in Texas.
It’s worth noting that Eaglesmith is the fourth Canadian in this history series, which is about double the numbers of American Northeners, despite the massive population difference. Each of the Canadians have been different - singer-songwriter Hank Snow (# 202-204) from Nova Scotia, established himself in Nashville as one of the giants of traditional mainstream country music in the 1950’s and 1960’s, and was also the first major country star to tour extensively worldwide, including Australia. He was briefly Elvis Presley’s manager until the (faux) Colonel Parker lured him away from under his nose. Singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot (# 696-702) always based himself in Canada and had strong folk and country rock elements like Eaglesmith. But his vocals were smoother and he was certainly more mainstream. Another Nova Scotian, Anne Murray (# 946-948) is almost the complete antithesis of Eaglesmith - she had the most pure, velvety, pitch perfect vocals, a result of professional training at a young age, and her music softly, silkily, caresses you She makes extensive use of pop elements - hence her cross-over success. Besides being a Canadian musician and also in this history, she is everything Fred Eaglesmith is not. I‘m sure she never left home at 15 and hopped freight trains - perhaps that’s why she never became a songwriter.
By 2002, Eaglesmith was spending as many as 300 days on the road per year and had built a fiercely loyal following of fans. He'd released 10 albums since his 1980 debut, and he's earned the respect of his peers. His songs had been recorded by the likes of Cowboy Junkies, Dar Williams, Kelly Willis and James King. So in 2002 "The Songs of Fred Eaglesmith : A Tribute" album was released, with 15 songs all penned by Eaglesmith, a fitting tribute to an artist that has proven himself to be among the finest songwriters to ply the trade. Australia was well represented - Kasey Chambers and her Texas loving father Bill Chambers (more on him to come) duet on ’Carter‘ while Audrey Auld gave a tear-jerking performance on ’He's a Good Dog’.
Eaglesmith further asserted his creative independence by converting a former bait shop into a private recording studio in Port Dover, Ontario, not very far from where he was raised. He amusingly, or ironically, named his record label “A Major Label“ (so he could truthfully boast he owned and recorded on a major label!) and he cut 2006's acoustic-oriented “Milly's Cafe”. The following 4 songs are all from this album, including 2 from PatsFitztrick’s list marked with an *.
‘18 Wheels’ follows the plight of a lovelorn truckdriver trying to fight the urge to plead his way back into the arms of his estranged lover - or, in Eaglesmith’s own pithy précis - "The guy has a tank truck full of alcohol and he keeps stopping in these storms - the stops are metaphors, he keeps calling the girl, she's not there so in a snow storm he swings around and goes back but it's too late”. If only I could be so succinct! To me, the lyrics seem like a sequel to, or just a continuation of, the ‘Water In The Fuel’ song from yesterday. But don’t look for any happy resolution here, for Fred just doubles down on the truck drivers misery, with the frigid wintry weather a metaphor for his heart and soul -
“… Blinding snow / Sioux City Iowa / It dawned on me / She was gone to stay /
I jammed the brakes / I swung it around / Now I'm headin' back / But it's way too late …” -
Just as an aside - like his somewhat puny ‘49 Tons’ locomotive song of a few days back that I remarked upon, driving 18 wheels no longer cuts it as a big rig - American trucks can go up to 28 wheels, while Australian truckies wouldn’t boast of anything with less than 34 wheels - or over 40 once one gets to the real outback. And on another note- the lyrics ”… blinding snow …” is a reminder on how bitterly, and by Australian standards, unbelievably freezing cold it gets in the American annd Canadian mid-west winters. You might think northern European winters are cold (and they are) but the mid-west takes frigid conditions to a whole new level.
Another in a long line of Eaglesmith cowboy songs comes the heartbreaking ’Rocky’, which follows the correspondence between two weathered and ailing cowboys withering away in separate retirement homes. The letter to his old cowboy friend, Rocky, relates that his grandkids put him the Sunset Home and took everything he owns. He also heard Rocky's eyesight is failing him and his mouth is too sore to speak. The song reflects on the often grim realities of aging and friendship, made more poignant by the thought of these two old cowboys, who once had the wide rangeland expanses as their “office” are now confined thus. The singer has some regrets about his relationship with Rocky but also acknowledges they had some good times together. He has a sense of his own mortality, given he is now living in a retirement home. The lyrics also touch on the cowboy lifestyle, with references to rodeos, Western movies and chewing tobacco, giving the song - like so many other Eaglesmith odes, especially those with cowboys, a nostalgic, wistful tone -
“… They don't show many Westerns on TV here / They took away my gun /
But I still got that Western saddle / The one we stole from Freddie's son …” -
* ‘Milly’s Café’ is a story that captures the essence of life’s unpredictability and the consequences of our actions - in the perfect setting of West Texas (which I count as the part west of the ape is River), a ruggedly beautiful but harsh area with very few tourists, interesting characters and memorable honky tonks that I could wax lyrical about but better not. The song lyrics tell a tragic story of thwarted hopes, dashed dreams and unfulfilled potential. There is a sense that Milly and Billy had chances to live a different life, but for whatever reason, they chose to turn to crime. The song paints West Texas in a romantic light, referencing cowboys, young girls, and the state's legendary winds. Yet, at the same time, it recognises life is tough out in this landscape and there are no easy solutions to the challenges people face. The song's refrain of ”… there's always a hill to climb on the West Texas skyline…“ suggests even when one problem is solved, another lies ahead, the cycle of hardship and endurance depicted in the song will continue without end -
“… And the roads just get rougher / Out in West Texas / The cowboys are tougher /And the young girls are restless /
And the winds take the towns / And there ain't any signs / But there's always a hill to climb / On the West Texas skyline …”
Next comes * ‘Mrs Hank Williams’. Was that Miss Audrey - the first Mrs Williams, or Billy Jean, the second Mrs Hank who lost both Hank and Johnny Horton on the lost highway after their respective final concerts at the Skyline Club in Austin? Fred explains - "It's about Audrey and musicians' girlfriends in general, how they get these bad reputations and how everyone says they're great gals until their backs are turned". With so many songs from so many artists over the decade about the immortal Hank Williams, trust Eaglesmith to think of writing a song featuring his wife instead -
“… She doesn't watch the show / She just stays in the car / And watches the young the young girls /Outside the stage door /
And they're there to tell you how much / They'd be ready & willing / To take the place anyway / Of Mrs. Hank Williams -
By his relentless touring to his devoted fan-base and a king and selling his albums on his own label, thus keeping the profits, Eaglesmith had prospered financially. But in Feb 2006, shortly after he recorded “Milly’s Cafe”, before its release, a fire burned down his Port Dover houseboat home and recording studio. Eaglesmith, now aged 49, was rushed to hospital after he suffered smoke inhalation but the master tape of his “Milly’s Cafe” album had already been sent to the manufacturer. But he lost invaluable guitars, recording equipment, tapes and personal treasures including his original paintings. A latter day Buddhist, Eaglesmith phlegmatically took it as a not so subtle spiritual message - "It's a reminder that I don't need all this crap. The Buddhist way allows 17 possessions. I had too many. I got smoked but it's no big deal. I woke up about 8:30 and smelled smoke. I tried to pour water on the fire. I thought the whole building would go, so I got out onto the roof and started yelling. I was only in hospital for 20 minutes. I still have my hands and no one got hurt. I was lucky the firemen let me back in to salvage some of my guitars. Worse things have happened to me".
With that attitude, Fred soon bounced back - with a little help from his huge song catalogue, which by then boasted covers by then major stars like Toby Keith and a number of minor stars, building another studio at nearby Vittoria - “It's about 700 kilometres (metaphorically - in reality about 10 kms) from the remains of the gutted houseboat at Port Dover. I was insured for about a third of what I lost. But, like all human beings, I have lots of junk again”.
Eaglesmith’s next album was the ironically named 2008, “Tinderbox”, his idea of a gospel album, but like all of Eaglesmith's work, it was his own unique (some might say) skewed version of gospel - he was a Buddhist by then. “Tinderbox" will always have an emotional resonance for Eaglesmith as it turned out to be the last one he made with Willie P. Bennett, his longtime sidekick and musical soul-mate, who died of a heart attack at age 56 a month be for the album was released. It took Eaglesmith longer to recover from this person blow than the fire 2 years prior.
Eaglesmith then embarked his 5th Australian tour with ‘The Flying Squirrels’ where he was joined by a close friend he had made in Texas a few year previous - Bill Chambers. It seems Canadian country singers have an affinity with fellow Australian artists. A couple of decades earlier, Hank Snow had developed a similar close friendship with Slim Dusty.
In 2011’s ”Cha Cha Cha’ album, he set out to make a bossa nova record, so he says, but, typically, he got sidetracked by the sounds of late 1950s/early-1960s rock & roll. The music resonates with sounds of that era - female backing harmonies, big reverb-drenched guitars, simple chord progressions and the faux Latin beats referenced in the album's title - but it's the 1950s as seen through Eaglesmith's own singular vision.
From the ‘Cha Cha Cha’ album comes a song whose compelling title alone first grabbed my attention, ’Dynamite and Whisky’. The lyrics are open to interpretation, but they could be seen as a commentary on the cyclical nature of life and the repetition of destructive patterns. The opening lines "Dynamite and whiskey, it's all the same …" suggests an equivalence between two seemingly different things - explosive violence and alcoholism - and these destructive forces have a common root. The mention of "… tobacco in the sunshine, sleeping in the rain …" and the repeating refrain "it's all the same" suggest that despite the variation of experiences he may have in life, they all lead to similar outcomes.
The song then goes on to describe the life of a man "… with no eyes …" wandering by the roadway and water, living a life without direction or meaning - "… ain't no tomorrow …" for him. He has a "… rabbit in his blood …" and is haunted by his past, as evidenced by the line "… I've seen some things I won't see again..". The repetition of "it's all the same" throughout the song reinforces the message that no matter what his experience in life, the consequences will likely be the same - a bleak and aimless existence. The final line "… I think it's gonna rain…" adds to the sense of despair and hopelessness -
In 2010, Eaglesmith was featured on the Late Show with David Letterman as the musical guest, performing ’Careless‘ from his “Cha Cha Cha” album - perhaps the nearest he became to mainstream recognition in the wider world, beyond the confines of his devoted “Fredheads’ ban base. But of course, Fred Eaglesmith could never be mainstream. Tomorrow will conclude the music of this great song writer - with a couple of more stories to be told (and I have to omit far more than I include).
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Normally, when doing this potted history I select the songs from the artists biggest hits - though sometimes omitting ones that have dated badly - and maybe sneak in a more obscure song or two if I really like them as a “captains call”. But with Fred, whose songs had never been played on mainstream commercial radio and thus never got anything like a hit, I was forced into a different strateg. First, I happily included the 10 songs PatFitztrick supplied on post # 544. But the bad news was I was “forced” myself to listen to loads of 20 albums of original songs), The good news was I thereby got to listen to a treasure trove of music, and it never felt I was forcing myself. I was not careful - they became addictive.
I’ve already mentioned Eaglesmith spending up to 300 days of the year on the road. The free-spirited troubadour has worn a zig-zag trail across North America, along with frequent trips to Europe and Australia added to his quixotic adventures. Along the winding way of endless highways he has traversed in one of his battered old buses, he’s played in countless, mostly small and intimate music venues - some iconic, like Greune Hall, between San Antonio and Austin, others just obscure small town civic halls or honky tonks. Along the way, he built up a rabid fanbase, dubbed “Fredheads“, a nod to the Grateful Dead and their “Deadhead” fans and contemporary with Jimmy Buffet’s “Parrot Heads”, whooping and whistling for the raw, driving country soul scorching the stage and laughing at the hilarious personal tales Fred weaves into his show then stunned into silence as the balladeer shares poignant tales of aching loss - or grinning at his tongue-in-cheek take on the human condition.
Like his compatriots, Gordon Lightfoot and Anne Murray, Eaglesmith has always always, or at least mostly, kept his home base in Canada, not so far from where he grew up. But he found a second home of sorts in Texas, s state where he has found the greatest number of singer-songer artists like him, the greatest number of the “right” sort of intimate music venues for his music, and a popularity of sorts (still not mainstream) even more than his Canadian homeland. It was in Texas that he meant the most significant other in his life, a person who even changed (though not too much) his outlook on life and music direction - more on that below.
Now on to Fred’s final music instalment, starting with 2011’s “6 Volts”. The album’s title references the 6 volt battery that powered the game changing transistor radio introduced in the U.S. in 1954, the same year that rock n’ roll emerged on the popular music landscape and so here it embodies the notion of back to the future. Eaglesmith is unstuck in time. The next 4 song selections are all from the “6 Volt” album.
A song of love gone horribly wrong, ‘Katie’ tells the heartbreaking - and brutal - story of betrayal and murder. The song starts with the singer offering a glimpse into his hardworking life and his love for Katie. However, things take a dark turn when he discovers a near naked Katie in the arms of his friend Joe. The singer is devastated, and his despair drives him to brutal, extreme action, resulting in Joe's death and Katie's burial alongside a hickory tree. The guilt-ridden protagonist seems to have given up on life, not caring much for his farm or his surroundings. After burying Katie and Joe, he puts up no resistance against the new houses popping up around his farm, refusing to sell his property, seemingly stuck in the past. This song is a dark reminder of how one moment of careless infidelity (careless as they were too easily discovered) can destroy a person's life and how the consequences of our actions can haunt us forever -
“… I checked the shed / I checked the barn / I opened the door and there she was /
In the arms of my friend Joe / And she wasn't wearing many clothes …” -
As the title suggests, ’Dangerous’ is about a dangerous man - only this time, he’s a danger more to himself, so lost in his thoughts about a past love. The song opens with a scene where the singer mistakes someone else for his former lover at a rail crossing, the distraction almost leads to him being hit by a train. At the next intersection, he forgets to take his turn, lost in his thoughts about the past relationship. Despite being honked at, he remains lost in his reverie. The second verse sees him out on a cliff by the sea, where he sees a girl swimming who reminds him of his old love. Lost in his thoughts, he falls off the cliff and has to be saved from certain death. Finally, the singer acknowledges his dangerous behavior and asks for help -
“… So darling if you're thinking you need a project / You might want to lend a hand /
I'm living on the corner / Of Stupidity and Recklessness / I'm a dangerous man …” -
Eaglesmith has a real empathy for truckers, almost certainly started from his teenage years hitching rides across Canada and then the U.S. (he didn’t just hop freight trains for his transport), in the first basic stage of his music career. This empathy only increased with his own experience of driving his famously beat up old buses across the length and breadth of North America, taking the lonely roads less travelled. It was once rumoured that one of Fred’s band members was really only hired for his mechanical skills to keep the tour bus going. Not true - Eaglesmith is an expert mechanic, schooled by his father on the family farm as a child, where they had to do all their own repairs (as all farmers did back then). To save on fuel costs, he outfitted the old buses with a system of filters and pumps which he designed himself to enable them to run on waste vegetable oil recycled from deep fryers in venues and restaurants along the road. along with doing all the driving, Fred has surprised many a local mechanic by changing his own blown bus transmission on the side of a highway - without missing a single gig.
This preamble all leads to ’Trucker Speed’, which can be regarded as the third instalment of the lonesome, lost, despairing trucker, who we’ve already seen suffer through ‘Water In The Fuel’ and ‘18 Wheels’. Don’t expect any any salvation for him in this melancholic ballad, as the trucker struggles with loneliness and isolation. This time, he is on the road with an empty truck and has just received a letter from his estranged lover, which has left him distraught. He turns to drugs to cope with the pain, using a mixture of stimulants like Benzedrine, Percocets, amphetamines, and black beauties, to keep him awake for long hours of driving (alarmingly, this sort of cocktail is all to common for long haul truckers). He also drinks Coca-Cola and coffee to wash it all down, all while feeling like he's floating on the road. The lyrics capture the kind of life truck drivers lead, isolated from their families and loved ones (trucker marriages have a reputation for being bad marriages), barely sleeping, and feeling like their wheels never touch the ground. The use of drugs as a coping mechanism highlights the driver’s loneliness and desperation, unable to find solace in anything else. The final verse, where he admits that he always thought his lover would be there at the end of the line, show’s he is struggling with a sense of loss and abandonment -
“… I've been high-centered, low throttle / When I couldn't stop I peed in a bottle /
I've been so lonesome I made Hank Williams / Look like a party of five /
I've been beat up, broke down / Loaded on a truck and driven into town /
I always thought she'd be there at the end of the line …”
Not really one of his better songs musically, though some will like it’s heavier than normal rock element, but lyrically very interesting, Eaglesmith puts fresh-faced country music interlopers riding a popularity wave back in their place in ‘Johnny Cash‘, another off of his 2012 ”6 Volts” album. He chides the brittle, shallow understanding of Johnny Cash that started with his American Recordings era, but overlooks his prolonged career struggles, including the mid-sixties and a prolonged spell of limited popularity from the mid-1970’s right through to the mid-1990’s, and also refers to Cash’s well-documented and deep religious devotion, an inconvenient or unknown fact to many of his new horde of rock and heavy metal raised fans.
Back in 2001, Eaglesmith wrote and released ‘White Trash’, in which Cash is depicted as being very uncool -
And she quietly says to me / When, exactly, did we become white trash? / How come we have seven dogs living in the garage? / How come the only eight track in our car is Johnny Cash? / When, exactly, did we become white trash? …”.
This song is a reminder that the big majority who followEd the mainstream pop/rock music from the 1960’s onward, ignored Johnny Cash in his lifetime - even many of his country music base moved on from him in the mid 1970’s, thus leaving him without a recording contract at one stage in the 1980’s.
When the prevailing image of Johnny Cash in culture is one of him flipping the bird, taken at a time when amphetamines had got the better of him, the argument must be made that it’s the wholesale reduction of a man of such towering accomplishments and time-tested faith, At some point in the early 21st century, the imagery and cult-of-celebrity of Johnny Cash got a bit out of hand, trumping the man -and his music - himself.
The message of ‘Johnny Cash’ is pointed and poignant, and I have a lot of sympathy with Fred’s rant here, but to play devil’s advocate, it’s also maybe a little presumptuous to assume these latter-day Cash fans, whose knowledge of him is more recent, still don’t have a sincere understanding of the man and his music. Many of those Cash fans weren’t even born in the 1980’s, and is it a bad thing if heavy metal fans find themselves being drawn into Cash’s music, and to country music by proxy? Well it is if they do it only from the rawness of the imagery or only from his last sunset burst of popularity that fails to fully encompass his entire body of work. That seems to be the lesson of ‘Johnny Cash’ -
“… Where were you in 1980’s / when Cash was on the decline / his career was fading / and his shows weren’t selling /
You were listening to heavy metal / But you sure do like Johnny Cash now / Now that they’ve put him in the ground /
You sure do like when he sang the Nine Inch Nails / when he looked like he was dying in that video /
You love that picture / he was giving them the finger / Too bad about all that religion / But you sure do like Johnny Cash now …” -
In 2012, following 2011's “6 Volts“ album, Eaglesmith began working with Texan singer and multi-instrumentalist Tif Ginn, aka Tiffany Ginn, formerly with the Texas-based Fabulous Ginn Sisters. Performances were billed as the Fred Eaglesmith Travelling Steam Show and included opening songs performed by Bill Poss, The Ginn Sisters and Tif Ginn. Fred co-wrote Tif's self-titled 2012 album. Ginn appeared on Eaglesmith’s 2013's “Tambourine” album and the pair married in 2014. Ginn mixed Eaglesmith’s 2016's “Standard“ album as well as playing and singing on it; with her. The backing band was disbanded in 2016 and they have been touring together as a duo since.
