Gospel Medley With Dolly Parton, Donna Summer, Tom Jones, and Mac Davis

In the 1970s, singer-songwriter-actor Mac Davis showed off his talents on “The Mac Davis Show,” which once brought together Donna Summer, Dolly Parton, and Tom Jones.

I was sad to see that singer-songwriter Mac Davis recently passed away. In addition to writing memorable songs such as “In the Ghetto” and “Baby Don’t Get Hooked On Me,” Davis was one of those personalities who seemed everywhere in the 1970s. He even hosted his own variety show, The Mac Davis Show.

Davis often appeared on television and in movies, such as North Dallas Forty (1979) and The Sting II (1983). His bubbly personality combined with this multiple talents made him a part of American’s lives during the 1970s, along with similar multi-talented singer-songwriters like John Denver and Paul Williams.

Davis was born in Lubbock, Texas on January 21, 1942. His first popular successes came as a songwriter for artists like Elvis Presley (“A Little Less Conversation” and “In the Ghetto”) and Bobby Goldsboro (“Watching Scotty Grow“).

Many of us fell for his charms during the run of his own NBC variety show, The Mac Davis Show, from 1974-1976. The 1970s were also a time of wonderful variety shows hosted by such stars as Glen Campbell, Johnny Cash, The Hudson Brothers, Tony Orlando and Dawn, and Sonny and/or Cher.

These shows often had magic moments of a type we would not see on television again, although perhaps we get them sometimes with the Internet. One such unusual moment occurred on The Mac Davis Show. Davis joined the unlikely grouping of Dolly Parton, Donna Summer, and Tom Jones singing a medley of gospel songs such as “I’ll Fly Away.”

Although the four are all extremely talented, something about the performance does not quite click with their different styles and voices. But that makes it all the more awesome to watch. Check it out.

What is your favorite memory of Mac Davis? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    Song of the Day: “Boulder to Birmingham”

    One of the most beautiful songs ever written about someone’s death is Emmylou Harris’s tribute to Gram Parsons, “Boulder to Birmingham.”

    Emmylou Harris

     While many grieved the death of the brilliant singer-songwriter Gram Parsons on September 19, 1973, nobody created as much beauty out of the tragedy as Emmylou Harris. Her song about Parson, “Boulder to Birmingham,” is one of the most beautiful country songs lamenting the loss of someone.

    The Songwriters

     Harris had been close to Parsons, who helped  her career and featured her on his 1973 album GP.  Harris, known more for her incredible voice and talent for interpreting songs, mined her heartbreak over the loss of a friend and mentor to co-write a wonderful lament.

    Bill Danoff co-wrote “Boulder to Birmingham” with Parsons.  Danoff, as part of the Starlight Vocal Band, later wrote and recorded the hit song, “Afternoon Delight,” a catchy pop song miles distant from the heartfelt lament in “Bolder to Birmingham.” 

    Danoff also recorded “Boulder to Birmingham” with Starlight Vocal Band in a version much softer than you might expect if you only know the band’s “Afternoon Delight.” Danoff knew how to craft songs, as he earlier co-write John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads” as well as “I Guess He’d Rather Be in Colorado.”

    The Song “Boulder to Birmingham”
    I would rock my soul in the bosom of Abraham;
    I would hold my life in his saving grace;
    I would walk all the way from Boulder to Birmingham,
    If I thought I could see, I could see your face.
     

    The most recognizable, and maybe the best, part of “Boulder to Birmingham” is the chorus (above).  But the line that breaks my heart every time is: “Well you really got me this time;/ And the hardest part is knowing I’ll survive.” There’s great wisdom about loss in that line.  In most cases of loss, we do survive somehow, but even knowing that does not make it easy.

    Below, Emmylou Harris sings “Boulder to Birmingham” in 1975.  In the background, you can see a young Rodney Crowell in singing backup (while “Boulder to Birmingham” followed a beautiful heartbreak song Crowell wrote, “‘Til I Gain Control Again”).  At the time of the show, Harris was around twenty-eight years old, having lost Parsons around two  years earlier.

    “Boulder to Birmingham” originally appeared on Harris’s album Pieces of the Sky (1975). Since then, it has been covered by The Hollies, Dolly Parton, The Wailin’ Jennys, and Joan Baez, among others.

    Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    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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    Don Henley and Dolly Parton: “When I Stop Dreaming”

    Don Henley pays tribute to the music he grew up listening to on the radio in Texas with “When I Stop Dreaming,” joined by Dolly Parton.

