Old Glory vs New Glory

Posted by Lance Davis - September 29, 2018 - American Flag, Beastie Boys, Dolly Parton, Drive-By Truckers, Eminem, Funkadelic, Gil Scott-Heron, Glossary, Ice Cube, Jefferson Airplane, Johnny Cash, Lee Bains III, Maria McKee, MC5, Merle Haggard, Minutemen, Neil Young, Sly And The Family Stone, The Glands

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In doing early research for my next Nicky Hopkins post, I landed on the Jefferson Airplane’s 1969 album, Volunteers, because Hopkins plays on five tracks. Unfortunately, his prodigious talents couldn’t pull the record out of a nose dive. I get that the group has many adherents who appreciate their wild, shirtless sensibility, but I don’t […]

Bob Dylan Wrote Propaganda Songs

Posted by Lance Davis - February 22, 2015 - Big Bill Broonzy, Bob Dylan, Bob Wills, Buck Owens, Dave Alvin, Hank Williams, Jerry Lee Lewis, Jimi Hendrix, Joan Baez, Johnny Cash, Levon Helm, Merle Haggard, Minutemen, Phil Alvin, Sam Cooke, Sam Phillips, Staple Singers, Waylon Jennings

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A couple of weeks ago, Bob Dylan gained a measure of notoriety for giving a speech in which he sprayed buckshot in the direction of Merle Haggard, Tom T. Hall, Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun, and the classic songwriting team, Leiber & Stoller. In an age where internet comment sections are like speed dating […]

Lotta Poor Man Got The Cumberland Blues

Posted by Lance Davis - January 29, 2014 - Everly Brothers, Grateful Dead, James Burton, Merle Haggard, Rolling Stones

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“We didn’t find it difficult to write pop songs, but it was VERY difficult — and I think Mick will agree — to write one for the Stones. It seemed to us it took months and months and in the end we came up with ‘The Last Time,’ which was basically adapting a traditional […]

Merle Haggard, Phil Baugh, and the Pickers Came Today

Posted by Lance Davis - April 3, 2011 - Bakersfield, Glen Campbell, Merle Haggard, Phil Baugh, Ralph Mooney, Roy Nichols

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Merle Haggard is certainly one of America’s greatest singers and songwriters, but the secret weapon throughout his career has been an army of guitar badasses. Roy Nichols, James Burton, Glen Campbell, Roy Buchanan, Eldon Shamblin, Ronnie Reno, Bobby Wayne, Redd Volkaert, Ralph Mooney, Norman Hamlet, let alone Merle himself. It’s a veritable roll call of […]

RIP Ralph Mooney

Posted by Lance Davis - March 25, 2011 - Bakersfield, James Burton, Merle Haggard, Ralph Mooney, Roy Nichols, Waylon Jennings, Wynn Stewart

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Ralph Mooney died last Sunday and calling him a pedal steel pioneer seems woefully inadequate. He was the crucial link between Bakersfield country and Texas outlaw country, the two most significant reactions to the Nashville Sound between 1955-80. Think about this. Moon played for Wynn Stewart at Wynn’s peak (1950s-’60s), played for Waylon Jennings […]