BOB DYLAN ON COUNTRY MUSIC

Good ole Bob Dylan!
On his newest release 'TOGETHER
THROUGH LIFE", there's a bonus disc
from his radio show. It contains a great
selection of blues and country songs,
along with his PRICELESS commentary.
Among his nuggest of wisdom, is his
take on country music...
regarding the track by George Jones
and Melba Montgomery -
"LET'S INVITE THEM OVER"

I LOVE COUNTRY MUSIC, BUT I SAY WHAT
HAPPENED TO IT? YOU HEAR A SONG LIKE
THIS, AND IT'S OBVIOUS IT'S ABOUT REAL
PEOPLE AND REAL EMOTIONS AND REAL
PROBLEMS. THAT'S ALL THAT'S THE COUNTRY
MUSIC WE LEARNED TO LOVE. NOW DAYS,
THEY WANT TO SWEEP ALL THE PROBLEMS
UNDER THE RUG AND PRETENDS THEY DON'T
EXIST. WELL GUESS WHAT FOLKS,
THEY DO EXIST.
AND IF YOU TRY TO SWEEP THEM
UNDER THE RUG, THEN THEY JUST GONNA
POP UP SOMEWHERE ELSE...SO WE MIGHT
JUST AS WELL FACE IT AND LISTEN TO THE
OLD STYLE COUNTRY MUSIC, THE REAL COUNTRY
MUSIC YOU KNOW,ABOUT

DRINKING AND SLEEPING AROUND.

THAT'S MY KIND OF COUNTRY MUSIC.

and also, in response to a listener's request
for Bob to play garage bands, he says

WHAT EXACTLY IS A GARAGE BAND?
I'VE RECORDED SONGS IN MY GARAGE,
AM I A GARAGE BAND?

Happy Birthday Johnny Cash!

Happy birthday to Johnny- born February 26th, 1932

in Kingsland Arkansas.

Just a few words on why Johnny Cash's legacy

is so big- not only to country, but to rock'n'roll as well.

He was the original outsider in image and

music. His vocals weren't pretty. He sang-spoke

in a common man voice- for the rest of us.

I loved how he always instroduced himself to the

audience, like a regular feller'.

What makes him so memorable was he found the

connection with the greatest American metaphor-

the TRAIN. Always going somewhere, moving forward.

Most of his songs had that chugga-chugga rhythm,

so once you heard a Johnny Cash song, you immediately

knew it was the Man in Black. The railroad meant

freedom, hobos, the chance at adventure.

Johnny also looked different than most country performers-

while everybody else wore rhinestones, he was in black-

a man, who had traveled to the edge, and came back

alive- lived to tell.

What's really amazing is that anyone lived thru the

tour that Jerry Lee Lewis did (his first) with Johnny Cash, Carl

Perkins and Wanda Jackson thru Canada in 1957.

They must have went thru alot of "Pep" pills.

Here's a clip of Johnny, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison

and Jerry Lee performing a song for Elvis (another train

song) on Johnny's Christmas special.

Another thing that was great about Johnny-

how many performers could have had

done a really memorable TV variety show with performers

like Dylan, Neil Young, and Eric Clapton?

Yes, he had alot of different variations-

country singer, gospel singer, prison reformer, variety

show host, outlaw, folk singer, drug addict,

good husband, bad husband, rockabilly pioneer,

perfomer of Trent Rezner and Depeche Mode songs,

but he always remained true to himself and

to his audience.

Check out his really big boots (he was 6-2)

at the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame Annex

in New York City.