Hank Cochran, one of country music’s most storied and prolific songwriters who wrote songs for Patsy Cline, Ray Price, Eddy Arnold, Merle Haggard, George Strait an many others passed away yesterday morning. His Wikipedia bio reads like a Mother lode for source for country gold: Born during the Great Depression in Isola, Mississippi, he contracted [...]
I want to share one of my favorite songs for this holiday weekend. The Ballad of Ira Hayes, written by the folk singer Peter La Farge, tells the story of Ira Hayes, a Pima Native American and one of the five Marines and one Navy Corpsman who raised the flag on Mount Suribachi during the [...]
On this day was born in Winter Haven, Florida, 1946 the man that would, with his bands – International Submarine Band, The Byrds and The Flying Burrito Brothers, fuse the genres of country and rock and roll and change the landscape of both forever. Gram Parsons was also pivotal in introducing Emmylou Harris, then a [...]
I learned yesterday from a post on Twitter by Austin singer/songwriter Kelly Willis alerted me that Austin native fiddle player Amy Farris had been found dead at her residence in Los Angeles at the age of 40. Suicide is suspected, but an investigation is currently underway. Farris was a talented fiddle player and had recently [...]
Texas Monthly’s Pitch Perfect features five legendary Texas musicians—Guy Clark, Patty Griffin, Sonny Throckmorton, Robert Earl Keen, and Jack Ingram— and asks them to sgare the mystic secrets to writing a great country song. It’s a funny, informative a great read. The nominees for the 20th International Bluegrass Music Awards Awards has been announced (Yay [...]
Although it’s over a year old there is a great article (Facing the Music) on the seismic changes in the music industry through the lens of Music City and some of the unique ways some people are planning for the future instead of wringing their hands or suing their fans. The article was by Donnie [...]
The wonder that is Juli Thaki posts a nice review over on the Washington Post site (the big time!) of Wayne Hancock’s show Tuesday night at Arlington, Virginia’s IOTA club. NineBullets.net has some good things to say about the new Scott H Biram’s Blooshot Records release Something’s Wrong / Lost Forever. HearYa.com celibrates the memory [...]
Jay Bennett, the former Wilco multi-instrumentalist, passed away in his sleep on early Sunday morning (May 24) due to unknown causes. He was 45. Bennett was best known for his work with Wilco, the group for which he wrote and recorded on 1996′s “Being There,” 1999′s “Summerteeth” and 2002′s “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot,” as well as [...]
Remember those that gave all.
The fine folks at the 9513 brought to my attention the sorry news that Kris Kristofferson’s longtime guitarist Stephen Bruton has succumbed to throat cancer. More details on Stephen Bruton at Billboard.com. More sad news, Lynyrd Skynyrd Bassist Donald “Ean” Evan dies At 48 after a battle with cancer. Country music legends Charley Pride and [...]