"My Own Peculiar Way" - Willie Nelson (1998))

I awoke briefly at 4:30 AM this morning thinking of the line "I love you in my own peculiar way." It's from the Willie Nelson song of the same name and appeared on his first studio album in 1962. It was re-recorded in 1969 on his 9th album named "My Own Peculiar Way" in 1969, with Jerry Reed and Charlie McCoy on guitars. That album was also the first on which he used his signature Martin N-20 guitar. 
Some people wonder about that guitar. The best explanation is in his autobiography where he describes how that guitar came to be, and why it has that extra hole in it.

"I switched over to a big Baldwin hooked up to an aluminum amp. When the neck broke, I traded it in for a Martin made of rosewood, an acoustic model with the richest, most soulful tone I’d ever heard. I had my man Shot Jackson, a guitar genius in Nashville, customize the Martin by integrating the guts and pickup from the Baldwin. It worked. I had the sound I was looking for. I heard it as a human sound, a sound close to my own voice. Didn’t take long for me to pick a hole in it. That’s ‘cause classical guitars aren’t meant to be picked. But that hole...seemed to deepen its soulful tone."

This video is from the album "Teatro", which was recorded in September of 1998 in the old movie theater in Oxnard, California. That album was his 45th. This is my favorite version of the song.

The musicians featured in this video are as follows;

Willie Nelson – Vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar.

Bobbie Nelson – (Willie's sister) Wurlitzer electric piano, organ.

Emmylou Harris – Background vocals.

Daniel Lanois – Producer, Gibson les paul, bass guitar.

Tony Mangurian – Drums, percussion.

Victor Indrizzo – drums, percussion.

It would be a comfort just to know you never doubt me
Even though I give you cause most every day
Sometimes I think that you'd be better off without me
Although I love you in my own peculiar way

And don't doubt my love if sometimes my mind should wander
To a suddenly remembered yesterday
'Cause my mind could never stay too long away from you
I'll always love you in my own peculiar way

And though I may not always be the way you'd have me be
And though my faults may grow in number day by day
And though I'll never say that I've ever been untrue
I'll always love you in my own peculiar way

And though I may not always be the way you'd have me be
And though my faults may grow in number day by day
Let no one ever say that I've ever been untrue
I'll always love you in my own peculiar way
I'll always love you in my own peculiar way

"Hello Walls" - Faron Young (1961)

Willie Nelson wrote this song, and his jazz like version is wonderful in so many different ways; from the melody he plays so well, to the slightly deeper voice than that used here by Faron Young. But I would imagine that Willie Nelson still listens to this version, too. It has a certain purity about it, which eludes even Mr. Nelson’s talented fingers. And that’s hard to do!

The song went #1 on the Country and Western charts and eventually hit the Pop charts as well, where it enjoyed 13 week run before petering out. The following year saw the emergence of Mr. Nelson as a recording artist in his own right, and to no one’s surprise he included this song on his first album “And Then I Wrote” in 1962. It is still a staple of his performances and I believe it’s also the same guitar as well! That thing has more holes in it than there are craters on the moon.

I think what I like about this version is that it gives me a peek into the world which I knew I was missing out on as a kid in Brooklyn. Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t trade my childhood in Brooklyn for anything. It was a great training ground for many of the problems which come our way later in life. I often feel sorry for those who were not raised there.

But, at the same time, I am cognizant of the fact that there was this whole other way of living to which I was not privy, even though I was aware of its existence. My little 6 transistor made in Japan radio gave me a taste of it every night in the darkness of my bedroom, where I listened to anything coming over the dial. The goal was, of course, to get the Grand Ol’ Opry, but that was rarely possible. Wheeling, West Virginia was a long way off, and to get it well, you really needed to go to the roof of the 7 story apartment building we lived in at 1310 Avenue R and East 14^th Street.

Now, going to the roof at night to listen to the radio was not the best idea, as my parents were very strict and our apartment was kind of like a prison camp. This was great training for my later adventures in the Navy, as I was used to regimentation and discipline. But there’s always more than one way to skin a cat, so I took a coil of thin copper wire which I got a the Hobby Shop on Avenue S, and ran up to the roof where I dropped the coil to right outside our second floor, rear window, which faced due South. Going back downstairs I took the wire in and hid it along the window jamb, where it was virtually invisible. At night I took the excess wire and attached it to my radio by winding it around the whole body and then connecting the loose end to the wire at the window.

This all sounds simple but had to be done after my brother was asleep. He was the type who would constantly run to my parents about anything I did at all which might be prohibited. Again, this was great training for the military and even jail, where snitches abound. You have to learn to work around them in order not get caught doing something wrong.

