Plus One: The Wrap Up to Country Music Month - Bocephus

It's been a great Trip Through Time and Country Music over the last four weeks, but like all things, this too must end. We began our tribute with a bang with Garth Brooks, and now we're gonna end it with a BOOM! 

My favorite artist from any genre of music, bar none, is Hank Williams, Jr. I am very familiar with Hank's trials and tribulations over the years. He has told me about many of them in person, during the three times I had a chance to talk with him. As we drank shots of whiskey and nursed a few beers, Hank related to me one great story after another. Most of them were just general stories about the music biz, his role in it, his Dad (of course) and some other stuff. The one subject that Hank told me about was when on Augusta 8, 1975, he fell almost 500 feet down the side of Ajax Mountain in Montana. He went over the accident that nearly killed him in chilling detail. He probably would have fallen further down the side of the mountain except for one thing - a BFR. A Big Fuckin' Rock. He smashed into it face first into it and it opened his skull like it was on a door hinge, his brain exposed to the elements. Hank was hiking with his buddy, Dick Willey and Willey's son, Pete (I think, his name escapes me) when the accident happened. The senior Willey had to hike several miles back down Ajax to get help, while his son, who was about 10 years old, IIRC, tried to keep Hank awake and alert. The boy prove to be a hero. Hank told that if it hadn't been for the cold weather, he probably would have died right then and there. Two years of reconstructive surgery and rehab, including learning how to talk all over again, followed the fall down Ajax. Amazing story.

Already recorded prior to Hank's accident, was an album called Hank Williams, Jr and Friends. The link provides only clips of the songs, but I urge you to take a minute to listen to them. this album, in my opinion, is the single greatest album ever recorded. It was the single most influential album that initiated the Outlaw Movement in Country Music. I know, I know, Willie and Waylon and all that. I agree that W & W were the ones that popularized Outlaw Country, but Hank, Jr and Friends was before all that. Hank and Friends consists of nine songs that are my life set to music. It's the ultimate Country record. It's that great.

We know what many of Hank's hits are. Below I will list some of his better-known songs and some that aren't. But I promise you, they will all be good, and maybe you'll look at Hank from a different point of view.

• A Country Boy Can Survive - Arguably Hank's most popular song. A classic.
• Family Tradition - Another Bocephus classic.
• I've Got Rights - Justice, country style when the system fails.
• Country State of Mind - If the sun don't come up tomorrow, people I have had a good time.
• The American Way - Blue collar anthem.
• Hotel Whiskey - Clint Black makes a cameo.
• Honky Tonk Women - Hank rocks The Stones.
• Lone Wolf - I no longer run with the pack. 
• Outlaw's Reward - Gospel. Thinking of eternity.
• Whiskey On Ice - Whiskey on ice, women on fire.
• Feelin' Better - Becoming Bocephus. Waylon does harmony. Killer story.
• Blues Man - Bad ass tune. 
• Born to Boogie - Title cut from the 1986 Album of the Year

What a great way to end our tribute to Country Music Month. Hank Williams, Jr, who once had NINE albums in The Top 75 at one time (!), has a ton of YouTube pages with his music on them. Make time to listen to some of Hank's songs that were never released as singles. There's a treasure trove of kick ass Country tunes and songs that paint a vivid image in your mind that I think you'll really like.

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Plus One: Country Music Month Tribute - Alan Jackson

Every so often Country Music seems to lose its focus and veer toward the Pop side of things. To clarify, when I said "Country Music" in the opening sentence, I meant the dumbasses in charge of the record companies who make the decisions as to what's going to be released. At the same time, there always seems to be an artist or two who remain loyal to their country roots and play, you know, actual Country Music. Imagine that. One such artist who has done exactly that for over two decades and is still going strong answers to the name Alan Eugene Jackson.

Alan Jackson burst on to the Country Music scene with his first major release, Here In the Real World and has never looked back. As of this writing, Jackson has had over 50 singles in the Billboard Magazine charts and twenty-five of those have been Number 1's. And every damned one of those chart singles have been COUNTRY. Alan and another Country Legend, George Strait, lambasted the idiots who pour out all this Pop pablum and try to market it as Country in Murder On Music Row. Now that's what I'm talkin' about! Between Strait and Jackson, they have about 75 Number 1's and probably 100 million album sales, plus over 50 years combined as major Country stars, and the dumbasses in Nashville just don't seem to get it. Simply amazing.

The following songs are why Alan Jackson records will be played on the radio long after we leave this world. Classics, every damned one of them. Because I said so.  :)

• Here in the Real World - His first major release. A star was born.
• Wanted - One of the best Country songs ever.
• Chasin' That Neon Rainbow - I love the picture this song paints in my mind.
• Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning) - Simply brilliant. 
• It's Five O'clock Somewhere - Cheers!
• Livin' on Love - Growin' old together. 

