 |
| Click Merle to see him perform his "Sing Me Back Home." The song was based on his three-year stint in San Quentin and his relationships with Caryl Chessman, the
"first modern American executed for a non-lethal kidnapping," and James "Rabbit" Kendrick, who was executed in 1961 for killing a
California Highway Patrolman after escaping from prison, having failed to persuade Merle to escape with him. |
As a kid, he was a rail-ridin', hitchhikin', thieving vagabond. He wound up in San Quentin at 21 years of age. Seeing Johnny Cash perform there inspired him to get serious about music. Twelve years after he was released in 1972, and after launching a successful performing career, Governor Ronald Reagan gave him an unconditional pardon. Later, as a top-selling recording artist, it was Johnny Cash who would persuade Merle to go public about his criminal past.
 |
| This 'clickable' connects to "Mama Tried." |
 |
Clickin ol' Merle opens to one of his signature songs, "Working Man Blues." It's a tribute to a core group of his fans: the American blue-collared working man. The strong electric guitar beat typifies the Bakersfield Sound.
|
Along with Buck Owens, Merle and his band, The Strangers, helped create the Bakersfield sound, which is characterized by
the twang of Fender Telecaster and the unique mix with the traditional country
steel guitar sound. He scored over 10 Number One albums during his career.
 |
| When Merle toured with Bob Dylan,
Dylan wrote "Workingman's Blues #2" as a tribute to Merle. It appears
on Dylan's Modern Times album (2006). (Austin's own Denny Freeman is on lead
guitar. Tony Garnier, Dylan's longest-running sideman and fellow Minnesotan on
bass guitar and cello.) |
 |
"Are the Good Times Really Over (I Wish a Buck Was Still Silver)"
[with Ray Benson and Asleep at the Wheel"] |
 |
| "Silver Wings." One of my favorites of his. |
 |
"If I Could Only Fly." It's a Blaze Foley song, but it's a good one to say, "So long, Merle" on. Still missing you, man!
|
No comments:
Post a Comment