NASCAR GOES COUNTRY 9/23/2014 |
I bid
you welcome gentle readers, and a warm welcome as always to our assigned reader
of all things NASCAR, comfortably seated somewhere within the lovely Fan and
Media Espionage Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. This one probably won't
make it very far up the reading ladder, but it may go straight to the top of
the music charts... or not.
Pulling
up to the keyboard around 10:30 on race day, the first thing to come to my
aging mind was that I had nothing in the world to say. Oops! This is not a good
place to be, when Jim expects me to deliver something to his capable hands by
day's end... and, there is a race to be watched and football to be played. Then
the idea came; most of you seem to be thoroughly enjoying the Classic Country
Music I've been sharing with you, so why not build a column around that music?
Why not, indeed!
We've
had some discussion of how stock car racing and Country Music have paralleled
each other through the years, including rising and falling in popularity in
very similar patterns. Through
perseverance and patience, I am the proud owner of several albums featuring
Country Music either sung by the stars of NASCAR or sung about the racing
itself. Today, I'll happily share one of the oldest of my collection with you.
This album was such fun when it was originally done. I do hope you enjoy the
revival as much as I did setting this up for you.
Many
years back... 1975 to be exact... a bunch of good ol' boys were rounded up,
perhaps at gunpoint, to record a vinyl LP album called "NASCAR Goes
Country." Now, some of them could actually sing, but not all. Still, every
one of them could drive the wheels off a racecar. Their names, in this later
day and time, are legend; their vocal prowess... not so much. This merry
six-pack of yesteryear includes Bobby Allison, David Pearson, Richard Petty,
Buddy Baker, Darrell Waltrip and Cale Yarborough. That's five inductees into
the NASCAR Hall of Fame and one nominee. Someone knew what he was doing back in
1975.
The original
recording was done as a vinyl 33.3-RPM record, because that's how albums were
done then. The recording studio was MCA records, a very respectable name at
that time. The album was rereleased later in CD format by Speedway Records
Inc., which is the version I have in front of me today, and the date on the
disc is 2002. It wasn't easy to find some eight to ten years ago when I set
about looking for it, and at quick glance, it's now about impossible. But...
someone else has the disc besides me, and it is on YouTube for your listening
pleasure.
The
first cut is one by the entire gang... a familiar oldie called,
"Ninety-nine Bottles of Beer." Remember now, I never promised you a
rose garden... and I'm not Lynn Anderson.
The
second cut is a solo offering by the Timmonsville Flash, Cale Yarborough, doing
an old Hank Williams favorite, "Hey Good Lookin'",
and doing a fair to middlin' job of it at that.
Number
three is also done by Cale, and this time he does a nice job on Dave Dudley's
big hit, "Six Days on the Road."
On cut
number four, we hear "Let the Good Times Roll", as sung by the King
himself, Richard Petty. Well... his son can sing...
In fifth
spot on the disc is the head of the Alabama Gang, Bobby Allison, warning
"Watch Out for the Matador." Bobby, it's good that you never gave up
that day job.
Number
six is easily my favorite of all eleven songs, not because he can sing a lick
but because I love our gentle giant, Buddy Baker. Here's Big Buddy singing
"Butterbeans." (Or is it "Just a Closer Walk With
Thee?")
The
seventh cut is another one by all the boys together, and though I doubt there
is a saint among them, here they are singing, "When the Saints Go Marching In."
At
number eight we find a great old rock and roll tune that hit the charts for
several artists back in the 1950s. Here then, for your listening pleasure, is
David Pearson offering his version of "Maybelline."
Number
nine is sung by a voice familiar to everyone, and love him or hate him, here is
Ol' DW himself, Darrell Waltrip, singing "I Can Help." He's not Billy
Swan and for sure, he's no Elvis Presley...
The
penultimate cut is another by Bobby Allison, who gets my vote for the bravest
of the bunch. This time he offers one called "Big Daddy." Go Bobby
Go!
And
finally we have King Richard Petty to wrap it up for us with that old Roger
Miller smash hit, "King of the Road." What else?
Reading
back through this, it dawns on the scribe that this collection was recorded
almost forty years ago! Raise your hand if you weren't even born when
I was writing 1975 on my checks. No wonder I'm reminded of my age so often. I'm
freakin' OLD... but I'm still here and still playing
the game; still racing and still writing. Many of my young readers tell me they
enjoy learning how things were "back in the day", whenever that is.
Well, this wasn't the norm back then, but it was a great break from tradition
and a lot of fun for most of us when it was done. My hope is that the young
readers will enjoy it for the laughs and the old folks like me will enjoy the
trip way
down Memory Lane.
Credit
where credit is due:
The
background singers you hear throughout are the world-renowned Jordanaires.
Musicians
heard throughout are as follows:
Harold
Bradley - Bass Guitar, Banjo
James Colvard - Lead Guitar
Bob
Moore - Bass
Ron
Oates - Piano
Kelso Herston = Rhythm Guitar
Buddy
Harman - Drums
Bobby
Thompson - Rhythm Guitar, Banjo
Charlie
McCoy - Harmonica
Lloyd
Green - Steel Guitar
The
album states it was originally recorded at "Bradley's Barn," which at
first glance sounds rather rustic, but be not fooled gentle readers. Bradley's
Barn houses no hay or straw and is home to no livestock. It was the recording
studio of famed music producer Owen Bradley, and is located in Mt. Juliet,
Tennessee, a conveniently close suburb to the Home of Country Music, Nashville,
Tennessee.
And... this is
the spot where I usually introduce our Classic Country Closeout, but we've
already heard eleven songs, so we'll limit this segment to a single song this
time. For that honor, I've chosen an old Bobby Bare song brought to my mind by
Big Buddy's Butterbeans. Here then is Bobby, along with a few of his friends,
singing the praises of "Greasy Grit Gravy." Remember, it's all in
good fun.
Oh, what
the heck! While I have Bobby Bare on my mind and the talk is of old things and
old people, here's a great one from The Old Dogs, namely Bobby Bare, Waylon
Jennings, Mel Tillis and Jerry Reed. The song is
simply called, "Time." Please enjoy.
Be well
gentle readers, and remember to keep smiling. It looks so good on you!
~
PattyKay