Category Archives: Country

Country, Johnny Cash

Unreleased – I witnessed a crime by Johnny Cash

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Unreleased – I witnessed a crime by Johnny Cash

The Unreleased series

This is our eighth song in the Unreleased series, I Witnessed a Crime sung by Johnny Cash. Written by Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top) and he also does some nice electric guitar on the track.

His late years were spent under the umbrella of Rick Rubin’s American Recordings label, and with Rick at the helm, Johnny recorded some of his finest material to date. From 1993 until his death in 2003, Johnny recorded a boatload of material, and, to date, his label has released American Recordings (1994), Unchained (1996), American III: Solitary Man (2000), American IV: The Man Comes Around (2002), Unearthed (2003), American V: A Hundred Highways (2006), and American VI: Ain’t No Grave (2010).

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Country, Music Calendar

May 10: The late “Mother” Maybelle Carter was born in 1909

May 10: The late “Mother” Maybelle Carter was born in 1909

“Mother” Maybelle Carter (May 10, 1909 – October 23, 1978) was an American country musician. She is best known as a member of the historic Carter Family act in the 1920s and 1930s and also as a member of Mother Maybelle and the Carter Sisters.

Perhaps the most remarkable of Maybelle’s many talents was her skill as a guitarist. She revolutionized the instrument’s role by developing a style in which she played melody lines on the bass strings with her thumb while rhythmically strumming with her fingers. Her innovative technique, to this day known as the Carter Scratch, influenced the guitar’s shift from rhythm to lead instrument.
—Holly George-Warren

Mother Maybelle Carter – Wildwood Flower:

– Hallgeir

Country

May 9: The late Hank Snow was born in 1914

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May 9: The late Hank Snow was born in 1914

I’ve had about 140 albums released, and I’ve done everything I wanted to do.
~Hank Snow

I’d always listened to Hank Snow.
~Bob Dylan (to Sam Shepard – Aug 1986)

Canada’s greatest contribution to country music, Hank Snow was famous for his “traveling” songs. It’s no wonder. At age 12 he ran away from his Nova Scotia home and joined the Merchant Marines, working as a cabin boy and laborer for four years.
~David Vinopal (allmusic.com)

I’m Movin’ On: (1967)

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Bluegrass, Country, folk, The Best Songs

The Best Songs: Man of Constant Sorrow

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The Best Songs: Man of Constant Sorrow

Oh, six long years I’ve been in trouble,
No pleasure here on earth I found.
While in this world, I’m bound to ramble,
I have no friends to help me out.

“Man of Constant Sorrow” (also known as “I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow“) is a traditional American folk song first recorded by Dick Burnett, a partially blind fiddler from Kentucky. The song was originally recorded by Burnett as “Farewell Song” printed in a Richard Burnett songbook, about 1913. An early version was recorded by Emry Arthur in 1928.

Emry Arthur – Man of Constant Sorrow (1928):

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Country

May 4: Randy Travis Birthday

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To me, country music tells a story about, and deals with, the way people live their lives and what they do.
~Randy Travis

I’ve learned the importance of loving what you do. I have also learned more patience due to the nature of the music business.
~Randy Travis

Like the Beatles in rock, Randy Travis marks a generational shift in country music. When his Storms of Life came out in 1986, country music was still wallowing in the post-urban cowboy recession, chasing elusive crossover dreams. Travis brought the music back to its basics, sounding like nothing so much as a perfect blend of George Jones and Merle Haggard.
~Stephen Thomas Erlewine (allmusic.com)

On the other hand (live):

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