"Emotional Healings and Gospel Feelings" Great songs of the past. Another Blogger Blog Brought to by Poetry Writes & Other Stuff from Sinbad the Sailor Man
It is composed of guitarist/keyboardist/vocalist
Jack Blanchard (born May 8, 1942) and his wife, keyboardist/vocalist
Misty Morgan (born May 23, 1945).
The duo recorded for several labels in
the 1970s, including the charting albums Birds of a Feather and Two Sides of Jack and Misty.
Between 1969 and 1976, the duo also released fourteen singles,
including "Tennessee Bird Walk", a Number One country hit and No. 23 pop
hit in 1970.
Jack Blanchard & Misty Morgan
Jack Blanchard and Misty Morgan in 2010 at their induction into The Buffalo Music Hall of Fame.
Jack Blanchard was born on May 8, 1942, and Misty Morgan was born on May 23, 1945.[1] Both were born in the same hospital in Buffalo, New York and lived in Ohio as children.[2]
By 1967, he and Morgan were married and began playing music together,
and in 1969, the duo signed to Wayside Records to release its first
single, "Big Black Bird (Spirit of Our Love)", which peaked at No. 59 on
the U.S. country singles charts.[2]
After it came the novelty song "Tennessee Bird Walk", which went to Number One on the country charts[1] and No. 23 on the pop charts.[2]
Following it was another novelty hit in "Humphrey the Camel", at No. 5 country and No. 78 pop.
The duo's second album, Two Sides of Jack and Misty, was released on Mega Records
two years later.
It produced four more chart singles, including the
No. 15 "Somewhere in Virginia in the Rain" and another novelty song,
"The Legendary Chicken Fairy".[1]
Later in the 1970s, Jack Blanchard & Misty Morgan released six singles on Epic Records, reaching Top 40 for the last time in 1974 with the No. 23 "Just One More Song".[1]
Except for a compilation album called Sweet Memories in 1987, the duo did not release any other material until 1995's Back in Harmony. From there, they began recording on a self-established independent label, "Velvet Saw Records" (named after Jack's nickname).[2]
From 2005 through 2008 they released three archival CD albums on Australia's Omni Records label.
Their song 'Yellow Bellied Sapsucker' was recently used in an episode of the third series of Australian television drama Tangle.
"The Round Mound of Sound" as Kenny
was known by, was one of the singing stars from Midwestern Hayride and
went on to the show Hee Haw.
James Kenneth "Kenny" Price (May 27, 1931 - August 4, 1987) was a
singer, songwriter, and actor. Nicknamed the "Round Mound of Sound,"
Price recorded for the Boone and RCA Victor, MRC and Dimension record labels, charting thirty-four singles on the Hot Country Songs
charts between 1966 and 1980.
His highest-peaking singles, "Walking on
New Grass" and "Happy Tracks," both reached No. 7 on that chart.
He first recorded for Boone Records, then moved on to RCA in 1969, where he stayed until 1976.
For most of his career, Price worked with Ray Pennington,
whose style complemented his own.
Price had 34 singles chart in his
career, including "Walking on the New Grass" (a top 10 hit in 1966),
"Happy Tracks", "Northeast Arkansas Mississippi County Bootlegger" (a
top 20 hit in 1969), and "The Sheriff of Boone County" (a pop crossover
that hit the top 10).
His novelty number "(This Is) The Shortest Song in
the World", written with record producer Ronny Light, enjoyed some
airplay after its release on album in 1970.
Standing six feet tall and weighing nearly 300 pounds for most of his
professional career, he was nicknamed "The Round Mound of Sound".
Many
of his comedic songs made reference to his size—"The Heavyweight" is an
obvious example.
In later years Price became significantly thinner and
lampooned himself in the song "The Boone County Weight Watchers of
America".
In 1976 Price relocated to Nashville and became a regular on the television variety show Hee Haw.
Price and fellow Hee Haw cast member Lulu Roman got their own short-lived spin-off series called Hee Haw Honeys, which ran from 1978-79.
