East Hampton Library, April 9, 2022 1. “Always on My Mind” (Johnny Christopher, Mark James and Wayne Carson, 1970). People are often surprised to learn that Nelson didn’t write this song, and that it actually had been recorded by a number of famous singers in the decade before Nelson got to it. In part this … Continue reading Program Notes: Tennessee Walt’s ‘Three Chords and the Truth: Country’s Greatest Songwriters’
Songwriting
Program Notes: Tennessee Walt’s ‘Riding with the Outlaws’
John C. Hart Memorial Library, April 3, 2022 1. “Honky Tonk Heroes” (Billy Joe Shaver, 1973). The story goes that in late 1972, after repeated efforts to corner Waylon Jennings and play his songs for him, Billy Joe Shaver had had enough. Knowing that Jennings was going to be recording at Tompall Glaser’s “Hillbilly Central” … Continue reading Program Notes: Tennessee Walt’s ‘Riding with the Outlaws’
Program Notes: Tennessee Walt’s ‘An Afternoon in the Country’
Elmont Memorial Library, April 8, 2022 1. “Night Train to Memphis” (Roy Acuff, 1942). Roy Acuff It’s impossible to say for sure who did what on this song, since it has three co-writers: Owen Bradley, Marvin Hughes and Beasley Smith. However, Bradley and Hughes were both best known as musicians, while Beasley was a words-and-music … Continue reading Program Notes: Tennessee Walt’s ‘An Afternoon in the Country’
The Night that Hank Williams, Ernest Tubb and Porter Wagoner Came to Town
Is it a mystery if not many people care what the answer is? I say it’s a mystery if even one person cares—and, in this case, I’m that person. I didn’t initially recognize it as a mystery. It started out looking like a song: “The Night Hank Williams Came to Town” (1987). It’s a pretty … Continue reading The Night that Hank Williams, Ernest Tubb and Porter Wagoner Came to Town
Program Notes: Tennessee Walt’s ‘A Year in a Distant Country’
March 13, 2021 “Honky Tonking” (Hank Williams, 1947) Williams actually recorded and released this song twice in consecutive years, once for the low-budget, no-royalties Sterling Records in 1947 and again for the far more professional MGM Records in January 1948. Sterling didn’t have much distribution, so the MGM recording is the version almost everybody knows … Continue reading Program Notes: Tennessee Walt’s ‘A Year in a Distant Country’
Ode to Billy Joe
One morning in 1968, a scruffy-looking 29-year-old toting a guitar made his way onto westbound Route 40 somewhere in Texas, looking to thumb a ride to Los Angeles. Despite his best efforts, however, hundreds of drivers passed him by. Tiring of getting nowhere, the impatient hitchhiker crossed the highway and took a shot at a … Continue reading Ode to Billy Joe
Program Notes: Tennessee Walt’s The Other Great American Songbook
North Babylon Public Library, January 26, 2021 “Setting the Woods on Fire” (Hank Williams, 1952) Written by Fred Rose and Edward G. Nelson, this is a great example of why many people said that Fred Rose could write a Hank Williams song better than anyone, even Williams himself. Since the song first hit the airwaves, … Continue reading Program Notes: Tennessee Walt’s The Other Great American Songbook
Program Notes: Tennessee Walt’s Bristol and Beyond: The Birth of Country Music
Bethpage Public Library, January 24, 2021 “Keep on the Sunny Side” (Carter Family, 1928) Songwriters get their ideas from all over, but the best ones keep their ears open, knowing that any random phrase they hear might be the germ of a great song. In the case of lyricist Ada Blenkhorn, she had a nephew … Continue reading Program Notes: Tennessee Walt’s Bristol and Beyond: The Birth of Country Music
Whisper It Loud
When people talk about the great country stars born in the 1930s, the names that come up first tend to be people like Johnny Cash (1932), Loretta Lynn (1932), Patsy Cline (1932), Willie Nelson (1933), Kris Kristofferson (1936), Waylon Jennings (1937) and Merle Haggard (1937). It was a tremendously fruitful generation of artists, and their … Continue reading Whisper It Loud
‘Tennessee Walt’s Hank Williams Birthday Party’: Program Notes
“Hey, Good-Looking” (Hank Williams, 1951). Yes, the official name is “Hey, Good Lookin’.” To understand why I don’t call it that, read my 2016 blog post, “Hank Williams’ Apostrophe: A Quest for Authenticity.” It’s not about this song specifically, but it might just as well be. Williams’ penchant for borrowing tunes and, often, some of … Continue reading ‘Tennessee Walt’s Hank Williams Birthday Party’: Program Notes
Tennessee Walt 