Jerry Lee Lewis is going to pop up alot in this blog. Sorry, he was a big influence on the Stones. He's a touchstone for all of us. I figure if he's still around, and Keith is still around, there's hope for the rest of us!
One of Jerry's Lee's big influences was Merrill Moore. Like most pianists, he started early- at the age of 9 in Des Moines. I think the biggest influence on Jerry Lee's playing, is Merrill's muscular pumping playing style. All these country and blues guys started playing in some pretty tough juke joints, gambling joints, and for lack of a better word, "Man-Bars". If anyone remembers the scene in the Jerry Lee Lewis movie where he plays behind chicken wire in a bar for protection, that was no joke. As a result most of these musicians learned to play "No Matter What"! Bottles breaking, guns blasting, knives-a knifing. It's exciting to think that at one time people were literally playing as if their lives depended on it.
I wish there was more available on cd from him aside from one title, a great compilation from the Bear Family "Boogie My Blues Away"
This morning I discovered my Peace Lily bloomed. Did it face the window towards the sun? No. It faced towards this picture of Jerry Lee Lewis. It was standing proud and tall.
In fairness to the Peace Lily, it was a cloudy rainy day.
Today was Patsy's last day with us- March 5, 1963 just about a decade after we lost Hank Williams Sr.
I keep feeling compelled to listen to her song "A Poor Man's Roses". Her vocals are so simple, as are the lyrics (written by Bob Hilliard and Milton De Lugg). There's nothing so evocative as the image of "a rich man's gold" and a " poor man's roses" ...truly down-home lyrics.
But I really want to talk about her biggest hit "Crazy". Unlike most country songs at that time, it has a simple paired- down orchestration.
According to Owen Bradley, the label wanted a track for Patsy that wasn't overtly country- something they could sell on the pop stations, so even though they had a 3-track set up (sophisticated at that time) they minimized most of the other instruments, prominently keeping the piano of Floyd Cramer. Although Floyd was known for his fluid slip- piano playing, he kept it low key, for a late nite smokey barroom, 4-in-the-morning-feel. The emphasis is on the vocals.
Willie Nelson had written the track for Patsy. Thank god, Owen Bradley had loved it, because Patsy didn't.
Maybe she thought it was too young for her. Patsy was on her second marriage, about to hit thirty, and in those days, that was considered middle aged.
The track was unusual, with a steady chromatic rise, echoing in subtle way the theme of "crazy love". This wasn't your usual A-chord D- chord progression and there wasn't any pedal-steel.
About a month after suffering a serious car accident, Patsy had returned to record "Crazy". She had a hard time singing the high notes- due in part to injuries to her ribs, and not being able to copy Willie Nelson's vocals on his demo. Supposedly, she had returned a week later, to record the vocals in one take completely differently.
The song would go on to be a hit on the country and pop charts, and go on to re-define what the definition of a "country" song was and could be.