BIRMINGHAM RECORD COLLECTORS
DEDICATED TO THE COLLECTING OF MUSIC, ITS PRESERVATION AND LASTING FRIENDSHIP
THIS MONTH’S MEETING
MEETING THIS SUNDAY, DECEMBER 12TH
HOMEWOOD PUBLIC LIBRARY 2PM
NEXT MEETING, JANUARY 9TH.
THIS MONTH’S MEETING
**PARKING NOTICE THIS MONTH – The library is redoing their parking lot so it will not be available this month. I talked with a library employee and he said parking is available on the street and across the street in the Church’s lot/deck. If you turn onto the street next to the library where the traffic light is you can find places there.
Thanks to Rick Hester, our special guest last month. He gave us all guitar lessons (1-4-5 chords), shared some music with us and talked about his memories of his days as guitarist for the local groups, The Epics and The Townsmen. Thanks, Rick.
At our December meeting we will once again play our Dirty Santa game and have ‘free for all’. “Free for all’ is a chance to bring any vinyl, CD’s or even DVD’s you want to give away. So here is a chance to dig in and find some music and entertainment for free. I will be bringing 10-12 boxes of 45’s and LP’s that include C/W, easy listening, soundtracks, Christmas and compilations. If you want to participate in the ‘Dirty Santa Game’ just bring a wrapped gift and join in the fun. But you don’t have to participate in the game, just drop in and enjoy the food, music and fellowship.
Speaking of food, BRC member David Shoemaker will be providing the food this month. David will be bringing sausages and if desired, kraut to go with them. He wants everyone to come with a big appetite because he said there will lots of food. We will also have drinks and a dessert.
We have a real treat planned for the January meeting. BRC member, Bryant Saxon will be with us to discuss some projects he has been working on for a while. Bryant has been re-releasing some music that Alabama artists di d originally and he even has a record label called Earth Libraries. He even did a re-make of Larry & The Loafers song, ‘Panama City Blues’. So plan on being with us in January and see what Bryant has been doing as a record producer.
MICKEY NEWBURY
If you are familiar with the Waylon Jennings song, ‘Luckenbach, Texas’ you probably remember the lyrics, ‘Newbury’s train songs’ he uses. Who is Newbury? Well, as this section of the newsletter is entitled it is Mickey Newbury. I am sure some of you knew that but just how much do you know about Mickey? Born in Houston, Texas on May 19, 1940, Mickey got his start singing in a group formed in high school called The Embers. The group did local gigs and even opened for some national acts that came through town. Some of these acts included Sam Cooke and Johnny Cash. Mickey continued singing but at age 19 he joined the Air Force serving for four years before returning to his roots of song writing. After his service he moved to Nashville and signed with the Acuff-Rose Publication Co. His first big break came with Don Gibson having a Top 10 C/W hit with Newbury’s ‘Funny Familiar Forgotten Feelings’, a song that Tom Jones made a world-wide hit.
In 1968 Mickey’s success included something that has never been done before or since. He had four Top 5 hit songs on four different charts. Kenny Rogers & The First Edition hit #5 on the pop/rock charts with ‘Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)’. ‘Sweet Memories’ sung by Andy Williams hit #1 on the easy listening charts. ‘Timer Is A Thief’ sung by Solomon Burke hit #1 on the R&B charts and Eddy Arnold had a #1 hit with ‘Here Comes The Rain Baby’ on the C/W charts. All written by Mickey, all making the Top 5, all on different charts. I think he made the right decision going back to his love of songwriting. By the way, the first person to record ‘Just Dropped In’ was The Killer, Jerry Lee Lewis. His version wasn’t the first release though, that would be Terry Hill & The Southern Soul.
A song medley he put together became a staple for Elvis at his concerts beginning in 1972. ‘An American Trilogy’ was a medley of ‘Dixie’, ‘Battle Hymn Of The Republic’ and ‘All My Trials’ that Mickey put together and recorded on his 1971 LP, Frisco Mabel Joy. His version was released as a single and made it to #26 on the pop charts. Elvis started using the song in January 1972 and later released a live version as a single that made it to #66 on the pop charts. So when we heard Elvis singing it at concerts or as a single most people probably didn’t even stop to think about the composer.
