With four hungry children and a crop in the field

[Paul Sherratt]

I think I may remember that programme - I'd driven down to AK's for some reason or other and just as I arrived
the postman delivered a 2nd hand Carl Butler LP. On the album was the delicious ' Heartaches for Lunch '
( there's a goodbye note in the poor chap's lunchbox ... ) anyway I was musing why anyone would part with such a fine
item and could only conclude that the owner must have died And that probably became AK's intro for
the song on the programme. R1 couldn't afford proper researchers ...

Enjoy !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ml5f8SckkGs

[Lateralthinking1]

Many thanks to all for the latest batch. As long as my mouse hasn't slipped, and it may have done, we currently have 96 in the big Part I. For now, the recent additions are in bold. John - Marty Robbins has been "upgraded". The Kris Kristofferson track easily made it in and I have a soft spot for Nancy and Lee's "Jackson" so that is there too. I placed Lucinda's "Jackson" in Part I and "Can't Let Go" went into "Duplicates" as you clearly preferred the former. George Jones and Gene Pitney's "Why Baby Why" makes it into Part I because we haven't had Gene Pitney before. It is also an interesting combination if not quite as bizarre as Pitney's collaboration with Marc Almond. You were absolutely right about Patrick's offering of Walter Brennan with that piano. I had to have that one and it also made me laugh, in a nice way of course.

Speaking of humour, Paul - Johnny Paycheck, wow - not a word incidentally I use in normal speech - but that was a revelation. If it wasn't for the more abominable aspects of the man, he would almost be a new musical hero. I have had a look at some of the other titles and the ones you picked out just begin to tell the story. Brilliant in a most peculiar way. Add to those titles the interesting story behind his name, his completely crazy wildness, the oddity that is "The Cave" and a distinctive voice which, for me at least, just has a slight hint of the Big O. I sort of asked myself why he had barely meant anything to me until now. The inclusion in Part I of the extraordinary "Pardon Me, I've Got Someone To Kill", was a no brainer - I don't generally say that either - and the rest have been enthusiastically added to the "Duplicates" list.

Darby and Tarlton produced an impressive number of songs in very few years until they found they wanted to kill each other. Wikipedia is incredibly good at listing their achievements so here is the link if you and others who are interested haven't seen it before - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darby_and_Tarlton. This too is clearly Part I material as is Carl Butler's "Heartaches For Lunch". I really liked your story and the song. I managed to track down the Carl and Pearl song - da da, da da, da da, da da da da. Oh no. That is Pearl and Dean isn't it. Anyhow here it is - http://open.spotify.com/track/4elVuCOp5pp4yzobTO5thA. Then there is what I assume you and JC were referring to when discussing Hank W and Kitty Wells. First I thought it would be "Dear Brother" but I came to the conclusion that it was this one - http://open.spotify.com/track/1wj9rC8xR4q1d80E7TW38k. I have taken the liberty of adding them both to the Part I list.

I can't say that the idea of a film of Elvises grabbed me. I am completely confused about Neville Skelly and "Case Histories". In fact, I considered The Coral first. They have a few Skellys. Are they related? What is the connection with the programme? Please enlighten me. I'm slightly sheepish about it because I swear we have discussed Neville before. I just don't know what to do with GT's "Farmer and the Mousetrap/Orange Blossom Special" by Tom Cunningham. He seems to have taken Nanci Griffith's elevator in the Woolworth store - "you know what that little sound is" - and expanded it to create a whole act. Didn't dislike it but, you know, does it belong here? As Penelope Pitstop used to say "hay-ulp". Shame that we still haven't that unique country song from Venezuela, Tazmania or Greenland. Still, there is time. Surely someone somewhere must also be able to answer the question - "Which city has produced the most popular country artist - Rome, Dusseldorf, Paris or Berne?"

