News & Updates — country & Western
Hasil Adkins / April 29, 1937 - April 26, 2005
On this day of birth for many great musicians, I have to give a nod to a personal favorite of mine, the outsider rockabilly/country wildman Hasil Adkins. A one-redneck band who could play percussion and guitar at the same time, this guy whooped it up like a punk rocker before such thing existed, with some of the most bizarre stories ever set to song. His songs talked about sex, chicken, hot dogs, aliens, his car (which he named "the Hunchin' Wagon), dealings with the law, decapitating heads, eating peanut butter on the moon and other crucial issues of his world,...
Roy Orbison / April 23, 1936 - Dec 6, 1988
One of early rock & roll's greatest voices, Roy Orbison, was born 80 years ago today. Mixing country, rockabilly and pop with meticulous recording and deep lyrics with that amazing voice, there was only one Roy Orbison, the man who dressed in black with dyed black hair and dark sunglasses standing motionless on stage delivering the songs with otherworldliness. He toured with Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, Beatles, Rolling Stones, Beach Boys and his songs were covered by the Everly Brothers, Bruce Springsteen, Van Halen, Glenn Campbell and others. We salute you, Lefty Wilbury.
TWISTED: Maggot Brain Special!
In honor of the birthday of the great psych-funk guitarist Eddie Hazel, he of Funkadelic fame, here's a few assorted renditions of his signature emo-metal tune. It's astounding how many versions there are. While they are all pretty faithful, the range of different types of artists covering it is amazing. As such, I have included everyone from blues icon Buddy Guy to new age piano, famous rock stars to underground psych bands, alt-country to P-Funk related projects. You can decide for yourself which ones are worthy. This one, from the often boring French band AIR, possibly my fave cover of...
Carl Perkins / April 9, 1932 - Jan 19, 1998
The King of Rockabilly, Carl Perkins came from a poor sharecropper family in Tennessee. He formed a band with his brothers and played all over the region before Carl got signed to Sun Records. His tune "Blue Suede Shoes" was his huge hit and also became a hit for his friend Elvis Presley. Perkins cut a bunch of rockabilly and country tunes for Sun and Columbia and did some touring with Chuck Berry. He cut some impromptu recordings with Presley, Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis which would be released and sold as The Million Dollar Quartet. He and Cash...
Merle Haggard / April 6, 1937 - April 6, 2016
Country music icon, outlaw poet and one of the greatest songwriters in American music history, Merle Haggard passed away on his 79th birthday, a premonition that he shared with his family. "The Bottle Let Me Down", "Branded Man", "Mama Tried", "Working Man Blues", "High On A Hilltop", "Silver Wings", "(My Friends Are Gonna Be) Strangers"...so many great tunes. And his politics veered left sometime in the last 20 years, even recording an anti-war song about the Iraq war. One of my personal favorite songwriters. "Sing me back home..." Sure, some harsh folks can get on my case about liking a...