She only struggled with a few lines. At 54, I doubt I would fare as well with a song I'd sung last week in the shower.
This was a new concert experience for me -- a show that was the stage equivalent of sitting down at your favorite aunt's kitchen table, drinking strong coffee and telling stories. That, my friend, is something that leaves you feeling blessed for the simple things in life, which turn out to be some of the biggest things of all.
Best yet, she says she's about to start on a new album with Jack White. Can't wait.
Once in a blue moon comes out to about -- on average -- once every 2 1/2 years. That's how often you get two full moons in the same month.
In my native south Louisiana, we'd call that lagniappe. A little something extra.
AND IT occurs to me that's how often you'll find something like 3 Chords & the Truth. . . something as wonderfully diverse, broad-ranging, quirky and sometimes surprising as this here little musical venture on the Internet. The goal here is to always give you a little something extra.
Just like a blue moon.
Bom ba ba bom ba bom ba bom bom ba ba bom ba ba bom ba ba dang a dang dang, Ba ba ding a dong ding . . . blue moon. And, boy oh boy, are you going to get your blue moon's worth this week on the Big Show. It's 3 Chords & the Truth, y'all.Be there. Aloha.
If there's a better country-pop song than "(I Never Promised You a) Rose Garden," I don't know what it might be. And now both artists responsible for this masterpiece in 2:55 are gone. Writer Joe South died in 2012. The woman who had the smash hit with it in 1970, Lynn Anderson, died last night. From The Tennesseanin Nashville:
Country singer Lynn Anderson, best known for her classic recording “(I Never Promised You a) Rose Garden,” died Thursday night of a heart attack at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
She had been hospitalized for pneumonia following a trip to Italy. She was 67 years old.
Lynn Rene Anderson was born Sept. 26, 1947 in Grand Forks, N.D., and raised in California. She came from a musical family: Her parents Casey and Liz Anderson were both songwriters; the latter penned the Merle Haggard hits “(My Friends Are Gonna Be) Strangers” and “I’m a Lonesome Fugitive.”
Ms. Anderson’s debut single, a duet with Jerry Lane called “For Better or for Worse,” was released in 1966, when she was just 19 years old. It failed to chart. However, later that year her single “Ride, Ride, Ride,” cracked the country charts, and its successor, “If I Kiss You (Will You Go Away)” was a Top 5 hit.
For two years during the late 1960s, Ms. Anderson was a regular on the popular “Lawrence Welk Show,” an outlet which exposed her to a nationwide audience. "It was appointment viewing," said WSM DJ and Grand Ole Opry announcer Eddie Stubbs. "Lynn Anderson really helped expand the boundaries of country music because there wasn't a lot of (it) on network television at that time."
Ms. Anderson wed producer/songwriter Glenn Sutton in 1968. He produced several of her hit songs—and wrote some too, including “You’re My Man” and “Keep Me in Mind”—but the couple would divorce in 1977.
In 1970, Ms. Anderson moved from California to Nashville, and signed with Columbia Records. In October of that year, she released what would become her signature song, and one of country music’s classics. The lilting “(I Never Promised You a) Rose Garden,” penned by Joe South, became a worldwide hit with its immediately recognizable intro and catchy lyrics. In the U.S., it spent five weeks atop the country music charts and crossed over to the pop charts as well. The recording also netted Ms. Anderson a Best Female Country Vocal Performance Grammy Award, and in 1971, the Country Music Association named her Female Vocalist of the Year. Over the last four decades, “Rose Garden” has been covered numerous times by a wide variety of artists including k.d. lang, Martina McBride, Suicide Machines and Southern Culture on the Skids.
We're going to run this edition of 3 Chords & the Truth up the flagpole and see who salutes it.
That's because this edition of the Big Showtackles America's raging debate about the Confederate battle flag. Should it fly? Is it all about hate and subjugation? What's it all about, Alfie? As a native Southerner now living happily in the Midwest, your Mighty Favog has some thoughts about all that. They've been expressed over the years on Revolution 21's Blog for the People, and they're going to be put to music on this edition of 3 Chords & the Truth.
I'd like to engage your brain in this, but I'd like more to engage your heart and imagination. I think we succeed -- and succeed in superbly entertaining in the process -- but, as always, you'll be the judge. THE SOUTH. Race. Heritage. Hate. History. Culture. Music. It's all packed in to a special edition of the Big Show. As a matter of fact, it's so special that there's a bonus two minutes . . . which I couldn't bear to trim. So there's that.
Sit back, listen, think, feel and enjoy. Those are your marching orders for this week . . . and every week, actually. It's 3 Chords & the Truth, y'all. Be there. Aloha.
This week on 3 Chords & the Truth: A meditation. It's sort of along these lines (with apologies to the Alan Parsons Project, 1977):
We break down in the middle and lose our thread, No one can understand a thing that we do, When we break down just a little and lose our head, Who could blame them all if they think that we're through?