    Don Henley country

    On Don Henley’s upcoming deluxe album Cass Country, he pays tribute to his years growing up in Cass County, Texas and listening to the radio with his father. On one of the tracks from the album, Dolly Parton joins him on “When I Stop Dreaming.”

    The song is a classic that was recorded by the Louvin Brothers. Check out the former member of the Eagles and the legendary Dolly Parton singing “When I Stop Dreaming.”

    Henley’s album Cass County, which features covers and Henley originals, will be released on September 25. Several of the songs feature guest artists like Mick Jagger, Miranda Lambert, Merle Haggard, and Martina McBride.

    Finally, below is the Louvin Brothers version of “When I Stop Dreaming.” Check it out.

    What do you think of Henley and Parton’s version of the Louvin Brothers song? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    Please Remember the Original of “Please Remember Me”

    Rodney Crowell Essential

    Danielle Bradbery, the season four winner of NBC’s The Voice, recently did a nice cover of the song “Please Remember Me.” The young singer, who is not yet seventeen and who represents the team of Blake Shelton, has an excellent voice and a lot of potential.

    So, it was great to see this fantastic country song get some recent attention.  And the teenager Bradbery shows a powerhouse voice that will probably be around awhile.

    Bradbery’s performance was not the only recent singing competition performance of the song. You may have heard the song on American Idol after season ten winner Scotty McCreery recorded it for use as an exit song for the eleventh season of American Idol.

    Yes, the title fits those leaving American Idol, but such use of the song sort of misses the heartfelt meaning of the rest of the song. As explained below, there is more to the song than a farewell. You might hear that depth in this performance by the young and talented McCreery when he made a return visit to American Idol, but only if you ignore the hijinks on the video screen behind him.

    What is “Please Remember Me” About?

    “Please Remember Me” is a classic heartache song.  The singer is leaving someone behind but wishing them well by reassuring them that they will find someone better. But the song is also a plea, asking the former love to remember the singer. “Please Remember Me,” like Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You” (made even more famous by Whitney Houston), imagines the person left behind going on with life.

    But unlike “I Will Always Love You,” in most of “Please Remember Me” the singer is not imagining how the singer will remember the lost love.  Yet, there is a little of that when the singer notes, “Part of you will live in me.” Instead, most of “Please Remember Me” is asking the lost love to remember the singer.

    And there is something sadder when the singer predicts that the (younger?) lover will “find better love.” The singer asks to be remembered “[w]hen I can’t hurt you anymore.”

    Tim McGraw’s “Please Remember Me”

    Most people probably know the song from Tim McGraw‘s version. McGraw does a decent job. And I have previously noted that McGraw does have some talent for choosing good songs.

    Rodney Crowell’s “Please Remember Me”

    For me, though, the best version of “Please Remember Me” is by one of the songwriters, Rodney Crowell, who wrote the song with Will Jennings. Crowell has written some of the best country songs since the 1970s.  And he is held in high esteem by country traditionalists, even as he has never had the mainstream popularity of singers like Tim McGraw.

    According to Wikipedia, “Please Remember Me” only went to #69 on Billboard’s country charts for Crowell in 1995. Meanwhile, it went to #1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Singles & Tracks for McGraw when he released his version in 1999.

    I have previously discussed how another Crowell heartache song “Til I Gain Control Again” is one of the all-time greats.  And “Please Remember Me” is another song that captures a true human emotion that too rarely appears in popular songs.

    At the time he co-wrote the song, Crowell was already 45 years old (and co-writer Will Jennings was in his 50’s).  The lyrics, sung by an older singer, show an understanding of why the love will not work while also showing a world-weariness: “Just like the waves down by the shore / We’re gonna keep on coming back for more.”

    When “Please Remember Me” is sung by a young singer, there is a touch of hopefulness and optimism about two lovers remembering each other. One might find that even Tim McGraw, who was in his early 30’s when he recorded the song, gives the song a different meaning than Crowell’s version. Still, McGraw seems to recognize Crowell’s context for the song by the rare action of removing his hat to make himself look older in the video.

    But it is easier to imagine the weary older Crowell making the bittersweet plea with all of its subtext. So, if you enjoyed Danielle Bradbery’s cover or Tim McGraw’s cover, make sure you check out the Rodney Crowell original, which also features Patty Loveless providing harmony vocals for Crowell.

    What is your favorite version of “Please Remember Me”? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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