I've written before about the 1959 plane crash at Clear Lake, which claimed the lives of three rock and roll stars -- Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper. I've also written about an eerily-similar accident that occurred a few years later, one involving country music headliners Cowboy Copas and Patsy Cline. But there … Continue reading The Sixth Passenger – Hawkshaw Hawkins
Tag: country music
REVIEW: High Performance – Live From Breaux Bridge: Part 2
If you liked High Performance – Live From Breaux Bridge: Part 1, which I reviewed earlier this year, then the odds are better than even that you'll like a new release from the folks at Swallow Records, the Cajun/Zydeco music specialists, because it's pretty much more of the same. High Performance – Live From Breaux … Continue reading REVIEW: High Performance – Live From Breaux Bridge: Part 2
Cleanin’ Up In The Aftermath
Holidays always kick up the ol' daydream machine a notch or two, but I guess I'm not the only one with that reaction. Most of us have a lot of memories squirreled away in our heads and it doesn't take much to jar some of them loose from their hiding places. Thinking about the just-finished … Continue reading Cleanin’ Up In The Aftermath
Jeanne Black Had The Answer
I've always enjoyed finding examples of a peculiar practice that seems to occur most often in country music -- singers hitting the studio to record "answer" songs. For the uninitiated, that's a type of song that follows a big hit by another singer, and either answers a question posed by the original, or just presents … Continue reading Jeanne Black Had The Answer
Hanging On To The Wheel
I was running some errands the other day, driving from place to place to take care of whatever I needed done, when something occurred that made me think. (Not that I wasn't already thinking, but you know what I mean.) It actually started when I tried to park near a store that had a zillion … Continue reading Hanging On To The Wheel
Thoughts Of Cold Fingers
Thinking about the approach of Winter weather always reminds me of the title of one of my favorite songs. Even though the subject matter of Tony Joe White's "Cold Fingers" has nothing to do with frigid weather and the numb digits it creates, the song still seems to pop into my mind whenever I start … Continue reading Thoughts Of Cold Fingers
REVIEW: Wayne Toups & Zydecajun – Live 2009
For a lot of years, one of the hottest tickets in Cajun/Zydeco music has been the live show of Wayne Toups and Zydecajun. Toups himself is almost worth the price of admission, not only for his flamboyant shirts, flowing hair, and lively squeeze-box play, but also for his searing vocals. He's backed by an outstanding … Continue reading REVIEW: Wayne Toups & Zydecajun – Live 2009
Cracking The Memory Vault
Pictures -- like music -- have a powerful ability to coax memories out of hiding, even for those of us who might have misplaced the combination to our mental vault. That would certainly be the case for a picture I ran into recently, a deceptively simple one of an old house -- but one that … Continue reading Cracking The Memory Vault
Kitty Wells – The Queen Still Rules
Earlier this year I wrote about country music legend Hank Thompson and how his classic song, "The Wild Side Of Life," inspired a musical response by another star. But even though Kitty Wells might have found fame -- and a little controversy -- with her answering song, "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels," … Continue reading Kitty Wells – The Queen Still Rules
Don’t Forget To Prime The Pump
I was again digging through old pictures and I found one of myself as a toddler with a daredevil streak. I was posing for the photo while precariously balanced on the spout of a water pump located near my maternal grandparents' house. They lived on the outskirts of a country village, and the pump was … Continue reading Don’t Forget To Prime The Pump
Geezer Music Club 