Eaglesmith’s songwriting is closely tied to his storytelling, but he also uses vivid imagery from a variety of sources. In early 2017, Eaglesmith delivered his 21st studio album, “Standard”. A couple of its most riveting songs illustrate how adept he is at painting a verbal picture in just a few words, and creating an indelible portrait of people and places in a 3 or 4 minute song. And most often, Eaglesmith’s lyrics are presented in arrangements that are stripped down but emotionally intense. Like the best musicians, he has a canny sense of when and where to leave spaces between the notes to let the melody linger or the words sink in.
From the “Standard” album, ‘Jenny Smith‘ is a good example of Eaglesmith’s premier songwriting ability. It’s a vignette about a poor, forgotten widow, isolated and living in her home of many years, having lost her “old man” to a wrong war many years back, uncertain of what the future holds or if anyone might stop to visit. But the central image of the chorus is that she just wants, more than anything, a new screen for her backdoor to keep the flies out and let in the cool summer breezes. It’s clear she needs much more than that, but we’ve all known old folks who hyper-focus on something trivial like that, and the way it serves as a metaphor for all she needs is really striking -
“… Old Jеnny Smith walks down the lane / They moved her mailbox up the way /
No one writes her, just the same / She goes to check it everyday …” -
Eaglesmith has accrued more life experiences than a roomful in his 66 rambling years. There was childhood poverty in a big family and a strict upbringing, based on hard work on the farm and a very heavy dose of old school Protestant religion, tempered by a love of music. Then followed his teenage train-hopping, freedom and the resulting teenage wild times, relentless touring and a music career filled with numerous ups and downs - which Fred took in his stride. Through it all, the Canadian singer-songwriter has never lost his humour and plain old sense of wonder at the world - “It's amazing how you can survive on the goodness of people. When you're going by the seat of your pants and playing 250 dates a year, you have to rely on human beings to get you down the road.” When asked what he would tell 15-year-old Fred about life in the music business, his reply - "I would tell him to get a really good GPS. It's the most important thing. You have to get to work”.
The 21st century hasn’t been much of a help, given how politics, fueled by the internet, has so divided erstwhile good people - especially in the U.S., where it’s gone crazy on both sides of the divide. In regards to this, Fred is a person of my own heart - “I’m not secretly on the Internet, I’m not on social media. I don’t like it, I would be at war with everyone. I’m so contrary to everything that’s going on. I’m not right or left. … my job now, I feel, is to just expand people’s horizons a little bit in a humorous way. If I’m in a right-wing situation, I’ll ask how many handguns that are in the audience. Sometimes there’s 15 handguns if I’m in some right-wing place in Texas! And I’ll poke fun of ’em. I’ll say, “Why are you guys bringin’ a gun to my show for? There’s no trouble here. Let’s all get up and hug each other!” And then when I’m in the left-wing, I tease them about their obsession with local food! That’s sort of my job right now, I feel like, to get everybody to not take themselves quite so seriously. Because as I’ve discovered in 62 years of living, 30 years later, most of it doesn’t matter anyway”. Absolutely spot on Fred!
Ruminating on his life, including his youthful wild ways (one can well imagine the sort of adventure and misadventures Fred encountered upon leaving home, hitting the highways and railroads and earning his keep by performing anywhere he could), Eaglesmith sagely said - “Being dysfunctional is very attractive in your 20s. But it's less attractive in your 30s and absolutely horrible in your 40s”. In his late 50’s, Fred finally found happiness in his second marriage to Tif Ginn, as outlined above. Not just husband and wife, they are also musical collaborators. now touring as a duo, and it’s changed him just a bit - “I had this guy in my band for 25 years. His name was Willie P. Bennett. He was gold. He was a golden musician. Everything he did was beautiful. And everything I do is not beautiful. It’s cranky and edgy, my hands are too big to play the guitar, my voice is too rough to sing … But Willie was like gold, and Tif is exactly the same thing for me. She’s like gold. Everything she does is beautiful. I mean, she just walked in the studio and turned all my crankiness into beauty! I’m happier, some of the songs are happier”.
Eaglesmith, always the raconteur, continues to roll out his opinions in funny stories between songs - “I lost a lot of my audience, and I’m glad I did. They had no business hanging around my songs. I think rock and roll was a revolutionary thing for the intelligent. Business and suburbia made it mainstream. I think we had a chance for change in the last century, and we didn’t do it”.
In Octover 2019, Fred (along with Tif) was finally invited to perform at the Grand Ole Opry - "When I was 15, I played a wedding for a neighbour who was an old aspiring musician. He told me that I needed to go to Nashville to play the Grand Ole Opry, and 50 years later, I am. For me, when you go play the Grand Ole Opry, it's affirmation. It's a bit like a diploma, like you've put in the apprenticeship hours and these are your journeyman's papers. We've been out there for 40 years. Eventually, that's just who you are. I've worked and that's how I got here”. Fred’s Grand Ole Opry Performance is on YouTube - and in doing this history, I realise I narrowed missed his Opry performance by being their a few days too early.
In 2020 Eaglesmith and Ginn put out “Alive“, a 2 disc set recorded during a concert in Vienna, Virginia (not Austria). Since Covid unleashed the great lockdown, Eaglesmith scaled back his touring activities, he and Ginn spendoing more time working on their songwriting. In 2023 they issued their first Christmas album, “A Christmas Card”, recorded in their personal studio in their home on Lake Erie, the LP featured 11 original tunes for the yuletide season, with Fred and Tif handling all the instruments.
I’m finally going to conclude the Fred Eaglesmith feature by going back to the post that started it all - PatsFitztrick’s post # 544 a few years back now, where he (unlike myself) succinctly summed up his career with the following, which I have lifted as direct quotes -
“Fred honed his craft by relentlessly performing whenever and wherever he could, throughout Canada and the USA. He formed a country/bluegrass co-operative with a floating line-up of musicians that performed under various names like the The Flying Squirrels and the Flathead Noodlers, and in 1980 released his first album. Since then, there have been more than 20 others, liberally endowed with tales of life on the road or on the land, steam trains, cars, motorcycles, loves lost and found, farm machinery, horses, cattle, country towns, and ordinary, everyday people. All sung with absolute authority, honesty and a wicked sense of humour.
Fred has toured much of the world, and often visited Australia. Kasey Chambers and her father Bill (who have both recorded his songs) are regular guests at his annual charity picnic in rural Ontario. In 2014, Fred married his long-time collaborator Tiffani Ginn, a gifted vocalist and multi-instrumentalist in her own right. Since 2016 they have continued to tour as a duo. …
If you haven’t yet made his acquaintance, get comfortable and have a listen. …
Be careful, though. They can become addictive”.
That last cautionary sentence was proved so true.
And with that, now I have to hit the road myself again for at least a week or more, heading not too far or remote this time, to N.E. Victoria and just across the Murray.
I’ve already mentioned Eaglesmith spending up to 300 days of the year on the road. The free-spirited troubadour has worn a zig-zag trail across North America, along with frequent trips to Europe and Australia added to his quixotic adventures. Along the winding way of endless highways he has traversed in one of his battered old buses, he’s played in countless, mostly small and intimate music venues - some iconic, like Greune Hall, between San Antonio and Austin, others just obscure small town civic halls or honky tonks. Along the way, he built up a rabid fanbase, dubbed “Fredheads“, a nod to the Grateful Dead and their “Deadhead” fans and contemporary with Jimmy Buffet’s “Parrot Heads”, whooping and whistling for the raw, driving country soul scorching the stage and laughing at the hilarious personal tales Fred weaves into his show then stunned into silence as the balladeer shares poignant tales of aching loss - or grinning at his tongue-in-cheek take on the human condition.
Like his compatriots, Gordon Lightfoot and Anne Murray, Eaglesmith has always always, or at least mostly, kept his home base in Canada, not so far from where he grew up. But he found a second home of sorts in Texas, s state where he has found the greatest number of singer-songer artists like him, the greatest number of the “right” sort of intimate music venues for his music, and a popularity of sorts (still not mainstream) even more than his Canadian homeland. It was in Texas that he meant the most significant other in his life, a person who even changed (though not too much) his outlook on life and music direction - more on that below.
Now on to Fred’s final music instalment, starting with 2011’s “6 Volts”. The album’s title references the 6 volt battery that powered the game changing transistor radio introduced in the U.S. in 1954, the same year that rock n’ roll emerged on the popular music landscape and so here it embodies the notion of back to the future. Eaglesmith is unstuck in time. The next 4 song selections are all from the “6 Volt” album.
A song of love gone horribly wrong, ‘Katie’ tells the heartbreaking - and brutal - story of betrayal and murder. The song starts with the singer offering a glimpse into his hardworking life and his love for Katie. However, things take a dark turn when he discovers a near naked Katie in the arms of his friend Joe. The singer is devastated, and his despair drives him to brutal, extreme action, resulting in Joe's death and Katie's burial alongside a hickory tree. The guilt-ridden protagonist seems to have given up on life, not caring much for his farm or his surroundings. After burying Katie and Joe, he puts up no resistance against the new houses popping up around his farm, refusing to sell his property, seemingly stuck in the past. This song is a dark reminder of how one moment of careless infidelity (careless as they were too easily discovered) can destroy a person's life and how the consequences of our actions can haunt us forever -
“… I checked the shed / I checked the barn / I opened the door and there she was /
In the arms of my friend Joe / And she wasn't wearing many clothes …” -
As the title suggests, ’Dangerous’ is about a dangerous man - only this time, he’s a danger more to himself, so lost in his thoughts about a past love. The song opens with a scene where the singer mistakes someone else for his former lover at a rail crossing, the distraction almost leads to him being hit by a train. At the next intersection, he forgets to take his turn, lost in his thoughts about the past relationship. Despite being honked at, he remains lost in his reverie. The second verse sees him out on a cliff by the sea, where he sees a girl swimming who reminds him of his old love. Lost in his thoughts, he falls off the cliff and has to be saved from certain death. Finally, the singer acknowledges his dangerous behavior and asks for help -
“… So darling if you're thinking you need a project / You might want to lend a hand /
I'm living on the corner / Of Stupidity and Recklessness / I'm a dangerous man …” -
Eaglesmith has a real empathy for truckers, almost certainly started from his teenage years hitching rides across Canada and then the U.S. (he didn’t just hop freight trains for his transport), in the first basic stage of his music career. This empathy only increased with his own experience of driving his famously beat up old buses across the length and breadth of North America, taking the lonely roads less travelled. It was once rumoured that one of Fred’s band members was really only hired for his mechanical skills to keep the tour bus going. Not true - Eaglesmith is an expert mechanic, schooled by his father on the family farm as a child, where they had to do all their own repairs (as all farmers did back then). To save on fuel costs, he outfitted the old buses with a system of filters and pumps which he designed himself to enable them to run on waste vegetable oil recycled from deep fryers in venues and restaurants along the road. along with doing all the driving, Fred has surprised many a local mechanic by changing his own blown bus transmission on the side of a highway - without missing a single gig.
This preamble all leads to ’Trucker Speed’, which can be regarded as the third instalment of the lonesome, lost, despairing trucker, who we’ve already seen suffer through ‘Water In The Fuel’ and ‘18 Wheels’. Don’t expect any any salvation for him in this melancholic ballad, as the trucker struggles with loneliness and isolation. This time, he is on the road with an empty truck and has just received a letter from his estranged lover, which has left him distraught. He turns to drugs to cope with the pain, using a mixture of stimulants like Benzedrine, Percocets, amphetamines, and black beauties, to keep him awake for long hours of driving (alarmingly, this sort of cocktail is all to common for long haul truckers). He also drinks Coca-Cola and coffee to wash it all down, all while feeling like he's floating on the road. The lyrics capture the kind of life truck drivers lead, isolated from their families and loved ones (trucker marriages have a reputation for being bad marriages), barely sleeping, and feeling like their wheels never touch the ground. The use of drugs as a coping mechanism highlights the driver’s loneliness and desperation, unable to find solace in anything else. The final verse, where he admits that he always thought his lover would be there at the end of the line, show’s he is struggling with a sense of loss and abandonment -
“… I've been high-centered, low throttle / When I couldn't stop I peed in a bottle /
I've been so lonesome I made Hank Williams / Look like a party of five /
I've been beat up, broke down / Loaded on a truck and driven into town /
I always thought she'd be there at the end of the line …”
Not really one of his better songs musically, though some will like it’s heavier than normal rock element, but lyrically very interesting, Eaglesmith puts fresh-faced country music interlopers riding a popularity wave back in their place in ‘Johnny Cash‘, another off of his 2012 ”6 Volts” album. He chides the brittle, shallow understanding of Johnny Cash that started with his American Recordings era, but overlooks his prolonged career struggles, including the mid-sixties and a prolonged spell of limited popularity from the mid-1970’s right through to the mid-1990’s, and also refers to Cash’s well-documented and deep religious devotion, an inconvenient or unknown fact to many of his new horde of rock and heavy metal raised fans.
Back in 2001, Eaglesmith wrote and released ‘White Trash’, in which Cash is depicted as being very uncool -
And she quietly says to me / When, exactly, did we become white trash? / How come we have seven dogs living in the garage? / How come the only eight track in our car is Johnny Cash? / When, exactly, did we become white trash? …”.
This song is a reminder that the big majority who followEd the mainstream pop/rock music from the 1960’s onward, ignored Johnny Cash in his lifetime - even many of his country music base moved on from him in the mid 1970’s, thus leaving him without a recording contract at one stage in the 1980’s.
When the prevailing image of Johnny Cash in culture is one of him flipping the bird, taken at a time when amphetamines had got the better of him, the argument must be made that it’s the wholesale reduction of a man of such towering accomplishments and time-tested faith, At some point in the early 21st century, the imagery and cult-of-celebrity of Johnny Cash got a bit out of hand, trumping the man -and his music - himself.
The message of ‘Johnny Cash’ is pointed and poignant, and I have a lot of sympathy with Fred’s rant here, but to play devil’s advocate, it’s also maybe a little presumptuous to assume these latter-day Cash fans, whose knowledge of him is more recent, still don’t have a sincere understanding of the man and his music. Many of those Cash fans weren’t even born in the 1980’s, and is it a bad thing if heavy metal fans find themselves being drawn into Cash’s music, and to country music by proxy? Well it is if they do it only from the rawness of the imagery or only from his last sunset burst of popularity that fails to fully encompass his entire body of work. That seems to be the lesson of ‘Johnny Cash’ -
“… Where were you in 1980’s / when Cash was on the decline / his career was fading / and his shows weren’t selling /
You were listening to heavy metal / But you sure do like Johnny Cash now / Now that they’ve put him in the ground /
You sure do like when he sang the Nine Inch Nails / when he looked like he was dying in that video /
You love that picture / he was giving them the finger / Too bad about all that religion / But you sure do like Johnny Cash now …” -
In 2012, following 2011's “6 Volts“ album, Eaglesmith began working with Texan singer and multi-instrumentalist Tif Ginn, aka Tiffany Ginn, formerly with the Texas-based Fabulous Ginn Sisters. Performances were billed as the Fred Eaglesmith Travelling Steam Show and included opening songs performed by Bill Poss, The Ginn Sisters and Tif Ginn. Fred co-wrote Tif's self-titled 2012 album. Ginn appeared on Eaglesmith’s 2013's “Tambourine” album and the pair married in 2014. Ginn mixed Eaglesmith’s 2016's “Standard“ album as well as playing and singing on it; with her. The backing band was disbanded in 2016 and they have been touring together as a duo since.
Eaglesmith’s songwriting is closely tied to his storytelling, but he also uses vivid imagery from a variety of sources. In early 2017, Eaglesmith delivered his 21st studio album, “Standard”. A couple of its most riveting songs illustrate how adept he is at painting a verbal picture in just a few words, and creating an indelible portrait of people and places in a 3 or 4 minute song. And most often, Eaglesmith’s lyrics are presented in arrangements that are stripped down but emotionally intense. Like the best musicians, he has a canny sense of when and where to leave spaces between the notes to let the melody linger or the words sink in.
From the “Standard” album, ‘Jenny Smith‘ is a good example of Eaglesmith’s premier songwriting ability. It’s a vignette about a poor, forgotten widow, isolated and living in her home of many years, having lost her “old man” to a wrong war many years back, uncertain of what the future holds or if anyone might stop to visit. But the central image of the chorus is that she just wants, more than anything, a new screen for her backdoor to keep the flies out and let in the cool summer breezes. It’s clear she needs much more than that, but we’ve all known old folks who hyper-focus on something trivial like that, and the way it serves as a metaphor for all she needs is really striking -
“… Old Jеnny Smith walks down the lane / They moved her mailbox up the way /
No one writes her, just the same / She goes to check it everyday …” -
Eaglesmith has accrued more life experiences than a roomful in his 66 rambling years. There was childhood poverty in a big family and a strict upbringing, based on hard work on the farm and a very heavy dose of old school Protestant religion, tempered by a love of music. Then followed his teenage train-hopping, freedom and the resulting teenage wild times, relentless touring and a music career filled with numerous ups and downs - which Fred took in his stride. Through it all, the Canadian singer-songwriter has never lost his humour and plain old sense of wonder at the world - “It's amazing how you can survive on the goodness of people. When you're going by the seat of your pants and playing 250 dates a year, you have to rely on human beings to get you down the road.” When asked what he would tell 15-year-old Fred about life in the music business, his reply - "I would tell him to get a really good GPS. It's the most important thing. You have to get to work”.
The 21st century hasn’t been much of a help, given how politics, fueled by the internet, has so divided erstwhile good people - especially in the U.S., where it’s gone crazy on both sides of the divide. In regards to this, Fred is a person of my own heart - “I’m not secretly on the Internet, I’m not on social media. I don’t like it, I would be at war with everyone. I’m so contrary to everything that’s going on. I’m not right or left. … my job now, I feel, is to just expand people’s horizons a little bit in a humorous way. If I’m in a right-wing situation, I’ll ask how many handguns that are in the audience. Sometimes there’s 15 handguns if I’m in some right-wing place in Texas! And I’ll poke fun of ’em. I’ll say, “Why are you guys bringin’ a gun to my show for? There’s no trouble here. Let’s all get up and hug each other!” And then when I’m in the left-wing, I tease them about their obsession with local food! That’s sort of my job right now, I feel like, to get everybody to not take themselves quite so seriously. Because as I’ve discovered in 62 years of living, 30 years later, most of it doesn’t matter anyway”. Absolutely spot on Fred!
