I WAS COUNTRY WHEN COUNTRY WASN'T COOL

LYNN ANDERSON

SONGWRITER:

COUNTRY: U.S.A.

ALBUM: ROSE GARDEN – 24 GREAT COUNTRY SONGS

LABEL: COUNTRY STARS

GENRE: COUNTRY

YEAR: 2011

Lynn Rene Anderson(September 26, 1947 – July 30, 2015) was an American country music singer known for a string of hits from the late 1960s to the 1980s, most notably her worldwide mega-hit "Rose Garden"(1970). Anderson's crossover appeal and regular exposure on national television helped her become country music's first mainstream female superstar in the early 1970s; taking the genre to venues around the world that previously had not been receptive. In 1970, she became the first female country star to appear on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and, in 1974, the first to headline and sellout Madison Square Garden in New York City. Anderson was among the most highly awarded female country recording artists of her era, and her version of "Rose Garden" stands as one of the most successful crossover recordings of all-time.

Anderson charted 12 No. 1, 18 Top 10, and more than 50 Top 40 hit singles. In addition to being named "Top Female Vocalist" by the Academy of Country Music(ACM) twice and "Female Vocalist of the Year" by the Country Music Association(CMA), she also won a Grammy Award(earning seven nominations), People's Choice Award and an American Music Award(AMA). Record World, one of three major industry trade magazines at the time (Billboard and Cashbox the other two), named Lynn Anderson 'Artist of the Decade' for 1970-80. Additionally, Anderson was the first female country artist to win the American Music Award (1974). All genres combined, she was the #13 music artist of the 1970s according to Joel Whitburn and the highest ranking country artist not yet in the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

According to Kyle Young, CEO of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, "Anderson's television background and her ability to bring show-business dynamism to recordings and concert performances helped her achieve crossover success. With talent and tenacity, the country music star brought increased visibility to the genre." She continued to record and remained a popular concert draw until her death, regularly headlining major casino showrooms, performing arts centers, and theaters. 

I remember wearin' straight leg Levis and flannel shirts

Even when they weren't in style

I remember singin' with Roy Rogers at the movies

When the West was really wild

And I was listenin' to the Opry

When all of my friends were diggin' Rock 'n Roll

And Rhythm & Blues

I was Country, when Country wasn't cool

I remember circlin' the drive-in, pullin' up

And turnin' down George Jones

I remember when no one was lookin'

I was puttin' peanuts in my Coke

I took a lot of kiddin'

'Cause I never did fit in

Now look at everybody tryin' to be what I was then

I was Country, when Country wasn't cool

(Chorus:)

I was Country, when Country wasn't cool

I was Country, from my hat down to my boots

I still act, and look the same

What you see ain't nothin' new

I was Country, when Country wasn't cool

They call us country bumpkins

For stickin' to our roots

I'm just glad we're in a country

Where we're all free to choose

I was Country, when Country wasn't cool

(Repeat chorus)

Yeah, I was Country when Country wasn't cool.

YOU'RE THE REASON

JOE SOUTH

SONGWRITER: BOBBY EDWARDS, TERRY IMESFELL & FRED HENLEY

COUNTRY: U. S. A.

ALBUM: YOU1RE THE REASON

LABEL: CAPITOL RECORDS

GENRE: COUNTRY

YEAR: 1971

"You're the Reason" is a song by Bobby Edwards, released as a single in the United States in 1961. The song reached number four on the Country singles chart and number 11 on the Pop singles chart. The tune was later covered by Gerry and the Pacemakers, Joe South, Hank Locklin, Hank III and John Fogerty on his album The Blue Ridge Rangers.

Joe South(born Joseph Alfred Souter; February 28, 1940 – September 5, 2012) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Best known for his songwriting, South won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year in 1970 for "Games People Play" and was again nominated for the award in 1972 for "Rose Garden".

South had met and was encouraged by Bill Lowery, an Atlanta music publisher and radio personality. He began his recording career in Atlanta with the National Recording Corporation, where he served as staff guitarist along with other NRC artists Ray Stevens and Jerry Reed. South's earliest recordings have been re-released by NRC on CD. He soon returned to Nashville with The Manrando Group and then onto Charlie Wayne Felts Promotions. (Charlie Wayne Felts is the cousin of Rockabilly Hall of Fame Inductee and Grand Ole Opry Member, Narvel Felts.)

South had his first top 50 hit in July 1958 with a cover version of the b-side of The Big Bopper's hit single Chantilly Lace, a novelty song called "The Purple People Eater Meets the Witch Doctor". After this South would concentrate mainly on songwriting.

