The Marshall Tucker Band: This Ol' Cowboy (1974)

We remember Spring days in the north when you were finally able to open the windows in your dorm because the sun had arrived and the snow was gone. Parties erupted on the sunny dry lawns and music blared from those dorm windows.

This Ol' Cowboy was one of those songs. While it will no doubt come across to you as country, it was considered mainstream Southern Rock and The Marshall Tucker Band was in the forefront of that movement. Their infusion of jazz elements is obvious and this set them apart in our opinion. The flute playing by Jerry Eubanks takes the song to another level and the guest fiddle playing by Charlie Daniels and Andy Stein (Commander Cody), makes this an irresistible tune.

This song is the story of a guy who has been around the block, and one more ended relationship is not going to devastate him:

Well I'm sittin' down in San Antone
Waiting on an eight o'clock train
My woman left me here last night
Things ain't been quite the same
I gotta get back to Dallas
And tie up a few loose ends
I'm gonna work a week make a hundred dollars
Aw and hit the road again
So I don't want you to think
That you're the first one
To leave me out here on my own
Cause this ain't gonna be the first time
This ol' cowboy spent the night alone

The Marshall Tucker Band traces its origins to South Carolina and was centered around the Caldwell brothers Toy and Tommy. Toy wrote most of their songs (including this one) and Tommy played bass. The band still exists today but really peaked in the late 70's. 

As per Wiki: The original lineup of the Marshall Tucker Band, formed in 1972, included lead guitarist, vocalist, and primary songwriter Toy Caldwell (1947–1993), vocalist Doug Gray (born 1948), keyboard player, saxophone player, and flutist Jerry Eubanks (born 1950), rhythm guitarist George McCorkle (1946–2007), drummer Paul Riddle (born 1953), and bassist Tommy Caldwell (1949–1980). They signed with Capricorn Records and in 1973 released their first LP, The Marshall Tucker Band.

Where We All Belong, which contains This Ol' Cowboy, was the third album by The Marshall Tucker Band. It is a double album; album one is a studio album (on which This Ol' Cowboy appears) and album two is a live album, featuring extensive jamming by the band and guests.. Album one was recorded in 1974 in Macon, Georgia at Capricorn Studios.

As a vinyl double album, disc one is side one and four, and disc two is side two and three. If you ever had a phonograph and stacked records, you will understand why.

The band would have many gold and also a platinum album run during the 70's.

Sadly, things did not go well for the Caldwells. Tommy died in a car accident in 1980 only a month after another brother, Tim, was killed in a car wreck as well. Toy would battle addiction and succumb to a cocaine induced heart attack in 1993.

 

Monahan's Song: Our Interview With Savanna Leigh Bassett

Some of or staff were cruising along Bay Street during the One Spark Crowdfunding Festival last month, and came upon the creator booth for Savanna Leigh Bassett. Every time we stopped by she was standing and playing. Considering how long the five day festival was, we were already impressed. She is right in that her music does have a Beaches flavor to her country material, but it would be a mistake to end it there. She has a great range and depth of material. We suggest you check her out. 

What was the first song you ever learned?

-On guitar, it was the intro lick to "Sweet Home Alabama". Jacksonville, represent!

What was the first song you ever performed live?

-Once again, on guitar/voice, it was for a hospice event around Christmas-time, commemorating people who had passed that year. I sang the song "Breathe" by Taylor Swift and Colbie Caillat. 

-I played violin and piano before I pursued singing/songwriting, so I had performed other pieces before, but I'm just answering these questions in reference to my songwriting/singing career.

What was the coolest venue you ever played?

-I really enjoy performing outside. There isn't one venue that comes to mind, but I've gotten to play at the Florida Folk Festival and in Central Park (NY) and at the Chain of Parks Festival in Tallahassee. Outdoor concerts really stick with me.

What advice would you give someone who is just now starting to write and perform in North Florida?

-Only do it as long as the fun outweighs the work. As soon as you start making yourself miserable, you gotta get out. Life's too short!

What famous musicians do you admire? Why?

-Chris Thile is a killer mandolin player and great bluegrass songwriter. I'm really impressed with all the different projects he's been involved in (Nickel Creek and Punch Brothers, to name a few). I really admire any musician who is doing what I want to be doing -- touring and writing and performing. It takes hard work to get there so I think people who do that work are pretty great.

Who is your biggest local influence?

-Career-wise, a woman named Lyndie Burris. She is a great singer and good business woman and she is always really encouraging. Character-wise, my dad. He has always instilled a strong sense of integrity in me.

How do you balance your music with other life obligations?

-I don't. Haha, that's my answer in short. I spend a lot of time on music and unfortunately tend to neglect other things. I'm getting better at it, but it's so hard when I don't really have any deadlines. Everything in my music has a sense of urgency. I try to manage my time and do non-musicy things too, though.

Where can we see you play?

