Category Archives: Country

Country, George Jones, The Best Songs

The Saddest Songs in History: George Jones If Drinkin’ Don’t Kill Me (Her Memory Will)

6 Comments


Sierra Exif JPEG

The Saddest Songs in History: George Jones If Drinkin’ Don’t Kill Me (Her Memory Will)

If Drinkin’ Don’t Kill Me (Her Memory Will) is  written by Harlan Sanders and Rick Beresford, and recorded by American country music artist George Jones. It was released in January 1981 as the third single from his album I Am What I Am (my favorite Jones album!). The song peaked at number 8 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart.

If Drinkin’ Don’t Kill Me (Her Memory Will) at Spotify:

When George Jones was divorced from Tammy Wynette in 1975, he went on an epic binge, an excess in cocaine and alcohol. His albums continued to sell ok and his singles were on the charts, he actually recorded some of his most popular songs between 1975 and 1980, but George was a wreck on a personal level.

He started cancelling concerts in large numbers and he got the un-flattering nick name, “No Show Jones”. George Jones went into rehab at a psychiatric hospital in Muscle Shoals. Thank God for that, it was the start of what would be his best record. It is a dark album, full of heartbreak and drinking, good melodies and the velvet voice of the restrained, but strong Mr. Jones.

George Jones – If Drinkin’ Don’t Kill Me (Her Memory Will), live:

Continue reading The Saddest Songs in History: George Jones If Drinkin’ Don’t Kill Me (Her Memory Will) →

Country, First Aid Kit, News

New music: First Aid Kit give us a taste from the album Stay Gold

2 Comments


FAK OYA 2012-2

First Aid Kit return 10th of June with a follow-up to their 2012 sophomore set, The Lion’s Roar. Producer Mike Mogis is back on board. The new album is called Stay Gold.

The newly released track, My Silver Lining, shows that First Aid Kit is in “kind of” a hippie mode, they “keep on keeping on” and the New Riders would have been proud. The south-western early 70s country/rock is intact. The snippets that we’ve heard sounds a bit “wider”, more cinematic. Maybe because of the strings by the Omaha Symphony Orchestra. The photos are from a concert at the Oya festival in 2012.

My Silver Lining is a great track in the car, and it gets better with each listen!

My Silver Lining (audio):

Continue reading New music: First Aid Kit give us a taste from the album Stay Gold →

Country, Music Calendar

Today: Jerry Jeff Walker is 72 Happy Birthday

JJW3005x6

“the first time I set foot in Texas, particularly in Austin, I knew I was home.”

Jerry Jeff Walker was born March 16, 1942 (in upstate New York) he is an American country music singer and songwriter. He is associated with the “outlaw” country scene that centered around Austin, TX, in the 1970s.

“Mr. Bojangles”  is perhaps his most well-known and most-often covered song, written for his debut album in 1968.

Walker was a hard drinker throughout much of his early career (his nickname was “Jacky Jack”), and this reputation became part of his identity. He’s since cleaned up his act,  in part thanks to his wife, Susan, whom he married in 1974. He has continued to record into the ’00s.

His best known album, it is also his best by the way,  is Viva Terlingua, recorded in 1973 in Luckenbach, Texas  with the Lost Gonzo Band. The album went gold, and it’s still his best-selling record. His 70s output especially are highly regarded, sadly none of these albums are available on Spotify.

Happy Birthday  Jerry Jeff Walker!

Mr. Bojangles:

Continue reading Today: Jerry Jeff Walker is 72 Happy Birthday →

Country, Johnny Cash

Johnny Cash: Videos, Songs, Albums, Concerts & other

johnny cash

..Johnny was and is the North Star; you could guide your ship by him – the greatest of the greats then and now. I first met him in ‘62 or ‘63 and saw him a lot in those years. Not so much recently, but in some kind of way he was with me more than people I see every day.
~Bob Dylan (Statement on Johnny Cash – Sept 2003)

Johnny Cash was one of the most imposing and influential figures in post-World War II country music. With his deep, resonant baritone and spare percussive guitar, he had a basic, distinctive sound. Cash didn’t sound like Nashville, nor did he sound like honky tonk or rock & roll. He created his own subgenre, falling halfway between the blunt emotional honesty of folk, the rebelliousness of rock & roll, and the world-weariness of country.
~Stephen Thomas Erlewine (allmusic.com)

Posts here @ JV:

Continue reading Johnny Cash: Videos, Songs, Albums, Concerts & other →

Classic Concert, Concert films, Country, Johnny Cash, Live, Music Calendar

Johnny Cash the San Quentin concert: 45 year anniversary


quentin1

“San Quentin, may you rot and burn in hell. May your walls fall and may I live to tell. May all the world forget you ever stood. And may all the world regret you did no good.”
– Johnny Cash

“He had the right attitude. He chewed gum, looked arrogant and flipped the bird to the guards—he did everything the prisoners wanted to do. He was a mean mother from the South who was there because he loved us. When he walked away, everyone in that place had become a Johnny Cash fan.”
– Merle Haggard (prisoner at San Quentin at the time)

Two days before Johnny Cash’s 37th birthday he played the legendary San Quentin concert, and it was recorded AND it was filmed! There are several releases and a documentary available, today we are celebrating the 45 year anniversary of this superb show.

When I was little boy I was very interested in music, the radio and records. My father had a small  but very good record collection. Among the treasures in his collection was this album, Johnny Cash – Live at San Quentin. My father told me the story of the album, and I remember that the Norwegian broadcast company (yes there were only one channel at the time, early 70s) showed the actual concert. It was very late at night but my father woke me and I got to see this legendary show.

It marked me for life.

Johnny Cash at San Quentin (full documentary, with songs):

The interviews with the prisoners and the guards are incredibly touching and harrowing, the “whole deal” with Cash’s songs and the documentary footage makes this a must see, and one of the best music films ever made.
Continue reading Johnny Cash the San Quentin concert: 45 year anniversary →