At any rate, these precautions were worth their weight in gold, as they opened up the whole world to me. Even today I keep 2 shortwave radios. And when the night is just right; preferably a cold, starlit one; I turn it on and listen to the static as it  gives way to news from the BBC, or the weather out of Belgium, along with a million voices speaking in tongues which I may not even recognize, but love hearing anyway. It reminds me that we are all connected, even if only by the the airwaves.

Hey, can you believe that this started out to be about Faron Young? 

Townes Van Zandt

It’s hard to know where to start with Townes Van Zandt. His haunting ballads have been recorded by so many artists. I suppose “Pancho and Lefty” is the most well-known of his works, but this early recording of Mr. Van Zandt performing “Waiting Round to Die” in the movie “Heartworn Highways” is probably my favorite. It reeks of desperation and sorrow.

Performers such as Mr. Van Zandt are seldom fully appreciated until after their death. That is the case with Mr. Van Zandt. He wrote some of the best songs; ones which other artists made into hits; but somehow never had a hit record himself. Sometimes it just works out like that. 

He moved to New York in the 1990’s, where his music influenced artists such as Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, Robert Plant, Gillian Welch, Norah Jones, Steve Earle and even Keith Richards. He passed away there on January 1, 1997 due to complications from years of substance abuse. In some ways, you might say, he was just waiting round to die.

“Waiting Round to Die”

Sometimes I don't know where

This dirty road is taking me

 Sometimes I can't even see the reason why

 I guess I keep a-gamblin'

 Lots of booze and lots of ramblin'

 It's easier than just waitin' around to die

One time, friends, I had a ma

I even had a pa

He beat her with a belt once 'cause she cried

She told him to take care of me

Headed down to Tennessee

It's easier than just waitin' around to die

I came of age and I found a girl

In a Tuscaloosa bar

She cleaned me out and hit in on the sly

I tried to kill the pain, bought some wine

And hopped a train

Seemed easier than just waitin' around to die

A friend said he knew

Where some easy money was

We robbed a man, and brother did we fly

The posse caught up with me

And drug me back to Muskogee

It's two long years I've been waitin' around to die

Now I'm out of prison

I got me a friend at last

He don't drink or steal or cheat or lie

His name's Codeine

He's the nicest thing I've seen

Together we're gonna wait around and die

Together we're gonna wait around and die

The Concert for Bangla Desh (1971)

It was 41 years ago today when the Concert for Bangla Desh was held at New York's Madison Square Garden. I never knew how, but Michael Held got tickets to this concert. For weeks the city had been abuzz with rumors of a hastily arranged concert for the victims of the disasters which were then taking place in Bangladesh (originally spelled as two separate words) a province located in India. Together with the fleeing refugees from Pakistan, there had also been a devastating cyclone in 1970; and coupled with these two tragedies, there was a Civil War going on, with massive atrocities committed against innocent civilians.

After seeing the power of Woodstock in 1969, George Harrison’s friend Ravi Shankar; who was originally from the affected area; approached him, asking if he thought that something could be done within the world of entertainment to help alleviate the misery and devastation being experienced by the hundreds of thousands of victims.

There were two concerts held that day, which was a Sunday. The first show was at noon, with the second show beginning at 7 PM. 40,000 lucky people got to see this historic event, and contribute to the relief of the people in Bangladesh.

The stage was alive with all of rock and roll’s royalty. But the intimate video above is one of my favorite parts of the concert. Bob Dylan being backed by Leon Russell on bass, with George Harrison on his white Fender Stratocaster, accompanied by Ringo Starr on a tambourine, playing Dylan’s “Just Like a Woman.” Does it ever get better than that?

This concert was the blueprint for all of the benefit concerts since then. From Live Aid to Farm Aid, all have their roots in this one event. The immediate effect was over $250,000 being administered by UNICEF, for relief in Bangladesh. After some of the initial problems had been ironed out, the concert continued to generate revenue for the agency, through movie and recording royalties, all of which found its way to the victims for whom it was intended.

But I still don’t know how the hell Michael got that ticket!

Toots Hibbert and Willie Nelson

Toots Hibbert, of Toots and the Maytals fame, is one of the fathers of reggae music as we know it today. A few years back he did a couple of album cuts with Willie Nelson, including this classic "Still is Still Moving to Me." This collaboration proved, once again, that music has no boundaries. It transcends cultures and renders useless the political lines which divide us.

When I was traveling in Greece during the late 1970's the government lifted it's restrictions on many Western artists, including The Beatles, who had not made a record in almost 10 years! You may wonder, as I did at the time, what is this fear of music? The answer is simple.

Music is one of the most powerful, and effective, means of communication. They can outlaw everything under the sun, but nothing can still the music in your own heart.