Patty Griffin will release her seventh album American Kid (2013), her first with record company New West, on May 7. Below is “Ohio,” the first single from the upcoming album. The song, like the folk song “Banks of the Ohio,” is about the river more than the state. But unlike the old murder ballad, Griffin’s dreamlike song is about the Underground Railroad and people escaping slavery to go north.
The Ohio River borders the southern border of what was then the free state of Ohio, and it is estimated that 40,000 escaped slaves went through the Underground Railroad in Ohio to escape to freedom in Canada. Griffin has explained that her song “Ohio” was inspired by something she read “in a Toni Morrison novel” a few years ago. Based on the lyrics, my guess is that she is referring to Morrison’s Beloved. Check it out.
That voice you hear accompanying Griffin (and the man you see in the video) is legendary Led Zeppelin front-man Robert Plant. Griffin helped on Plant’s Band of Joy album, and Plant here also helped arrange “Ohio.” Luther Dickinson (guitar) and Cody Dickinson (drums) from North Mississippi Allstars also perform on the album.
American Kid features songs inspired by Griffin’s father, who passed away in 2011. As someone who has every one of Griffin’s CD’s, I look forward to this new one.
What do you think of “Ohio”? Leave your two cents in the comments.
CBS Sunday Morning recently featured a story about singer-songwriter-actor Glen Hansard. In the segment, Hansard talks about his life, his time busking on the streets of Dublin, and his success with the movie Once (2006), which is now a Broadway play.
The segment features both touching moments — such as Hansard discussing his former relationship with his Once co-star Markéta Irglová — and funny touches, like a scene in a Dublin pub where Hansard’s grade school principal discusses telling a 13-year-old Hansard it was okay to drop out of school to pursue his music career. 2016 Update: The video is no longer available for embedding, but you may watch some of the segment on YouTube.
Below is another clip of an interview with Hansard that was done for The Busking Project.
What is your favorite song by Glen Hansard? Leave your two cents in the comments.
A John Denver Tribute album, The Music is You, is being released April 2. The album features such artists as Train (“Sunshine on My Shoulder”), Dave Matthews (“Take Me to Tomorrow”), Kathleen Edwards (“All of My Memories”), Lucinda Williams (“This Old Guitar”), Mary Chapin Carpenter (“I Guess He’d Rather Be in Colorado”), Amos Lee (“Some Days are Diamonds”), Allen Stone (“Rocky Mountain High”), and Emmylou Harris with Brandi Carlile (“Take Me Home, Country Roads”), among several others. The new album is a nice combination of Denver’s hits with some of his lesser known songs.
It is hard to believe that John Denver’s death in a plane crash occurred 15 years ago. If he were still around to hear the new album, he would be 69 years old right now. Although I doubt anyone else can record the definitive version of a John Denver song besides Denver (although Peter, Paul, and Mary came close many years ago), the new album is an interesting collection and it is great that today’s artists are making Denver’s music relevant for a new generation. Among the tracks, I particularly like the version of “Darcy Farrow” by Josh Ritter and Barnstar! If you wish to hear more, for now you can listen to the whole album streaming on NPR.
What is your favorite John Denver song? Leave your two cents in the comments.
At the age of 23, Elvis Presley went into the U.S. Army in March 25, 1958, thus suspending his promising career that had already altered the music landscape.
On December 20, 1957, Elvis was drafted while he was celebrating Christmas at Graceland, and three months later on March 25, the 23-year-old Elvis went into the U.S. Army. During his time in the Army, Presley served as a member of two armor battalions, first completing basic and advanced training with Company A, 2d Medium Tank Battalion, 37th Armor, stationed at Fort Hood, Texas until September 1958.
Starting in October 1958, Presley served in Germany until March 2, 1960, as a member of the 1st Medium Tank Battalion, 32d Armor. It was during this time in Germany that he met the young teenager Priscilla Beaulieu, who would become his wife. Elvis left active duty on March 5, 1960 and received his discharge from the Army Reserve on March 23, 1964.
This newsreel has the story of the induction.
There were some downsides to these Army years. It was during this period that Elvis began abusing prescription drugs, a practice that would later lead to his death. As Elvis went into the Army, many wondered how his absence would affect his career.
When Presley returned from the Army, he showed he could still generate pop hits like “It’s Now or Never.” Additionally, he would return to making movies, but he was an adult and further away from his teenage rebel rock and roll years.
Although Presley would still make great music after his army years, the music scene had changed during the short time he was gone. In addition to the loss of Elvis during those years, Chuck Berry fell into trouble with the law, Little Richard joined the ministry, Jerry Lee Lewis lost his popularity when he married his young cousin, and Ritchie Valens, the Big Bopper, and Buddy Holly died in a plane crash in Iowa in early 1959.
While the survivors of those years would resurrect their careers to varying degrees, American music was never again like it was before the date in 1958 when Elvis went into the U.S. Army..
Do you remember when Elvis went into the Army? Leave your two cents in the comments.
On September 9, 1971, the day John Lennon’s album Imagine was released, journalist and radio personality Howard Smith had one of several conversations with John Lennon and Yoko Ono. The conversations in their St. Regis Hotel room in New York City covered a variety of topics.
In this newly released excerpt prepared for Salon, Lennon and Ono talk about their relationship during this interview that precedes a later period of separation. Both Lennon and Ono respond to questions such as whether it is possible for people to be “too close.”
Of course, much of the conversation also drifts into the other Beatles. In particular, Lennon discusses how his song “How Do You Sleep?” on his new album is a response to Paul McCartney’s song about him, “Too Many People” from Ram (1971). [2019 Update: Unfortunately, the excerpt is no longer available online but below is what is apparently the complete interview.]
Salon has an interesting article on the background about how the tape was found, as well as other information about the recordings.
What do you think is the most interesting part of the Lennon-Yoko interview? Leave your two cents in the comments.
Patty Griffin will release her seventh album American Kid
