This beautiful song was written by Gillian Welch for the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou? It is performed by Welch, Emmylou Harris and Alison Krauss...
Category - Country
Jim Foglesong, a legendary country music executive, died Tuesday in Nashville. Foglesong signed Garth Brooks, Reba McEntire, Barbara Mandrell, George Strait...
As usual, everything I thought about a song turned out to be wrong. I’ve Been Everywhere (above) — a song that essentially is a list of cities...
Unfortunately, Glen Campbell is battling Alzheimer’s Disease. Vintage Vinyl News reported last month that the disease is having an impact. Here is the...
Above is No Show Jones. TDMB featured Jones last November.
Bob Wills, who fronted the band Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys, was instrumental in the development of western swing and rockabilly. The turning of the...
…then it’s a gem. They all are, but usually I have a better rationale. This version of Deuce and a Quarter song has everything: It’s a...
This is a long excerpt from Wikipedia’s entry on Merle Haggard, but it is very interesting. It seems that a small percentage of the many kids who start...
Mumford & Sons’ Babel won the 2012 Grammy Award for best album. Here is the beginning of Wikipedia’s profile of the band: Mumford & Sons...
I usually shy away from posting on bands or performers for whom I can’t find video. After all, seeing the acts is as much fun and illuminating as hearing...
Reading Music
The stories of the great bands and musicians are fascinating. Musicians as a group are brilliant, but often troubled. The combination of creativity and drama makes for great reading.
Here are some books to check out.
Duke Ellington brought class, sophistication and style to jazz which, until that point, was proudly unpolished and raucous. His story is profound. The author, Terry Teachout, also wrote "Pops," the acclaimed bio of Louis Armstrong. Click here or on the image.
What else is there to say? Here is the story behind every song written by The Beatles. Click here or on the image.
The Grateful Dead don't get enough credit for the profound nature of its lyrics. Many of the band's songs are driven by a deep and literate Americana ("I'm Uncle Sam/That's who I am/Been hidin' out/In a rock and roll band" and "Majordomo Billy Bojangles/Sit down and have a drink with me/What's this about Alabama/Keeps comin' back to me?").
David Dodd's exhaustive study tells the story, song by song. Click here or on the image.
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