Music & More

Past Repeated - Daddy's Oldsmobile

I was watching 60 Minutes last night. The first segment, hosted by Scott Pelley, was called "Hard Times Generation: Families Living in Cars". Sad story. You can watched the segment or read the interview on the 60 Minutes website.

As I watched the show, I almost immediately thought of the great Hal Ketchum song, Daddy's Oldsmobile", from his 1992 album "Sure Love". The past has become the present. A song that was most likely about the Great Depression of the 1930's unfortunately is still relevant today. The second verse sets the scene:

"Four kids can sure fill up a big back seat.
They used to stop and get us something sweet.
Now Mamma says: 'Let's pray for one good meal'.
Here in my daddy's Oldsmobile."

Dad is looking for work in the third verse:

"Another mornin' and we're up and gone.
Daddy says there's work in San Antone.
Two days of ridin', it ain't no big deal,
Here in my daddy's Oldsmobile."

Written by Hal Ketchum and David Mallett, "Daddy's Oldsmobile" was not released as a single. Commercially, it was probably the right decision. 

If released as a single today, I don't think Daddy's O would have done very well. A current song about a dad looking for work has had only moderate success. Ronnie Dunn's second single since the B&D breakup debuted on the American Country Countdown at #36 for the weekend of July 2-3. "Cost of Livin'", written by Phillip Coleman and Ronnie, peaked at #17 and as of last week it had slipped to #19.

Read some of the on-line comments following the 60 Minutes interview. It may provide an insight as to why these socially conscious songs are not as successful as many would expect.

 

They Didn't Make It Big

My guess is that most of us music fans of whatever genre have come across a new group or solo artist that we really think is great. We love their vocals, the music and their material. We think they can't miss having a great career. Maybe we actually saw them in concert so we know they can perform live. Their artistry is not a product of pro-tools. But sometimes it's like the baseball September call ups, who shine for that last month but quickly disappear when the next season begins. Here are some very talented artists who didn't make it big:

Yankee Grey had a few hits around the turn of the century. "All Things Considered" reached #8 in '99 and my favorite song of theirs, "Another Nine Minutes" made it to #15 in 2000. That summer I saw them at one of the World Trade Center lunchtime country concerts. I learned years later on Wiki that vocal problems, certainly not evident at the time I saw them, eventually caused lead singer Tim Hunt to leave the group. A second album followed in '02 with a new lead but it didn't chart and the group disbanded.

"Another Nine Minutes", written by Billy Crain, Tim Buppert and Tom Douglas, is from their 1999 cd "Untamed". From the opening fiddles through the infectious chorus, this is truly a song that will get you going in the morning or dancing in the evening. The chorus:

"For another nine minutes
Let the world stop
Steal a few moments from this old clock
'Cause this is my dream and I want to stay in it
For another nine minutes"

I also saw Big House with lead singer Monty Byrom at the WTC. The group hails from Bakersfield, California and featured a bluesy country sound. "Cold Outside", from their self-titled debut album, made it to #30 in '97, their sole entry into the country top 40. Their first two cds were very good but apparently didn't sell well. Byrom co-wrote almost all the songs. They came out with a new cd, "Woodstock Nation" in '08 but it failed to chart.

Written by Monty Byrom, David Neuhauser, Dennis Knutson and Max Reese, "It's Cold Outside" tells of a man lookin' for some lovin'. "Your kiss is what I miss, a little lovin' after dark, so slide the chain off of this old door that's keepin' us apart."

Back in the fall of 2000, I was blown away by this great song by new artist Jamie O'Neal. The song of course was "There is No Arizona" which Jamie wrote with Lisa Drew and Shaye Smith. It went to #1 as did "When I Think About Angels", another cut from her debut cd "Shiver". I also loved her duet with Mark Wills, "I'm Not Gonna Do Anything Without You". I saw her in concert at the Bloomsburg Fair, a few weeks after 9/11. She opened for Lonestar and wowed the crowd. While overall I wasn't wild about the other material on "Shiver", her performance convinced me that she'd be a big star. It hasn't happened. She went 4 years without another big hit before reaching #3 with "Somebody's Hero" in '05.

"There Is No Arizona" tells of a woman whose man "promised her a new and better life, out in Arizona". He swore he'd send for her once he got things in order. He lied. She sings "If there was a Grand Canyon, she could fill it up with the lies he's told her, but they don't exist, those dreams he sold her, she'll wake up and find, there is no Arizona."

Next: Kevin Sharp, Mark McGuinn and Pinmonkey.

 

 

 

11-11-11

This Friday is Veteran's Day, 11-11-11. There will be parades and ceremonies and some restaurants will be offering free meals to veterans. Maybe this cool looking date, 11-11-11, will spur more than the usual attention and lead to a greater appreciation of their sacrifices.

