Johnny Gimble Remebers “Orange Blossom Special;” New Releases; Trace Adkins’ Bus Involved in Fatal Accident
- Legendary fiddler Johnny Gimble humorously remembers an event that most people wouldn’t think of as funny:
Even after suffering a massive stroke in 1999, Gimble found some humor in the situation. “When the doctors showed me an X-ray of my brain, they pointed to a black hole on the upper left side and told me that all memory from that spot was dead,” Gimble says. “I thought to myself that I hoped that’s where I kept ‘The Orange Blossom Special.” The most requested fiddle song, the “Free Bird” of breakdowns, is also the most hated by sophisticated players.
When he came home from the hospital, the first thing Gimble did was to see if he could still play “Orange Blossom Special.” He could.
- New releases for the week of February 16, 2010 include:
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Brand New Strings – No Strings Attached
Amazon | Artist Website | MySpace -
Hellbound Glory – Old Highs and New Lows
Amazon | iTunes | MySpace -
Johnny Gimble – Celebrating With Friends
Amazon | iTunes | MySpace -
Josh Abbott Band – She’s Like Texas
Amazon | iTunes | MySpace -
Pokey LaFarge & the South City Three – Riverboat Soul
Amazon | iTunes | MySpace
- The internet was a flurry with news Saturday morning that one of Trace Adkins‘ buses was involved in a head-on collision with a pick-up truck near Shreveport, Louisiana. The two passengers of the truck were killed and five members of Adkins’ band escaped with minor injuries. CNN has footage from the scene of the accident.
- Tom Russell on The University of Texas’ decision to close the Cactus Cafe, which he ranks as one of the top 5 music rooms:
AUSTIN Texas,once one of the most important music centers in the world, is turning into a soulless freeway; a clotted adjunct to Interstate 35. I keep thinking of that hole in the wall back in Griff Lundberg’s Cactus Cafe office – worn through by his hard working boots over the last thirty years. They’ll tear that wall out over shrieking body.
- Miss Leslie‘s new record, Wrong Is What I Do Best, won’t officially release until April 22, but the full thing can currently be previewed and ordered online. Three of the songs are available as free downloads, too.
- DFW.com’s Preston Jones contrasted Miranda Lambert‘s unwaveringly confident performance at Billy Bob’s Texas on Friday with her previous performance at the venue three years ago.
- Farce the Music: Top 10 Endeavors John Carter Cash is Thinking of Licensing Johnny’s Name To
- Dave Pomeroy, President of the Nashville chapter of the Musicians Union, on Nashville’s decision to close the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum to make room for a new convention center:
“If they don’t come to a settlement, all people are gonna remember is that the city of Nashville took a building that was honoring musicians in an eminent-domain court proceeding and that to me is a black mark on the city of Nashville. It will be perceived that way, and it’s not [a perception] that’s gonna go away overnight.”
- Music Fog: Sons Of Bill – “The Rain”
- The New York Times‘ Jon Caramanica exposes Eric Church:
He’s been, at best, a minor success, limited not because of any steadfast refusal to hew to country norms, his preferred narrative, but because he’s still finding his balance. He’s too much of a formalist — he’s written, in part or in full, every song on his albums — to truly be as raucous as he pretends to be, and he’s not a powerful enough singer to steer a song totally on his own. A sheep in wolf’s clothing, when it comes down to it.
- In an interview with Gibson’ Russel Hall, Terri Clark acknowledged that radio was good to her for many years, but that she also feels it pigeonholed her so that her hits aren’t necessarily representative of her best work. On the subject of her next album, she revealed that she’d like to take an even more stripped-down and organic approach.
- Norah Jones would love to make a full-on country record.
- Former senior editor of LOOK magazine William Hedgepeth recounted his personal discovery of Townes Van Zandt and posted a couple of unreleased performances that Townes recorded at his house.
- Country California listed 10 YouTube channels country fans should follow.
- Newcomer Easton Corbin‘s song “A Little More Country Than That” is the iTunes free Single of the Week. (iTunes)
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February 16, 2010 at 11:04 am
If her work with The Little Willies is any indication, I would think a Norah Jones country album would be quite good. I really dug the versions of “Roly Poly” and “I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive” that were on that album.
February 16, 2010 at 11:20 am
We agree again, Kelly. Norah has included a fair amount of country flavored songs on her albums anyway. So, it’s not a stretch to hope that she’d make a very good country album someday.
February 16, 2010 at 11:41 am
…corbin’s song is quite likely gonna end up as one of the best country songs of the year.
February 16, 2010 at 11:46 am
The Gimble Amazon link goes to the Josh Abbott album.
February 16, 2010 at 12:09 pm
Thanks for pointing that out Leeann. It doesn’t look like it’s available on Amazon MP3, so I linked it to the CD instead.
February 16, 2010 at 12:52 pm
If Norah hopes to make a true country album why doesn’t she do so already and quit fooling around with this produced-by-Fraz-Ferdinand’s-producer-mess?
February 16, 2010 at 1:31 pm
Great review of Miranda!
The New York Times’s Jon expresses exactly what I’ve thought of Eric Church.
California Country’s Youtube promotion: Kelley sounded great…the girl doing Temporary Home as good as Carrie? Nope..perhaps Swift.
I like that song of Easton Corbin’s…kinda gets in your head.
February 16, 2010 at 4:15 pm
I really want to see Miranda Lambert in concert someday! =)
February 16, 2010 at 6:05 pm
I agree with Johnny Gimble about “Orange Blossom Special”. When presented in a direct, simple manner I still like the song but when the fiddler’s start tarting it up I head for the door. It’s probably the only song I’ve ever heard Elana James perform live where I was looking at my watch wondering how soon it would end. Like smelling salts, a little bit goes along way….
Tom Russell’s description of Austin reminds me of how Tonio K described the Big Apple in his great song “American Love Affair”:
“hey, hey and New York may be the new world,
but she’s still a filthy concrete bitch without a soul”. I think when Tonio wrote that he knew New York City was full of future Obamavoters! (lol)
Now that Norah Jones has had her recent musical decline and “Fall”, I think a country album would be a splendid way to redeem and recharge herself! Just think, if she had recorded her most recent album with Bill Bottrell out in California’s wine country north central coast, it may have sounded more like Kim Richey’s “Rise”! I guess we should all be thankful that Norah didn’t…..
Eric Church really needs to add the word and concept of “humility” to all of his bluster and bravado. He’s no John Rich, but he comes too close for comfort. Both are truly legends in their own minds.
February 16, 2010 at 10:29 pm
“Both are truly legends in their own mind”…awesome quote there Rick…I could probably spew out dozen more other hot shots who fit in that category as well.
February 17, 2010 at 11:07 am
Not that I disagree with the general point of the Eric Church article, the pseudo intellectual snob that wrote it sure does need a noogie. Hard to read through the obnoxiously “rote” and “hew”ing “manna”. What does this guy want? If you don’t want to see the Nashville approved velvet painting caricature of 1987 Steve Earle, then don’t go. Humbug.