Shoulders By Amanda on September 5, 2008 11:15 PM | Permalink
A couple of belated vales to Don Helms and Jerry Reed.
I won't recount their discographies, that's what we have Wikipedia for. I think the statement that Helms played on more than 100 Hank Williams Snr songs should say it all on that score.
I linked to this song back at the old blog, in 2005. Novelty? Gosh, yeah. But what's county music without that? Or without its self-referential tributes. That's one of the things country and hip hop has in common and let's not hide it. We learn our own history through song, pretty cool anthro-po-log-ic-ally when you think about it.
Now, steel guitar is country music, right? And Johnny Cash is country music, right? But Johnny Cash hardly had steel in any of his famous recordings. Helms was featured ion a couple of his 60s albums though.
MP3: "These Things Shall Pass" Johnny Cash with Don Helms 2-10 These Things Shall Pass.mp3
But to a country partisan, these notes are sacred and you either do or you do not know what I mean:
A latter day prforamce at the famous Ernest Tubb's in Nashville. This time next year I might have been there -- stay tuned!
Now Jerry Reed's contribution to music is wide and high and varied. But I can't help but go populist again. Maybe it's all that "red meat" still being digested from the DNC and RNC? Shaun taks the high road of amazing musicianship, but me?
Mate, I'm all about Smokey and the Bandit:
