Various Artists - The Hitmakers Sing Kris Kristofferson (2021)

Kristoffer Kristofferson was born on 22 June 1936 in Brownsville, Texas, to Mary Ann and Lars Henry Kristofferson, a U.S. Army Air Corps officer. Because of his father's military service the family moved around frequently, but they eventually settled in San Mateo, California. An aspiring writer, he immediately enrolled in Pomona College, and his early writing included prize-winning essays, with 'The Rock' and 'Gone Are The Days' being published in The Atlantic Monthly. In 1958 he won a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University, studying at Merton College, and while there he was awarded a Blue for boxing, played rugby for his college, and began writing songs, and with the help of his manager, Larry Parnes, he recorded for Top Rank Records under the name Kris Carson. Parnes was working to sell Kristofferson as "a Yank at Oxford" to the British public, and Kristofferson was willing to accept that promotional approach if it helped his singing career, which he hoped would enable him to progress toward his goal of becoming a novelist. In the early 1960's, under pressure from his family, he joined the U.S. Army and was commissioned as a second lieutenant, later attaining the rank of captain. He became a helicopter pilot after receiving flight training at Fort Rucker, Alabama, but while stationed in West Germany as a member of the 8th Infantry Division he resumed his music career and formed a band. After leaving the army in 1965 he decided to pursue a career in songwriting, resulting in his family disowning him. He got a job sweeping floors at Columbia Recording Studios in Nashville, where he met June Carter, and he asked her to give Johnny Cash a tape of his. She did, but Cash put it on a large pile with others and didn't listen to it, but as Kristofferson was also working as a commercial helicopter pilot for south Louisiana firm Petroleum Helicopters International (PHI) at the same time, he landed a helicopter in Cash's front yard, and gained his full attention. 

Although he now considers it an invasion of Cash's privacy, it did work, and Cash recorded his 'Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down', winning Kristofferson Songwriter of the Year for the song at the Country Music Association Awards. In 1967 he signed to Epic Records and released a single, 'Golden Idol'/'Killing Time', and although this was not successful, his songs were hitting the charts by other artists, such as Roy Drusky with 'Jody And The Kid', Ray Stevens with a cover of 'Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down', Faron Young with 'Your Time's Comin'', and Roger Miller with 'Me And Bobby McGee', 'Best Of All Possible Worlds', and 'Darby's Castle'. Kristofferson signed with Monument Records as a recording artist, and his debut album for the label was 1970's 'Kristofferson', which included a few new songs as well as many of his previous hits. Sales were poor, although they would improve when it was re-released under the title 'Me & Bobby McGee' the following year. Kristofferson's compositions were still in demand, with Ray Price recording 'For The Good Times', both Gladys Knight & The Pips and Sammi Smith taking 'Help Me Make It Through The Night' into the charts, and Waylon Jennings and Bobby Bare recording successful versions of his songs in the early 1970's. In 1971, Janis Joplin, who had dated Kristofferson, had a number one hit with 'Me And Bobby McGee' from her posthumous album 'Pearl', which was probably the biggest success the he had with one of his songs, staying at the number-one spot on the charts for weeks. As so many of his songs were recorded by other artists both before and after his debut album release, it's a perfect contender for inclusion in this series, and so here are some of the best versions of the songs that made up Kris Kristofferson's first record.  

Track listing
 

01 Blame It On The Stones (Fred Foster 2021)                       
02 To Beat The Devil (Waylon Jennings 1972)
03 Me And Bobby McGee (Janis Joplin 1971)  
04 The Best Of All Possible Worlds (Roger Miller 1969)
05 Help Me Make It Through The Night (Jeannie C. Riley 1971)
06 The Law Is For Protection Of The People (Bobby Bare 1969)
07 Casey's Last Ride (John Denver 1971)
08 Just The Other Side Of Nowhere (George Hamilton IV 1970)
09 Darby's Castle (The Country Gentlemen 1980)
10 For The Good Times (Kenny Rogers And The First Edition 1971)

11 Duvalier's Dream (Hank Beukema 2014)
12 Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down (R. Dean Taylor 1970)  

Have A Folky Christmas 2023

It won't be long before Christmas is upon us once again, so here is a fine selection of folk-inspired Christmas tunes, without a folkified carol in sight. 

Track listing

01 The Bells Of Dublin/Christmas Eve (The Chieftans 1991)
02 On A Quiet Christmas Morn (Mary Chapin Carpenter 2008)
03 Christmas For Cowboys (John Denver 1975)
04 The Coventry Carol (The Young Tradition with Shirley & Dolly Collins 1969)
05 Christmas Passing Through (The Roches 1990)
06 Gaudete (Steeleye Span 1973)
07 Song For A Winter's Night (Gordon Lightfoot 1967)
08 Upon A Winter's Night (Cara Dillon 2016) 
09 Christ Is Born On Christmas Day (John Fahey 1991)
10 River (Joni Mitchell 1971)
11 Silent Night All Day Long (John Prine 1993)
12 In Dulci Jubilo (Maddy Prior & The Carnival Band 2005)
13 Goodbye England (Covered In Snow) (Laura Marling 2009)
14 Sing We Noel (The Kingston Trio 1960)
15 Candlemas Eve (Kate Rusby 2008)
16 I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day (Burl Ives 1965)
17 Coventry Carol (Joan Baez 1966)
18 On Christmas Night All Christians Sing (The Christmas Albion Band 2003)
19 The Seven Rejoices Of Mary (Loreena McKennitt 2008)
20 Christmas Carolling (The Irish Rovers 1999)

Search 'christmas aiwe' for all my Christmas albums.