Ruminating on his life, including his youthful wild ways (one can well imagine the sort of adventure and misadventures Fred encountered upon leaving home, hitting the highways and railroads and earning his keep by performing anywhere he could), Eaglesmith sagely said - “Being dysfunctional is very attractive in your 20s. But it's less attractive in your 30s and absolutely horrible in your 40s”. In his late 50’s, Fred finally found happiness in his second marriage to Tif Ginn, as outlined above. Not just husband and wife, they are also musical collaborators. now touring as a duo, and it’s changed him just a bit - “I had this guy in my band for 25 years. His name was Willie P. Bennett. He was gold. He was a golden musician. Everything he did was beautiful. And everything I do is not beautiful. It’s cranky and edgy, my hands are too big to play the guitar, my voice is too rough to sing … But Willie was like gold, and Tif is exactly the same thing for me. She’s like gold. Everything she does is beautiful. I mean, she just walked in the studio and turned all my crankiness into beauty! I’m happier, some of the songs are happier”.
Eaglesmith, always the raconteur, continues to roll out his opinions in funny stories between songs - “I lost a lot of my audience, and I’m glad I did. They had no business hanging around my songs. I think rock and roll was a revolutionary thing for the intelligent. Business and suburbia made it mainstream. I think we had a chance for change in the last century, and we didn’t do it”.
In Octover 2019, Fred (along with Tif) was finally invited to perform at the Grand Ole Opry - "When I was 15, I played a wedding for a neighbour who was an old aspiring musician. He told me that I needed to go to Nashville to play the Grand Ole Opry, and 50 years later, I am. For me, when you go play the Grand Ole Opry, it's affirmation. It's a bit like a diploma, like you've put in the apprenticeship hours and these are your journeyman's papers. We've been out there for 40 years. Eventually, that's just who you are. I've worked and that's how I got here”. Fred’s Grand Ole Opry Performance is on YouTube - and in doing this history, I realise I narrowed missed his Opry performance by being their a few days too early.
In 2020 Eaglesmith and Ginn put out “Alive“, a 2 disc set recorded during a concert in Vienna, Virginia (not Austria). Since Covid unleashed the great lockdown, Eaglesmith scaled back his touring activities, he and Ginn spendoing more time working on their songwriting. In 2023 they issued their first Christmas album, “A Christmas Card”, recorded in their personal studio in their home on Lake Erie, the LP featured 11 original tunes for the yuletide season, with Fred and Tif handling all the instruments.
I’m finally going to conclude the Fred Eaglesmith feature by going back to the post that started it all - PatsFitztrick’s post # 544 a few years back now, where he (unlike myself) succinctly summed up his career with the following, which I have lifted as direct quotes -
“Fred honed his craft by relentlessly performing whenever and wherever he could, throughout Canada and the USA. He formed a country/bluegrass co-operative with a floating line-up of musicians that performed under various names like the The Flying Squirrels and the Flathead Noodlers, and in 1980 released his first album. Since then, there have been more than 20 others, liberally endowed with tales of life on the road or on the land, steam trains, cars, motorcycles, loves lost and found, farm machinery, horses, cattle, country towns, and ordinary, everyday people. All sung with absolute authority, honesty and a wicked sense of humour.
Fred has toured much of the world, and often visited Australia. Kasey Chambers and her father Bill (who have both recorded his songs) are regular guests at his annual charity picnic in rural Ontario. In 2014, Fred married his long-time collaborator Tiffani Ginn, a gifted vocalist and multi-instrumentalist in her own right. Since 2016 they have continued to tour as a duo. …
If you haven’t yet made his acquaintance, get comfortable and have a listen. …
Be careful, though. They can become addictive”.
That last cautionary sentence was proved so true.
And with that, now I have to hit the road myself again for at least a week or more, heading not too far or remote this time, to N.E. Victoria and just across the Murray.
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PatsFitztrick
Debutant
- Mar 5, 2020
- 61
- 132
- AFL Club
- Carlton
Professor, how do I thank you?
How do I acknowledge the depth of your research, and the eloquent authority of your writing?
I don't have an adequate answer – just a warm welcome to the Worldwide Fraternity Of Fredheads.
How do I acknowledge the depth of your research, and the eloquent authority of your writing?
I don't have an adequate answer – just a warm welcome to the Worldwide Fraternity Of Fredheads.
Much appreciate your generous words, Pats. In regards to Fred Eaglesmith, I am much indebted to you for putting me “onto” him in the first place … now I feel honoured to be welcomed into the Fredhead Fraternity!
blackshadow
Hall of Famer
You really should put this into book form.Well it turns out I was kidding myself when last here I said I should have time to squeeze in a special artist before Christmas. I never came close to having the spare time (I should’ve known better), so the next feature had had to be put back until a little after the new year.
Meanwhile, Christmas Eve started with some sad news this morning -
Founding Dixie Chicks Member Laura Lynch Dies in Car Accident -...
Founding member of The Dixie Chicks and well-regarded bass player Laura Lynch has died in a car accident in Texas. Lynch founded The Dixie Chicks in 1989 as a bluegrass and traditional country band. She was 65 years old.
Now for an updated index. It’s taken almost 2 years to get through the 1970’s (roughly based upon when an artist breaks through to sustained prominence/stardom). The index to the history includes the sub-genre types of each artist or group. You can use this as a guide to peruse any artist or country sub-genre at your leisure (and I've covered far more artists than I ever intended to when the lockdown inspired me to do this).
Hope y’all have a great Christmas, wherever you are or whoever you’re sharing it with.
Name, Post/s number, State of origin, Key to sub-genre.
TF = Traditional and/or folk country (as established by Vernon Dalhart, The Carter Family and Jimmy Rodgers)
TC = Traditional Country but without the folk influence.
G = Gospel
WC = Western Cowboy or trail songs
WM = Western movie music
WS = Western Swing
HT = Honky Tonk (baroom "adult" music - usually about breakups, heartaches, drinking, cheating etc) that generally appealed to the rural and working class base.
BG = Bluegrass (usually traditionally acoustic using traditional instruments including banjo and slap bass)
RR = Rockabilly and/or rock'n'roll (rockabilly generally retaining a more country flavour than straight out R&R) that in the 1950's was generally confined to the youth, mostly teenage base. Also the later rock influence in country music, especially in the Outlaw era.
CR = Country Rock, still definably country but with a heavily rock influenced sound, especially the accompanimen.
NS = Nashville Sound, a more sophisticated 'pop country' sound than honky tonk, deliberately appealing to a mass suburban, more middle class audience, thus expanding the country music market.
CP = Countrypolitan, an even more refined “Nashville Sound”, with smooth vocals and instrumentals, sometimes including soul or jazz influences.
CB = Country Ballad, e.g. Marty Robbins' 'El Paso' and Johnny Hortons 'Battle of New Orleans', popular in the late fifties to early sixties.
PC = Pop Country. Lighter pop/rock sound appealing to beyond the traditional country market to middle clas suburbia, with Sonny James and particularly Glenn Campbell as breakthrough artists.
TM = Tex/Mex aka Tejano - traditional Mexican, esp North Mexican Norteno and South Texas European influence - including use of mixed English & Spanish lyrics and accordions.
OC = Music associated with the Outlaw era of the mid to late seventies, often with a heavier Country rock influenced sound.
UC = 1980’s “Urban Cowboy” Country Pop sound developed by Mickey Gilley
GW = Gulf & Western Laidback Island sound with Calypso and/or Reggae influence, developed by Jimmy Buffett. Also called ‘Trop Rock’.
SGQ = Southern Gospel Quartet I
Vernon Dalhart 114-115 Texas TF
The Carter Family 117-119 Virginia TF, G
Jimmie Rodgers 120-122 Mississippi TF, HT
Sons of the Pioneers 123-124 California WC, WM
Gene Autry 125-126 Texas WC, WM
Bob Wills & The Texas Playboys 132-140 Texas WS
Roy Acuff 147-149 Tennessee TF, G
Jimmie Davis 150-153 Louisiana TF
Roy Rogers 154-157 Ohio WC, WM
Elton Britt 159-160 Arkansas WC, TF
Ernest Tubb 161-165 Texas HT
Milton Brown 163 Texas WS
Al Dexter 166-168 Texas HT
Spade Cooley 169-171 Oklahoma WS
Tex Williams 172 Illinois WS
Red Foley 173 & 176-178 Kentucky TF, HT, RR, G
Tex Ritter 179-180 Texas TF, HT, WM
Bill Monroe &
The Bluegrass Boys 181-183 Kentucky BG
Merle Travis 184-186 Kentucky HT, TF
The Stanley Brothers 187-188 Virginia BG
Eddy Arnold 189-191 Tennessee TF, HT, NS, WC
Flatt & Scruggs 194-195 Tennessee BG
Tenessee Ernie Ford 196-197 Tennessee TF, RR
Moon Mullican 198-199 Texas HT, RR
Hank Snow 202-204 Novia Scotia (Can) TF, HT
Hank Williams 205-214 Alabama HT, TF, RR, G
Lefty Frizzell 216-219 Texas HT, TF
Mother Maybelle &
The Carter Sisters 222 Virginia TF, G
Anita Carter 225-232 Virginia TF
Carl Smith 233-234 Tennessee HT, RR
Hank Thompson 235-237 Texas WS, HT, RR
Kitty Wells 238-239 Tennessee HT
Webb Pierce 240-250 Louisiana HT, RR
Jean Shepard 251 Oklahoma HT
Slim Whitman 252-254 Texas WT
Frankie Laine 255-256 Illinois WM
Faron Young 261-262 & 266 Louisiana HT, TF
Ray Price 269-275 Texas HT, TF, NS
Elvis Presley 278-286 Alabama RR, TF, G
Carl Perkins 287-291 Tennessee RR, TF
The Louvin Brothers 294-295 Tennessee TF, G
Johnny Horton 296 & 301 & 308 California. HT, RR, CB
Sanford Clark 311-313 Arizona RR, WT
Marty Robbins 325-330 & 335 Arizona HT, RR, TF, WC, CB, WS, NS, G
Johnny Cash 338-345 Arkansas RR, HT, TF, CB, WT, NS, G
Charlie Feathers 346-348 Tennessee RR
Jerry Lee Lewis 349-352 & 365-367 Louisiana RR, HT, TF, G
Chet Atkins 353-356 Tennessee - world class guitarist and producer of NS
Ferlin Husky 362-364 Missouri NS, G
The Browns 368-369 Arkansas TF, G
Jim Ed Brown 371-372 Arkansas TF, HT
Helen Cornelius 372 Missouri TF, HT
Bobby Helms 377 Indiana RR, TF
Hank Locklin 378-379 Florida HT, TF
Jim Reeves 383-386 Texas NS
Patsy Cline 387-389 Virginia NS
Cowboy Copas 390 Oklahoma TF
The Everly Bros 393-399 Illinois RR, TF
Don Gibson 400-404 North Carolina HT
George Jones 405-412 Texas HT, TF
Western movie themes to 1962 416-419 WM
Leroy Van Dyke 423-424 Missouri RR, HT, TF
Jimmy Dean 428-429 Texas RR, TF, CB, NS
Porter Wagoner 430-432 Missouri TF, G
Roy Drusky 433-434 Georgia NS, TF
Claude King 440-441 Louisiana CB, WC, TF, HT
Ray Charles 443-445 Georgia Soul country
Skeeter Davis 446-448 Kentucky NS, TF
Bill Anderson 449-452 South Carolina TF, NS, BG, G
Bakersfield Sound 455 HT
Buck Owens 456-463 Texas HT
Bobby Bare 464-468 Ohio TF, HT, OC
Nat King Cole 469 Alabama pop country influencer
Sonny James 474-478 Alabama NS PC (influenced by Nat King Cole)
Roger Miller 479-482 Texas TF
Connie Smith 483-486 Indiana NS, TF, G
David Houston 487-488 Louisiana HT, NS
Loretta Lynn 489-493 Kentucky TF, HT
Jack Greene 494-495 Tennessee TF, NS
Merle Haggard 497-502 California TF, HT
Tammy Wynette 503-506 Mississippi TF, HT
Glen Campbell 507-509 Arkansas TF, PC
Charley Pride 510-513 Mississippi NS, PC
Conway Twitty 514-520 Mississippi RR, NS, PC
Western Movie Themes 1964-1970 521-524
Bobby Gentry 531-535 Mississippi TF, PC
Jeannie Riley 537-540 Texas PC, G
Tom T. Hall 543-550 Tennessee TF, BG, CB
Townes Van Zandt 551-555 Texas TF,
Gram Parsons 560-570 Florida HT, TF
Lynn Anderson 573-575 North Dakota, TF, PC, BG, WC, G
Dolly Parton 581-607 Tennessee TF, PC, BG, WC, HT, CB, G
Tom T Hall 611-617 Tennessee TF, BG, CB
Freddie Hart 622-625 Alabama TF, PC, G
Mal Street 627-631 Tennessee HT, TF
Donna Fargo 647 North Carolina PC
Mel Tillis 648-657 Florida RR, HT, TF, PC, OC
Kris Kristofferson 661-667 Texas TF, NS, HT, PC, RR, G, OC
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band California 674-680 TF, BG, RR
John Prine Illinois 685-691+695 TF, CB
Gordon Lightfoot Ontario 696-702 TF, CB, PC
Charlie Rich Arkansas 706-70. RR, CP, G
Johnny Rodriguez Texas 713-716 TM, HT,
Billy “Crash” Craddock North Carolina 721-723. RR, PC, TC
Ronnie Milsap North Carolina 732-737 PC, HT
Olivia Newton John UK/Australia 738-741 PC
John Denver New Mexico 744-748 PC, TF
Don Williams Texas 757-759 TC, TF, CP
Freddy Fender Texas 764-766 TM, CP, PC
Pussycat, Netherlands, 771 PC
Outlaw Artists outline
Billy Joe Shaver Texas 773 OC
Waylon Jennings Texas 774-781 TC, HT, NS, CR, OC
Willie Nelson Texas 782-793 TF, TC, G, WC, CB, HT, CR, OC
Hank Williams Jr Louis 800-807 TC, HT, NS, CR, OC
Johnny Paycheck Ohio 815-821 TC, HT, NS, OC
Sammi Smith Okla 822-823 NS, TC, OC
Tanya Tucker Texas 824-828 TC, NS, CR, OC
David Allan Coe Ohio 830-836 TC, HT, CR, OC
Gary Stewart Florida 840-842 HT, TC, OC
Jerry Jeff Walker New York 844-847 OC, TF, GW
Guy Clark Texas Texas 848-856 TF, OC, TC
Emmylou Harris Alabama 860-873 TF, TC, OC, CR
Linda Ronstadt Arizona 889-893 TC, RR
Crystal Gayle Kentucky 897-902 PC, NS, TC
Mickey Gilley Mississippi 907-909 UC, PC, TC
Jimmy Buffett Alabama 911-924 GW, TC, PC, CR
Kenny Rogers Texas 932-936 PC, CR, UC
Dottie West Tennessee 939-940 NS, PC
Anne Murray Novia Scotia (Can) 946-948 PC, CR
The Statler Bros Virginia 949-952 SGQ, TC, PC, G
The Oak Ridge Boys, Tennessee 961-964 SGQ, TC, PC, RR, G
Eddie Rabbitt, New Jersey, 972-974, TC, PC, UC, CR
T.G. Sheppard, Tennessee, 977-978, TC, PC, UC
It would have a huge market in the US.
A bit of editing and appropriate images it would be a sensational tome.
blackshadow
Hall of Famer
I’ve been listening to a bit of stuff by a Texan Garrett T Capps.
I think it’s pretty good.
I think it’s pretty good.
Sorry for the late reply … the trouble for me is that I usually don’t know in which part of the country I’ll be more than 1-2 weeks ahead. I had given up on seeing this Texan troubadour (that I’ve followed for some years) when his first Melbourne concert sold out, but now I see another concert has been added for Tuesday 13 Feb. Providing this doesn’t also sell out in the meantime, I should find out sometime next week if I’ll be able to attend.
Thank you. This all started as what I thought would be a little project to fill in time just to stop me going (more) crazy being cooped up by the seemingly endless Melbourne Covid lockdowns - I had no thought at all of taking it any further (and I nearly chose to do blues instead of country). Now it’s gone well beyond what I ever imagined it would - so, not now but maybe later in the year when I should have a lot more time, I just might start look into the options.
Yes, I’m back again for the next history instalment, with a trip back to the 1980’s - we’ll actually, the music part starts with a huge pop hit of 1976 (though it now would easily be passed off as being traditional country). After the hard core, totally non mainstream music but masterly songwriting of Fred Eaglesmith, today brings pretty much the antithesis of Fred (sorry to say, Patsfitztrick). Having had the two southern gospel quartets in the Statler Brothers and The Oak Ridge Boys, today introduces the biggest selling (and thus thoroughly mainstream and commercial) brotherly duo in country music history.
Howard (b 1946) and David (b 1950) Bellamy were born and raised in west-central Florida, just 50 kms North of Tampa and now quite suburban, but what was then an isolated farm that had been in their family for 6 generations. As children, they worked with their father, Homer, tending cattle, often on horseback as real life cowboy, and helping out in the orange groves of the family’s 150-acre spread, picking oranges alongside Caribbean field labourers, while Homer divided his time between the farm and working at nearby cattle ranches pinching cows to help make ends meet.
Being Southern rural white boys, the first music they heard was, of course, country. For as long as they can remember, they have been immersed in music some way or another. Their earliest memories go back to singing in church. Throughout their childhood they were influenced by what they heard at home, Howard recalling - “Our parents had records by people like Hank Williams, Kitty Wells and Jimmie Rodgers. They didn’t like rock‘n’roll, just kept the radio on the country stations”. Homer was proficient on the dobro and accomplished on the fiddle and often had friends over to play and sing bluegrass music and his two sons quickly got involved. On weekends, Homer played the fiddle at local dances, weddings and the like with a Western swing band. Despite his proficiency with the fiddle, he never pursued a professional career in music, preferring his farm. But he provided the perfect environment for his sons to develop their skills and take things much further.
In addition to the country music they heard in their house, the brothers were drawn to the calypso music of the neighbouring Caribbean islands. When they started high school, they came into contact with a wider range of music. However, nothing provided as much attraction as the rock‘n’roll they heard on their older sister's records and the radio, introducing them to the tight vocal harmonies of the Everly Brothers, as well as the sounds of Elvis Presley, Ricky Nelson, the Beatles and other performers whose music would serve as the roots of the youth culture of the 1960s. The brothers soaked up the sounds of contemporary pop and rock, but as they matured to their late teens and early twenties, they once again became infatuated with country music, thanks to the music of George Jones and Merle Haggard.
