So with that said.....here are some pictures of my sweet record collection :P
Now since I've posted that Roger Miller show I've been on a big Roger Miller kick....matter of fact it's about all I've been playing down in my secret lab whilst building my mom's mother's day gift. While burning through the grooves and wood, one song in particular stuck out, it's called Private John Q, and it's about a reluctant soldier fighting World War III. A song as apt today as ever. I can just hear this song being used in the opening credits of some kick ass war movie.....like say the new Tarantino flick Inglorious Basterds.....
Roger Miller - Private John Q
While I'm at it I thought I would post my favorite Roger Miller tune, the absurd My Uncle Used to Love Me But She Died
Roger Miller - My Uncle Used To Love Me But She Died
Now I said about all I've been playing has been Roger Miller, well since I heard of Vern Gosdin's passing I've also been playing this bad boy
Now I am an unashamed fan of 70's country music.....Don Williams, Hank Jr., Johnny Lee, Eddie Rabbit, you know all of the "Urban Cowboy" type country that I'm not supposed to admit I like (there goes my recently aquired music blogger cred!!). Well this album, Vern's first solo album from 1977 has that sound in spades. At the end of the 60's after a couple albums with his brother (as the Gosdin Brothers), most notably a seminal album with country rock legend Gene Clark, Vern had tired of the music scene and was running a glass company in Atlanta, Georgia. Lore has it that Emmylou Harris convinced him to record again in 1976 and this album is the outcome....this album was the springboard that led him to become a country hitmaker throughout the 80's. Well anyway, if you want to know more about Vern "The Voice" Gosdin I suggest you read his bio on his official website.
So here are two of my favorite tracks off the above pictured album....the ode to country music herself....."Mother Country Music", and maybe my favorite version of the classic Harlan Howard song "The Chokin' Kind" (that's saying a lot right there, but hey, I love this funky smooth country soul version)
Vern Gosdin - Mother Country Music
Vern Gosdin - The Chokin' Kind
Thanks for "the voice" Vern.....R.I.P.
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My pop had RM's Golden Hits on LP also. Played it on old Zenith fold down turntable with fold out speakers. The first cut I remember grabbing my attention as a kid was You Can't Roller Skate in a Buffalo Herd. I still enjoy it as do MY kids. I remember liking Chug A Lug also back then - although I didn't 'get it' until many years later. My dad would sing it around the house belting out "make ya holler hidey-ho / burns your tummy don't ya know" as he thumped the beat on his pants pocket full of spare change.
ReplyDeleteYou keep your rare vinyl in the Garage!!!
ReplyDeleteto the abover: No, not in the garage....my secret lab is in my basement. And it's not really rare either....I'm more of a vinyl listener than collector.
ReplyDeleteTMC: Great story. I remember loving Buffalo Herd too as a youngster, and Do Whacka Do, and of course Dang Me!
I was recently at a local music store, when this lady comes in with a truck load of her mothers old records, and asks the shop owner if he will buy them. I quickly darted for her vehicle and asked if I could take a look. I found some decent stuff...Bob Dylan/The Band...Don Williams...Best of Merle Haggard...Roger Miller's Man of Distinction...George Harrison All Things Must Pass...and Jim Croce Life and Times. Love the old albums! Thanks for sharing. Do you have any live Merle Haggard by chance?
ReplyDeleteHey, I'm an unashamed fan of 70's country music, too. It's among my favorites. Damned shame ol' Vern checked out so young (on today's scale). Anybody who gets a chance to listen to his older stuff, like from the days when Clarence white was a top California-style country guitar-picker, listen, download, copy, or whatever. You'll thank me later.
ReplyDeleteJust come across your blog, and have to say its totally in sync with what I listen to. I was amused by the comment about people showing off their record collections - I love to see photos of people collections - I find it reassuring I am not the only obssessive out there! I am a big lover of country music - Roger Miller always had a special place in my heart. He was the one of my Dads favorites. I always remember playing in the living room with my toys, whilst my Dad was playing his music. I remember the Roger Miller album he had and some of the songs - "My Uncle used to love but she died" -was the humour track on the one he had. The track that really stuck in my memory though was "me and bobby mcgee" - I thought it was a really cool song, but at the time it made little or no sense to me. I was probably under 10. Years later when I came around to liking Country Music on my own terms, I liked the more left field stuff - I bought a Kristofferson album. And heard the track again and it brought all the memories flooding back. I always thought of myself as a rebel, but years later, now, in my living room with my 3 kids, and a go-nowhere job. I guess I am just the same as him - music is a constant and the greats will stand the test of time. Roger and Vern are both Greats, I am sure they never regarded themselves as such - but they say so much in their songs that we all want to say, and can relate to. So set 'em Joe!
ReplyDelete