Since 1973 when the military draft ended, the youth of America has not had to delay getting on with their future by spending two years in the military. The all volunteer military has met our war related challenges. The strain, however, has become apparent in the last few years due to multiple tours of duty in combat areas. In addition to death and dismemberment, cases of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have risen dramatically.

If you ask anyone if they support the troops, it's highly likely that 99% will say yes. If you were able to see how many gave more than lip service, the percentage would most likely be a lot lower. Granted there are many in these hard economic times who are unable to contribute financially and then there are those who have volunteered their time to help disabled veterans. It's certainly possible that the thought of giving to an organization supporting disabled veterans just hasn't occurred to many of our citizens. Maybe 11-11-11 will be a wake-up call to giving.

Here are two of the best known organizations you can contribute to:

Disabled American Veterans - www.dav.org

Wounded Warrior Project - www.woundedwarriorproject.org

Before giving to any organization claiming to aid veterans (or any other charity), you should check them out on Give.org to make sure they're legitimate. To be accredited by the BBB (Better Business Bureau), a charity has to meet 20 standards for charity accountability. The Disabled American Veterans and Wounded Warrior Project have met these standards.

 

 

 

Lime Creek

I just bought an old Gary Burr cd called "Lime Creek" which was released in 1996. I ordered it off his website. It includes nine songs, all written by Joe Henry and Gary Burr and sung by Burr. I had no idea who Gary Burr was in 1996 even though he was ASCAP's Country Songwriter of the Year for 1995. But I did know about Joe Henry since I'm a John Denver fan.

Joe wrote lyrics for quite a few Denver songs, most notably for JD's Windsong album (1975) to which he contributed "Windsong", "Shipmates and Cheyenne", "Love Is Everywhere" and "Spirit". For the album "Spirit" (1976), he co-wrote "Come and Let Me Look in Your Eyes", "Pegasus" and "The Wings That Fly Us Home". Among his other writing credits is "Belleau Wood" with Garth Brooks, a song about a Christmas truce during WWI which appeared on Garth's "Sevens" album. More recently, he wrote "Skin" for Rascal Flatts with Douglas Johnson. (There's also a singer/songwriter and record producer named Joe Henry.)

The cd liner notes say that these Burr-Henry songs were written for "Prelude to Lime Creek", an evening of music and the spoken word which was performed at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, May 9 - June 8, 1996. The Prelude was said to impart the raw gut of life in the Wyoming high country, a rough hewn tapestry of man in search of himself. Anthony Zerbe did the readings and Greg Barnhill sang.

The album is bookended by songs about Lime Creek. "That's the Way Life Is" opens the cd and "That's the Way Life Is" (Reprise) closes. The chorus and first verse are the same. In the first verse, the singer returns to find his childhood home has fallen down and the creek has dried up. The last 4 verses of the first are all different from the last 3 verses of the last. The tempo has been speeded up for the reprise. Play them back to back to get the full effect of the contrast.

The second track, "I Think I'll be a River" is a bouncy mid-tempo tune about coming back to life as a river. When it's his lover's time to go, she can come back as a meadow or a rose and as a river he can help her garden grow.

"The Other Side", track 3, is a ballad about people wanting what they don't have - the other side. "I wonder, oh I wonder, if a pebble sees a diamond, and wishes it could shine, or does a diamond dream of stones, left to hear the river run, never cut, sold or polished, a part of nature for all time".

"Learn How to Fall", track 4, tells us in the chorus that if we want to climb, learn how to fall. "We're born with reaching hands and open eyes". You got to go for it. "And even if we fail again, we fail a little better every time".

In "For Love", track 5, the singer awaits the return of his lover. The chorus concludes, "No matter how far you wander, you never really leave, a part of me goes with you, and a part of you stays with me, for love".

In "I Got the Pony Now", the girl had apparently thrown him over for someone new but he's back on the horse, er pony, in this case. He'll ride until her memory can't hurt him any more.

"I Won't Say Goodbye, track 7, is a ballad of lost love. The chorus concludes "I'll say I love you with my very last breath, but I won't say goodbye".

"Stronger Than Yesterday", track 8, is a mid-tempo song that begins "they say life is hard, well brother so far, mine's living up to his name". He needs to be stronger.

The vocals by Gary Burr are outstanding, which is no surprise. I have his other two albums, "Stop Me If You've Heard This One ..." and "Marianne's", and my wife and I have seen him at the Bluebird Cafe a dozen times in the last two years. The musicians listed on the liner notes included two I've seen perform with Gary, Randy Hart on piano and Bruce Bouton on steel guitar.

Joe Henry's novel, "Lime Creek", was published this year. It was 20 years in the making. Check out Erik Philbrook's June 15, 2011 interview with Joe Henry which can be found at www.ascap.com/playback/archive.aspx. Click on summer 2011 then cursor down to Radar Report and click on Mountain Time.