Any time it happens we'd get over it, With a little help from all our friends, Anybody else could see we're in the pit, But they walk away and just pretend, When we break down . . . We break down in the middle and lose our thread, No one can understand a thing that we do, When we break down just a little and lose our head, Who could blame them all if they think that we're through? Where are all the friends who used to follow us, All they ever gave us was phony praise, People that we've never seen are sure we're nuts, Is it any wonder we're confused? When we break down . . . When we break down. . . .
ONTHIS latest edition of the Big Show, we break down the breakdown.
This week's 3 Chords & the Truth is the kind of show that will make you glad that you're alive.
With that said, just dance where you might be -- and push back against the world's darkness harder than it pushes on you. Because we should be glad that we're alive.
ME, I'm just glad you're listening to the Big Show. So let's dance, shall we? Life's too short to waste on anger, despair, paranoia and finger-pointing . . . and that's just what we see on Facebook. Eschew that. Listen to this. It's 3 Chords & the Truth, y'all. Be there. Aloha.
A million monkeys trying to come up with Shakespeare . . . or an average episode of 3 Chords & the Truth . . . will come up with something akin to this.
So don't monkey around -- leave the quality music programming to your Mighty Favog, not a bunch of apes . . . or your local radio station, for that matter. We'll all be happier. It's 3 Chords & the Truth, y'all. Be there.Aloha.
Oh, the things you find at your local thrift store.
Or, in this case, at the Goodwill in North Platte, Neb. That's why it never hurts to hit the Goodwill when you're traveling -- in this case, on an overnight trip last week to west-central Nebraska. There I found not only this autographed Loretta Lynn LP, but three more of hers as well, two of them autographed like the one above. The cost for the whole stash was about what you'd pay for a large espresso drink at your local coffee emporium. And if anybody tries to take 'em from me, we're gonna be goin' to Fist City.
This week's edition of the Big Show is about precious gifts.
One of my earliest was the gift of music. The gift of a love of music, and records . . . and ultimately a love of sharing that great bequest with others. That gift -- music -- I got from my mother at a young age. I remember as a little kid, maybe 4 years old, playing my parents' 78s and 45s and even LPs on the big Silvertone console and thinking it was one of the coolest things ever. And I've been doing it ever since.
IT'S A GIFT that has enriched my life and ultimately led me to the radio -- and being on the radio. And it has reached its fruition, so far, in this little endeavor we call 3 Chords & the Truth. The gift of music came from my mother some 50 years ago now. It's probably the greatest thing she ever gave me, apart from life itself. Mama passed away in a hospital here in Omaha early the morning of March 21, three days before my 54th birthday. This episode of theBig Show is for her. God bless you, Mama. And thank you for the music.
You remember the episode when button-down, Madison Avenue, gimme-a-bourbon-and-a-girl, 1960s ad exec Roger Sterling dropped some acid? This ePisode of 3 CHORdS & THE tRuTh iS kiNd OF lIKe ThAt, maN!
ANYWAY . . . this episode of the BIG SHOWis GUARANTEED to, lIkE, TOTALLY blow your mind, MaN!!!
So, take a piece of paper. Write your name and address on it. Say you've been listening to the Big Show. Then write "Please Help Me." Now, pin the note to your shirt.
I say, now, pin the note to your shirt. Now, pin the note to your shirt. Now, pin the note to your shirt. Now, pin the note to your shirt. To your shirt.To your shirt.To your shirt.To your shirt.To your shirt.To your shirt.To your shirt.To your shirt.To your shirt.
To your shirt.
NOWYOU are prepared to listen to the podcast this week. Sit down, tune in, turn on and enjoy, man. It will be a mind-expanding experience. It's 3 Chords & the Truth, y'all. Be there.Aloha.
Is it kicking in? BeCAUse I'M rEAllY Not FeElInG aNYThing Yet. !!!
I'm your captain, the Mighty Favog, and we're ready to take off on a journey of musical discovery, courtesy of 3 Chords & the TruthTours. We will be departing from the Group Vocal Lounge sometime in 1957, and we'll journey to the farthest reaches of jazz, with a lounge-sound layover before returning to Jazz Junction, then embarking on a whirlwind journey through exotic places and exquisite enclaves of rock 'n' roll artistry. YOU'LLHEAR fascinating rhythms and have an immersion experience in late 20th century pop music on theBig Showbefore stopping for an extended stay in 1965, where you may even encounter a cannibal and headhunters. Please fasten your seat belt as we get under way, and have a most pleasant journey on 3 Chords & the Truth. And as the locals say . . . It's 3 Chords & the Truth, y'all. Be there.Aloha.
Yes, I'm in another one of my musical moods here in the 3 Chords & the Truthstudios in central Omaha, by God, Neb. But I also am a trained professional, more than qualified to act upon those musical moods and share the results with you. In other words, leave this thing to me and nobody gets hurt. More importantly, nobody's gonna be transitioning from the Backstreet Boys to Metallica. Eww.
Andblecch!
