Category: Music & Songs

Great singers and songwriters were showcased at November’s Farm and Fun Time! Thanks to our sponsor Eastman Credit Union, Radio Bristol was able to bring the program not only to those in the audience or tuned in to WBCM-LP, but to viewers far and wide via Facebook Live. Be sure to like WBCM – Radio Bristol on Facebook to tune in every month!

Starting the show with their familiar harmonies, Bill and the Belles kicked off the evening with a rousing set that included the classic “I Get the Blues When It Rains.” Our “Heirloom Recipe” segment was presented by none other than Kinney Rorrer, acclaimed old-time music scholar and the great-nephew of both Posey Rorrer and Charlie Poole. Kinney recalled a favorite dessert his mother made: banana pudding. Kinney’s mother learned to make the dessert from her grandmother, who prepared it as part of the meals she would sell to mill workers. Kinney believed that banana pudding of that quality could never be found again when his mother passed away, but he was delighted to find his neighbor, a transplanted South Carolinian, could make it just like his mother did. To commemorate this sweet southern staple, Bill and the Belles composed an ode dedicated to pudding. And everyone was ready for a big serving afterwards!

Up first on the show was McKay & Leigh. Composed of veteran songwriters and performers Noel McKay and Brennen Leigh, the duo performed covers of classic duets and original compositions, dazzling the Farm and Fun Time audience with their wordplay. Two of Leigh’s original compositions “John Deere Model H” and “Analog” were among the most outstanding songs of the evening, as they convey the longing for days gone by that seems to be a common thread among country music musicians and fans alike. The message of “Analog” is timely in our current age of technology, which sometimes overwhelms the more human side of things and serves as a reminder that we should just put the phone down and enjoy life again.

For this month’s “Farm Report,” we did something a little bit different, visiting Taylor Malone in Johnson City, Tennessee. Though not technically a farmer, Taylor forages for food across the Tri-Cities and finds wild and tasty foods where you’d least expect them.  Check out this video of our visit with Taylor at the Mountain Home Food Forest:

Following the “Farm Report,” Kinney Rorrer joined host band Bill and the Belles for a rendition of Charlie Poole’s “Goodbye, Booze.” Kinney grew up hearing stories about Charlie Poole and Posey Rorrer’s larger-than-life exploits, and he works to tell these stories and share their music in his own band The New North Carolina Ramblers. Our last musical guest of the evening was Smithsonian Folkways recording artists Lula Wiles. A trio made up of Isa Burke, Eleanor Buckland, and Mali Obomsawin, Lula Wiles draws heavily from their early experiences playing folk music in New England and the social consciousness that is associated with that tradition. Playing songs with thought-invoking messages, Lula Wiles presented songs off their record and finished up with the Dolly Parton classic “The Pain of Loving You.”

Thanks to everyone who came out and made this a wonderful evening of fun and music! There are still a few tickets left for December’s Farm and Fun Time Christmas Ball on Friday, December 13. Be a part of our live audience and celebrate the holiday season with High Fidelity, The McLain Family Band, and host band Bill and the Belles!

As the holiday season approaches, you’ve surely had your nose to the grindstone and have been taking all your endeavors seriously for the past 11 or so months. Do you feel like perhaps you’ve been taking things a little too seriously? If you feel burnout encroaching and your work ethic slipping, you should consider celebrating Loosen Up, Lighten Up Day!

Celebrated annually on November 14, Loosen Up, Lighten Up Day reminds us that we shouldn’t let the stress of everyday life get us down – in other words, don’t sweat the small stuff! Stress is a killer, and when you take a second look at many of the things that cause you aggravation in your day-to-day life, perhaps you can find some humor and laugh it off. Now that you know about Loosen Up, Lighten Up Day, I hope you’ll do what you need to take care of yourself for the day and better prepare yourself to roll with life’s inevitable difficulties. To get you in the spirit, here are some classic songs about taking it easy!

