Chip Taylor

There comes a time every year when the long winter and, let’s be honest, overlong spring turns into the first glimpses of summer. The clue is always the need to bring more of the outside into the house and to begin spending more time out of doors than enclosed in the warmth of the house. This year it all sneaked up on me quite quickly having spent the last five weeks locked into darkened rooms of rehearsal or performance and only really twigging the summer was coming as I blinked out from the stage door of Edinburgh’s Royal Lyceum around 10 p.m and realised that it was not yet dark. More often that not I spent the next hour heading back west into glorious sunsets as I drove towards Glasgow. These journeys gave me plenty chances to listen and think and as ever music would suggest itself to me. As the warm days became mild evenings and nights the open windows we normally sleep beside became, no longer, an interesting lifestyle choice but a necessity. When this time comes I always return to Chip Taylor and a beautiful record he made called The Little Prayers Trilogy from 2014.

There’s no way in the world I’ve been able to keep up with all of Chip’s glorious output but there is a mine of wonderful, slow, evocative material that will be listened to by me as I find more time over the next few months. This is, not least, because Chip died in March this year and I feel I’ve not really paid him enough respect by listening or playing his songs on the radio. So this week we shall disappear down a short Chip rabbit hole as we remember the song we always come round to from that album, Sleep With Open Windows featuring Lucinda Williams.

The Close Season

The football season should be over. The last game I managed to attend was by Cowdenbeath on their last day of the season as they put three past Hearts B team. There was a happy if resigned atmosphere that day at Central Park as word filtered through that their old rivals Dunfermline had reached the Scottish Cup Final.
On our last but one show at The Lyceum, while the script and songs sent sarcastic chants towards Dunfermline, the Pars themselves were locked in a losing battle to Celtic at Hampden. How much this was of any comfort to the many folk from Cowdenbeath who came to see the show is anyone’s guess. What was certainly true is that football, like so many other pastimes and leisure activities acts as a handy metaphor for so much of life. No true supporter can ever fully celebrate a win without knowing many other days of utter misery and failure. Scotland in the World Cup notwithstanding, I kinda wish we’d all take a break from it so we can stiffen the sinews and summon up the blood for another long season. I’m glad to say (as a football fan) the AC is football free zone.

On The AC This Week

As well as Chip and Lucinda we’ll have a new discovery in the shape of Hudson Westbrook, new tracks from Ashley Cooke, Kameron Marlowe (two C2C stand outs) and the ever brilliant, Little Big Town. There will some familiar offerings from Kevin Welch, George Jones and the eighty five year old Bob Dylan who shows no sign of slowing down. Is all in two hours of country and American this coming Tuesday evening on BBC Sounds or BBC Radio Scotland.

A Good Show

As I’m still in my theatrical adventures I have found myself thinking a lot about how and why I love theatre so much and also what my first formative theatrical experiences were. There were a few false starts: I suffered terror as a child at pantomime stars breaking the fourth wall and coming far too close to the audience and suffered a depressing night or two at the local amateur Operatic Society out of duty to one of the stars who seemed to be a friend of the family.

There have been many steps along the way but recently I recalled a conversation with my old friend Jim Taylor who was, for many years, the life force behind Dundee’s Gardyne Theatre which was attached to the college I attended. Jim was still there many years later when it opened as a stand alone venue. We worked on shows together back in the day and I’d enquire how particular visiting productions would be coming along. These shows could be Scottish Opera or Ballet through to local AmDram spectaculars.

Sometimes I’d wonder whether they would be to Jim’s taste. ‘Oh, it’s a good show,’ Jim would inform me. I liked that. It meant that the production’s achievement matched its ambition. That focus is still something which should be a maxim for any piece of performance; strive to make it a good show.

Disappearing Acts

If the pantomime and the Gondoliers made me want to bypass Thespia then the visiting players to our primary school had the opposite effect. Every year or so (it seemed) a group of travelling actors would set up on the stage of our school hall and perform a child friendly show for the school. The show was hugely entertaining, of course, but above and beyond that there was something fascinating about watching the company arrive, set up then disappear again at the end of the day. The idea that people got to do this exciting adventure for a living intrigued and fed my own imagination. At 68 years of age it still excites me that I don’t have a real job and get to appear and disappear on a regular basis.

