George Jones, Kris Kristofferson to Play Carnegie Hall

I feel like a boob. I’m just learning about this and now have to scatter for a freakin ticket! If you have an extra drop the Twang a line.

From CMT – George Jones and special guest Kris Kristofferson will perform at Carnegie Hall in New York City on Oct. 31. Jones last played the famous venue in 1962 when he appeared with Johnny Cash, Mother Maybelle and the Carter Family and Tompall and the Glaser Brothers. “I think we were one of the first, if not first, country shows to go in there. … We had a great time. The place was packed and sold out,” Jones said.

Edit: I got a great ticket from the box office. They still have some on sale for the show.

Waylon Jennings Featured on Popmatters

There’s a great article/review on Waylon Jennings and the newly released box set, Nashville Rebel, At PopMatters.com.  From the article:

The “outlaw country” thing was always as much about camaraderie as anything else. It was a reason to stick with his pals, to make music with those who understood. And that feeling of walking in the same footsteps as other like-minded musicians stretched back to the past, as all of these outlaws wore on their sleeves their debt to the giants of country music. In the mid-’70s two Waylon Jennings singles, written by the man himself, made this point clear as day. First “Bob Wills Is Still the King”, a tribute that puts Wills on the highest pedestal (“it don’t matter who’s in Austin / Bob Wills is still the king”) while also declaring Waylon’s own love for the Texas tradition of honky-tonks and western music. And then its flip side, the lament “Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way”. As an anti-Nashville-showbiz statement it set up Jennings as an outlaw, but it’s also a statement of solidarity with the simple, from-the-gut approach of Hank Williams.
 

Rhino to Release Deluxe Dwight Yoakam’s ‘Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.’

Rhino celebrates the 20th anniversary of Dwight Yoakam’s ‘Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.’ with a remastered version of his 1986 debut expanded with demos for the album recorded five years earlier. The double-disc set also features a live recording of Yoakam playing the Roxy shortly after the album’s release and includes several unreleased live cuts. The deluxe edition  of ‘Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.’ will be available October 17th for a suggested list price of $24.98.  A digital version of the album will also be available for download at all digital outlets.

Dwight Yoakam will play at the Concert Hall at the New York
Society for Ethical Culture
, New York, NY on Thusday Oct 12, 2006 08:00PM

Musician Burkett Howard “Uncle Josh” Graves, master of Dobro, dies

From the Tennessean – Burkett Howard “Uncle Josh” Graves, whose bluesy Dobro innovations helped keep that curious and difficult instrument alive in country and bluegrass music, died Saturday in Nashville after a lengthy illness.

According to his family, Mr. Graves was 79 years old, though differing dates of birth are listed in various publications.

If Mr. Graves’ age was in question, the timelessness and agelessness of his playing are not.

Three fingers on Mr. Graves’ right hand struck his Dobro strings in a rolling manner that allowed him great speed, and the silver bar that he held in his left hand produced remarkable resonance and tuneful melodies. One of only a few professional Dobro players in the 1950s when he joined Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs’ Foggy Mountain Boys, he exhibited dynamic musicianship and stage presence that reached audiences who watched Flatt and Scruggs’ TV show and came to concerts.

“Playing straight hillbilly music, which we now call bluegrass, on the Dobro back then was unheard of,” Scruggs said on Sunday. “That instrument was almost out of the picture. Brother Oswald was playing Dobro for Roy Acuff, and he was a great, great player, but Josh could also do that up-tempo stuff. Josh really had it all as a musician.”

For more follow the link above.

Johnny Cash’s San Quentin Reissued, Expanded

A nice announcement on Pitchfork – Columbia/Legacy will reissue Johnny Cash’s first chart-topping album– the live Johnny Cash at San Quentin– on November 14 as a three-disc (two CDs and one DVD) set, along with plenty of previously unreleased extras.

The 2000 remastered version of the 1969 LP expanded the original’s tracklist from 10 to 18 tracks, but this release will transcend both by including 13 previously unreleased performances from Cash and his entire ensemble, which included his wife June Carter Cash, the Carter Family, Carl Perkins, and the Statler Brothers.

Click on the above link for track lists.

Ann Richards – Texas Hero – R.I.P.

I want to take a moment to observe the passing of a Texas hero, Former Governor Ann Richards. She will always be remembered for bringing an air of dignity and civility into Texas politics which is an exceptionally rare feat and a sorely missing characteristic in these political times.  

Ann had the natural Texas gift of the droll. At the Democratic convention in 1988 she tartly drawled “Poor George, he can’t help it, He was born with a silver foot in his mouth.” while speaking about the current president’s father, former President George Bush. 

As she rides off into the sunset Ann Richards leaves this world a better place. 

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