In 1959, South wrote two songs which were recorded by Gene Vincent: "I Might Have Known", which was on the album Sounds Like Gene Vincent(Capitol Records, 1959), and "Gone Gone Gone", which was included on the album The Crazy Beat of Gene Vincent (Capitol Records, 1963).

South was also a prominent sideman, playing guitar on Tommy Roe's "Sheila", Bob Dylan's Blonde on Blonde album, and the classic tremolo intro on Aretha Franklin's "Chain of Fools". South played electric guitar on Simon & Garfunkel's second album, Sounds of Silence, although Al Gorgoni and/or Vinnie Bell feature on the title track.

Billy Joe Royal recorded five South songs: "Down in the Boondocks" (also covered in 1969 by Penny DeHaven), "I Knew You When", "Yo-Yo" (later a hit for The Osmonds), "Hush" (later a hit for Deep Purple, Somebody's Image with Russell Morris, and Kula Shaker), and "Rose Garden" (see below).

Responding to late 1960s issues, South's style changed radically, most evident in his biggest single, 1969's pungent, no-nonsense "Games People Play" (purportedly inspired by Eric Berne's book of the same name), a hit on both sides of the Atlantic. Accompanied by a lush string sound, an organ, and brass, the production won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Song and the Grammy Award for Song of the Year. South followed up with "Birds of a Feather" (originally "Bubbled Under" at No. 106 on February 10–17, 1968, more successful as a cover by The Raiders that peaked on the Hot 100 at No. 23 on October 23–30, 1971) and two other soul-searchers, the back-to-nature "Don't It Make You Want to Go Home" (also covered eight months later by Brook Benton With The Dixie Flyers) and the socially provocative "Walk a Mile in My Shoes" (also covered by Elvis Presley in a Las Vegas era version, Bryan Ferry, and Coldcut).

South's most commercially successful composition was Lynn Anderson's 1971 country/pop monster hit "Rose Garden", which was a hit in 16 countries worldwide. Anderson won a Grammy Award for her vocals, and South earned two Grammy nominations for it, as Best Country Song and (general) Song of the Year. South wrote more hits for Anderson, such as "How Can I Unlove You" (Billboard Country No.1) and "Fool Me" (Billboard Country No. 3). Freddy Weller, Jeannie C. Riley, and Penny DeHaven also had hits on the Billboard country chart with South songs. In addition, other artists who have recorded South-penned songs include Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Glen Campbell, Loretta Lynn, Carol Burnett, Andy Williams, Kitty Wells, Dottie West, Jim Nabors, Arlen Roth, Liz Anderson, The Georgia Satellites, Waylon Jennings, Dolly Parton, Ike & Tina Turner, Hank Williams Jr., James Taylor, the Tams, and k. d. lang, although most covered versions of South's best known songs. 

(Walkin' the floor)

(Feelin' so blue)

(Smoke cigarettes)

(Drink coffee, too)

I just lay here at night

Toss and I turn

Lovin' you so

How my heart yearns

You're the reason

I don't sleep at night (Don't sleep at night)

Walkin' the floor

Feelin' so blue

Smoke cigarettes

Drink coffee, too

You're the reason

I don't sleep at night (Don't sleep at night)

I'm bettin'

You're not losin' sleep over me

But if I'm wrong

Don't fail to call

You can keep me company (Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa)

Sometimes I go for a walk

Take a look at the moon

Strum my guitar

Sing a love tune

Honey, you're the reason

I don't sleep at night (Don't sleep at night)

(Walkin' the floor)

(Feelin' so blue)

(Smoke cigarettes)

(Drink coffee, too)

(Strum my guitar)

(Look at the moon)

(Losin' my sleep over you)

I'm bettin'

You're not losin' sleep over me

But if I'm wrong

Don't fail to call

You can keep me company (Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa)

Sometimes I go for a walk

Take a look at the moon

Strum my guitar

And sing a love tune

Honey, you're the reason

I don't sleep at night (Don't sleep at night)

(Walkin' the floor)

(Feelin' so blue)

(Smoke cigarettes)

(Drink coffee, too)

(Strum my guitar)

(Look at the moon)

(Losin' my sleep over you)

You're the reason

You're the reason

You're the reason

You're the reason

You're the reason.

I'M YOURS

JASON MRAZ

SONGWRITER: JASON MRAZ

COUNTRY: U.S.A.

ALBUM: WE SING, WE DANCE, WE STEAL THINGS

LABEL: ATLANTIC RECORDS

GENRE: POP

YEAR: 2008

Jason Thomas Mraz (/məˈræz/; born June 23, 1977) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. In 2002 he released his debut studio album, Waiting for My Rocket to Come, which contained the single "The Remedy (I Won't Worry)" that reached #4 on the US Billboard chart. His second album, Mr. A-Z, released in 2005, peaked at number 5 on the Billboard 200 and sold over 100,000 copies in the US. In 2008 Mraz released his third studio album, We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. It debuted at number 3 on the Billboard 200. and was an international commercial success primarily due to the hit "I'm Yours". The song peaked at number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100, giving him his first top ten single, and spent a then-record 76 weeks on the Hot 100. His fourth album, Love Is a Four Letter Word, peaked at number 2 on the Billboard 200, his highest-charting album to date.

