The term honky tonk has two meanings – it can be a tavern or club in the South which is comfortable for the common working man, a bit like a pub in the UK. It also describes the style of … Continue reading →
Moving on down the line, more songs about trains, the people who ride them, and the places they go. Songs and tunes from Mike Bryant with Paul Brown, Frank Lee, Steve Goodman, Norman Blake and Merle Haggard. All aboard … … Continue reading →
As noted last show, we’re not talking about the working man’s taverns and clubs in the South … we’re sharing some of the best music popularized in those kinds of venues! For this week’s show, we’ll continue featuring classic and … Continue reading →
When we think of swing music, visions of big bands from the 1930s and ’40s usually come to mind. Although most of the big bands are gone, the musical style is still very much in vogue. This week we’ll listen … Continue reading →
Introduction Those of you who follow us on Facebook know that we often recognize artists’ birthdays. That’s mostly my work. With plenty of thinking about mortality in our blog posts, it’s worth celebrating the musicians that help us find our way … Continue reading →
Jon Langford (Photo by Barry Phipps, courtesy the artist and Bloodshot Records) Today we continue our conversation with transplanted Chicagoan and jack-of-all-trades (music, art, comic interludes, storytelling) Jon Langford. You can read Part One here; Part Three appears Friday. Today … Continue reading →
Did you happen to watch the American Masters biography of Haggard that I posted earlier this week? It’s long, so no worries if you didn’t, but Gillian Welch makes an important comment in the interview with her in that documentary.“I’ve … Continue reading →
Jerry Garcia I first remember hearing Merle Haggard’s song “Sing Me Back Home,” which we introduced in the previous post, in a cover version performed by Richard Shindell. It’s possible I heard a taped Grateful Dead version before then, but … Continue reading →
Merle Haggard‘s 1968 hit, “Sing Me Back Home” gives us three chords and the truth about compassion and the power of music. In it, we hear forgiveness and reconciliation, but with an unwavering certainty of outcome. There is clinging to … Continue reading →
Steve Earle and Townes Van Zandt After such a long post last time, I plan for this one to be long on music and short on text. If there’s a narrative to capture here, it’s that I think “Pancho and … Continue reading →
