DEAD GHOSTS are a five-piece garage rock and/or roll band from Vancouver, British Columbia.
Rauchy lo-fi recording style, country esque vibes "sweet guitar pluck and jangle", driving
rhythms, and the occasional Back From The grave feel is the basic make up of their songs.
To get another idea of their sound, they've gotten comparisons to namely the bands THE BLACK LIPS
and KING KHAN & BBQ SHOW.
Today's tune "Cut Off My Hair" is a great new single from the them, looking forward to hear some more.
Enjoy!
Charlie Parr spent a morning at Cloverlick Banjo Shop in Fort Collins a few months back.
He played us the title tracking his upcoming album (it’s already out out as the single, go track it down) and the full album comes out on Smithsonian Folkways Recordings on July 30th.
Charlie Parr’s newest album, "Last Of The Better Days Ahead", is a collection of powerful new songs about how one looks back on a life lived, as well as forward on what’s still to come. Its spare production foregrounds Parr’s poetic lyricism, his expressive, gritty voice ringing clear over deft acoustic guitar playing that references folk and blues motifs in Parr’s own exploratory, idiosyncratic style. When it comes to what it all means, Parr says it best:
“Last of the Better Days Ahead is a way for me to refer to the times I’m living in. I’m getting on in years, experiencing a shift in perspective that was once described by my mom as ‘a time when we turn from gazing into the future to gazing back at the past, as if we’re adrift in the current, slowly turning around.’ Some songs came from meditations on the fact that the portion of our brain devoted to memory is also the portion responsible for imagination, and what that entails for the collected experiences that we refer to as our lives. Other songs are cultivated primarily from the imagination, but also contain memories of what may be a real landscape, or at least one inspired by vivid dreaming. The album represents one full rotation of the boat in which we are adrift—looking ahead for a last look at the better days to come, then being turned around to see the leading edge of the past as it fades into the foggy dreamscape of our real and imagined histories.”
Enjoy today's tune “Last Of The Better Days Ahead", where the video was filmed at Cloverlick Banjo Shop in Fort Collins, CO.
In 2016, when Shires was finishing her record, "My Piece Of Land", in music producer Dave Cobb's studio, Shires had an idea to create a female country supergroup in homage to the legendary HIGHWAYMEN (consisting of Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson). At the same time, the lack of representation of female artists on country radio and at country music festivals had been publicly discussed by many journalists like Marissa Moss. While on tour in her van, Shires kept a running list of artists while listening to country radio, and noticed that there were very few women. When she called to request they play more female artists, she was directed to a Facebook page lottery system. Cobb recommended Shires call Carlile, who she didn't know. Carlile thought it would be fun, and would be an interesting creative project.
THE HIGHWOMAN project was widely hinted at by Carlile, Morris and Shires before it was officially announced on April 6, 2019. THE HIGHWOMAN had originally intended to leave the fourth spot in their line-up vacant to allow other female collaborators to join them, with Chely Wright, Courtney Marie Andrews, Margo Price, Janelle Monáe, and Sheryl Crow mentioned as potential guests. The band, who jokingly refer to the collaboration as a pirate ship experience, said that they see the project as an incubator project that highlights mentorship and support of fellow women artists.
The group made their live debut on April 1, 2019, at Loretta Lynn's 87th birthday concert held at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. There, Natalie Hemby was officially revealed as the final member and the quartet performed "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels".
The album opens with "Highwomen", a re-written version of the Jimmy Webb penned classic, "Highwayman". The song was re-written by band members Brandi Carlile and Amanda Shires with Webb's blessing. Together they created the story of the band in classic response-song style. The song tells the story of how women throughout history have often sacrificed themselves for something greater. The four women in the song are an immigrant, a healer, a freedom rider, and a preacher. It features guest vocals from Yola and background vocals from Sheryl Crow.
Enjoy today's fantastic version of "Highwomen"
Here is a clip with Yolo and Sheryl Crow live at Girls Just Wanna Weekend 2 in Mexico 2020-01-31.
"On The Road Again" is a song written and made famous by American country music singer Willie Nelson.
The song, about life on tour, came about when the executive producer of the film Honeysuckle Rose approached Nelson about writing the song for the film's soundtrack. "On The Road Again" became Nelson's 9th Country & Western No. 1 hit overall (6th as a solo recording act) in November 1980, and became one of Nelson's most recognizable tunes. In addition, the song reached No. 20 on the Billboard Hot 100, and No. 7 on the Adult Contemporary chart. It was his biggest pop hit to that time and won him a Grammy Award for Best Country Song a year later.
