What do you get when…

What do you get when you add some truckin’ tunes, songs with “Bakersfield” in the title, mix in some Bee Gees and Donna Summer?  Bakersfield & Beyond!  We, well, Amanda, came up with a great play list for tonight’s show.  We were both saddened to hear of the recent passing of the Bee Gees’ Robin Gibbs and of Donna Summer.

One of the songs we played, “MacArhur Park,” was popularized by Donna Summer and was written by Jimmy Webb, who also penned three classic songs sung by Glen Campbell:  “Witchita Lineman,” “Galveston,” and “By the Time I Get to Phoenix.”  However, we played the version of “MacArthur Park” sung by Waylon Jennings.  How’s that for a round-a-bout tribute song to Donna Summer that has ties back to country music.

Another tribute song we played was to the Bee Gees and Robin Gibbs.  “Massachusetts” was the Bee Gees first number 1 hit in the U.K.  Our tribute to Robbin Gibbs found none other than Buck Owens singing a cover of this song which sold over 5 million copies for the Bee Gees.

We closed out the show with the classic Donna Summers tune “Last Dance.”  I hope listeners like this song because it may get more airplay on Bakersfield & Beyond.  Stay tuned!

And lest I forget, we played a beauty of a tribute song penned by none other than Dr. BLT – “Mennon Nite Fever.”  This has to be among the Dr.’s finest songs.

Artist	Cut	Album	Label
Tim Hus	Bakersfield Music	Bushpilot Buckaroo	Stony Plain Records
Red Simpson	I’m A Truck	Swing West Vol. 1 Bakersfield	Razor & Tie
JP Harris and the Tough Choices	Gear Jammin’ Daddy	I’ll Keep Calling	Cow Island Music
Dwight Yoakam	Truckin’	Deadicated	Arista
Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash	Truckstop In La Grange	Walk Alone	Texacali
Whiskeytown	Theme for a Trucker	Strangers Almanac (Deluxe Edition)	Outpost
The Byrds	Truck Stop Girl	(Untitled) /(Unissued)	Columbia/Legacy
Gram Parsons	Drug Store Truck Drivin’ Man	Gram Parsons & the Fallen Angels: Live 1973	Atlantic Records/ATG
Chris “Sugarballs” Sprague	Truck Drivin’ Cat With Nine Lives	Miles Away	Spinout Records
Ry Cooder	The Dying Truck Driver	My Name is Buddy	Nonesuch
Willie Nix	Truckin’ Little Woman	Southern Blues Masters	Goldenlane Records
The Jazz Butcher	Bakersfield	The Jazz Butcher’s Free Lunch	Rev-Ola
Social Distortion	Bakersfield	Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes (Deluxe Edition)	epitaph
Tom Russell	Bakersfield	Hotwalker	Red Music
Chris Hillman	Bakersfield Bound	Bakersfield Bound	Self Produced
Merle Haggard	A Bar In Bakersfield	Merle Haggard: Best of the 90’s, Vol. Two	curb
Fatt Katt & The Von Zippers	The Birth Of Bakersfield	That Bakerbilly Sound	Fatt Katt Music
The Real Nasty	Whiskey For Breakfast	Strangers and Friends	Real Nasty
Larry Daniels & The Buckshots	Bakersfield Steed	Bakersfield Rebels	ace
Gary S. Paxton	Bakersfield	Bakersfield Rebels	ace
Dr. BLT	Menno Nite Fever	Dr. BLT Self Produced	Self Produced
Waylon Jennings	MacArthur Park	The Best of Waylon Jennings	RCA
Buck Owens	Massachusetts	The Warner Bros. Recordings	Warner Bros
Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan	That’s Alright Mama	Songs from the Real America	Swingin’ Pig Records
Commander Cody And His Hot Lost Planet Airmen	Truck Drivin’ Man	Hot Licks, Cold Steel & Truckers Favorites	MCA Records
Commander Cody And His Lost Planet Airmen	Rip It Up	Hot Licks, Cold Steel & Truckers Favorites	MCA Records
Donna Summer	Last Dance	The Journey: The Very Best of Donna Summer	UTV Recods

