I must admit that I chose this album primarily for its spectacular cover, with a facsimile of an iconic Wurlitzer 1015 jukebox, cowboy trio, Western scene, and jukebox strips listing the contents.
It is indeed a "cowboy hit parade," with some of the big hits of the late 1940s, the difference being that they are not presented by the original hit artists but by the ones who occupied stalls in Capitol's stables.
The back cover (below) suggests that the Capitol artists each picked a tune they wished had been a hit for them for inclusion in this album. I suspect the reality was a little different - at the time, the practice was to for record companies to hustle out cover versions of any song that looked like it might be a hit for a competitor. These were probably cover versions that didn't sell well.
Nonetheless the contents are enjoyable, with Merle Travis and Tex Williams in especially good form. The only dog on the record is Old Shep. Pardon the pun, but I do hate this tune. Ironically two of the songs here were hits for artists who appear elsewhere on the record. Jack Guthrie had a hit with Oklahoma Hills and Tex Williams had a giant success with Shame on You when he was Spade Cooley's vocalist.
By the way, this album is a box of four 45-rpm singles. This was one of the many packaging variations that came along following the 1948 microgroove revolution. The same contents were likely also available in a 78 album and possibly as a 10-inch LP.
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7 comments:
Yeah, pretty sure I would have bought that one based on the cover alone, too. Thanks for sharing. You certainly get both kinds of music around here. Country and Western!
Buster...just wondered if you ever come across any recordings of old cowboy ballads? Many years ago, my mother worked at a music store. She brought home quite a collection of old 78s featuring things like "Billy Venero", "The Texas Ranger", "The Cowboy's Lament" (sometimes known as "Streets Of Laredo"). There don't seem to be very many C/W singers featuring these, anymore.
Gil
Gil - I don't but a good place to start would be the Western Swing on 78s blog - http://westernswing78.blogspot.com. Check the files there and his blog list.
I can second the recommendation for Western Swing on 78s, they come up with some amazing stuff over there.
Buster...I've been to the Western Swing site, before. Mostly, they have things like Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys, old time fiddle music, etc. I did a bit of searching, and found that Marty Robbins had recorded several of these cowboy ballads, including "Billy Venero". I have a tape, made by Michael Martin Murphey, where he sings "Good Bye, Old Paint", and "Streets Of Laredo", etc. The question is: where can you find these on a blog?
First part of Billy Venero:
Billy Venero heard them say,
In an Arizona town one day,
That a band of Apache Indians
Were on the trail of death.
Heard them tell of murder done--
Three men killed at Rocky Run...etc.
First part of "Texas Rangers":
Come all you Texas Rangers,
And listen unto me.
I'll tell of a story
That happened unto me..
My name is nothing extra,
So it I will not tell..
And here's to all you Rangers..
I'm sure I wish you well.
Gil
I can't wait to spin this one. Thank you! You have a really fun site here, and I especially like your commentaries.
Thanks, Dr. Frank - I rather like the cut of your scalpel as well.
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