According to the Songfacts website, there’s a lot of lore around the classic Rolling Stones ballad “Wild Horses.” Keith Richards supposedly wrote it as a sort of lullaby for his newborn son and then Mick Jagger rewrote the lyrics as a tragic ode to love gone wrong. It was actually first recorded by Gram Parsons’ Flying Burrito Brothers in 1970 and then the Stones released it on the 1971 album Sticky Fingers. Hope you enjoy my take on it.

Michael Martin Murphey wrote “Carolina in the Pines” about his wife (at the time) named Caroline, who apparently loved nature as much as Michael. It was the second single off the 1975 Blue Sky-Night Thunder album, released right after “Wildfire.” This is for all of you who love getting out into the great outdoors!

Gordon Lightfoot is one of the best singer/songwriters to come out of the 60’s folk movement, and one of the most respected by his fellow musicians. His lyrics are poetry and his melodies and guitar playing are beautiful and enduring. He was still performing regularly up until his death this week at age 84. Gord was one of the top three influences on my early musical development and throughout my lifetime. With deep appreciation, I wish him smooth travels as he slips away on the Carefree Highway.

Liner note: I moved to the Phoenix, AZ, area in 1999. One day as I headed north out of the city I noticed a sign that marked the Carefree Highway–a roadway leading to the town of Carefree just north of Scottsdale. I thought, “Hey, what a coincidence. That’s a Gordon Lightfoot song.” Years later I heard him tell the story of how he would often jot down words and phrases on his travels for possible song lyrics. He, too, had seen that sign once on a tour that brought him through Phoenix. He thought it would make a good song title. I think he was right.

This weekend marks Willie Nelson’s 90th birthday and I certainly couldn’t let that go unremarked. There will be a two-day, star-studded bash/concert at the Hollywood Bowl (at which Willie will also perform! Amazing!). “Funny How Time Slips Away” seemed appropriate as my tribute here for a couple of reasons: first, because of Willie’s age, and second, because it was one of the songs that launched his songwriting career. First released by country singer Billy Walker in 1961, the song has been covered by a host of others, including Brenda Lee, Elvis Presley, and Al Green. Happy Birthday, Willie!

It’s Earth Day today (Saturday, 4/22), so I thought I would do one of my favorite songs with that theme in mind. “Boy From The Country” was written and recorded by Michael Martin Murphey in 1972 and then covered by John Denver in 1975, which pretty much launched Murphey’s career as a nationally known artist. I read somewhere that Murphey wrote the song about St. Francis of Assisi, which would make sense, but I haven’t been able to verify that. Nice thought, though. Anyway, it’s a great song and the sentiments it conveys apply as much or more today than when it was written in the 1970’s. Hope you enjoy it!

This song penned by Wayne Carson, Johnny Christopher, and Mark James was first recorded by Brenda Lee and later by Elvis Presley and others, but the definitive version was done by Willie Nelson. His 1982 recording of “Always On My Mind” won Grammys for Song of the Year and Best Male Country Vocal Performance, among other accolades. It’s a great song but a pretty lame apology, I think. I guess it depends on who’s doing the apologizing whether it might work or not.

So, a cool thing happened for me this week. Tim Anderson, a guy I know through a Facebook guitar group, messaged me to let me know he’d be coming from Virginia to the Phoenix area to visit his sister. Turns out his sister lives only about five miles from me, so we got together for a couple of hours of guitar time and cooked up a little “Jambalaya” for you!

“Hurricane” was written by Thom Schuyler, Keith Stegall, and Stewart Harris. It was first recorded by Levon Helm in 1980 and then by Leon Everette. The Band of Heathens released a great version of it in 2018. Depending on your perspective, this song could be a testament to gritty perseverance against the elements or a story of stubborn pride. Maybe a little of both? You decide. Anyway, with the wet weather we’ve had all over the USA this winter, many of you may find yourselves identifying with “the old man.”

“The Highwayman” by Jimmy Webb has been recorded by numerous people but probably the best-known version of the song was done by The Highwaymen country supergroup of Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Waylon Jennings, and Johnny Cash (they took the name of their group from the song).

Webb told the story of waking up in a sweat in a hotel in England after dreaming about a highwayman being chased by lawmen on horses. He thought, “That was so real it was almost like it was a past life.” He immediately sat down at his piano and had the song written within a couple of hours.

The collaboration: I love these guys. Seems like we have as much fun in our “production” meetings as we do with the music. Our concept for the collab was to have just the four of us on guitars and do it like we might do it onstage. (Okay, I may have added a little extra on the video production.) Thanks, Ben Robert Eastman, Gary Schoolcraft, and John Bacon for your terrific musicianship and dedication to the project (even down to a couple of them having to go out and buy the matching shirt). 

“Lucille” seems to be a very popular name for song subjects. If you were listening to the radio circa 1977, you couldn’t escape this one by Hal Bynum and Roger Bowling. It was Kenny Rogers’ first major hit after leaving The First Edition and became the first of 21 #1 country hits for him and really launched his solo career. It’s a sad song, but was always a crowd pleaser and usually prompted a sing-along in any bar or party.