Price and Roman guest starred on two episodes of The Love Boat. He later had a small role in the film Cold Justice, which was released after his death.
His wife, Donna Price, wrote a few memorable tunes for him, including
the hit "Let's Truck Together".
In the mid-1980s, Kenny and Donna
starred in The Nashville Network (now Spike) travelogue series called Wish You Were Here, where they traveled across the United States in a RV and visited places of interest.
In 1954, Cash and Vivian moved to Memphis, Tennessee, where he sold appliances while studying to be a radio announcer. At night he played with guitarist Luther Perkins and bassist Marshall Grant.
Perkins and Grant were known as the Tennessee Two. Cash worked up the courage to visit the Sun Records studio, hoping to get a recording contract. After auditioning for Sam Phillips,
singing mostly gospel songs, Phillips told him that he didn't record
gospel music any longer.
It was once rumored that Phillips told Cash to
"go home and sin, then come back with a song I can sell," though in a
2002 interview Cash denied that Phillips made any such comment.[39]
Cash eventually won over the producer with new songs delivered in his
early rock'a'billy style. In 1955 Cash made his first recordings at Sun,
"Hey Porter" and "Cry! Cry! Cry!", which were released in late June and met with success on the country hit parade.
On December 4, 1956, Elvis Presley dropped in on Phillips while Carl Perkins was in the studio cutting new tracks, with Jerry Lee Lewis backing him on piano. Cash was also in the studio and the four started an impromptujam session.
Phillips left the tapes running and the recordings, almost half of
which were gospel songs, survived and have since been released under the
title Million Dollar Quartet.
In Cash: the Autobiography, Cash wrote that he was the one farthest from the microphone and was singing in a higher pitch to blend in with Elvis.
Cash's next record, "Folsom Prison Blues", made the country Top 5, and "I Walk the Line" became No. 1 on the country charts and entered the pop charts Top 20. "Home of the Blues" followed, recorded in July 1957.
That same year Cash became the first Sun artist to release a long-playing album.
Although he was Sun's most consistently selling and prolific artist at
that time, Cash felt constrained by his contract with the small label
partly due to the fact that Phillips wasn't keen on Johnny recording
gospel, and he was only getting a 3% royalty as opposed to the standard
rate of 5%.
Presley had already left Sun, and Phillips was focusing most
of his attention and promotion on Lewis. The following year Cash left
the label to sign a lucrative offer with Columbia Records, where his single "Don't Take Your Guns to Town" became one of his biggest hits.
In the early 1960s, Cash toured with the Carter Family, which by this time regularly included Mother Maybelle's daughters, Anita, June and Helen. June later recalled admiring him from afar during these tours.
In the 1960s he appeared on Pete Seeger's short lived television series Rainbow Quest.[40] He also acted in a 1961 film entitled Five Minutes to Live, later re-released as Door-to-door Maniac. He also wrote and sang the opening theme.
Outlaw image
As his career was taking off in the late 1950s, Cash started drinking heavily and became addicted to amphetamines and barbiturates. For a brief time, he shared an apartment in Nashville with Waylon Jennings,
who was heavily addicted to amphetamines. Cash used the uppers to stay
awake during tours. Friends joked about his "nervousness" and erratic
behavior, many ignoring the warning signs of his worsening drug addiction. In a behind-the-scenes look at The Johnny Cash Show, Cash claims to have "tried every drug there was to try."
Although in many ways spiraling out of control, Cash's frenetic creativity was still delivering hits. His rendition of "Ring of Fire" was a crossover hit, reaching No. 1 on the country charts and entering the Top 20 on the pop charts. The song was written by June Carter and Merle Kilgore. The song was originally performed by June's sister, but the signature mariachi-style horn arrangement was provided by Cash, who said that it had come to him in a dream.
