“16th Avenue” | Lacy J. Dalton

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Jan. 10: This tribute to the Nashville songwriter wasn’t the biggest hit in the career of Lacy J. Dalton, but it’s probably her best remembered today. So says Paul Dennis, a knowledgeable blogger on The 9513 and definitely one of us. Here’s the Lacy J. installment in that blog’s “Forgotten Artist” series. Thom Schuyler’s words and Dalton’s rough-edged voice — which belied her age but was perfectly matched to a story about folks “with years and years of living tucked up underneath their arms” — combined to make this a classic in my book. It was recorded this time of year in 1982, at the studios Owen and Harold Bradley had established almost 30 years earlier on, yes, 16th Avenue.

Give it a listen, and know that if you ever eat out in Nashville, there’s a fair chance that your waiter has lived at least a little of “16th Avenue.” So, God bless the girls and boys who make the noise …