Before he could complete his final “The Grand Farewell Tour†tour, country music legend George Jones died last April. Travis Tritt, Alan Jackson, Patty Loveless, Vince gill and others paid tribute to Jones during his funeral at the Ryman auditorium and and Randy Travis and Joe Nichols have released tribute tracks in tribute. Now we can look forward to a new release from The Possum himself.
On September 10, two days before what would have been his 82nd birthday, “George Jones – Amazing Grace.” will be released. Jones recorded all the gospel songs on the album in 2002 with producer Billy Sherrill with the exception of “Great Judgment Morning,†which was produced by Brian Ahern in 1994. “Great Judgment Morning†includes vocals by Waylon Jennings, Jessi Colter, Travis Tritt, Ricky Skaggs, Marty Stuart and Connie Smith.
The album will be released on Bandit Records, which Jones established in 2000 with his widow, Nancy. The country music star had to convince longtime collaborator Sherill to come out of retirement to make the recordings. One song on the album, Great Judgement Morning, featuring guest vocals by Waylon Jennings, Jessi Colter, Travis Tritt, Ricky Skaggs, Marty Stuart and Connie Smith, was produced by Brian Ahern in 1994.
“I’ve always said that if I could have made a living some way in gospel music, I would have loved to had that break,” Jones said in early 2000, “but it never was offered to me, a job in that field, so naturally, I got lost on that other road.”
Ultimate Classic Rock reports that Capitol/UME will release a The four-CD, one-DVD set of The Band live at their peak.
The concerts are from the last week of 1971 and is entitled ‘Live at the Academy of Music 1971′ (Sept. 17)
From Ultimate Classic Rock “The four-CD, one-DVD set gathers 56 performances from the group’s Dec. 28-31 shows at New York City’s Academy of Music. A two-LP version of the concerts was released in 1972 as ‘Rock of Ages.’
The expanded box set will include a mix of all four nights’ shows on two discs (which make up all the songs they played during the four-night stand) and the complete New Year’s Eve concert on the remaining two CDs. Songs include Band classics like ‘The Weight’ and ‘The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down.’ The complete track list is below.
In addition to cover songs and reworked versions of their own tracks, ‘Live at the Academy of Music 1971′ spotlights new horn arrangements by Allen Toussaint as well as a surprise guest appearance by Bob Dylan, who joined his old backing band on four songs during the New Year’s Eve show encore.
The DVD includes the remastered first two discs of the box in surround sound, plus two video clips — ‘King Harvest (Has Surely Come)’ and ’The W.S. Walcott Medicine Show’ – from the Dec. 31 concert. The set also includes a 48-page hardbound book with photos and essays.”
The Band’s ‘Live at the Academy of Music 1971′ Track List:

Disc 1
‘The W.S. Walcott Medicine Show’
‘The Shape I’m In’
‘Caledonia Mission’
‘Don’t Do It’
‘Stage Fright’
‘I Shall Be Released’
‘Up on Cripple Creek’
‘This Wheel’s on Fire’
‘Strawberry Wine’
‘King Harvest (Has Surely Come)’
‘Time to Kill’
‘The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down’
‘Across the Great Divide’
Disc 2
‘Life Is a Carnival’
‘Get Up Jake’
‘Rag Mama Rag’
‘Unfaithful Servant’
‘The Weight’
‘Rockin’ Chair’
‘Smoke Signal’
‘The Rumor’
‘The Genetic Method’
‘Chest Fever’
‘(I Don’t Want To) Hang Up My Rock and Roll Shoes’
‘Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever’
‘Down in the Flood’ (With Bob Dylan)
‘When I Paint My Masterpiece’ (With Bob Dylan)
‘Don’t Ya Tell Henry’ (With Bob Dylan)
‘Like a Rolling Stone’ (With Bob Dylan)
Disc 3
 ‘Up on Cripple Creek’
‘The Shape I’m In’
‘The Rumor’
‘Time To Kill’
‘Rockin’ Chair’
‘This Wheel’s on Fire’
‘Get Up Jake’
‘Smoke Signal’
‘I Shall Be Released’
‘The Weight’
‘Stage Fright’
Disc 4
‘Life Is a Carnival’
‘King Harvest (Has Surely Come)’
‘Caledonia Mission’
‘The W.S. Walcott Medicine Show’
‘The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down’
‘Across the Great Divide’
‘Unfaithful Servant’
‘Don’t Do It’
‘The Genetic Method’
‘Chest Fever’
‘Rag Mama Rag’
‘(I Don’t Want To) Hang Up My Rock and Roll Shoes’
‘Down in the Flood’ (With Bob Dylan)
‘When I Paint My Masterpiece’ (With Bob Dylan)
‘Don’t Ya Tell Henry’ (With Bob Dylan)
‘Like a Rolling Stone’ (With Bob Dylan)
David Letterman, and his Late Show booking crew, have been long-time enthusiastic supporters of country and Americana music. Recently it seems like Dave has invited a roots artist to play every night of the week, and this is great new for the artists needing exposure and fans looking for great music.
