All posts by Egil

Elvis Presley, Memphis, Music Calendar

Today: Elvis Presley recorded “Long Black Limousine” in 1969 – 44 years ago

elvis_band_american_studios_1969

 ..But it is “Long Black Limousine” and “I’ll Hold You in My Heart” which mark the high point of the album and indeed may mark the high point of Elvis’ career to date. “Long Black Limousine” is the almost quintessential C&W ballad, whose melody bears traces of such mournful standards as “Old Shep” and “Green, Green Grass of Home”.
~Peter Guralnick (Rollingstone Magazien – Aug 1969)

One of the strongest songs from one of the best albums ever released… nothing less.

Wikipedia

Released June 17, 1969
Genre Rhythm and blues
Length 3:44
Label RCA Victor
Writer Vern Stovall, Bobby George
Producer Chips Moman, Felton Jarvis

Long Black Limousine is a song written by Vern Stovall and Bobby George; the best known version is probably the one by Elvis Presley, who turned the original country tune into a soulful rhythm and blues song.

Stovall and George, country musicians based in southern California, probably wrote the song in 1958, when it was first recorded (but not released until many years later) by Wynn Stewart. The first released version was Stovall’s, in 1961, followed by Glen Campbell’s in 1962. The only charting single of the song (in 1968 it reached #73 on the US country charts) was Jody Miller’s, her version was also on her 1968 album The Nashville Sound of Jody Miller. O. C. Smith’s version was released as the B-side of his million-selling crossover hit “Little Green Apples” in 1968. Elvis Presley’s version appeared on his classic 1969 From Elvis in Memphis album.

Elvis - from elvis in memphis

The sound produced at American had little to do with high-tech equipment and everything to do with its stable of musicians, who had developed a heavily R&B-influenced style that far transcended any bluesy  edges the Nashville players might have boasted.
~Ernst Jorgensen (Elvis Presley – A life in music)

Chipc Moan & ElvisElvis & Chips Moman

All southerners, all close to Elvis’s age, they shared a musical heritage that blended country, gospel, and rhythm and blues.
To the musicians Chips Moman was a godfather-like figure in the studio, who would tolerate nothing less than total commitment.
~Ernst Jorgensen (Elvis Presley – A life in music)

An even better version – Long Black Limousine (Take 6):

Lyrics

There’s a long line of mourners driving down our little street
Their fancy cars are such a sight to see, oh, yeah
They’re all of your rich friends who knew you in the city
And now they’ve finally brought, brought you home to me

When you left you know you told me that some day you’d be returnin’
In a fancy car all the town to see, oh, yeah
Well, now everyone is watching you, you finally had your dream
Yeah, and you’re ridin’ in a long black limousine

You know the papers told of how you lost your life, oh, yeah
The party, the party and the fatal crash that night
Well, the race upon the highway, oh, the curve you didn’t see
When you’re riding in that long black limousine

You’re riding in that long black limousine

Through tear filled eyes I watch as you ride by, oh, yeah
A chauffeur, a chauffeur at the wheel dressed up so fine
Well, I never, I never, never, never, oh, my heart, all my dreams
Yeah, they’re with you in that long black limousine

Yeah, yeah, they’re with you in that long black limousine
Yeah, yeah, yeah, they’re with you in that long black limousine
Yeah, yeah, they’re with you in that long black limousine

Producer: Chips Moman & Felton Jarvis

Produced by Felton Jarvis and Chips Moman
Engineered by Al Pachucki
Overdubs arranged by Mike Leech and Glen Spreen
Digital Engineer: Dick Baxter

Personnel

  • Elvis Presley – vocals, guitar, piano
  • String and Horn Arrangements – Glen Spreen
  • Ed Kollis – harmonica
  • John Hughey – pedal steel guitar on “In the Ghetto”
  • Reggie Young, Dan Penn – electric guitar
  • Bobby Wood – piano
  • Bobby Emmons – organ
  • Tommy Cogbill, Mike Leech – bass
  • Gene Chrisman – drums

Overdubbed:

  • Wayne Jackson, Dick Steff, R.F. Taylor – trumpets
  • Ed Logan, Jack Hale, Gerald Richardson] – trombones
  • Tony Cason, Joe D’Gerolamo – french horns
  • Andrew Love, Jackie Thomas, Glen Spreen, J.P. Luper – saxophones
  • Joe Babcock, Dolores Edgin, Mary Greene, Charlie Hodge, Ginger Holladay, Mary Holladay Millie Kirkham, Ronnie Milsap, Sonja Montgomery, June Page, Susan Pilkington, Sandy Posey, Donna Thatcher, Hurschel Wiginton – backing vocals

