I've Got Rhythm

This has been a week of music for me. I decided to clear the deck of the cell phone mp3 player and load it fresh. As is usual, my play list swings, rocks, rolls and two steps far and wide. In doing some cleaning, I found my old Junior Brown cd. I'd forgotten just what a guitar virtuoso he is, and you just have to love songs with titles like My Wife Thinks You're Dead and Venom Wearing Denim. That led me over to That's No Lady, That's My Wife and You're The Reason Our Kids Are Ugly by Lyle Lovett (the latter with a little help from Delbert McClinton and John Prine). Lyle Lovett pushed me into the guitar holding arms of Johnny Lang, who really gets the blues. I love his version of Tobacco Road, and Smokin' really is. Doing a little more guitar research, I found a recording of Bach's Minuet in G by Willie Nelson that just blew me away. I also found a tender version of Stardust by Willie Nelson.

Though I was a child of the sixties, my parents came of age in the forties, and I grew up hearing great swing. Stardust was one of their standards, and it put me in Big Band mode. I got Take the A Train with jazz royalty, Duke Ellington and Count Basie. Those tracks led to Chattanooga Choo-Choo by Glenn Miller. From there, I just had to get I'll Be Seeing You. The Billie Holiday version is my favorite, and with the heat we've had lately, her Summertime came next. Macie Gray reminds me of Billie Holiday, and with my current achy heart status, her I Try came next. I just wanted to kick myself for that one, but I couldn't resist. Summertime was still on my mind, so I went over to Janis Joplin.

If there's one thing that old Memphis girls know in their very bones is that submersing yourself in the blues, just rolling in them, is one of the best ways to get over them. So Take Another Piece of My Heart and Me and Bobby McGee came next. I can't hear Bobby McGee without thinking of Kris Kristofferson whose song writing slays me. I found a version of Sunday Morning Coming Down with Steve Earle on it. Hearing Steve Earle, I just had to get Copperhead Road. The celtic influence in Copperhead Road is so strong that Irish Hearbeat/Celtic Ray by The Chieftains and Van Morrison came next. From there, I went to Ashley MacIsaac's Rosin the Bow and Devil in the Kitchen. One master of the strings put me in mind of another (and different set of strings), so Mark Knopfler's and Emmylou Harris' This is Us came next. Being the sucker that I am, Storybook Love came next. Guitars and heartbreak just go together well.

So, what's on your playlist?

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