Chris Stapleton & Justin Timberlake: “Tennessee Whiskey”

Timberlake Stapleton

The Country Music Association Awards this year featured an unexpected duet showstopper with Chris Stapleton and Justin Timberlake joining forces.  The two performed “Tennessee Whiskey” and Timberlake’s “Drink You Away.” Stapleton also surprised many by winning Male Vocalist of the Year, New Artist of the Year, and Album of the Year awards.

The breakout appearance on the CMA Awards is making Stapleton a new household name as he only recently released his debut album Traveller (2015).  But he has been around a while. Although he was born and raised in Kentucky, the 37-year-old singer-songwriter moved in 2001 to Nashville, where he has written best-selling songs for other artists like George Strait. Notably, he co-wrote Josh Turner’s hit song “Your Man.”

Stapleton has been performing for awhile too.  And from 2008 to 2010, he was the lead singer in the bluegrass band the SteelDrivers. After starting a Southern rock band called The Jompson Brothers, Stapleton went on his own in 2013.

But Stapleton’s work this week with another artist, Justin Timberlake, may help make him more of a household name. Stapleton and Timberlake have been friends for awhile.  And the two talked of performing together even before the CMA show came along.

Check out Stapleton and Timberlake giving a soulful CMA performance of “Tennessee Whiskey,” a song from Stapleton’s Traveller album.

“Tennessee Whiskey,” written by Dean Dillon and Linda Hargrove, became popular in the early 1980s in versions by George Jones and David Allan Coe.

Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    Dylan’s Barking Dogs on “Every Grain of Sand”

    sand chimesfreedom

    One of Bob Dylan’s greatest songs is “Every Grain of Sand.” There are several wonderful versions of the song.  But one unique aspect of the version that appeared on The Bootleg Series, Vols. 1-3 : Rare And Unreleased, 1961-1991 is that you get to hear Dylan’s dogs barking in the background.

    So give a listen to this version of “Every Grain of Sand.” If you are interested in the dogs’ part, pay special attention starting around the 2:14 mark.  Also, listen at around the 3:09 mark.

    Check it out.

    “Every Grain of Sand,” which Dylan first released on Shot Of Love (1981), was listed by Rolling Stone as one of the ten best Dylan songs of the 1980s.  It comes in at number three.

    Photo by Chimesfreedom. What is your favorite version of “Every Grain of Sand”? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    New Beatles ‘A Day in the Life’ Video

    Day in a Life Video

    The 2000 release of number one songs by the Beatles, The Beatles’ 1, is getting a new updated release in a couple of different forms with music videos and the group’s short films. Among the video content, the new Beatles 1+ package includes the Beatles’ original video for “A Day in the Life” from Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967).

    The video for “A Day in the Life” shows the playful side of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. The video footage of them hanging out with friends like the Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger and Keith Richards also includes shots of an orchestra during the 1967 recording sessions. Check out the video for “A Day in the Life.”

    The 1+ package hits stores on November 6.

    Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    Fred Astaire As . . . Alfred E. Neuman?

    In 1959, Fred Astaire danced on television with the odd choice of wearing a mask of Mad Magazine’s Alfred E. Neuman.

    Fred Astaire Mad Magazine
    Toward the end of Fred Astaire’s successful film dancing career, he made several television specials in the 1950s and 1960s. In the second of the four specials, Another Evening with Fred Astaire, Astaire donned a mask of an unusual choice. In a dance sequence for the 1959 show, he performed as Mad Magazine‘s Alfred E. Neuman.

    The dance creeps me out a bit, perhaps because the Neuman mask is such high quality. Astaire had the mask created by movie make-up man John Chambers, who did such great work on the Planet of the Apes films.

    In the segment, Astaire dances to Duke Ellington’s “Sophisticated Lady.”  The performance also features dancer and actress Barrie Chase with Astaire.

    2021 Update:  Unfortunately, the video of the dance is not currently available on YouTube.  But the video below intercuts some of the Alfred E. Neuman dance scenes, putting it to a polka tune. So if you wish to get an idea of the dance, you can check out the video.

    Apparently, folks do not really know why Astaire wanted to be a dancing Alfred E. Neuman, but the Mad Magazine fan in me likes it.

    What do you think of Fred Astaire as Alfred E. Neuman? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    Caitlin Cary After Whiskeytown

    Caitlin Cary

    Singer and musician Caitlin Cary was born on October 28, 1968, growing up in Ohio but eventually ending up in Raleigh, North Carolina. Most folks have probably heard her voice through her association with Ryan Adams, which began in 1993 while she was in graduate school at North Carolina State. The two formed the legendary alt-country group Whiskeytown.

    In the performance below of Whiskeytown’s “Houses on the Hill” on Austin City Limits in 1998, Cary plays the fiddle and backs up Ryan Adams on vocals. The song about a woman whose lover goes off to war first appeared on Whiskeytown’s album 1997 Strangers Almanac. Check it out.

    Although Cary has not had quite the career that Ryan Adams has had after Whiskeytown, she has continued to make great music. I am a big fan of her debut full-length album as a solo artist, While You Weren’t Looking (2002). Below is Cary’s song “Pony” from the album.

    Since While You Weren’t Looking, Cary has continued to make music as both a solo artist and in collaboration with other artists. Following her 2003 solo album I’m Staying Out, she recorded a 2004 album Sweetwater and a 2006 album Bloom, Red & the Ordinary Girl with Tonya Lamm and Lynn Blakey as the group Tres Chicas.

    In between the Tres Chicas albums, she recorded Begonias (2005) with Thad Cockrell. Below is the Cary-Cockrell collaboration on “Two Different Things.”

    More recently, she has recorded as part of the group she created with Matt Douglas, The Small Ponds. In 2010, the group released Caitlin Cary & Matt Douglas Are The Small Ponds.

    Even more recently, she co-founded NC Music Love Army, a music group focusing on promoting progressive politics in North Carolina, as discussed earlier on Chimesfreedom. NC Music Love Army released We Are Not For Sale: Songs Of Protest in 2013.

    Every year or two, there has been talk of Cary and Ryan Adams getting back together for a Whiskeytown reunion.  But for now, I am satisfied that Cary continues to make interesting music. Happy birthday Caitlin Cary!

    What is your favorite song with Caitlin Cary? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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