In June 1965, his truck caught fire due to an overheated wheel
bearing, triggering a forest fire that burnt several hundred acres in Los Padres National Forest in California.[41][42] When the judge asked Cash why he did it, Cash said, "I didn't do it, my truck did, and it's dead, so you can't question it."[22][page needed]
The fire destroyed 508 acres (206 ha), burning the foliage off three mountains and killing 49 of the refuge's 53 endangered condors.
Cash was unrepentant: "I don't care about your damn yellow buzzards."
The federal government sued him and was awarded $125,172 ($923,127 in
2012 dollars). Cash eventually settled the case and paid $82,001.[43]
He said he was the only person ever sued by the government for starting a forest fire.[22][page needed]
Although Cash carefully cultivated a romantic outlaw image, he never served a prison sentence. Despite landing in jail seven times for misdemeanors,
each stay lasted only a single night. His most infamous run-in with the
law occurred while on tour in 1965, when he was arrested October 4 by a
narcotics squad in El Paso, TX.
The officers suspected that he was smuggling heroin from Mexico, but it was 688 Dexedrine capsules and 475 Equanil
tablets that the singer had hidden inside his guitar case. Because they
were prescription drugs rather than illegal narcotics, he received a suspended sentence.
Cash had also been arrested on May 11, 1965, in Starkville, Mississippi, for trespassing
late at night onto private property to pick flowers. (This incident
gave the spark for the song "Starkville City Jail", which he spoke about
on his live At San Quentin prison album.)
In the mid 1960s, Cash released a number of concept albums, including Sings the Ballads of the True West (1965), an experimental double record mixing authentic frontier songs with Cash's spoken narration, and Bitter Tears
(1964), with songs highlighting the plight of the Native Americans. His
drug addiction was at its worst at this point, and his destructive
behavior led to a divorce from his first wife and canceled performances.
In 1967, Cash's duet with June Carter, "Jackson", won a Grammy Award.
Johnny Cash's final arrest was in Walker County, GA
where he was taken in after being involved in a car accident while
carrying a bag of prescription pills.
Cash attempted to bribe a local
deputy, who turned the money down, and then spent the night in a LaFayette, Georgia
jail. The singer was released after a long talk with Sheriff Ralph
Jones, who warned him of his dangerous behavior and wasted potential.
Johnny credited that experience for saving his life, and he later came
back to LaFayette to play a benefit concert that attracted 12,000 people
(the city population was less than 9,000 at the time) and raised
$75,000 for the high school.[44]
Cash curtailed his use of drugs for several years in 1968, after a spiritual epiphany in the Nickajack Cave,
when he attempted to commit suicide while under the heavy influence of
drugs. He descended deeper into the cave, trying to lose himself and
"just die", when he passed out on the floor.
He reported to be exhausted
and feeling at the end of his rope when he felt God's presence in his
heart and managed to struggle out of the cave (despite the exhaustion)
by following a faint light and slight breeze. To him, it was his own
rebirth. June, Maybelle,
and Ezra Carter moved into Cash's mansion for a month to help him
conquer his addiction.
Cash proposed onstage to June at a concert at the
London Gardens in London, ON, CA on February 22, 1968; the couple married a week later (on March 1) in Franklin, KY. June had agreed to marry Cash after he had "cleaned up".[45]
He rediscovered his Christian faith, taking an "altar call" in Evangel Temple, a small church in the Nashville area, pastored by Rev. Jimmie Rodgers Snow, son of country music legend Hank Snow.
According to longtime friend Marshall Grant,
Cash's 1968 rebirth experience did not result in his completely
stopping use of amphetamines. However, in 1970, Cash ended all drug use
for a period of seven years.
Grant claims that the birth of Cash's son, John Carter Cash,
inspired Cash to end his dependence. Cash began using amphetamines
again in 1977. By 1983, he was once again addicted, and entered the Betty Ford Clinic in Rancho Mirage, CA
for rehabilitation.