A Thousand Miles From Nowhere

“A Thousand Miles From Nowhere.”  If this were Jeopardy, this answer would be followed by the question “What are the names of a Dwight Yoakam song and a new book by Don McCleese?”  We spoke to Don McCleese tonight about his new book, Dwight Yoakam:  A Thousand Miles From Nowhere.  Don is currently an Associate Professor at The University of Iowa’s School of Journalism.  He’s long been a music critic and writer for many publications including The Chicago Tribune and Rolling Stone.

Don McCleese first encountered Dwight Yoakam and the L.A. music scene back in the ’80s when Dwight was starting out.  His book is an engaging read for anyone interested in Dwight’s musical career.  The chronology of the book more or less follows the sequence of albums Dwight and his musical partner, guitarist, and producer, Pete Anderson released over several decades.  What the book doesn’t stoop to is a tell-all tale of a person’s life that, frankly have little interest to me.  What the book does do is make you play all of Dwight’s albums as you read along.

Information on how/where to get the book is available on the book publisher’s (University of Texas Press) site found here.

The audio quality ain’t that great on this one, but you can get the feeling of it and hear some darn great guitar licks.

And lest I forget, this here is a really great panel discussion of life around the Bakersfield Sound’s beginnings.  It’s about an hour long so you’ll want to set aside some time and catch it all.  It features, Dallas Frazier, Rose Lee Maphis, Buddy Mize, Red Simpson, and Don Maddox.

This is the concert that happened in conjunction with the panel discussion above.  You’re going to need a couple hours for this one.

Well, I can’t seem to properly embed the videos, so here’s the link to the Country Music Hall of Fame’s website where they are found and easily viewed.  Thanks for listening.

Artist	Cut	Album	Label
Tim Hus	Bakersfield Music	Bushpilot Buckaroo	Stony Plain Records
Dwight Yoakam	Blame the Vain	Blame the Vain	New West Records
Dwight Yoakam	A Thousand Miles from Nowhere	This Time	Warner 1061
Dwight Yoakam	Act Naturally	Dwight Sings Buck	New West Records Inc.
JP Harris and the Tough Choices	Take It All	I’ll Keep Calling	Cow Island Music
Dwight Yoakam	I’ll Be Gone	A Town South of Bakersfield	Enigma
Gary Stewart	She’s Acting Single, I’m Drinking Double	The Essential Gary Stewart	RCA
Rosie Flores & The Pine Valley Cosmonauts	Chauffeur	Girl of the Century	Bloodshot Records
Alejandro Escovedo	Big Station	Big Station	Concord Music Group
Alejandro Escovedo w/ Rosie Flores	Ballad of the Sun and the Moon	KGSR Broadcasts Vol. 10	KGSR
Flaco Jimenez	Love Me Do	Sleepytown	Back Porch
The Blasters	Long White Cadillac	Trouble Bound	Hightone Records
Dwight Yoakam	Ain’t That Lonely Yet	This Time	Warner 1061
Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys	Power of the 45	Turntable Matinee	Yep Roc Records
Ferlin Husky and Jean Shepard	A Dear John Letter	Swing West Vol 1 Bakersfield	Razor & Tie
Joe Maphis & Rose Lee Maphis	Dim Lights Thick Smoke And Loud, Loud Music	Swing West Vol. 1 Bakersfield	Razor & Tie
Tommy Collins	What’Cha Gonna Do Now	Swing West Volume, Vol 1	Razor & Tie
The Legarde Twins	Night Blooming Jasmine	Bakersfield Rebels	Ace
Gary S. Paxton	Bakersfield	Bakersfield Rebels	Ace
The Bryds	Life In Prison	Sweetheart of the Rodeo	Columbia/Legacy
Ruby Dee & The Snakehandlers	Make It Last	North of Bakersfield	Dionysus Records