Some other songs that Mickey wrote or co-wrote included the #2 hit released by Johnny Rodriguez, ‘I Wonder If I Ever Said Goodbye’, Buffy Saint-Marie’s, ‘Mister Can’t You See’, a #38 pop hit and ‘I Still Love You (After all these Years) reaching #28 on the C/W charts for Tompall & The Glaser Brothers. One of my favorite Jerry Lee Lewis’ songs is ‘She Even Woke Me Up To Say Goodbye’, written by Micky.
One thing about Mickey is that he was very instrumental in the ‘outlaw country’ movement. He wanted something different than what Nashville provided so he decided to record outside of town at Cinderella Sound studios. This move influenced Waylon and Willie to look elsewhere also. Mickey would record 3 LP’s at Cinderella. His LP’s didn’t sell well due to what one writer called his eclecticism. His ideas just didn’t fit what the ‘man’ wanted. But he was very successful and proved to be very influential in the music business. He convinced Roger Miller to record ‘Me And Bobby McGee’ which helped launch the career of Kris Kristofferson. He also convinced Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark to move to Nashville to pursue their career in songwriting. John Prine said of Newbury, he was probably the best songwriter ever.
He has somewhere around 1500 version of his songs recorded across many types of genres. Some of these singers include Johnny Cash, Bob Luman, Roy Orbison, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Ray Charles, Hank Snow, Joan Baez, B.B. King, John Denver, Bobby ‘Blue’ Bland, Sammi Smith and Brenda Lee. Mickey is a member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall Of Fame. Songs like ‘Just Dropped In’, ‘The Thirty-Thrid Of August’ and ‘The Future Is Not What It Used To Be’ delved into the dark side of the psyche which made Mickey say “How many people have listened to my songs and thought, ‘He must have a bottle of whiskey in one hand and a pistol in the other’. Well I don’t. I write my sadness”. So the next time you here ‘Just dropped in’ or ‘An Amercian Trilogy’ just think of the great singer/songwriter, Mickey Newbury.
A LITTLE CHRISTMAS SONG TRIVIA
A. What event inspired the writing of ‘Jingle Bells’?……………………………………………………………………………………………………a town-wide sleigh race
B. Remember what brings Frosty The Snow Man to life?……………………………………………………………………………………………..a magical hat
C. In ‘Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer’, how many reindeer pull the sleigh?……………………………………………………………….9
D. What does Alvin want in ‘The Chipmunk Song”?……………………………………………………………………………………………………..a hula-hoop
E. In the ’12 Days Of Christmas’, how many gifts does the singer receive?…………………………………………………………………….is it 364 or 78?
F. What Christmas song is known by 2 different titles?………………………………’The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You)/’Chestnuts Roasting Over An Open Fire’
G. How old was Brenda Lee when she recorded ‘Jingle Bell Rock’?………………………………………………………………………………..13
H. Who wrote ‘Pretty Paper’ released by Roy Orbison?…………………………………………………………………………………………………Willie Nelson
I. What Beach Boys song featured Santa’s sleigh as a Nordic hot rod?…………………………………………………………………………..’Little Saint Nick’
CHRISTMAS SONGS
Home For Christmas
Hall & Oates
Silent Night
Stevie Nicks w/Robbie Nevil & Sharon Celani
This Time Of The Year (When Christmas Is Near)
Brook Benton
Here’s wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. May you remember the ‘reason for the season’ in all you do. The birth of Jesus Christ.
BRC RADIO
Check out our latest shows at birminghamrecord.com. Click on ‘RADIO’ and listen to some long-lost music and even some new sounds. With 3 guys now doing shows you have a variety of music to listen to. Check out all our shows.
See ya,
Charlie