Wow, what a rich history lesson! How lucky you were to have your father deliver you such a front-row seat for such monumental musicians! My dad was Elvis' age, and my earliest memories of cognizance, much less music, are Elvis' first handful of RCA albums scattered on the floor around my Fisher Price record player as a toddler, a holy grail of rock & roll which I will be forever grateful for, but there was almost no other music from his side beyond that, so you hit the lottery with your dad. (One correction: I think your dad got that backwards...Scruggs survived Flatt by several decades).
I had the privilege of seeing Glen Campbell on his last 2 tours, which was fantastic despite the troubles he was starting to experience at the end; his daughter Ashley was doing a lot of heavy lifting vocally and instrumentally on those tours, and as I'm sure you know, she is doing great work of her own now. Not getting to see Johnny Cash will be a lifetime regret. The odd marriage between punk & country finally brought me around to appreciating what I'd long teenage-dismissed as lame 50-year old guys wrapped in the flag. Drumming in a rockabilly band with some guys hip to that educated me to just how badass Johnny and George Jones and Merle Haggard, etc. were, and I haven't stopped diving into that history since. (Hearing 1950s Faron Young, Don Gibson, and Webb Pierce was a revelation, so much more akin to rock and roll than what they came across as on Hee Haw 20 years later when I was forming my first impressions of them...long live Bear Family Records box sets for all of that!) Thanks for sharing!
I knew he had his facts a little off but I’m not gonna correct him - it’s his narrative!
I had an Elvis greatest hits LP from about age 7 that I wore out, but my dad was neither into bluegrass nor Elvis…though if memory serves he did go to his ‘74 concert in my home town, and he thought it was a little pathetic. I might be inventing that but I think it’s true.
"Elvis Golden Records"! The absolute Rosetta Stone of rock & roll! (I'm well aware and appreciative of Chuck, Richard, Fats, et. al., but those singles really were what broke it all wide open). My dad's copy wasn't even labelled "Volume One", because OF COURSE, this music was supposed to be a flash in the pan and forgotten about soon enough. I'm so glad we share that reference, it's such an amazing time capsule!
Thank you for your good work on these projects! I started listening to Nanci Griffith in high school; she was a rare artist that my parents and grandparents all liked as much as I did. (CSNY may be the only other music that we all agreed on.) My dad picked me up from my freshman dorm and took me to see her on the Late Night Grand Hotel tour; that was a wonderful experience.
I’ve been listening to both the tribute album and box set a lot since they came out. Thank you!
Minor correction: when you write ….”began producing records under the mentorship of Sun Records alumnus, the great Cowboy Jack Elliott” I believe you mean Cowboy Jack Clement.
Combining Cowboy Jack with Rambling Jack is an interesting, if slightly scary, idea.
Wow, what a rich history lesson! How lucky you were to have your father deliver you such a front-row seat for such monumental musicians! My dad was Elvis' age, and my earliest memories of cognizance, much less music, are Elvis' first handful of RCA albums scattered on the floor around my Fisher Price record player as a toddler, a holy grail of rock & roll which I will be forever grateful for, but there was almost no other music from his side beyond that, so you hit the lottery with your dad. (One correction: I think your dad got that backwards...Scruggs survived Flatt by several decades).
I had the privilege of seeing Glen Campbell on his last 2 tours, which was fantastic despite the troubles he was starting to experience at the end; his daughter Ashley was doing a lot of heavy lifting vocally and instrumentally on those tours, and as I'm sure you know, she is doing great work of her own now. Not getting to see Johnny Cash will be a lifetime regret. The odd marriage between punk & country finally brought me around to appreciating what I'd long teenage-dismissed as lame 50-year old guys wrapped in the flag. Drumming in a rockabilly band with some guys hip to that educated me to just how badass Johnny and George Jones and Merle Haggard, etc. were, and I haven't stopped diving into that history since. (Hearing 1950s Faron Young, Don Gibson, and Webb Pierce was a revelation, so much more akin to rock and roll than what they came across as on Hee Haw 20 years later when I was forming my first impressions of them...long live Bear Family Records box sets for all of that!) Thanks for sharing!
I knew he had his facts a little off but I’m not gonna correct him - it’s his narrative!
I had an Elvis greatest hits LP from about age 7 that I wore out, but my dad was neither into bluegrass nor Elvis…though if memory serves he did go to his ‘74 concert in my home town, and he thought it was a little pathetic. I might be inventing that but I think it’s true.
"Elvis Golden Records"! The absolute Rosetta Stone of rock & roll! (I'm well aware and appreciative of Chuck, Richard, Fats, et. al., but those singles really were what broke it all wide open). My dad's copy wasn't even labelled "Volume One", because OF COURSE, this music was supposed to be a flash in the pan and forgotten about soon enough. I'm so glad we share that reference, it's such an amazing time capsule!
Thank you for your good work on these projects! I started listening to Nanci Griffith in high school; she was a rare artist that my parents and grandparents all liked as much as I did. (CSNY may be the only other music that we all agreed on.) My dad picked me up from my freshman dorm and took me to see her on the Late Night Grand Hotel tour; that was a wonderful experience.
I’ve been listening to both the tribute album and box set a lot since they came out. Thank you!
Thank you!
Nanci was (is) one of my favorites since her first Rounder record in 1984.
Great project and record. I think the Aaron Lee cover of “late night grande hotel” is my favorite on there.
I love that track so much. ALT is one of my favorite artists - and favorite people!
Minor correction: when you write ….”began producing records under the mentorship of Sun Records alumnus, the great Cowboy Jack Elliott” I believe you mean Cowboy Jack Clement.
Combining Cowboy Jack with Rambling Jack is an interesting, if slightly scary, idea.
Thanks - brain fart!
I never knew that your dad was such a handsome fella!