Saving the best to last, Mickey Newbury. I seem to recall him grazing the lower reaches of the charts here with "An American Trilogy" when that guy from Graceland had a hit with it or was it the other way round? No, surely the Elvis took it higher? Didn't know a great deal more. On the basis of what has been presented, he was, I think, a big talent, perhaps a Jimmy Webb with a more obvious country angle. I will almost certainly investigate further. It was a close run thing but "She Even Woke Me Up to Say Goodbye" was chosen for the Part I list while the other song went into the "Duplicates" list. Almost there, as Andy Williams once sang, as indeed did Tom Baxter in a different way. But uncharacteristically I digress. There are only four left. Take them while you can or spend forever in the dark. Theres no changin' things that we regret.

[Lateralthinking1]

The New List

Part 1

Alison Krauss and Union Station - Paper Airplane
Allison Moorer - A Soft Place To Fall
Bhundu Boys and Hank Wangford - Ring of Fire
The Blue Sky Boys - Somebody Makes Me Think of You
Bobbie Gentry - Ode To Billie Joe
Bobby Bare/Rosanne Cash - 500 Miles
Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash - One Too Many Mornings
Bob Wills - Stay a Little Longer
Boxcar Willie - Wabash Cannonball
Buck Owens and the Buckaroos - Act Naturally
Buck Owens and Dwight Yoakam - Streets of Bakersfield
Buddy Jones - She's Sellin' What She Used To Give Away
Calexico - Tulsa Telephone Book
Carl and Pearl Butler - Don't Let Me Cross Over
Carl Butler - Heartaches For Lunch
The Carter Family - Engine 143
Charlie Bowman and the Hillbillies - Ride That Mule
Charlie Rich - I Can't Even Drink It Away
Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen - Seeds and Stems Again Blues
Corb Lund - The Truck Got Stuck
Crystal Gayle - I've Cried The Blue Right Out Of My Eyes
Darby and Tarlton - The Weaver's Blues
Doctor Lloyd and Howard Maxey - Girl I Left Behind
Dolly Parton - Jolene
Don Williams - Gypsy Woman
Emmylou Harris - My Father's House
The Everly Brothers - Put My Little Shoes Away
The Family Singers - Tarira Nguva
George Jones - The Image of Me
George Jones and Gene Pitney - Why Baby Why
Gillian Welch - Annabelle, A Study of American Sharecroppers
The Girls of the Golden West - Cross Eyed Beau
Glen Campbell - Wichita Lineman
Gram Parsons - Brass Buttons
Guy Clark - Desperados Waiting For a Train
The Handsome Family - So Much Wine
Hank Thompson - Six Pack To Go
Hank Wangford - Riding High in the Saddle Again
Hank Williams - Honky Tonk Blues
Hank Williams and Kitty Wells - Searching For A Soldier's Grave
Hank Williams III - The Grand Ole Opry (Ain't So Grand Anymore)
Hugh Tracey introduces the Kipsigis Tribe - Chemirocha
Iris DeMent - Let the Mystery Be
Iris DeMent and Emmylou Harris - Our Town
Janis Joplin - Me And Bobby McGee
Jeannie C Riley - Harper Valley PTA
Jimmie Rodgers - I'm Free From the Chain Gang Now
Jimmy Dean - Big Bad John
Jimmy Revard and His Oklahoma Playboys - Someone Else You Care For
Joe Ely - West Texas Waltz
John Hartford with Del McCoury, Jerry Douglas, Alison Brown, Alison Krauss and Union Station, Mark O'Connor, Stuart Duncan, Tony Rice Unit, Sam Bush and the Nashville Bluegrass Band - Roll in My Sweet Baby's Arms
Johnny Cash - Man In Black
Johnny Paycheck - Pardon Me, I've Got Someone To Kill
John Prine - Speed of the Sound of Loneliness
Karen Dalton - Katie Cruel
Kenny Rogers and the First Edition - Ruby Don't Take Your Love To Town
Kinky Friedman - They Ain't Making Jews Like Jesus Anymore
Kris Kristofferson - Sunday Morning Coming Down
Lefty Frizzell - Don't Stay Away
Leon Payne/Jim Reeves - I Love You Because
Lester Flatts and Earl Scruggs - Foggy Mountain Breakdown
The Louvin Brothers - I Don't Believe You've Met My Baby
Lucinda Williams - Jackson
Martha Midgette - Tommy
Marty Robbins - El Paso
Mary Chapin Carpenter - I Am A Town
Mary Gauthier - I Drink
Merle Haggard - The Bottle Let Me Down
Mickey Newbury - She Even Woke Me Up to Say Goodbye
Nanci Griffith - Tecumseh Valley
Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood - Jackson
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Paulette Carlson - Lovin' on the Side
OC Smith - Son of Hickory Holler's Tramp
Patsy Cline - I Fall To Pieces
Porter Wagoner - The Cold Hard Facts of Life
Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton - Jeannie's Afraid Of The Dark
Riley Puckett - I Wish I Was Single Again
Rosanne Cash and Johnny Cash - September When It Comes
Roy Orbison - In Dreams
Roy Rogers with the Sons of Pioneers - Dust
Sawyer Brown - The Race Is On
Slim Dusty and his Bushlanders - Click Go The Shears/The Overlander Trail/Waltzing Mathilda
Steve Earle and The Del McCoury Band - The Mountain
Steve Young - Montgomery in the Rain
Tammy Wynette - D.I.V.O.R.C.E
Terry Allen - New Delhi Freight Train
Tex Ritter - High Noon (Do Not Forsake Me)
Thomas Fraser - Lonely Boy on the Prairie
Tim O'Brien - Look Down That Lonesome Road
Tom T Hall - Homeaway
Townes Van Zandt with Seymour Washington - Waitin' Around To Die
Vernon Dalbart - Wreck of the Old 97
Walter Brennan- Old Rivers
Whiskeytown - Jacksonville Skyline
Wilf Carter - When the Ice Worm Nests Again
Willie Nelson - Funny How Time Slips Away

