We recently reported on John Prine’s upcoming album of duets For Better, For Worse and his duet with Iris DeMent on “Who’s Gonna Take the Garbage Out.” Now, you may listen to another track on the album, “Color of the Blues.”
Susan Tedeschi joins Prine on the song. Check out their recording of “Color of the Blues,” which is played over a promotional video for the album.
The song about a lover’s letter on blue paper was written by George Jones and Lawton Williams. Jones released his original version of “Color of the Blues” on January 15, 1958.
Below is the original version by Jones.
Jones recorded the song more than once, and artists such as Loretta Lynn and Elvis Costello have covered it.
Prine’s album For Better, Or Worse features duets with women artists such as Miranda Lambert, Kacey Musgraves, Lee Ann Womack, Holly Williams, and Alison Krauss. It hits stores and the Internet on September 30, 2016.
On September 16, 1966, The Otis Redding Special aired in the U.K. as part of the Ready, Steady, Go! series. In a little more than a year, Otis Redding would be dead in a plane crash, but on this special he showed TV audiences why he was The King of Soul.
The series Ready, Steady, Go! ran from 1963 to 1966 in the U.K. on Friday evenings at 6:00-7:00 p.m with the slogan, “the weekend starts here.” Keith Fordyce, Michael Aldred, and Cathy MacGowan hosted Ready, Steady, Go! at various times (alone or co-hosting). MacGowan, who became a trendsetter at the time, hosted from 1964-1966 (Fordyce left in 1965), and you may see MacGowan at the beginning of the video.
In the Otis Redding Special episode, British singer Chris Farlowe and The Animals’ Eric Burdon also appeared on the show.
During the broadcast, Redding performed, “Satisfaction,” “My Girl,” “Respect,” “Pain in My Heart,” I Can’t Turn You Loose,” “Shake,” and “Land of 1000 Dances.”
Burdon and Farlowe joined Redding on the last two songs. Additionally, Burdon performed “Hold On I’m Coming,” and Farlowe performed “This Is A Man’s World.” Check out the video where both Redding and the audience appear to be having a blast.
In other Redding news, a 6-CD set Live At The Whisky A Go Go: The Complete Recordings was released on October 21, 2016. The collection expands on the classic Redding album with all of Redding’s performances over three nights at the Sunset Strip club.
What is your favorite performance on the Otis Redding Special? Leave your two cents in the comments.
There are two songs called “Beer Run” that are very similar. Did the George Jones and Garth Brooks version steal from Todd Snider’s “Beer Run”?
Singer-songwriter Todd Snider tells a funny story about his song “Beer Run” and how his song may or may not have been co-opted by other songwriters. A song with a similar title as Snider’s song was later recorded by Garth Brooks and George Jones.
Having heard both songs, I initially thought the George Jones and Garth Brooks song was a cover of the Todd Snider song. But it is a different song.
Todd Snider’s “Beer Run”
First, check out Todd Snider’s “Beer Run.” Snider’s song appeared on his 2001 album New Connection, and a live version of the song appears on his 2002 CD Near Truths and Hotel Rooms.
This Todd Snider version is from March 2007, with Snider performing at Front Porch House Concerts in Boulder Colorado.
The Garth Brooks and George Jones “Beer Run”
In 2001, Garth Brooks and George Jones recorded their version of the song called “Beer Run.” The Garth Brooks song appeared on Brooks’s 2001 album Scarecrow, and it was written by Kent Blazy, Kim Williams, Amanda Williams, Keith Anderson, and George Ducas.
Like Snider’s song, the Garth Brooks one uses spelling of the phrase (“B double E double are you in” [get it? r-u-n]) in the chorus.
And here is George Jones joining Garth Brooks singing “Beer Run”:
Even though George Jones is one of the greatest singers of all-time, the Todd Snider song “Beer Run” is much superior to the other version, at least in my estimation.
Todd Snider’s Response
But what does Snider think about the rip-off of his song? In the video below, after telling the funny story of the two songs, Snider shows how he can play the same game.
Thus, Snider sings “his” new song that just happens to have a similar title to “If Tomorrow Never Comes,” one of Garth Brooks’s recordings that Brooks wrote with Kent Blazy (one of the “Beer Run” songwriters). The video is from the same March 2007 Colorado performance as above.
Although at one point, both sides thought the other side stole “Beer Run,” they eventually agreed to assume they both were written independently. Snider did later have a brief encounter with Blazy about the song.
But Snider has no animosity toward Garth Brooks. The superstar treated Snider well when he planned to use one of Snider’s songs for his Chris Gaines project.
Which “Beer Run” do you prefer? Leave your two cents in the comments.
In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones recorded a jingle for Rice Krispies. In the television commercial, Mick Jagger sings about “Rice Krispies for you and you and you.”
Folks think the ad was made around 1963 or 1964. That places the commercial around the time of the first albums by the Rolling Stones, including 1964’s The Rolling Stones (called England’s Newest Hitmakers in the U.S.) and 1964’s U.S. album 12 X 5.