Spotify:

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Country, Music Calendar

Today: Ray Price is 87

Ray Price has covered — and kicked up — as much musical turf as any country singer of the postwar era. He’s been lionized as the man who saved hard country when Nashville went pop, and vilified as the man who went pop when hard country was starting to call its own name with pride.
~Dan Cooper (allmusic.com)

For The Good Times:

From Wikipedia:

Birth name Ray Price
Also known as The Cherokee Cowboy
Born January 12, 1926 (age 87)
Origin Perryville, Texas, U.S.
Genres Country, Western swing
Occupations Singer, songwriter, guitarist
Years active 1948–present
Associated acts Johnny Bush, Merle Haggard, Rosetta Tharpe, Harlan Howard, George Jones, Roger Miller, Willie Nelson, Johnny Paycheck

Ray Price (born January 12, 1926) is an American country music singer, songwriter and guitarist. His wide-ranging baritone has often been praised as among the best male voices of country music. His more well-known recordings include “Release Me”, “Crazy Arms”, “Heartaches by the Number”, “City Lights”, “My Shoes Keep Walking Back to You”, “For the Good Times”, “Night Life”, “I Won’t Mention It Again”, “You’re the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me”, and “Danny Boy”. He was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1996 and—now in his 80s—continues to record and tour.

….He relocated to Nashville in the early 1950s, rooming for a brief time with Hank Williams. When Williams died, Price managed his band, the Drifting Cowboys, and had minor success…..

ray price & hank williams

Heartaches by the number:

Industry Awards:

Academy of Country Music

  • 1970 Album of the Year – “For The Good Times”
  • 1970 Single of the Year – “For The Good Times”

Country Music Association

  • 1971 Album of the Year – “I Won’t Mention It Again”

Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

  • Inducted in 1996

Grammy Awards

  • 1971 Best Male Country Vocal Performance – “For The Good Times”
  • 2008 Best Country Collaboration with Vocals with Willie Nelson – “Lost Highway”

Album of the day:

The Essential Ray Price (1951-1962) – (1991)

album-the-essential-ray-price-1951-1962

@Spotify:

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Bob Dylan, Bob Dylan places

Bob Dylan places/songs: Barcelona – Boots of Spanish Leather

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barcelona

Oh, but I just thought you might want something fine
Made of silver or of golden
Either from the mountains of Madrid
Or from the coast of Barcelona

Boots of Spanish Leather – Witmark demos:

barcelona_map

 

From Wikipedia:

Barcelona is the capital of Catalonia and the second largest city in Spain, after Madrid, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of 101.4 km2 (39 sq mi). The urban area of Barcelona extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of between 4,200,000 and 4,500,000 within an area of 803 km2 (310 sq mi), being the sixth-most populous urban area in the European Union after Paris, London, the Ruhr, Madrid and Milan. About five million people live in the Barcelona metropolitan area. It is also the largest metropolis on the Mediterranean Sea. It is located on the Mediterranean coast between the mouths of the rivers Llobregat and Besòs and is bounded to the west by the Serra de Collserola ridge (512 m/1,680 ft).

Founded as a Roman city, Barcelona became the capital of the County of Barcelona. After merging with the Kingdom of Aragon, Barcelona became one of the most important cities of the Crown of Aragon. Besieged several times during its history, Barcelona has a rich cultural heritage and is today an important cultural centre and a major tourist destination. Particularly renowned are the architectural works of Antoni Gaudí and Lluís Domènech i Montaner, which have been designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The headquarters of the Union for the Mediterranean is located in Barcelona. The city is known for hosting the 1992 Summer Olympics as well as world-class conferences and expositions and also many international sport tournaments.

Sagrada Familia
Sagrada Família church, Gaudi’s masterpiece

 

Barcelona is today one of the world’s leading tourist, economic, trade fair/exhibitions and cultural-sports centres, and its influence in commerce, education, entertainment, media, fashion, science, and the arts all contribute to its status as one of the world’s major global cities. Indeed, it is a major cultural and economic centre in southwestern Europe (Iberian Peninsula), 26th in the world (after Moscow, before Dubai) and a growing financial centre (Diagonal Mar and Gran Via). It is the fourth economically powerful city by GDP in the European Union and 35th in the world with an output amounting to €177 billion. As of 2009 the city was ranked Europe’s third and one of the world’s most successful as a city brand. At the same time, the city was ranked Europe’s fourth best city for business and fastest improving European city, with growth improved by 17% per year. Barcelona is the transport hub with one of Europe’s principal ports, Barcelona international airport, which handles above 34 million passengers per year, extensive motorway network and also is a hub of high-speed rail, particularly that which is intended to link Spain with France and the rest of Europe as the second longest in the world.