Molly Tuttle

A few years ago our Nashville correpondent, Bill DeMaim recommended Molly Tuttle’s music to us. Bill, as I recall, had happened upon her while doing a little guitar research and in trying to find out how best to play acoustic with a flat pick stumbled across the online world of Molly. Her playing, without exaggeration, is prodigious. She started young and her musical stylings and repertoire continues to expand. As evidence of this her recent Grammy nominations for Americana album of the year are a follow on to her win in the Bluegrass category the year before. She’s also still very young. On this record the artwork on the sleeve tells the story of how alopecia has affected her since the early part of her life, which you will hear her talk about in a remarkably honest interview I recorded with her on her recent visit to Scotland. This conversation and songs from her current album So Long Little Miss Sunshine and earlier releases all form the second hour of this week’s Another Country. You can hear the whole show from five past eight on BBC Radio Scotland or on BBC Sounds this Tuesday evening. Do join me if you can.

Black Diamonds

As some of you may know I am currently appearing at Edinburgh’s Royal Lyceum Theatre in a production of Black Diamonds and The Blue Brazil. Don’t worry…I’m not acting. I am singing songs I wrote to go along with Gary McNair’s script which is based around Ron Ferguson’s book. The acting is performed brilliantly by Dawn Steele and Barrie Hunter. As I write this we are previewing the show before it officially opens on May 13th. On that night we will welcome Ron Ferguson himself along with extended family members and it will be a joy to see him again. As a small bonus Ron came to Saturday’s preview along with his wife, Christine and daughter, Fiona.

I was able to tell Ron how much his book meant to me and how, in an age of millionaire footballers and billionaire football owners the book is a timely antidote to everything that is wrong with the modern game. The book and the play tell the story of a football team which sits at the heart of a mining community and reflects the hopes and dreams of the town as much as it does its own sporting ambition.  The Black Diamonds refer to the coal – Cowdenbeath became the ‘Chicago of Fife’ back in the late 1900s – and the Blue Brazil – that nick name for the football team is a little more whimsical. But like all good sobriquets it carries with it a certain amount of hyperbole based on aspiration. Safe to say there is laughter and tears but essentially it seems people are enjoying what the late John McGrath correctly identified as a ‘good night out.’ If you are free to come I hope you enjoy the evening.

Jimmy’s Juke Box

The sound designer for the show, the good Pippa Murphy, suggested I make a pre show and interval playlist. This, of course, is essentially a gift. I decided the best way to introduce the show would be to imagine the music played in the main setting for the play – Jimmy’s Bar in Cowdenbeath. So Jimmy’s jukebox which I hope may have been there in 1992 – the setting for the drama – contains some classic 45’s that (I have allowed myself to imagine) have been customer favourites over the decades. And, yes, there are country classics.

Paul Simon

I need to tell you that I finally saw the great Paul Simon last Sunday. After all these years and listening to his wonderful songs over the decades it was a real joy to be in the same room hearing his now fragile voice delivering some of his most beautiful songs. We shall have a great country Paul Simon cover on this week’s AC.

Julia Cole

On this week’s show you will get a chance to hear more about another of this year’s C2C artists, Julia Cole. There’s always been a strong comedic thread running through Country Music and Julia has tapped into that great tradition. There is no better example than her song, What Could Possibly Go Wrong.  We met up at our backstage makeshift studio at the Hydro to talk about this and Julia’s own brand of ‘sisterhood country.’ You can hear this as well as lots of lovely new records by Ashley McBryde, Tenille Townes, Hiss Golden Messenger and Charley Crockett – there’s quite a Charley story to share with you too.) If that’s not enough we’ll also take you on a little Gregory Alan Isakov trail which involves some beautiful collaborations. This all starts at five past eight this coming Tuesday evening on BBC Radio Scotland and , if you happen to be coming to a theatre that night, you can hear it all any time you choose on BBC Sounds.

