Once Again, It's Christmas.....

Let me start by saying that I appreciate all the feedback I have gotten from you concerning “The Music That Built Me Series” this year that I have tied into my radio show. I might continue that into 2016 as it seems to have worked really well, but we will see how that goes.

As of next Wednesday, we will be in the month of December, which means…..Christmas Music…..With that said, Crazy Chucky’s Country Classic Corner will be turning on a Yuletide curve as well, with four weeks of holiday themed programming.

On December 2, the show will feature Country Music Hall of Fame member Kenny Rogers, who has just released his sixth seasonal collection, Once Again It’s Christmas. In September, upon the album’s release, I had a chance to sit down and talk with him about the album – as well as his other Christmas albums – all of which rank among my favorites. We’ll play a lot of the new album, but also feature a lot of his holiday music from previous years……If you’re a fan like I am, tune in…..I think you’ll like it!

Then, on December 9, we will feature the great Rhonda Vincent, who has a brand new album on the market entitled Christmas Time. There are few female singers who are as talented and classy as Rhonda, and she’ll be sharing a lot of holiday memories and music with us.

As for December 16 and 23 – I haven’t figured out yet, to be honest with you. I know we will be featuring some classic Christmas radio specials from years’ past, and also some neat TV soundtracks featuring holiday celebrations at the Ponderosa and on Waltons’ Mountain. It’s going to be a step back in time, but I just haven’t mapped it all out yet…..

But there’s still time! I urge you to tune in to hear my conversation with Kenny on December 2 and Rhonda on the 9^th. Showtime is 1pm, and it’s all sponsored by Tennessee Properties…..WNKX Kix 96.7 FM…….I’ll save a cup of egg nog or boiled custard for ya!

The House That Built Me, Volume 26 - Exploring Guitar Country with Jerry Reed

I have really enjoyed doing this “Music That Built Me” series over the past few months on Crazy Chucky’s Country Classic Corner. It has reminded me of a time when there were more important things than making sure I got the interview (still important) or getting to the site of a ball game quicker than the other station (not as much).

The reason that I do what I do is because I simply love the music. I always have. I remember in 1991 when I first went to work at WDKN. The station was a literal goldmine for me back then. I got to learn the craft of broadcasting – but also I got to listen to a lot of music that I wasn’t aware of. Some of it was new…and some wasn’t.

Especially in my early years at the station, a lot of my time there consisted of running the board during ball games, Church services, or the Grand Ole Hatchery, the weekly radio show the station broadcasted. I would love to tell you that I knew the score of the game, the subject of the sermon, or what was being performed on the air each and every second. But, that would not be the case.

As any radio person will tell you, that was downtime. Don’t get me wrong, I paid attention to what was going on…..but if there was a TV in the station or something else to do, chances are I would be.

More often than not, I would be listening to music off the air from the station’s vinyl collection. It was there that I heard a record that really did inspire me – Jerry Reed Explores Guitar Country.

I was student of the music enough to know that Reed had several hits in the 1970s, but knew him primarily for his novelty tunes – as well as comedic turns in such films as Smokey and The Bandit. But, I wasn’t really familiar with a lot of his early work.

This album was released in 1968, and was one of his first for RCA. The album cover was simple enough – Reed on the front porch of a house strumming his guitar, to the delight of the old man sitting next to him. The music was something else. Reed went back and added his touch to such classics as “Blue Moon With Kentucky,” “A Worried Man,” and “Sittin’ On Top Of The World.” Each of the tempo cuts showcased that Georgia soul – and that guitar work that made him one of the greatest pickers to ever come into Nashville – or anywhere else for that matter.

The ballads on the album were also so incredible. Next to Ray Charles’ definitive version, Reed’s take on “Georgia On My Mind” is one of my favorites. It’s just him and maybe one or two other players – not any more than that – but the track simply glistens – even today. His version of “In The Pines” was particularly effective, as well. What gets me the most about this album – all these years later – is his performance of two very different songs, each of which have been around for years.

The folk ballad “Barbara Allen” is one of the first tear-jerkers of the musical era, and Reed absolutely nailed it. The pain, the weariness, all of it. It may be the best I ever heard him. His singing is on a par with his musicianship here, and that’s truly saying something. And, then there’s the stirring version of the Gospel classic “Wayfaring Stranger.” As a child, I remember Emmylou Harris’ version being particularly moving, but there was something about Reed’s voice on the song. A man who knows the wrongs he’s committed – but also knows where he’s headed – warts and all, and he ends the track with some amazing flat-picking work. When I worked the Gospel shift at WDKN, I always tried to find some stuff that Jim Hudson or Joe Webster didn’t play. Nothing against Southern Gospel – but I couldn’t take – in 1991, or now – four hours of it. Reed was one of the first artists I played in that vein. I do remember one caller not being happy because Reed ended the record with a little bit of “scatting,” but that’s ok. I’d still play it then – or now!

Speaking of now, Jerry Reed Explores Guitar Country will be the featured Album of the Week as part of “The Music That Built Me” series on Crazy Chucky’s Country Classic Corner on WNKX Kix 96.7 FM on Wednesday, November 25 from 1-3pm. The show is brought to you by Tennessee Properties, and if you can listen, I urge you to tune in. I think you’ll be glad you did!

The Music That Built Me, Volume 25: There WAS More Where That Came From!

Nobody knows you better than your friends. That definitely applies to mine when it comes to music. Late one evening in 2004, one of my best friends called me and told I had to hear the new single from Lee Ann Womack. He said I would totally flip.

Truer words were never spoken.

The song was “I May Hate Myself In The Morning.” It was about as old-school Country as one could get. And, the subject matter – about making that late night run somewhere you didn’t need to go to see someone you didn’t need to see was straight out of a 1982 episode of Dallas. The yearning. The anguish. The debate between what’s right….and what feels right. Womack sold every note. Making the track even more unique was that the harmonies on the record were from Jason Sellers – who the singer was married to prior. All in all, there were no weak links on the record. The vocals. The harmonies. The fiddle work. The steel. With apologies to Steve Goodman and David Allen Coe, Lee Ann Womack had recorded the “perfect Country and Western song.” (Now, to be fair…I might say the same thing had Womack recorded a cover of “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” or simply took the bakery section from the Milwaukee Yellow Pages. Since 1997, I’ve been a fan, but this song was – and is special.)

And, as we soon found out….There’s More Where That Came From.

No, seriously. There was. That was the name of the album that soon followed. This album was a throwback in every day – even the cover art was something akin to a 1972 Wynette or Lynn album. Full of heartfelt balladry and a little bit of innuendo, this album was simply amazing from one track to the next. There were songs about pain, loss….and urges that came out at night. The title track was an equal masterpiece to the first single. Simply put, Lee Ann Womack was singing what we all felt – at least once in our lives.

Some of my favorite performances on this CMA winner for Album of the Year include the gripping “Painless,” the painstakingly brilliant “The Last Time,” and “Stubborn (Psalms 151),” which if you’ve never heard before….stop reading this, and find it now. Even the “hidden cut” was amazing, a nod to the great duets of Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton on “Just Someone I Used To Know.” Simply put, find me a weakness on this album. Just one. I dare you. It’s a mission impossible!

There’s More Where That Came From will be my featured album on the November 18 edition of Crazy Chucky’s Country Classic Corner on WNKX Kix 96.7 FM in Centerville, TN. Show time is 1pm, and is brought to you by Tennessee Properties! Tune in….for the real thing!