So, what have you been listening to lately?

[Dave W]

This might just pass Dave's ruthless, yet discerning country test ... 

The image I have of Sylvia's Mother is forever influenced by Bobby Darin's performance on his short-lived variety show. It was split screen with Bobby pleading on one screen, and on the other, you see the mother trying to keep a bound-and-gagged Sylvia from wriggling towards the phone. 

Emmylou's Queen of the Silver Dollar was excellent, I don't recall it ever being released as a single. The definitive version was Dave & Sugar's first hit in 1975.





Of course Emmylou is country. Her first big hit was a Louvin Brothers cover from the 50s.

[Pilgrim]

Shel is a classic, but for some reason it reminds me of Allen Sherman...

[patman]

I loved Emmylou's music .  Saw Earl Scruggs, Emmylou, and Pure Prairie League a zillion years ago at the University of Cincinnati...

Was a fun show.  My favorite "Together Again" version...I have probably all of the older albums.

[westen44]

I loved Emmylou's music .  Saw Earl Scruggs, Emmylou, and Pure Prairie League a zillion years ago at the University of Cincinnati...

Was a fun show.  My favorite "Together Again" version...I have probably all of the older albums.

I saw Linda Ronstadt also a zillion years ago.  She made quite a point that people should listen to Emmylou whenever they could.  It's almost like you could feel her frustration that Emmylou wasn't receiving enough attention at that point in time.  Or maybe she was, but it's obvious Linda Ronstadt wanted her to have more. 

[patman]

I would love to be in a band doing older country. I for one fondly remember growing up with Hee Haw on Saturday night.

Going to see a rockabilly band from the commonwealth tonight...they also do old style country. It is guitar, string bass, drums...they are a lot of fun. Called Slick Willie and the Kentucky Jellies. Bass sounds great and he slaps the shit out of it. With all the movement and twirling, sometimes intonation is funky, but it's a lot of fun to watch.

[uwe]

Emmylou's Queen of the Silver Dollar was excellent, I don't recall it ever being released as a single. The definitive version was Dave & Sugar's first hit in 1975.

I'm with the Hook original, Locorriere's original delivery has an emotional urgency I don't  hear in the other versions (though for Dr Hook standards, the song is almost over-arranged with all the brass heralding the arrival of the "Queen"). With all the jauntiness, it's not really a happy song. And there is of course the bitter twist at the end that it his her pimp who is singing the song. That really gripped me when I first heard it.

[patman]

I've had Emmylou's version for a zillion years...loved it and the band.

The lyrics never registered. Have to give it a close listen.

[uwe]

The third verse reveals it all:

She's the Queen of the Silver Dollar
And she rules this smokey kingdom
And her scepter is a wine glass
And a bar stool is her throne.
And the jesters flock around her
And fight to win her favor
And see which one will take the Queen of the Silver Dollar home.

She arrives in all her splendor
Every night at nine o'clock
And her chariot is the crosstown bus
That stops right down the block.
The old piano minstrel
Plays her song as she walks in.
And the Queen of the Silver Dollar is home again.

She's the Queen of the Silver Dollar
And she rules this smokey kingdom
And her scepter is a wine glass
And a bar stool is her throne.
And the jesters flock around her
And fight to win her favor
And see which one will take the Queen of the Silver Dollar home.

Her royal gown is a satin dress
That's stained and slightly torn;
Her sparkling jewels are rhinestones
And her shoes are scuffed and worn
From the many roads she's traveled
And the wondrous sights she's seen
I watch her and I pray, God save the Queen.

She's the Queen of the Silver Dollar
And she rules this smokey kingdom
And her sceptre is a wine glass
And a bar stool is her throne.
And the jesters flock around her
And fight to win her favor
And see which one will take the Queen of the Silver Dollar home.

The Queen of the Silver Dollar
Is not as haughty as she seems.
She was once an ordinary girl
With ordinary dreams.
'Til I found her and I won her
And I brought her to this world.
Yes I'm the one who made a queen
Of a simple country girl.

She's the Queen of the Silver Dollar
And she rules this smokey kingdom
And her sceptre is a wine glass
And a bar stool is her throne.
And the jesters flock around her
And fight to win her favor
And see which one will take the Queen of the Silver Dollar home.

[Dave W]

I'm with the Hook original, Locorriere's original delivery has an emotional urgency I don't  hear in the other versions (though for Dr Hook standards, the song is almost over-arranged with all the brass heralding the arrival of the "Queen"). With all the jauntiness, it's not really a happy song. And there is of course the bitter twist at the end that it his her pimp who is singing the song. That really gripped me when I first heard it.