“Rushing Around,” Roy Acuff

This song should be the official theme song of Loosen Up, Lighten Up Day! While we may think that living life in a hurry is a modern woe, Roy Acuff warned of living life in a hurry in the 1950s. Acuff warns listeners of the hazards of carelessness brought on by being in a hurry and poses the question: “How old will you be at 63, from rushing around today?” It almost seems ironic that a song proclaiming “they didn’t used to rush around back in Grandpa’s day” was written in what is now “back in Grandpa’s day,” but its message of slowing down for your own sake still holds true.

“It’s My Lazy Day,” Bob Wills

Here’s a classic from Bob Wills, the “King of Western Swing,” about the joys of taking it easy. While many would consider going fishing a perfect way to spend a leisurely day, the narrator of this song is taking his day so lightly that he doesn’t even want to make the trip to his favorite fishing spot or do much of anything. Sung by Tommy Duncan, one of Wills’ Texas Playboys, the lilting delivery amplifies the message of the song, and the laid-back performance by this normally red hot band makes you feel like they’re all loosened and lightened up.

“Work Don’t Bother Me,” Kid Smith

Walter “Kid” Smith is a tragically overlooked figure in early country music. Born in Virginia, Smith began working in a cotton mill, but soon became a professional boxer. Upon moving to Spray, North Carolina, he fell in with the clique of musicians who surrounded the legendary Charlie Poole. Perhaps one thing that diminished Smith’s impact on the music was that he did not consistently record under the same name, often using a pseudonym or a band name such as The Carolina Buddies or The Virginia Dandies. Here Smith proclaims just how easy it is to take it easy when you avoid life’s biggest stressor: work!

“Just Can’t Live That Fast Anymore,” Lefty Frizzell

While sometimes we need to loosen up and lighten up because we work too hard, honky tonk hero Lefty Frizzell tells us all about the opposite problem. Reflective of Frizzell’s own rough and rowdy lifestyle, this song warns of what can happen when you loosen up TOO MUCH for TOO LONG. While it’s important to let loose and live a little, don’t let Loosen Up, Lighten Up Day get out of hand!

“I Ain’t Going to Work Tomorrow,” Flatt and Scruggs

Didn’t know about Loosen Up, Lighten Up Day until you read this blog post? Planning on celebrating a day late now that you know about it? Well, here’s a song for you! This classic ballad was originally recorded by The Carter Family, but here’s a rip-roaring bluegrass rendition from the dynamic duo Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs, along with all the Foggy Mountain Boys!

“Townes Van Zandt is the best songwriter in the whole world, and I’ll stand on Bob Dylan’s coffee table in my cowboy boots and say that.”

~ Steve Earle

I moved to Bristol, Tennessee, in early January 2010. Moving might be too glorifying of a word, meaning I had $30, a guitar, and a bag of clothes. I was re-moving myself from a failed relationship while finishing a batch of songs, some of which would appear on my debut release Appalachian Travels – hence the name of my radio show on Radio Bristol. (Thanks, Bill Edwards!)

My long-time friend and fellow tunesmith Allun Cormier and I shared a three-story chalet style house at end of Glen Road. The two houses there were owned by the original operator of The Hitchin’ Post, a now-defuct Bristol honky tonk, and they had been the stopping-place of the bands traveling through town in the 1970s and 1980s. One could literally sense the energy the minute you walked through the door.

One afternoon in February, I recorded a song I had just finished on my phone and sent it to Allun – it was called “The Marrying Song.” He immediately replied: “That sounds like a Townes Van Zandt song.” Now, as a child I remember Wille Nelson and Merle Haggard’s cut of “Pancho & Lefty,” a tune written by Townes and released in 1972. However, this was as deep as my knowledge of Townes went. I had heard the name numerous times, but never went down the rabbit hole to learn more. Boy, but what a rabbit hole to find!