After listening to the songs on the list above, I realized that I need to crank up some Alan Jackson way more often. The man is incredible. His song writing is outstanding and the people who do his back up vocals are mo' betta than good. In case you couldn't tell, I really like this guy. :) For another 40 or 50 hits by Alan Jackson, here's the YouTube page for you. Listen to 'em all. You'll thank me later.

Plus One: Country Music Month Tribute - The 2nd Best-Lookin' Redhead from Oklahoma

I wanted to wrap up our tribute to Country Music Month with a series of (2 or 3) "Plus One" features, so we could salute some country artists who are not from Texas. There is a boatload of outstanding singers I could pick from, but I wanted to pick a couple of my personal favorites to end things with.

I could not look myself in the mirror tomorrow if did not include one of the most influential and successful females in the history of Country Music, who just happens to be a very nice, down-to-Earth lady who, despite the demands on her time, always makes times for her fans. I have had the extreme pleasure of meeting this woman on three different occasions as part of my job as a radio personality. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the second best-lookin' redhead from Oklahoma, Reba Nell McEntire. There's a story behind the "2nd best-lookin' redhead from Oklahoma" bit. Here's the deal: One of my radio listeners was a little old lady from Waureka, Oklahoma. Her name was Thelma Schaffner and yes, she was a redhead - the best-lookin' redhead from Oklahoma. Thelma and I became very dear friends and I loved her with all my heart. She was kind of like an adoptive mother to me. I told Reba that story and she said that, in this case, she was honored to be the "2nd best-lookin' redhead from Oklahoma". Reba is a great gal.

Reba started settin' the Country Music World on fire in the late '70s and in the ensuing thirty plus years, she hasn't slowed down a bit. Besides her singing career, she has been in movies and her TV series Reba did very well for her. That lady you saw in that TV show. That's Reba in real life. No wonder the show was a hit. She got play herself.

Making a list a great songs by Reba McEntire would be like trying to pick out which of your kids you like best - it can't be done because you like 'em all, but in different ways. So here's a partial list of a few of my personal favorites from the lady who has sold over 56 million records, the 2nd best-lookin' redhead from Oklahoma...Reba McEntire.

• Fancy - You know the story.
• What Am I Gonna Do About You - She just can't let go of her true love.
• I Know How He Feels - Best. Reba. Song. Ever. Powerful vocals and great back up singers. 
• Whoever's In New England - Damn good song.
• How Blue - Country!!

The rest is up to you. Here's a YouTube page that can be a starting point for your search for your favorite Reba songs. When you get home from work, cue 'em up in your media player on your computer and turn the volume way up. It's very cathartic.  :)

Country Music Month: The Texas Connection - Jim Reeves

Let's , for a moment, look at Texas as a metaphorical Mother. She has given birth to so many Country Music stars that if all the states in the country spawned no more country music talent, Country Music would still have a pedigree rich with history and tradition. Just in the past four weeks we have written a veritable Country Music History Book filled with nothing but the Legends of Country Music from Texas. A quick recap of our star-studded roster:  Waylon, Willie, Tanya Tucker, George Strait and about twenty others. There is one name that, I'm a little ashamed to admit, that almost slipped my mind. Though his career in Country Music was a short one, he's still one of the most recognizable names in Country Music and has a singing voice as cool as the other side of the pillow. His name? Shame on me for almost forgetting about Gentleman Jim Reeves.

Jim Reeves was born in Galloway, Texas in Deep East Texas near Carthage. At one time or another, Jim was a student at the University of Texas, a radio DJ, a shipyard worker and a pro baseball player in the St. Louis Cardinals farm system. Not exactly the typical foundation of a Hall of Fame music career. While a DJ, Reeves ended up in Shreeveport at KWKH, home of the Louisiana Hayride. When a performer was late for the show once, Reeves was asked to fill in. We all know what happened from there. Oh, by the way, the guy who was late for the show? Hank Williams. Go figure. There's good Jim Reeves bio here if you'd like to dig a little deeper into his short life. The story about the plane crash in which Reeves died is especially compelling even though it's only a few sentences long. You should take a look at it.

The Music of Gentleman Jim Reeves:

• Welcome to My World - Smooth as a good whiskey.
• He'll Have to Go - One of the BEST songs ever recorded by anyone, anywhere. Because I said so.
• Am I Losing You - Pure velvet.
• Am I That Easy to Forget - The Jim Reeves way.

I was a little surprised that YouTube has a nice selection of Jim Reeves music. For a guy whose career was so short, his impact on Country Music almost fifty years after his death, is still felt. Just think about, this is one time that Hank Williams being late for a show benefited us all. His tardiness gave us another Country Music Legend, Jim Reeves. Thanks, Hank.

