Somethings Got A Hold On Me

An early performance of "Somethings Got A Hold On Me" by Etta James.

Man in Black

Today would have been Johnny Cash's 82nd birthday, and I don't think I have posted this song before, "The Man in Black".

Amanda

Chris Stapleton performing "Amanda", the song Don Williams recorded in the 1970's.

Lake Street Dive

Because I like the instrumentation on this piece—trumpet, upright bass and drums—Lake Street Dive's performance of "Look At What Mistake".

Dry Bones

I think this is the freakiest video I have posted on this blog. This is the Lennon Sisters—appropriately dressed—performing "Dry Bones". Incidentally this song is based on Ezekiel ch. 37. So even though zombie stories are now all the rage, these are, evidently, not strictly a modern phenomena.

Four Women

Today would have been Nina Simone's 81st Birthday. There is currently a film about Simone in production. I am not sure what the status of the film is. It is listed on IMDB as in post-prodution. There was a controversy when Zoe Saldana was cast to play Nina. This is one role that would be a tall order for just about anyone, so we will have to see how the film turns out.

Here is "Four Women", a song she wrote. In my opinion this is her best song.

She Only Likes Me For My Willie

A fun song from Paul Overstreet, "She Only Likes Me For My Willie".

Elvis & Lucinda

Two songs performed by Elvis Costello and Lucinda Williams.

"Wild Horses", written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, and "Blue", written by Lucinda

I'll Take Care Of You

Beth Hart—one of my favorite voices—performs "I'll Take Care Of You", with John Bonamassa on guitar.

Cain't No Grave Hold My Body Down

Mike Farris performs "Cain't No Grave Hold My Body Down".

Ashokan Farewell

Here are three different versions—with different instrumentations—of "Ashokan Farewell". This song was written by Jay Ungar and is best known as the theme music from Ken Burns' PBS series The Civil War.

Jay Ungar & Molly Mason Family Band, original version on fiddles, guitar and banjo


Tommy Emmanuel, on guitars, drums and bass



David J. Nielsen, on solo cello

Valentine

A second post for Valentines Day, Willie Nelson singing "Valentine".

The Glory of True Love

I guess for Valentines Day I need to post a love song, so here is a recent John Prine performance of "The Glory of True Love".

The Broken Circle Breakdown

The Belgian film The Broken Circle Breakdown is one of the five films nominated for the Best Foreign Language Oscar this year. I have to say this is one of the bleakest films I have seen in some time. It is about a little girl with cancer, but it does have some of the best music performed in the film. The music is very similar to the music included in O Brother Where Art Thou, though the movies are totally different. Here are two clips from the film.

"The Boy Who Wouldn't Hoe Corn"



"if I Needed You", a Townes Van Zandt song

Give Me Cornbread When I'm Hungry

Emmylou Harris, Joan Baez and Jackson Browne perform "Give Me Cornbread When I'm Hungry". Plus Emmylou Harris does a little dance.

The Wayfaring Stranger

Bill Monroe performs a solo version of "The Warfaring Stranger".

There's a World of Song

"There a World of Song"—a benefit recording for Jefferson Center's Music Lab in Roanoke, VA, created by Darrell Scott. Include on the recordimg are: Darrell Scott (creator), Tim O'Brien, Rene Marie, Blind Boys of Alabama, Kathy Mattea, John Cowan, Del McCoury, Ronnie McCoury, Rob McCoury, Jason Carter, Alan Bartram, Marc Cary, Keith Thomas, Kim Davidson and the Roanoke Valley Children's Choir, Janiah Allen, Michael League, Otu Kojo, Bukuru Celestin, Ephrazie Niyonzima, Elvanie Niyibigira, Furaha Ndayishimiye, Judi Jackson, Jeremy Wilder & Spirit of Life Choir, Chris Howard-Woods, Abby Cohen, and Motion Adrenaline.

I Saw the Light

Holly Williams sings "I Saw the Light", a song written by her grandfather—Hank Williams.

The Old Boy is Still in the Game

Just a couple days ago I added a post for the Del McCoury Bands Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album. Well today is Del McCoury's 75th Birthday. Born in York, Pennsylvania, he performed for a short time in the 1960's with Bill Monroe. Since the 80's he has fronted his own band, which includes his sons, Robbie and Ronnie. In 2003 he became a member if the Grand Ole Opry.

Here is a song written in tribute to him, by his bass player, Alan Bartram, who sings the song is this video.