Both Howard and David learned how to play a variety of instruments in their childhood. Neither child had any formal training, but through their father, Howard learnEd the guitar, banjo, and mandolin, while David learned the piano, accordion, fiddle, banjo, organ, and mandolin. In high school, they formed a band, the Accidents, playing locally for what David recalls as “gas, beers, a couple of bucks and girls”. Howard graduated High School in 1964, David in 1968, the same year the duo played with their father at the San Antonio (Florida, not Texas) Rattlesnake Festival. Both brothers also did well academically and went on to the University of Florida, where, as students, they had their first real paying gigs, playing frat parties. They both earned degrees, Howard majoring in veterinary medicine, David in psychology.
While still at College, David got gigs playing organ for such artists as Percy Sledge and Little Anthony and the Imperials and playing in the Pasco Gospel Group based in Florida. When the group disbanded he spent the next few years travelling around the country playing for whatever he could in the kinds of joints known as skull orchards (i.e. the worst, most rugged dives), his style heavily influenced by soul music. Meanwhile,, Howard, now married, took a full-time job with a meat packing plant as a cattle buyer. At the age of 21, he had a company car, an expense account and a decent salary for a kid his age. But music called him again and in 1971 the brothers reunited, forming their own group, Jericho, spending several years playing in small clubs around Georgia, Mississippi and South Carolina, with a set covering quality soul acts such as Percy Sledge and Otis Redding, as well as Top 40 rock/pop and some country. David remarked - “There are a lot of clubs in the South and a band can earn a good living even without a record contract down there. We played Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Percy Sledge, that kind of stuff … We used to make pretty good money but we were never into saving any of it”. Howard added - “We just lived from week to week like most of the bands there, never caring what happened next”.
Playing in a never-ending series of clubs across the South-East U.S. eventually proved tiring, especially as they spent as much as they earned, so in 1971, the brothers disbanded their group and went back to live on their father’s Florida farm, Howard recalling - “We just wanted to sort things out, try a different approach, so we didn’t play with a band for 2 or 3 years. Up´til that time, we’d been playing top 40 stuff and we wanted to write songs together. We had the playing down right, after all those years on the road, but we needed to concentrate on songwriting.” From David - “We also got into doing studio work to earn some money. There was a studio down in [nearby] Tampa and we used to get whatever work we could there, singing back-up or playing. I even wrote some commercials for the local TV and radio stations. We’d do sessions with whoever was in the studio, we’d work with rock groups, gospel and maybe both in the same day”.
By agreeing to write radio jingles for local stores, David got free time in the studio to start making demos of his own songs. He mailed them out to record companies and publishers. In a short time, in 1973 the move paid off, hitting gold with a tape that reached Phil Gernhard, who had produced the hit song, ’Stay‘ and a string of novelty hits for a band called the Royal Guardsmen. Their first hit, ’Snoopy vs. the Red Baron‘ sold a million singles. Gernhard had some news for them. By sheer luck, Jim Stafford, a comedic pop singer and another of Gernhard’s artists, had visited the studio, where he spotted a tape box on his desk. He rifled through it and at the bottom found one labelled ‘Spiders and Snakes‘. He liked the title, the story and the song, and he wanted to rewrite it with the song’s writer. ‘Spiders And Snakes’ was a humorous retelling by David Bellamy of his boyhood farm experiences. Stafford, after doing the re-write with the brothers, released it and scored a mammoth hit, selling over 3 million.
After this unexpected breakthrough, Phil Gernhard wanted David to move to L.A., so he could write songs with Stafford. All at once, David was offered a publishing contract, an artist recording contract with major label, Curb/Warner Bros and a management contract (though, as it turned out, the contract with Gernhard, which David signed without consulting a lawyer, screwed them over big time once the brothers broke through with their own major success). As per David - “That sold a few million records and Phil suggested we should move out to LA. I didn’t want to at first, but when we started making money from the sales of that record, I knew things would be pretty good in LA”. That song was the real start of the Bellamys’ fully professional musical career, not only in their eyes, but in the eyes of their father, as Howard recalled - “Our dad used to ask us when we were going to give this up and get real jobs. But when he saw our first royalty cheque, well, for the first time he considered what we were doing legitimate”.
David and Howard began their L.A. odyssey staying in an old mansion near the Hollywood Bowl, sharing space with a memorable magician-entertainer named Gallagher, who wrote comedy skits for Jim Stafford’s hit TV show. Howard, who’d garnered a gig as personal assistant to Stafford, spent a lot of his time on the road with the comic. Meanwhile, David was writing songs with Stafford and others and making demos of them with Howard in a little studio they rigged up in their basement. Gernhard liked what he heard and in 1975 gave David the go-ahead to cut some songs with another of his artists, Neil Diamond’s band. The brothers released their first single, David's ’Nothin' Heavy’. The song flopped. But during one of those sessions, in the brothers second great stroke of luck, Diamond’s drummer, Dennis St. John, walked over to David, and said - “You know, our roadie, Larry Williams, wrote this song you need to hear. It sounds like something y’all would do“.
Larry Williams wasn’t even a songwriter by trade, but a guitar technician for Neil Diamond across much of his touring career. Their relationship was such that in the mid-1970’s – undaunted by his employer’s own way with a melody – Williams felt comfortable enough to present Diamond with the song he’d written with him very much in mind. But Diamond already had his hands full preparing to record his ambitious “Beautiful Noise“ album, so couldn’t take it on. However, Diamond did see to it that it was publishet by Bicycle Music Company, his boutique publishing company. The song ´Let Yor Love Flow’ got its first bite from pop/folk singer Gene Cotton, but with a staccato brass, stilted rhythm section and workaday female backing vocals, Cotton’s 1975 recording bombed. But it was just around that time some of Diamond’s band had begun to hang out with the 2 musician brothers, who’d come out to L.A. from Florida to make it big. They thought the song would be perfect for them.
Despite Curb’s reticence about the viability of the song after its first failure, the Bellamy Brothers convened at L.A.’s Wally Heider Recording Studio with Gernhard as producer and some of Diamond’s seriously talented band around them - St John, bassist Emory Gordy, guitarists Doug Rhone and Richard Bennett and keyboardist Alan Lindgren. It only took the group a few takes to cut the song. They all felt the brothers and the band had nailed it and were confident it would be a hit.
The still reluctant label chiefs at Curb Records decided to “roadtest“ ‘Let Your Love Flow‘ by first releasing it in March 1976 Europe before any U.S. release. The Bellamys quickly embarked on a promotional tour on the continent and were treated like royalty there. The cheap video they made was receiving airplay on TV shows in England and across the continent. The record first hit the charts in the Netherlands, debuting at #22 on the Dutch Top 30 chart in March 1976. It peaked at #6 on both the Dutch chart and Belgium charts, spent 5 weeks at #1 in Germany and also in Switzerland and also eventually topped the Austrian chart for 3 months! It had a 7 week run at #2 in both Norway and Sweden, went to #7 in the UK, #3 in Ireland, #1 in South Africa, #2 in NZ and #6 in Australia. Just weeks before, they were unknown to anybody outside their own family and a select group of musician. Now, in places they had scarcely heard of back in Darby, they had found their way into the ears and hearts of millions of Europeans. When the song was finally displaced from # 1 in Germany after 5 weeks, it was by a local German language version of it, which remained # 1 for a further 6 weeks!
Soon, after sweeping Europe, ‘Let Your Love Flow‘ was breaking in America, destined to become the largest BMI airplay record that year, reaching #1 on the pop chart (# 3 in Canada), crossing-over to peak at # 2 on the AC chart (# 1 in Canada) and, despite not being aimed or marketed at all to the country market, went to # 21 on the country chart.
’Let Your Love Flow‘ is a gently upbeat piece with a smile on its face. Those guitar riffs at the beginning of the song jump right out to grab you. A simple, chord, 3 minute-and-change ride with a southern-country lilt and airy, summery vibe, sweet verses, an uplifting chorus and a positive, almost trippie lyrics about letting your love flow like a mountain stream, like a bird on a wing. These were dark times in 1976 – Watergate. Saigon, an OPEC oil embargo causing massive fuel cost hikes, inflation and recession, the Soviets seemingly ever strengthening, the U.S. in retreat – so any consolation or hope music was welcome -
The huge success of ‘Let Your Love Flow’ made Diamond’s roadie, Larry Williams some serious royalties - "I would say the guy who wrote this song is the wealthiest roadie now that ever was", said Howard.
On their sudden success, with David at age 30 and Howard 26, David recalls - “Two farm boys from Florida with a worldwide hit? We were so big so quick, we must have thought we had a career. But a hit is a hit, especially when it’s your first, and especially when it’s an international monster”. And as with most “monsters”, the monster of their sudden fame had sharp teeth -“When we got back to L.A. we primed to party while ‘Let Your Love Flow’ climbed the charts. It was the mid-’70s, and there was a single-edged razor blade in every rehearsal hall in L.A. Cocaine was everywhere, and we couldn’t not be a part of it, you know, so we were. It was a crazy world. But we never went right off track. We were still working on our music, determined that we’d build a real career out of ‘Let Your Love Flow.’ We put together a good touring band and went out on the road”.
The Bellamy Brothers quickly released their debut album, also called ”Let Your Love Flow“, which sold well in Europe and a Top 20 album seller in Australia, but only reached # 69 in the U.S. Their second album, 1977's ”Plain and Fancy“, an odd collection of light pop/soft rock stuff was a major success in Sweden and Norway, but made no impact in America or elsewhere. They were opening for one of nation’s hottest acts, Loggins and Messina, but they weren’t happy working with Gernhard. While Gernhard bought a new beach mansion in Malibu, the Bellamys, despite having one of the biggest hits of the year, remained poor - Gernhard had screwed them. When $60,000 worth of their own music equipment was stolen from their tour truck in Chicago, driving them deeper into a financial hole, it was the last straw. They gave up their band and left L.A in disgust, returning to the home comforts of the family farm in Darby, Florida, as per David - “We decided to work on our country stuff, and Darby is pretty close to Nashville. We figured we may as well stay in Florida, at least the rent’s low. We had cows we could butcher, and turnip greens and oranges to eat. When those big shots in L.A. found out we were planning to stay in Darby, they told us we’d never work in showbiz again“.
Not only did they change their address, but they changed their musical direction, moving closer to a straight country sound that Gernhard, fixed only on the pop/rock charts, had strongly opposed - albeit they keept some pop elements. They still had their recording contract, so, as David explains again - “At some point we called for a meeting with Mike Curb, and told him how hard it was to work with Gernhard, and begged for a better working situation. We were so used to scrapping with Gernhard, we thought we’d have to battle with Curb, but Curb’s cousin John, who was a record promoter, liked us and told Mike, ‘I heard a couple of things the guys cut, and I know I can get them played on country radio”. So, abandoning the pop world, for which they were never really suited, given their country background - and even more so as they aged, the brothers finally embraced country music as their natural sound.
“Our first country chart record ‘Slippin’ Away’ made it into the 30s. Our next single, ‘Lovin’ On,’ climbed to # 16. We were on the road with Conway Twitty at the time, and when we started playing a song I wrote called, ‘If I Said You Have a Beautiful Body (Would You Hold It Against Me)’, the crowd reaction was so strong that we started to believe we’d lucked into another one of those ‘people’ songs like ‘Let Your Love Flow,’ the kind of song that lights up a career and keeps it burning”, recalls David. But almost nobody at Curb Records believed in ’Beautiful Body‘ and the brothers had to battle to get even a small recording budget. Per Howard - “That’s kind of how it went back then. We were reaching rock bottom when we moved back to the farm. I was living in a tent. We did know how to put a band together, David had written another hit, but we had to convince them to let us record it. Everything was a battle with them”.
David Bellamy used to regularly watched Groucho Marx's TV quiz show, You Bet Your Life, where Groucho sometimes used the quote while interviewing an attractive female contestant, then shake his cigar and raise his eyebrows to elicit a reaction from the contestant and laughs from the audience. The comment stuck in David’s head as a possible hook line for a song - and years later he was proved right, becoming his second self-penned hit after ‘Spiders and Snakes’ and the first performed by the brothers. Released at a time when disco and funk dominated the airwaves, and pop-country seemed the only alternative, they wanted to create something different, something more traditional country, yet still modern, seeking to create a simple, playful, lighthearted song that pays homage to classic country music romance - but also note the touch of Caribbean calypso in the accompaniment, an influence they got from their orange grove pickers.
Oddly, ‘If I Said You Have a Beautiful Body (Would You Hold It Against Me)’ first charted in Northern Ireland, then becâme a big hit in the UK, peaking at # 3, before becoming a top 40 hit in the United States where it peaked at # 39 on the Pop charts, 3 years after their last hit, ‘Let Your Love Flow’. But crucially, proving they were no one hit wonders, but also establishing their country credentials, it went all the way to # 1 on the country chart -
In 2003, Country Weekly magazine named it the # 1 country pick-up line of all time (but trust me - it doesn’t work). Due to its massive success, it was re-recorded in 2005 by the brothers with Dolly Parton and it reached # 60 - the brothers first chart appearance since 1994.
In one of their more autobiographical lyrics, the Bellamys recreated their childhood in ‘You Ain’t Just Whistling Dixie’. Having grown up in the (then) off-the-map small town of Darby, Florida, it was not unusual for them to step off their back porch to find an alligator nearby. Going to the creek to fetch water for laundry was just a daily chore. As Howard recalls - "Anybody can imagine how remotely we were raised in Florida. I don't know if you ever saw, back years ago, a movie called The Yearling or any of those old movies of rural Florida. But we were raised among the palmetto patches of Florida, far removed. It was in the pine country and it was pretty much how we were brought up. So getting a bucket of water from the creek was all real. It used to be just beautifully wild, with rattlesnakes, moccasins, alligators. I wonder how we survived it. You always went out into the woods when we were growing up, you were always a little bit in fear of your life".
Coming at a time when "southern pride" songs were increasingly popular, ’You Ain’t Just Whistling Dixie’ was released in 1979 as the third single from the "The Two and Only" album and reached # 5 -
In 2005, the Bellamy Brothers re-recorded the song with Alan Jackson for their album "Angels & Outlaws, Vol. 1".
The song ’Sugar Daddy’ was born in a Knoxville car park. The Bellamys were in town to do a radio interview and the station had sent over a limo to pick them up. While they were waiting for the limo to arrive, they noticed a guy and a girl arguing in the parking lot. They had the hood of her car up and were trying to get the car started. He said “You know, what you need is a new car” and she angrily snapped back - “No, what I need is a sugar daddy”.
Yeah, the David Bellamy penned ’Sugar Daddy’ does sound a bit like ’The Green Green Grass of Home‘. The lyrics suggests the woman is trapped in a cycle of materialism, willing to do whatever it takes to keep her Sugar Daddy happy because she is afraid of losing the lifestyle he provides her with. This can be seen in lines like “… Money, money, always on my mind …” and “… I’ll be his slave, whatever he wants me to be .” So the song can be interpreted as a commentary on the idea that money cannot buy happiness. For me, it just makes me wish I was rich enough to be a sugar daddy for some young hottie.
It was released as the first single from the 1980 "You Could Get Crazy" album and became the brothers second # 1 hit in the US and went to # 2 in Canada -
’Dancin’ Cowboys‘ was the second single released from the 1980 "You Could Get Crazy" album and became the brothers 3rd U.S. # 1 hit and went to # 4 in Canada. It was inspired by the clubs and concert halls the Bellamy Brothers were playing as they established their country bona fides. It has a stream of consciousness like lyrics that would have it labeled as a list song if it were released today. The lyrics are observant but lack any insight It describes but provides no meaning - but it doesn’t matter, it’s just to provide the right mood for what is essentially a country western swing dance number. What actually lingers about ’Dancin’ Cowboys‘ is the production, which supports the Bellamy Brothers’ warm harmonies with some damn fine steel guitar - note also the Caribbean calypso influence, mentioned in the intro. The instrumental bridge is fantastic and serves as the songs highlight. So time to grab your partner and whirl her around -
The Bellamy Brothers had a southern sound but not as heavy as southern rock bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Allman Brothers Band or The Marshal Tucker Band (all of which I have excluded from this history, not because I don’t like them, not at all, but because these were all essentially rock bands, albeit with heavy doses of country influence, rather than country bands with rock elements - I just have to draw the line somewhere.
Anyway, The Bellamy Brothers, having first scored an unexpected massive international pop hit ‘Let Your Love Flow’ (which these days would be regarded as a straight up country song) in 1976, before finally really establishing themselves in the country market in 1979 with ‘If I Said You Had A Beautiful Body‘. They wen on in 1980 with 2 more #1 hits, for which they earned a Grammy nomination for Best Performance by a Duo or Group and the CMA named them the Most Promising Group of the Year. They were now bona fide country stars, not only in the U.S. but also in Europe where they retained a strong fan-base. Tomorrow will track their career at its peak into the early 1980’s.
Howard (b 1946) and David (b 1950) Bellamy were born and raised in west-central Florida, just 50 kms North of Tampa and now quite suburban, but what was then an isolated farm that had been in their family for 6 generations. As children, they worked with their father, Homer, tending cattle, often on horseback as real life cowboy, and helping out in the orange groves of the family’s 150-acre spread, picking oranges alongside Caribbean field labourers, while Homer divided his time between the farm and working at nearby cattle ranches pinching cows to help make ends meet.
Being Southern rural white boys, the first music they heard was, of course, country. For as long as they can remember, they have been immersed in music some way or another. Their earliest memories go back to singing in church. Throughout their childhood they were influenced by what they heard at home, Howard recalling - “Our parents had records by people like Hank Williams, Kitty Wells and Jimmie Rodgers. They didn’t like rock‘n’roll, just kept the radio on the country stations”. Homer was proficient on the dobro and accomplished on the fiddle and often had friends over to play and sing bluegrass music and his two sons quickly got involved. On weekends, Homer played the fiddle at local dances, weddings and the like with a Western swing band. Despite his proficiency with the fiddle, he never pursued a professional career in music, preferring his farm. But he provided the perfect environment for his sons to develop their skills and take things much further.
In addition to the country music they heard in their house, the brothers were drawn to the calypso music of the neighbouring Caribbean islands. When they started high school, they came into contact with a wider range of music. However, nothing provided as much attraction as the rock‘n’roll they heard on their older sister's records and the radio, introducing them to the tight vocal harmonies of the Everly Brothers, as well as the sounds of Elvis Presley, Ricky Nelson, the Beatles and other performers whose music would serve as the roots of the youth culture of the 1960s. The brothers soaked up the sounds of contemporary pop and rock, but as they matured to their late teens and early twenties, they once again became infatuated with country music, thanks to the music of George Jones and Merle Haggard.