Part 2

Country crossover

Abigail Washburn - Sometimes
Bill Brandon - Rainbow Road
Candi Staton - You Don't Have Far To Go
Dean Martin - Little Ole Wine Drinker Me
Jolie Holland - Old Fashioned Morphine
Judy Collins - The City of New Orleans
Light Crust Doughboys - Tiger Rag

Duplicates

Bob Wills and His Texan Playboys - Sittin' on Top of the World
Buddy Jones - Rockin' Rollin' Mama
George Jones - Where Grass Won't Grow
Guy Clark - The Guitar
Jimmie Rodgers - Blue Yodel No 1
Johnny Cash - Walk The Line/I Won't Back Down/Hurt/The Man Comes Around
Johnny Paycheck - It Won't Be Long ( And I'll Be Hating You )/Just Between You And Me/The Cave
Kinky Friedman - Amelia Earhart's Last Flight
Lucinda Williams - Can't Let Go
Merle Haggard - Why Am I Drinkin'?
Mickey Newbury - How I Love Them Old Songs
Porter Wagoner - The Rubber Room
Willie Nelson - Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain/She Is Gone/Crazy/My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys

Pending

The Eagles - ?
George Strait?
kd Lang - ?
Linda Ronstadt - ?
Lambchop -?
Loretta Lynn - ?
Wilco - ?

[Paul Sherratt]

Lat,

The list is taking shape.
But a classic piece that's missing is more a legend than a band
The Flatlanders ( Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Butch Hancock, Joe Ely )
and I'd go for ' Dallas ' - heard here in a slightly poor recording ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1mQvHXRlZE

Butch H & Jimmie D toured the UK a few times in the 90's as a direct result of the excitement provided by
AK's enthusiastic airplay & sessions' It was a thrill to have them here.

Now as for Wilco my single ipod vote goes to their version of ' Forget The Flowers '

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TzEAWa4w1g

My grand ol' Kitty Wells offering :
If Teardrops Were Pennies

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OCflkwB8-A&feature=related

A surprise Loretta Lynn choice, maybe ? ( texture change is as good as ... )

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuC_l3ymXhM

Did that bloke singing with her once switch on Blackpool illuminations?
Well he did something there !

