Music Archives - chimesfreedom

Rosalynn Carter’s Comfort in James Talley’s “She Tries Not To Cry”

Singer-songwriter James Talley found a special connection with President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn.

The song at President Jimmy Carter’s funeral that got the most attention was a John Lennon song. But when Carter was president, one of his favorite singers was an artist not as well known as the former Beatle, singer-songwriter James Talley. Not only did Talley perform at Carter’s White House and at his inauguration, one of his songs gave extra comfort to Carter’s wife Rosalynn during a difficult transition in her life.

As the documentary Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President highlighted, Carter was a big fan and supporter of popular music. During Carter’s January 2025 funeral, at first it might have seemed odd that Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood would sing John Lennon’s “Imagine” about imagining no God at the religious man’s funeral. But it is not so odd that Carter would love a song about peace, caring, and love. And not only was Carter a fan of “Imagine,” but the same two singers — with Yearwood taking the lead — also performed the song at the memorial for Carter’s wife Rosalynn in 2023.

The Carters and James Talley

Much has been written about Jimmy Carter’s connections to artists like the Allman Brothers and Willie Nelson. But he also supported and loved lesser known artists like James Talley. The folk-country-blues singer-songwriter built a reputation on four albums released in the span of two years in the 1970s: Got No Bread, No Milk, No Money, But We Sure Got a Lot of Love (1975), Tryin’ Like the Devil (1976), Blackjack Choir (1977), and Ain’t It Somethin’ (1977).

Even if you were listening to the radio in the 1970s, Talley may have escaped your notice. But if you were following the President, you were likely to have heard him. (Or maybe you later heard covers of his songs by artists like Johnny Cash, Johnny Paycheck, and Alan Jackson.)

Carter first encountered Talley’s music when Talley sent then-candidate Carter copies of two of his albums. Subsequently, Talley heard an interview where Carter mentioned listening to Talley’s music, adding that Talley had become one of Rosalynn’s favorite artists.

Talley was soon invited to perform at the Georgia Party during Carter’s inauguration and later to return to perform at the White House during Carter’s term. During his first visit, at a private White House Christmas party for staff on December 17, 1977, Talley and his wife Jan sat with the Carters and also danced with the first couple. It was during this party that Talley and his wife found out how much one of his songs meant to Rosalynn Carter.

She explained how much she loved “She Tries Not to Cry” from Talley’s Tryin’ Like the Devil album. As Talley more recently explained on a Facebook post, Rosalynn found some connection to the song about a young woman and her husband moving from eastern Kentucky to Cleveland to find work. The song about the migration from country life to find industrial work, recounts the woman’s loneliness of moving from her home and family to live in a large city.

Rosalynn explained that when she was travelling on the campaign trail and feeling sad and lonely in her hotel room, she would think of the woman in the song. It would make her situation seem trivial by comparison and she would find comfort thinking of that young woman.

After Carter’s presidency, Talley continued to record. Born in Oklahoma on November 9, 1944, Talley is currently in his 80’s and in 2024 released what the said will be his final record, Bandits, Ballads, and Blues.

What is your favorite James Talley song? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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Looking for a Miracle In My Life: The Moody Blues Ask a “Question”

The Moody Blues released “Question” in 1970, created from two songs guitarist Justin Hayward was writing, resulting in a beautiful song suite about seeking solace while struggling with the world’s problems.

Perhaps the most famous instance of songwriters throwing together two unfinished songs to create a great song is when John Lennon and Paul McCartney combined two drafts of songs to create the masterpiece “A Day in the Life” that closed the Beatles’ Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) album. But not long after that album, The Moody Blues also created a classic song when guitarist Justin Hayward combined two songs he was working on, ultimately forming the song “Question.”

The Moody Blues released “Question” as a single in 1970. And they released a new version of the song in 1989. You might not recall the song from the title, but once you hear it, you will remember it.

The Questions Portion of “Question”

“Question” contains two contrasting parts that might initially seem not to go together. The high-powered first part of the suite provides the title of the song:

Why do we never get an answer when we’re knocking at the door,
With a thousand million questions about hate and death and war?
‘Cause when we stop and look around us, there is nothing that we need,
In a world of persecution that is burning in its greed.

Hayward explained that he was inspired to write this section from Vietnam War protests. While touring in the United States, he heard young people express their concerns about the ongoing Vietnam War.

“I was just expressing my frustration around that, around the problems of anti-war and things that really concerned them, and for their own future that they may be conscripted,” Hayward noted. “How that would morally be a dilemma for them,” he thought, “After a decade of peace and love, it still seemed we hadn’t made a difference in 1970.”

The Love Song Portion of “Question”

After starting with the big questions, the song slows down into an acoustic love song:

I’m looking for someone to change my life;
I’m looking for a miracle in my life;
And if you could see what it’s done to me,
To lose the the love I knew could safely lead me through.

