“Cherokee Fiddle” was written and first recorded by Michael Martin Murphey and rose to #52 on the country charts and in 1980 Johnny Lee’s version was included on the Urban Cowboy soundtrack album. A later re-recording by Lee cracked the country top 10. The story is based on a fiddle player named “Scooter”; his real name was Dean Kirk. He was of Choctaw Indian and Irish descent and he worked as a professional musician and in his later years played at the train station in Silverton, Colorado (Wikipedia). Obviously, it could use some fiddling in the breaks, but since I didn’t have that I tried a little hammer-on/drone trick to try to at least evoke the feel of a country fiddle.

Shel Silverstein wrote “A Boy Named Sue” and sang it for Johnny Cash at a songwriters’ jam in Nashville. According to the Songfacts website, Johnny’s wife, June Carter, thought it would be a good one for Cash to do. He took a copy of the song with him and performed it for the first time ever while recording his “Live at San Quentin” album, reading the lyrics onstage as he sang it, and it became one of his biggest hits. You just never know.

Anybody who knows me knows that I’m a big fan of John Henry Deutschendorf. Looking back through my previous posts I was surprised to see that I’ve never done one of his most famous songs, so I’m here to rectify that. John wrote this one while he was still a member of the Chad Mitchell Trio; when Peter, Paul, and Mary covered this in 1969, it effectively launched his solo career. You may know him by another (easier to spell) name: John Denver.

Beatles fans can name this tune in four notes. This is not so much a replication of the song as an interpretation–hope you enjoy my take on this classic Lennon/McCartney oldie.

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.