Both Howard and David learned how to play a variety of instruments in their childhood. Neither child had any formal training, but through their father, Howard learnEd the guitar, banjo, and mandolin, while David learned the piano, accordion, fiddle, banjo, organ, and mandolin. In high school, they formed a band, the Accidents, playing locally for what David recalls as “gas, beers, a couple of bucks and girls”. Howard graduated High School in 1964, David in 1968, the same year the duo played with their father at the San Antonio (Florida, not Texas) Rattlesnake Festival. Both brothers also did well academically and went on to the University of Florida, where, as students, they had their first real paying gigs, playing frat parties. They both earned degrees, Howard majoring in veterinary medicine, David in psychology.
While still at College, David got gigs playing organ for such artists as Percy Sledge and Little Anthony and the Imperials and playing in the Pasco Gospel Group based in Florida. When the group disbanded he spent the next few years travelling around the country playing for whatever he could in the kinds of joints known as skull orchards (i.e. the worst, most rugged dives), his style heavily influenced by soul music. Meanwhile,, Howard, now married, took a full-time job with a meat packing plant as a cattle buyer. At the age of 21, he had a company car, an expense account and a decent salary for a kid his age. But music called him again and in 1971 the brothers reunited, forming their own group, Jericho, spending several years playing in small clubs around Georgia, Mississippi and South Carolina, with a set covering quality soul acts such as Percy Sledge and Otis Redding, as well as Top 40 rock/pop and some country. David remarked - “There are a lot of clubs in the South and a band can earn a good living even without a record contract down there. We played Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Percy Sledge, that kind of stuff … We used to make pretty good money but we were never into saving any of it”. Howard added - “We just lived from week to week like most of the bands there, never caring what happened next”.
Playing in a never-ending series of clubs across the South-East U.S. eventually proved tiring, especially as they spent as much as they earned, so in 1971, the brothers disbanded their group and went back to live on their father’s Florida farm, Howard recalling - “We just wanted to sort things out, try a different approach, so we didn’t play with a band for 2 or 3 years. Up´til that time, we’d been playing top 40 stuff and we wanted to write songs together. We had the playing down right, after all those years on the road, but we needed to concentrate on songwriting.” From David - “We also got into doing studio work to earn some money. There was a studio down in [nearby] Tampa and we used to get whatever work we could there, singing back-up or playing. I even wrote some commercials for the local TV and radio stations. We’d do sessions with whoever was in the studio, we’d work with rock groups, gospel and maybe both in the same day”.
By agreeing to write radio jingles for local stores, David got free time in the studio to start making demos of his own songs. He mailed them out to record companies and publishers. In a short time, in 1973 the move paid off, hitting gold with a tape that reached Phil Gernhard, who had produced the hit song, ’Stay‘ and a string of novelty hits for a band called the Royal Guardsmen. Their first hit, ’Snoopy vs. the Red Baron‘ sold a million singles. Gernhard had some news for them. By sheer luck, Jim Stafford, a comedic pop singer and another of Gernhard’s artists, had visited the studio, where he spotted a tape box on his desk. He rifled through it and at the bottom found one labelled ‘Spiders and Snakes‘. He liked the title, the story and the song, and he wanted to rewrite it with the song’s writer. ‘Spiders And Snakes’ was a humorous retelling by David Bellamy of his boyhood farm experiences. Stafford, after doing the re-write with the brothers, released it and scored a mammoth hit, selling over 3 million.
After this unexpected breakthrough, Phil Gernhard wanted David to move to L.A., so he could write songs with Stafford. All at once, David was offered a publishing contract, an artist recording contract with major label, Curb/Warner Bros and a management contract (though, as it turned out, the contract with Gernhard, which David signed without consulting a lawyer, screwed them over big time once the brothers broke through with their own major success). As per David - “That sold a few million records and Phil suggested we should move out to LA. I didn’t want to at first, but when we started making money from the sales of that record, I knew things would be pretty good in LA”. That song was the real start of the Bellamys’ fully professional musical career, not only in their eyes, but in the eyes of their father, as Howard recalled - “Our dad used to ask us when we were going to give this up and get real jobs. But when he saw our first royalty cheque, well, for the first time he considered what we were doing legitimate”.
David and Howard began their L.A. odyssey staying in an old mansion near the Hollywood Bowl, sharing space with a memorable magician-entertainer named Gallagher, who wrote comedy skits for Jim Stafford’s hit TV show. Howard, who’d garnered a gig as personal assistant to Stafford, spent a lot of his time on the road with the comic. Meanwhile, David was writing songs with Stafford and others and making demos of them with Howard in a little studio they rigged up in their basement. Gernhard liked what he heard and in 1975 gave David the go-ahead to cut some songs with another of his artists, Neil Diamond’s band. The brothers released their first single, David's ’Nothin' Heavy’. The song flopped. But during one of those sessions, in the brothers second great stroke of luck, Diamond’s drummer, Dennis St. John, walked over to David, and said - “You know, our roadie, Larry Williams, wrote this song you need to hear. It sounds like something y’all would do“.
Larry Williams wasn’t even a songwriter by trade, but a guitar technician for Neil Diamond across much of his touring career. Their relationship was such that in the mid-1970’s – undaunted by his employer’s own way with a melody – Williams felt comfortable enough to present Diamond with the song he’d written with him very much in mind. But Diamond already had his hands full preparing to record his ambitious “Beautiful Noise“ album, so couldn’t take it on. However, Diamond did see to it that it was publishet by Bicycle Music Company, his boutique publishing company. The song ´Let Yor Love Flow’ got its first bite from pop/folk singer Gene Cotton, but with a staccato brass, stilted rhythm section and workaday female backing vocals, Cotton’s 1975 recording bombed. But it was just around that time some of Diamond’s band had begun to hang out with the 2 musician brothers, who’d come out to L.A. from Florida to make it big. They thought the song would be perfect for them.
Despite Curb’s reticence about the viability of the song after its first failure, the Bellamy Brothers convened at L.A.’s Wally Heider Recording Studio with Gernhard as producer and some of Diamond’s seriously talented band around them - St John, bassist Emory Gordy, guitarists Doug Rhone and Richard Bennett and keyboardist Alan Lindgren. It only took the group a few takes to cut the song. They all felt the brothers and the band had nailed it and were confident it would be a hit.
The still reluctant label chiefs at Curb Records decided to “roadtest“ ‘Let Your Love Flow‘ by first releasing it in March 1976 Europe before any U.S. release. The Bellamys quickly embarked on a promotional tour on the continent and were treated like royalty there. The cheap video they made was receiving airplay on TV shows in England and across the continent. The record first hit the charts in the Netherlands, debuting at #22 on the Dutch Top 30 chart in March 1976. It peaked at #6 on both the Dutch chart and Belgium charts, spent 5 weeks at #1 in Germany and also in Switzerland and also eventually topped the Austrian chart for 3 months! It had a 7 week run at #2 in both Norway and Sweden, went to #7 in the UK, #3 in Ireland, #1 in South Africa, #2 in NZ and #6 in Australia. Just weeks before, they were unknown to anybody outside their own family and a select group of musician. Now, in places they had scarcely heard of back in Darby, they had found their way into the ears and hearts of millions of Europeans. When the song was finally displaced from # 1 in Germany after 5 weeks, it was by a local German language version of it, which remained # 1 for a further 6 weeks!
Soon, after sweeping Europe, ‘Let Your Love Flow‘ was breaking in America, destined to become the largest BMI airplay record that year, reaching #1 on the pop chart (# 3 in Canada), crossing-over to peak at # 2 on the AC chart (# 1 in Canada) and, despite not being aimed or marketed at all to the country market, went to # 21 on the country chart.
’Let Your Love Flow‘ is a gently upbeat piece with a smile on its face. Those guitar riffs at the beginning of the song jump right out to grab you. A simple, chord, 3 minute-and-change ride with a southern-country lilt and airy, summery vibe, sweet verses, an uplifting chorus and a positive, almost trippie lyrics about letting your love flow like a mountain stream, like a bird on a wing. These were dark times in 1976 – Watergate. Saigon, an OPEC oil embargo causing massive fuel cost hikes, inflation and recession, the Soviets seemingly ever strengthening, the U.S. in retreat – so any consolation or hope music was welcome -
The huge success of ‘Let Your Love Flow’ made Diamond’s roadie, Larry Williams some serious royalties - "I would say the guy who wrote this song is the wealthiest roadie now that ever was", said Howard.
On their sudden success, with David at age 30 and Howard 26, David recalls - “Two farm boys from Florida with a worldwide hit? We were so big so quick, we must have thought we had a career. But a hit is a hit, especially when it’s your first, and especially when it’s an international monster”. And as with most “monsters”, the monster of their sudden fame had sharp teeth -“When we got back to L.A. we primed to party while ‘Let Your Love Flow’ climbed the charts. It was the mid-’70s, and there was a single-edged razor blade in every rehearsal hall in L.A. Cocaine was everywhere, and we couldn’t not be a part of it, you know, so we were. It was a crazy world. But we never went right off track. We were still working on our music, determined that we’d build a real career out of ‘Let Your Love Flow.’ We put together a good touring band and went out on the road”.
The Bellamy Brothers quickly released their debut album, also called ”Let Your Love Flow“, which sold well in Europe and a Top 20 album seller in Australia, but only reached # 69 in the U.S. Their second album, 1977's ”Plain and Fancy“, an odd collection of light pop/soft rock stuff was a major success in Sweden and Norway, but made no impact in America or elsewhere. They were opening for one of nation’s hottest acts, Loggins and Messina, but they weren’t happy working with Gernhard. While Gernhard bought a new beach mansion in Malibu, the Bellamys, despite having one of the biggest hits of the year, remained poor - Gernhard had screwed them. When $60,000 worth of their own music equipment was stolen from their tour truck in Chicago, driving them deeper into a financial hole, it was the last straw. They gave up their band and left L.A in disgust, returning to the home comforts of the family farm in Darby, Florida, as per David - “We decided to work on our country stuff, and Darby is pretty close to Nashville. We figured we may as well stay in Florida, at least the rent’s low. We had cows we could butcher, and turnip greens and oranges to eat. When those big shots in L.A. found out we were planning to stay in Darby, they told us we’d never work in showbiz again“.
Not only did they change their address, but they changed their musical direction, moving closer to a straight country sound that Gernhard, fixed only on the pop/rock charts, had strongly opposed - albeit they keept some pop elements. They still had their recording contract, so, as David explains again - “At some point we called for a meeting with Mike Curb, and told him how hard it was to work with Gernhard, and begged for a better working situation. We were so used to scrapping with Gernhard, we thought we’d have to battle with Curb, but Curb’s cousin John, who was a record promoter, liked us and told Mike, ‘I heard a couple of things the guys cut, and I know I can get them played on country radio”. So, abandoning the pop world, for which they were never really suited, given their country background - and even more so as they aged, the brothers finally embraced country music as their natural sound.
“Our first country chart record ‘Slippin’ Away’ made it into the 30s. Our next single, ‘Lovin’ On,’ climbed to # 16. We were on the road with Conway Twitty at the time, and when we started playing a song I wrote called, ‘If I Said You Have a Beautiful Body (Would You Hold It Against Me)’, the crowd reaction was so strong that we started to believe we’d lucked into another one of those ‘people’ songs like ‘Let Your Love Flow,’ the kind of song that lights up a career and keeps it burning”, recalls David. But almost nobody at Curb Records believed in ’Beautiful Body‘ and the brothers had to battle to get even a small recording budget. Per Howard - “That’s kind of how it went back then. We were reaching rock bottom when we moved back to the farm. I was living in a tent. We did know how to put a band together, David had written another hit, but we had to convince them to let us record it. Everything was a battle with them”.
David Bellamy used to regularly watched Groucho Marx's TV quiz show, You Bet Your Life, where Groucho sometimes used the quote while interviewing an attractive female contestant, then shake his cigar and raise his eyebrows to elicit a reaction from the contestant and laughs from the audience. The comment stuck in David’s head as a possible hook line for a song - and years later he was proved right, becoming his second self-penned hit after ‘Spiders and Snakes’ and the first performed by the brothers. Released at a time when disco and funk dominated the airwaves, and pop-country seemed the only alternative, they wanted to create something different, something more traditional country, yet still modern, seeking to create a simple, playful, lighthearted song that pays homage to classic country music romance - but also note the touch of Caribbean calypso in the accompaniment, an influence they got from their orange grove pickers.
Oddly, ‘If I Said You Have a Beautiful Body (Would You Hold It Against Me)’ first charted in Northern Ireland, then becâme a big hit in the UK, peaking at # 3, before becoming a top 40 hit in the United States where it peaked at # 39 on the Pop charts, 3 years after their last hit, ‘Let Your Love Flow’. But crucially, proving they were no one hit wonders, but also establishing their country credentials, it went all the way to # 1 on the country chart -
In 2003, Country Weekly magazine named it the # 1 country pick-up line of all time (but trust me - it doesn’t work). Due to its massive success, it was re-recorded in 2005 by the brothers with Dolly Parton and it reached # 60 - the brothers first chart appearance since 1994.
In one of their more autobiographical lyrics, the Bellamys recreated their childhood in ‘You Ain’t Just Whistling Dixie’. Having grown up in the (then) off-the-map small town of Darby, Florida, it was not unusual for them to step off their back porch to find an alligator nearby. Going to the creek to fetch water for laundry was just a daily chore. As Howard recalls - "Anybody can imagine how remotely we were raised in Florida. I don't know if you ever saw, back years ago, a movie called The Yearling or any of those old movies of rural Florida. But we were raised among the palmetto patches of Florida, far removed. It was in the pine country and it was pretty much how we were brought up. So getting a bucket of water from the creek was all real. It used to be just beautifully wild, with rattlesnakes, moccasins, alligators. I wonder how we survived it. You always went out into the woods when we were growing up, you were always a little bit in fear of your life".
Coming at a time when "southern pride" songs were increasingly popular, ’You Ain’t Just Whistling Dixie’ was released in 1979 as the third single from the "The Two and Only" album and reached # 5 -
In 2005, the Bellamy Brothers re-recorded the song with Alan Jackson for their album "Angels & Outlaws, Vol. 1".
The song ’Sugar Daddy’ was born in a Knoxville car park. The Bellamys were in town to do a radio interview and the station had sent over a limo to pick them up. While they were waiting for the limo to arrive, they noticed a guy and a girl arguing in the parking lot. They had the hood of her car up and were trying to get the car started. He said “You know, what you need is a new car” and she angrily snapped back - “No, what I need is a sugar daddy”.
Yeah, the David Bellamy penned ’Sugar Daddy’ does sound a bit like ’The Green Green Grass of Home‘. The lyrics suggests the woman is trapped in a cycle of materialism, willing to do whatever it takes to keep her Sugar Daddy happy because she is afraid of losing the lifestyle he provides her with. This can be seen in lines like “… Money, money, always on my mind …” and “… I’ll be his slave, whatever he wants me to be .” So the song can be interpreted as a commentary on the idea that money cannot buy happiness. For me, it just makes me wish I was rich enough to be a sugar daddy for some young hottie.
It was released as the first single from the 1980 "You Could Get Crazy" album and became the brothers second # 1 hit in the US and went to # 2 in Canada -
’Dancin’ Cowboys‘ was the second single released from the 1980 "You Could Get Crazy" album and became the brothers 3rd U.S. # 1 hit and went to # 4 in Canada. It was inspired by the clubs and concert halls the Bellamy Brothers were playing as they established their country bona fides. It has a stream of consciousness like lyrics that would have it labeled as a list song if it were released today. The lyrics are observant but lack any insight It describes but provides no meaning - but it doesn’t matter, it’s just to provide the right mood for what is essentially a country western swing dance number. What actually lingers about ’Dancin’ Cowboys‘ is the production, which supports the Bellamy Brothers’ warm harmonies with some damn fine steel guitar - note also the Caribbean calypso influence, mentioned in the intro. The instrumental bridge is fantastic and serves as the songs highlight. So time to grab your partner and whirl her around -
The Bellamy Brothers had a southern sound but not as heavy as southern rock bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Allman Brothers Band or The Marshal Tucker Band (all of which I have excluded from this history, not because I don’t like them, not at all, but because these were all essentially rock bands, albeit with heavy doses of country influence, rather than country bands with rock elements - I just have to draw the line somewhere.
Anyway, The Bellamy Brothers, having first scored an unexpected massive international pop hit ‘Let Your Love Flow’ (which these days would be regarded as a straight up country song) in 1976, before finally really establishing themselves in the country market in 1979 with ‘If I Said You Had A Beautiful Body‘. They wen on in 1980 with 2 more #1 hits, for which they earned a Grammy nomination for Best Performance by a Duo or Group and the CMA named them the Most Promising Group of the Year. They were now bona fide country stars, not only in the U.S. but also in Europe where they retained a strong fan-base. Tomorrow will track their career at its peak into the early 1980’s.
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You might wonder why I chose the Bellamy Brothers as the group to open the 1980’s, when by 1980 they’d already scored a massive work-wide pop hit with 1976’s ‘Let Your Love Flow’ (which would now be classified as country), and then, after a couple of frustrating years battling the L.A. sharks and snakes, fled back to their Florida family ranch and their musical roots - though their musical roots went beyond country music as we’ve already seen - and topped the country chart in 1979.
The reason is their brand of generally light, often uptempo feel good songs seemed to epitomise the newly optimistic USA that had emerged from after the turbulent sixties and troubled seventies. The economy boomed, American strength grew internationally, the mood picked up - and thé Bellamy Brothers music generally seems to represent this new mood. With their harmonic underscoring their sound, heir music was rarely heavy or tackled difficult issues. They weren’t the favourites of most music critics (and, I would think, most here) who want more meat to chew on. But this didn’t stop them chalking up a string of top 5 hits through the 1980’s - the majority going all the way to # 1.
Also, as we shall see, they were also, despite the critics, not bereft of innovation, for which they probably deserve more credit. And keep in mind, most of their hits were not provided by a team of Nashville song-writers but were penned by the younger of the brothers, David Bellamy, who was the true creative driver of the duo. And with that, we take up their music once again, starting from late 1980.
Penned by David Bellamy, and released as the first single from the album “Sons of the Sun” album, ‘Lovers Live Longer’ reached
# 3 in late 1980. The title of this ode to love is literally true - it’s a proven scientific fact (just look it up) that lovers in long-term stable relationships akin to a happy marriage really do, on average, live longer than those not so lucky (or encumbered, depending on your POV).