Cash managed to stay off drugs for several years,
but by 1989, he was dependent again and entered Nashville's Cumberland
Heights Alcohol and Drug Treatment Center. In 1992, he entered the Loma
Linda Behavioural Medicine Centre in Loma Linda, California for his final rehabilitation (several months later, his son followed him into this facility for treatment).[46][47][48]
Folsom Prison Blues
Cash felt great compassion for prisoners. He began performing
concerts at various prisons starting in the late 1950s. His first prison
concert was held on January 1, 1958 at San Quentin State Prison.[49]
The Folsom Prison record was introduced by a rendition of his classic "Folsom Prison Blues", while the San Quentin record included the crossover hit single "A Boy Named Sue", a Shel Silverstein-penned novelty song that reached No. 1 on the country charts and No. 2 on the U.S. Top Ten
pop charts.
The AM versions of the latter contained a couple of
profanities which were edited out. The modern CD versions are unedited
and uncensored and thus also longer than the original vinyl albums,
though they still retain the audience reaction overdubs of the
originals.
In addition to his performances at U.S. prisons, Cash also performed at the Österåker Prison in Sweden in 1972. The live album På Österåker
("At Österåker") was released in 1973. Between the songs, Cash can be
heard speaking Swedish, which was greatly appreciated by the inmates.
Much more Info on Johnny Cash is upon Wikipedia.org.
Uploaded on Dec 8, 2007 SimonNenagh John R. "Johnny" Cash (February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003), was an American singer-songwriter, actor,[2] and author,[2] who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century.[3]
Cash was known for his deep, distinctive bass-baritone voice;[a][5] for the "boom-chicka-boom" sound of his Tennessee Three backing band; for his rebelliousness,[6][7] coupled with an increasingly somber and humble demeanor;[4] for providing free concerts inside prison walls;[8][9][page needed] and for his dark performance clothing, which earned him the nickname "The Man in Black".[b]
He traditionally started his concerts by saying "Hello, I'm Johnny Cash."[c][12] and usually following it up with his standard "Folsom Prison Blues".
An abundance of Cash's music, especially that of his later career, echoed themes of sorrow, moral tribulation and redemption.[4][13]
Cash was named J. R. Cash because his parents couldn't think of a name.
When Cash enlisted in the Air Force, they wouldn't let him use initials
as his name, so he started to use the legal name John R. Cash. In 1955,
when signing with Sun Records, he took Johnny Cash as his stage name.[19]
The Cash children were: Roy, Margaret Louise, Jack, J. R., Reba, Joanne and Tommy.[20][21] His younger brother, Tommy Cash, also became a successful country artist.
In March 1935, when Cash was three years old, the family settled in Dyess, Arkansas.
He started working in cotton fields at age five, singing along with his
family simultaneously while working.
The family farm was flooded on at
least two occasions, which later inspired him to write the song "Five
Feet High and Rising".[22][page needed]
His family's economic and personal struggles during the Great Depression inspired many of his songs, especially those about other people facing similar difficulties.
Cash was very close to his older brother, Jack.[23]
In May 1944, Jack was pulled into a whirling head saw in the mill where he worked and was almost cut in two. He suffered for over a week before he died on May 20, 1944, at age 15.[22][page needed]
Cash often spoke of the horrible guilt he felt over this incident. According to Cash: The Autobiography,
his father was away that morning, but he and his mother, and Jack
himself, all had premonitions or a sense of foreboding about that day,
causing his mother to urge Jack to skip work and go fishing with his
brother. ]
Jack insisted on working, as the family needed the money.
On
his deathbed, Jack said he had visions of heaven and angels.
Decades
later, Cash spoke of looking forward to meeting his brother in heaven.
Cash's early memories were dominated by gospel music
and radio. Taught by his mother and a childhood friend, Cash began
playing guitar and writing songs as a young boy.
In high school he sang
on a local radio station; decades later he released an album of
traditional gospel songs, called My Mother's Hymn Book. He was also significantly influenced by traditional Irish music that he heard performed weekly by Dennis Day on the Jack Benny radio program.[24][page needed]
He was the first radio operator to pick up the news of the death of Joseph Stalin.[27]
After he was honorably discharged as a Staff Sergeant on July 3, 1954, he returned to Texas.[28]
Marriages and family
On July 18, 1951, while in Air Force training, Cash met 17-year-old Vivian Liberto at a roller skating rink
in her native San Antonio.
