In a recent CBS Sunday Morning segment, reporter Anthony Mason interviewed singer Rosanne Cash during a trip in the South. Cash discussed the places in the southern states that inspired the songs on her new album, The River & The Thread.
In the video segment below, Cash visits places like Robert Johnson’s grave, a location related to Emmett Till, and the bridge from Bobbie Gentry’s “Ode to Billie Joe.” She also shows us the Arkansas boyhood home of her father, Johnny Cash. Check out the interesting story.
What is your favorite location connected to music? Leave your two cents in the comments.
On February 4, 1961, United Artists released The Misfits to mixed reviews. While the movie today has a somewhat iconic status as the last completed film from movie greats Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable, at the time of its release, not many people saw the movie about four losers struggling in the West. John Huston directed the film, which also starred Montgomery Clift and Eli Wallach. Playwright Arthur Miller wrote the story for his wife Monroe, although the two became estranged during the filming of the movie.
Perhaps in 1961, viewers did not want to see a depressing black and white film, and even Gable initially had trouble understanding the film. But later critics have been kind to the movie, recognizing it for a story about modern society and the end of the old West. Rotten Tomatoes gives the movie a 100% critics rating, while the audience rating of 79% still shows that viewers struggle a little with the movie.
A recent documentary, Making the Misfits (2002), explores the the subject of the movie and how it was made. Gail Levin directed the documentary, which features interviews with the only surviving lead star of the film, Eli Wallach. Below is part one of the documentary.
Here is part two of Making the Misfits. You might recognize the voice of the narrator, who is actor Brian Dennehy.
Here is the third and final part of the documentary. This part contains some interesting revelations about how they filmed some of the scenes with the horses.
What is your opinion of The Misfits? Leave your two cents in the comments.
Chrysler has corralled some big names for its commercials advocating for beleaguered Detroit, Michigan. After Eminem and Clint Eastwood in past ads, this year’s Chrysler Super Bowl commercial featured the somewhat elusive Bob Dylan, who asks, “Is there anything more American than America?” Check it out.
If you are wondering about the music playing in the background of the commercial, it is Dylan’s “Things Have Changed,” even though an underlying theme of the commercial might be that things have not changed. The song first appeared in the movie Wonder Boys (2000), which starred Michael Douglas.
Dylan is not new to commercials, and the Chrysler television ad was not even Dylan’s only appearance on a Super Bowl commercial this year. His song “I Want You” played in the background of a Chobani yogurt commercial.
What did you think of this year’s Super Bowl commercials? Leave your two cents in the comments.
You may be wondering about the haunting song in this Super Bowl commercial from Chevrolet with the lyrics, “Don’t you ever leave /that is what you said to me. . . .” The television ad is part of Chevrolet’s Purple Roads project supporting the American Cancer Society.
The song is “Don’t Leave,” and the voice is from singer-songwriter Ane Brun. Brun, who was born in Norway, currently lives in Sweden and has released several albums. “Don’t Leave” first appeared on her 2008 album Changing Of The Seasons. More recently, the song appears on her latest collection, Songs 2003-2013. Below is the official video for the song. Check it out.
What do you think of the Chevrolet commercial and the song “Don’t Leave”? Leave your two cents in the comments.
We hope everyone has a safe Super Bowl Sunday. There are not a lot of songs about football, but Chimesfreedom favorite Marty Brown wrote a love song that begins with a football story. The song, “At My Weakest Moment,” was inspired by Tony Romo’s fumble in the Wild Card playoff game against Seattle in 2006.
With the Dallas Cowboys trailing the Seahawks 21-20 with 1:19 left in the game, Dallas kicker Martin Gramatica prepared for an easy 19-yard field goal to win the game. Romo received the snap to hold the ball for the kicker, but he fumbled the ball on the snap. Romo then tried to run the ball into the end zone but he was tackled. The Seahawks won the game.
Singer-songwriter Marty Brown is a Cowboys fan, even though he hails from Kentucky. He was despondent after the Dallas loss, and he used that heartbreak as inspiration to connect to another kind of heartbreak in his song “At My Weakest Moment,” which appears on his independently released CD All-American Cowboy. Brown imagined himself in Tony Romo’s place, wondering if his lover would still be there for him at his weakest moment.
Apparently, Brown did not want to directly memorialize a low moment for his team (or perhaps he needed a one-syllable name in the lyrics). He changed the team in his song from his Cowboys to the Colts. Check it out.
Marty Brown, “At My Weakest Moment”
Of course, everyone has their ups and downs. The heartbreaks do not last forever, and neither do the celebrations. After Seattle beat the Cowboys in the 2006 playoffs, they found their own disappointment in the next round of the playoffs, when they lost on an overtime field goal to the Chicago Bears. Overcoming that “weakest moment,” in 2014 they made it to the Super Bowl and won.
What is your favorite football song? Leave your two cents in the comments.
. More recently, the song appears on her latest collection, Songs 2003-2013. Below is the official video for the song. Check it out.