Category: Music

Marty Brown Plays “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” in Hank Williams Studio

Country singer Marty Brown recently stopped by Herzog Studios (E.T. Herzog Recording Company) in Cincinnati, Ohio where Hank Williams recorded some of his classic songs, including “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” in 1949. In tribute to Hank, Marty Brown sits down at the piano Williams used and sings “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry.”

The performance is priceless, and Brown throws in some history lessons too. Check out the video.

For updates on Marty Brown shows, check out his website.

Leave your two cents in the comments.

  • The Great Lost Career of Marty Brown
  • Marty Brown’s Son Christian Brown Auditions on “American Idol”
  • Marty Brown Sings His Song “To the Moon” (Originally Recorded by George Strait)
  • George Strait Sings a Marty Brown Song: “To the Moon” (Song of the Day)
  • Marty Brown Sings “There’s a Honky Tonk in Heaven”
  • Sam Williams: “Can’t Fool Your Own Blood” (Song of the Day)

    • (Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)

    Rolling Stones and Springsteen Perform “Tumbling Dice”

    rolling stones springsteen
    The Rolling Stones introduced special guest Bruce Springsteen on Thursday at the Rock in Rio Lisboa music festival in Lisbon, Portugal. Together, the legends performed one of my favorite Stones songs, “Tumbling Dice,” from Exile on Main Street (1972). Check out the lively performance that shows old guys still can rock.

    Springsteen and the Stones had played “Tumbling Dice” together previously at the end of the British band’s 2012 tour in Newark, New Jersey. The only disappointing thing about the recent appearance is that they did not follow it up with Springsteen’s “Roll of the Dice” from Human Touch (1992) .

    But maybe Springsteen has been in the mood for dice songs lately, as he did perform the rarely played “Roll of the Dice” earlier this month on May 19 at Mohegan Sun in Connecticut.

    What great rock artists would you like to see perform together? Leave your two cents in the comments.

  • The Story Behind Springsteen’s Unreleased “Dancing in the Dark” Video
  • Bruce Springsteen Releases New Protest Song About ICE Protests: “Streets of Minneapolis”
  • 9 Thoughts on the “Deliver Me from Nowhere” Movie and Springsteen’s “Nebraska” Box Set
  • Who Sings the Gospel Song “Last Mile of the Way” in the Film “Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere”?
  • “Under a Big Sky”: Digesting Songs on Springsteen’s “Tracks II: The Lost Albums”
  • The Stanley Brothers, Bruce Springsteen, and “Rank Strangers to Me” in Our Modern Times

    • (Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)

    I’ve Been Waiting For This Moment For All My Life

    Phil Collins Miami School

    For the first time in years, Phil Collins recently took to the stage to sing a couple of his classic songs, “In the Air Tonight” and “Land of Confusion.” His backing band was a group of students from the Miami Country Day School in Florida, and they do a pretty good job.

    Rolling Stone notes that Collins’s last major public performance was in 2010 and his last album of original material was 2002’s Testify. But this recent appearance with the school kids may be part of a gradual return to the spotlight. Collins has made some indications he might perform again, and he is writing songs with Adele. Whatever happens, though, the kids at the Miami County Day School had a day to remember. Check out the video.

    What is your favorite song with Phil Collins? Leave your two cents in the comments.

  • Songs About Homelessness

    • Travelin’ Soldier

    IMG_3040

    Memorial Day, a holiday to remember men and women who died while serving in the military, originated not long after the Civil War where so many had died. The day became an official holiday in 1971, originally called Decoration Day (and like me you may know some folks who still use that name).

    One of the best songs in recent decades about a soldier dying in war is “Travelin’ Soldier,” which was made popular by the Dixie Chicks when it appeared on their 2002 album Home. Texas singer-songwriter Bruce Robison wrote the beautiful song that unfortunately became overshadowed when some people got mad at the Dixie Chicks at the time the song was released.

    “Travelin’ Soldier” tells the story of a shy man going off to Vietnam who meets a woman not long before he leaves. He asks her if he can write to her, and he does. At the end, the woman is at a football game when they make an announcement about soldiers who had died and, well, give it a listen if you have not heard the song. Below is a 2005 version by Natalie Maines, backed up by the songwriter Bruce Robison and his wife Kelly Willis.

    We wish everyone everywhere a safe Memorial Day weekend.

    Photo by Chimesfreedom. Leave your two cents in the comments.

  • Internet Venom, Toby Keith’s Death, . . . and Grace from Willie Nelson
  • Paradise Lost: West Memphis 3 Released
  • A Vietnam Movie About the Continuing Effects of the War: “The Last Full Measure” (Missed Movies)
  • We the People Here Don’t Want a War: Bobby Darin’s “Simple Song of Freedom”
  • Longing for the Freedom of My Chains: Dobie Gray’s “Loving Arms”
  • Pete Seeger: “Bring Them Home”

    • (Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)

    The Real-Life Sadness in “Under the Boardwalk”

    The members of The Drifters were in mourning when they went into the studio to record “Under the Boardwalk.”

    Under the Boardwalk

    On the evening of May 21, 1964, The Drifters went into the studio for a scheduled recording session. But the session did not go as the group had originally planned, because the group’s members found out that day that singer Rudy Lewis had died a day earlier.

    That Thursday night at the studio, the members of the group were in tears but decided to go through with the recording session. During the session, the band recorded “Under the Boardwalk,” with singer Johnny Moore taking the lead on the track that was intended for Lewis.

    The song evokes the “happy sounds of the carousel” and lovers hanging out by the beach. But there is a bittersweet tone to the song, so if you listen close enough, you may feel you can hear a little of the sadness that the men were feeling when they recorded the song.

    Different websites report different causes of death for Lewis, saying there is some confusion about whether he died from either a drug overdose or from asphyxiation in his sleep from overeating. But one site says the cause of death was a heart attack. Lewis — whose voice is featured on such Drifters’ classics as “Some Kind of Wonderful,” “On Broadway,” and “Up on the Roof” — was only 27 years old.

    And that is the story behind the song “Under the Boardwalk,” written by Kenny Young and Arthur Resnick. Rolling Stone magazine lists the song as the eighteenth greatest summer song of all time.

    What is your favorite song by The Drifers? Leave your two cents in the comments.

    Buy from Amazon

  • Eyes of the Children
  • “There’s No End to Grief, That’s How We Know There’s No End to Love”: The Story of U2’s “One Tree Hill”
  • What Is the Murder Ballad That Holly Hunter Sings to Nathan Jr. in “Raising Arizona”?
  • Who Sang “Change in My Life” In the Steve Martin Movie “Leap of Faith”?
  • “Last Train to Clarksville” as a Protest Song?
  • How Farah Fawcett Inspired “Midnight Train to Georgia”

    • (Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)