AS FAR as this week's edition of theBig Show goes, you'll be hearing lots of classic soul and lots of classic pop, jazz and easy listening, too. Mood. Mine. Fortunately, my little musical moods lead to good stuff on 3 Chords & the Truth pretty much every time. I would say "positively all the time," but everybody hates a braggart. Oh . . . before I forget, we also have some excellent -- and absolutely free -- advice for you at the end of the program this week. Stay tuned for that. AND THAT about covers it. Stream it or download it, it doesn't matter. TheBig Show will be the same Big Treat for your ears. It's 3 Chords & the Truth, y'all.Be there. Aloha.
WE GOT IT ALL, and you won't believe how we get from there to here. We are the Big Show.
We are 3 Chords & the Truth, the podcast for people who love music. It's a journey -- yes, it is -- and it happens every week at this same Bat Time on this same Bat Channel. Be there.Aloha.
Pass the New Wave from the left-hand side. Pass the 30-something-year-old inside jokes from the top. Ugh. At least this week's edition of 3 Chords & the Truth gets off to a better start than this week's post about this week's edition of the Big Show. Now . . . where was I again?
I think I was going to mention just a couple of things about this week's podcast, which you can hear by clicking any of the BOLD RED LINKS. Or by pressing the little arrow on the PodOmatic player below. Or by clicking on the first episode on the 3 Chords & the Truth player over yonder on the right hand side of the page.
Times your host says "ummmm." Ummmm . . . I just made that up. I . . . ummmm . . . don't . . . ummmm . . . think it was nearly that many . . . ummmm . . . times.
5.
Five straight records on theBig Show that happen to be vintage 78 r.p.m. singles. A whole set consisting of 78s, as a matter of fact.
Furthermore, one of them probably will surprise you.
3.
Three songs about magic.
1.
One song -- OK, probably three songs -- that had to have been staples on Omaha's supremely middle-of-the-road KFAB radio back in the day, back when the station actually played music.
4.
Four country records on the program this go 'round.
99 44/100.
Ninety-nine and forty-four one-hundredths percent pure fun this week on the show. The other .56 percent is just you being a bloody crank.
SO THAT'S IT. This week's edition of 3 Chords & the Truthby the numbers. Your mileage may vary, but probably not. Of course, the only way to know for sure it to give it a listen. He says, cajolingly. Anyway. . . .
Ummmm. . . . It's 3Chords & the Truth, y'all. Be there.Aloha.
Let me assure you . . . this edition of the Big Show is funner than having medical implements of cauterization shoved up your nose.
Don't ask. Not my nose, per se, but just don't ask anyway.
It's also more fun than navigating around the remodeling of your kitchen, which will keep me out of the studio this week when I'm usually in it to do each excellent episode of 3 Chords & the Truth. Thus, this edition of the podcast is up and posted on the Internets a bit early this go around.
I guess that could be called a good thing.
Though the putting together of the Big Showmight be a wee quick and dirty this week -- though one hopes not terribly so -- it's here. Right now. So there you go.
Did I mention that this week's edition of the Big Show is funner than having medical implements of cauterization shoved up your nose? Again, don't ask. ACTUALLY, this week's 3 Chords & the Truth is pretty damned spiffy, if you ask me, an admittedly biased source. We have some tasty Top-40 goodness from years gone by. We have some beautimous Americana. We have some country. We have some rock.
Anyway . . . good show this week, despite everything. I mean, you have no idea. Buy me a drink or six, and I might tell you. And give it a listen -- while you're buying me those drinks. Sooooooooooo. . . .
I could tell you all about how much of this special Christmas edition of 3 Chords & the Truth has its genesis in thrift stores, estate sales, hand-me-downs and family treasures. (Answer: A lot.) I guess, too, that I could tell you all about turning lost audio history into modern Big Show podcastery. (Interesting stuff if you're as big a geek as your Mighty Favog.)
Or perhaps I could tell you about the amazing, tuneful Christmas party inside the 3 Chords & the Truth studio . . . and now just a click away from being inside your favorite audio device. Which makes it just a click away from putting a big smile on your face. (Would that be too immodest?Too much like a TV infomercial or something equally unauthentic?)
OF COURSE, I could just say that the expanded Christmas edition of the Big Show is really, really good this year. (WARNING! WARNING! Bragging detected. Ego suppression activating in 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . .) On the other hand, perhaps I'll just repeat a beautiful passage given to us long ago. It tells why we celebrate . . . why we are filled with joy in the remembering:
1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.
2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)
3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.
4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)
5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.
6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.
7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.
16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.
17 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.
18 And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.
19 But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.
20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.
21 And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
22 And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord;
23 (As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;)
24 And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.
25 And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him.
26 And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ.
27 And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law,
28 Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said,
29 Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word:
30 For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
31 Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;
32 A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.
33 And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him.
34 And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against;
35 (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.
THAT, FRIEND, is reason for a party. Two millennia ago, hope came to a hopeless world, and the darkness shall prevail not. Merry Christmas . . . and party on. It's 3 Chords & the Truth, y'all. Be there.Aloha.
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