Tag: Oxford American

Song of the Day: Lee Ann Womack “Chances Are”

While listening to an Oxford American CD that came with the magazine’s Texas music issue, my ear caught “Chances Are,” a song that sounded like a country classic that has been around forever, or at least since the days of Tammy Wynette. So I was surprised to learn that it is a much more recent song, Lee Ann Womack‘s 2014 cover of a song written by singer-songwriter Hayes Carll.

Womack Chances Are “Chances Are” originally appeared on the 2011 album KMAG YOYO (& other American stories) of Texas singer-songwriter Hayes Carll. Womack apparently recognized the song as an immediate classic and included it on her 2014 album The Way I’m Livin’.

One of the reasons the song sounds like an old country classic is that the lyrics capture a common country theme. Someone is in a bar wondering why they are so alone, looking to heal a scarred heart. Then the person sees someone, and for a moment at least, is able to hope for love and happiness.

And it seems I spent my whole life,
Wishin’ on the same unlucky star;
And as I watched you ‘cross the bar room,
I wonder what my chances are.

We do not know what happens to the singer. The singer and the stranger begin a dance, as the singer seeks healing and love. Maybe it will work out, or maybe it won’t. But for that moment, the singer does something we all have done, wondering what our chances are.

Leave your two cents in the comments.

  • Jesus and Elvis, Painted on Velvet
  • John Prine Releasing New Album, “For Better, For Worse”
  • I Sit Here Tonight, the Jukebox Playing Kitty Wells
  • Howlin’ Wolf on Shindig! on May 20, 1965
  • Tribute to Guy Clark CD is “Stuff That Works”
  • Buddy Miller’s Majestic Silver Strings (CD review)

    • (Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)

    Howlin’ Wolf on Shindig! on May 20, 1965

    Howlin' Wolf Shindig In the thirteenth Oxford American Annual Southern Music issue, author Peter Guralnick wrote an excellent essay about Howlin’ Wolf, “What is the Soul of Man?” In the essay, Gualnick, who has written definitive biographies of great artists such as Elvis Presley and Sam Cooke, recounts how the greatest moment on television for him was Howlin’ Wolf’s appearance on Shindig! taped on May 20, 1965.

    On that Thursday night, The Rolling Stones were the headliners on the show, and Wolf for some reason was listed on the show under the name “Chester Burnett,” as his given name was Chester Arthur Burnett. But when he took the stage and began his first hit, “How Many More Years,” the 6’3″ Wolf made it so “[e]very moment was larger than life.”

    In this clip from the show, the Stones talk of their admiration for Howlin’ Wolf. Then Wolf took the stage and wiggled and leapt, as Guralink described, “with The Stones sitting at his feet, as if not just the stage but the entire world would shake.”

    According to the website The 60s at 50, the May 20th taped show appeared on ABC on May 26, 1965.

    What do you think of Howlin’ Wolf’s performance? Leave your two cents in the comments.

  • Charlie Rich’s Journey Through Many Record Companies: Where to Begin with His Music?
  • The Man Behind the Organ in “Like a Rolling Stone”
  • “All You Need Is Love” Worldwide Broadcast
  • Charlie Rich’s “Mohair Sam” on “Shindig!”
  • Rolling Stones Sing About Rice Krispies
  • Colvin & Earle: “Ruby Tuesday”

    • (Some Related Chimesfreedom Posts)


    Oxford American Southern Music Issue

    Oxford American MagazineThe Oxford American magazine recently released its Twelfth Annual Southern Music Issue, and, as always, the magazine and enclosed CD are outstanding.  Oxford American is billed as “The Southern Magazine of Good Writing,” and once a year, it devotes an issue to southern music, including a CD of the music discussed in the magazine.  I first discovered the annual music issue in 1999, when my friend and co-worker Sid gave me my first copy, and I have been following the magazine ever since.

    The “southern music” of these issues consists of nuggets of a wide variety of the good stuff.  In the CDs I have from past annual music issues, the artists included people I already knew – such as Sonny Burgess, Odetta, and the Del McCoury Band – to new discoveries for me – like the Gosdin Brothers’ 1968 recording of “There Must Be Someone (I Can Turn To)” on this year’s CD.  There are occasional odd gems, like when the 2000 CD included a recording of Robert Mitchum and Lillian Gish singing “Leaning” from Night of the Hunter that made me love the song and his voice outside the context of the haunting scene in the movie.

    Last year, Oxford American started a new approach with its music issue. Instead of covering a broad geography, the magazine began to focus on one state each year.  Last year was Arkansas, and this year’s issue concentrates on Alabama.  I really liked the previous broader approach, but the state-by-state approach is growing on me.  And either way, it is the best magazine-CD out there, and it still covers a wide range of styles and time, with songs from the 1940s through 2010.  Additionally, I like that the magazine’s approach has evolved over the years so now there is a feature story about each track on the CD.

    There are also other articles, like fiction by Greil Marcus and an article about the song-writing team of Felice and Boudleaux Bryant.  Never heard of the Bryants?  The article will tell you the story behind their songs recorded by the Everly Brothers, like “Bye Bye Love” (recorded by the Everlys just to get the $64 session fee).

    Oxford American has struggled through the years to stay in business (like another music magazine I loved, No Depression). From my recollection, and from the missing CD in my collection from one year, the magazine’s troubles peaked in 2004 when they stopped publishing for a period. Do not let that happen again. You may pick up the magazine at most bookstores or order the magazine and back issues from the website, which also has this year’s track listing (under “Further Listening”). FYI, I have no affiliation with the magazine, I just wanted to share.

    A version of this review was also published at NoDepression.com