[Paul Sherratt]

Lat,

I'm delighted you took to those Paycheck creations. Not many do !

The Elvis impersonator doc is an excellent piece of work.
Rewards viewing.
Should be on ' Dave ' as John correctly points out along with ' Walking To New Orleans '
the Jools Holland film ( I'm surprised ' Dave ' hasn't shown it. Stephen Fry makes an appearance, after all ... )

[johncorrigan]

Neville Skelly, Lat - Poet and a dreamer - you can find it on spotty (sorry I'm at work) - Cerys has been playing it - it's pretty new - it sounds a bit like a classic Country song - really fine. I would also go with Paul re the Flatlanders 'Dallas' - I did think about it before but couldn't hear a decent version on YT (the one Paul has put in probably - but hearing Jimmie Dale sing it on the studio record is just brilliant - terrific harmonies) - I also saw that tour in Perth on the back of AK's enthusiasm and Butch Hancock was a truly wonderful entertainer - he and JDG were just brilliant.

[Lateralthinking1]

Thank you to both of you. I once returned to a hotel I had stayed in previously and they put me in Room 101. I felt a little put out and only hope that we don't now have 101 selections here. If there are, we might just need an extra one. I will then again update the list.

Then it gets trickier. I don't want to say "Do not post anything more on this thread!" That would be crazy. At the same time, maybe we should let some other music have more of a look-in again. So, I think what I will say is that at 101 (or 102) the list will be on hold. We can see at the other end of the summer what interest there has been in continuing with the discussion and whether the list should be updated.

I have really enjoyed it and I have learnt a tremendous amount. One of the things that has struck me is that there is more humour in country that I had previously realised. Another is that while criticisms of schmaltz in the genre are clearly justified, there are many artists and songs conveying emotions that are generally moving. Perhaps one of the most fascinating things is to see how these apparent distinctions often hover on the grey lines. I doubt that any other music can challenge or intrigue in that way.

And, JC, I will certainly have another listen to Neville Skelly.

[Lateralthinking1]

This is the list we have agreed on 11 June 2011:

100 Great Country Songs

Alison Krauss and Union Station - Paper Airplane
Allison Moorer - A Soft Place To Fall
Bhundu Boys and Hank Wangford - Ring of Fire
The Blue Sky Boys - Somebody Makes Me Think of You
Bobbie Gentry - Ode To Billie Joe
Bobby Bare/Rosanne Cash - 500 Miles
Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash - One Too Many Mornings
Bob Wills - Stay a Little Longer
Boxcar Willie - Wabash Cannonball
Buck Owens and the Buckaroos - Act Naturally
Buck Owens and Dwight Yoakam - Streets of Bakersfield
Buddy Jones - She's Sellin' What She Used To Give Away
Calexico - Tulsa Telephone Book
Carl and Pearl Butler - Don't Let Me Cross Over
Carl Butler - Heartaches For Lunch
The Carter Family - Engine 143
Charlie Bowman and the Hillbillies - Ride That Mule
Charlie Rich - I Can't Even Drink It Away
Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen - Seeds and Stems Again Blues
Corb Lund - The Truck Got Stuck
Crystal Gayle - I've Cried The Blue Right Out Of My Eyes
Darby and Tarlton - The Weaver's Blues
Doctor Lloyd and Howard Maxey - Girl I Left Behind
Dolly Parton - Jolene
Don Williams - Gypsy Woman
Emmylou Harris - My Father's House
The Everly Brothers - Put My Little Shoes Away
The Family Singers - Tarira Nguva
The Flatlanders - Dallas
George Jones - The Image of Me
George Jones and Gene Pitney - Why Baby Why
Gillian Welch - Annabelle, A Study of American Sharecroppers
The Girls of the Golden West - Cross Eyed Beau
Glen Campbell - Wichita Lineman
Gram Parsons - Brass Buttons
Guy Clark - Desperados Waiting For a Train
The Handsome Family - So Much Wine
Hank Thompson - Six Pack To Go
Hank Wangford - Riding High in the Saddle Again
Hank Williams - Honky Tonk Blues
Hank Williams and Kitty Wells - Searching For A Soldier's Grave
Hank Williams III - The Grand Ole Opry (Ain't So Grand Anymore)
Hugh Tracey introduces the Kipsigis Tribe - Chemirocha
Iris DeMent - Let the Mystery Be
Iris DeMent and Emmylou Harris - Our Town
Janis Joplin - Me And Bobby McGee
Jeannie C Riley - Harper Valley PTA
Jimmie Rodgers - I'm Free From the Chain Gang Now
Jimmy Dean - Big Bad John
Jimmy Revard and His Oklahoma Playboys - Someone Else You Care For
Joe Ely - West Texas Waltz
John Hartford with Del McCoury, Jerry Douglas, Alison Brown, Alison Krauss and Union Station, Mark O'Connor, Stuart Duncan, Tony Rice Unit, Sam Bush and the Nashville Bluegrass Band - Roll in My Sweet Baby's Arms
Johnny Cash - Man In Black
Johnny Paycheck - Pardon Me, I've Got Someone To Kill
John Prine - Speed of the Sound of Loneliness
Karen Dalton - Katie Cruel
Kenny Rogers and the First Edition - Ruby Don't Take Your Love To Town
Kinky Friedman - They Ain't Making Jews Like Jesus Anymore
Kitty Wells - If Teardrops Were Pennies
Kris Kristofferson - Sunday Morning Coming Down
Lefty Frizzell - Don't Stay Away
Leon Payne/Jim Reeves - I Love You Because
Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs - Foggy Mountain Breakdown
Loretta Lynn and Jack White - Portland, Oregon
The Louvin Brothers - I Don't Believe You've Met My Baby
Lucinda Williams - Jackson
Martha Midgette - Tommy
Marty Robbins - El Paso
Mary Chapin Carpenter - I Am A Town
Mary Gauthier - I Drink
Merle Haggard - The Bottle Let Me Down
Mickey Newbury - She Even Woke Me Up to Say Goodbye
Nanci Griffith - Tecumseh Valley
Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood - Jackson
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Paulette Carlson - Lovin' on the Side
OC Smith - Son of Hickory Holler's Tramp
Patsy Cline - I Fall To Pieces
Porter Wagoner - The Cold Hard Facts of Life
Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton - Jeannie's Afraid Of The Dark
Riley Puckett - I Wish I Was Single Again
Rosanne Cash and Johnny Cash - September When It Comes
Roy Orbison - In Dreams
Roy Rogers with the Sons of Pioneers - Dust
Sawyer Brown - The Race Is On
Slim Dusty and his Bushlanders - Click Go The Shears/The Overlander Trail/Waltzing Mathilda (Medley)
Steve Earle and The Del McCoury Band - The Mountain
Steve Young - Montgomery in the Rain
Tammy Wynette - D.I.V.O.R.C.E
Terry Allen - New Delhi Freight Train
Tex Ritter - High Noon (Do Not Forsake Me)
Thomas Fraser - Lonely Boy on the Prairie
Tim O'Brien - Look Down That Lonesome Road
Tom T Hall - Homeaway
Townes Van Zandt with Seymour Washington - Waitin' Around To Die
Vernon Dalhart - Wreck of the Old 97
Walter Brennan- Old Rivers
Whiskeytown - Jacksonville Skyline
Wilco - Forget The Flowers
Wilf Carter - When the Ice Worm Nests Again
Willie Nelson - Funny How Time Slips Away

These tracks were also discussed:

- Country crossover

Abigail Washburn - Sometimes
Bill Brandon - Rainbow Road
Candi Staton - You Don't Have Far To Go
Dean Martin - Little Ole Wine Drinker Me
Jolie Holland - Old Fashioned Morphine
Judy Collins - The City of New Orleans
Light Crust Doughboys - Tiger Rag

