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Tom T. Hall was named by Rolling Stone magazine as one of the 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time. Known as “The Storyteller,” the Grammy winner landed 35 songs in the Top 10 on Billboard’s country chart between 1965 and 1996. Many of those featured Hall as both writer and artist, including “Homecoming,” “Me and Jesus,” “Ravishing Ruby,” “That Song is Driving Me Crazy,” “I Like Beer,” and the #1 hits “A Week in a County Jail,” “The Year That Clayton Delaney Died,” “(Old Dogs, Children and) Watermelon Wine,” “Country Is,” “I Care,” “Faster Horses (The Cowboy and the Poet),” and “I Love,” which also became a hit on the pop chart. Tom T. Hall songs that hit the Top 5 for other artists include “Hello Vietnam” by Johnny Wright, “How I Got to Memphis” and “(Margie’s at) The Lincoln Park Inn” by Bobby Bare, “If I Ever Fall in Love (With a Honky Tonk Girl)” by Faron Young, “Pool Shark” by Dave Dudley, “You Always Come Back (To Hurting Me)” by Johnny Rodriguez, “I’m Not Ready Yet” by George Jones, “Little Bitty” by Alan Jackson, and “Harper Valley P.T.A.,” which Jeannie C. Riley took to the #1 spot on both the country and pop chart, making her the first woman to achieve that feat. Hall was named NSAI Songwriter of the Year in 1972, was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1978, joined the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2008, was honored with the Academy of Country Music’s Poet’s Award in 2010, and earned the prestigious BMI Icon award in 2012.
Multi-Grammy award winner Loretta Lynn is an American music legend. The Kentucky native married as a young teenager, moved to Washington State, and had four children by age 20. She poured her energies into life as a homemaker before teaching herself to play guitar and write songs. Her life experiences informed her writing style, which gave voice to the concerns of everyday working class women. She landed a record contract with a regional label and tirelessly promoted her first single, “I’m a Honky Tonk Girl,” to radio stations across the country. The record climbed to #14 on the Billboard country chart, leading to a move to Nashville. After appearing on the Grand Ole Opry and signing a songwriting deal with the Wilburn Brothers’ publishing company she was recruited to Decca Records by legendary producer Owen Bradley. Loretta went on to place more than 75 singles on the Billboard country chart as either a solo artist or as a duet partner with Ernest Tubb or Conway Twitty. More than 50 of those singles hit the Top 10, including 15 #1 hits. Many of her classic songs were self-penned, including “Dear Uncle Sam,” “You Ain’t Woman Enough,” “Don’t Come Home A’ Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ On Your Mind),” “Fist City,” “Your Squaw Is on the Warpath,” “Rated X,” “The Pill,” and “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” which NPR named one of the “100 Most Significant Songs of the Century.” She has received a combined 21 awards from the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music, including the ACM’s Artist of the Decade Award in 1979, the Pioneer Award in 1994, and the Crystal Milestone Award in 2014. She became the first female to win CMA Entertainer of the Year honors in 1972 and became the first female ACM Entertainer of the Year in 1975. She was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1983, the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1988, and the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2008. She received Kennedy Center Honors in 2003, earned the prestigious BMI Icon award in 2004, took home a Grammy Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2010, and was presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013. She has sold more than 45 million records worldwide, was the first woman in country music to receive a certified Gold album, and has been a member of the Grand Ole Opry for nearly 55 years.
This week's playlist: • Bam (4:59) by the Cross Roads Blues Band - The Resurrection, from Bammm! (2009). Visit CrossRoadsResurrection.com for more information. • My Babe She Loves Me All the Time (3:21) by Bluesboy Jag, from A Bump and A Beer (2009); available from this page at Jag's site and the iTunes Music Store. Visit JagsHouse.com for more information. • Should Have Done More (4:07) by Watermelon Slim, from Escape From The Chicken Coop (2009), available from NorthernBlues Music and the iTMS. Visit WatermelonSlim.com for more information. • A Little Attention (4:37) by Big James & The Chicago Playboys, from Right Here Right Now (2009); available from BlindPigRecords.com and the iTMS. Visit BigJames.com for more information. • Still in Love (6:03), Stop Me (4:32) and Honky Tonk Girl (4:24), all by Pete Anderson and all from Even Things Up (2010); available from Amazon MP3, Barnes & Noble, CDUniverse.com and the iTMS. Visit LittleDogRecords.com for more information. • Don't Let The Door Hit You (4:17) by Arthur Adams, from Stomp The Floor (2009); available from DeltaGrooveProductions.com and the iTMS. Visit ArthurAdamsBand.com and this page at the Delta Groove site for more information. • Wasp's Nest (3:55) by Ray Wylie Hubbard, from A. Enlightenment B. Endarkenment (Hint: There is no C) (2010); available from the store at RayWylie.com and the iTMS. Visit RayWylie.com for more information. • Wrong Woman (3:45) by Ana Popovic, from Blind for Love (2009); available from EclectoGroove Records and the iTMS. Visit AnaPopovic.com and this page at the EclectoGroove Records site for more information. To contact me: send email to murphyssaloon (at) gmail (dot) com - you can also contact me through: Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. My Flickr photo collection is here. My Google profile is here. You can read items I share in Google Reader here. You are invited to write reviews of Murphy's Saloon Blues Podcast in the iTunes Music Store. Primary sources of information about the blues: The Blues Foundation and the Delta Blues Museum; be sure to download and listen to the DBM's top-notch (and free) podcast, the Uncensored History of the Blues; BluesRevue.com, the online home of Blues Revue magazine; BigCityBluesMag.com, the online home of Big City Blues magazine; and BluesCritic.com. Recommended reading: Today's Chicago Blues (Amazon link) by Karen Hanson, an excellent guide to all things blues in present-day Chicago. Karen also blogs about the blues at Today's Chicago Blues. For things to do in Chicago: The Local Tourist and The Chicago Reader. Two wonderful non-traditional online sources of Chicago news: Gapers Block and the Chicagoist. (Something noteworthy being done by a hard working and very talented friend of mine: Flamenco Chicago) (The music you hear on Murphy's Saloon comes to you courtesy of the artists and their labels. One of the following may have provided assistance: IODA PROMONET, AirplayDirect, RadioSubmit.com, the Podsafe Music Network, Download.com or Garageband.com, )