Either Or

I believe I have catholic taste. Music has always been an evolving journey and  Reflecting  on this recently  I recall discovering The Replacements relatively late on. I think it was via music journalist who lived near our house in the early nineties. The album was Pleased To Meet Me and now that I think about it I haven’t played that album in a good while. On a family holiday in the late 90’s I also fell in love with Paul Westerberg’s Suicaine Gratification, which I’ve just started playing again. I remember talking to someone in the music business about all this and he responded by ‘explaining’ that in the 80’s you were either a fan of The Replacements or REM. It seemed to be a fan of one was to exclude the music of the other. But, in the same way as I had been a fan of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones I kinda loved both bands and still do. In fact all manner of eclecticism is really ok. There is still something truly wonderful about discovering something new that you might fall in love with – even for a short while. I hope there might be such a song on this week’s AC just waiting for you.

The Album
I’m working around the corner from a great record shop. The other day I had a quick spin round but realised I didn’t have the time to either browse or to buy and spend time listening. I will return. In the meantime we had a very quiet weekend where, on a relaxed Saturday morning, I played through Freewheelin Bob Dylan all the way through and found myself asking why I hadn’t done this more. The album – and that is really some album – is such a perfect thing when it all comes together. It’s a great shame that artists seem to think they are improving on it by including up to twenty songs. It should last no longer than 50 minutes and take a small pot of coffee with one refill at most. Artists please correct. We are listening.

On This Week’s AC

Kameron Marlowe was one of the stars of C2C back in March. He played a great show on the Saturday of the festival and we caught up with him for a conversation about his story so far. Kameron’s progress has a familiar theme: early recruit for The Voice but an also ran in the competition. However that experience was enough to start a very successful artist career and Kameron has also recorded duets with the biggest stars on the scene right now: Megan Moroney and Ella Langley.

We’re also disappearing down another rabbit hole this week where we’ll bring you some of the great songs written by Hank Cochran. Perhaps one of the most successful country songwriter of all time Hank Cochrane also has a fascinating back story. If that’s not enough we’ll celebrate the new album by Kacey Musgraves which landed last Friday. All of this in two hours which start at five past eight this Tuesday evening on BBC Radio Scotland or BBC Sounds any time you choose.

Wireless

The term ‘wireless’ has done a fair bit of work over the last 150 years or so. As a child it was exclusively used to mean the radio until the transistor radio came along. I’m now realising the term ‘tranny’ has also been round the block a bit too! But the radio as a concept has endured even if it’s now less live than ever with the advent of the podcast.

Recently my wife and I got on board a tram in the beautiful city of Melbourne. The tram station adjacent to our hotel seemed to offer the easiest way to get into the heart of the city so we hopped on still a little unsure whether we were taking the correct route. No matter, we reasoned, we can ask someone when we get on. As the driver was at the other end of the car our only option was to ask a fellow traveller. To our shock and dismay everyone was oblivious to our questions due to sporting headphones or airpods and there was no chat amongst the passengers. I didn’t know whether to cheer for the power of the podcast or weep for the decline in social cohesion. Getting back to Glasgow and using the upgraded clockwork orange I realised things weren’t dissimilar here either. I hope some of them were tuned into country music, but I’m doubtful

Cowdenbeath

Since my Antipodean adventures my travel has been limited to trips to Fife with a particular emphasis on Cowdenbeath. From the 8th of May I’ll be part of the cast (songs only) for Black Diamonds and The Blue Brazil at Edinburgh’s Royal Lyceum Theatre. The Blue Brazil is the affectionate title given by the fans of Cowdenbeath FC to their local team. Irony being one of football’s less famous friends, the name stuck despite the club’s trajectory which saw them removed from Scotland’s bottom league division some years ago. They now play in the nominatively determined ‘Lowland League.’ I went to join the faithful few for their last game of the season and thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon. The BB took Hearts B apart in an emphatic 3-0 victory and so relaxed were some of the punters at half time that they let themselves out of the ground for a quick pint before returning for the second half. It’s these small details which makes watching a wee club so much more fun than many ‘big’occasions I can think of.
If you want to see and hear more about my love affair with the boys from Central Park you can come and see the show. Tickets on sale now!