I was heavily getting into Texas songwriters Guy Clark, Robert Earl Keen, Ray Wylie Hubbard, and the like. In press interviews, all of these amazing songwriters kept referencing Townes as one of their biggest influences, Clark more than any of them. Allun brought home a copy of the 2004 documentary Be Here to Love Me, giving me great insight into the tragic life of the late, great Townes Van Zandt. I, myself, was deep in the bottle and could relate in more ways than one.

I started with the import compilation Legend – The Very Best of Townes Van Zandt, which I picked up at our local record store, Sessions 27. I kept it on repeat for a couple of weeks, allowing the material to fully saturate every molecule of my being. Minimal production, poetic lyrics, sparse guitar, all of it hit me in the right way. I immediately understood what all these great songwriters were talking about. Townes was the real deal. I soon picked up a copy of Live at The Old Quarter, Houston, Texas, wanting to hear Townes in his natural environment – a live setting with only him, his songs, and his guitar. Townes performs flawlessly, exploring his catalogue while showcasing his own influences – Merle Travis, Lightnin’ Hopkins, and Rev. Gary Davis’s arrangement of “Cocaine Blues.”

From squeaky bar stools to audience chatter, I could hear The Old Quarter and Townes’s performance breathe – listen in, and so can you.

Farm and Fun Time got back to its bluegrass roots at October’s show! Thanks to our sponsor Eastman Credit Union, Radio Bristol was able to bring Farm and Fun Time to not only those in the audience or tuned in to WBCM-LP, but to viewers far and wide via Facebook Live. Be sure to like WBCM – Radio Bristol on Facebook to tune in every month!

Host band Bill and the Belles kicked the show off in grand style with their lighthearted take on classic American sounds, humming our troubles away. This month’s “Heirloom Recipe” segment was presented by Johnson City restaurateur Nathan Brand. After the success of his pop-up restaurant The Orchard Mason, Nathan opened Timber! at the location of the old Acoustic Coffee House in Johnson City. Nathan seeks to bring fresh takes on local foods, and for October’s Farm and Fun Time he shared the story of his popular dish, smoked trout dip. Nathan recalled his first experience catching and eating trout in Northern Idaho, and nearly 20 years later, he still remembers this happy memory when creating the trout dip that is now a favorite at Timber! To tell the audience what it was all about, Bill and the Belles proclaimed the love for this fishy spread with a new jingle “Nothing Smokes Like Trout.”   

Our first musical guest of the evening was Jeff Scroggins and Colorado. Led by two-time National Banjo Champion Jeff Scroggins and noted singer and guitarist Greg Blake, the band has brought their distinctive style of bluegrass to audiences across the globe. For their first visit to Bristol, they started the show off with a rousing rendition of Don Reno and Bill Harrell’s “Big Train,” underlining that the band is steeped in the traditions of bluegrass’s inventors while not being afraid to take it in their own direction. With impeccable vocals and outstanding instrumental prowess, it’s easy to see why they were able to win over our appreciative Farm and Fun Time audience. We hope to see Jeff Scroggins and Colorado back in Bristol soon!

For this month’s “Radio Bristol Farm Report,” we visited Phillip Ottinger at Buffalo Trail Orchard in Greene County, Tennessee. Ottinger is the fifth generation of the same family to work on the property, and though it was originally a tobacco and cattle farm, Ottinger has turned it into a successful orchard. Here’s a video from our visit:

Our last guest of the evening was Chatham County Line. Hailing from Chatham County, North Carolina, as their name suggests, Chatham County Line has developed quite a following over the past two decades, with seven studio albums under their belt. Based strongly in the sounds of bluegrass, Chatham County Line has developed a performance style all their own that is somehow mellow and high energy all at the same time. Performing mostly original songs with one Beck cover thrown in for good measure, it is easy to see how these guys enthrall audiences everywhere they go. We’re looking forward to their upcoming release on Yep Roc records.

Thanks to everyone who came out and shared in this wonderful evening of music! Tickets are on sale for November’s show, but they’re going fast. We hope to see you there!