Music & More

First Grand Ole Opry Show

Last Friday evening, October 14th, I went to my first Grand Ole Opry show at Nashville's Opryland. It only took me 5 years living in Nashville to get there. I did see a show there two years ago but it was the Rounder Records 40th Anniversay show, not a regular opry show. The Rounder event featured Mary Chapin Carpenter and Alison Krauss. (See my post of 10/14/09.)

My reluctance to take in an Opry show was due to the show lineups more than the ticket prices which range from $24 to $55. You generally get to see 2 or 3 of the current big name singers and the rest are older stars or new acts. Generally, each artist performs only two songs and it may not be one of your favorites. Going because of one particular artist could lead you to be disappointed.

The show is broadcast on radio in addition to being performed for the audience. It's broken down into 4 segments, each with a different sponsor and host. You get to hear commercials in all the segments read by announcer Eddie Stubbs. As we arrived at our seats, there was a woman on stage doing her Minnie Pearl  imitation.  A video about the opry followed, narrated by Carrie Underwood. A few times during the evening, they called out seat or row numbers for some prizes, announced the names of group tours, wedding anniversaries of some attendees, etc.

On this particular night, the first segment was hosted by Jim Ed Brown. He opened with "Pop a Top", a hit for him in 1967 and later for Alan Jackson. I only found out recently that Jim Ed was one of the Browns who were famous for their 1959 hit "The Three Bells". The bluegrass/gospel Whites and Darryl Worley rounded out the first part.

The second segment was hosted by 90 year old Little Jimmy Dickens. I don't recall the songs he sang but he told some funny jokes. Josh Turner was the headliner with "Long Black Train" and a lesser known song for me, "Everything Is Fine". Bobby Osborne & the Rocky Top X-Press completed this group.

The third was hosted by Mike Snider, who appeared with his old time string band. The segment also featured Mandy Barnett, famous for her starring role in the musical "Always ... Patsy Cline" and 81 year old Jack Greene who sang "There Goes My Everything" and "Statue of a Fool". Mandy and Jack sounded great but I didn't catch the titles of Mandy's songs.

I liked Mike's joke about the woman who asked him if he was holding the door for him because of her sex. He said no. It's because of your age. She indignantly replied that her age was her business. He said yes, and I see you've been at it a very long time.

The final part was hosted by an old favorite of mine, Larry Gatlin & the Gatlin Brothers who sang Houston (Means I'm One Day Closer to You) and another song I can't recall. Mark Wills sang a new song, "Crazy Being Home", about soldiers suffering from PTSD, and "19 Somethin'". The Black Lillies, a fairly new group from Knoxville, sang "Two Hearts Down" and "Three in the Mornin'". I liked their sound. Lead singer Cruz Contreras was formerly part of his ex-wife's band, Robinella and the CCstringband.

Will I return to see another Opry show? I would have to say yes. All of the performers were really good, vocally and instrumentally. On the down side, listening to the radio commercials was interesting the first time but got tiresome quickly.

Favorite Country Drinking Songs

In honor of the 3 part "Prohibition" documentary from Ken Burns and Lynn Novick currently running on PBS, I decided to post my favorite country music drinking songs. The country genre is obviously famous for drinking songs and some of them are actually more than just my baby left me so i'm going out to drown my sorrows, drink myself into oblivion, etc. Some portray the evils of alcohol, attempts to give up drinking, etc. Here are some of my favorites in no particular order, title and artist listed first, followed by the writers in parenthesis, a part of the lyric and maybe a comment. Most of these songs were written within the last 25 years.

"I Miss My Mary" - Hal Ketchum (Hal Ketchum) It's about an alcoholic who abandons wife and child as his disease progresses. "I draw my pay down on the docks, I send it off to Mary, I might hold back a dollar and wash this pain out of my back, but the pain keeps getting clearer, and Mary your face just keeps on fading".

"Time Machine" - Collin Raye (Gary Burr) The chorus: "To the casual eye it's a barstool, but it's really much more than it seems, a few drinks and then she'll be with him again, as he sits on the time machine."

Digression: great book about going back in time, Jack Finney's 1970 novel, "Time and Again".

"Little Rock" - Collin Raye (Tom Douglas). A recovering alcoholic is trying to get back with his girl. "I haven't had a drink in 19 days, my eyes are clear and bright without that haze".