Although the Stones themselves do not appear in the commercial, the ad includes what looks like screaming fans at a rock concert. And the voice is unmistakable. Check it out.
A certain beer commercial gives viewers glimpses of the life of “the most interesting man of the world.” If the commercials were to choose a famous singer, a good choice for the most interesting man would be folk singer Glenn Yarbrough, who passed away recently on August 11, 2016 in Nashville at the age of 86. Yarbrough, who was born in Milwaukee on January 12, 1930, had quite an interesting life outside his music career, which included the hit song, “Baby the Rain Must Fall.”
The Limeliters
As the New York Times obituary reported, Yarbrough was someone who “found fame and fortune . . . but who walked away from it all for a life at sea.” Yet, there is more to the story.
Yarbrough first turned to music while in college after hearing and meeting Woody Guthrie. The next day, he went and bought a guitar.
During the Korean War, Yarbrough worked as a codebreaker and then went on to entertain troops. After his service, he opened a club in Aspen, Colorado called the Limelite.
The club name provided the foundation for the folk group Yarbrough formed in the late 1950s with Alex Hassilev and Louis Gottlieb. The Limeliters released their first album in 1960.
During the folk revival of the 1960s, the Limeliters achieved significant success selling records, performing, and in TV appearances. They performed both traditional (“John Henry”) and contemporary (“Charlie, the Midnight Marauder”) numbers.
Below, you may see the Limeliters performing in 1963, starting with “Wabash Cannonball.” Yarbrough is the singer on the right who is playing guitar and has a wonderful tenor voice.
“Baby the Rain Must Fall”
Yarbrough left the group in 1963 with the intent to spend the next decade sailing. But the record company convinced him to continue recording as a solo artist.
In 1965, Yarbrough had his biggest hit with “Baby the Rain Must Fall,” the song from the movie of the same name starring Steve McQueen and Lee Remick. In the film, McQueen lip synced the song as a singer named Billy Strange actually provided the vocals. The song was written by Elmer Bernstein and Ernie Sheldon.
While the movie presented a folk version of “Baby the Rain Must Fall,” Yarbrough’s version features drums and a full instrumentation, more fitting of a pop song in the 1960s. Below, Yarbrough performs “Baby the Rain Must Fall” on Hollywood Go Go. Before he starts singing, you may hear him talking about his love of the sea.
Other Music in the 1960s
In the mid-1960s, Yarbrough collaborated with poet and songwriter Rod McKuen on several albums, including The Lonely Things: The Love Songs of Rod McKuen(1966). That album featured the song “People Change.”
Yarbrough also sang the title song from the holiday TV special, The Christmas That Almost Wasn’t (1966). You may hear his voice toward the end of this commercial for the American-Italian film.
Helping Others . . . and Sailing the Sea
Yarbrough remained restless as he built his successful music career. For example, in the mid 1960s, he became frustrated performing for the well-off people who could afford tickets to his concerts.
So, by the late 1960s, Yarbrough sold many of his possessions — including several fancy cars and real estate holdings. And he started a school in the mountains outside Los Angeles for disadvantaged children, most who were African-American. The school lasted until it had to close for lack of funds in the early 1970s.
By then, Yarbrough returned to the sea for the most part of five years. He rented out his home and traveled with his second wife and their baby aboard a 57-foot sailboat he had helped build.
For the next three decades, Yarbrough spent much of his time at sea. He returned to dry land periodically to make money recording and performing both as a solo artist and at Limeliters reunion concerts.
If you saw the 1977 animated Rankin/Bass television version of The Hobbit, you may remember Yarbrough’s recognizable voice. He sang musical numbers for The Hobbit, including “The Greatest Adventure.” He also recorded songs for The Return of the King (1980).
Until Yarbrough moved to live with his daughter six years ago, he lived on Lake Chapala, near Guadalajara, Mexico. There, he grew fruit and vegetables that he gave to the poor.
Restlessness and Meaning
Although Yarbrough suffered from dementia at the end of his life, he seems to have been one of the most perceptive and grounded entertainers in history. He once commented how success is “meaningless,” where a performer is loved not for his music but for his fame.
Yarbrough’s life seems to have been a constant struggle to give meaning to his restless life. From what we know, he never seemed completely settled, being separated from his fourth wife at the time of his death. But through the various left turns, he constructed a fascinating life.
Yarbrough gave to others in a number of ways. But I hope as he sails the heavens that he realized how much he also gave with his voice.
What is your favorite Glenn Yarbrough song? Leave your two cents in the comments.
was released on October 21, 2016. The collection expands on the classic Redding album with all of Redding’s performances over three nights at the Sunset Strip club.
in the U.S.) and 1964’s U.S. album 
.
A certain beer commercial gives viewers glimpses of the life of “the most interesting man of the world.” If the commercials were to choose a famous singer, a good choice for the most interesting man would be folk singer 
(1966). That album featured the song “People Change.”