And as Saving Country Music tells it, the Late Show was the one that reached out to many of these artists to perform on the program. Many of them, like dale Watson and Shove;s and Rope, getting national exposure for the first time.
Here’s to you, Dave and crew, for championing great roots and Americana music like the clips below.
Ryan Adams – Lucky Now – December 5, 2011
Shovels & Rope – Birmingham – David Letterman January 30, 2013
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfPnGEgtDXI
Elizabeth Cook – If I Had My Way, I’d Tear This Building Down – March, 14 2013
Dale Watson & His Lonestars – “I Lie When I Drink” – June 24, 2013
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHcRTTy0Epg
Ray Wylie Hubbard – Mother Blues – David Letterman – January 9, 2013
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r92RkIKm6Wc
Marty Stuart “Country Boy Rock & Roll” June 29, 2010
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcJ80pKqsA0
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit “Codeine” – November 2004
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUzc7cUaPWs
Country music legend Alan Jackson might have spent the 90’s in the shadow of Garth Corp. But he’s done far more in his career to preserve the legacy of great country music.
On September 24 Jackson will release the album he’s hinted at for years. Alan Jackson will release his first bluegrass album – appropriately titled The Bluegrass Album. Jackson wrote eight songs for the album, which also includes other originals and a couple of well-known standards of the genre – include The Dillards’ “There Is A Time,†John Anderson’s “Wild and Blue†and a ¾-time version of Bill Monroe’s seminal “Blue Moon of Kentucky.â€
The Bluegrass Album will be released on ACR (Alan’s Country Records)/EMI Records Nashville and is produced by Keith Stegall and Jackson’s nephew, Adam Wright.
The album featured some of the best players and singers in bluegrass, Scott Coney (acoustic guitar), Sammy Shelor (banjo), Adam Steffey (mandolin), Tim Crouch (fiddle), Tim Dishman (bass), Rob Ickes (dobro) and Ronnie Bowman and Don Rigsby (vocals). The performers came together, emerging in a matter of days with the completed acoustic album.
The Bluegrass Album track listing:
1.) Long Hard Road – Alan Jackson
2.) Mary – Alan Jackson
3.) Appalachian Mountain Girl – Alan Jackson
4.) Tie Me Down – Alan Jackson
5.) Way Beyond The Blue – Mark D. Sanders/Randy Albright/Lisa Silver
6.) Ain’t Got Trouble Now – Adam Wright
7.) Blue Ridge Mountain Song – Alan Jackson
8.) Blacktop – Alan Jackson
9.) Blue Side of Heaven – Alan Jackson
10.) There Is A Time – Rodney Dillard/Mitch Jayne
11.) Wild and Blue – John Scott Sherrill
12.) Knew All Along – Adam Wright/Shannon Wright
13.) Let’s Get Back to Me and You – Alan Jackson
14.) Blue Moon of Kentucky – Bill Monroe
Building on the already excellent initial lineup announcement the Nashville-based Americana Music Association has released has released the full roster of artists performing during the event.
Some of the additions that stand out to me are roots-rockers Shooter Jennings and Austin Lucas, alt.country stalwarts Bottle Rockets and Ashley Monroe who apparently has no problem working both the Americana and Music Row sides of the fence (good!) One performer I’m bummed to see missing from the roster is Jason Isbell (Though his talented better half, Amanda Shires, is on the list.) There might be scheduling conflicts with his current tour supporting the excellent “Southeastern.”
The vagueness of Americana’s boundaries allows a richness and diversity within a shared source and vision. it’s what legend, and scheduled performer, Darrell Scott describes positively as a “hard-to-define place.”
the selections show a broad range of diversity and excellence the of the genre. Great to see many Casa Twang favorites represented as well.
The AMA has created a Spotify playlist of the performers on the 2013 bill.
The 14th annual event will take place in Nashville, Sept. 18-22. I’ll be there. hope you are too!
