Wednesday, March 29, 2006

The 50 States: Kentucky


Hey kids -- Back from the super-long weekend with a post about Kentucky. It wasn't so much that I was being lazy (that did contribute), it was rather that Kentucky is a very musically inspired state and there was too many choices for me to sift through. This may not be a complete list of songs, but it is one that I spent far too much time on for you thievin' bastages!

The in-line mp3 player is gone -- so it's a sad day. What I am going to do for those of you that want to listen to this post without downloading it is offer podcast feeds on the left side of your screen. If you click on the +podNova button then you can listen to this entire feed through a player of your choice (or a flash player) without having to manually download all the songs. Check it out, it's pretty cool.

Now -- onward towards Kentucky.

Kentucky was made a state in 1792. It's been sitting down there representin' the BACKBONE of southern culture for a loong, long time. In that time it has given us things like the kentucky derby, cheeseburgers, corvettes, the first commercial oil well, KENTUCKY FRIED CHICKEN, Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis, a wet Christian County and a dry Bourbon County (oh, the irony!), the birthday song, post-it-notes, bluegrass, the unveiling of the electric light bulb, the radio, fort knox gold warehousing, and millions of stereotypical toothless, truck drivin', wife beatin', beer drinking' rednecks (or is that milwaukee I'm thinking of?).

People from Kentucky include Muhammed Ali, Crystal Gayle, her sister Loretta Lynn, Casey Jones, Bill Monroe, Diane Sawyer, and the great great great Hunter S Thompson.

We love you Kentucky!
Thanks again to everyone that submitted ideas in the comments for the last state. They were very much appreciated! If any of you anonymous contributors have blogs or websites you'd like linked -- feel free to make sure it's on your blogger account, otherwise I can't spread the love across my vast and deep collection of fans. Keep it up below -- drop some Lousiana love in the comments.

20 Comments:

Blogger countrygrrl said...

wow what a selection from dylan to baez nazareth..( a crackin band from bonnie scotland) loretta lynn and my favourite george jones. a collection to keep me happy for a week and a day. i am getting called to bed, but i have to suck these babies onto my hard drive for a hoot n a holler tomorrow for evaluation purposes and future purchase. thanks very much and the best o' tartan..waggle yer kilt..

2:05 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

What? No Ryan Adams 'Sweet Carolina'? It's got the line 'I miss Kentucky' in there somewhere :-)

4:16 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Isn't The Father of bluegrass, Bill Monroe, from Virginia?

7:33 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Nope ... Kentucky. From Wikipedia:

Bill Monroe (September 13, 1911 – September 9, 1996) developed the style of country music known as bluegrass, which takes its name from his band, the "Blue Grass Boys," named for his home state of Kentucky. Monroe's performing career spanned 60 years as a singer, instrumentalist, composer and bandleader. He is often referred to as "the father of bluegrass."

Monroe was born in Rosine, Kentucky. His father was a well-to-do farmer while his mother, née Malissa Vandiver, was from lower down the social scale.

7:49 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

If you thought Kentucky was hard, Louisiana is many times worse. Jazz was basically invented in New Orleans. Hundreds of songs reference Louisiana, New Orleans, or Cajuns. What about Zydeco?

Some thoughts:

* Conway Twitty/Loretta Lynn - Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man
* Mel McDaniel - Louisiana Saturday Night
* Oak Ridge Boys, Rodney Crowell, or Emmylou Harris - Leaving Louisiana in the Broad Daylight
* Randy Newman - Louisiana 1927
* Muddy Waters - Louisiana Blues
* Dave Mathews Band - Louisiana Bayou
* John Lee Hooker - Goin' to Louisiana
* Count Basie - Louisiana
* Bix Biederbecke - Louisiana
* Leadbelly - Down in Louisiana
* Tommy Dorsey - Louisiana Hayride
* Elvis - Crawfish
* Johnny Horton or Johnny Cash - Battle of New Orleans
* Willie Nelson, Steve Goodman, or Arlo Guthrie - City of New Orleans
* Jelly Roll Morton - New Orleans Bump
* Any number of people with When the Saints Go Marching In
* Any number of people with House of the Rising Sun
* Louis Armstrong - New Orleans Stomp

8:06 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

hey Robert, stumbled onto the site, really dig it! made a small note of it on my site, keep up the great posts! - Dig! - Chris

9:07 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"What's with all the Jack Daniel's songs? That's a Tennesee bourbon."

It's not even that. It's a Tennessee *whiskey*. It ain't bourbon if it ain't from Kentucky.

Also, gotta mention the world's biggest cave system, Mammoth Cave.

Totally rockin' post, though - you did KY proud and gave me abunch of songs I didn't have. Loved it all, even though I think maybe you were baiting me with that wretched fast food chain in all caps...

7:13 AM  
Blogger The Trick said...

Canadian song:

The Tragically Hip - "New Orleans is Sinking"
Johnny Cash - "Battle of New Orleans"
Johnny Cash - "City of New Orleans"
Fats Domino - "Walking To New Orleans"
808 State - "Baton Rouge"
Jelly Roll Morton - "Shreveport Stomp"

9:50 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Awesome collection of LA songs. Many thanks for the time and effort put into these amazing posts. Heard Rodney Crowell play Smith's Olde Bar in Atlanta several months ago, and he took requests. Someone requested "Jewel Of The South," which, surprisingly, I'd never heard. He said he felt it was probably the best song he'd ever written -- that's saying something -- and then played it. Indeed, it's a fantastic song. Guess which city he's referring to? NOLA, of course. Check it out.

12:36 PM  
Blogger James L. Jazz said...

better than ezra - king of new orleans

2:47 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Probably should have something by Harry Connick on the LA list.

Good job on the KY list (and all of them).

9:27 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

for upcoming LA--

you could always play HURRICANE by Dylan. Though, you may get a lot of hate-mail.

cj

5:51 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hurricane is about a boxer named Ruben Carter (Denzel movie a bit back about the same man). He's actually from Jersey, I believe. Of course, Rock You Like a Hurricane might be the direction you were looking for ...

7:47 PM  
Blogger Scott Sileo musician said...

Love the John Lee Hooker. I was sick of the George Thorogood version; nice to hear what I'm guessing isthe original.

12:58 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Greetings from Kentucky! Great variety of songs. I am from Kentucky and didnt even realize some of these songs where out there.

All the best!

6:29 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Gastr Del Sol - A Watery Kentucky
Papa M - O Kentucky

10:54 PM  
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