"Things To Do In Wichita" - Mark Chesnutt (Bob Regan & Jimmy Ritchey) Another guy trying to win back his girl by giving up the bottle. "Cause there's a happy hour in the bar downstairs, she'd be proud to know I ain't set foot in there".

"The One You Love" - Terri Clark (Gary Burr & Terri Clark) The song begins:

"He says it's none of my damn business, how much he drinks.
And he doesn't have a problem, no matter what the whole town thinks.
At his baby's birthday party, there was whiskey on his breath,
Everybody wants to save him, but he's not ready yet."

"Tonight the Heartache's On Me" - Dixie Chicks (Mary W. Francis, Johnny MacRae & Bob Morrison) "Bartender pour the wine, cause the hurtin's all mine, tonight the heartache's on me".

"When the Bartender Cries" - Michael Peterson (Hunter Davis & Michael Peterson) "You know you're in trouble when the bartender cries". He swore he'd quit drinking but didn't. Now he's going to try again so he says to the bartender, "So if she ever calls for me, oh, you can finally tell her 'he ain't here' and it won't be a lie."

"I Finally Passed the Bar" - Michael Peterson & Travis Tritt (Michael Puryear, Buddy Broom & Michael Peterson) He finally gave up drinking; he could pass the bar and not stop in for a few brews. "I was first in my class, to the bottom of a glass, but it was killin' me, I use to get loaded, but now I've been voted, most likely to succeed."

"Walk a Little Straighter" - Billy Currington (Carson Chamberlain, Casey Beathard & Billy C) The son learns from his father so his kids will never have to say "Walk a Little Straighter, Daddy". Billy's debut single. Made me think of Dennis Hopper's character in Hoosiers.

"Sometimes a Man Takes a Drink" - Trace Adkins (Amanda Martin & Larry Cordle) "Life didn't turn out as he planned, sometimes a man takes a drink, sometimes a drink takes the man". Great last line.

"Drinkin' Me Lonely" - Chris Young (Larry Wayne Clark & Chris Young) "So I'll just order up another, and pretend I'm alright, when the truth is i'm only, drinkin' me lonely tonight"

"Wouldn't You Think (She Would've Been Here by Now)" - Delbert McClinton (Benmont Tench, Gary Nicholson & Delbert McClinton). The sad old alcoholic  sings "The bartender he's looking at me, with a certain bit of sympathy, something tells me he's seen this scene before, the sad and lonely stood up man, another one too many in his hand, checkin' his watch and starin' at the door".

"Nobody Drinks Alone" - Keith Urban (Matraca Berg & Jim Collins) "Every demon, every ghost from your past, and every memory you've held back follows you home, nobody drinks alone."

"Drink Myself Single" - Sunny Sweeney (Monty Holmes & Sunny Sweeney) She decides to turn the tables on her man:

"I wanna find out what it's like
to stagger in the house like you do every night
Sneakin' in the bed like I don't know the truth
I really wanna know what it's like to be you"

"In the Day" - Suzy Bogguss (Doug Crider & Suzy B) The song tells of a couple who met in a tavern and whose whole relationship is built on booze. The chorus concludes "In the day, they don't remember much" and the last verse ends "they stare across the table, thru the silence and the hurt, they're come down to the problem, and it's gonna take some work".

"It's Five O'Clock Somewhere" - Alan Jackson with Jimmy Buffett (James R. Brown & Don Rollins). I like the bridge to Buffett:
"I could pay off my tab, pour myself in a cab,
An' be back to work before two.
At a moment like this, I can't help but wonder,
What would Jimmy Buffet do?"

"Tequila Talkin" - Lonestar (Bill LaBounty & Chris Waters) "And that tear in my eye was the salt and the lime, not the memory of you walkin, If I said I'm still in love with you, it was just the tequila talkin'".

"The Whiskey Ain't Workin' Anymore" - Travis Tritt & Marty Stuart (Ronny Scaife and Marty Stuart) "A woman warm and willing is what I'm looking for, cause the whiskey ain't workin' anymore".

"Alcohol" - Brad Paisley (Brad Paisley) For the most part, a light look at the effects of alcohol, including breakups, births,  and "helpin' white people dance".

"Whiskey Lullabye" - Brad Paisley & Alison Krauss (Bill Anderson & Jon Randall) She dumped him. He drank himself to death. Her guilt led her to drink herself to death. I haven't played this song in years; it's too depressing.

