George Jones | 1931-2013: "His Life Was a Country Song", New York Times, April 26, 2013:
NOTE: George sings the complete song here, but it's from a doc about Leon Russell and alas the filmed image cuts pretty quickly from Jones to someone picking up scorpions in Russell's swimming pool (prepping to paint it).
So, just listen.
"A very pretty song"
"Mr. Jones’s singing was universally respected and just as widely imitated. With a baritone voice that was as elastic as a steel-guitar string, he found vulnerability and doubt behind the cheerful drive of honky-tonk and brought suspense to every syllable, merging bluesy slides with the tight, quivering ornaments of Appalachian singing."Marz sent me this song. I always liked C/W since I got to know it when I was sixteen and had moved to Denver by myself: that's all the radio stations played out there.
NOTE: George sings the complete song here, but it's from a doc about Leon Russell and alas the filmed image cuts pretty quickly from Jones to someone picking up scorpions in Russell's swimming pool (prepping to paint it).
So, just listen.
"A very pretty song"
Beautiful song. I don’t know much modern country music, but George Jones and Hank Williams I always find really moving.
ReplyDeleteI think Leon Russell was paying someone to pick up the scorpions. (That’s not him, or he.)
MICHAEL: I love this song--sort of odd lyrics set to a lullabye-like tune.
ReplyDeleteThanks for pointing out it's not Russell, I'll change that--that makes it an even weirder editing choice...
A lot of modern country on the radio is just pop, but I like pop too.