In 1980 Nelson starred in his first leading role in the film Honeysuckle Rose, about an aging musician who fails to achieve national fame and his relationship with his family, who also are part of his band that travels throughout the United States while playing in different venues. Shortly after signing the contract, Nelson was approached during a flight by the executive producer of the movie, who requested him to write a song about life on the road to use as the theme song. Nelson quickly wrote the song on a barf bag. The tune featured a "train beat".
Today's tune is made by the Swedish FIRST AID KIT, released in 2020 as a single. Proceeds from the song sales were donated to Crew Nation in order to support the members of the crew who were forced off the road and out of work due to COVID-19 pandemic. A tune that suits this time perfectly, and it's really something I long for.
In 2010, the Upper Big Branch coal mine in Raleigh County, West Virginia exploded, killing twenty-nine of the thirty-one miners present at the time. It's been called one of the worst mining disasters in American history. And it inspired the latest album from veteran singer/songwriter Steve Earle, titled "Ghosts Of West Virginia".
The project originated with the off-Broadway play Coal Country, written by playwrights Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen, who approached Earle to compose the score. While the play had to cancel its run in New York City due the coronavirus, Earle did release the songs as his 20th studio album today on May 22nd via New West Records.
Steve Earle examines the physical strength and life-risking bravery of Appalachian miners in today's tune “Devil Put The Coal In The Ground”, a blusey piece with droning fiddle and banjo with a hypnotic chant about the Devil, the tune is taken off the new album "Ghosts Of West Virginia", released May 22nd, 2020 via New West Records. Enjoy!
Since we have stayed at Americana Roots and Singer-songwriter Country all week, I thought we should end it all with something a little extra.
THE HIGHWAYMEN was an American country music supergroup, composed of four of country music's biggest artists, who pioneered the outlaw country subgenre: Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, and Kris Kristofferson. Between 1985 and 1995, the group recorded three major label albums as THE HIGHWAYMEN: two on Columbia Records and one for Liberty Records. Their Columbia works produced three chart singles, including the number one "Highwayman" in 1985.
Between 1996 and 1999, Nelson, Kristofferson, Cash, and Jennings provided the voice and dramatization for the Louis L'Amour Collection, a four-CD box set of seven Louis L'Amour stories published by the HighBridge Company, although the four were not credited as THE HIGHWAYMEN in this work.
Besides the four formal members of the group, one other vocal artist appeared on a Highwaymen recording: Johnny Rodriguez, who provided Spanish vocal on "Deportee", a Woody Guthrie composition, from the album "Highwayman".
The four-starred in one movie together: the 1986 film Stagecoach.
Today's tune "Highwayman" is a song written by American singer-songwriter Jimmy Webb, about a soul with incarnations in four different places in time and history: as a highwayman, a sailor, a construction worker on the Hoover Dam, and finally as a captain of a starship.
The song was influenced by the real-life hanged highwayman Jonathan Wild. The dam builder verse alludes to the deaths of over one hundred men during the construction of Hoover Dam near Boulder City, Nevada, although none of those deaths resulted in a person being encased in concrete. Webb first recorded the song on his album "El Mirage", released in May 1977. The following year, Glen Campbell recorded his version, which was released on his 1979 album Highwayman. In 1985, the song became the inspiration for the naming of the supergroup THE HIGHWAYMEN, which featured Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, and Kris Kristofferson. Their first album, "Highwayman", became a number one platinum-selling album, and their version of the song went to number one on the Hot Country Songs Billboard chart in a 20 week run. Their version earned Webb a Grammy Award for Best Country Song in 1986. The song has since been recorded by other artists. Webb himself included a different version on his 1996 album Ten Easy Pieces, a live version on his 2007 album Live and at Large, and a duet version with Mark Knopfler on the 2010 album Just Across the River.
In THE HIGHWAYMENs version of the song, each of the four verses was sung by a different performer: first Nelson as the highwayman, then Kristofferson as the sailor, then Jennings as the dam builder, and finally Cash as the starship captain. Webb later observed, "I don't know how they decided who would take which verse, but having Johnny last was like having God singing your song (laughs)."[2] Rosanne Cash has said her father did not realize the song was about reincarnation until she explained it to him. A black-and-white music video was released, which used actors to re-enact the song's lyrics, including the deaths of the first three characters. Each of the performers is seen briefly in the sky singing a few lines, as their segment of the song concludes
Here is a live clip where THE HIGHWAYMEN performing "Highwayman" from American Outlaws: Live at Nassau Coliseum, 1990
That's part of the lyrics of Colter Wall's tune "The Devil Wears A Suit And Tie", a tune taken from his album Imaginary Appalachia. It’s a midtempo song filled with twangy guitars and little riffs, hinting at Wall’s guitar-playing abilities, whilst the confessional feel of the lyrics comes through in his subdued vocal.
Colter Wall’s music is more in the traditional style than the other guys that have been playing tunes here on Tune Of The Day. Over the years his baritone has gone deeper, check him out if you like this downscale tune.
Colter Wall (born June 27, 1995) is a Canadian singer-songwriter from Swift Current, Saskatchewan. His self-titled debut album was released on May 12, 2017, and his second album Songs of the Plains on October 12, 2018.
Colter Wall will hit the road soon and in June he will come to Scandinavia for two shows, one in Oslo, Norway and one in Stockholm, Sweden. Hopefully, I got some spear time to be able to witness him live, see all the dates below.
Enjoy today's tune!
"SONGS OF THE PLAINS" TOUR:
MAR 17 TUE
Camp Lucy
Dripping Springs, TX, United States
MAR 19 THU
Luck Reunion
Spicewood, TX, United States
MAR 20 FRI
Billy Bob's
Fort Worth, TX, United States
MAR 21 SAT
The Bluelight Live
Lubbock, TX, United States
MAR 22 SUN
The Bluelight Live
Lubbock, TX, United States
MAR 26 THU
Revolution Music Room
Little Rock, AR, United States
MAR 27 FRI
Gillioz Theatre
Springfield, MO, United States
MAR 28 SAT
The Blue Note
Columbia, MO, United States
MAY 8 FRI
Central Park
Atlanta, GA, United States
JUN 12 FRI
Rockefeller
Oslo, Norway
JUN 13 SAT
Münchenbryggeriet, Stockholm, Sweden
JUL 15 WED
Oregon Spirit Distillers
Bend, OR, United States
JUL 16 THU
Northwest String Summit
North Plains, OR, United States
JUL 18 SAT
Under The Big Sky Festival
Whitefish, MT, United States
AUG 7 FRI
Deer Lake Park
Burnaby, BC, Canada
AUG 22 SAT
Keeneland Association Inc
Lexington, KY, United States
Appalachia country breakout Tyler Childers returned with his third album "Country Squire" on August 2, 2019, through Childers' own Hickman Holler label. Recorded at the Butcher Shoppe in Nashville, the album was produced by Sturgill Simpson.
Tyler Childers (born June 21, 1991) is an American singer and songwriter. His music is a mix of country, bluegrass and folk.
Photo Courtesy of Melissa Payne
Today's tune "House Fire" and the nine-track "Country Squire" follow "Purgatory", a stirring 2017 release from Childers that launched the earnest, poignant songwriter into an international success.
The single was accompanied with a video in March of 2019, "House Fire" uses a hyperbolic metaphor of a house fire to describe the passions felt for a lover living too far away, and his need to get to her. An uptempo tune with driving rhythm that gives the tune a dynamic that it’s difficult to remain seated while listening to.
Upcoming Tourdates for A Good Look'n Tour:
* With Sturgill Simpson
# With The Avett Brothers
MAR 10, 2020
North Charleston Coliseum
North Charleston, SC
*
MAR 13, 2020
Hampton Coliseum
Hampton, VA *
MAR 14, 2020
The Met
Philadelphia, PA *
MAR 15, 2020
The Anthem
Washington, DC
Sold Out *
MAR 16, 2020
The Anthem
Washington, DC *
MAR 18, 2020
Coca-Cola Coliseum
Toronto, Canada *
MAR 20, 2020
Nationwide Arena
Columbus, OH *
MAR 21, 2020
Chaifetz Arena
St. Louis, MO *
MAR 22, 2020
Landers Center
Southaven, MS *
MAR 24, 2020
ACL Live (Austin City Limits Live at The Moody Theater)
Austin, TX *
MAR 27, 2020
American Airlines Center
Dallas, TX *
MAR 28, 2020
Frank Erwin Center
Austin, TX *
MAR 29, 2020
Smart Financial Centre
Sugar Land, TX *
APR 1, 2020
Silverstein Eye Centers Arena
Independence, MO *
APR 3, 2020
United Center
Chicago, IL *
APR 4, 2020
The Armory
Minneapolis, MN *
APR 5, 2020
The Armory
Minneapolis, MN *
APR 9, 2020
Baxter Arena
Omaha, NE *
APR 10, 2020
Alliant Energy Center
Madison, WI *
APR 23, 2020
BOK Center
Tulsa, OK *
APR 25, 2020
Pepsi Center
Denver, CO *
APR 28, 2020
Maverik Center
Salt Lake City, UT *
APR 29, 2020
Adams Center
Missoula, MT
Sold Out *
MAY 1, 2020
Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Portland, OR *
MAY 2, 2020
The Gorge Amphitheatre
George, WA *
MAY 5, 2020
Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
San Francisco, CA
Sold Out *
MAY 6, 2020
Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
San Francisco, CA *
MAY 8, 2020
The Forum
Inglewood, CA *
MAY 15, 2020
TD Garden
Boston, MA *
MAY 16, 2020
Madison Square Garden
New York, NY *
MAY 21, 2020
Bridgestone Arena
Nashville, TN *
MAY 22, 2020
Bridgestone Arena
Nashville, TN
Sold Out *
MAY 24, 2020
KFC Yum! Center
Louisville, KY *
JUN 18, 2020
Telluride Bluegrass Festival
Telluride, CO
JUN 30, 2020
Slaktkyrkan
Stockholm, Sweden
Rescheduled from 1/26
JUL 2, 2020 - JUL 7, 2020
Rock Werchter
Rotselaar, Flanders
JUL 3, 2020 - JUL 5, 2020
Down The Rabbit Hole Festival
Beuningen, Netherlands
JUL 4, 2020
Roskilde Festival
Roskilde
JUL 18, 2020 - JUL 19, 2020
Under the Big Sky Festival
Whitefish, MT
AUG 1, 2020
Hinterland Music Festival
Saint Charles, IA
AUG 8, 2020
Murphy Arts District Amphitheater
El Dorado, AR #
AUG 9, 2020
Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion
Rogers, AR #
AUG 11, 2020
Hartman Arena
Park City, KS #
In 2019, Cauthen released his second solo record called Room 41. At one point Cauthen considered calling the record "Holy Ghost Fire" after that track on the album but eventually settled on "Room 41". The title of the record is in honor of the room number where Cauthen lived at the Belmont Hotel in West Dallas, Texas, for almost two years while he wrote the record.
Paul Mark "Big Velvet" Cauthen (born in 1986) is a singer-songwriter from East Texas. He started his music career in an Americana/indie folk rock duo called SONS OF FATHERS, before turning solo. He has released two albums and an EP as a solo artist, the most recent being "Room 41" released in September 2019. Cauthen is nicknamed Big Velvet for his distinctive baritone voice.
"Room 41" was the culmination of a dark period in Cauthen's life, prompted by the end of a long-term relationship in Wichita Falls, Texas. Cauthen relocated to Dallas and while writing prolifically, went through a period of alcohol and drug abuse.
Today's tune "Cocaine Country Dancing", taken from "Room 41" where the video was filmed at the Electric Cowboy Fort Worth country music venue in Fort Worth, Texas. In September 2019, the video was nominated by the Dallas Observer's Music Awards for Best Music Video
Upcoming Tourdates:
MAR 16 MON
Campfire Gathering, TX, United States
MAR 27 FRI
Hogs For The Cause, LA, United States
APR 18 SAT
Red River Music Fest, TX, United States
APR 20 MON
Humphreys Concerts By the Bay
Orville Peck
San Diego, CA, United States
APR 22 WED
Arlington Theatre
Orville Peck
Santa Barbara, CA, United States
APR 23 THU
Pappy & Harriet's
Orville PeckTanya Tucker
Pioneertown, CA, United States
APR 24 FRI
Stagecoach Festival, CA, United States
APR 26 SUN
The Independent
San Francisco, CA, United States
MAY 1 FRI
Tractor Tavern
Seattle, WA, United States
MAY 8 FRI
Gothic Theatre
Englewood, CO, United States
MAY 15 FRI
Hangout Music Festival, AL, United States
JUN 6 SAT
Born & Raised Music Festival, OK, United States
JUN 26 FRI
Weiser River Music Festival
Weiser, ID, United States
JUN 27 SAT
Jackalope Jamboree
Pendleton, OR, United States
JUL 18 SAT
Under The Big Sky Festival, MT, United States
AUG 1 SAT
Hinterland Music Festival
Saint Charles, IA, United States
AUG 14 FRI
Psycho Las Vegas (August 14-16)
Las Vegas, NV, United States
AUG 21 FRI
Radio Room
Leah Blevins Music
Greenville, SC, United States
AUG 22 SAT
Railbird Festival
Lexington, KY, United States
Monday, a new week and a new turn, it's time to present "Record Of The Week"
"Between The Country" is the debut album by singer-songwriter Ian Noe. Noe hails from Beattyville, a small town in Eastern Kentucky.
Ian Noe sings with a gentle high nasal voice and the guitar is his main man. The lyrics are based on places where he has lived all his life and touches subjects like death, addiction, country jungle, lost love and poverty.
