Tag Archives: Gene Autry

Twang Nation – Holidays at the Ranch Mix -2011

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Here’s a little something to stuff your sock,  warm your chestnuts and spike your nog. There’s some traditional (Gene Autry – Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer) and the less-so (Drive-By Truckers – Mrs. Claus’ Kimono.) But, I’m sure there’s something here for everyone, except your Uncle Jack, that ass hates everything. Enjoy and Happy Holidays, y’all!

Twang Nation – Holidays at the Ranch Mix -2011

Gene Autry – Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer
Willie Nelson – Pretty Paper
John Prine – I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
Emmylou Harris – O Little Town of Bethlehem
Drive-By Truckers – Mrs. Claus’ Kimono
Steve Earle – Nothing But A Child
Johnny Cash – Silent Night
Commander Cody – Daddy’s Drinking Up Our Christmas
George Jones – Mr. & Mrs. Santa Claus
Dolly Parton – Hard Candy Christmas
Michael Martin Murphey – Two-Step ‘Round The Christmas Tree/Two-Step Medley
Waylon Jennings – Away In A Manger
Dwight Yoakam – Run Run Rudolph
Merle Haggard – If We Make It Through December
The Mavericks – Santa Claus Is Back In Town
Alan Jackson with Alison Krauss – The Angels Cried
Clay Walker – Blue Christmas
Chris LeDoux – Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
Suzy Bogguss – Two-Step ‘Round The Christmas Tree
Deana Carter – Carol Of The Bells
George Strait – White Christmas
Bill Monroe & His Bluegrass Boys – Christmas Time’s A-Coming
Dwight Yoakam – Here Comes Santa Claus
Neko Case – Christmas Card From a Hooker in Minneapolis
Asylum Street Spankers – Zat You, Santa Claus?
Jim Lauderdale – Holly & Her Mistletoe
Otis Gibbs – Jesus On The Couch
Robert Earl Keen – Merry Christmas From The Family
Lyle Lovett – Christmas Morning
James McMurtry – Holiday

 

The National Barn Dance Documentary Coming to PBS this Fall

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Before the Internet, hell before TV, radio held great sway over American culture and nothing introduced Great Depression and World War II era Americans to country and roots music like national “barn dance” packages like the Grand Ol’ Opry and the Louisiana Hayride. These programs drew on a rural and Southern cultural heritage of the listeners and made millions for thier spnsors. I was not aware of the National Barn Dance broadcast from Chicago on WLS-AM which was  a direct predecessor of many of these country music radio shows including the Grand Ole Opry.

This Fall PBS and ITVS will present The Hayloft Gang: The Story of the National Barn Dance (1924 – 1960.) Narrated by Garrison Keillor (no stranger to radio and roots music himself) will document of the history of the program and will feature “rare performance footage, home movies, and candid photographs with firsthand accounts from fans and performers. Interviews with historians, folklorists, and media experts reveal historical and cultural perspectives of this unique period in America’s history.”

The National Barn Dance launched the careers of Gene Autry, Patsy Montana, Bradley Kincaid, George Gobel, Pat Buttram, Andy Williams, and Lulu Belle and Scotty. Produced and directed by Stephen Parry with supervisory producer Bob Hercules,The Hayloft Gang will premiere on PBS nationwide beginning September 1, 2011

In addition to the national broadcast, The Hayloft Gang Video Contest allows participants and viewers to experience a fresh take on the popular music of the times. Audiences can watch performance videos, interpret the songs themselves, and upload their videos for prizes. Participants will urge friends and family to vote for them via email, Facebook, and Twitter. To coincide with the broadcast, the contest launches at on August 15th, 2011. Winners will be announced in October.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_TI1o0XEa8[/youtube]

Gene Autry and Brenda Lee to be Awarded the Grammy for Lifetime Achievement

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The 9513 posts that Gene Autry and Brenda Lee will be presented with the Grammy for the Recording Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Award at a ceremony on Feb. 7 and will be acknowledged during the Grammy telecast the next evening. Other honorees for the award this year are the Blind Boys of Alabama, the Four Tops, Hank Jones, Dean Martin and Tom Paxton.

The Dallas Observer’s  Noah W. Bailey, has done this native Dallasite (well, Irvingite) proud by publishing what I consider to be one of the best, and most innovative, best of 2008 Americana lists I’ve seen.

Chris Parton  at the CMT blog posts that the excellent SteelDrivers‘ self titled debut was the most downloaded Americana/Bluegrass album of the year on iTunes.

NineBullets.com has posted a nice complitation of some of the covers the Drive By Truckers have recorded on tour over the years (including my personal favorite Alice Cooper’s Eighteen.)