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!
