Showing posts with label tom brumley. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tom brumley. Show all posts

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Tom Brumley

Tom Brumley passed away this week, at the age of 73.

It makes me sad.

Once upon a time, country bands achieved a fame all their own. They even released albums. Merle, of course, had the Strangers, with Norm and Roy and a whole bunch of other supremely talented players. Bill Anderson's Po'Boys released an instrumental album that was a favorite of mine....way back when.

Fans followed big-name artists and their bands, and knew who played lead guitar and who played fiddle........and who played steel guitar.

There were (and are) a lot of great steel guitar players, but take a look at this:



Sorry the video quality is so poor, but this was the best representation of Tom's work I could find on the net.

This is, arguably, the most famous steel guitar solo in the history of country music.

So, Buck is gone, Don Rich is gone, Doyle Holly is gone, and now Tom Brumley is gone.

I once, a long, long time ago, had a chance to see Buck and his Buckaroos in concert. Actually, I saw them twice. When I was eleven, I visited my older sister in Fort Worth, Texas, and Buck and the guys were playing at some used car lot opening (okay, maybe it wasn't that, but it was some kind of store promotion), so we hussled ourselves out to see them.

The second time was an actual concert, and my friend, Alice, and I hung around after the show and collected autographs from all the Buckaroos. I wish I knew what happened to those autographs. But at least I have the memories.

So, rest in peace, Tom Brumley. And thanks for the joy you gave us. Autographs may be lost, but music is forever.


~~~

Friday, January 11, 2008

20 Best Country Songs Of All Time - Continued

This is, I think, number four in a continuing series of (in my opinion) the twenty best country songs of all time.

This song was (allegedly) written by Buck Owens, and was recorded by Buck Owens and the Buckaroos on Capitol Records in 1964. This song was actually the "B" side of "My Heart Skips A Beat". "Together Again" went to number one on June 6, 1964. The song has been recorded approximately 2,532,159 times (okay, I don't know how many times, but it's a lot).

I like this video, because it shows the Buckaroos, who were an integral part of Buck's popularity. Don Rich (naturally), Tom Brumley, Doyle Holly.





This seems like the appropriate time to note the passing of Ken Nelson, Capitol Records producer, who launched the career of Buck Owens, and who also discovered Merle Haggard.

Ken also produced "The Wild Side Of Life" for Hank Thompson in 1952. He recorded hits for Wynn Stewart, Ferlin Husky, Jean Shepard, among many others.

I remember the album, "Live At Carnegie Hall" by Buck & The Buckaroos (you should buy this one; trust me). Buck gives a shout out to Ken Nelson on the recording.

Ken Nelson was 96 years old, so he lived a long and, thankfully for country fans, a very productive life.

Here is the link to the LA Times article about Ken Nelson:

Ken Nelson