Americana Music Festival & Conference Showcase Performing Artistt
Alanna Royale
Amanda Shires
American Aquarium
Amy Speace
Andrew Combs
Andrew Leahey & the Homestead
Aoife O’Donovan
Ashley Monroe
Austin Lucas
Band of Heathens
Bear’s Den
Ben Miller Band
Bhi Bhiman
Billy Bragg
Black Prairie
Bobby Rush
Bottle Rockets
Brian Wright
Chelsea Crowell
Claire Lynch
Daniel Romano
Darrell Scott & Tim O’Brien
Dash Rip Rock
David Bromberg
Delbert McClinton
Della Mae
Donna the Buffalo
Drew Holcomb & the Neighbors
DUGAS
Elephant Revival
Farewell Drifters
Field Report
Frank Fairfield
Hillbilly Killers
Holly Williams
Houndmouth
Howe Gelb
Howlin’ Brothers
Hurray for the Riff Raff
Infamous Stringdusters
JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound
JD McPherson
Joe Fletcher & the Wrong Reasons
Joe Nolan
John Fullbright
Jonny Fritz
Josh Rouse
Joy Kills Sorrow
Judah & the Lion
Justin Townes Earle
Kim Richey
Kruger Brothers
Laura Cantrell
Lera Lynn
Levi Lowrey
Lindi Ortega
Lisa Marie Presley
Luella & the Sun
Mandolin Orange
Matt Mays
Max Gomez
McCrary Sisters
Melody Pool
Mustered Courage
My Darling Clementine
Nicki Bluhm & the Gramblers
Nikki Lane
Noah Gunderson
Nora Jane Struthers
North Mississippi Allstars
NQ Arbuckle
Old Man Luedecke
Over The Rhine
Parker Millsap
Patrick Sweany
Paul Kelly
Peter Bruntnell
Phil Madeira
Pokey LaFarge
Randall Bramlett
Rayland Baxter
Richard Thompson
Rosanne Cash
Rose Cousins
Sam Doores, Riley Downing & the Tumbleweeds
Samantha Crain
Shakey Graves
Shannon McNally
Shel
Shooter Jennings
Sons of Fathers
Spirit Family Reunion
St. Paul and the Broken Bones
Steelism
Steep Canyon Rangers
Stewart Mann & the Statesboro Revue
Sturgill Simpson
Susan Cowsill
The Bushwackers
The Del-Lords
The Devil Makes Three
The Greencards
The Lone Bellow
The Lost Brothers
The Stray Birds
The Westbound Rangers
The White Buffalo
Tim Easton
Tommy Malone
Treetop Flyers
Two Man Gentleman Band
Uncle Lucius
Water Liars
Wheeler Brothers
Willie Sugarcaps
Willy Mason
Wood Brothers
When asked what album best symbolizes the dawn of the Americana genre folks with a long memory, or a deep knowledge of music history, might choose The Band’s “Music from Big Pink.” Bob Dylan’s once touring band released their debut in 1968 to critical-acclaim but poor sales but later historical acclaim.
Others might select the more recent roots music foray into popular consciousness, the soundtrack to “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” The Coen Brother’s Depression-era, satirical ode to Homer’s Odyssey provided the perfect format for singer/songwriter/producer T Bone Burnett to weld his sepia alchemy. Burnett gathered bygone era bluegrass, country, gospel, blues, and folk music and shaped a platinum-selling, Grammy-winning soundtrack that payed more than a backdrop, but played more of a sonic companion to the film/
And then someone might choose any one of Gram Parson’s solo works as well as his work with The Byrds, the Flying Burrito Brothers and International Submarine Band.
All the above are exemplary works of cross-genre efforts that laid the groundwork for this mutt genre we call Americana.
My choice would be Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s “Will the Circle be Unbroken.”
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band was founded just south of Los Angeles, in Long Beach, California, by singer-guitarist Jeff Hanna and singer-songwriter guitarist Bruce Kunke. The two performed together in local bands and neighborhood jam sessions brought guitarist/washtub bassist Ralph Barr, guitarist-clarinetist Les Thompson, harmonicist and jug player Jimmie Fadden and guitarist-vocalist Jackson Browne. After a few months Jackson left for a solo career and was replaced by John McEuen.
After some moderate early career success the band their fourth album, “Uncle Charlie & His Dog Teddy,”in 1970. The album leaned more on a traditional country and bluegrass sound, and yelled the band’s best-sellng and best-known single, a cover version of Jerry Jeff Walker’s “Mr. Bojangles.”
During a Boulder Colorado jam session, involving none other than Earle Scruggs and his band, the idea was hatched to head to Nashville to record with some of the living legends of country music. Soon after, the scruffy long-haired California band arrived in conservative to Nashville to collaborate on the album later known as “Will the Circle be Unbroken.” With Scruggs help the the band recruited Roy Acuff, Jimmy Martin, Pete “Oswald” Kirby, Norman Blake and Mother Maybelle Carter.
