Willie Nelson - Stella Blue

Image by annableker

The idea of Willie Nelson covering a Grateful Dead song might seem to be something of a head-scratcher, at least at first. But Willie has always been first and foremost a songwriter, and the Dead were always open to traditional folkways. Their classic album American Beauty is a milestone in the development of Americana as a viable musical genre.

WILLIE NELSON
WILLIE NELSON ON AMAZON

STELLA BLUE:

All the years combine
They melt into a dream
A broken angel sings
From a guitar

In the end there's just a song
Comes crying up the night
Through all the broken dreams
And vanished years

Stella Blue
Stella Blue

When all the cards are down
There's nothing left to see
There's just the pavement left
And broken dreams

In the end there's still that song
Comes crying like the wind
Down every lonely street
That's ever been

Stella Blue
Stella Blue

I've stayed in every blue light cheap hotel
Can't win for trying
Dust off those rusty strings just one more time
Gonna make them shine

It all rolls into one
And nothing comes for free
There's nothing you can hold
For very long

And when you hear that song
Come crying like the wind
It seems like all this life
Was just a dream

Stella Blue
Stella Blue

Willie Nelson - Gravedigger

Willie Nelson





Cyrus Jones 1810 to 1913
Made his great granchildren believe
You could live to a hundred and three
A hundred and three is forever when you're just a little kid
So Cyrus Jones lived forever


Gravedigger
When you dig my grave
Could you make it shallow
So that I can feel the rain
Gravedigger


Muriel Stonewall
1903 to 1954
She lost both of her babies in the second great war
Now you should never have to watch
Your only children lowered in the ground
I mean you should never have to bury your own babies


Gravedigger
When you dig my grave
Could you make it shallow
So that I can feel the rain
Gravedigger


Ring around the rosey
Pocket full of posey
Ashes to ashes
We all fall down


Gravedigger
When you dig my grave
Could you make it shallow
So that I can feel the rain
Gravedigger


Little Mikey Carson 67 to 75
He rode his
Bike like the devil until the day he died
When he grows up he wants to be Mr. Vertigo on the flying trapeze
Ohhh, 1940 to 1992


Gravedigger
When you dig my grave
Could you make it shallow
So that I can feel the rain


Gravedigger
When you dig my grave
Could you make it shallow
So that I can feel the rain
Feel the rain
I can feel the rain
Gravedigger


Gravedigger


Willie Nelson Homepage

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Los Lonely Boys - Heaven

Los Lonely Boys is a Grammy Award-winning rock band from San Angelo, Texas. They play a style of music which they dub as Texican Rock n' Roll, combining elements of rock and roll, blues, soul, country, and Tejano.


The band consists of three brothers, Henry (guitar, vocals), Jojo (bass guitar, vocals), and Ringo (drums, vocals). They follow the tradition of their father, Ringo Garza Sr., who formed a band with his brothers called The Falcones. The Falcones played conjunto music in southern Texas during the 70s and 80s. To date, Los Lonely Boys has released three studio albums and a live album, all on the Epic Records label. Their debut single, "Heaven", was a Number One hit on the Billboard adult contemporary chart and reached the Top 40Billboard Hot 100 in 2004. on the


The three brothers emerged as a group in Nashville in the 1990s. After moving back to their home state of Texas they recorded an album in 2003 in Austin at Willie Nelson's Pedernales recording studio. The album was initially released by Or Music and later acquired by Epic Records for distribution in March 2004. The group's single, "Heaven", reached #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart, and #16 on the Billboard Hot 100, also crossing over even to the Hot Country Songs chart, where it peaked at #46. "Heaven" was featured in Guitar Hero On Tour. In 2005 the song won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. Other songs nominated for Grammys include "More Than Love" and "Onda", both in 2006.


Los Lonely Boys Website

Asleep at the Wheel - Way Down Texas Way

Asleep at the Wheel carries on the tradition of western swing.