"Between The Country" was recorded in Nashville’s RCA Studio A with producer Dave Cobb (Sturgill Simpson, Chris Stapleton, and Jason Isbell). Dave also plays guitar on the album along with Adam Gardner on bass and organ piano, Chris Powell on drums and percussion, and Savannah Conley on back up vocals.
The album is a masterful piece of work, a very emotional and touches your soul with its simplicity. Tunes like the personal portraits of "Irene (Ravin’ Bomb)" or the story of a 1904 coal-train crash "Barbera’s Song". He also spotlights the drug problems that have reached every single place in his country in the tunes "Junk Town" and "Meth Head". The somber and emotional tunes like "Letter To Madeline", the title tune "Between The Country" and "Loving You" to the more powerful "Dead On The River (Rolling Down)" or the grey haze across the sky "That Kind Of Life". "Between The Country" is an excellent debut from this singer-songwriter that I recommend you to get or at least check it up.
Ian will hit the road in April with a start in Nashville and a few dates in Europe in June, hopefully he stops by Sweden for a show. See all the dates below.
Sum: "Between The Country" is a brilliant record of small-town sadness.
Today's tune "Between The Country" is shot entirely in Ian's home of Eastern Kentucky, the official video for "Between the Country" features the real places he sings about in this song.
Ian Noe on the road:
APR 4 SAT
Ryman Auditorium
Nashville, TN, United States
APR 9 THU
High Noon Saloon
Madison, WI, United States
APR 11 SAT
Rose Music Hall
Columbia, MO, United States
APR 14 TUE
Fort Collins Armory
Fort Collins, CO, United States
APR 15 WED
Lost Lake Lounge
Denver, CO, United States
APR 17 FRI
The State Room
Salt Lake City, UT, United States
APR 18 SAT
The Olympic Venue
Boise, ID, United States
APR 21 TUE
Barboza
Seattle, WA, United States
APR 22 WED
Bunk Bar
Portland, OR, United States
APR 24 FRI
Amado's
San Francisco, CA, United States
APR 25 SAT
Stagecoach Festival
Indio, CA, United States
MAY 3 SUN
Shaky Knees Festival
Atlanta, GA, United States
JUN 7 SUN
Grenswerk
Venlo, Netherlands
JUN 12 FRI
Rockefeller
Oslo, Norway
JUL 17 FRI
Forecastle Festival
Louisville, KY, United States
SEP 3 THU
Larmer Tree Gardens
Salisbury, United Kingdom
NOV 16 MON
All the Best Fest
Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
Brian Wright is an American singer-songwriter from Waco, TX. His debut album, Dog Ears was released in 2006, quickly followed by a sophomore effort, Bluebird in 2007. After signing with Sugar Hill Records, Wright has recorded two more albums, 2011's "House on Fire" and 2013's "Rattle Their Chains".
For Brian Wright, life as a traveling troubadour began in Waco, Texas near the highway and the trains where he found music at the age of 13. That is where his father took a job that required a great deal of travel, making the family VW van Wright’s first crib. He started as a drummer but found the guitar more to his liking (though he can play almost any instrument with keys or strings). Wright spent several years playing in Austin and Dallas bars before moving to Los Angeles in 2002 with his drummer. There they formed the band "Brian Wright and the Waco Tragedies". Several different music styles later, Wright settled on an infusion of folk, country, and rock music while defying all three. The album Dog Ears, in 2006, was his first release, followed soon thereafter by the album Bluebird in 2007. The band began to develop quite a following. Consequently, Wright feels most at home when on the road, and this movement has helped shaped Wright’s sense of bare-boned lyrics and achingly beautiful songs that seem both distant and intimate at the same time.
Today's tune "Accordion" is taken from 2011's "House on Fire" album, enjoy!
HOFFMAESTRO is a Swedish ska, electronic and alternative pop band. Their music is a mix of Ska with reggae, Techno, New Orleans-funk and Country.
HOFFMAESTRO is an example of the band that has built its reputation and a large fan base through touring rather than through media exposure. The band's breakthrough came with the film Stockholm Boogie in 2005. written, directed and soundtrack recorded by HOFFMAESTRO themeselves, particularly with the theme song "Desperado". In subsequent years, they released two EP's and a full-length album The Storm on Warner Music. The band was nominated for a Grammy for the music video of "Young Dad" and for the song "Highway Man".
They have, among other acts, played on many Swedish music festivals including Peace & Love. Their greatest influences are FUNKADELIC, MANO CHAO, DR. JOHN, GUNS N' ROSES, SKA-P, PAKITO, DAVID RUFFIN and BEASTIE BOYS.
Through frequent touring and songs like "Highway Man", "Desperado" and "The Storm", they have cemented their position as one of the country's best live bands. Their mix between ska and punk, seasoned with lots of energy, makes no one stand still during their concerts.
They have played twice before on Big Scene at Gröna Lund here in Stockholm and they always create an almost magical mood, where the audience dances, sings and sounds the band's smallest wave. September 15th it's time to get ready for another HOFFMAESTRO concert at Gröna Lund!
Today's tune "Highway Man" is taken from the 2008 album "The Storm", enjoy!
Sturgill Simpson makes one small but significant addition to the lyrics in his soulful cover of NIRVANA's "In Bloom" — after each "don't know what it means," he chimes in with his own "to love someone." While that idea may be implied in Kurt Cobain's original, it's a distinction made all the more poignant by the fact that Simpson recorded the song and his new album A Sailor's Guide to Earth especially for his young son.
"I'm never going to make anything other than a country record," says Simpson about his album "A Sailor's Guide to Earth".
"I wanted a song on the album to capture that awkward stage in every young boy's life where they are searching for their place in the world," Simpson tells Rolling Stone Country. "One night while discussing the album with my wife, she asked, 'Well, what were you listening to when you were 13?' I remember in seventh or eighth grade, when "Nevermind" dropped, it was like a bomb went off in my bedroom. For me, that song has always summed up what it means to be a teenager, and I think it tells a young boy that he can be sensitive and compassionate — he doesn't have to be tough or cold to be a man."
The video for "In Bloom" depicts that loneliness and confusion of youth with the same stylish animation that powers Simpson's "Brace for Impact" video. While a dagger-toothed, hairy monster swirls below, a young man (with a cannon barrel where his head should be) tentatively tries to navigate a rowboat across this troubled sea. As the song explodes into an optimistic cascade of horns, the boy discovers the way to vanquish the monster is not with angry cannon fire but by radiating love. It's a realization as transformative as Simpson's rendering of the song — beneath all Nirvana's hormonal agitation, there's a hopeful resolution.
John Sturgill Simpson (born June 8, 1978) is an American country music and roots rock singer-songwriter. To date he has released three albums as a solo artist. He released two albums independently, High Top Mountain in 2013 and Metamodern Sounds in Country Music in 2014. His second album is notable for being nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Americana Album. His third studio album, "A Sailor's Guide to Earth", was released on Atlantic Records and was Simpson's first major-label release, later earning him Best Country Album at the 59th Grammy Awards while also being nominated for Album of the Year.
Today's tune "In Bloom" is taken off Sturgill's new album - A Sailor's Guide To Earth. Directed By: Matt Mahurin. Written by NIRVANA frontman Kurt Cobain, the song addresses people outside of the underground music community who did not understand the band's message. Enjoy today's Thursday cover.
"Smoke" is a song by American country music group A THOUSAND HORSES. It is their debut release and the first from their album "Southernality".
The band formed in 2010 in Nashville, Tennessee. The band is composed of Michael Hobby (lead vocals), Bill Satcher (lead guitar), Zach Brown (guitar and vocals), and Graham Deloach (bass and vocals). Their first EP, A Thousand Horses, was released under Interscope Records in 2010. In 2014, the band signed with Republic Nashville of Big Machine Label Group and released its first single "Smoke", which set a record for the highest debut by a new act when it opened at number 28 on the Country Aircheck radio chart.
The song is a ballad in which the narrator compares his lover to the substance dependence of tobacco, referring to her as a "habit that I can't let go"
Giving it a "B+", Jim Casey of Country Weekly praised the song's Southern rock and blues influences, adding that "The forlorn lyrics are despairing, but frontman Michael Hobby's gritty vocals…drive the song into an endorphin-releasing euphoria."
Today's tune "Smoke" taken from the latest album "Southernality". The music video was directed by Peter Zavadil. In the video, the band performs the song live about an erotic dancer they are watching on stage. Joseph Hudak of Rolling Stone compared the video to that of "Girls, Girls, Girls" by MÖTLEY CRUE.
"Sugar Daddy" is a tune written and performed by Sturgill Simpson, also the theme song to the Martin Scorsese/Mick Jagger-produced TV show, Vinyl. With a creative team that includes Mick Jagger and Martin Scorcese, HBO's music-driven period drama Vinyl has quite the pedigree. The action centers on a fictional record label and its employees in rock & roll's pre-punk Seventies glory days, fueled by mountains of cocaine and unrelenting ego. A small thing, I haven't seen this TV show yet, pretty odd right, regarding the name, the story etc, well first I have to say that I will soon, just need to wait that the season is over so I can see them all at once. As I am the worst serie/show follower on earth (: Anyway, the tune is a damn good Blues/Country song that needs to be played over and over. Check it up below, hope you will enjoy it, I do!