The verse - "… Babe, I read it in the news today / How to live to be a ripe old age / Funny thing is what they had to say /
It's something we've known all along…" suggests that while science now confirms love is good for us, it's not a new revelation to those who are in love. ‘Lovers Live Longer’ is a light romantic song celebrating love and its positive impact on one's health and wellbeing - or then again, is the singer really saying they ought to stay together simply to have a longer life? Who cares - this is really just a slow dance number - the kind that gets played as the last song of the night in traditional country music honky tonks and dance-halls, where the long-time couples and the brand new hook-ups sway along in tight embraces, some knowing where and what comes after, others still wondering or discussing their next steps -
The first song selection not written by David Bellamy, ‘Do You Love as Good as You Look" was co-written by Jerry Gillespie,
Charlie Black and Rory Bourke a d released in early 1981 as the second single from “Sons of the Sun” album, becoming their 4th # 1 single on the country charts. After the opening 2 verses describes a most desirable woman, the chorus poses the question most men have, if not said out love (probably a bad idea unless the singles are right), at least thought of often -
“... Honey, do you love as good as you look? / Can you satisfy your man like your body says you can? …“
The chorus then goes further - “… Judging from the cover / I'd love to read the book …”, a nice little ironic wordplay on the old cliche of not judging a book by its cover.
The lyrics play on the idea of physical attractiveness as a sign of sexual prowess, the singer musing that if she could read his (dirty) mind, she might blush - or then again he might get lucky! So it’s just a playful, light-hearted, bouncy tune highlighting the superficial, yet irresistible, standards of beauty that society often upholds while poking fun at it. Then again, the song could be re-interpreted as a critique of the male gaze and the expectations placed on women to look a certain way in order to be desirable - but it’s alway been thus and ever will be. But really, this ain’t a song to take seriously - it’s just one of those 1980’s songs that are good for filling the floor at a traditional country dance-hall -
At the end of 1981, Curb switched the Bellamy Brothers' distribution from Warner Bros to Elektra. Coincidentally, the change in distribution coincided with the brother's desire to experiment with their music. Although at heart, clearly country artists, the Bellamys’ musical influences remained broad, encompassing not only country, but folk, pop and rock music, as David explains - “We are a conglomeration of so many styles because of the era in which we were raised. We’ve been influenced by everyone from the Beatles down to Crosby, Stills & Nash and Joni Mitchell, with a dash of ‘island flavour ,’ since we were raised in Florida“. Speaking of Florida and (Caribbean) island music, one has to also throw in the influence of Jimmy Buffet into this mix.
Also in 1981, the brothers had just built their own home recording studio on the family ranch in Darby, Florida and promptly recorded their next album “When We Were Boys”. At this stage, I had originally intended to include one of the brothers bigger hits, ’For All the Wrong Reasons‘, yet another penned by David Bellamy and released in February 1982 as the first single from their home studio recorded “When We Were Boys” album. It became their 5th # 1 country hit. However, the more I listened to it, the less I liked it - to me, it has some vapid pop elements, including an annoying repeating chorus and strained vocals - IMO they should’ve dropped down a key. So I did a captains call and not included it, but you can check it out on online if you want - your opinion may, of course, differ from mine, for it was another of their # 1 hits.
The David Bellamy penned ’Redneck Girl’ was released in 1982 as the first single from the “Strong Weakness” album. Another one to fill the dance floor, it became their 6th # 1 hit, through a catchy, reggae influenced, melody with easy to sing along to lyrics and a theme that appeals to so many southerners and rural folk in general, a light hearted celebration of country life, country women and those who embrace them. It depicts a world that values authenticity and realness. The lyrics illustrate that being a "redneck“ girl is nothing to be ashamed of, but rather something to be proud of. The lyrics also has some real zingers -
“… She's gonna show one ole boy that weekend moon …” and “… A redneck girl got a name on the back of her belt …” -
Blake Shelton covered the song on the soundtrack to The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning. Tim McGraw covered the song as a duet with Midland for McGraw's 2020 compilation album “McGraw Machine Hits: 2013-2019”.
The Caribbean influence in the Bellamy’s music, as mentioned in yesterdays intro, goes back to their childhood, as Howard explains - “We’d pick with [the migrant Jamaican workers] every year, and when they worked they sang. It was so amazing to hear them sing across the treetops, high on these long wooden ladders. They were like groups of their own, working up parts, doing call and response things with great rhythms. It’s funny now; we thought everyone heard beautiful island music as a child.”
After they released the # 1 "For All the Wrong Reasons‘, the brothers had followed with ’Get Into Reggae Cowboy’ which was something of a groundbreaking country record that incorporated (as the title suggests) Jamaican reggae rhythms. It reached # 21 in 1981 - a relative failure at a time when they were racking up # 1 hits. But this didn’t stop them incorporating reggae rhythms into their music, as we’ve also just seen another in ‘Redneck Girl’. I’ve included an even better example here from the 1982 “Strong Weakness” album. ‘Almost Jamaica’, though never released as a single, is better than the previous albums’ ‘Get Into Reggae Cowboy‘.
‘Almost Jamaica‘ is about a woman who dreams of living in the idyllic tropical paradise of Jamaica, but instead has settled for a
life on the (Georgia/Florida?) border with the sunshine but no sea breeze. The song’s opening lines set the scene of the her harsh upbringing in the freezing cold of Dakota, dreaming of the warm islands by the fire burning. Throughout the song, she is depicted as enamoured with the idea of Jamaica, loving the hurricane warnings, tropical breeze, coconuts, and love songs with a little reggae. However, despite her love for the island, she can’t physically be there and must settle for an electric fan on the table and a shower as her waterfall. Ultimately, the song is about the her ability to transport herself to a better, more beautiful place in her mind, even if she can’t physically be there -
‘When I’m Away From You’ was written and originally recorded by Scottish rock star, Frankie Miller, in 1979. It was also recorded by pop star Kim Carnes for her 1981 album “Mistaken Identity”. However, by far the most successful, best-known version was recorded by thé brothers, released in early 1983 as the second single from the album “Strong Weakness” album, becoming their 7th # 1 country hit. The song describes the feelings of loneliness, confusion and longing experienced in the absence of their loved one, using imagery such as “… great big clouds in fog and rain …” and “… lonely crowds …”. The mood is melancholy and wistful, reflecting the sadness and yearning that the singer feels when apart. The repetition of the chorus at the end further emphasises the emotional impact the loved one has on the singer’s life -
In 1982, the Bellamy Brothers were given a Lifetime Membership of the Federation of International Country Air Personalities, as well as being named the Top Country Duo by Billboard. Having now chalked up 7 # 1 country hits - in addition to their initial # 1 pop hit from yesterday - and now also producing records in their own studio on their West Florida family ranch - the brothers were at the top of their game, and with more to come as they reach their creative peak in the mid-1980’s.
The reason is their brand of generally light, often uptempo feel good songs seemed to epitomise the newly optimistic USA that had emerged from after the turbulent sixties and troubled seventies. The economy boomed, American strength grew internationally, the mood picked up - and thé Bellamy Brothers music generally seems to represent this new mood. With their harmonic underscoring their sound, heir music was rarely heavy or tackled difficult issues. They weren’t the favourites of most music critics (and, I would think, most here) who want more meat to chew on. But this didn’t stop them chalking up a string of top 5 hits through the 1980’s - the majority going all the way to # 1.
Also, as we shall see, they were also, despite the critics, not bereft of innovation, for which they probably deserve more credit. And keep in mind, most of their hits were not provided by a team of Nashville song-writers but were penned by the younger of the brothers, David Bellamy, who was the true creative driver of the duo. And with that, we take up their music once again, starting from late 1980.
Penned by David Bellamy, and released as the first single from the album “Sons of the Sun” album, ‘Lovers Live Longer’ reached
# 3 in late 1980. The title of this ode to love is literally true - it’s a proven scientific fact (just look it up) that lovers in long-term stable relationships akin to a happy marriage really do, on average, live longer than those not so lucky (or encumbered, depending on your POV).
The verse - "… Babe, I read it in the news today / How to live to be a ripe old age / Funny thing is what they had to say /
It's something we've known all along…" suggests that while science now confirms love is good for us, it's not a new revelation to those who are in love. ‘Lovers Live Longer’ is a light romantic song celebrating love and its positive impact on one's health and wellbeing - or then again, is the singer really saying they ought to stay together simply to have a longer life? Who cares - this is really just a slow dance number - the kind that gets played as the last song of the night in traditional country music honky tonks and dance-halls, where the long-time couples and the brand new hook-ups sway along in tight embraces, some knowing where and what comes after, others still wondering or discussing their next steps -
The first song selection not written by David Bellamy, ‘Do You Love as Good as You Look" was co-written by Jerry Gillespie,
Charlie Black and Rory Bourke a d released in early 1981 as the second single from “Sons of the Sun” album, becoming their 4th # 1 single on the country charts. After the opening 2 verses describes a most desirable woman, the chorus poses the question most men have, if not said out love (probably a bad idea unless the singles are right), at least thought of often -
“... Honey, do you love as good as you look? / Can you satisfy your man like your body says you can? …“
The chorus then goes further - “… Judging from the cover / I'd love to read the book …”, a nice little ironic wordplay on the old cliche of not judging a book by its cover.
The lyrics play on the idea of physical attractiveness as a sign of sexual prowess, the singer musing that if she could read his (dirty) mind, she might blush - or then again he might get lucky! So it’s just a playful, light-hearted, bouncy tune highlighting the superficial, yet irresistible, standards of beauty that society often upholds while poking fun at it. Then again, the song could be re-interpreted as a critique of the male gaze and the expectations placed on women to look a certain way in order to be desirable - but it’s alway been thus and ever will be. But really, this ain’t a song to take seriously - it’s just one of those 1980’s songs that are good for filling the floor at a traditional country dance-hall -
At the end of 1981, Curb switched the Bellamy Brothers' distribution from Warner Bros to Elektra. Coincidentally, the change in distribution coincided with the brother's desire to experiment with their music. Although at heart, clearly country artists, the Bellamys’ musical influences remained broad, encompassing not only country, but folk, pop and rock music, as David explains - “We are a conglomeration of so many styles because of the era in which we were raised. We’ve been influenced by everyone from the Beatles down to Crosby, Stills & Nash and Joni Mitchell, with a dash of ‘island flavour ,’ since we were raised in Florida“. Speaking of Florida and (Caribbean) island music, one has to also throw in the influence of Jimmy Buffet into this mix.
Also in 1981, the brothers had just built their own home recording studio on the family ranch in Darby, Florida and promptly recorded their next album “When We Were Boys”. At this stage, I had originally intended to include one of the brothers bigger hits, ’For All the Wrong Reasons‘, yet another penned by David Bellamy and released in February 1982 as the first single from their home studio recorded “When We Were Boys” album. It became their 5th # 1 country hit. However, the more I listened to it, the less I liked it - to me, it has some vapid pop elements, including an annoying repeating chorus and strained vocals - IMO they should’ve dropped down a key. So I did a captains call and not included it, but you can check it out on online if you want - your opinion may, of course, differ from mine, for it was another of their # 1 hits.
The David Bellamy penned ’Redneck Girl’ was released in 1982 as the first single from the “Strong Weakness” album. Another one to fill the dance floor, it became their 6th # 1 hit, through a catchy, reggae influenced, melody with easy to sing along to lyrics and a theme that appeals to so many southerners and rural folk in general, a light hearted celebration of country life, country women and those who embrace them. It depicts a world that values authenticity and realness. The lyrics illustrate that being a "redneck“ girl is nothing to be ashamed of, but rather something to be proud of. The lyrics also has some real zingers -
“… She's gonna show one ole boy that weekend moon …” and “… A redneck girl got a name on the back of her belt …” -
Blake Shelton covered the song on the soundtrack to The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning. Tim McGraw covered the song as a duet with Midland for McGraw's 2020 compilation album “McGraw Machine Hits: 2013-2019”.
The Caribbean influence in the Bellamy’s music, as mentioned in yesterdays intro, goes back to their childhood, as Howard explains - “We’d pick with [the migrant Jamaican workers] every year, and when they worked they sang. It was so amazing to hear them sing across the treetops, high on these long wooden ladders. They were like groups of their own, working up parts, doing call and response things with great rhythms. It’s funny now; we thought everyone heard beautiful island music as a child.”
After they released the # 1 "For All the Wrong Reasons‘, the brothers had followed with ’Get Into Reggae Cowboy’ which was something of a groundbreaking country record that incorporated (as the title suggests) Jamaican reggae rhythms. It reached # 21 in 1981 - a relative failure at a time when they were racking up # 1 hits. But this didn’t stop them incorporating reggae rhythms into their music, as we’ve also just seen another in ‘Redneck Girl’. I’ve included an even better example here from the 1982 “Strong Weakness” album. ‘Almost Jamaica’, though never released as a single, is better than the previous albums’ ‘Get Into Reggae Cowboy‘.
‘Almost Jamaica‘ is about a woman who dreams of living in the idyllic tropical paradise of Jamaica, but instead has settled for a
life on the (Georgia/Florida?) border with the sunshine but no sea breeze. The song’s opening lines set the scene of the her harsh upbringing in the freezing cold of Dakota, dreaming of the warm islands by the fire burning. Throughout the song, she is depicted as enamoured with the idea of Jamaica, loving the hurricane warnings, tropical breeze, coconuts, and love songs with a little reggae. However, despite her love for the island, she can’t physically be there and must settle for an electric fan on the table and a shower as her waterfall. Ultimately, the song is about the her ability to transport herself to a better, more beautiful place in her mind, even if she can’t physically be there -
‘When I’m Away From You’ was written and originally recorded by Scottish rock star, Frankie Miller, in 1979. It was also recorded by pop star Kim Carnes for her 1981 album “Mistaken Identity”. However, by far the most successful, best-known version was recorded by thé brothers, released in early 1983 as the second single from the album “Strong Weakness” album, becoming their 7th # 1 country hit. The song describes the feelings of loneliness, confusion and longing experienced in the absence of their loved one, using imagery such as “… great big clouds in fog and rain …” and “… lonely crowds …”. The mood is melancholy and wistful, reflecting the sadness and yearning that the singer feels when apart. The repetition of the chorus at the end further emphasises the emotional impact the loved one has on the singer’s life -
In 1982, the Bellamy Brothers were given a Lifetime Membership of the Federation of International Country Air Personalities, as well as being named the Top Country Duo by Billboard. Having now chalked up 7 # 1 country hits - in addition to their initial # 1 pop hit from yesterday - and now also producing records in their own studio on their West Florida family ranch - the brothers were at the top of their game, and with more to come as they reach their creative peak in the mid-1980’s.
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I’ll start today’s segment in the Bellamy Brothers looking at their sing-writing, given that David in particular, has long been one of the most prolific. Though the brothers became interested in music by singing with their father and in church, it wasn’t long before David says he was making up words to the rock‘n’roll records his sister was bringing home - “I’d make up either dirty lyrics or stupid lyrics, parodies of what I was hearing, which I think a lot of people do that. I remember early on trying to write and listening to Roger Miller when he first came out – “Dang Me” and “Chug-A-Lug, Chug-A-Lug” – I remember that stuff just killed me because he had a sense of humour plus it was great music. Then I got into the Beatles and their songwriting so that is some of the earlier stuff I remember about writing songs”.
Howard has also written songs, though much less prolifically than younger brother David, who has that innate ability to write songs almost anywhere e.g. while riding on the tour bus or at a busy, noisy, restauranot, while Howard needs time and a quiet room at home. Interestingly, they have co-written very few songs together. The most notable difference in the two writers is that most of David’s songs have a current of humour in them while managing to make a statement about something, while Howard tends to write more straight-ahead, serious songs, explaining - “I’ve written things that weren’t serious but probably, in general, I’m more of a free spirit and when I feel good I’m out doing something else. When I get serious I’ll sit down and write a song. So in general that assessment is probably right.”
David, who has written most of their top selling hits, goes back to his early influences as to why he writes the way he does - “I grew up listening to such a wide range of writers – Roger Miller, Ray Stevens who I think is a genius songwriter, Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Paul Simon, Paul McCartney, Merle Haggard, Don McLean – I think all these people are unbelievable writers and I liked all their styles. I don’t see why you can’t mix them together. It’s like a good movie, a comedy drama with a lot of different elements in it.” Now on to the music, starting from 1985 - Howard now aged 39 and David at 35.
‘I Need More Of You’ written by David Bellamy, was released in early 1985 as the third single from the “Restless“ album and became the brothers 8th # 1 country hit. The lyrics, basically about the intense feelings a new romance can suddenly bring - “… We ain't been together too long / Strange, how did our love get so strong …”, - ain’t nothing remarkably profound, yet the lyrics, though simple, are just right. The really song draws its strength from a winning melody with a catchy harmonic hook -
When David Bellamy wrote ‘Old Hippy‘ - or, to use the U.S. spelling - ‘Old Hippie’, he had no idea he was serving as a spokesperson for an oft overlooked part of the “thirtysomething” generation. In fact, it took brother Howard to persuade him they should even record it - and it took MCA division chief Jimmy Bowen to decide ‘Old Hippie‘ should be a single. Weaving together pieces of nostalgia – Woodstock, John Lennon’s death, the Vietnam war – ‘Old Hippie’ depicts an aging relic of the 1960’s, grappling with his own physical changes and the movements that altered his society. Released in 1985 as the first single from their “Howard & David” album, it reached #2 in the U.S. # and went all the way to # 1 in Canada.
The “old hippie” (at age 35!) uses weed, listens to the Woodstock-influenced rock music of the late 1960s, still mourns the murder of John Lennon in 1980 and for years refuses to let go of his lifestyle, having a hard time adjusting to the societal changes around him. He's stuck in his ways and doesn't know whether to hold onto the beliefs of the past or embrace the new way of living. He's not trying to change anyone else, but he's struggling to adjust, feeling lost in between his past world and the present, not knowing what to do. It’s then revealed he was drafted to Vietnam and forced to "become a man while he was still a boy". Afterward, he began waiting for something good to happen in his life, before adopting his lifestyle. Eventually, he is seemingly forced to accept some change, taking up such interests as jogging while grudgingly staying away from parties and nightclubs -
‘I’d Lie To You For Your Love’, co-written by Frankie Miller and Jeff Barry, was originally recorded in 1985 by hard rock singer and drummer, Danny Spanos, but it became a much bigger hit later the same year for the Bellamy Brothers, who earned co-writing credits for their lyrical additions to the track. Danny Spanos' original version was a minor hit on rock charts, peaking at # 42. The Bellamy Brothers version featured additional verses co-written by David and Howard. Also released in 1985 as the second single from their “Howard & David” album, it reached # 2.
A light-hearted and humorous track that captures the playful energy of flirtation and dating, it explores the idea of embellishing one's accomplishments and experiences to impress another person and win them over - and as such, it’s eminently relatable, for who amongst us hasn’t told a few while lies, or even great big whoppa or two in order to just get the attention of the person you desire at the time? In the end, the lyrics suggest the man's desire at least is genuine, even if his boasts ain’t entirely honest - simple but all very relatable -
After the success of the Bellamy Brothers version, Miller recorded a cover of their rendition, with the additional verses they had added, on his 1985 “Dancing in the Rain” album. In late 2023, the Bellamy Brothers released a version of the song they recorded with K.T. Oslin prior to her death in 2020.