This section stands as a beautiful love song on its own, but it works wonderfully combined with the faster question-asking section.

Why the Two Portions of “Question” Fit Together

Amazingly, the two sections fit together beautifully, despite their origins as different songs. There is nothing inconsistent with being upset and angry about societal problems while also seeking solace in one’s personal life.

But in the grey of the morning,
My mind becomes confused;
Between the dead and the sleeping,
And the road that I must choose.

I’m looking for someone to change my life;
I’m looking for a miracle in my life;
And if you could see what it’s done to me,
To lose the love I knew could safely lead me to
The land that I once knew;
To learn as we grow old the secrets of our souls.

Dick Holler’s song “Sanctuary,” recorded live by Dion in 1971, does something similar by singing in the voice of someone seeing the turmoil of the early 1970s and the failures of the promise of the 1960s. Among those worldly problems, the singer seeks a place of peace with friends.

The Moody Blues song “Question” struck a chord with people in the U.S. and U.K when it was released on the album A Question of Balance (1970). The song became one of the most popular Moody Blues songs, going to number two in the U.K. and number twenty-one in the U.S.

Perhaps because the song is so associated with the sound of The Moody Blues, “Question” is not often covered. But the London Symphony Orchestra recorded an instrumental version in 1978, which inspired The Moody Blues to recruit that orchestra to record a new version of “Question” for their 1989 Greatest Hits album.

The song still sounds great all these years later, while remaining relevant as we try to find love and balance in our lives amidst the confusion stemming from the questions in society about hate and death and war.

As we go into a new year, wishing you peace, love, and the answers to our questions.

And that is the story behind the song. Leave your two cents in the comments.

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Song of the Day: Dion’s “Sanctuary”

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“Hello Christmas” from Dion and Amy Grant

Lou Reed Inducting Dion Into Rock Hall

Barbara Dane’s Cool Musical Legacy: “Wild Woman,” “Gasser,” “Hard-Hitter”

Joan Baez in Concert

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Mahalia Jackson: “Silent Night”

One of the great and most influential American gospel singers, Mahalia Jackson recorded one of the definitive versions of “Silent Night.”

One of the reasons I still expand and maintain my own personal CD/MP3 collection is the holiday season, where I want to hear a mix of my favorite Christmas songs I have collected over the years, many that are not on streaming services. Another benefit is that when I put my holiday songs on random play it is more likely one of my favorite recordings will pop up. Of course, a streaming service might make it more likely I would discover something new. But for Christmas, there is a lot to be said for things that are old.

Amidst my collection on some old gospel Christmas collection CD that you can’t even find referenced on the Internet, I have a beautiful version of Mahalia Jackson singing “Silent Night.” There are many lovely versions of the Christmas classic, but hers has become one of my favorites.

Jackson, who was born on October 26, 1911 and passed away on January 27, 1972, is one of the most influential American singers. Her gospel recordings are powerful, both because of her voice and because of her genuine faith. So when she sings about the night Jesus was born, you feel you are there with her, capturing the joy and anguish of the world-shaking birth.

Below, Mahalia Jackson sings “Silent Night,” which was written in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber to lyrics by Joseph Mohr in Austria.

Wishing everyone happy holidays and an inspiring new year.

Leave your two cents in the comments.

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There Will Be Another Christmas

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Once Upon a Time in a Far Off Land (Steve Earle’s “Nothing But a Child”)

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“The Little Drummer Boy” on TV and in Song

New Holiday Music From Sufjan Stevens: “Silver & Gold”

John Lennon and Paul Simon Presenting Grammy for Record of the Year

In March 1975, John Lennon and Paul Simon appeared together at the 17th Annual Grammy Awards to present an award and to have some fun along with Andy Williams and Art Garfunkel.

On March 1, 1975, John Lennon and Paul Simon appeared together at the 17th Annual Grammy Awards, presenting the award for Record of the Year for 1974. Olivia Newton-John, who was not present at the awards, would win the Grammy with producer John Farrar for “I Honestly Love You.” But it was the presentation banter between the two legends that seems most significant today. Joined at various points by Andy Williams and Art Garfunkel, the appearances and the jokes seem like a condensed snapshot of 1975 pop culture.

The four men were connected in a number of ways leading up to this encounter.

Andy Williams and His Connection to John Lennon

First, there is Lennon and Simon (perhaps both drunk?) trading jokes with crooner Andy Williams. While Williams may be less known today, if you were around in the 1970s, you knew him. He was well known for his recordings, The Andy Williams Show, “Moon River,” and his Christmas songs and TV specials. He also hosted the Grammy’s that year and in fact every year between 1971 and 1977.

Viewers would not only know Williams but would know that his former partner “Claudine” referred to in the somewhat risqué banter was his newly ex-wife Claudine Longet. Audience members probably also caught that the “three hits” he referred to from their partnership was their three children.

