Tag Archives: Merle Haggard

Not to Mention the old Shade Tree. . .

Posted on July 14, 2019 by

Jalopnik news item of interest to some of us: Sacramento County Says It’s Illegal to Work on Your Own Car in Your Own Garage Jason Torchinsky There’s an interesting discussion happening over at the Grassroots Motorsports forum right now, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Random Stuff | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Pickin’ on Ninnies

Posted on July 7, 2019 by

Saturday a listener named Liz posted a comment on the Paper and Pen page. I was going to respond there, but then decided that the question was important enough to merit a post. Liz wrote: “When the pickaninnies pick the … Continue reading →

Posted in Country History, Program Notes, Songwriting | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Whiskey Gentry’s Dead Ringer—Is Lauren Staley!

Posted on October 26, 2018 by

Hits and Misses 8 “It was a face I’d seen a thousand times at every Derby I’d been to.  I saw it, in my head, as the mask of the whiskey gentry – a pretentious mix of booze, failed dreams, … Continue reading →

Posted in Hits and Misses, Songwriting | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Lee Ann Womack—Beautiful Singing, Strange Production

Posted on November 16, 2017 by

(Hits and Misses 7) Lee Ann Womack (ATO Records, 2017) Back in 2014, Suzy Bogguss released an album of Merle Haggard songs, called Lucky. It was for the most part delightful, as Suzy’s crystalline voice always is, but to my … Continue reading →

Posted in Country News, Hits and Misses, Songwriting | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Adiós Glen Campbell

Posted on August 18, 2017 by

(Hits and Misses 6) • Glen Campbell: Adiós (2017, Universal) If you’ll look at my post from last September on Hillbilly at Harvard in the 1960s, ‘HAH History: The Committee Saves the Show’, and scroll down, you’ll see a photo … Continue reading →

Posted in Country History, Hillbilly History, Hits and Misses | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

No Second Fiddle: Jean Shepard, 1933-2016

Posted on October 17, 2016 by

When I heard that Jean Shepard had died, the first thing I thought about was Pete the Cab Driver, as we knew him.  Miss Shepard was Pete Schindler‘s favorite singer, and the last time I heard from him he called … Continue reading →

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Another Songwriter Gone: Guy Clark (1941–2016)

Posted on May 27, 2016 by

Guy Clark was a crusty fellow with a laconic Texas reticence, which belied a whimsy that comes out in some of his songs, like “Too Much,” Too much workin’ll make your back ache Too much trouble’ll bring you a heartbreak … Continue reading →

Posted in Country News, Hillbilly History, Songwriting | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Merle, Hank, and The Art of the Song

Posted on May 3, 2016 by

“I look for songs in the world around me”—Merle Haggard I’ve been taking Merle Haggard for granted, for too long.  And suddenly, he’s gone. Merle has been a part of my life since the ’60s, so much a fixture that … Continue reading →

Posted in Country News, Hillbilly Journal, Songwriting | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Cookie-Cutter Country?

Posted on January 13, 2015 by

An aspiring Nashville songwriter named Gregg Todd noticed obvious similarities in music, structure, and lyrics among six ‘bro-country’ radio tunes, took them to Pro Tools audio software on his computer, and ‘mashed up’ all six, to create a sort of … Continue reading →

Posted in Country News | Tagged , , | 1 Comment