Posted by :Pete Smith on May 5, 2009, 9:43 pm
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“The Advertiser” (UK) 3 April 2009
Regular readers may recall that, on 16 January, I presented a short profile on Jack Blanchard and Misty Morgan, two of the most innovative and entertaining recording artists of the last five decades. Now, it is easy to write about the genius of musicians but quite a different project to demonstrate that genius but such is the genius of Blanchard and Morgan they have actually presented me with the means to make that demonstration with “Nashville Sputnik” (Omni), 30 (yes that is 30) tracks that span the years 1956 to 2004. During those years the duo experimented, both as writers, artists and producers, with a variety of styles; pop, be-bop, rockabilly, early techno and country, often (very often) injecting humour. They did this in a variety of guises, Misty as Jacqueline Hyde and the Moonfolk and Maryanne Mail, Jack as himself and leading The Jack Blanchard Group, The Dawnbreakers and The Rockin’ Impallas. Other artists recorded Blanchard/Morgan compositions with Jack in the producer’s chair. These included Rusty Diamond, Brad Wolfe, Joel Mathis, Hank Malcolm, Donel Austin and Tom Carlile. The country tracks, and there are a lot of them, also feature Nashville legends, a sort of “Who’s Who” of the guys who forged the “Nashville Sound”; Billy Sanford, Bobby Thompson, Jerry Shook, Tommy Hill, Dale Sellers, Chip Young (guitars), Lloyd Green, Pete Drake (steel), Hargus “Pig” Robbins (piano), Henry Stzrelecki, Jerry Shook (bass), Charlie McCoy (harmonica, keyboards), Willie Ackerman (drums) and Johnny Gimble (fiddle) with backup vocals from the Hardin Trio,
Anita Kerr Singers and Leah Jane Singers. The tracks, far too many to mention here, include the hilarious “Skellykins” (Rusty Diamond), my long-time favourite “Somewhere In Virginia In The Rain” (Jack and Misty), “Don’t It Look Like Georgia” (Tom Carlile) and the wacky monologue“ A Weird Little Christmas” (Jack). If you catch a glimpse of the sleeve you will see the sticker “like Joe Meek landed in Nashville” explained by Misty’s occasional techno spasms reminiscent of Meek’s pioneering techniques with his band The Tornados (remember “Telstar”, a UK number one in 1962). An album that is both weird and wonderful and one not to be missed! www.worldwentdown.com/omni
Today (3 April) is the birthdate of the “King of Country Soul”, Don Gibson. Don was born in Shelby, North Carolina in 1928. Though popular as a performer in the Knoxville region, Gibson first achieved prominence through his songwriting, notably “Sweet Dreams”, a song covered by Faron Young, Patsy Cline, Reba McEntire, Emmylou Harris and Don himself. His other hits included “I Can’t Stop Loving You”, “Oh Lonesome Me”, “Sea Of Heartbreak”, “Blue Blue Day”, “Just One Time” and “Lonesome Number One”. Gibson’s career was interrupted during the 60s due to his alcohol and drug problems but he recovered to hit the number one spot in 1973 with “Woman, Sensuous Woman”. Don continued to record minor hits, tour and perform on the “Grand Ole Opry” during the 80s and 90s. He died in Nashville on 17 November 2003.
Remember there are stars in the southern sky.