Country Music Month: The Texas Connection - Larry, Steve and Rudy

There must be something in the water in Seminole, Texas. Something good. That small West Texas town has turned out two of the biggest Country Music acts of the late '70s and the '80s. Earlier this month we featured a young lady from Seminole, Tanya Tucker, and today we are going to take a look at three brothers from Seminole who harmonized their way to the top of the country charts - Larry, Steve and Rudy Gatlin. The Gatlin boys' three part harmony propelled them to the pinnacle of the Country Music world with songs like their biggest hit, All the Gold in California. With all their success, the Gatlin Brothers had only three Number One songs, a fact that surprised me a little bit. However, they were consistently in the Top 10 on the Billboard Magazine Country Charts with some great songs like these:

• Broken Lady - A damn fine song about a love that goes wrong and the effects it has on the wife.
• I Just Wish You Were Someone I Loved - The title says it all.
• Houston (Means That I'm One Day Closer to You) - The guys' last Number 1 record.
• I Don't Wanna Cry - A man pleads for one last chance at love with his woman.
• Midnight Choir - An irreverent song about the homeless, wine and Jesus
• She Used to Somebody's Baby - A good foot stomper! One of my favorite Gatlin Bros. songs
• Night Time Magic - A crummy copy of a great song. My favorite Gatlin song.

I was having such a good time listening to these Golden Oldies, I wanted to list them all, but I find it easier to just link to YouTube and let you pick and choose your favorites. WARNING: You could easily spend a couple of hours listening to to them, but you are at work and you wouldn't wanna be a slacker, would you? Hell, it's Monday, go for it!!!

Texas Rangers: American League Champions!!!

American League Champions 2010

Late October in Texas is when the sports-minded Texan is full throttle into football, any kind of football - pee wee, High School, college or the NFL. Basketball season is just beginning and the NHL is in the first few games of its season. Pro sports in the Dallas-Fort Worth area have produced World Championships galore. The Dallas Cowboys have played in eight Super Bowls, winning five of them. The Dallas Stars have appeared in two Stanley Cup Finals and brought home Lord Stanley's Cup in 1999. The NBA entry in the Metroplex, the Mavericks finally made it to the NBA Finals a few years ago. The Texas Rangers? Let's just say that October for the Rangers usually means planning a long vacation to Mexico or the Bahamas. Until this year! I am going to write a sentence that until about 11:15 EDT last night was nothing more than a fantasy- or a drunken dream. The Texas Rangers are going to the World Series! I didn't stutter and your ears ain't flappin'. The Rangers are the American League Champions and as such, will travel to either Philadelphia or San Francisco in their quest to win the Fall Classic.

As I was watching the last couple of innings of Game 6 of the American League Championship Series against the Yankees last night, a flood of memories rushed through my mind. I was at the third game the Rangers ever played in Texas, at old Arlington Stadium in 1972. I don't even remember whether they won or lost, I was just excited that Major League baseball had finally come to the Metroplex.

Here are some of those memories:

• The '72 Rangers sucked. Bad. I think this was the team that was so bad they were called The Strangers by local Media. It was that bad.
• Jeff Burroughs was the MVP of the American League in 1974. 
• Jeff Burroughs vs Reggie Jackson pre-game Home Run Contest. I'll tell that story another time.
• Ten Cent Beer Night in Cleveland in 1974. Hilarity, beer-tossing and a riot ensued. Ten Cent Beer Night never happened again.
• Burn a Disco Record Night in Chicago. I don't remember the year, but on paper it looked like a good idea. It wasn't.
• Rangers pitchers wife-swapping. BTW, the guys who did the wife swap came to Texas from, you guessed it, the Yankees. 
• David Clyde.
• Eddie Chiles
• Eddie Stanky - Manager for a Day.
• Nolan Ryan. I was lucky enough to have seen Ryan pitch as an Astro and a Ranger. The meanest SOB to ever chunk the rock, except maybe Bob Gibson.
• The ball bouncing off Jose Canseco's head over the fence for a homer.
• Oh, yeah! The guy who went into a catatonic trance in the locker room! Roger Moret? Help a brutha out with that one.
• Eric Nadel. The Best Baseball Announcer I Have Ever Heard. Period. The guy is amazing.

If you've got a memory of the Rangers you'd like to share, please do so. As always, the comments are open

After 39 years of mostly ineptitude, weird plays and weirder players, the Rangers are the American League Champions. And they beat the Damn Yankees to get there. The sight of A-fraud's knees buckling when Neftali Feliz froze him with a curve ball to end the game is Shakespearian in its drama.

Other than the game itself, one moment stood out to me like a Klan member at a Juneteenth celebration. When Josh Hamilton accepted the ALCS MVP trophy from Mrs. Autry, he thanked God for his success and the crowd cheered! Loudly. God bless Texas and kick some Philly/San Fransissy ass!!!