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folk, Music Calendar

Today: Robert Earl Keen is 57

…Here’s Bob Dylan and he is the greatest and when we’re all dead and gone and they’re looking back at us 400 years from now, they can look at Bob and say he was the Shakespeare of songwriters, and I would agree.
~Robert Earl Keen (to American Songwriter – Sept. 2011)

Among the large contingent of talented songwriters who emerged in Texas in the 1980s and ’90s, Robert Earl Keen struck an unusual balance between sensitive story-portraits (“Corpus Christi Bay”) and raucous barroom fun (“That Buckin’ Song”)
~James Manheim (allmusic.com)

Amarillo Highway live at the Ryman:

From Wikipedia:

Born January 11, 1956 (age 57)
Origin Houston, Texas, United States
Genres Country, Texas country, outlaw country, country rock, alternative country, folk, Americana
Occupations Singer, Songwriter
Instruments Acoustic Guitar
Years active 1984–present
Labels Arista Records
Sugar Hill Records
KOCH Records
Lost Highway
Rosetta Records,Inc.
Website RobertEarlKeen.com

Robert Earl Keen, Junior (born January 11, 1956) is an American country and folk guitarist and singer-songwriter from the southern state of Texas. He is popular with fans of various musical genres including traditional country, alternative country, folk, Americana, and college radio. Keen currently resides in Kerrville, Texas, and maintains a ranch in Medina, Texas.

REK

Gringo Honeymoon:

Album of the day:

Best (2006):

REK best

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Bob Dylan, Bob Dylan places

Bob Dylan places/songs: Amsterdam – Slow Train

amsterdam

All that foreign oil controlling American soil
Look around you, it’s just bound to make you embarrassed
Sheiks walkin’ around like kings
Wearing fancy jewels and nose rings
Deciding America’s future from Amsterdam and to Paris
And there’s a slow, slow train comin’ up around the bend
~Slow Train (from: Slow Train Coming, 1979)

Slow Train:

amsterdam map

From Wikipedia:

Amsterdam (English /ˈæmstərdæm/;  is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. Its principal language is Dutch. The city’s status as the capital of the nation is governed by the constitution. Amsterdam has a population of 820,256 within city limits, an urban population of 1,209,419 and a metropolitan population of 2,289,762. The city is located in the province of North Holland in the west of the country. It comprises the northern part of the Randstad, one of the larger conurbations in Europe, with a population of approximately 7 million.

Amsterdam’s name is derived from Amstelredamme, indicative of the city’s origin: a dam in the river Amstel. Settled as a small fishing village in the late 12th century, Amsterdam became one of the most important ports in the world during the Dutch Golden Age, a result of its innovative developments in trade. During that time, the city was the leading center for finance and diamonds. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the city expanded, and many new neighborhoods and suburbs were formed. The 17th-century canals of Amsterdam (in Dutch: ‘Grachtengordel’), located in the heart of Amsterdam, were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in July 2010.

amsterdam2

As Netherlands’ commercial capital and one of the top financial centres in Europe, Amsterdam is considered an alpha world city by the Globalization and World Cities (GaWC) study group. The city is also cultural capital of the Netherlands. Many large Dutch institutions have their headquarters there, and 7 of the world’s top 500 companies, including Philips and ING, are based in the city. In 2010, Amsterdam was ranked 13th globally on quality of living by Mercer, and previously ranked 3rd in innovation by 2thinknow in the Innovation Cities Index 2009.

The Amsterdam Stock Exchange, the oldest stock exchange in the world, is located in the city center. Amsterdam’s main attractions, including its historic canals, the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum, Stedelijk Museum, Hermitage Amsterdam,Anne Frank House, Amsterdam Museum, its red-light district, and its many cannabis coffee shops draw more than 3.66 million international visitors annually.

One of the worlds greatest pieces of art is located in Amsterdam:
The Night Watch (Rembrandt, 1642):
the night watch

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