“The Advertiser” (UK) 10 April 2009
Sad to report the death, on 25 March, of Dan Seals. Dan once famously reported that he had been a millionaire on four occasions and broke on five. Though money seems to have had little meaning to Dan his music definitely did and over a period of years enriched country music no end with songs like *One Friend“, “Bop“, “Everything That Glitters (Is Not Gold)”, “ Addicted“, “You Still Move Me“, “Three Time Loser“, “Big Wheels in the Moonlight”, *Love on Arrival” and a duet with Marie Osmond, “Meet Me In Montana” all made the number one spot. Part of the Seals dynasty (Jim Seals of Seals and Crofts and hit songwriter Troy Seals) it was inevitable that Dan would follow a musical path and this he did. Born in McCarney, Texas, Dan learned to play the string bass at the age of four and began playing in the family band. He moved to Dallas in 1958 with his mother after his parents divorce and it was here, in high school that he began to develop his musical aspirations, initially in the rock market. Appearing in a variety of rock bands Dan met John Ford Coley and with him and future songwriter Shane Keister formed The Shimmerers. In 1967 the trio changed their name to Southwest F.O.B. and achieved chart success with “The Smell Of Incense”. Seals and Coley left the band in 1967 to form the duo England Dan and John Ford Coley. They relocated to California but finding no success moved back to Texas where they secured a recording contract with A&M. A string of singles proved unsuccessful so in 1973 the label dropped them. After three years of gigging a demo of “I’d Really Love To See You Tonight” caught the imagination and upon commercial release reached number two on the pop charts. By the end of 1976 the duo had a gold album under their belts and success followed them throughout the seventies. In 1980 Seals quit the duo to pursue a solo career and was signed to Atlantic as England Dan. His debut single was a pop hit but the following year a bitter battle with the tax service left him virtually penniless. In 1983 Dan concentrated on the country market achieving three top ten hits that year, three more in the following and in 1985 began a string of nine consecutive number one singles. During the nineties the hits dried up and Dan decided to quit recording in favour of touring. Last year Seals was admitted to the M.D. Anderson Cancer Centre in Houston for treatment for non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Unfortunately he lost his battle and died at the age of 61. If the words of Dan’s hit “God Must Be A Cowboy At Heart” are true, he certainly has found a great new home. Remember there are stars in the southern sky,
17 April 2009
Forty-nine years ago today (17 April) Eddie Cochran was killed in a motoring accident near Chippenham in Wiltshire whilst on a triumphant UK tour. Eddie was just twenty-one years of age and ironically his last record was titled “Three Steps To Heaven”. But what has the death of a rock and roll icon to do with country music? Well, Eddie’s career began in country music, in 1954 with Hank Cochran (no relation) and performing as the Cochran Brothers. Initially Hank did all the singing with Eddie picking guitar and adding a little harmony. The duo managed to gain a regular spot on the “Country Barn Dance” and this led to many live gigs and a regular slot on the “California Hayride” television show. In 1955 Eddie and Hank signed with Ekko Records in Hollywood releasing the single “Two Blue Singin’ Stars” (a tribute to Jimmy Rodgers and Hank Williams) coupled with “Mr. Fiddle”. The record gained great reviews in “Billboard” but failed to sell in quantities. The follow-up, “Guilty Conscience”/”Your Tomorrows Never Come” failed also. The duo decided to hit the road, they also appeared on the television show “Town Hall Party” with Lefty Frizzell, Johnny Bond and Tex Ritter and in 1956 the Cochran Brothers backed Jerry Capehart on the single “Walkin’ Stick Boogie”/”Rollin’” before recording four more sides themselves, “Tired And Sleepy”, “Fool’s Paradise”, “Slow down” and “Open The Door”. Eddie was now moving toward rockabilly, probably influenced by Elvis. After playing a number of dates with Lefty Frizzell, the duo released the single “Tired And Sleepy”/”Fool’s Paradise”. These sides featured more of Eddie’s lead vocals. Again there were great reviews but the record failed to chart. It was now apparent Eddie preferred rock and roll to country and so the duo split, Eddie moving on to rock superstardom, Hank joining country music’s song writing greats, writing or co-writing such classics as “I Fall To Pieces”, “She’s Got You” (Patsy Cline), “I Wanna Go With You” (Eddy Arnold), “Funny Way Of Laughin’”, “A Little Bitty Tear” (Burl Ives), “The Chair”, “Ocean Front Property” (George Strait), “It’s Not Love” (Merle Haggard) and “Don’t You Ever Get Tired Of Hurting Me” (Ronnie Milsap). Some of Eddie’s contributions to rock and roll found their way back to country. “Cut Across Shorty” was covered by several country artists and, perhaps the best of all Cochran’s recordings, “Summertime Blues”, his first (1958) and last (1968) UK hit, has been hugely successful for Alan Jackson.
Remember there are stars in the southern sky.
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