Goin' Out To Hollywood (MP3)

Bill Emerson - Goin' Out To Hollywood

So here's a mighty fine record by Bill Emerson, who lays out the inspired tale of a backwoods country boy with a plan to head west to Hollywood, stoked up on visions of movie stardom, limousines, and flashy Fender guitars.

Is it country, rock & roll, or maybe rockabilly? All of the above, I guess, but to tell you the truth I think it's mostly in the ear of the beholder.

Marijuana Grave (MP3)

Sam & Annie Taylor - Marijuana Grave

Here's some first-rate anti-drug propaganda warning of the perils of marijuana use.

Don't Knock Elvis (MP3)

Felton Jarvis - Don't Knock Elvis

In celebration of what would've been Elvis Presley's 77th birthday, here's an odd artifact from a very early stage in the career of songwriter and producer Felton Jarvis (1934 - 1981).

Jarvis was Elvis Presley's producer between the years 1966 and 1977, when Presley died. While still struggling to make a name for himself, he recorded this Elvis Presley tribute 45, which was released on the tiny VIVA label in August, 1959. While in the Marines in 1955, Jarvis experienced a life-changing event when was lucky enough to catch a live Elvis Presley show in Norfolk, Virginia.

Upon getting out of the Marines, he returned to Atlanta and went to work as a sheet music printer at Bill Lowery's National Recording Company (NRC). At the time, the label was over-flowing with talented performers who, in less than a decade, would be national stars: Jerry Reed, Mac Davis, Joe South, Ray Stevens and Freddy Weller. Jarvis moved into songwriting and producing, making a name for himself in 1961 by producing Every Beat Of My Heart, the first R&B #1 hit (of eleven, in all) for a local band called the Pips, soon to be renamed Gladys Knight & The Pips. From NRC, Jarvis went to work for the ABC label, where he produced "Sheila" a huge national hit for Tommy Roe, another graduate of Lowery's NRC concern. After a few years at ABC, he moved over to RCA where he and Presley established a solid working relationship that worked out pretty well for both of them.

Marvin Rainwater - The Haircut (MP3)

Marvin Rainwater - The Haircut (2:37)

Marvin's problem? His kid refuses to get a haircut, so Marvin rounds up one of his pals and they hatch a plan give the kid a haircut that even Sgt. Carter would love. Let's just say things don't exactly go according to plan.

All I Want For Christmas Is A C.B. (MP3)

Jim Hubler - All I Want For Christmas Is A CB

Arthur Alexander Month

Bobby Flores - Every Day I Have To Cry

Liza Jane

Cecil Surratt & Smitty Smith - Liza Jane (2:03)

Cecil and Smitty absolutely nail it here with their 1960 instrumental country take on an old standard.

Wife Of The Party

Liz Anderson - Wife Of The Party (2:28)

Honeymoon With The Blues (MP3)

Eddie Noack - Honeymoon With The Blues

I'm Gonna Tie One On Tonight (MP3)

Wilburn Brothers - I'm Gonna Tie One On Tonight

Trouble In Teepee (MP3)

Deb Wood - Trouble In Teepee (2:01)

Happy Birthday, George Jones

George Jones - When The Wife Runs Off

Today George Jones turns 80 and tomorrow he'll be celebrating this milestone onstage at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville.

A Death In The Family

Jimmy Dickens - A Death In The Family

I have to admit that when I found this record, my hopes were high that the song was going to be some kind of demented country murder song. Why? Well, the jolting title and the fact that it was written by Bill Anderson (author of the country murder classics The Cold Hard Facts Of Life and The First Mrs. Jones) were all that was needed for some wildly groundless speculation on my part.

Sure, I admit that I was initially a little disappointed to learn that the song is actually about the misery of a shattered marriage rather than a cold-blooded murder. It still packs one hell of a punch, though.

8 Weeks In A Bar Room

Ramblin' Red Bailey - Eight Weeks In A Bar Room

So here's a lightly mangled copy of Eight Weeks In A Bar Room, Ramblin' Red Bailey's woozy ode to a bout with hardcore alcoholism triggered by, what else, the departure of the woman he loved. I first heard the song, like, I assume, most of the people who know it, on the celebrated twisted country LP comp God Less America.

I've Got My Pride (MP3)

Jan Howard - I've Got My Pride

In late 1960, Jan Howard released I've Got My Pride, a fine honky-tonker authored by one of country music's greatest songwriters, her then-husband Harlan Howard. Despite the fact that it was a superb performance and a great song, it quickly disappeared without coming anywhere near the charts.

Billboard's anonymous reviewer described it this way: "She doesn't have her man, but she has her pride, is the theme of this up-tempo country weeper, handled in sparkling fashion by the thrush over strong support. A sock side by the lass." I'd say that's about the size of it.

My Gal's Outa Her Tree Again (MP3)

Johnny Selph - My Gal's Outa Her Tree Again

More Johnny Selph craziness can be heard over here.

I Want To Be Loved (MP3)

Wilma Lee & Stoney Cooper - I Want To Be Loved

Dolly's A Mule Skinner?

She is!

Dolly Parton - Mule Skinner Blues

A Girl That Works In A Bar (MP3)

Ann Clark - A Girl That Works In A Bar (2:52)

A few days ago I posted the B-side of this record, an excellent murder tune called He'll Never Cheat No More and the Drunken Hobo was prompted to ask about the flip side. Here it is, a rather sad tale of a disillusioned booze hound and her job at one of the local watering holes.

He'll Never Cheat No More (Murder MP3)

Ann Clark - He'll Never Cheat No More (2:16)

Country songs about murder inspired by infidelity are quite numerous, and the vast majority of them deal with men exacting vengeance on cheating wives.

Ann Clark's He'll Never Cheat No More gives us the bloody flip side of the coin.

Hear the other side, if you're so inclined.