James Burton - ...and on guitar (1978)

James Burton was born 21 August 1939 in Dubberly, Louisiana and began playing guitar at a young age, influenced by Chet Atkins, Elmore James and several others, using fingerpicks with a flatpick instead of the more conventional thumbpick. At the age of only 14 he became a professional musician, working club gigs and private parties, and in 1954 he became the youngest staff musician on the weekly radio show Louisiana Hayride in Shreveport, where he grew up. The first record that he played on was 'Just For A While'/'You Never Mention My Name' by Carol Williams in 1956, and in addition to his work on the Hayride, he played in Dale Hawkins' band, with whom he recorded and co-wrote 'Susie-Q' in February 1957. While working with Bob Luman, he came to the attention of Ricky Nelson, who invited him and Luman's bassist, James Kirkland, to meet his parents, and Nelson's father Ozzie Nelson offered Burton and Kirkland a regular spot on his son's television show 'The Adventures Of Ozzie And Harriet'. Before long James was living with the Nelson family in Hollywood, and playing on Ricky Nelson's 1957 single 'Stood Up'/'Waitin' In School', and then on every Ricky Nelson record after that for the next seven years. By 1965, Nelson was only on the road one month a year and Burton got bored, so he accepted an invitation from TV producer Jack Good to become a regular on the weekly 'Shindig' show, and to recruit a group, which he called the Shindogs. While working with Nelson, he had hardly done any session work for others, but after his exposure following a year on Shindig, he was soon doing five or six sessions a day, sometimes seven days a week, recording with such varied acts as Merle Haggard, Frank Sinatra, the Monkees, Judy Collins, the Everly Brothers and Johnny Mathis. In November 1967 he released his first album 'Corn Pickin' And Slick Slidin'', which was a collaboration with steel guitarist Ralph Mooney, and in 1969 he recorded the high point of his work with the dobro guitar, which he'd taken up in 1963, on Merle Haggard's tribute album to Jimmie Rodgers, 'Same Train, A Different Time'. In 1969, Elvis Presley asked Burton to be his lead guitarist and manage his band, to which he agreed, and so he moved to Las Vegas, remaining with Presley's touring band until the singer's death in August 1977. Through the last five years with Elvis, Burton also worked with Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris, and then after Presley's death he went on the road with John Denver and stayed with him for fifteen years, continuing to do session work, and playing with Jerry Lee Lewis's touring band in the early 1980's. There is an excellent anthology of his work out on CD titled 'James Burton: The Early Years 1957-1969', and so this collection seamlessly carries on from that, mainly concentrating on his work from the late 60's to the early 70's, and because he played on so many, many records during that period I narrowed it down even further by only selecting records on which he played his dobro guitar. As well as a slew of superb country tracks, this also includes the outro on The Beach Boys' 'Cabinessence', and some superlative work on Buffalo Springfield's 'A Child's Claim To Fame'. 

Track listing

Disc One
01 A Child's Claim To Fame (from 'Buffalo Springfield Again' by Buffalo Springfield 1967)
02 Mama Tried (from 'Roots' by The Everly Brothers 1968)
03 Poor Immigrant (from 'Who Knows Where The Time Goes' by Judy Collins 1968)
04 Midnight Wind (from 'Closing the Gap' by Michael Parks 1969)
05 Little Piece In D (from 'John Hartford' by John Hartford 1969)
06 Song Of Sad Bottles (from 'Mark Spoelstra' by Mark Spoelstra 1969)
07 On The Natural (from 'My Griffin Is Gone' by Hoyt Axton 1969)
08 Living On The Corner (from 'Who Knocked The Brains Out Of The Sky' by 

                                                                                                           Eric Von Schmidt 1969) 
09 Cabinessence (from '20/20' by The Beach Boys 1969)
10 Snake Mountain Blues (from 'Our Mother The Mountain' by Townes Van Zandt 1969)
11 Hoboin' (from 'Rock Salt And Nails' by Steve Young 1969)

Disc Two
01 Makes You Beautiful (from 'Sings About People' by John Hurley 1970)
02 Apple Tree (from 'Slim Slo Slider' by Johnny Rivers 1970)
03 Topanga Canyon (from 'John Phillips (John The Wolfking Of L.A.)' by John Phillips 1970)
04 Big T Water (from 'James Hendricks' by James Hendricks 1971)
05 Train Of Life (from 'Someday We'll Look Back' by Merle Haggard and The Strangers 1971)
06 Sunstorm (from 'Sunstorm' by John Stewart 1972)
07 The Moon Is Stone (from 'Raised On Records' by P.F. Sloan 1972)
08 Streets Of Baltimore (from 'GP' by Gram Parsons 1973)
09 Boulder To Brimingham (from 'Pieces Of The Sky' by Emmylou Harris 1975)
10 Bet On The Blues (from 'I Want To Live' by John Denver 1977)
11 Song For The Life (from 'Ain't Living Long Like This' by Rodney Crowell 1978)
12 Come Early Mornin' (from 'Nicolette' by Nicolette Larson 1978)

Thanks to Martin for the suggestion.