By 1986, the brothers had experimented with elements of disco, rock, reggae and island music. In another example of their Bellamy low key innovation, in 1986 they released their “Country Rap” album. The first recorded use of the term “Country Rap“ for a song appears in the album’s title song. Yes,The Bellamy Brothers were the very first to combine country music with rap music - so they can take the blame for this sub-genre that still outrages both country and rap purists alike. There were no more country rap songs by any artist until the very late 1990’s, after which it started to spread and do its worst. Actually, the brothers ‘Country Rap’ song was very much an unserious tongue-in-cheek number - and the only hip-hop like song on the album, which is dominated by experimental "fun stuff," including ’D-D-D-D-Divorcee’ ’Country Rap‘ and their bopping group effort with The Forester Sisters, ’Too Much Is Not Enough’, which became the duo’s 9th # 1 hit.
’Kids Of The Baby Boom‘ written by David Bellamy, was released in January 1987 as the second single from the “Country Rap” album. A tune David frequently referred to as ”son of ‘Old Hippie’”, he said ‘Kids Of The Baby Boom‘ largely consisted of lines that were left over from ‘Old Hippie‘. He wrote both tunes the same day. After getting the idea for ‘Old Hippie‘ and diving right in writing it ,David found, in short order, he had composed 15 verses! Well, of course that was way too lengthy, so he proceeded to trim it up. One of the lines he edited out mentioned something about “kids of the baby boom.” David liked that line a lot and didn’t want to just discard it, so he worked on trying to get another melody going and maybe another idea that was the same, same – but different. What resulted was ‘Kids Of The Baby Boom’ Whereas ‘Old Hippie‘ came close, ‘Kids Of The Baby Boom‘ went all the way to # 1, marking the Bellamys’ 10th - and last - single to make the top spot.
This is an underrated song. The opening lines of the song highlight the fact that the baby boomer generation was born into a time of peace, prosperity, and optimism. The return of soldiers from WW2 and the subsequent boom in the US economy led to a new era of abundance and growth. The line “… They gave them so much love that all us kids were born …” is a nod to the high birth rates that characterised the baby boomer period (1945-1960). The reference to Mickey Mouse and hula-hoops is an example of the cultural icons and trends that defined the baby boomer generation. The subsequent linestouch on the materialistic values that became associated with baby boomers, with references to BMWs and brand new pickup trucks.
But second verse of the song, seemingly ahead of their time given the accumulation of wealth in the decades since this song came out, turns a critical eye on the boomer generation as they reached maturity. The line - “… We had sympathy for the devil and the Rolling Stones …”, reflect the rebellious attitudes and countercultural movements that arose during the 1960’s - though it’s tempered by the next line - “… Then we got a little older, we found Haggard and Jones …”. However, the line ”… We’re a nation full of takers, never giving back…” suggests the boomers have become too comfortable and complacent in their prosperity, leading to issues like environmental degradation and rising social inequality. So what starts off as rose-tinted nostalgic tour of the post war era turns into a nuanced reflection on the triumphs and challenges of the generation that defined post-war America (and by extension, the western world in general -
Seventeen months later, what might be called “Old Hippie III” appeared, better known as ‘Rebels Without A Clue‘. That tune, by reaching #9, completed a nostalgia and social history trilogy that resulted in 3 Top 10 singles.
From the start of the decade the to mid-1980’s, the brothers were at their peak, both popularly and artistically, scoring a number of # 1 hit singles that showcased their continuing musical development as well as their increasing lyrical sophistication. However, as the decade wore on, despite their experimentation as we’ve already seen, their biggest hits started to sound alike. Perhaps they became trapped, as have so many other musicians, by the propensity of their fans to expect a certain type of song - hence the songs become too narrowly formalistic. This can work well commercially for a while but even dedicated fans will eventually tire of it. Their biggest hits from 1987 to 199o included titles such as ‘Crazy From the Heart’, ‘I’ll Give You All My Love Tonight’, ‘Big Love’, ‘You’ll Never Be Sorry’ and ‘I Could Be Persuaded’. Notice in that lot the overload of romance Numbers. They all sound similar and forgettable
By the end of the 1990’s, the brothers audience had begun to shrink, leading the duo to switch record labels to Atlantic. After one album with Atlantic, 1991's “Rollin' Thunder”, the Bellamys left thelabel, founding their own record label, Bellamy Brothers Records, one of the first artist-driven country independents of the modern era. “The Latest & the Greatest” in 1992 was the first album released on the label. Although the independent label meant that the group wasn't charting as frequently as it used to, that was also a reflection of the shift of the country audience's taste, initially sparked by the neo-traditional movement led by George Strait. The duo could still have minor hits, like the Top 25 ’Cowboy Beat‘ in 1992, which proved the Bellamy Brothers continued to hold on to a core group of fans in their second decade of performing.
I reckon the brothers got it wrong when they released ‘On A Summer Night‘ as the only single from their “Crazy from the Heart” album - and it quickly disappeared without trace. To me, ’My Heart Is Crying‘, co-penned by David Bellamy and Don Schlitz, was the stand-out track they should have released instead. With its better melody, lyrics and catchy chorus, with the well worn country theme of a man who has lost his love and struggling to come to terms with it and is still hoping for a brand new start, I’m sure it would have found a market. The song's themes of heartbreak, loss, and hope are universal and relatable. The vocals add a sad and mournful touch to the lyrics -
The Bellamys continued put out numerous independent records during the '1990s and following the 1998 collection “Reggae Cowboys”, the duo switched to Blue Hat Records for 1999's “Lonely Planet”. The Bellamy's biggest project of the new millennium was “Angels & Outlaws, Vol. 1“, a 2005 Curb record re-recording old hits with a host of other country stars, including Alan Jackson, Tanya Tucker, and Dolly Parton. Following 2007's gospel album Jesus Is Coming, which caused some controversy with some thought provocative, lyrics, the Brothers released “The Anthology, Vol. 1“, a collection of re-recordings of their biggest hits and also featuring new recordings, including a duet with the Bacon Brothers on ’Guilty of the Crime‘. They also retained a big international following, regularly touring in Europe and occasionally to Australia.
And wait, there’s more - for as the Bellamy Brothere got older, they didn’t fade away. Some say they have got better with age and experience, others say they have shown more freedom to do what they want, So stay tuned as their career is brought up to date.
Howard has also written songs, though much less prolifically than younger brother David, who has that innate ability to write songs almost anywhere e.g. while riding on the tour bus or at a busy, noisy, restauranot, while Howard needs time and a quiet room at home. Interestingly, they have co-written very few songs together. The most notable difference in the two writers is that most of David’s songs have a current of humour in them while managing to make a statement about something, while Howard tends to write more straight-ahead, serious songs, explaining - “I’ve written things that weren’t serious but probably, in general, I’m more of a free spirit and when I feel good I’m out doing something else. When I get serious I’ll sit down and write a song. So in general that assessment is probably right.”
David, who has written most of their top selling hits, goes back to his early influences as to why he writes the way he does - “I grew up listening to such a wide range of writers – Roger Miller, Ray Stevens who I think is a genius songwriter, Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Paul Simon, Paul McCartney, Merle Haggard, Don McLean – I think all these people are unbelievable writers and I liked all their styles. I don’t see why you can’t mix them together. It’s like a good movie, a comedy drama with a lot of different elements in it.” Now on to the music, starting from 1985 - Howard now aged 39 and David at 35.
‘I Need More Of You’ written by David Bellamy, was released in early 1985 as the third single from the “Restless“ album and became the brothers 8th # 1 country hit. The lyrics, basically about the intense feelings a new romance can suddenly bring - “… We ain't been together too long / Strange, how did our love get so strong …”, - ain’t nothing remarkably profound, yet the lyrics, though simple, are just right. The really song draws its strength from a winning melody with a catchy harmonic hook -
When David Bellamy wrote ‘Old Hippy‘ - or, to use the U.S. spelling - ‘Old Hippie’, he had no idea he was serving as a spokesperson for an oft overlooked part of the “thirtysomething” generation. In fact, it took brother Howard to persuade him they should even record it - and it took MCA division chief Jimmy Bowen to decide ‘Old Hippie‘ should be a single. Weaving together pieces of nostalgia – Woodstock, John Lennon’s death, the Vietnam war – ‘Old Hippie’ depicts an aging relic of the 1960’s, grappling with his own physical changes and the movements that altered his society. Released in 1985 as the first single from their “Howard & David” album, it reached #2 in the U.S. # and went all the way to # 1 in Canada.
The “old hippie” (at age 35!) uses weed, listens to the Woodstock-influenced rock music of the late 1960s, still mourns the murder of John Lennon in 1980 and for years refuses to let go of his lifestyle, having a hard time adjusting to the societal changes around him. He's stuck in his ways and doesn't know whether to hold onto the beliefs of the past or embrace the new way of living. He's not trying to change anyone else, but he's struggling to adjust, feeling lost in between his past world and the present, not knowing what to do. It’s then revealed he was drafted to Vietnam and forced to "become a man while he was still a boy". Afterward, he began waiting for something good to happen in his life, before adopting his lifestyle. Eventually, he is seemingly forced to accept some change, taking up such interests as jogging while grudgingly staying away from parties and nightclubs -
‘I’d Lie To You For Your Love’, co-written by Frankie Miller and Jeff Barry, was originally recorded in 1985 by hard rock singer and drummer, Danny Spanos, but it became a much bigger hit later the same year for the Bellamy Brothers, who earned co-writing credits for their lyrical additions to the track. Danny Spanos' original version was a minor hit on rock charts, peaking at # 42. The Bellamy Brothers version featured additional verses co-written by David and Howard. Also released in 1985 as the second single from their “Howard & David” album, it reached # 2.
A light-hearted and humorous track that captures the playful energy of flirtation and dating, it explores the idea of embellishing one's accomplishments and experiences to impress another person and win them over - and as such, it’s eminently relatable, for who amongst us hasn’t told a few while lies, or even great big whoppa or two in order to just get the attention of the person you desire at the time? In the end, the lyrics suggest the man's desire at least is genuine, even if his boasts ain’t entirely honest - simple but all very relatable -
After the success of the Bellamy Brothers version, Miller recorded a cover of their rendition, with the additional verses they had added, on his 1985 “Dancing in the Rain” album. In late 2023, the Bellamy Brothers released a version of the song they recorded with K.T. Oslin prior to her death in 2020.
By 1986, the brothers had experimented with elements of disco, rock, reggae and island music. In another example of their Bellamy low key innovation, in 1986 they released their “Country Rap” album. The first recorded use of the term “Country Rap“ for a song appears in the album’s title song. Yes,The Bellamy Brothers were the very first to combine country music with rap music - so they can take the blame for this sub-genre that still outrages both country and rap purists alike. There were no more country rap songs by any artist until the very late 1990’s, after which it started to spread and do its worst. Actually, the brothers ‘Country Rap’ song was very much an unserious tongue-in-cheek number - and the only hip-hop like song on the album, which is dominated by experimental "fun stuff," including ’D-D-D-D-Divorcee’ ’Country Rap‘ and their bopping group effort with The Forester Sisters, ’Too Much Is Not Enough’, which became the duo’s 9th # 1 hit.
’Kids Of The Baby Boom‘ written by David Bellamy, was released in January 1987 as the second single from the “Country Rap” album. A tune David frequently referred to as ”son of ‘Old Hippie’”, he said ‘Kids Of The Baby Boom‘ largely consisted of lines that were left over from ‘Old Hippie‘. He wrote both tunes the same day. After getting the idea for ‘Old Hippie‘ and diving right in writing it ,David found, in short order, he had composed 15 verses! Well, of course that was way too lengthy, so he proceeded to trim it up. One of the lines he edited out mentioned something about “kids of the baby boom.” David liked that line a lot and didn’t want to just discard it, so he worked on trying to get another melody going and maybe another idea that was the same, same – but different. What resulted was ‘Kids Of The Baby Boom’ Whereas ‘Old Hippie‘ came close, ‘Kids Of The Baby Boom‘ went all the way to # 1, marking the Bellamys’ 10th - and last - single to make the top spot.
This is an underrated song. The opening lines of the song highlight the fact that the baby boomer generation was born into a time of peace, prosperity, and optimism. The return of soldiers from WW2 and the subsequent boom in the US economy led to a new era of abundance and growth. The line “… They gave them so much love that all us kids were born …” is a nod to the high birth rates that characterised the baby boomer period (1945-1960). The reference to Mickey Mouse and hula-hoops is an example of the cultural icons and trends that defined the baby boomer generation. The subsequent linestouch on the materialistic values that became associated with baby boomers, with references to BMWs and brand new pickup trucks.
But second verse of the song, seemingly ahead of their time given the accumulation of wealth in the decades since this song came out, turns a critical eye on the boomer generation as they reached maturity. The line - “… We had sympathy for the devil and the Rolling Stones …”, reflect the rebellious attitudes and countercultural movements that arose during the 1960’s - though it’s tempered by the next line - “… Then we got a little older, we found Haggard and Jones …”. However, the line ”… We’re a nation full of takers, never giving back…” suggests the boomers have become too comfortable and complacent in their prosperity, leading to issues like environmental degradation and rising social inequality. So what starts off as rose-tinted nostalgic tour of the post war era turns into a nuanced reflection on the triumphs and challenges of the generation that defined post-war America (and by extension, the western world in general -
Seventeen months later, what might be called “Old Hippie III” appeared, better known as ‘Rebels Without A Clue‘. That tune, by reaching #9, completed a nostalgia and social history trilogy that resulted in 3 Top 10 singles.
From the start of the decade the to mid-1980’s, the brothers were at their peak, both popularly and artistically, scoring a number of # 1 hit singles that showcased their continuing musical development as well as their increasing lyrical sophistication. However, as the decade wore on, despite their experimentation as we’ve already seen, their biggest hits started to sound alike. Perhaps they became trapped, as have so many other musicians, by the propensity of their fans to expect a certain type of song - hence the songs become too narrowly formalistic. This can work well commercially for a while but even dedicated fans will eventually tire of it. Their biggest hits from 1987 to 199o included titles such as ‘Crazy From the Heart’, ‘I’ll Give You All My Love Tonight’, ‘Big Love’, ‘You’ll Never Be Sorry’ and ‘I Could Be Persuaded’. Notice in that lot the overload of romance Numbers. They all sound similar and forgettable
By the end of the 1990’s, the brothers audience had begun to shrink, leading the duo to switch record labels to Atlantic. After one album with Atlantic, 1991's “Rollin' Thunder”, the Bellamys left thelabel, founding their own record label, Bellamy Brothers Records, one of the first artist-driven country independents of the modern era. “The Latest & the Greatest” in 1992 was the first album released on the label. Although the independent label meant that the group wasn't charting as frequently as it used to, that was also a reflection of the shift of the country audience's taste, initially sparked by the neo-traditional movement led by George Strait. The duo could still have minor hits, like the Top 25 ’Cowboy Beat‘ in 1992, which proved the Bellamy Brothers continued to hold on to a core group of fans in their second decade of performing.
I reckon the brothers got it wrong when they released ‘On A Summer Night‘ as the only single from their “Crazy from the Heart” album - and it quickly disappeared without trace. To me, ’My Heart Is Crying‘, co-penned by David Bellamy and Don Schlitz, was the stand-out track they should have released instead. With its better melody, lyrics and catchy chorus, with the well worn country theme of a man who has lost his love and struggling to come to terms with it and is still hoping for a brand new start, I’m sure it would have found a market. The song's themes of heartbreak, loss, and hope are universal and relatable. The vocals add a sad and mournful touch to the lyrics -
The Bellamys continued put out numerous independent records during the '1990s and following the 1998 collection “Reggae Cowboys”, the duo switched to Blue Hat Records for 1999's “Lonely Planet”. The Bellamy's biggest project of the new millennium was “Angels & Outlaws, Vol. 1“, a 2005 Curb record re-recording old hits with a host of other country stars, including Alan Jackson, Tanya Tucker, and Dolly Parton. Following 2007's gospel album Jesus Is Coming, which caused some controversy with some thought provocative, lyrics, the Brothers released “The Anthology, Vol. 1“, a collection of re-recordings of their biggest hits and also featuring new recordings, including a duet with the Bacon Brothers on ’Guilty of the Crime‘. They also retained a big international following, regularly touring in Europe and occasionally to Australia.
And wait, there’s more - for as the Bellamy Brothere got older, they didn’t fade away. Some say they have got better with age and experience, others say they have shown more freedom to do what they want, So stay tuned as their career is brought up to date.
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Compared to the two brotherly duo’s previously covered in this history - The Louvin Brothers (posts # 294-294) and The Everly Brothers (# 393-399), which were both raised in the Appalachians and imbued from childhood in the incredibly tight harmony (in the case of The Louvains, unsurpassed, and the Everly’s also near perfection) of the Appalachian tradition, the Bellamy’s, from their central Florida farm, weren’t so tight, but were still very effective for their music, which never relied so much on having so tight a harmony as the other duos.
As we have seen, one other thing Louvin’s and the Everly Brothers differed from the Bellamy’s is that both sets of brothers in these groups were complete opposites in temperament, politics and basically everything else apart from music and famously never got on with each other, constantly bickering and bitching off-stage - and sometimes even on-stage. They generally made the lives of each other fairly miserable until both groups eventually split-up. It seems the better the musicical harmony, the worse the personal relationship. But this has never been the case with the Bellamy’s, who have always presented as a united front and now, after more than 40 years together, still get along well.
It may help that neither Howard or David’s vocals are so strong or have a broad range, making any solo career, even for the prolific writer if hits in David, doubtful. They are defined better harmonising as a duet. But the brothers say their parents deserve a tip of the hat for teaching them to get along with each other from an early age. As per David - “Our parents used to make us work together when discipline was a thing in the old days. There was a such thing as a switch. If you didn’t do your work, you got a thrashing”. David says ”We worked the farm together, picking oranges, milking cows and doing various other chores, so it really wasn’t a job to start singing together. We have a pretty good chemistry mix as well“. Howard adds - “If that wasn’t true, it wouldn’t matter how much discipline we had; it wouldn’t have worked. Forty years speaks for itself”.
Yesterday, we saw that from c1990, the brothers slipped songs started sliding down the charts as tastes changed and their music had become formulaic. st century, thanks not just to their longevity as an act, but their ability to still provide genuine quality and creativity - David in particular has never stopped writing new songs, and they have embraced their position as being now “old men” in country music, with all the gravitas that status offers. So let’s look at a few snippets of what the brothers, now aged 77 and 73 respectively, have produced since 2010.
