Woody Guthrie was born today in 1912 in Okemah, Oklahoma. He needs no introduction. I imagine his music has seeped into the lives of nearly every artist I've ever featured on Carnival Saloon. So, to mark what would have been his 98th birthday, here are Woody Guthrie songs by four of my favourites.
"Woody Guthrie tore everything in his path to pieces. For me it was an epiphany,like some heavy anchor had just plunged into the waters of the harbor." That's Bob writing in Chronicles Volume One. It's part of a wonderful two pages recalling the impact hearing Woody for the first had on him. This version of Guthrie's most famous song is from a concert at the Carnegie Chapter Hall in 1961, the year before Bob's first album came out. Find it on No Direction Home
Bruce fans will probably know his version of This Land is Your Land that's on the Live 1975-1985 album. This is more obscure (and one of Bob Dylan's early Guthrie favourites too). It's from a 1996 concert that Ani DiFranco organised and is commemorated on the album 'Til We Outnumber Them (which also features Bruce's version of Deportees). Find it on Til We Outnumber 'em
When I first saw Tom Russell live, at the Cambridge Folk Festival in 2006, the way this song encompasses so much of Guthrie's life, work and legacy in all its multi-faceted glory really hit me as a masterpiece. Find it on Hotwalker
Whenever Wilco play London I always cross my fingers in the hope that they'll invite Billy on to join them to sing one of the songs off Mermaid Avenue. Anyone who's seen the documentary Man in the Sand knows it's unlikely to ever happen. This is one of few times they have performed together, on Conan O'Brien's old show Late Night. Find the original on Mermaid Avenue
If that's whet your appetite and you want to get back to the source there are tons of Guthrie compilations available. I'd also highly recommend Joe Klein's book Woody Guthrie: A Life.
Marty Robbins' El Paso was a number one hit in 1959 on both the country and pop charts. I'm sure I probably first heard it on one of the country compilations my dad used to play in the car when we were kids. I didn't really hear the song though until I bought Tom Russell's tremendous album Indians Cowboys Horses Dogs after seeing him play for the first time at the Cambridge Folk Festival in 2006. The way Tom sings it, starting with his cowboy yelp against the accordion that plays throughout, it's like an old Western movie in miniature. It's certainly not hard to imagine Katy Jurado playing Feleena and Randolph Scott as her ill-fated lover.
Two things have recently made me think about the original. First, I finally got a copy when I bought an Ace Records compilation of cross-over country hits from the 50s and 60s. Secondly, I'm currently reading Dana Jennings' fascinating book Sing Me Back Home. It mixes a thesis that country music from 1950 to 1970 represents a "secret history of rural, working class Americans in the 20th century" with memories of Jennings' own Faulknerian family of "adulterers, drunks, and glue sniffers; wife beaters, husband beaters, and child abusers; pyros, nymphos, and card cheats; smugglers and folks who were always sticking their cold, bony hands where they didn't belong."
It's always worth thinking about the context in which music was created. As Jennings points out, country music really only became known as country and western music in an attempt to "shed its 'hillbilly' stigma" and "take advantage of the nation's love affair with Westerns, with singing cowboys and their faithful horses". In 1959 Westerns were ubiquitous, especially on TV with Bonanza, Gunsmoke, Rawhide and Maverick just the well-known small-screen cowboy adventures. In the same year cinema-goers flocked to see John Wayne in the Howard Hawks classic Rio Bravo.
With six-shooters so prevalent in pop culture it's no wonder that El Paso was a hit. Yet Columbia'a A&R boss Mitch Miller wasn't so sure and nearly rejected it. He felt the song was too long (singles in the 50s seldom exceeded four minutes) and too wordy. In rebuttal Robbins cited Johnny Horton's hit The Battle of New Orleans from earlier in the year as proof that there was a market for narrative songs with a Western flavour. As a compromise Columbia released a radio edit. America's DJs vindicated Robbins by choosing to play the full-length version that was on the flip.
El Paso became Marty Robbins' signature song. Although he was born in Arizona and is buried in Nashville, the Texas city he made famous even named a park in his honour. Robbins was also unable to leave the song alone. In 1966 he released its first sequel, Feleena, which he followed ten years later with El Paso City. More on both of those songs later in the week.
Critics usually claim Blood on the Tracks is about the break-up of Dylan's first marriage and Jakob Dylan has said that the album is "my parents talking". Despite those sad themes, after his classic 60s records I reckon Blood on the Tracks is the Bob Dylan album most commonly cited as a favourite. It's certainly popular with other artists who are presumably drawn to its rich imagery, great tunes and dense lyrics.
I first thought about trying to compile a covers version of Blood on the Tracks after hearing Tom Russell's interpretation of Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts. Like all good cover versions it seems to reveal something new about the original song.
I hope you enjoy these. As usual let me know what you think and suggest alternatives in the comments below.
