October 2010
4 posts
The Night I Beat Minnesota Fats
Sometimes you can’t make this stuff up. In the passing of the incomparable Etta James, whose music was the truth; mystery surrounds the folklore of who her father actually was. I might have encountered him once late one night…
Yeah, if you are of a certain age, you remember the legend, the folklore, and the tales of the infamous Rudolf Wanderone Jr. He was a character who became known through...
After The Rumble And The Roar…
One of my favorite people and favorite music journalists, Jim Bessman, tweeted a note marking the passing of Charlie Collins, the last surviving member of Roy Acuff’s Smokey Mountain Boys. It reminded me how often we brush near people in the music industry, but maybe never directly connect… and yet you have incredible connection.
Fact is I never met Charlie Collins. However, as a young...
Bruce & The Red-Headed Stranger
When I came to Nashville in the early ‘70’s, the Outlaw Music scene had long been percolating, but still had not become a commercial force in Nashville, and certainly not on a national level. Johnny Cash had launched a prime-time network television show that was more Middle America than outlaw. He was solidly ensconced in Hendersonville, TN, and though actively recording, seemed more into...
Songwriting Can Be a Beast
Back in 1972, I was extremely fortunate to land my first job at Record World magazine in Nashville, a music business trade publication that competed very successfully nationally with Billboard and Cashbox. I had worked for free for several months on their annual country music industry advertorial that came out that October. Today, we would call that an internship, but internships really didn’t...