https://lyceum.org.uk/events/black-diamonds-and-the-blue-brazil#dates-and-times

On This Week’s Show

We shall take a particular detour inspired by Miranda Lambert’s recent career move as producer to the most successful woman country artist since Beyonce, Lainey and Megan.  That artist is Ella Langley and she is currently topping charts all over the world, and mostsignificantly being played on country radio.  So we will explore Miranda’s country connections and if you don’t already own them you might well find there are some records you need to add to your collection. We’ll have new music from Waylon Wyatt, Carly Pearce and Cody Johnson and some surprises aplenty sprinkled throughout the show. As ever we’re on air from five past eight this Tuesday on BBC Sounds or BBC Radio Scotland. Join me if you can.

Meeting Bill

On this week’s Another Country I will get the chance to catch up with my good friend, and hopefully a radio friend to yourself, Bill DeMain. When I first went to Nashville some nineteen years ago I was trying to make as many songwriting connections as possible. I was relying on my music publishers, Warner Chappell in these days, to make calls but was also keen to meet up with other writers not tied to that publishing house. Through my old friend Gary Clark I was introduced to Bill and we became good friends. At that time Bill was a songwriter and one half of the duo Swan Dive who, though based in music city, weren’t really part of the country or Americana scene. Bill however, was connected to the huge and diverse Nashville songwriting community. Bill was way more than this however, he was also an author and journalist and wrote (still does) for a number of music periodicals including Mojo, Classic Rock, Musician, Entertainment Weekly, Mental Floss and Performing Songwriter.

Within a few years Bill turned his knowledge of Nashville into the best walking tour of the city’s musical story. It’s still the first stop I recommend to anyone asking me for recommendations for their forthcoming visit. No one is ever disappointed and if you ever go you will get to access some of the best stories and tips from a morning’s stroll with Bill.

For a few years now – I’m not sure quite how many – Bill has been our official Nashville correspondent. I’m delighted to say he’ll be joining me on this week’s show.

Don Shlitz

When Bill joins me this Tuesday we are going to spend a good bit of time talking about the sad news that the great Don Shlitz died last week after what was described as a sudden illness. The New York Times quoted his publicist confirming the cause of death was an aneurysm. He was 73.

Don Shlitz really was one of the great songwriters from a city which boasts thousands of successful writers.  Apart from the number of successful songs Shlitz was able to construct songs which could easily be described as game changers. In that respect his catalogue fits into our 2026 theme of songs which moved the curve of the genre. The Gambler, Forever and Ever Amen and On The Other Hand are stone gone classics and we will play them all and talk over the craft of a true great with Bill Demain on this week’s show.

I was lucky enough to have seen Don in a songwriting round some years ago at an event in Belfast. My knowledge of country music was limited in those days and my jaw got closer to the floor as the gig went on when I discovered how many well known song credits he had to his name. His death is a huge loss to the songwriting community and we will pay our respects on the AC.

What Else Are We Going To Play?

You will also hear new music from Kacey Musgraves, Willow Avalon and Jason Isbell, Jackson Dean and Anderson East who will direct us down another rabbit hole you may well enjoy. Do get in touch if you have some news to share or just want to suggest other diversions. You are always welcome to listen and we will be on air at the usual time of five past eight this coming Tuesday on BBC Radio Scotland or BBC Sounds. Join me if you can.

 Ivy

On Friday I dedicated the day to my garden. I’m not as green fingered as my dear sister who has planted and maintains a beautiful garden. On any given day she’ll show you round what’s what in the beds surrounding her  curled lawns and a show satisfied smile about a plant that has finally come through. This year it was Camellias (a beautiful pink blossom) where for us the Magnolia decided to make a full entrance despite a no-show since it first was planted. It’s not quite Augusta…but its a start and the flowering is beautiful.

My main task was to prune the ivy. I clipped back all the new growth last year after too long leaving the creepers to gnarl their way into the walls of the house. I had spent some precarious hours leaning off the ladder and knew the only sure way not to risk a future tumble was to trim any new growth as soon as it showed its green shoots. It still took a good long morning.

Up the ladder I found myself  thinking over favourite songs and for no good reason started mulling over one that had been in my head for over fifty years.