Although later in life Williams explained that he was a Republican, he also had been friends with the Kennedys. And he also was outspoken against the Nixon Administration’s efforts in the 1970s to deport John Lennon. So, the affection you see between Lennon and Williams is likely genuine.

John Lennon in Early 1975

As for Lennon, in early 1975, he was coming off his famous “Lost Weekend” period and separation from Yoko Ono that lasted from 1973 until early 1975. He was having some success working with other artists (Elton John and David Bowie).

Also, later in 1975 Lennon would release Rock ‘n’ Roll, his last album before his 1980 return with Double Fantasy. A the time of the Grammy’s, Yoko was pregnant. As later in the year on October 9, 1975, John’s 35th birthday, Yoko Ono gave birth to their son Sean Ono Lennon.

Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel in 1975

Simon of course was connected to Art Garfunkel, who appears near the end of the clip. But he also had some mixed experience with Lennon. Simon and Garfunkel had broken up their partnership years earlier. Hence, the joking about whether they would reunite or whether Lennon would reunite (a reference to the 1970’s often-discussed rumors about the Beatles getting back together).

But in 1975 Simon and Garfunkel were doing some work together, although one might detect some tension in the onstage joking. Apparently, not long before this appearance, Simon and Garfunkel had reconciled to some extent when they visited John Lennon and Harry Nilsson during a recording session in 1974.

Simon and Lennon’s Relationship

Apparently, Simon and Lennon had some sort of disagreement during that Harry Nilsson recording session. According to different reports, either Simon walked out or Nilsson threw out both Simon and a drunk Lennon. Lennon also apparently called Simon some names at the time.

But as you see in the exchange, Lennon and Simon seem to have gotten over that riff. And after John Lennon was killed on December 8, 1980, Simon referenced his sadness about the death in “The Late Great Johnny Ace,” a song regarding blues singer Johnny Ace who had died in 1954. “On a cold December evening/ I was walking through the Christmas tide/ When a stranger came up and asked me/ If I’d heard John Lennon had died/ And the two of us/ Went to this bar/ And we stayed to close the place/ And every song we played/ Was for the Late Great Johnny Ace.”

Before that tragedy, though, back in 1975 for one evening, the four talented artists came together for some fun.

Leave your two cents in the comments.

The Last Simon & Garfunkel Concert

Jackson C. Frank’s Beautiful Music From a Tragic Life

Sturgill Simpson and the Dap-Kings: “All Around You”

This Week in Pop Culture Roundup (Nov. 12, 2011)

American Tune

American Tune: We Came on a Ship in a Blood Red Moon

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American Tune: We Came on a Ship in a Blood Red Moon

With only changing a few words in Paul Simon’s “American Tune,” Rhiannon Giddens made the song even more timely.

In 2022, as part of a Grammy salute to Paul Simon, Rhiannon Giddens joined Simon on stage to sing his song, “American Tune.” Besides the great artist tribute and the wonderful performance by Giddens, a significant aspect of this performance was a change in lyrics that further broadened the meaning of the song.

When they taught us as kids in the early 1960s about the United States, we may have learned with a less critical eye than what we understand about history today. Still, one thing that always stands out is that the country thrives when it moves forward to become broader, more accepting, and more loving.

Many of our leaders have understood this truth about our history, perhaps nobody more than Abraham Lincoln, when after a contentious reelection in 1864 during the midst of a Civil War, America did the right thing in choosing the best person for President. He spoke at his inauguration, while the war continued, of having “malice toward none with charity toward all.”

Simon’s “American Tune” has always connected the conflicting views of America as one of both hope and loss. We’ve previously written in another post about the song and its musical origins by composer Johann Sebastian Bach. We noted there are beautiful covers of “American Tune” by artists like Eva Cassidy and Willie Nelson.

Giddens’ version makes the song even more relevant for today. As sung by a woman with African-American and Native American ancestry, her moving performance further reminds us of America’s complicated history, while still maintaining the hope for tomorrow.

The lyric change appears across two lines near the end of the song, a change approved by Simon. In Simon’s original 1973 version, with the nation’s Bicentennial approaching, Simon sang about arriving aboard a certain ship we learned about as kids: “We come on the ship they call The Mayflower/ We come on the ship that sailed the moon.”

But in Giddens’s retelling, she reminds us that not everyone came on the Mayflower. Importantly, though, the lyrics also remind us that those who did not come on the Mayflower play an essential part of singing our American Tune.

And high up above my eyes could clearly see,
The Statue of Liberty,
Sailing away to sea;
And I dreamed I was flying.
We didn’t come here on The Mayflower;
We came on a ship in a blood red moon;
We come in the age’s most uncertain hours,
And sing an American tune.