Mraz has won two Grammy Awards and received two additional nominations, and has also won two Teen Choice Awards, a People's Choice Award and the Hal David Songwriters Hall of Fame Award. He has earned Platinum and multi-Platinum certifications in over 20 countries, and has toured in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Australia, the Middle East and parts of Africa. As of July 2014 Mraz has sold over seven million albums, and over 11.5 million downloaded singles. His musical style, from rhythmic feeling to his use of nylon string guitars, has been heavily influenced by Brazilian music.

"I'm Yours" is the first single released by American singer-songwriter Jason Mraz from his third studio album We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.(2008) The song was originally released on a limited edition EP called Extra Credit as a demo in 2005 to promote his second studio album Mr. A–Z. It was performed in his 2004 and 2005 gigs and already became a crowd favorite before its release. "I'm Yours" was nominated for Grammy Award for Song of the Year and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 51st Grammy Awards. It was also used for the Australian Seven Network's promotion of the season premiere of Packed to the Rafters.

"I'm Yours" was immensely successful in the US on the Billboard charts. At 76 weeks on the Hot 100, it held the record for most weeks spent on the chart, breaking the previous record of 69 weeks set by LeAnn Rimes’ song "How Do I Live" in 1998; this record has since been broken by Imagine Dragons' "Radioactive", which spent 87 weeks on the chart, and AWOLNATION's "Sail", which spent 79 weeks on the chart. As of January 2013, it is the tenth best-selling digital song of all time in the US, selling over 6 million downloads, and 12.2 million worldwide. It remains Mraz's biggest US hit single to date. The song was used as an 'inspiration' for the Bollywood movie Nautanki Saala song "Mera Mann Kehne Laga". It was the only song to crack Billboard's top 600 of all time despite never cracking the top 5.

Mraz first launched the song from the La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, California, at Michele Clark's Sunset Sessions in 2008. He also sang a version on Sesame Street titled "Outdoors" and released a successful remixed version featuring Lil Wayne and Jah Cure. 

There was a demo version of this song included on a limited-release bonus EP "Extra Credit" (2005), which Jason Mraz used to promote his "Mr. A-Z" (2005) album.

Many covers of this track have been made and posted on YouTube. The singer told Billboard magazine, "I never instigated any of the covers. But I can see why people are drawn to the song. And because it is about generosity, I wanted to share it."

This song was released as the album's first single because of the fans' response to it.

This song was being performed live for about five years before its release. Jason Mraz noted, "When I finally recorded it, my fans were relieved that we didn't overproduce it. We kept the feel and arrangement true to how we play it live."

Well, you done, done me and you bet I felt it

I tried to be chill but you're so hot that I melted

I fell right through the cracks, now I'm trying to get back

Before the cool done run out, I'll be giving it my bestest

And nothing's gonna stop me but divine intervention

I reckon it's again my turn to win some or learn some

But I won't hesitate no more, no more

It cannot wait, I'm yours

Well, open up your mind and see like me

Open up your plans and damn, you're free

Look into your heart and you'll find love, love, love, love

Listen to the music of the moment people dance and sing

We're just one big family

And it's our God-forsaken right to be loved

Loved, loved, loved, loved

So I won't hesitate no more, no more

It cannot wait, I'm sure

There's no need to complicate, our time is short

This is our fate, I'm yours

D-d-do you, but you, d-d-do

But do you want to come on?

Scooch on over closer dear

And I will nibble your ear

I've been spending way too long checking my tongue in the mirror

And bending over backwards just to try to see it clearer

But my breath fogged up the glass

And so I drew a new face and I laughed

I guess what I'm saying is there ain't no better reason

To rid yourself of vanities and just go with the seasons

It's what we aim to do, our name is our virtue

But I won't hesitate no more, no more

It cannot wait I'm yours

Open up your mind and see like me

Open up your plans and damn, you're free

Look into your heart and you'll find that the sky is yours

So please don't, please don't, please don't

There's no need to complicate

Cause our time is short

This is, this is, this is our fate, I'm yours!

WALK A MILE IN MY SHOES

BIG DADDY WILSON

Songwriter: joe south

Country: u. s. a.