The performances have a feeling of ease and informality , much like the jam sessions that led to their creation. Some of the greatest songs to music history by Hank Williams (“I Saw the Light,” Honky Tonkin’,” “Honky Tonk Blues”) Jimmie Skinner (“You Don’t Know My Mind,”) as well as compositions by the performers themselves and well-known traditionals.
All the tracks on the album was recorded on the first or second take straight to two-track masters.As great as the music is another tape that ran during the sessions captured the colorful, enlightening, and after hilarious, dialog between the performers.
Before breaking into his “The Precious Jewel,” Roy Acuff confides to his accompanying musicians his “Secret of his policy in the studio.” “Whenever you once decide you’re going to record a number put everything you’ve got into it, because..Don’t say “Oh we’ll take it over and do it again.” because every time you go through it you lose a little something….let’s do it the first time and to hell with the rest of themâ€
The band then goes on to take his advice and nails the rollicking weeper in one take
The band egg each other on. kid around and discuss song arrangements and origins. Then there’s one-of-a-kind moments like the first meeting of folk legend Doc Watson and the equally legendary Merle Travis, after whom Doc Watson’s son, Merle, was named.
The album was nominated for two 1973 Grammy awards including Best Country & Western Vocal Performance – Duo Or Group for the A.P. Carter title song. More importantly it bridged generations across geography, culture and politics and laid the groundwork for the music that reminds us of our shared heritage and nourishes our souls
All right Civil Wars fans, this is what we’ve been waiting for. Proof of the upcoming album that might not have been.
While riding high on the wave of their best-selling, Grammy award winning, Barton Hollow the pop-roots duo abruptly canceled a amidst a UK tour, citing “internal discord and irreconcilable differences of ambition.”
Then last month the Civil Wars revealed that they’d completed a new self-titled album, a result of a Nashville recording session last fall with Barton Hollow’s producer Charlie Peacock.
Now a single “The One That Got Away,” (no, it’s not a Katy Perry cover.) It’s got the typical Civil Wars dramatic vibe but with more of an edge. What stands out is Joy Williams is more up in the mix with John Paul White as supporting in contrast to their more equally handling of vocal duties on their earlier EP and album.
“I wish I’d never ever seen your face,†Williams sings convincingly “I wish you were the one that got away.â€
The band’s labels, Sensibility Music/Columbia Records, give some context to the song in the accompanying press release “The [new] album was recorded amidst a grueling touring schedule, exhausting workload and a growing disconnect from their families.â€
More omens abound with the video for “The One That Got Away,†and the new album’s cover, features nothing more than a billowing cloud of black smoke.
Can all the bad blood be overcome to allow the band to embark on a tour to support the sure to be a huge selling new release? Stay tuned when it’s release August 6th.
Once there was a woman of musical talent, persistence and ingenuity who performed original songs and favorite covers to audiences worldwide. She was a road warrior for over 30 years before catching a career changing break. Belief in herself, and her craft, took her to heights she’d never imagined. It helped drive her that she possessed the confidence that she certainly deserved to succeed. She believed.
Fellow musicians and industry professionals, caught in a music business grasping for identity, relevance and diminishing revenue, applauded her drive. Though her music – a pop-folk, adult contemporary mix not unlike Sheryl Crow – might not be their shot of hooch, they all treated her with respect and heralded her as a harbinger of the DIY work ethic. One where an artist can circumvent gatekeepers and industrial trip-wires and engage the double edge levers of technology to snag a professional success. Even a Grammy nomination.
Well, not quite. Linda Chorney, a black horse in the run for the 2012 Grammy Award for Americana Album of the year , was nominated among rock/country/folk/Americana heavy hitters Emmylou Harris, Ry Cooder, Lucinda Williams and Levon Helm (winner.) She used the Grammy social network, Grammy 365, to get her 7th album, Emotional Jukebox, in front of Academy members who nominated her for the short list for a little statue.
Chorney’s success from planning, help from friends and loved ones, dumb luck and shear will was met by some in the Americana community with almost immediate online character assassination, professional chicanery and calls for withdrawal of her nomination. On what grounds were the calls of withdrawal based? Accusations of “cheating” and “gaming the system” abounded though no actual proof was presented.
“Who The F$%# is Linda Chorney” details the her road to the Grammys much in a manner like her blog posts. Unguarded, profane observational bursts of of highs and lows that ring of authenticity. She tells of making the best of a once-in-a-lifetime moment – dress fittings in New York, cover features in Variety, shooting a music video in L.A. with renowned/producer Forrest Murray, walking the red carpet and hob-nobbing with her hero Gregg Allman. All the while enduring vile online and personal attacks and undermining. She does it in a way that never becomes dour and for reason both litigious and polite she changes the “names of the guilty.”
