Tag Archives: Merle Haggard

Bob Dylan: Pancho and Lefty (Townes Van Zandt) (Videos & Audio)

bob dylan townes van zandt

 

Bob Dylan: Pancho and Lefty (Townes Van Zandt)

 Living on the road, my friend,
Is gonna keep you free and clean,
Now you wear your skin like iron,
Your breath as hard as kerosene.
You weren’t your mama’s only boy,
But her favorite one it seems —
She began to cry when you said goodbye,
And sank into your dreams.

“Townes van Zandt is the best songwriter in the whole world and I’ll stand on Bob Dylan’s coffee table in my cowboy boots and say that.”
~Steve Earle

Wikipedia:

Released 1972
Genre Country
Length 3:40
Label Tomato
Writer Townes Van Zandt
Producer Kevin Eggers, Jack Clement

Pancho and Lefty” is a song written by country singer and songwriter Townes Van Zandt. Often considered his “most enduring and well-known song,” Van Zandt first recorded it for his 1972 album, The Late Great Townes Van Zandt. Emmylou Harris then covered the song for her 1977 album, Luxury Liner and the song became a number one country hit in 1983 when Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson adopted it as the title track of their duet album Pancho & Lefty. Steve Earle performs “Pancho and Lefty” on his 2009 album Townes, which is composed of songs written by Townes Van Zandt, Earle’s friend and mentor. Canadian country artist George Canyon recorded a version of the song with Blue Rodeo’s Jim Cuddy on Canyon’s album Classics II, released in November 2012.

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August 9: Merle Haggard released “Someday We’ll Look Back” in 1971

Merle Haggard Someday We'll Look Back

Someday We’ll Look Back is a terrific early-’70s LP from Merle Haggard, one that showcases not only his exceptional songwriting skills, but also his rich, subtle eclecticism.
~Stephen Thomas Erlewine (allmusic.com)

Someday We’ll Look Back (live):

Continue reading August 9: Merle Haggard released “Someday We’ll Look Back” in 1971

April 06: Merle Haggard was born in 1937 Happy Birthday

April 06: Merle Haggard was born in 1937 Happy Birthday

“By the time you get close to the answers, it’s nearly all over.”
– Merle Haggard

The first time we met is a favorite memory of mine.
They say time changes all it pertains to
But your memory is stronger than time.
I guess everything does change except what you choose to recall.

Wikipedia:
Merle Ronald Haggard
(born April 6, 1937) is an American country music song writer, singer, guitarist, fiddler, and instrumentalist. Along with Buck Owens, Haggard and his band The Strangers helped create the Bakersfield sound, which is characterized by the unique twang of Fender Telecaster and the unique mix with the traditional country steel guitar sound, new vocal harmony styles in which the words are minimal, and a rough edge not heard on the more polished Nashville Sound recordings of the same era.

My Favorite Memory:

Continue reading April 06: Merle Haggard was born in 1937 Happy Birthday

March 31: Lefty Frizzell was born in 1928, 87 years ago

lefty frizzell

 

Some people can’t talk and express themselves; with me, expression comes in the form of a song, and it makes me very happy. So I’d lose my blues, hang on to what little I had, and it became a style
~Lefty Frizzell

Lefty Frizzell was the definitive honky tonk singer, the vocalist that set the style for generations of vocalists that followed him. Frizzell smoothed out the rough edges of honky tonk by singing longer, flowing phrases — essentially, he made honky tonk more acceptable for the mainstream without losing its gritty, bar-room roots.
~Stephen Thomas Erlewine (allmusic.com)

I Love You A Thousand Ways & I Wan’t To Be With You Always:

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11 favorite performances from The Johnny Cash Show

Johnny cash show

The Johnny Cash Show
The Johnny Cash Show was an American television music variety show hosted by Johnny Cash. The Screen Gems 58-episode series ran from June 7, 1969 to March 31, 1971 on ABC; it was taped at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee.

The show lasted a little under two years, but in that time it hosted a lot of fantastic musical guests. Johnny Cash had great taste in music and had to fight to get his choices on tv on several occasions.

There are so many great artists and they’re giving some of the best performances ever done for TV.

Here are my 11 favorite  You Tube clips from the magnificent, The Johnny Cash Show:

 

Bob Dylan –  I Threw It All Away ,  Living The Blues  and  Girl From The North Country  (duet with Johnny Cash):

Neil Young – The Needle and the damage done and Journey through the past:

Johnny Cash & Kris Kristofferson – Sunday Morning Coming Down:

Cash fought hard to keep the word, “stoned” in the lyrics that were broadcast.

Kris Kristofferson – Loving her was easier:

Ray Charles – Ring of Fire:

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