I'm undecided whether Joan Baez'songoing fascination with her ex-boyfriend is touching or tragic. She covered Simple Twist of Fate on her album Diamonds & Rust which came out only a few months after Blood on the Tracks. You'll notice her amusing impression of Bob during one of the verses, a good gag that she still performs on stage. Buy:Amazon | 7digital
We know that Lloyd's into heartbreak so it's no surprise that he gravitated towards Blood on the Tracks. Lloyd Cole's Dylan covers are extensive; he's also done Most of the Time, It's All Over Now (Baby Blue) and She Belongs to Me among others. This is from his 'lost' album Etc. Buy:Amazon | 7digital
This, from the bonus disc of the Kojak Variety reissue is far more jaunty than Bob's original. I don't know when it was recorded but knowing Elvis's love of the tribute album it's no doubt appeared on some or other compilation. Buy:Amazon | 7digital
Although Freddie was nicknamed the "Texas Tornado" he moved to Chicago with his family in 1950 when he was 16. This rockin' blues version of the Dylan track appears on his final album Larger Than Life (1976). Buy:Amazon | 7digital
The song that inspired me to make this compilation. Tom Russell is such a wonderful storyteller himself that he really makes Dylan's epic (and confounding) tale his own. Tom's joined on the track by singer-songwriter Eliza Gilkyson. Buy:Amazon
I discovered this mournful, Italian version of the song on the soundtrack to Dylan's cinematic curio Masked & Anonymous but I presume it's originally from one of Francecso' earlier LPs. According to Wikipedia he also makes as organic olive oil called Le Palombe. Buy:Amazon | 7digital
If the BBC ever repeat their coverage of Rodney Crowell's performance at the 2005 Cambridge Folk Festival you'll see quite a few close-ups of me going absolutely berserk during his version of Like A Rolling Stone. This is from the excellent album he was then promoting, The Outsider. Buy:Amazon | 7digital
The third duet of set; this was recorded at a 2004 gig in Sydney. If you like hearing M Ward do Dylan I'd also recommend his cover of Girl From the North Country with Jim James and Conor Oberst. Buy:Amazon | 7digital
As a Wilco nut I couldn't resist adding this as a 'bonus' track. It's from the I'm Not There soundtrack. In other Tweedy/Dylan news, Jeff apparently perfomed a lovely version of Forever Young at his son Spencer's bar mitzvah in May. Buy:Amazon
Another Carnival Saloon favourite that's too good to ignore. Neko's version of Hank Williams' Alone and Forsaken was a big hit here a while back so perhaps a post of some of her other covers will be forthcoming. Buy:Amazon | 7digital
It seems only fair to include Bob singing one of his own songs. This was recorded at Boston Music Hall in November 1975 on the Rolling Thunder tour. If you've not heard any of the other tracks from that legendary tour, the Bootleg Series Vol. 5 Live 1975 two-disc set is an essential listen. Buy:Amazon | 7digital
While making this compilation I discovered that someone else has recently had the same idea (they even also used one of the Drawn Blank paintings). Five of the tracks are the same and you can read all about it at The Saddest Music in the World.
Last year I saw Hayes Carll and Tom Russell in fairly quick succession at the Luminaire. Both performed excellent sets; both sang songs about chickens - one a fighting cock, the other of barnyard-to-plate variety. Which got me thinking...
I think Joe Ely's version is better known than Tom Russell's original. Like so many Tom Russell songs this is a wonderful evocation of borderline lawlessness. More Joe Ely: official site | Amazon | 7digital
Hellwood is the rip-roaring collaboration between Johnny Dowd and Jim White. This is their love song to the finger-lickin' favourite. "When I eat fried chicken I need lots of room." Amen to that. More Hellwood: Amazon
I know nothing about Bill Thomas except that he evidently loves fried chicken as much as I do. Instead of his "good ol' southern recipe" I highly recommend Matthew Fort's. It takes time but the results are incredible.
When I saw Tom Russell play The Luminaire earlier in the year he mentioned that he'd recently made a four-part radio series for the BBC about the history and myth of the American cowboy.
The first part aired last night. In episode one Tom takes in the massive influence of Mexico on cowboys (they used lassos and wore wide-brimmed hats long before Americans) and the contribution that Easterners Theodore Roosevelt, Buffalo Bill, novelist Owen Wister, and artist Frederic Remington had on creating today's image of the cowboy.
Tom also talks a little about how cowboy and western themes fit into his own songwriting. (If you're not familar with Russell I've posted a couple of MP3s below - one cowboy song, one State of the Union address).
The series continues next Thursday but you can listen to it all on the Radio 2 website.
MP3s are posted for a limited time with the aim of encouraging visitors to discover music they've never heard. If you like what you hear please buy more from the artist and go to their gigs. I always post links to purchase next to an MP3 link. If you represent an artist or a label and would prefer that I remove a link to an MP3, please email me at carnivalsaloon @ gmail.com and I will immediately delete the file.