The worst offenders were those most threatened by by her unconventional success. media relations specialists, radio professionals and labels all piled on. Instead of accolades toward someone producing the stuff we all profess to celebrate – music- and a moment of professional self-reflection and reassessment where value is produced in the new music order, there was a circling of wagons and shots ringing into the night. The old guard reacted as you might expect. Attack and attempt retrenchment in a landscape shifting beneath their feet.
Though there was no official condemnation from the Nashville-based trade group Americana Music Association, the choice to not issue it’s standard nominee congratulatory press release that year, for the first time in history of the Americana Album of the year 3 year history, spoke volumes.
Cards on that table – I was the official Americana blogger for the Grammys during this whole sad affair. I have a small part in the book and was surprised to discover in reading it that I was the first person to interview her after her nomination. I was also a witness to much of the online attacks and for a while got caught up in, complete with threats, the ugliness that transpired. Truth be told, i was ashamed of our community of outcasts. I still see it as a dark period.
In the aftermath of the spotlight Chorney has brought her story to the prestigious TED talk series (below) and she sang the Star Spangled Banner for her beloved Boston Red Socks and recently recording a song memory of 8 year old Boston bombing victim Martin Richard
Oh, and she wrote a book which she’s now shopping around to be made into a film.
Whether you see Chorney as a gatecrashing outsider or a industrious rebel, her story is one that any artist toiling on the road can take to heart as proof that if you believe in your craft, and cultivate a gift for gab and a sense of marketing, success can be yours. It’s also a cautionary tale for the music industry and self-appointed gatekeepers that access ain’t what it used to be.
The Recording Academy continues what they call a “continuing evolution” of the Grammy Awards with changes in three categories, including our beloved Americana category.
If you remember a couple of years ago the organization caused a backlash when they eliminated categories and folded many into already existing genres. Those changes remain three new changes are being implemented “to ensure the Awards process remains representative of the current musical landscape.”
Two years ago, the organization made major waves in the industry with a long list of changes to existing categories that saw many areas condensed and elicited protests from multiple genres. Those changes have stuck while three new changes are being implemented “to ensure the Awards process remains representative of the current musical landscape.”
In 2009, the Academy split the category for Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album into two separate categories: Best Contemporary Folk Album and Best Americana Album.
The strength of the Americana genre’s grow is being recognized the addition of the Best American Roots Song. “A songwriter’s award, it will encompass all of the subgenres of the Field (Americana, bluegrass, blues, folk, regional roots music), and puts the Field in line with the Rock, Rap, R&B, Country, and Gospel/CCM Fields, all of which have songwriters’ awards.”
This is great news as it allows the Recording Academy to better reward the broad pool of talent that makes up the genre.
The United States Postal Service, John Carter Cash and other members of the Cash family will the release of a limited-edition Johnny Cash Forever stamp June 5, 2013 at historic Ryman Auditorium (116 Fifth Avenue, Nashville) at 10:30 a.m. CDT. Doors open for stamp sales at 9 a.m. and the event is free and open to the public.
Artists set to appear, perform or speak include John Carter Cash, Carlene Carter, Larry Gatlin, Jamey Johnson, The Oak Ridge Boys, The Roys, Marty Stuart and Randy Travis among others. 650AM WSM personality Bill Cody will serve as emcee of the event.
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“It is an amazing blessing that my father Johnny Cash be honored with the issue of this stamp. Dad was a hard-working man, a man of dignity. As much as anything else, he was a proud American, always supporting his family, fans and country. I can think of no better way to pay due respect to his legacy than through the release of this stamp,†said John Carter Cash.
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“My family is thrilled that my father will grace a United States ‘Forever’ stamp, a great honor for any American, and an honor that would have particularly delighted him. It is a joy to know that generations will use this stamp, and my father will forever be where he loved to be: traveling the world,†added Rosanne Cash.
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About the Limited-Edition Johnny Cash Forever Stamp:
Designed by art director Greg Breeding, the Johnny Cash stamp features a photograph captured by Frank Bez during the photo session for Ring of Fire: The Best of Johnny Cash (1963). The stamp is part of the U.S. Postal Service’s Music Icon series, which also includes stamps honoring Lydia Mendoza (available now)  and Ray Charles (to be released in September).
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The stamps will be available for purchase at the Ryman Auditorium June 5 from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m., at the CMA Festival Fan Fair X at LP Field June 6-9, local Post Offices and online at usps.com/stamps.
