tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4775955554050052451.post5015650686524575152..comments2023-04-03T07:08:03.903-04:00Comments on ninetymilewind: Stirring the Imaginationchromeheadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08033332691491146650noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4775955554050052451.post-72159519449089604572009-09-01T16:31:07.102-04:002009-09-01T16:31:07.102-04:00Hope to see you again this weekend at Plymouth, VT...Hope to see you again this weekend at Plymouth, VT.Jim Sotzingnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4775955554050052451.post-64378223923413071152009-08-28T12:57:01.654-04:002009-08-28T12:57:01.654-04:00what a wonderful little glimpse into your life gro...what a wonderful little glimpse into your life growing up and where some of your inspiration comes from. funny how you and i come from two different musical worlds and yet (thankfully) we connect musically. the song i'll always remember sparking my imagination as a young girl is the b52s "mesopotamia." i used to sit around the radio waiting for them to play it again (which they didn't do often) zany bunch, those b52s, but what imaginations!Becca Bessingernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4775955554050052451.post-90020106111573041462009-08-25T22:21:11.661-04:002009-08-25T22:21:11.661-04:00What a wonderful and nostalgic reminiscence. We ha...What a wonderful and nostalgic reminiscence. We have gotten several of these lately, and they are just marvelous.<br /><br />Of course, you did not mean your list to be exhaustive, but "Running Bear" (which always conjured up a humorous picture for a literate and punny kid), "Wolverton Mountain," and Hank Snow's version of Red Foley's "Old Doc Brown," all jump to mind as great story songs.<br /><br />As you point out Johnny Horton and Marty Robbins sort of vied for top spot, but Marty's "El Paso," pretty much made him the king of the larger than life melodramatic song. Despite a fine, and more "popular" version of "Singing the Blues" by Guy Mitchell, nobody can touch Marty Robbins on that sultry piece of country suave. Plus, he was the first to record a Gordon Lightfoot song ("Ribbon of Darkness") and boost "Big Gord" (the punny kid always laughed at that nickname on one of Lighfoot's early albums, too) into the spotlight. And "A White Sport Coat...." Marty Robbins was one of the true greats.<br /><br />The following is a similar reminiscence from my collection, Aged Fifty Years: A Life in Song. It's the intro to the chapter entitled, "Sorry I Haven't Written Lately."<br /><br /> "I have always been a sucker for a song. One of my unfinished pieces observes:<br /> Song after song sings a sorry refrain—<br /> Tears in my eyes from some other fool’s pain.<br /><br /> "I have a very vivid childhood memory of just such an impact. Occasionally, my parents would pack up the three of us boys and haul us to the Sundown Drive-in, just a few blocks from our house. It was a great treat for all of us: the speaker hung on the car window; the colossal screen jutting into the sky; the trip to the snackbar for popcorn and drinks or to the playground nestled under the screen; all three of us in our pajamas, rotating from the front to the backseat; the cartoons and shorts before the feature; and the peculiar familial isolation of cars full of people sharing the movie experience together alone. <br /> "This particular night, I was reclining on the back seat of our Buick; Tucker, Kevin and my parents were all in the front seat when 'The Wayward Wind' by Gogi Grant came on the little speaker. Though I had heard the song before, I had never listened to the words. Lying there alone, looking out at the dusky sky, I suddenly heard every word and felt the mournful, wistful pain the woman felt, and I was choked up, then moved to tears by the story-telling in this simple 'pop' song.<br /> "I still occasionally sing for my students, and I suppose I should be embarrassed by my being so easily moved by a story or a song, but I’m not. When I sing 'Old Shep' by Red Foley; 'Sully’s Pail' by Dick Giddons; 'Chief Joseph' by Danny O’Keefe; 'Deportee' by Woody Guthrie and Martin Hoffman, 'Child’s Song' by Murray McLauchlan; or even my own song, 'Michael,' I am invariably choked up. The sight of tears welling up or streaming down their teacher’s face is probably a very peculiar experience for most students (probably pretty silly way back when I was performing in clubs, too), but I don’t mind. Real feeling, even if vicarious, is what the human experience is about.<br /><br />Sorry for being so long winded again, but I really love your personal anecdotes, and this one of mine just struck me as hitting on much of what you said here and elsewhere: to paraphrase, as often as possible, music's goal is to touch the soul.<br /><br />Thanks for doing that with both your music and your prose.<br />TimTim McMullenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04840770464754311701noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4775955554050052451.post-82863074907597453582009-08-25T11:44:35.257-04:002009-08-25T11:44:35.257-04:00Thanks Jim, working on it.Thanks Jim, working on it.chromeheadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08033332691491146650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4775955554050052451.post-76483583634734487382009-08-25T11:20:24.252-04:002009-08-25T11:20:24.252-04:00Thanks Craig. You paint such vivid word pictures....Thanks Craig. You paint such vivid word pictures. Maybe you should write a book, an autobiography or a semi-fictionalized account of a songwriters life.Jim Sotzingnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4775955554050052451.post-18943885263832898692009-08-25T00:08:36.576-04:002009-08-25T00:08:36.576-04:00I remember loving "El Paso" as a kid. T...I remember loving "El Paso" as a kid. That was one touching cowboy love song! You're absolutely right about the imagery conjured. Thanks for the reminder.Patnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4775955554050052451.post-62517190272678994872009-08-24T13:26:42.233-04:002009-08-24T13:26:42.233-04:00It's always great to hear about someone who re...It's always great to hear about someone who remembers and appreciates Marty Robbins. Thanks for keeping his music and memory alive. I'm currently writing his biography. He could see movies in his mind and turn them into publishable songs. It sounds like you have that knack.Diane Diekmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14281847657966074072noreply@blogger.com