Album: love is the key

Label: ruf records

Genre: blues

Year: 2009

Big Daddy Wilson was born more than 50 years ago in a small town called Edenton, North Carolina. The population of Edenton counts less than 6000, 55% African Americans, 25% below the poverty line. “We were very poor but I had a very beautiful childhood“, Wilson remembers. “Me and my sisters were raised by Mom and Grandma. We lived a simple life, we went to church every Sunday, school on weekdays. I also worked back then on the tobacco plantation and in the cotton fields, I was a real country boy.“ Wilson sang in church but he never thought about going on stage. “I was extremely shy.“ His guardians meant well for the fatherless boy and they often sent him to church also during the week. “That won´t hurt him, keeps little Wilson away from drugs and off the streets.“

Young Wilson quit school at 16, and sometime later joined the US Army. Being a poor black man in the south and living in a small town, jobs were scarce. After being stations in Germany, the young man became homesick. “I found out the quickest way to go back home was to see that you got married. They’ll allow you a vacation time about two weeks to go home to get married. Wilson convinced his officers of his impending wedding and returned Stateside, refusing to return to Germany. After six weeks his mom was so worried that she begged him to go back to the military. “And so I was back in Germany.“

A few years later Wilson met a German girl who became his wife. She is the reason for him staying and also the reason for a poem which became Wilson´s first song. 

And then Wilson heard the blues for the first time. Back in Edenton he had listened to music only in church and from the local, country radio station. But now he went for the first time to a real blues concert. “I met the blues here in Germany. I didn’t know what the blues was before“ Big Daddy Wilson says. “It was here that I found a part of me that was missing for so long in my life.“ It did not take long and the shy guy who had written some poems started looking for melodies. He went on stage, jammed all over the German blues scene and made an impression with his warm and soulful voice. He began touring with bands and as a duo and even released a few records. “My sister came all the way to see me perform and she couldn’t believe it. No, that’s not my brother. It seems like all my shyness was gone – thanks to my music. “ 

     Champion Jack Dupree, Louisiana Red, Eddie Boyd... many musicians who made Europe their home and brought the blues with them succeeded here better than in the U.S. Even Luther Allison lived in Europe for 14 years before his big break. 

         And now there´s Big Daddy Wilson, an American singer and songwriter who found his home in northern Germany. But something is different regarding Big Daddy Wilson. When he came over from the U.S. there was no blues in his baggage. He initially discovered the blues here in Germany which is where he will begin his international career.

With his international solo debut on RUF Records Big Daddy Wilson is going to take one step further in his late career as a musician. For “Love Is The Key“ he recorded his own songs exclusively with a small band; taking it back to the roots, often reduced to acoustic instruments, but always full of soul. You can listen to his very first song here,“ Anna“  the song about his wife. Gospel is the foundation for “Keep Your Faith In Jah“, but this doesn’t keep the songwriter Wilson from praising the talents of a gypsy queen from New Orleans, “Jazzy Rose“. In “Hard Days Work“, Big Daddy uses monotone drones for hypnotic effects on the listener, while breezy off beats Jamaica-style let “Dreaming“ to swing along. Autobiographic aspects can be found elsewhere: “Ain´t No Slave“reminds us of the African-American history and at the same time makes us aware of Wilson’s grown confidence. His good friend Eric Bibb guests on two songs about Wilson’s roots ,”Country Boy” , “Walk A Mile In My Shoes”. He’s very proud of Bibb´s presence because “I’ve learnt so much from him,” says Wilson.

The fruits of this learning can be tasted on Big Daddy’s imminent European Tour. Does he dare to imagine that he could take this music all the way back to his roots in North Carolina?

“That’s a dream, but one that makes me nervous“ the Father of three laughs; it’s clear that his homesickness is gone – along with his shyness.

Walk a mile in my shoes

Then you know how I feel

Walk a mile in my shoes

For you judge this man

If you walk in my shoes

You might understand

People always try to tell me

Tell me whatta would do

Some really want to help me

Lord I know it’s true

Everybody gotta opinion

Better take some advice

Don’t really make no difference

I got to live my own life

I’m simple type of fellow

Don’t need much this old life

I read my Bible (all have mercy)

Try to live my life right

I don’t need nobody

Tell me what I oughta do

If you really want to help me

Take a walk with my shoes

Walk a mile in my shoes

Then you know how I feel

Walk a mile in my shoes

For you judge this man

If you walk in my shoes

You might understand

Don’t… Nobody wanna listen

Everybody know the way

Everybody know the answer

Before the question is raised

Everybody think they know me

Don’t even know my name

If you really want to help me

You gotta feel my pain, oh lord

Walk a mile in my shoes

(Walk a mile, walk, walk a mile)

Walk a mile in my shoes

(Walk a mile, walk, walk a mile)

Walk a mile in my shoes

Hey people, for you judge this man

If you walk in my shoes

You might understand.