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Jan. 31: Jerry Chesnut wrote a lot of great country songs, including one recorded on this date in 1968 and released 11 months later as the second single for the new duet of Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton.
The story goes that Porter persuaded his label to sign Dolly after she joined his road show and TV show cast, but the folks at RCA Victor weren’t convinced the former Monument artist could sell records. So, hedging their bets, they cut P & D as a duet. Sure enough, together they were a hit — “Holding On To Nothin’” reached No. 7, and only three singles in 15 years failed to make the top 15. (Incidentally, after a slow start, Dolly eventually showed RCA she could indeed sell solo records!)
Porter Wagoner was a great harmony singer, underrated on that score in my opinion. It’s interesting that he, the established star, didn’t take the lead part on the chorus here. Maybe high-pitched Dolly would have resembled Alvin the Chipmunk if she’d sung the harmony!
As for Chesnut, he also penned the classics “A Good Year for the Roses,” “Another Place Another Time,” “Oney” and “T-R-O-U-B-L-E.” Check out his profile at the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, which enshrined him in 1996. And see what he had to say last year about his career and some of his hits, including “Holding On To Nothin’.”
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Jan. 30: Marty Robbins liked what he heard when young Arkansas songwriter Melvin Endsley came to Nashville in the mid-’50s to pitch his tunes. This one earned Endsley a songwriting deal with top publisher Acuff-Rose Music, along with a whole lot of royalty money after Robbins’ chart-topping version and signer Guy Mitchell’s pop cover sold a combined 2.5 million records on the Columbia label.
This is one of my favorite country cuts. Robbins kicks it off on guitar with a run in the key of E. Ray Edenton, rhythm guitarist extraordinaire, provides a nice groove on lead guitar for a change. James Farmer’s steel, Owen Bradley’s piano and Robbins’ great voice round it out.
Endsley, who died in 2004, would have been 76 years old today. He had a minor recording career and wrote other hits (including “Knee Deep In The Blues” for Robbins, “Why I’m Walkin’” for Stonewall Jackson). But none matched the success, and to me the quality, of “Singing The Blues.”
Jan. 29: One of the stranger nuggets of Grand Ole Opry lore took place 33 years ago today. In the words of my friend Tom Roland, whose RolandNote database provides the “this date in history” facts underpinning most 3 Chords a Day posts:
- Andy Warhol visits the Grand Ole Opry, where he’s given a bag of Goo Goo Clusters. He knows few of the Opry stars, and Marty Robbins and Roy Acuff don’t know him. “Whoever he is,” Acuff says, “we’re mighty happy to have him here.”
What I wouldn’t give to have been backstage to witness THAT!
I looked — in vain — for audio from Jan. 29, 1977, to get a taste of what Warhol saw that night at the Grand Ole Opry House. But I did find a half-hour of the show from about 10 years earlier. Can’t pinpoint the date, although it seems to be from 1967 or early ’68. Opry Manager Ott Devine is the announcer, Hank Snow the host, the Ryman Auditorium the venue. Snow’s guests in the first 15 minutes are Dottie West and Stonewall Jackson, with Skeeter Davis, the Fruit Jar Drinkers (an act from the Opry’s earliest days) and Hugh X. Lewis joining him for the last quarter-hour. Unlike today, there’s nothing but country music here. Heck, even on a quintessential Nashville Sound number like West’s “Here Comes My Baby,” the steel guitar is up in the mix.
Go to the jump to check it out. It should be interesting to those familiar only with the Opry’s modern format and lineup. Unfortunately, one of the key pieces of the Opry experience – the live commercials, read by the on-stage announcer or the segment host – were omitted from these clips. Still, it’s a neat glimpse into the past of an American institution, the Grand Ole Opry.
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Click to hear Al Dexter's version
Click to hear Bing Crosby's version
Jan. 28: Lay that pistol down, babe — lay that pistol down. Pistol packin’ mama, lay that pistol down!
When he wrote those words in 1942, Texas-born Al Dexter got what every tunesmith dreams of: a lyric that would stand the test of time. Long after most have forgotten the story’s blow-by-blow, that tagline endures. He had a huge hit with it in 1943, and when Bing Crosby and The Andrews Sisters’ version had similar success the following year, Dexter’s original returned to the heights. In fact, the first two records ever to top Billboard‘s country jukebox chart were Crosby’s version of “Pistol Packin’ Mama,” followed by Dexter’s, itself followed by Crosby’s again. Let’s listen to ‘em both.
Dexter died on this date in 1984. Learn more about the career of the original honky-tonker — AND an influence on the later Nashville Sound — at his Allmusic.com profile.
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Jan. 27: Fifty-one years ago tonight on Music Row, a song marking a historical event from 144 years and 19 days beforehand was recorded. The event and the song shared a name: the Battle of New Orleans, the last major action of the War of 1812, led by Old Hickory himself, Andrew Jackson.
Here’s the complete skinny on the smash pop and country hit. And here are the highlights: Jimmie Driftwood, an Arkansas educator, had written lighthearted lyrics about the battle, set to the famed comemorative fiddle tune “The 8th of January.” (That’s the date in 1815 of the monthlong Battle of New Orleans’ chief skirmish, which saw 2,042 British casualties and just 71 American.) He recorded a version in 1958, and Johnny Horton covered it early the next year.
Aside from the clever, memorable lyrics, what stands out about Horton’s record are Harold Bradley’s work on the plectrum banjo, Buddy Harman’s martial drumming throughout, and the singer’s spirited delivery, especially in the chorus.
Much like television’s School House Rock in the 1970s, “The Battle Of New Orleans” helped bring a lesson to life, and surely kept the circumstances of the fight — which occurred after the peace treaty was signed and thus was largely for pride — in public consicousness.
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Jan. 26: This No. 3 Billboard country hit form 1972 was the follow-up to Hank Williams Jr.’s smash “Eleven Roses.” It was recorded 38 years ago today, during his days on MGM.
For the next half-dozen years, he’d have moderate success on the label that was also his daddy’s home on record. Not until the late ’70s, on a new label and with a new, rowdy attitude, would Hank Jr. become a consistent hit-maker and an icon of country rebellion, building a career that, honestly, makes him a deserving candidate for enshrinement in the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Will he ever get there? The class of 2010 will be announced soon, so we’ll see. But, based on how previous Nashville boat-rockers fared with the selectors, ol’ Bocephus might have to wait awhile. He’s not at the top of my list, but the idea of his plaque hanging there among the greats is in no way hard to swallow. Check out this summary of his career and decide for yourself.
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Jan. 25: On what would have been the 86th birthday of steel guitar virtuoso Wesley “Speedy” West, let’s hear one of his fine instrumentals cut with electric guitar wizard Jimmy Bryant in the 1950s. This ain’t “Stratosphere Boogie,” their signature pickin’ piece. But in West’s self-penned “This Ain’t The Blues,” we still get his aggressive use of both the volume pedal and the sliding steel bar on the strings, along with tasty fret work from Mr. Bryant. Great stuff all around.
Trivia question: At what future country music superstar’s first recording session, in Los Angeles, did West contribute steel and producer duties? Find the answer, and the total low-down on one of the most innovative musicians in any field, in Speedy West’s bio.