-Everywhere! I play around Jacksonville a lot but other places too. My show schedule can be found at www.savannaleighbassett.com. I play at Northstar the Pizza Bar downtown at 119 E Bay St every Thursday from 8-10pm.

Links:

www.savannaleighbassett.com

www.reverbnation.com/savannaleighbassett

www.facebook.com/SavannaLeighBassett

Contact:

savannabassett@gmail.com

An Interview With Road Less Travelled: Jeff Parker and Anne McKennon

Some of the staff here at Monahan's Song of the Week were engaged in a little travel out of Jacksonville's International Airport (JIA,)  a few weeks ago. JIA was recently rated one of the nicest airports in the U.S. Hard not to believe that when you walk in to the terminal and can hear a duo like Road Less Travelled. We caught a set and proceeded to interview them. As their website points out, they are a Jacksonville, acoustic collaboration of Jeff Parker and Anne McKennon.  Their debut CD, "Treading Live" is self-recorded and available at performances.  Both singer-songwriters and life-long musicians, Jeff and Anne traveled different paths to get here.  Jeff brings strong experience on guitar, mandolin and vocals with an interest in flat and finger picking and improvisational work, particularly in folk and bluegrass.  Anne delivers rapid flexibility on 7 flutes and vocals with time spent in classical, Celtic and folk genres. 

Jeff: What was the first song you learned on guitar?

That would be "Rocky Raccoon" by the Beatles taught to me by my good friend Doug Abrahamson. It was the first song I played in a concert 1 year after I learned it at my brothers graduation ceremony along with "Cowgirl In The Sand" by Neil Young.

Anne: What was the first song you ever performed live?

In folk music, it was the flute lead on "Moondance" by Van Morrison.  I played it with the host band at an open mic & landed my first job in a band.

Both: How did you come up with your name Road Less Traveled?

Jeff: That was Anne's great idea. 

Anne: It is an adaptation of part of "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost "...Two roads diverged in a wood, and I- I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference."

Both: What was the coolest venue you ever played together?

Jeff:  I say Culhane's Irish Pub... What say you?

Anne: Toss-up between Culhane's & Meehan's.  Both have friendly charm & audiences interested in music.  Culhane's has a great stage.  Meehan's is in historic St. Augustine.

Both: What advice would you give someone who is just now starting to write and perform in North Florida?

Jeff: Thats a tough one...... Ummmm get an agent.   Don't sell yourself short. Copyright your material as soon as possible.  Do short sets at first so you don't wear yourself out.  

Anne: Pay attention - the live music environment is changing constantly.  Listen to your audience, your venues and above all, your own instincts.  Add tenacity and the copyright office.

Both: Who are your greatest influences?

Jeff:  Neil Young, Eagles, Jackson Browne, Pink Floyd, Loggins and Messina, James Taylor, John Denver, Eric Clapton, Chet Atkins, Bluegrass, folk, some country it's a long list and I might as well throw in there John McGloughlin and Santana. 

Anne: Bach/Telemann/Baroque Era, The Chieftans, Paul Simon, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Brightman, Cole Porter & Mary Ellen Potter (flute teacher in high school).

Both: You have a CD out called "Treading Live", what are your favorite cuts from that?        

Jeff: Brothers Keeper and Parkers Jig/McKennon's Reply and Promise.

Anne: Brother's Keeper & Sherwood Lullaby (for my nieces)

Road Less Traveled

Jeff Parker & Anne McKennon

Email: RLTSound@yahoo.com

Website: www.RLTSound.com

Facebook, Twitter & ReverbNation: RLTSound

Renato Carosone: "Tu Vuo Fa L'Americano (You Want to be Americano)" (1956)

Welcome to left field, where this song comes from. This brilliant parody song jumps at the speed of light and was written and recorded in 1956! Rock and roll was in it's infancy and here is a guy in Italy already incorporating the term into his lyrics. 

Renato Carosone was born in Naples in 1920 and left Italy to play in North Africa during World War II. He was a popular act but on returning to Italy, was an unknown and had to start all over again. He formed a band that grew and shrank before it gelled. By that time he teamed up with lyricist Nicola Salerno to try to win a radio contest, and the rest was history.

As the story goes, Salerno brought Carosone three sets of words. Carosone looked ant them and grabbed one. He immediately decided to create a Boogie-woogie song out of it, and 15 minutes later it was done. "Tu Vuo Fa L'Americano" would be a huge hit.

You'd like to be an American,
'merican, 'merican
listen to me, is it worth?
you want to be trendy
but if you drink "whiskey and soda"
and then you have a long hangover
You dance rock 'n' roll
you play baseball
but who gives you the money to buy Camels?
your mother's bag!


The video rocks! The drummer mugs the whole time, Carosone plays the piano like butter, there is a Boogie- woogie mandolin lead with a ocarina, and the sax player adds a clarinet at the same time! 

The song would be covered by Sophia Loren in the movies and countless covers have been performed since.  Perhaps the most recent was with Jude law singing it in "The Talented Mr. Ripley."

