Category: Music

Dolly Parton Covers Brandi Carlile’s ‘The Story’

Dolly Parton The Story When Brandi Carlile released her song “The Story” on the album of the same name in 2007, the song immediately became a “pullover” song for me.  In other words, the song is so moving that if you first hear it in the car, you have to pull over to do nothing else but listen to it.

The fact that the song was later used in a television show (Grey’s Anatomy) and TV commercial (General Motors) did nothing to reduce the power of the song.  Other artists, like Sara Ramirez and LeAnn Rimes, have covered the song, although the original still remains the definitive version.

But now Carlile is revisiting her entire 2007 breakthrough album with other artists covering songs from The Story for a good cause.  The new album with an incredibly long name, Cover Stories: Brandi Carlile Celebrates 10 Years of The Story – An Album to Benefit War Child, features such artists as Kris Kristofferson, Jim James (My Morning Jacket) and Pearl Jam.   And all proceeds go War Child U.K., which works to help children in refugee camps displaced because of conflicts.

But who do you get to cover the title song, which is so memorable because of Carlile’s aching vocals?  Well, you find a living legend with a great voice and a heart, which is what Carlile did.  Dolly Parton takes on “The Story” on the new album.  And while she may not make you forget Carlile’s version, Parton does what she does so well.  She gives a powerful and heart-breaking vocal that is an immediate classic.

Listen to Dolly Parton’s version of “The Story.”

Cover Stories: Brandi Carlile Celebrates 10 Years of The Story – An Album to Benefit War Child hit stores and the Internet on May 5, 2017.

Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    Crosby, Stills, Nash, Young & . . . Tom Jones?

    Tom Jones Long Time Gone

    On May 10 in 1749, the tenth and final volume of the novel Tom Jones by Henry Fielding was published. Many consider the comic story, whose full name was The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, one of the earliest and most influential English novel. When many people hear the name “Tom Jones” today, they are likely to think of the Welsh singer with that name.

    Tom Jones, the singer, was born as Thomas John Woodward on June 7, 1940. People know Jones for a number of hits ranging from “It’s Not Unusual” in 1965 and “Green Green Grass of Home” in 1966 to a cover of Prince’s “Kiss” in 1988 with Art of Noise. But from 1969 to 1971, Jones also hosted a TV variety show, This is Tom Jones.

    Jones’s show featured a variety of guests that led to some great pairings that allowed Jones to show off his vocal range, such as an amazing duet with Janis Joplin. Another unusual pairing from 1969 that surprisingly works well is Jones singing with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.

    Check out Jones singing “Long Time Gone” with CSNY, which also features great vocals by Stephen Stills. I wonder if Jones and Neil Young ever shared a stage again. But based on this performance, I would buy a ticket.

    David Crosby wrote “Long Time Gone” as a response to the assassination of Bobby Kennedy. The group, without Tom Jones, performed the song at Woodstock. “Long Time Gone” is a political song challenging authority that remains relevant through the decades.

    And it appears to be a long,
    Such a long, long, long time before the dawn.
    Speak out, you got to speak out against
    The madness, you got to speak your mind,
    If you dare.

    Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    Lead Belly: “The Hindenburg Disaster”

    Hindenburg Lead Belly

    On May 6, 1937, the German passenger airship Hindenburg caught fire while it attempted to dock at a naval station in Lakehurst, New Jersey. Thirty-five of the 97 people on board the ship died, along with one worker on the ground.

    Herbert Morrison’s Report

    Many people would listen to Herbert Morrison‘s recorded reports on the radio.  The horrible crash — along with Morrison’s cry of “Oh, the humanity!” — helped end public confidence in the use of airships as a means of travel.

    This video puts together Morrson’s reporting with some separate color footage from the scene.

    Lead Belly’s “The Hindenburg Disaster”

    In the years before television, songwriter often responded quickly to write songs about a major disaster.  And Huddie Ledbetter, better known as Lead Belly, used his songwriting skills to tell the story of the Hindenburg in “The Hindenburg Disaster.”

    Lead Belly recorded his song for the Library of Congress on June 22, 1937.  Check out his version of the story in “The Hindenburg Disaster.”

    “The Hindenburg Disaster” appears on Lead Belly: The Smithsonian Folkways Collection.

    Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    Matthew Ryan: “(I Just Died) Like an Aviator”

    Matthew Ryan Hustle Matthew Ryan, one of our favorite artists, is releasing a new album called Hustle Up Starlings.  And a new video features the album’s first single, “(I Just Died) Like an Aviator.”

    Ryan tells Diffuser that the songs are about “hope and perseverance.” The songs try to capture the spirit of our national moment of being in “a world that feels like it might catch fire with all its uncertainty and friction, the ugly politics and rising impulses.”

    Popdust calls the 10-track album Ryan’s “most poetic, gnawing and adventurous album of this career.”  And Ryan writes of the album: “We invested all the heart, smarts and honest cinema we were capable of. I feel strongly these songs will become great companions.”

    To highlight the “perseverance” aspect of “(I Just Died) Like an Aviator,” Ryan chose to have young women projecting his voice in the video.  It’s a powerful statement in “our post-Trump world.” But it also is a lot of fun.

    Check out “(I Just Died) Like an Aviator,” where the singer pleads, “Don’t die, don’t disappear/ I swear to God we need you/ here.”

    Ryan’s last full-length album was 2014’s Boxers, although he released an 8-track instrumental digital album, Current Events, in Fall 2016.  Hustle Up Starlings, which was produced by The Gaslight Anthem’s Brian Fallon, hits the Internet and stores on May 12, 2017.

    Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    Pete Seeger: Down By the Riverside

    Seeger McGhee Terry

    The great Pete Seeger was born in Manhattan on May 3, 1919. People have used a number of terms to describe the late Seeger, “folk singer,” “songwriter,” “Civil Rights activist,” “environmentalist,” “communist,” “defender of free speech,” etc. But whenever he had his banjo and an audience, he was simply wonderful.

    In this video, he plays “Down By the Riverside,” a spiritual that goes back to before the Civil War. During the Vietnam War era, the song often appeared at anti-war rallies because of its refrain, “Ain’t gonna study war no more.”

    Here, Seeger plays “Down by the Riverside” with two other legends, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee. The two blues and folk musicians achieved some fame playing together. And Terry, who passed away in 1986, appeared in some films (The Color Purple (1985), Steve Martin’s The Jerk (1979)). McGhee, who passed away in 1996, similarly appeared in some movies and TV shows (The Jerk (1979), Angel Heart (1987)).

    Check out Seeger, Terry, and McGhee singing “Down By the Riverside.”

    The video is taken from a segment of Seeger’s television show Rainbow Quest, which ran on a UHF New York City channel from 1965-1966. You may watch the entire episode with Terry and McGhee below.

    What is your favorite Pete Seeger song? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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