- Duplicates

Bob Wills and His Texan Playboys - Sittin' on Top of the World
Buddy Jones - Rockin' Rollin' Mama
George Jones - Where Grass Won't Grow
Guy Clark - The Guitar
Jimmie Rodgers - Blue Yodel No 1
Johnny Cash - Walk The Line/I Won't Back Down/Hurt/The Man Comes Around
Johnny Paycheck - It Won't Be Long (And I'll Be Hating You )/Just Between You And Me/The Cave
Kinky Friedman - Amelia Earhart's Last Flight
Lucinda Williams - Can't Let Go
Merle Haggard - Why Am I Drinkin'?
Mickey Newbury - How I Love Them Old Songs
Porter Wagoner - The Rubber Room
Willie Nelson - Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain/She Is Gone/Crazy/My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys

And additionally these artists were mentioned:

The Eagles
George Strait
kd Lang
Lambchop
Linda Ronstadt
Neville Skelly
The Rockingbirds

[Lateralthinking1]

Ok - Wilco are in. Still don't get the rave reviews of them. Loved the Loretta Lynn and Jack White. Jack could probably teach the brilliantly gifted but wayward Ryan something about direction. Kitty Wells and the Flatlanders - yes. That takes it to 100 as shown in the above posting.

Neville Skelly - JC - are you referring to "Brambles and Heather"?

http://www.nevilleskelly.com/

Oh no, that would take it to 101? If you want it to be included, it should be, but then we will need just one more. Overall, I think I am gradually learning:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbJXkLpRZiE

[Lateralthinking1]

.......can I just say again - that Loretta Lynn and Jack White track is fantastic. Is it from an album?

[johncorrigan]

.......can I just say again - that Loretta Lynn and Jack White track is fantastic. Is it from an album?

I think Jack White produced a record with Loretta about 5 years back. He appears to have played on just that track, Lat.

http://music.dejkam.com/albums/loretta_lynn/van_lear_rose/

I suppose we know her more for this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBnkA...831AA9D9A8806F

And on the Neville Skelly Lat, it's 'The Poet and the Dreamer' and I don't think it merits entry to the top 100 - I just really like it. As I said it is on Spot-u-like.

[Paul Sherratt]

John's correct Lat, I'd just like to add that Loretta Lynn, for the first time, wrote all thirteen songs on the album.

I did once have a spare copy of 'Van Lear Rose' I wonder where that went to ?

A good home, I hope.

[Lateralthinking1]

Many thanks. JC - I will definitely be listening to that album. I thought the video of it was very good. The website you have provided a link to looks excellent too.

Thanks for the advice on Neville. I have a real problem with Spotify at present. Have just 41 minutes left and I have no idea on what date (if at all) they will be giving me the 10 hours again. Am currently having to add to the list without listening to the tracks and am generally sticking to what I know.

Many thanks again to all contributors. The list of country songs (for now) is complete. I have amended the post at number 263 to show how it all now looks. That could be it or it might not be. Let's see what happens in the next couple of months. - Lat.

[Paul Sherratt]

>>(for now) is complete


Three Jimmys but I've overlooked Mr Martin !

Oh no ...

[Lat-Literal]

Now....this turned out to be one of the most rewarding threads of all time as I learnt a hell of a lot, it blasted through a lot of preconceptions and it led to a lot of enjoyment. I was at that dodgy age of course! Anyhow, one of the longer term impacts was the escalation of Mickey Newbury from the guy who arranged that song Elvis did to "how could could he not be better known"? And now I am going to spoil it all, although not at all maliciously, by saying that I think I'm hearing in it Springsteen before Springsteen ever emerged. But that is a plus point as far as I am concerned, just as Link Wray's eponymous in 1971 turns out with hindsight to have guided to an extent Sir Geo. Ivan Morrison's future direction:

Mickey Newbury - San Francisco Mabel Joy - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reP8JNB0pQE