A notable cover was by Brian Setzer and his orchestra from the album Dirty Boogie , which several staff members saw live.


We are including the Carosone original and Setzer's version for your enjoyment.

Carosone would abruptly retire in 1960, shocking his fans. He would go back on tour in the 1970's and toured another 20 years. He would pass away in 2001.

Mi piacerebbe visitare l'Italia un giorno di questi!

Arthur Alexander: "You Better Move On" (1961)

You might think you'd better go
Now, I'm gettin' mighty mad
You've asked me to give up
The only love I've ever had
Maybe I would, oh, but I love her so
Never gonna let her go
You better move on
(You better move on)

Arthur Alexander wrote several of our favorite songs and this is one of them. Born in Alabama in 1940, he would have an early hit with "You Better Move On" which was recorded in a small studio in Muscle Shoals. The song became a R & B hit in 1961 and made it to #24 on the pop chart as well. The song features a classic bass intro., with his voice coming in behind it with a no nonsense fell. He projects a vocal that seems fragile but serious, like he is hurt but very prepared to provide a beat down if you don't "move on."

Alexander would go on to write songs for Elvis, The Beatles, Tina Turner, Otis Redding and Jerry Lee Lewis. Most notably, he wrote Anna (Go to Him) and had a R & B hit with that song as well, but most people think it was written by Lennon/McCartney as they performed a brilliant version of it as the Beatles.

You Better Move On would be covered by no less than 12 entertainers ranging from Dean Martin to Alan Merrill.

 

Alexander's career floundered between the late 1970's and 1993. He would drive a bus to make ends meet. He put a band together after being inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame, but would die of a heart attack shortly thereafter.

According to Wikipedia, he was the only artist to have his songs covered by The Beatles, Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan.

We include his original of course, but also submit Willie "Mink" Deville's amazing version for your approval.

Tyrone Davis: "Turn Back the Hands of Time" (1970)

Jack Daniels was having problems in his relationship. He partnered with Bonnie Thompson and this song was the result. Daniels had written another of Tyrone Davis' his "Can I Change my Mind" in 1968.

As for singer Tyrone Davis, he was born Tyrone Fettson. Like many, many performers, he was born in Mississippi, but wound up in Chicago. He would wind up as chauffer for blues great Freddie King and also sang in clubs where he was discovered. His first records released as Tyrone the Wonder Boy did not do well, but he hit it big with his next label and changed his name to Davis at the suggestion of producer Carl Davis (very creative of him).
Tyrone would release 25 singles and 32 albums in his career, but no song for him was as successful as "Turn Back the Hands of Time." The song would sit two weeks at number one on the R & B charts and hit number three on the pop charts as well. The record would go gold the same year.


The song grabs you right away with the opening riff of base, which turns out to be the hook, along with the backing vocals saying "If I could turn back the hands of Time."

Oh darling I'm so lonely without you
Can't sleep at night always think about you
But if I had the chance to start all over
I would be wishing today on a four leaf clover
And leaving you with the last thing on my mind
If I could turn back the hands of time
Tyrone would have a successful career doing live performances. He had a stroke in 2004 and passed away in 2005 at the age of 66.

Hank Penny: "Bloodshot Eyes" (1950) Wynonie Harris (1951)

We love this song. Written by Hank Penny, it is the granddaddy to the like themed "You Done Tore Your Playhouse Down Again" by King Biscuit Boy, posted here in August of 2012.

Hank Penny had a Texas/country swing pedigree and wrote three hits before leading a band in Las Vegas. He was part of Spade Cooley's band that was hugely popular before Spade was arrested for murdering his wife for seeing Roy Rogers on the side. But we digress...

As fun as Hank's version was, Wynonie Harris took it to a different level. His gruff and more citified version was a big hit and was perhaps one of the first songs to bridge racism due to the songs popularity in the U.S. and Caribbean.

So I guess our little romance has finally simmered down

You should join the circus, you make a real good clown
Your eyes look like a road map, I'm scared to smell your breath
You better shut your peepers before you bleed to death

Don't roll those bloodshot eyes at me
I can tell you've been out on a spree
Well it's plain that you're lyin'
When you say that you've been cryin'
Don't roll those bloodshot eyes at me
Don't roll those bloodshot eyes at me

Wynonie Harris would have a string of single hits from 1946 to 1952. After that he fell on tough times before recording some sides for Chess records in the early 60's. He would play the Apollo Theater in 1967 with Big Joe Turner, Jimmy Witherspoon, and T-Bone Walker.

He died in 1969.

Hank Penny's song and what Wynonie Harris did with it led to an incalculable number of covers of "Bloodshot Eyes" over the years. 

We are including Penny's original version followed by the Wynonie Harris version (note the differences in presentation). Followed by two staff picks. A '70's version by Asleep at the Wheel which is true to the original and a big band version by Pat Benatar off of her thoroughly underrated album True Love.