From 2010 ‘Heart of My Heart‘ is the second single from their career-spanning greatest hits collection, ”The Anthology, Volume 1” which was co-written with the iconic (but often overlooked) songwriter Jerry Williams before his death in 2005, “Heart of My Heart”. Says David - “Jerry Williams’ been called the most famous unknown songwriter in music history. Howard and I only wrote a few songs with Jerry because we met him just a couple of years before he died, but he was one of the best writers we’ve ever worked with. We are really proud to have written ‘Heart of My Heart’ with him”. Williams’ songwriting credits include Eric Clapton’s ‘Running on Faith‘ and ‘Pretending‘, Bonnie Raitt’s ‘Real Man‘, Delbert McClinton’s ‘Givin’ It Up For Your Love‘ and Jimmy and Stevie Ray Vaughan’s “’Tick Tock‘. He also contributed tracks for legends such as Ringo Starr and B.B. King.
The song they all came up with was about 20 years out of fashion by the time it was released in 2010. In short, it was too good of a song to be a 2010 hit, but has to be included in the song selection -
“… Heart of My Heart, brings back a memory / When we were kids on the corner of the street /
We were rough 'n ready guys / But oh, how we could harmonise ” -
I’m only showing the following 2014 video due to public demand, as it’s very popular on-line for some reason I can’t quite fathom - well, that’s my excuse. Filmed at a private ranch in Weatherford, just west of Fort Worth, Texas, the video features a bevy of mostly bikini clad beauties and a rapper, partying, Bellamy-style. As per David - It’s called ‘Boobs’ and I gotta tell you, we had a lot of fun making this video”. With the raunchy poolside video filled (in advance to the bikini babes) with lines such as "please tell your boobs to stop looking at my eyes," the song horrified the usual assortment of PC police, but coming from what are now a pair of affable granddads, they (mostly) got away with it as just a bit of quaintly harmless fun. Howard adds - “We enjoy being un-PC. But we do it in a very non-offensive way. We have a lot of laughs, mostly at ourselves” -
In 2015, The Bellamy Brothers honoured their 40th year in the music industry with their 2-disc album “40 Years The Album”. The first disc was a compilation of 20 past hits. The second disc was all new material written by them. The new material had some interesting stuff. Some have even suggested that like a fine wine, they’ve improved with age. Their sound never sounded more traditionally country - and with lyrics to match - as in ’Dyin Breed’, from their 2015 40th anniversary album. It has a theme similar to Hank Williams Jr’s ‘Dinosaur’ (post # 802). From 1980 (but only became popular some decades later). However, instead of Hank Jr’s somewhat defiant, angry tone, the mood here is more melancholy, just an acceptance they have grown old and out of touch with the modern world and at peace with that. The first verse, which references their first # 1 country hit back in 1979, sets the scene -
“… I like the slow dance / With a young thing / To an old melody / A full figured woman / Who can really hold it against me …”
It took me a second hearing to realise ‘If You Ever Leave’ 2019 had a heavy nostalgia element for those old or obsessed with American social history enough to get the references. It tells the story of 2 passionate lovers who make a promise to never leave each other. Set in the desert, it features 2 archetypes of the 1970’s counterculture - the psychedelic cowboy and the hippie girl from Austin. The vivid lyrics describe the couple's journey as they drive their Studebaker toward the sunrise and spend the night at the Cactus Tree Motel. The sky has a mescaline glow as they promise a love that no love song could fulfill. As the years pass and they age, their symphony still plays a sweet refrain, and they remain committed to their promise to never leave each other. The lyrics are full of references to the counterculture of the 1970s, mentioning psychedelics, painted ponies and morning lullabies, capturing the spirit of the era when young people were rebelling against the mainstream and seeking new forms of expression and experience. Notice how the song starts with ‘Old Hippie’ softly playing in the background -
‘No Country Music For Old Men’ was included on the Bellamy Brothers’ EP, “Bucket List”, released in 2020. Written by David Bellamy, the song was inspired by Kenny Rogers’ death - “Bucket List“ was meant to be light-hearted and up-tempo. We figured lockdown was depressing enough without lamenting more about hard times. Then Kenny Rogers passed away on March 20, and I wrote the song that night. It felt like in addition to the pandemic, there was a cloud over country music at that moment.” According to David, he kept hearing Anderson’s voice in his head singing the lines, so he and Howard decided to invite their longtime friend to join them on the track. The video captures the Bellamys and Anderson lamenting on the loss of the old guard interspersed with shots of Nashville’s historic landmarks and murals honouring the legends
The prevalence of these sort of country protest songs over the years has resulted in a fair bit of fatigue and apathy from the public over them. But this really resonated with traditional country fans young and old - including pg me - in a way that elevates it above being “just another country protest song”. The risk you run when you choose to work in the protest subgenre is with so many of these bellyaching odes about how bad country had gotten, you can wind up being as cliched as some of the songs and artists you’re trying to criticise. What helps this song is The Bellamy’s, after nearly 50 years in the business, have the skins on the wall to sing something like this from their own perspective, giving it emotional resonance it may not otherwise have. Add in the earthy voice of Texan troubadour, John Anderson and it really sets ‘No Country Music For Old Men‘ off as something that speaks deeply to the disillusioned country music fan with what been marketed as “Countey” music. So many have felt disenfranchised by much of today’s country music (though things have improved over the last 2 years), and this song touches a nerve with them -
Notice how the last verse referenced the great George Jones classic from 1985 ‘Who’s Going To Fill Their Shoes? (See post # 412) - and suggests no-one has. For the record, the song name drops, or makes clear reference to the following legends, in order - Hank Williams (# 205-214), Patsy Cline (# 387-389), Lefty Frizzell (# 216-219), Merle Haggard (# 497-502), Dolly Parton (# 581-607), Buck Owens (# 456-463), Loretta Lynn (# 489-493), Conway Twitty (# 514-520), George Jones (# 405-412), Tammy Wynette (# 503-506), Johnny Cash (# 338-345), and June Carter-Cash (# 222).
The brothers have always been a rather unusual outfit in country music, from their signature pop hit ‘Let Your Love Flow‘ (which they estimate they have performed live over 8,000 times and still enjoy it), with its more folk rock feel, to doing the first country rap song (called ‘Country Rap”), even if they were being more than a little ironic. They’ve remained strangely in touch by touching on little zeitgeist nerves that may feel just nostalgia to some, but still resonate with many. This is what ‘No Country Music For Old Men‘ does
As we’ve seen, The Bellamy Brothers became one of country music’s most popular acts in the 1980’s with a string of # 1 hit records and even as they departed the charts, they retained a packed schedule of top dollar live dates. They built a worldwide loyal following that fills clubs and theatres 140-plus nights a year and they’re showing no signs of slowing down yet. They still live on the farm they were raised on, now grown to be a family compound with several houses and their own recording studio where they still produce and write their albums. It’s also still a working ranch, the spread consisting of purebred brahman cattle and quarter horses. In 2018, the brothers became the feature of the popular reality TV series Honky Tonk Ranch, which follows the Bellamys in addition to their friends and family. They have a thriving book publishing company and developed a powerful merchandise arm. Now not so isolated as back in the 1950’s - suburbs have spread out from Tampa to be very close by on 3 sides of the ranch - their ranch has become a popular local tourist attraction
They have also enjoyed open during success in continental Europe, and have even had over 2 dozen hit songs released outside the US market, with David noting “For the international releases, you have to have a strong melody. The lyric is very important, but internationally the melody is something fans can lock into, even if they can’t understand the lyrics“. Howard and David continue to perform and film TV specials in Europe and around the world. A compilation album topped the Norwegian pop charts in 2011. In 2013, their “Bellamy Brothers & Friends: Across the Sea“ album took the top spot for weeks in album sales in Switzerland. It was their third major release in Europe in 3 years. Their album “Mermaid Cowgirl”, recorded in Switzerland and released in 2014, went to # 5. They also recorded 4 albums in Germany with Ralph Siegel for release to the European market. Along with Johnny Cash, they are the only American members of the German Country Music Hall of Fame. In recent years they even have also cracked the Indian and Sri Lankan music charts and have successfully toured there - there music is now popular at Indian weddings!
After the Bellamy Brothers first broke through with their massive international # 1 on the pop chart in 1976 with ‘Let Your Love Flow‘, then, after 3 years finally breaking free fro. The L.A. chokehold to rack up 10 # 1 country hits among 25 top 10 hits from 1979 to 1992. Howard assesses the past and the path of the Bellamy Brothers’ success carefully - “I just think it never occurred to us to be stopped. But I’ll tell you this. We may have learned the hard edges of business in L.A. and Europe, but we had to go home to the farm. That’s where we really found our music.”
And with that, I’m back in the bush for another week or two but I’ll be back … sometime.
As we have seen, one other thing Louvin’s and the Everly Brothers differed from the Bellamy’s is that both sets of brothers in these groups were complete opposites in temperament, politics and basically everything else apart from music and famously never got on with each other, constantly bickering and bitching off-stage - and sometimes even on-stage. They generally made the lives of each other fairly miserable until both groups eventually split-up. It seems the better the musicical harmony, the worse the personal relationship. But this has never been the case with the Bellamy’s, who have always presented as a united front and now, after more than 40 years together, still get along well.
It may help that neither Howard or David’s vocals are so strong or have a broad range, making any solo career, even for the prolific writer if hits in David, doubtful. They are defined better harmonising as a duet. But the brothers say their parents deserve a tip of the hat for teaching them to get along with each other from an early age. As per David - “Our parents used to make us work together when discipline was a thing in the old days. There was a such thing as a switch. If you didn’t do your work, you got a thrashing”. David says ”We worked the farm together, picking oranges, milking cows and doing various other chores, so it really wasn’t a job to start singing together. We have a pretty good chemistry mix as well“. Howard adds - “If that wasn’t true, it wouldn’t matter how much discipline we had; it wouldn’t have worked. Forty years speaks for itself”.
Yesterday, we saw that from c1990, the brothers slipped songs started sliding down the charts as tastes changed and their music had become formulaic. st century, thanks not just to their longevity as an act, but their ability to still provide genuine quality and creativity - David in particular has never stopped writing new songs, and they have embraced their position as being now “old men” in country music, with all the gravitas that status offers. So let’s look at a few snippets of what the brothers, now aged 77 and 73 respectively, have produced since 2010.
From 2010 ‘Heart of My Heart‘ is the second single from their career-spanning greatest hits collection, ”The Anthology, Volume 1” which was co-written with the iconic (but often overlooked) songwriter Jerry Williams before his death in 2005, “Heart of My Heart”. Says David - “Jerry Williams’ been called the most famous unknown songwriter in music history. Howard and I only wrote a few songs with Jerry because we met him just a couple of years before he died, but he was one of the best writers we’ve ever worked with. We are really proud to have written ‘Heart of My Heart’ with him”. Williams’ songwriting credits include Eric Clapton’s ‘Running on Faith‘ and ‘Pretending‘, Bonnie Raitt’s ‘Real Man‘, Delbert McClinton’s ‘Givin’ It Up For Your Love‘ and Jimmy and Stevie Ray Vaughan’s “’Tick Tock‘. He also contributed tracks for legends such as Ringo Starr and B.B. King.
The song they all came up with was about 20 years out of fashion by the time it was released in 2010. In short, it was too good of a song to be a 2010 hit, but has to be included in the song selection -
“… Heart of My Heart, brings back a memory / When we were kids on the corner of the street /
We were rough 'n ready guys / But oh, how we could harmonise ” -
I’m only showing the following 2014 video due to public demand, as it’s very popular on-line for some reason I can’t quite fathom - well, that’s my excuse. Filmed at a private ranch in Weatherford, just west of Fort Worth, Texas, the video features a bevy of mostly bikini clad beauties and a rapper, partying, Bellamy-style. As per David - It’s called ‘Boobs’ and I gotta tell you, we had a lot of fun making this video”. With the raunchy poolside video filled (in advance to the bikini babes) with lines such as "please tell your boobs to stop looking at my eyes," the song horrified the usual assortment of PC police, but coming from what are now a pair of affable granddads, they (mostly) got away with it as just a bit of quaintly harmless fun. Howard adds - “We enjoy being un-PC. But we do it in a very non-offensive way. We have a lot of laughs, mostly at ourselves” -
In 2015, The Bellamy Brothers honoured their 40th year in the music industry with their 2-disc album “40 Years The Album”. The first disc was a compilation of 20 past hits. The second disc was all new material written by them. The new material had some interesting stuff. Some have even suggested that like a fine wine, they’ve improved with age. Their sound never sounded more traditionally country - and with lyrics to match - as in ’Dyin Breed’, from their 2015 40th anniversary album. It has a theme similar to Hank Williams Jr’s ‘Dinosaur’ (post # 802). From 1980 (but only became popular some decades later). However, instead of Hank Jr’s somewhat defiant, angry tone, the mood here is more melancholy, just an acceptance they have grown old and out of touch with the modern world and at peace with that. The first verse, which references their first # 1 country hit back in 1979, sets the scene -
“… I like the slow dance / With a young thing / To an old melody / A full figured woman / Who can really hold it against me …”
It took me a second hearing to realise ‘If You Ever Leave’ 2019 had a heavy nostalgia element for those old or obsessed with American social history enough to get the references. It tells the story of 2 passionate lovers who make a promise to never leave each other. Set in the desert, it features 2 archetypes of the 1970’s counterculture - the psychedelic cowboy and the hippie girl from Austin. The vivid lyrics describe the couple's journey as they drive their Studebaker toward the sunrise and spend the night at the Cactus Tree Motel. The sky has a mescaline glow as they promise a love that no love song could fulfill. As the years pass and they age, their symphony still plays a sweet refrain, and they remain committed to their promise to never leave each other. The lyrics are full of references to the counterculture of the 1970s, mentioning psychedelics, painted ponies and morning lullabies, capturing the spirit of the era when young people were rebelling against the mainstream and seeking new forms of expression and experience. Notice how the song starts with ‘Old Hippie’ softly playing in the background -
‘No Country Music For Old Men’ was included on the Bellamy Brothers’ EP, “Bucket List”, released in 2020. Written by David Bellamy, the song was inspired by Kenny Rogers’ death - “Bucket List“ was meant to be light-hearted and up-tempo. We figured lockdown was depressing enough without lamenting more about hard times. Then Kenny Rogers passed away on March 20, and I wrote the song that night. It felt like in addition to the pandemic, there was a cloud over country music at that moment.” According to David, he kept hearing Anderson’s voice in his head singing the lines, so he and Howard decided to invite their longtime friend to join them on the track. The video captures the Bellamys and Anderson lamenting on the loss of the old guard interspersed with shots of Nashville’s historic landmarks and murals honouring the legends
The prevalence of these sort of country protest songs over the years has resulted in a fair bit of fatigue and apathy from the public over them. But this really resonated with traditional country fans young and old - including pg me - in a way that elevates it above being “just another country protest song”. The risk you run when you choose to work in the protest subgenre is with so many of these bellyaching odes about how bad country had gotten, you can wind up being as cliched as some of the songs and artists you’re trying to criticise. What helps this song is The Bellamy’s, after nearly 50 years in the business, have the skins on the wall to sing something like this from their own perspective, giving it emotional resonance it may not otherwise have. Add in the earthy voice of Texan troubadour, John Anderson and it really sets ‘No Country Music For Old Men‘ off as something that speaks deeply to the disillusioned country music fan with what been marketed as “Countey” music. So many have felt disenfranchised by much of today’s country music (though things have improved over the last 2 years), and this song touches a nerve with them -
Notice how the last verse referenced the great George Jones classic from 1985 ‘Who’s Going To Fill Their Shoes? (See post # 412) - and suggests no-one has. For the record, the song name drops, or makes clear reference to the following legends, in order - Hank Williams (# 205-214), Patsy Cline (# 387-389), Lefty Frizzell (# 216-219), Merle Haggard (# 497-502), Dolly Parton (# 581-607), Buck Owens (# 456-463), Loretta Lynn (# 489-493), Conway Twitty (# 514-520), George Jones (# 405-412), Tammy Wynette (# 503-506), Johnny Cash (# 338-345), and June Carter-Cash (# 222).
The brothers have always been a rather unusual outfit in country music, from their signature pop hit ‘Let Your Love Flow‘ (which they estimate they have performed live over 8,000 times and still enjoy it), with its more folk rock feel, to doing the first country rap song (called ‘Country Rap”), even if they were being more than a little ironic. They’ve remained strangely in touch by touching on little zeitgeist nerves that may feel just nostalgia to some, but still resonate with many. This is what ‘No Country Music For Old Men‘ does
As we’ve seen, The Bellamy Brothers became one of country music’s most popular acts in the 1980’s with a string of # 1 hit records and even as they departed the charts, they retained a packed schedule of top dollar live dates. They built a worldwide loyal following that fills clubs and theatres 140-plus nights a year and they’re showing no signs of slowing down yet. They still live on the farm they were raised on, now grown to be a family compound with several houses and their own recording studio where they still produce and write their albums. It’s also still a working ranch, the spread consisting of purebred brahman cattle and quarter horses. In 2018, the brothers became the feature of the popular reality TV series Honky Tonk Ranch, which follows the Bellamys in addition to their friends and family. They have a thriving book publishing company and developed a powerful merchandise arm. Now not so isolated as back in the 1950’s - suburbs have spread out from Tampa to be very close by on 3 sides of the ranch - their ranch has become a popular local tourist attraction
They have also enjoyed open during success in continental Europe, and have even had over 2 dozen hit songs released outside the US market, with David noting “For the international releases, you have to have a strong melody. The lyric is very important, but internationally the melody is something fans can lock into, even if they can’t understand the lyrics“. Howard and David continue to perform and film TV specials in Europe and around the world. A compilation album topped the Norwegian pop charts in 2011. In 2013, their “Bellamy Brothers & Friends: Across the Sea“ album took the top spot for weeks in album sales in Switzerland. It was their third major release in Europe in 3 years. Their album “Mermaid Cowgirl”, recorded in Switzerland and released in 2014, went to # 5. They also recorded 4 albums in Germany with Ralph Siegel for release to the European market. Along with Johnny Cash, they are the only American members of the German Country Music Hall of Fame. In recent years they even have also cracked the Indian and Sri Lankan music charts and have successfully toured there - there music is now popular at Indian weddings!
After the Bellamy Brothers first broke through with their massive international # 1 on the pop chart in 1976 with ‘Let Your Love Flow‘, then, after 3 years finally breaking free fro. The L.A. chokehold to rack up 10 # 1 country hits among 25 top 10 hits from 1979 to 1992. Howard assesses the past and the path of the Bellamy Brothers’ success carefully - “I just think it never occurred to us to be stopped. But I’ll tell you this. We may have learned the hard edges of business in L.A. and Europe, but we had to go home to the farm. That’s where we really found our music.”
And with that, I’m back in the bush for another week or two but I’ll be back … sometime.
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Too bad Dylan Earl was so crowded last week. Left very early because I couldn't see anything and couldn't get to the bar at all. Gig was in a small pub and some people even had to listen from outside.
On Tuesday: Hayden Pedigo
Not overly convinced on no vocals. But will check him out.
On Tuesday: Hayden Pedigo
Not overly convinced on no vocals. But will check him out.
It did work very well. Was very impressed.