The third verse reveals it all:

She's the Queen of the Silver Dollar
And she rules this smokey kingdom
And her scepter is a wine glass
And a bar stool is her throne.
And the jesters flock around her
And fight to win her favor
And see which one will take the Queen of the Silver Dollar home.

She arrives in all her splendor
Every night at nine o'clock
And her chariot is the crosstown bus
That stops right down the block.
The old piano minstrel
Plays her song as she walks in.
And the Queen of the Silver Dollar is home again.

She's the Queen of the Silver Dollar
And she rules this smokey kingdom
And her scepter is a wine glass
And a bar stool is her throne.
And the jesters flock around her
And fight to win her favor
And see which one will take the Queen of the Silver Dollar home.

Her royal gown is a satin dress
That's stained and slightly torn;
Her sparkling jewels are rhinestones
And her shoes are scuffed and worn
From the many roads she's traveled
And the wondrous sights she's seen
I watch her and I pray, God save the Queen.

She's the Queen of the Silver Dollar
And she rules this smokey kingdom
And her sceptre is a wine glass
And a bar stool is her throne.
And the jesters flock around her
And fight to win her favor
And see which one will take the Queen of the Silver Dollar home.

The Queen of the Silver Dollar
Is not as haughty as she seems.
She was once an ordinary girl
With ordinary dreams.
'Til I found her and I won her
And I brought her to this world.
Yes I'm the one who made a queen
Of a simple country girl.

She's the Queen of the Silver Dollar
And she rules this smokey kingdom
And her sceptre is a wine glass
And a bar stool is her throne.
And the jesters flock around her
And fight to win her favor
And see which one will take the Queen of the Silver Dollar home.

No, no, no. He's not a pimp and she's not a prostitute. She's a woman he introduced to the honky tonk life and now she sits there drinking every night, looking for the right man to go home with. Such women definitely do exist.

Whenever I hear the song, it reminds me of Cheryl, a coworker many moons ago. She met a construction worker named Pete who took her to a notorious local bar. After he dumped her and left town, she hung out there for years, looking for the right man. She was beautiful, and there were always guys trying to take her home. I've seen her photo on Facebook through a group we both follow, she looks in very rough shape.

[uwe]

"Such women definitely do exist."


Ah, Dave and his lifelong cougar experiences - life's resin finely matured to amber for all of us to marvel at. Who am I to argue! The only pick ups I know are on my basses and I prefer front to rear. When women speak to me in a bar, I'm generally startled and assume they must be mistaking me for someone else.

[Dave W]

"Such women definitely do exist."


Ah, Dave and his lifelong cougar experiences - life's resin finely matured to amber for all of us to marvel at. Who am I to argue! The only pick ups I know are on my basses and I prefer front to rear. When women speak to me in a bar, I'm generally startled and assume they must be mistaking me for someone else.

This woman wasn't a cougar and I wasn't interested in her. She was a lush and a nympho. Not a nice combination.

I could post dozens of fallen women in honky tonk songs, but here's one of the most famous, Hank Thompson originally recorded this in 1952.

[uwe]

Sure, I remember it, produced by Roger Glover (he of Deep Purple fame, there is no escape in this forum from them!) and performed by Status Quo in 1976! You think I'm ignorant or what? 



Do these four Brits pass your country test? 

(PS: I'm particularly proud of this post: Country, Deep Purple, Status Quo and making Dave gape in incredulity and despair all in one!)

[uwe]

Currently tracing the career of keyboardsmith Mark Mangold (American Tears who morphed into Touch, The Sign, songwriter of Cher's Maybe I Found Someone)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlUrfpsnFqs&list=RDEMYGZCs6unuvS2g84exgkpvg&start_radio=1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7rwVjLgR6E&list=RDEMYGZCs6unuvS2g84exgkpvg&index=2

This is an AOR classic:



If a thing is worth doing, it's worth overdoing, who said something of overblown bombast? 



Alas!, it's natural flowing hair awareness week again:

[gearHed289]

She was a lush and a nympho. Not a nice combination.

Wait, what?!?! 

[Dave W]

...

Sure, I remember it, produced by Roger Glover (he of Deep Purple fame, there is no escape in this forum from them!) and performed by Status Quo in 1976! You think I'm ignorant or what? 

...

Do these four Brits pass your country test? 

(PS: I'm particularly proud of this post: Country, Deep Purple, Status Quo and making Dave gape in incredulity and despair all in one!)

Yes, they do.

Wait, what?!?! 

What can I say?