"Cool Water" - Sons of the Pioneers (Bob Nolan), written in 1936 and released in 1941. Later, it was covered by Marty Robbins and others. It begins:

"All day I face the barren waste without the taste of water,
Cool water.
Old Dan and I with throats burned dry and souls that cry for water,
Cool water".

It's a drinking song. I didn't specify that the song had to be about drinking booze.

I don't have a problem with anyone drinking responsibly. (Kudos to all you designated drivers.) I just never understood going out with the purpose of getting drunk. Doesn't seem like a good way to solve anything. With that in mind, my nominations for worst drinking songs are:

"Get Drunk and Be Somebody" - Toby Keth (Scott Emerick and Toby Keith).

"Let's Get Drunk and Fight" - Joe Nichols (Chris Lindsey, Aaron Lines, Aimee Mayo and Troy Verges).

61 in '61 & other numbers

October 1, 1961 was a Sunday so I'm pretty sure that I was watching the TV when Roger Maris hit his 61st Home Run off Red Sox pitcher Tracy Stallard, 50 years ago today. The HR came in the 4th inning and sailed over the 344 sign in right field at Yankee Stadium. If the game had been a weekday afternoon contest, I probably would have missed it. I was a high school junior and would not have been home in time. I lived in Bayside, Queens and took a bus and subway to school in lower Manhattan. I recall having a reduced fare student pass. The regular fare for bus or subway was 15 cents.

I still have my 1961 Yankee Yearbook. It's only 48 pages with no color photos. The write-up with stats on Roger appears on page 13, facing Mantle's on page 12.  As I mentioned in my post of September 18, 2008, the price was 50 cents! A program with scorecard costs 15 cents. Heck, box seats were only $3.50! I used to buy unreserved grandstand seats at $1.30 rather than the 75 cent bleacher tickets. Reserved grandstand was $2.50. To buy tickets in advance, which I never did back then, you had to visit the stadium box office or order by mail. Make your check or money order out to "The Yankees" and add 25 cents for handling and mail charges.

While I didn't make it to the historic 61st Home Run game, I did see 8 games at the stadium in 1961. Especially memorable was a July twi-night doubleheader against the White Sox  in which Roger hit HR #'s 37 and 38 in the 1st game and #'s 39 and 40 in the nitecap. The Mick hit one that night too, his 38th. With the M&M boys chasing Babe Ruth's 1927 record of 60 home runs, it was an exciting season.

1961 was also an expansion year with the addition of the Los Angeles Angels and a new Washington Senators team. The old Senators team became the Minnesota Twins that same year. Eleven years later the "new" Senators became the Texas Rangers. (In 2005, the Monteal Expos became the Washington Nationals of the National League.)

Roger's record has been broken but, as most baseball fans know, questions have arisen about the validity of the accomplishments of those who have eclipsed his record, sluggers Sosa, McGwire and Bonds, due to possible steroid use. Roger's assault on Ruth's record was not exactly welcomed by the baseball world. Most Yankee fans wanted Mantle to break Ruth's record if anyone did. Roger's detractors pointed out several factors that contributed to his record breaking performance:

- the 8 games added to the traditional 154 game schedule.

- dilution of talent because of expansion.

- batting in front of Mickey Mantle didn't hurt as evidenced by the fact that Roger received zero intentional walks.

- a dead pull hitter, Roger benefited from the short porch in right at Yankee Stadium, 296' down the line increasing to only 344' in straightaway left.

In fairness to Roger, it should be added in regard to the last point that 31 of his 61 HR's were hit on the road. Finally, Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick, perhaps in an effort to be fair to Babe Ruth, hung his hat on the first point when he ordered that Roger's record have an asterik placed next to it because of the longer schedule.

If you search Baseball-almanac.com under "Players" you will find an article on Maris' 61 HR's which you can access by clicking on "Fabulous Feats". It mentions that famous asterik and other difficulties Roger faced. Speaking in 1980, Maris said: "They acted as though I was doing something wrong, poisoning the record books or something". The article concludes "Now, with great pride, Baseball Almanac presents, Roger Maris' truly remarkable record-breaking sixty-one steroid free home runs." It provides the game number in which each HR was hit, the opposing pitcher and team, and home or away status. If you click on the dates, you get the box scores for all the games in which Roger homered beginning with his first HR in game 11 on April 26, 1961.