01.28.2021
AMERICANA SIN LÁGRIMAS PART TWO
January 1981, Columbia Studios, Nashville, TN.
Three unbroken years of U.K. hit parade success and U.S. mayhem and disgrace behind us, I didn’t trust my own heart or judgment more than anyone knew my mind.
There had to be some more songs worth singing but none of them were mine.
When our tour reached Nashville again, we stepped into Columbia Records Studios, home of “The Most Beautiful Girl In The World”, “Blonde On Blonde”, “Lay Lady Lay” and “I Threw It All Away”.
Of the two songs that I chose for this try-out session with Pete Drake on pedal steel guitar, one was written by Hank Cochran via recordings by Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn.
The other made famous by Bobby “Blue” Bland.
That was the clue: “Almost Blue”.
Months later we returned to Studio A adding John McFee’s electric guitar and pedal steel to the Attractions rather than enlist the regular Nashville Cats.
The board was manned by engineer Snake Reynolds and Billy Sherrill, the producer of Tammy Wynette, George Jones and Charlie Rich, who had started out playing saxophone in a jump blues band in Alabama.
I imagined he would understand.
The first songs we cut upon our return were Johnny Cash’s Sun Records side, “Cry, Cry, Cry”, Webb Pierce’s “Wondering”, Loretta Lynn’s first hit, “I’m A Honky Tonk Girl” and her song that said, “Success has made a failure of our home”.
2007 – Hendersonville, TN.
35 Years later John Carter Cash pointed out my signature on a raw wooden beam above the fireplace of his father’s cabin in Hendersonville.
I signed it again.
Loretta arrived with a box-file marked, “Songs” and tipped the contents onto the table. Scraps of paper, receipts and pieces of cardboard inscribed with fragments of lyric and possible song titles.
One read, “Thank God For Jesus”.
Another said, “Pardon Me Madam, My Name Is Eve”
I said, “I know what this is. It’s the first wife’s song to Adam’s second bride”.
Loretta said, “You can have it”, then we sat down to write “I Felt The Chill”, every word straight to the point and direct from the heart.
If there really is a mythical tome called “The Great American Songbook” then surely it should have pages for Johnny Cash, Willie Dixon, Willie Nelson and Loretta alongside Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Hoagy Carmichael and that other great philosopher of piano, Mose Allison.
To be continued….
1)TWO STEPS FROM THE BLUES – Bobby “Blue” Bland from “Two Steps From The Blues”
2) I’ll TAKE CARE OF YOU – Elvis Costello & The Attractions from “Almost Blue”
3) HE’S GOT YOU – Elvis Costello & The Attractions from “Almost Blue”
5) I’M A HONKY TONK GIRL – Loretta Lynn from “The Loretta Lynn Collection”
6) SWEET DREAMS – Tommy McLain from “The Essential Collection”
7) I FELT THE CHILL – Elvis Costello from “Secret Profane & Sugarcane”
8) SUCCESS – Elvis Costello and the Attractions from “Almost Blue”
9) PARDON ME MADAM, MY NAME IS EVE – Elvis Costello from “Momofuku”
10) EVERYTHING IT TAKES – Loretta Lynn with Elvis Costello – from “Full Circle”
11) POOR BORROWED DRESS – Elvis Costello with Jim Lauderdale from “National Ransack”
12) SALLY SUE BROWN – Elvis Costello from “Adios Amigo”
13) BE REAL – from “The Best Of The Sir Douglas Quintet”
14) BABY IT’S YOU – Elvis Costello & Nick Lowe from “Out Of Our Idiot”
15) LONELY BLUE BOY – Elvis Costello from “Blood & Chocolate”
16) THE SPELL THAT YOU CAST – Elvis Costello from “National Ransom”
17) PLEASE STAY – Elvis Costello from “Kojak Variety”
18) CRAZY – Willie Nelson, Diana Krall & Elvis Costello from “Lost Highway”
19) MY RESISTANCE IS LOW – Elvis Costello from “Kojak Variety”
20) MONSTERS OF THE ID – Amy Allison with Elvis Costello from “Sheffield Streets”
21) EVERYBODY’S CRYIN’ MERCY – Elvis Costello from “Kojak Variety”