Thunder Road

Bruce Springsteen’s Thunder Road is still perhaps the artist’s key song. So many fans adore it and it never quite feels as if the gig is complete without it. It captures all the dynamics of the E Street band’s energy and yet still has an intimacy that makes the evolvement of the song completely personal.

The first time I saw Bruce I arrived early and took in the pre show mix tape. I was struck by the inclusion of Billy Ocean’s ‘Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car.’ A little later on I bumped into Bruce’s biographer, Dave Marsh and I asked him about the unusual inclusion of the Billy Ocean song. ‘It makes total sense,’ he responded. It’s the opposite of Thunder Road…that’s ‘Get into my car and out of my dreams.’ A good observation.

But Thunder Road is so much more. In the early days I was haunted by the biblical imagery of so much of Springsteen’s repertoire. ‘Spent your summer praying in vain for a saviour to rise from these streets.’ But then there was also the detail of the story telling; laying it out like a film script….the screen door slams, Roy Orbison on the radio…then that line that even one of my best friends used indirectly about a girl he was seeing that would surely destroy any human being….’you’re not a beauty but, hey you’re all right.’ Dear God!

But the thing that got me was the detail and endless revision. No song this good comes straight off the pen and this one was called something else, changed around, added to and drafted and redrafted again. It shows. I say all this because if there’s one thing I think we value more than anything else on the AC it is the craft of the song. This week we’ve got some great crafters….

But before we leave this subject, a favourite version.

This Week’s Another Country

Listen out for  songs written by Miranda Lambert, Shane McInally and Brandy Clark where they don’t even feature on the recording. Listen out too for Charley Crockett as heard by the Artemis II Crew.

We’ll also celebrate the late craft of Willie Nelson as he reflects on his apprenticeship in the early days in Nashville. We’ll celebrate Neil Diamond (as promised) and we’ll give a shout to those who warn that everything that glitters in Nashvegas is certainly not gold. It all starts at five past eight this Tuesday evening on BBC Sounds or BBC Radio Scotland. Join me if you can.

Goodbye Blue Sky and friends

This is a slightly new look blog. I’ve been writing a weekly blog since I first came onto the airwaves nearly 19 years ago. Over time I’ve often questioned the point of sending this out but I hope it’s been a reasonable way of keeping touch. From now on in it will become the only public piece of communication I’ll be doing other than Another Country every Tuesday and any gigs we happen to be performing. I have said ‘thank you and goodnight’ to all of my social media accounts and,one week in, I have no regrets. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with these but for reasons to which I’m sure most of you can relate , they are no longer for me. I’m neither interested in reading, writing or posting and I’m more than aware that we lived happily with out all of them twenty years ago and I’m pretty certain we can carry on similarly now. There’s a reply function on this blog where you can easily post your own thoughts and any questions. I’m also on the airwaves every Tuesday and you can find me there: rickyross@bbc.co.uk or text while we’re on air to 80295. Always glad to hear your messages.

The F Word

It’s been a big week for cursing. I’m not sure it ever helps, but I’m going to offer my own take. Americans are bad at it. I’ve watched so many (quite good) dramas peppered with the F word I wouldn’t know where to start. However the peppering has become the problem. I remember hearing one F Bomb in a ‘Don’t Look Now’ blurted out by Donald Sutherland and it made more of an impact than that famous scene in The Wire when they say nothing else but the chosen curse.

We had Ashley Cooke in conversation and I recommend her song, The F Word to you. In her case it stands for Forever and, in case you’ve not heard it , it’s a great twist on a familiar theme. You can still hear Ashley talking about this on the first our C2C special which are both still available on BBC Sounds. But just in case you need to cut to the chase……

I did suggest that our Colonial Cousins aren’t very good at it. Let me suggest that we, in Scotland, could sweep the board if there was an Olympic Medal for the endeavour. If you need  any evidence I can point you towards the movie California Schemin’ co starring my youngest which will take you on an excellent primer to the art of every word including the aforementioned curse starting with F. It opens this coming weekend.l

On This Week’s Show

Having taken a week’s break for Scotland’s national football team to take up the airwaves I’m delighted to be back on air this coming Tuesday. We’ll have beautiful new tracks from Fruit Bats, Ella Langley, Charlie Sexton and Lainey Wilson as well as some classics from Lead Belly, Merle Haggard and a Country Game changer from Kitty Wells. As well as this you can hear a conversation with Nashville’s new rising star Baker Blankenship (pictured above) whose early set on the first night of C2C was a real breath of fresh air.
We’re on from 8 on BBC Radio Scotland or BBC Sounds wherever and whenever you choose. Join me if you can.