John Sturgill Simpson is an American country music and roots rock singer-songwriter. He has released two albums independently, High Top Mountain in 2013and Metamodern Sounds in Country Music in 2014. The latter album was nominated for Grammy Award for Best Americana Album, was listed 18th on Rolling Stone's "50 Best Albums of 2014," and was also named among NPR's 50 Favorite Albums of 2014. His third studio album, A Sailor's Guide to Earth, was released on April 15, 2016, by Atlantic Records.
Simpson is often compared to Waylon Jennings and the Outlaw Country genre of country music. Shooter Jennings says, "Sturgill isn't imitating at all, and he sounds like my favorite era of my dad, the Seventies, when he would sing quieter and more conversational. That's what struck me about Sturgill from Day One. And still does". Simpson himself counts Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, Keith Whitley, and Marty Robbins as much bigger influences on his sound than Waylon Jennings. Indeed, Country Music Television noted that Simpson had "a voice that recalls Merle Haggard and guitar licks that bring Buck Owens to mind". His overall sound was described by Indiewire as "a mesmerizing and sometimes bewildering mix of traditional country sounds, contemporary philosophy, and psychedelic recording-studio wizardry".
Today's tune "Sugar Daddy" is taken from the "Official Soundtrack Vinyl".
"Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys" is a country music song first recorded by Ed Bruce, written by him and wife Patsy Bruce. His version of the song appears on his 1976 self-titled album for United Artists Records. In late 1975–early 1976, Bruce's rendition of the song went to number 15 on the Hot Country Singles charts.
Members of the Western Writers of America chose the song as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time.
The narrator warns mothers not to let their children become cowboys because of the tough and busy life of cowboy culture.
Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson covered the song on their 1978 duet album Waylon & Willie. This rendition peaked at No. 1 in March 1978, spending four weeks atop the country music charts. It also won the 1979 Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. Also in 1979, Nelson's version was featured in the film The Electric Horseman with Robert Redford and Jane Fonda. This version was covered by Alvin and the Chipmunks as "Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Chipmunks" for their 1981 album Urban Chipmunk. It is also featured in the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas video game soundtrack, on the fictitious radio station K-Rose, and in a 2015 TV commercial for the Volkswagen Passat.
In 1994, country music group Gibson/Miller Band recorded a cover version on its album Red, White and Blue Collar. This version peaked at #49 on the Hot Country Songs chart, and was featured in the soundtrack for the movie The Cowboy Way. It also appeared on the band's second and final studio album, Red, White and Blue Collar.
Todays tune is with "Willie Nelson & Waylon Jennings" perform "Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys" at Farm Aid II in Austin, Texas on July 4, 1986. The song was Released as a 7" single on November 15, 1975 and the B-side was "It's Not What She's Done (It's What You Didn't Do)".
J.Tex and The Volunteers is a travelling trio, made up of artist, sailors, surfers, writers, painters and farmers, taking journey to many a city and town, for there they turn musician… playing their instruments and telling their stories in song. These nomads enjoy a nice whisky, coffee, smoke, conversation and Improvising on their instruments while playing home crafted songs. Cooking up food for thought over the open fire. With their stylistic flexibility, swing, rhythm and rock steady roots music, they offer the listener a new musical experience. This is good old fashion entertainment but with a twist, a new take on an old thing. Its comfortable and familiar like a gin and tonic but with an extra shoot and a taller glass.
Singer/Songwriter J.Tex was born in Detroit, Michigan – growing up in Denmark. Playing instruments from the age of 6. Playing for a living on the roads of Europe, mainly in Italy and France in the early 90´ties.
The inspiration is clearly from the great vide open “Dustville” America, but don’t get it wrong – J.Tex is truly an urban cowboy and at the age of 20 he went back to the States to search for his musical roots. J. Tex started out his journey in Nashville, Tennessee with a guitar in one hand, and a paintbrush in the other, he traveled all over the South.
After a few months of doing odd jobs, he found himself on a long journey through the back roads of the South. He had a great companion and mentor in the fire-burning carnival painter and artist “the one legged man” John Heiner.
This trip was a lifetime experience for J.Tex – learning the trade of art, and living the wild life on the road. When traveling long hours up and down interstate highway 75, he always found the time for writing songs when jamming with old-timers, and everyday Americans.
J.Tex: Banjo, Guitar, Violin, Lead Vocal
Ida Hvid: Upright Bass, Vocal
Jason Bedard: Drums, Vocal
The music is firmly rooted in American folk music but with a twist; a new take on a classic sound.
