Like many people well into middle age, I’ve felt increasingly out of sync with the modern world in recent years. The things I value most seem to be less appreciated in the 21st century, while the values of the new century seem foreign to me. It’s impossible to tell what posterity will make of the … Continue reading Turning Our Backs on Irony Man
For a man whose recording career lasted barely six years, Hank Williams casts an immense shadow. I’m currently doing a show called Tennessee Walt’s Hanks a Lot!—and most of the audience members seem to come in assuming that it’s a show of Hank Williams songs. When they learn that I’ll be doing songs not … Continue reading The Shadow of Hank Williams
There's a lot more that you should know about Cindy Walker, one of country music's all-time greatest songwriters, but here are 10 to get you started. 1) She was born 100 years ago today, on 20 July 2018, on a farm in Mart, Texas, east of Waco. 2) She was inducted … Continue reading Ten Things You Should Know about Cindy Walker
If you listen to the recordings from the Bristol Sessions (and you should—the Bear Family collection, The Bristol Sessions: 1927-1928 is the definitive version, despite some unfortunate errors in its accompanying hardcover liner notes, but the Country Music Hall of Fame release The Bristol Sessions is also excellent) … if you listen to the recordings … Continue reading Six Songs, Plus Three More
The Bristol Sessions looms large in history for artistic reasons: They launched the careers of Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family, whose music would define the parameters of country music for generations to come. However, the Sessions were not primarily an artistic exercise, but rather an economic one. Ralph Peer wasn’t in Bristol looking for … Continue reading If You’ve Got the Money: The Economics of the Bristol Sessions
This post isn’t about country music. Or maybe it is. Maybe it’s about the only thing that really matters about country music. You figure it out. A few weeks ago I was in Austin, Texas, to do a show. The show was on Sunday, and I got into town late on Friday, so on Saturday … Continue reading Herman Hupfeld’s Magic Moment