As I was enjoying a stroll through the twilight the other night someone came out of their door and we exchanged brief neighbourly greetings before he told me he’d been at C2C and had made a significant journey to get there. It reminded me that C2C at its best is a gathering for folk who love country music and want to feel they can enjoy a night or two together with fellow country fans.

It’s important to know that when someone like Scotty McCreery declares his love for the genre deep into his Sunday night performance and correctly expects the audience to be able to sing along to all the covers he throws into a heartwarming medley of hits. You can hear many of these hits on this week’s AC as we plan to sprinkle many of them throughout the two hours of the show. Not only that but you can also hear the conversation I had with Scotty ewrlier that afternoon as well as fascination insights from Noeline Hoffman, Waylon Wyatt and the Spotlight stage star Noah Rinker.

If that’s not enough we will also bring you new music from significant ex C2C artists who brought new music out over the last week or so. It will not surprise you to know that Luke Combs leads the pack with his new            (22 track!) album now available. As you might hope, but not necessarily expect , there is a new energy to Luke’s music which makes it very exciting to think he’ll be doing two massive outdoor shows in the summer here in Scotland. If you’ve not caught up with Luke’s music I’d suggest this new album is as good a place to start as any.

Kacey Musgraves and Ashley McBryde are anothe two ex C2C stars showcasing new material and fans of both artists will be delighted about these trailers to forthcoming albums. Kacey is back to her dry best – if you’ll pardon the pun – as she, once more, pushes the country permissive envelope in the way only Kacey can. Similarly Ashley’s lifting of a Gospel Children’s chorus is a beautiful piece of borrowing.

You’ll hear all this and more this Tuesday on Another Country. Can I remiond you that I will be live and would love to hear your thoughts on the weekend if you were there and do text 80295 or mail me rickyross@bbc.co.uk to let me know your take on the weekend. Evene if you could only hear our coverage and couldn’t make the gig do get in touch. I love hearing from you. Whichever way, join me if you can from 8 this Tuesday on BBC Sounds or BBC Radio Scotland.

If my calculations are correct it’s ten years ago since I first MC’d the C2C festival in Glasgow. My memory of that time is a little blurred but I do know that the even happened in the adjacent Armadillo rather than the 12,000 capacity Hydro back then.

A few years later demand was so great that C2C became a Hydro fixture and, with the increasing popularity of country music in the UK, I really can’t see it ever moving to a smaller venue. In those years I can recall some great performances which I still count myself lucky enough to have seen at close quarters. Brad Paisley, Luke Combs, Miranda Lambert, Kacey Musgraves, Marty Stuart, Little Big Town and my favourite night ever…when Eric Church came to town.

Of course there have also been so many great surprises along the way with many of the acts we now enjoy regularly on the AC first appearing on the spotlight stage or early on the bill . Step forward  Priscilla Block, Ashley McBryde, Andrew Combs and Carly Pearce.

On this week’s AC we will celebrate many of these encounters from the last ten years by bringing you great songs and snippets of conversations with the artist we’ve hosted either in the foyer or studios or in our backstage hideout at The Hydro. You will hear some of the artist I’ve mentioned as well as an introduction to many of the great acts we shall enjoy over the next weekend. Listen out for Tyler Braden, Drake Milligan and Elizabeth Nichols.

I understand there may be lots of new names on the lineup with which you are not yet familiar but let me reassure you that every night of every year of C2C I’ve come away with a new discovery which has made me go deeper into their back catalogue. I don’t expect this year to be any different. There’s gold in them there hills and we shall be pointing you in the right direction from 8 this Tuesday evening on BBC Sounds or BBC Radio Scotland. Do join me if you can.