Todays tune "Treading Water" is the second single from the new album (2015) "Old Days vs. New Days"
Monday, new week, time to present this week's album.
As there is a lot going on right now in life have almost all purchased albums ended up in a pile that's gets bigger and bigger everyday since I do not have time to listen to them right now. However, the final tour week is up for the Swedish Eurovision Song Contest (Melodifestivalen) so soon will the records spin again, something I have been looking forward for a long time.
So today we pick up a classic album, a bit odd thing that usually are displayed here, this is a record that I do like a lot, moreover it is now re-released with tons of bonus material.
"Moondance" is this weeks "Record Of the Week". It's the third studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It was released on 28 February 1970 by Warner Bros.
The album's musical style blends R&B, folk rock, country rock, and also jazz (most obviously on the title track).
The single released was "Come Running" with "Crazy Love" as the B-side. "Crazy Love" was only released as a single in the Netherlands and did not chart. "Moondance" was not released as a single until 1977.
Moondance was critically acclaimed when first released and established Morrison as a major artist. The songs on the album quickly became staples of FM radio. It has proven to be Morrison's most famous album, often appearing on many lists of best albums of all time. Among other awards, it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999. In 2003, it was ranked #65 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time".
The combination of music and lyrics of the songs on the Moondance album comprised the first Van Morrison album that was highly accessible with various genres that blend jazz, soul, country, and blues.
The opening song, "And It Stoned Me", is a real beauty piece of music, here we hear a young man witha confidentsoul. According to the singer, depicts a true tale of a day in his childhood. The lyrics show that the setting of the song is rural, including references to a county fair and mountain stream.
The title song is mostly acoustic but also includes electric bass and piano, guitar, saxophone, and a flute over-dub played softly behind Morrison's voice, which imitates a saxophone towards the song's end. A nice jazz swing from a rock musician.
Todays tune "Crazy Love" has Morrison's voice so close to the microphone that a click of Morrison's tongue hitting the roof of his mouth is picked up. He sings in falsetto, producing a sense of intense intimacy, with the backing of a female chorus. This is a tune that you should play for your wife/girlfriend.
The song "These Dreams of You" manages to be simultaneously accusatory and reassuring. The lyrics cover such dream sequences as Ray Charles being shot down, paying dues in Canada, and "his angel from above" cheating while playing cards in the dark, slapping him in the face, ignoring his cries, and walking out on him.
"Brand New Day", Morrison says he was inspired to write it after hearing The Band on FM radio playing either "The Weight" or "I Shall Be Released": "I looked up at the sky and the sun started to shine and all of a sudden the song just came through my head. I started to write it down, right from 'When all the dark clouds roll away'". Ritchie Yorke quoted Morrison as saying in 1973 that "Brand New Day" was the song that worked best to his ear and the one with which he felt most in touch.
Several of the songs on the album have been popular cover songs since its release in 1970, most prominently the title song, "Moondance" but "Crazy Love", "Into the Mystic" and "And It Stoned Me" have also been frequently recorded and performed live by popular artists. Cover artists of Moondance songs include: The Allman Brothers Band, Michael Bolton, Michael Bublé, Vicki Carr, Paul Carrack, Joe Cocker, Rita Coolidge, The Dead, Glen Hansard, Colin James, Brian McKnight, Helen Reddy, Rod Stewart, and The Wallflowers. Duets were performed by Morrison with Ray Charles and Bob Dylan.
Todays tune "Crazy Love" is a romantic ballad written by Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison and included on his 1970 album, Moondance. The song was released as a single in May 1970 with "Come Running" as the A-side, and again in the Netherlands with "Come Running" as the B-side. The cover of the single shows Morrison with his then-wife, Janet "Planet" Rigsbee. The photograph was taken by Elliot Landy, the official photographer of the 1969 Woodstock festival.
Ray Charles introduced Van Morrison by starting the first verse before Van's appearance when he was inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame in 2003. Morrison and Charles then finished with a duet of "Crazy Love". Ray Charles remarked about this performance: "It meant a lot to sing 'Crazy Love' on stage that evening." Genius Loves Company, Ray Charles' 2004 album, includes this duet featuring the two singers. Van Morrison and Bob Dylan sang a duet of "Crazy Love" on the BBC film, One Irish Rover in 1991.
Todays Video is with Ray Charles & Van Morrison performing "Crazy Love"
Second Video is Live At The Fillmore West, San Francisco. April 26, 1970
Listen to ”Willie & Waylon - Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys" on Spotify 
