Earlier this year, John Moreland released High on Tulsa Heat. The album is Moreland’s third full-length solo record, but if you have never heard Moreland, you are bound to be drawn into the opening track on the album, “Hang Me in the Tulsa County Stars.” The guy is the real deal.
Moreland was born in Texas and lived in Kentucky for awhile, but he has been living in Tulsa, Oklahoma since he was ten-years-old, the same age he started writing songs. And while his earlier music included work in punk, rock, and hardcore bands, his most recent work features acoustic guitars and a gravely country voice that places him among the outstanding performers in the Texas singer-songwriter tradition.
Perhaps you will recognize Moreland’s voice because several of his songs have appeared on the Sons of Anarchy TV series. Either way, though, you are in for a treat when you hear this performance of “Hang Me in the Tulsa County Stars” at the TuneIn House at SXSW 2015.
On October 14, 1957, the Everly Brothers scored their first number one song with “Wake Up Little Susie.” The song had been released on September 2 as a follow-up to their hit “Bye Bye Love,” which had only gone to number two on the charts during that summer.
Controversy About the Lyrics
Some critics of “Wake Up Little Susie” raised concerns it was about teenage sex, and Don Everly later reported that the song was actually banned on some Boston radio stations at one point. Others, however, thought the song was a more innocent tale about two teenagers who had fallen asleep at the movies.
No matter how you read the song, you cannot deny it is quite catchy, which, along with the great harmonies by Don Everly and Phil Everly, are the reasons it went to the top of the charts. Check out this Everly Brothers performance from 1957 overdubbed with the hit single.
Simon & Garfunkel Version
Another duo with amazing harmonies, Simon & Garfunkel, later paid tribute to the Everly Brothers by performing “Wake Up Little Susie” at their famous Concert in Central Park on September 19, 1981.
Simon & Garfunkel also had some chart success with “Wake Up Little Susie.” The release of their Concert in Central Park version became Simon & Garfunkel’s last top 40 hit, with the song going to number 27 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1982.
A Beginning for the Everly Brothers
Although “Wake Up Little Susie” was the Everly Brother’s first number-one song, it was not their last. The Everly Brothers topped the charts again the following year in 1958 with “All I Have To Do Is Dream,” and they did it again in 1960 with “Cathy’s Clown.”
What is your favorite Everly Brothers song? Leave your two cents in the comments.
One of the recurring highlights of The Late Late Show with James Corden has been the joyful Carpool Karaoke segments, where a famous performer joins Corden for a drive around Los Angeles talking and singing along with the performer’s records. So far, the guests in Corden’s car have included Mariah Carey, Rod Stewart, Jennifer Hudson, Iggy Azalea, and Justin Bieber. One of my favorites is the segment that aired a few weeks ago with Stevie Wonder.
James Corden recently explained how the idea for Carpool Karaoke grew out of a sketch with Comic Relief in England, where he drove around with George Michael. He also noted that taking superstars out by themselves in a car helps them loosen up and show another side of themselves.
The Carpool Karoake segment with Stevie Wonder shows that Wonder can sing anywhere and that he has a great sense of humor. Also, you can see that Corden is genuinely touched when Wonder honors his request to call Corden’s wife and sing “I Just Called to Say I Love You” at around the 3:30 mark. Check it out.
Who is your favorite guest on Carpool Karaoke? Leave your two cents in the comments.
On a tribute show in honor of Kenny Rogers, one of the members of the First Edition described how Kenny Rogers and the First Edition came to record “Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love to Town” in 1969. It’s a story about how a classic recording came together through circumstances and time pressure.
“You Have 10 Minutes”
The band was in the studio and learned that they only had ten minutes left when the producer asked them if they had anything they could quickly record. The album needed one more song, so the producers just wanted a song to use as filler on the album.
Kenny Rogers replied that they knew a Mel Tillis song called “Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love to Town.” So the band played the song, and producers completed the recording with just a couple of takes. Rogers, who was in his early 30s, had a voice that captured an older man’s weariness at a frustrating relationship with his wife.
