The California honky-tonk hotbed of Bakersfield represents more than just a launching pad for Buck Owens and Merle Haggard, as celebrated by Bear Family’s 10-CD box set, The Bakersfield Sound, 1940-1974. The 307 song compilation spans from early field recordings of migrant workers and radio appearances by Western Swing pioneers Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys to… Continue reading Bakersfield’s Honky-Tonk History Boxed
Tag: Merle Haggard
Ben Haggard
Trusted Name: Ben Haggard Won’t Let the Music Die Meeting Ben Haggard in person before his Dec. 14 show at the Red Clay Music Foundry in Duluth seemed like a great professional opportunity. It’s the sort of occasional personal victory that made me confident enough to quit my job, move back home, and completely focus… Continue reading Ben Haggard
Shelby Lynne & Allison Moorer
Sisters With Voices: Shelby Lynne and Allison Moorer Bring It All Back Home Shelby Lynne has had a long and distinguished career in country and pop. She began her professional recording career in the late 1980s, and experienced her commercial breakthrough with the 1998 album I Am Shelby Lynne. Over the course of more than… Continue reading Shelby Lynne & Allison Moorer
Shelby Lynne, Allison Moorer Team Up for LP
For years fans have hoped for a recorded collaboration between Shelby Lynne and Allison Moorer. Now, after decades of recording apart, with 24 albums between them, the two sisters finally collaborate on Not Dark Yet, due out August 18th via Silver Cross Records/Thirty Tigers. Recorded in Los Angeles last summer, the pair put their mark… Continue reading Shelby Lynne, Allison Moorer Team Up for LP
Bonnie “Prince” Billy Looking Haggard These Days
The music of Merle Haggard has long been a font of inspiration for singer/songwriter Will Oldham, so much so that he’s entertained the idea of recording a full-length tribute to the Okie from Muskogee for many years. Come May 5th, under the guise of Bonnie “Prince” Billy, he’ll make it official. On Best Troubadour, he… Continue reading Bonnie “Prince” Billy Looking Haggard These Days
Asleep at the Wheel
Swing Away: Asleep at the Wheel Keep On Rollin’ and Ridin’ With the King Veteran Western swing revivalists Asleep at the Wheel’s most recent album, Still the King: Celebrating the Music of Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys, was issued in March 2015. It’s the band’s third official tribute to Wills’ storied career, following the… Continue reading Asleep at the Wheel
Merle Haggard
Hey, Merle Haggard! Speak Up, We Can’t Hear You After beating cancer in 2008 then a hospital stint serious enough to halt last January’s tour, you’d think 75-year-old Merle Haggard would start hunting for the telltale white flag. It wouldn’t be a shameful surrender, of course. There’s no glass ceiling so to speak, but he’s… Continue reading Merle Haggard
Willie Nelson – Remember Me, Vol. 1
For Remember Me, Vol. 1, Willie Nelson, one of country’s undeniably great singers and songwriters, hand-picked 14 hits from some of his favorite singers and songwriters, including George Jones, Kris Kristofferson, Merle Haggard and Johnny Cash. But more than just a cool covers collection, the album is an entertaining trip through some 70 years of… Continue reading Willie Nelson – Remember Me, Vol. 1