They dated for three weeks, until Cash was
deployed to Germany for a three-year tour. During that time, the couple
exchanged hundreds of pages of love letters.[29]
On August 7, 1954, one month after his discharge, they were married at
St. Anne's Catholic church in San Antonio.
The ceremony was performed
by her uncle, Father Vincent Liberto. They had four daughters: Rosanne,
Kathy, Cindy and Tara. Cash's drug and alcohol abuse, constant touring,
and affairs with other women, and his close relationship with future
wife June Carter, led Liberto to file for divorce in 1966.[30]
They had one child together, John Carter Cash
(born March 3, 1970). They continued to work together and tour for 35
years, until June Carter died in 2003.
Cash died just four months
later. Carter co-wrote one of Cash's biggest hits, "Ring of Fire," with
singer Merle Kilgore. She and Cash won two Grammy awards for their duets.
Vivian Liberto claims a different version of the origins of "Ring of Fire" in I Walked the Line: My Life with Johnny, stating that Cash gave Carter the credit for monetary reasons.[32]
Cash also had English and Scots-Irish ancestry. Though he did not have Native American
ancestry, his empathy and compassion for Native Americans were
unabated.
Somebody Come and Play in "Traffic" with me. If you would like to "Join" A Growing Biz Op! Here is Your Chance to get in an Earn While You Learn to Do "The Thing" with us all here at Traffic Authority.
A slideshow of images accompanied by the song 'Family Bible' performed by country singer Ricky Van Shelton.
Ricky Van Shelton (born January 12, 1952) is a retired American country music artist. Active between 1986 and 2006, he has charted more than twenty singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts.
Besides these, seven more of his singles have landed in the Top Ten on
the same chart. He has also released nine studio albums, of which his
first four have all been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.
He was born at Danville Regional Medical Center in Danville, Virginia to Jenks and Eloise Shelton in 1952,[1] but was raised in Grit, Virginia[2]
and went to High school in Gretna, Virginia. Although "Van" is a common
portion of surnames derived from people of Dutch origin, "Van" in this
case is Ricky's middle name.
Shelton's father sang Gospel music while he was still a child, and from this Shelton also sang Gospel, but he also liked Pop music. He was soon in church, singing Gospel music. When he was a teenager, however, Shelton discovered Country music. He soon started singing in his brother's band, singing Country music, and performed at any local gathering he could.
Musical career
Move to Nashville
After he graduated from high school,
Shelton started performing in area clubs and also worked a series of
jobs. In 1984, Bettye Witt, his girlfriend at the time (and, since
August 4, 1986, wife) found a job in Nashville, Tennessee
(the Country music capital), and Shelton went along with her.
In
Nashville, Shelton tried to land a deal with a recording contract, and
worked in area nightclubs. In 1986, Jerry Thompson, a newspaper
columnist, heard one of Shelton's demos, and arranged an audition with Columbia Records.
Soon thereafter, Shelton was offered a recording contract with CBS,
with Jerry Thompson serving as his manager. In that same year, he
recorded his first album, Wild-Eyed Dream. The title track was released as a single, and reached No. 24 on the Country charts.[3]
1986-1988: Wild-Eyed Dream
By 1987, Shelton released his debut album, Wild-Eyed Dream.
The album ended up being very successful for Shelton and his record
label.
The next song from the album, "Crime of Passion" gained him an
even bigger hit on the Country charts, when it reached the Top 10 early
that year.
The follow-up was an even bigger success. This next song was
called "Somebody Lied", and in December 1987 it became his first No. 1
on the Hot Country Singles & Tracks
chart.
Nine other songs would make it to No. 1 on the Country charts
during his career. He had a pair of other No. 1 singles from his debut
album: "Life Turned Her That Way" and "Don't We All Have the Right".