Since forming in 1970 in Paw Paw, W. Va., Asleep at the Wheel has been the leader in keeping western swing – a danceable amalgam of country, jazz, pop, and blues – alive. Lead by deep-voiced mainstay Ray Benson, the local juggernaut has shifted lineups considerably over the years, and more than 80 musicians have passed through it. In 1971, Benson, joined by steel guitarist Lucky Oceans, rhythm guitarist Leroy Preston, and vocalist Chris O'Connell, moved to San Francisco, where the band added pianist Floyd Domino and strengthened an alliance with touring partners Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen. 1973 brought their debut, Comin’ Right at Ya, on United Artists. The following year, at the suggestion of Willie Nelson, the Wheel relocated to Austin. Switching to Epic Records resulted in a self-titled release and some action on the country charts with a remake of Louis Jordan's "Choo Choo Ch'Boogie.” Another label jump, this time to Capitol, produced 1975's Texas Gold, a country Top 10 album and their only Top 10 hit on the country singles charts, "The Letter That Johnny Walker Read." In 1980, Chris O’Connell and Lucky Oceans left the band, and after some financial difficulties in the early part of the decade, Benson and friends signed to Dot with little success. Returning to Epic, 1987’s 10 brought them back to the Top 20 of the country album charts and, with “House of Blue Lights,” the singles charts. In 1990, a major personnel shift brought steel guitarist/Dobroist Cindy Cashdollar onboard. 1993’s A Tribute to the Music of Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys and 1999’s Ride With Bobbrought western swing to a new audience and national acclaim and recognition to the band. The latter, which featured fiddler Jason Roberts who is now an important cog in the Wheel along with vocalist Elizabeth McQueen, was adapted for the stage and has been played to audiences nationwide. – Jim Caligiuri

Townes Van Zandt - Pancho and Lefty

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John Townes Van Zandt (March 7, 1944 – January 1, 1997), best known as Townes Van Zandt, was a country-folk music singer-songwriter, performer, and poet. Many of his songs, including "If I Needed You," "To Live Is To Fly," and "No Place to Fall" are considered standards of their genre. AllMusic has called him "one of the greatest country and folk artists of his generation."


While alive, Van Zandt was labeled as a cult musician: though he had a small and devoted fanbase, he never had a successful album or single, and even had difficulty keeping his recordings in print. In 1983, Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard covered his song "Pancho and Lefty", scoring a number one hit on the Billboard country music charts. Despite achievements like these, the bulk of his life was spent touring various dive bars, often living in cheap motel rooms, backwoods cabins and on friends' couches. Van Zandt was notorious for his drug addictions, alcoholism, and his tendency to tell tall tales. He suffered from manic depression, and attempts to treat it with insulin shock therapy erased much of his long-term memory.


Van Zandt died on New Years Day 1997 from health problems stemming from years of substance abuse. The 2000s saw a resurgence of interest in Van Zandt. During the decade, two books, a documentary film and a number of magazine articles about the singer were created. Van Zandt's music has been covered by such notable and varied musicians as Bob Dylan, Lyle Lovett, Norah Jones, Steve Earle and The Meat Puppets.


In 1977, Live at the Old Quarter, Houston, Texas was released. The album showcased Van Zandt solo at a 1973 concert before a small audience, free from the over-production that shackled many of his early records. The album received extremely positive reviews, and is considered by many to be among the best albums that the songwriter ever released. Several points on the album showcased his dry sense of humor, a feature that also showed in some of his songwriting.


According to Susanna Clark, Van Zandt turned down repeated invitations to write with Bob Dylan. Dylan was reportedly a "big fan" of Townes and claimed to have all of his records; Van Zandt admired Dylan's songs, but didn't care for his celebrity. The two first met during a chance encounter outside a costume shop in the South Congress district of Austin, Texas on June 21, 1986. According to Johnny Guess, Dylan later arranged another meeting with the songwriter. The Drag in Austin was shut down due to Dylan being in town; Van Zandt drove his motorhome to the quartered-off area, after which Dylan boarded the vehicle and requested to hear him play several songs.


Van Zandt has been referred to as a cult musician and "a songwriter's songwriter." Musician Steve Earle, a close friend, once said Van Zandt was "the best songwriter in the whole world and I'll stand on Bob Dylan's coffee table in my cowboy boots and say that." The quote was printed on a sticker featured on the packing of At My Window, much to Van Zandt's displeasure. Van Zandt responded: "I've met Bob Dylan's bodyguards and if Steve Earle thinks he can stand on Bob Dylan's coffee table, he's sadly mistaken."


allmusic profile

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The King of the Texas Dance Halls

In the long and storied history of the Texas dance hall, Gruene Hall holds a unique place. And it's not just because it's the oldest continually operating dance hall in the state of Texas, but also because it has served as both a launching pad and a continuing venue for some of the most influential musicians in American music. Gruene Hall has been pivotal in the careers of such musicians as George Strait, Lyle Lovett and Hal Ketchum, and has nurtured blues, rockabilly, folk, and singer/songwriter artists. This famous stage has also welcomed the likes of Bo Diddley, The Dixie Chicks, Jerry Lee Lewis, Garth Brooks, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Junior Brown, Robert Earl Keen, Stevie Ray Vaughn, and many more.

Website:

Gruene Hall