What I didn't know until someone commented about that post on Facebook was that Kitty's second big hit Paying For That Back Street Affair was an answer song to the Webb Pierce track Back Street Affair. (If the name Webb Pierce means nothing to you watch this rendition of There Stands The Glass - one of my all-time favourite country songs).
Here are both of Kitty's songs and the gents who unwittingly inspired them.
Kitty Wells, by the way, is still alive. She's 91! Her entry in Wikipedia provides a thorough overview for those wanting to find out more about this country music pioneer.
Do tell me what you make of these tracks and if you have any favourite answer songs I might not know please leave a comment below.
My teenage obsession with REM means I've always had a soft spot for their home state and thanks to my 'American cousin' John Barner living there I've been able to visit a few times.
I vividly remember my first trip to Georgia, traveling along the kudzu lined highway in a Greyhound bus, listening to a tape of Murmur on my Walkman and being reminded of all the weird Southern images conjured up in those early REM songs.
Georgia has inspired hundreds of songs and I've really enjoyed choosing the seven here. If there are any you think I should have included and haven't please leave a comment below. In the meantime fix yourself an ice tea, imagine you have a porch, and enjoy these selections.
Georgia adopted Hoagy Carmichael and Stuart Gorrel's 1930 classic as its official state song in 1979. Dozens have recorded it but this is the most famous version and sung by a Georgia native too. More Ray Charles:BBC | Amazon | 7digital
Julie London is remembered as fondly for her sultry, sexpot image as her songs. As Wikipedia points out, "the notably suggestive portrait photos used on London's album covers made lasting impressions even on the tone deaf." Her rendition of the Tin Pan Ally standard about the "Vamp of Savannah, GA" captures her appeal to a tee. More Julie London:MySpace | BBC | Amazon
Steve Earle's lad is fast becoming one of my favourite artists and his live shows are particularly fun. This is from a cracking set in Austin last December that's available in full at the Internet Archive. More Justin Townes Earle:MySpace | Amazon
A fine slice of 1950s honky-tonk twang from the legendary Webb Pierce whose previous appearance in these parts was one of my drinking song posts. More Webb Pierce:Wikipedia | Amazon | 7digital
This track's lyrics are more pertinent considering that the version here is from Uncle Tupelo's last ever show on 1 May 1994 in St Louis. Acrimonious slanging matches between Jeff Tweedy and Jay Farrar typified Uncle Tupelo's break-up so it's perhaps appropriate that the Battle of Chickamauga took place during the Civil War. More Uncle Tupelo:fansite | Amazon | 7digital
Bluegrass virtuoso Sam Bush was America's National Fiddle Champion at 15 but is even more highly regarded as a mandolin player. This track is from one of the superb Crowd Around the Mic CDs that North Carolina radio station WNCW offers its supporters. More Sam Bush:official site | Amazon
William McTell was born in Thompson, Georgia in 1898. This is from only his third session, recorded in Atlanta in 1929. Like many early blues musicians McTell recorded songs under various names for different "race" labels and released this one as Blind Sammie for Columbia. More Blind Willie McTell:Wikipedia | Amazon | 7digital
Next time we'll be wearing ridiculous shirts and sipping Mai Tais as we say "Aloha" to Hawaii. Neighbouring States Alabama - Cat Power, Billie Holiday, Jim White, Joan Baez, Shelby Lynne, Lynryd Skynyrd Florida - Vic Chesnutt, Muddy Waters, Elvis Presley
Related Posts State Songs - links to every post on this musical road trip
I watched Martin Scorsese's phenomenal Bob Dylan documentary No Direction Home again last night. One of my favourite moments near the start of the film, when Bob's recalling the music that affected him growing up, is the clip of Webb Pierce, the best-selling country star of the 1950s, singing his Number 1 hit There Stands The Glass.
I'd never heard of Pierce before seeing No Direction Home. Dressed in classic cowboy couture, he cuts an impressive figure and sings in a distinctive voice that Scorsese felt warranted subtitles. But what's most remarkable about the clip are the song's lyrics. This is the first verse: "There stands the glass/ That will ease all my pain/ That will settle my brain/ It's my first one to day". Even in the often maudlin world of country music, I'm not sure you'd get away with that today, let alone get to perform it on mainstream TV. This clip from the Grand Ole Opry is what's in No Direction Home.
In a culture where every beer bottle advises us to "drink aware" songs about boozing are less popular than they once were. By some distance. The excellent blog Barstool Mountain is solely dedicated to tipsy tunes, mainly of fine vintage, and last year compiled an impressive list of the Top 100 Drinking Songs of all time.
One of Bob Dylan's most enjoyable Theme Time Radio Hours was the episode about drinking. The best song I'd never heard of from that show was by a 50s R&B group called The Clovers. Their 1951 Number 1 hit One Mint Julep blames boozing for much more than a regrettable one-night stand: "I’m through with flirting and drinking whiskey/ I got six extra children from a-getting frisky".
Another song Bob played on his show portrays the darker side of the demon drink. Loretta Lynn is famous for her forthright lyrics and this song is pretty self-explanatory.
Townes Van Zandt was a man who liked a drink. While in hospital to detox in the 90s a doctor told his third wife Leanne, "If anyone ever tries to dry this man out again, he will die." I know alcohol had an horrendous effect on Townes and those who loved him but I still find this song incredibly funny.
People do still write songs about drinking. Carolyn Mark is a Canadian singer-songwriter I first supporting Po' Girl at the Borderline some years ago. I don't mind a Muscadet or a nice Sauvignon Blanc but I still love this song.
The Felice Brothers are a proper modern-day boozing band. Joanne and I saw them support Justin Townes Earle in Nashville on our honeymoon. They wobbled near us, hammered, during the opening act and their subsequent set was full of songs of drunken violence like this one.
Whether you're tea-total or salivating at the thought of your next lager I hope you enjoy the songs. Please leave a comment to recommend your favourite drinking tunes.
Beer Fact: Jax beer was brewed in New Orleans between 1890 and 1974. The old brewery off Jackson Square is now a touristy shopping centre but the sign on top of the building still evokes its boozy past.
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