His album reached the No. 1 spot on the Top Country Albums chart in
1987, was one of the biggest-selling Country albums of the year, and it
made Shelton one of the most successful male vocalists of that year.
1988-1989: Living Proof
He achieved equal success the next year with a new album and a new single. The album was entitled Loving Proof,
and it too was a No. 1 Billboard Country album.
The album spawned three
No. 1 hits for Shelton. These songs were, "I'll Leave This World Loving
You" (for two weeks in November 1988), "From a Jack to a King" (in
March 1989), and "Living Proof" (in October 1989).
"From a Jack to a King" was a remake of the original by Ned Miller.
By this time in Country music, Neo-Traditionalism was in its peak, and
because of this, so was Shelton's career, just like so many of his
counterparts, like Clint Black, Garth Brooks, Randy Travis, and Dwight Yoakam, to name a few.
1989-1991: RVS III, Christmas album and children's books
His albums continued to win him praise and keep him high on the charts. His third album was no different. Titled RVS III,
this album spawned only one No. 1 single, called "I've Cried My Last
Tear For You".
Although this was his only No. 1 from the album, two
singles came close, "Statue of a Fool" and "I Meant Every Word He
Said", both of which reached number 2 on the Country charts. By now in
his career, Shelton was one of Country music's most successful male
vocalists, playing the game along with the other big male names in the
business.
All his albums around this time had been certified by the RIAA as Platinum, and were also all No. 1 albums on the "Top Country Albums" chart. In 1990, he recording a Christmas album entitled Ricky Van Shelton Sings Christmas.
Around the same time, Shelton wrote a series of Children's books. The first two titles of his books were, Tales From a Duck Named Quacker and Quacker Meets Mrs. Moo. The series also contains "Quacker meets Canadian goose" and were all illustrated by Shan Williams Burklow.
1991-1992: Backroads
Shelton continued his success as the decade began to progress. The
next year, 1991, proved another successful year for Shelton. He duetted
on the song, "Rockin' Years" with Dolly Parton (which also went to No. 1), as well as a new album, entitled, Backroads.
The album featured his last No. 1 hits, along with a number 13 hit
called "After the Lights Go Out". His hit streak continued up until
this year, and his album was just as successful as his songs.
1992-1993: Greatest Hits Plus, Don't Overlook Salvation and alcoholism
By 1992, Shelton's success on the Country charts was tapering off,
and fast. He enjoyed one last Top 10 hit (which actually reached number
5) titled "Wild Man", which was put on his newest album, called Greatest Hits Plus,
which had all his biggest hits since he first jumped into the Country
spotlight in 1987.
Another single, "Just As I Am," was featured on his Greatest Hits album, but it only made the Top 30 that year.
However, in 1992, Shelton was also battling another problem. He admitted to the public he was an alcoholic, and led to some serious problems in his personal life. However, he decided to get help, and soon enough, Shelton was sober.
1993-1994: Love and Honor and departure from Columbia
By 1993, it was clear that Shelton was winding farther and farther
away from the Top 10 on the Country charts. In 1994, he had his last
Top 20 hit with "Where Was I". After 1994's Love and Honor album, Shelton decided to leave Columbia Records, saying he was fed up with the label.
After being under Columbia Records,
Shelton was absent from the Country charts for a long period of time.
However, Columbia continued to release Greatest Hits collections to the
public. Shelton continued to work on other projects during this time,
which didn't mean giving up performing.
1997-1999: Making Plans and label formation
In 1997, Shelton formed his own label entitled, RVS Records (which
stands for his initials). That same year, he released his first album
in three years entitled Making Plans. Shelton financed the project himself however, and worked out to release his album only to Wal-Mart stores.
2000-2001: Fried Green Tomatoes
In 2000, Shelton signed with the Audium label, where he made another album called Fried Green Tomatoes,
which spawned his first single in over five years called "The
Decision", but it failed to make a substantial impact on the Country
charts.[3]
2006-present: Retirement
In May 2006, Ricky announced that he would be retiring from touring to spend more time with his family.[4]
