Some Of My Favorite Country & Bluegrass Songs

[carvin don]

One more Christmas tribute ... Jimmy Dean's Cowboy Christmas Prayer ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6h3-_2txCpU

[tjmurphy]

Here's a good 'ol Jimmy Martin Christmas song I've always liked ...

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

and a few other Christmas bluegrass gooduns' I enjoy ...

Country Gentlemen - "Christmas Time Back Home"
Wildwood Valley Boys - "Christmas In Caroline" and "Christmas Time"
Lost and Found - "Christmas in Virginia"

You sure picked some good one's Don. Jimmy Martin is one of my real favorites in Bluegrass. The man played the most driving rythem guitar in the business. A friend of mine played banjo with Jimmy for a while and said that Jimmy would teach each new member of the band how he wanted HIS music played and how HE wanted it sung. It was Jimmy's way or the highway. Miss Jimmy Martin

What can you say about the Country Gentlemen? Charlie Waller had the smoothest voice in Bluegrass music. It was the Country Gentlemen who first left the traditional nest and recorded songs that no one else had heard. Got to talk to Charlie at Poppy Mountain a few years ago. I found out where the name "Country Gentlemen" came from, Charlie was a true gentleman through and through. A friend of mine played mandolin with Charlie and is now with J. D. Crowe. Miss Charlie Waller too.

The original Wildwood Valley Boys were the sons and grandsons of the members of "The Boys From Indiana" and live not to far from me. Several of my friends have been members of that band.

Lost and Found was a great band, but about all I know about them is that I like their music.

One more Christmas tribute ... Jimmy Dean's Cowboy Christmas Prayer ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6h3-_2txCpU

Funny how those old country songs are ageless, never go out of style. I'd never heard this one by Jimmy Dean but I sure did like it. Thanks for sharing

[tjmurphy]

Got to have a couple of Stanley Brothers Christmas songs in here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjG3caq2 ... re=related Keith Whitley singing the lead.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tuo-gesX ... re=related Carter Stanley singing the lead

[carvin don]

Wow TJ, you keep some mighty fine company! I really need to get to the Poppy Mountain festival one of these years. I'm glad you enjoyed the Jimmy Dean, a classic in my book.

Jimmy, Charlie, John Duffey, and the scores of other greats are truly missed ...

Oh, how could I forget the Stanley Brothers and "Beautiful Star of Bethlehem!" Thanks for posting those!

[tjmurphy]

I've been really blessed to have met and been befriended by some truly wonderful musicians. I've met and talked with so many of the Bluegrass people from Bill Monroe to Ralph Stanley, Jimmy Martin, Curley Ray Cline, Kenny Baker and Josh Graves, and the list goes on and on. Another good friend of mine is a fellow by the name of Renfro Proffitt. He was the lead guitar player for Ralph Stanley when Kieth Whitley sang the lead. Boy, does he have some stories!! Sammy Adkins, who was lead singer for Ralph Stanley in the 80's is planning on recording one of the songs that I wrote, which is a real thrill for me.

One thing I'd like to say about Bill Monroe is that he NEVER forgot who paid for the fuel in his bus. When he would finish a show, he would hand his mandolin off to one of the other players and walk out into the crowd. It wasn't until every person that wanted it got a shake and howdy, an autograph, a picture taken with him or just to gab a few minutes. When the crowd was satisfied Bill would walk over to his bus and take a well deserved rest. He was a great man! Sonny Osborne was just the opposite, real A--Hole!

[carvin don]

TJ, sounds like you have been truly blessed to have met and befriended such talented and fine gentlemen... I'd sure love to hear some of them "stories."

Keep me posted on the song you wrote and where I might hear/buy it.

I have a video called , "The Story of Bluegrass," with Bill Monroe and many other bluegrass greats, and you can just tell, Bill sincerely loved his music and the people that surrounded him.

[tjmurphy]

Hey Don - I think I figured out how to email the song from i-Tunes. If you will PM me your email address I will try to send it to you.

Tom

[jerryd6818]

You boys kept me so busy stealing songs off YouTube this morning I almost missed my breakfast (and I fix it myself ). Thanks. Loved 'em.

Going forward with that theme, how about posting more country/bluegrass Christmas songs. If I can get enough, I'd like to cut it into a CD.

[tjmurphy]

Probably THE MOST FAMOUS Bluegrass Christmas song of all time, "Christmas Time's a Comin'" Bill Monroe
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXfBYXElPII

Patty Loveless "Bluegrass White Snow" (I'm in love with Patty Loveless)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CkrikimyGY

[tjmurphy]

My all-time favorite folkabilly girl singer, Nanci Griffith

Cover of Bob Dylan's "Boots of Spanish Leather" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1KxthvX1Ms

Cover of Townes Van Zandt's "Tecumseh Valley" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USafrOU3 ... re=related

[jerryd6818]

I like them both. I just wish I could understand what she's saying on "Boots of Spanish Leather" Good music.

[tjmurphy]

Well, believe it or not you might be able to understand the words better with Dylan's own version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFpXeA7b ... re=related

[jerryd6818]

Now, if I could just understand her as well as I could Dylan...

[DR_MAGOO]

Thanks murph for the attached links. Brought back some oldies that I had not heard in a while by the likes of great artist like Vince Gill, Ricky Skaggs, Marty Stuart, Patty Loveless and Alison Kraus.

[carvin don]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwqWcn2gbTM

[jerryd6818]

Thanks Don. Ernie Ford has been gone so long I forget how great he was. He was one of my parents all time favorites.

[tjmurphy]

This is now my favorite Doyle Lawson song - One Way Train
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baOOi2GXFUY[/youtube]

[jerryd6818]

I'm sure it won't be long before 'My Favorite Bluegrass Band' will be adding that song to their repertoire. Say, while we're on it, was that mandolin player pickin' a Gibson?

[tjmurphy]

"That" mandolin player is Doyle Lawson. The mandolin he is playing is a Paganoni Fern built by John Paganoni. The "Fern" refers to the inlay in the peg-head. He does have a signiture model Gibson F-5 made by Gibson, of course, that he plays now. That video is probably from the 1980's. Another interesting note about that video is that they are tuned a half-step sharp from standard 440 tuning. So then, they're playing standard key of D chords but they are actually playing in D#/Eb. Flatt & Scruggs used to do the same thing. Said it gave the instrument sound more "POP" and held in tune better.

[jerryd6818]

Sure. Sure. I know exactly what you're talking about.

[tjmurphy]

They've simply tuned the strings one fret, or a half-step, higher than normal. Found this out when I tried to play along with them

[jerryd6818]

By grannies, you do speak English after all. I should be used to it by now. One of my best buddies plays guitar and sails so I've been exposed to "foreign languages" for the past 45 years.

Jib, bridge, spinnaker, pickup. I even know what some of them mean.

[Johnj]

[jerryd6818]

What would Granny Farquhar Do?

[tjmurphy]

Hey Jerry, where'd you come up with that name? Though you spelled it phoenetically, (I think that's the word) my wife's mother's maiden name is FARQUHAR, pronounced as you spelled it. They are from Southwest Louisiana