Roots Music from Rounder

Roots music is a  term sometimes used to describe music that draws from various American musical traditions including country, blues and folk  -in short  just about half of my record collection then.
Rounder Records founded in Cambridge, Massachusetts  in 1970 but now working out of Nashville and the self proclaimed premier indie label in America was one of the original labels supporting this kind of music and is still one of the most important
A couple of tracks today - one Americana and one folk  from a compilation called Sinner's Prayer.
The album includes the likes of Solomon Burke, Alison Krauss, Kelly Joe Phelps, Madeleine Peyroux and Irma Thomas so a pretty broad church then.
The title track is from Slaid Cleaves one of the first Americana artists I saw in Glasgow in the mid 90's when Tom Hamilton's Death and Taxes promotions put on some great gigs.
To my knowledge I have never seen the other  featured act Cherish the Ladies

Slaid Cleaves - Sinner's Prayer

Cherish The Ladies - Betsy Belle and Mary Gray

Vietnam

I was recently thinking about songs about Vietnam. I think this was following on from the death of Mohammad Ali.

Anyway the first one that immediately sprung to mind was Vietnam by the great Jimmy Cliff.
Whilst not directly attacking the war it is definitely an anti-war song and highlights the impact war has on families.
Due to abject laziness on my part I have not scoured the shelves for other songs namechecking Vietnam.
Rather I have opted for another Jimmy Cliff number.
However, when you see what it is I am not anticipating too many objections.

Jimmy Cliff - Vietnam

Jimmy Cliff - Many Rivers to Cross

Dust My Broom

I suspect many of us have still got the Blues following on from last Thursday's debacle.

So here is the great Elmore James - the king of the electric slide guitar with Dust My Broom which again I strongly suspect like many Blues songs may well be a euphemism.
It seem that he did not even realise that he was being recorded as he had merely gone to the Trumpet Studios in Jackson  on 5th August 1951 to help out on a Sonny Boy Williamson session.
He only had a brief recording career dying from a heart attack in 1963 but he was a significant influence on the likes of Jeff Beck, Peter Green John Mayall and Brian Jones.
Also from a session in New York in May 1960 here is the suddenly prophetic The Sky is Crying.

Elmore James - Dust My Broom ( I Believe My Time Ain't Long)

Elmore James - The Sky is Crying

Something Fierce

Something Fierce by Erin K Hill is yet another totally random charity shop purchase of which I know next to nothing.
I gave it a spin in the car the other day and was thinking pleasant enough but hardly earth shattering until track 3 I'll Be Driving came on and completely blew me away.I was going to say stopped me in my tracks but that would be dangerous whilst driving.
Track 6 Losing Sleep is not too shabby either.
I've not been able to find out that much about her other than she is from Richmond Virginia and pitched up North Ayrshire to work in a charity in 2001.
The album is from 2006 and appears to be the only thing she has put out which is a bit of a pity.

Erin K Hill - I'll Be Driving

Erin K Hill - Losing Sleep

Some Sunday Cheatin' Soul

The Sunday Soul series is beginning to cause me a bit of angst as I have just about run out of material.
So until some new stuff appears on the shelves we will just have to re-visit some old favourites.

And where better to kick off than by calling on our old friends in Germany Trikont and the fantastic compilation Cheatin' Soul and the Southern Dream of Freedom.
A sister compilation to the Dirty Laundry country- soul set focusing on the classic Southern soul tradition of cheating songs.
Plenty to choose from then and Trikont serve up 23 crackers.
They are all worthy of selection but you are only getting two
Let's kick off with the great Doris Duke with If She's Your Wife (Who Am I) one of the many "other woman" songs featured
We follow this with Clarence Carter defending his territory on What Was I Supposed to Do.

Tremendous stuff
More Soul next Sunday

Doris Duke - If She's Your Wife (Who Am I)

Clarence Carter - What Was I Supposed to Do

Namechecked - Roy Orbison

The screen door slams

Mary's dress waves

Like a vision she dances across the porch

As the radio plays

Roy Orbison singing for the lonely

Hey that's me and I want you only

Bruce Springsteen has recently been namechecked but this week it is his turn to do the namechecking.

The above is the opening lines of Thunder Road and none other than the Big O is featuring on Mary's radio.

Given the lyrics there can only really be one choice of song.

This is for all you Airdrieonians  out there - you know who you are.

More namechecking next week

A recently posted Julian Cope song featured both Barry Manilow and Duran Duran -- hmmm ...

Bruce Springsteen -Thunder Road

Roy Orbison - Only the Lonely (Know the Way I Feel)

Vintage Country Vinyl - Wanda Jackson

Another artist who made the crossover from Rock'n'Roll to Country was the Queen of Rockabilly herself Miss Wanda Jackson.
I haven't been able to glean much information on Nobody's Darlin' other that it is from 1969 and is on Vocalion (Simulated Stereo Records) an off shoot of Decca.
It doesn't appear on the discography on Iffypedia so I not sure whether it is kosher or perhaps a compilation.
She released a lot off country stuff around  then
It seems she recorded some in German, Dutch and Japanese which would make interesting listening.
She that graduated to gospel prior to returning to her Rockabilly roots.

More Vintage Country Vinyl next Saturday - regrettably not in German, Dutch or Japanese

Wanda Jackson - Lovin' Country Style

Wanda Jackson - Nobody's Darlin' But Mine