The completed song went on the album. And then it became a huge hit.
Themes in the Unusual Song
It is not surprising that the song became a hit because it is so unusual. The disturbing lyrics are sung by a disabled man fearful of his wife going to town for love. He pleads for her not to cheat on him while he is alive, reminding her he will be dead soon.
In addition to the sexual innuendo in the song, there is violence too, as the man’s injuries are from “that crazy Asian war.” And his begging and understanding turns to anger toward the end: “And if I could move I’d get my gun / And put her in the ground.” At the end, the wife is leaving and the singer prays for her to turn around.
In the hands of Kenny Rogers and the New Edition, there is something disturbing about the song. Outside of country music and hip-hop, you rarely hear similar dark themes in pop songs.
When listeners first heard the title of “Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love to Town,” many of them might have sensed something familiar, recalling the 1958 Johnny Cash hit about a mother begging her son to avoid violence called “Don’t Take Your Guns to Town.” The new song took the violence of the Cash song and added sexual anguish, reflecting the openness of the 1960s for discussing such topics.
Although “Ruby” is a traditional country song, this recording was loved by young people too. Perhaps they connected with the young band, or perhaps they saw an anti-war sentiment underlying the tale.
Other Recordings of “Ruby”
Kenny Rogers and the First Edition were not the first to have a hit with “Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love to Town.” Two years earlier in 1967, Johnny Darrell had a hit country recording of the song.
Darrell’s version is sad without being as disturbing as the Kenny Rogers version. The author of the song, Mel Tillis, performed the song too.
But the Nimoy version is not the oddest recording of the song. For the weirdest version, check out the one by actor Walter Brennan.
Jon Bon Jovi recorded a different song with a similar title, apparently acknowledging the “Ruby” song with his title, “Janie, Don’t Take Your Love to Town.”
For another modern interpretation, check out a live performance of “Ruby” by The Killers. The band often perform the song and included it on their CD of rarities and B-sides, Sawdust.
What About the Other Side?
Finally, lost in the discussion of the song is the woman’s viewpoint. Geraldine Stevens, also known as Dodie Stevens, recorded an answer song in 1969. In her song, she takes the woman’s point of view, using the same music with the title, “Billy, I’ve Got to Go to Town.”
In the “Billy” song, Ruby tells her side of the story, explaining that her husband is still her man but bemoaning his jealousy. She does not explain why she has to go to town, though: “You’ve given all you had to give and now it’s up to me . . . Billy for God’s sake trust in me.”
Is she going to work? Prostituting herself to get money for them to live? We do not get an answer in this answer song.
All of the different versions of “Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love to Town” have their merits. But none of those recordings quite capture the unusual and disturbing nature of the song or reflect the turbulent era in which it was recorded in the way that Kenny Rogers and the First Edition did in those ten minutes when they rushed to fill an album.
Back in 1991, I played my cassette of Marc Cohn’s debut self-titled album until it nearly wore out. I loved the entire album, but like everyone else, I especially was mesmerized by his song “Walking in Memphis.” The song has held up well through the years in both the original and cover versions.
I still love the version by Marc Cohn, who continues to tour. But I am happy that some other folks have introduced the song to a new generation, as Lonestar did with their 2003 version, which appeared on their album From There to Here: Greatest Hits.
One of my favorite covers of the song is the one by Cher, who, of course, has the pipes to sing almost anything. Cher originally recorded “Walking in Memphis” not long after Cohn’s version was released, and the song appeared on her 1995 album It’s A Man’s World.
Cher often played the song in concert, as she does in this video from a 1999 performance, where she follows it with her song “Just Like Jesse James.” Check it out.
Cher’s performance was filmed at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Paradise, Nevada and appeared on the DVD Live in Concert.
Illustration of Memphis by Henry Lewis, public domain. What is your favorite cover of “Walking in Memphis”? Leave your two cents in the comments.
Earlier this year, John Moreland released High on Tulsa Heat
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