The Stampeders - Sweet City Woman (1971)

In 1964, Rich Dodson, Kim Berly, and three others created a band known as The Rebounds in Calgary, Alberta. The group shuffled members a bit in 1965 (notably picking up Ronnie King) and renamed themselves The Stampeders. The following year, in 1966, they finally downsized to a trio, solidifying their most famous lineup, and relocated to Toronto, Ontario. All three members of the group provided vocals, but Rich Dodson played guitar, Ronnie King played bass, and Kim Berly played the drums.

Unless you were in Canada in the early 1970s (when and where the group had multiple top-ten hits), there’s a fair chance you’re only familiar with this band from their signature song, heard below. Written by Dodson and released on their debut album, Against the Grain, in 1971, the song reached number eight on the American Billboard Hot 100 chart, where it shuffled around for sixteen weeks. The song was such a hit that the group’s American distributers renamed their album to Sweet City Woman for its stateside release. The group sustained success (in Canada, at least) through the mid-1970s.



The Stampeders - Sweet City Woman (1971)

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Lyrics:

Well, I'm on my way
To the city lights
To a pretty face that shines her light on the city nights
And I gotta catch a noon train
I gotta be there on time
Oh, it feels so good to know she waits at the end of the line

Sweet, sweet city woman
I can see your face
I can hear your voice
I can almost touch you

Sweet, sweet city woman
Oh, the banjo and me, we got a feel for singing

Yeah, yeah

Bon, c'est bon, bon, bon, c'est bon, bon
Bon, c'est bon, bon, bon, bon, bon
Bon, c'est bon, bon, bon, c'est bon, bon
Bon, c'est bon, bon, bon, bon, bon

So long, ma
So long, pa
So long, neighbors and friends

Like a country mornin’
All smothered in dew
Ah, she's got a way to make a man feel shiny and new
And she sing in the evening
Old, familiar tunes
And she feeds me love and tenderness and macarons

Sweet, sweet city woman
I can see your face
I can hear your voice
I can almost touch you

Sweet, sweet city woman
Oh, the banjo and me, we got a feel for singing

Sweet, sweet city woman
Oh, she's my sweet, sweet, sweet, sweet city woman

Sweet, sweet city woman
Oh, my sweet, sweet, sweet, sweet city woman

Everybody
Sweet, sweet, sweet, sweet city woman
Sweet, sweet, sweet, sweet city woman
Sweet, sweet, sweet, sweet city woman
Sweet, sweet, sweet, sweet city woman
Sweet, sweet, sweet, sweet city woman
Sweet, sweet, sweet…

Longbranch Pennywhistle - Run Boy Run (1969)

Glenn Frey was born November 6, 1948 in Detroit, Michigan. He first had a taste of being a professional musician when he performed background vocals and played an acoustic guitar for Bob Seger’s 1968 Ramblin’ Gamblin’ album. When Frey’s girlfriend, an aspiring singer, wanted to move to Los Angeles, California, Frey went along with her. While there, he met the Texas-born John David Souther and formed this duo in 1969. Calling themselves Longbranch Pennywhistle, the duo often played gigs at the Troubadour in West Hollywood. They were eventually discovered by Amos Records and had enough material to create one, self-titled album. By 1971, Amos Records had gone out of business and the duo decided to dissolve their act. Frey soon continued his career by co-creating the Eagles with Don Henley, whom he had met at the Troubadour the year before. Souther, although would often write and co-write songs for the Eagles, primarily focused on his solo career. He also famously dated Linda Ronstadt and Stevie Nicks.

This song was the second track to the band’s 1969 album, Longbranch Pennywhistle. Although most of the album’s tracks had been penned by Souther, this particular song was written by Frey. The album featured a large number of famous session musicians of the time, including Ry Cooder, Larry Knechtel, James Burton, Jim Gordon, and others. With Glenn Frey’s voice and the country rock melody, you can definitely hear the future sound of the Eagles in this album and song.



Longbranch Pennywhistle - Run Boy Run (1969)

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Lyrics:

Well, it won’t be long until mornin’
And I know I won’t be hard to find
Bloodhound leadin’ all the state police
I gotta make it to the Georgia line

I met a girl in Montgomery
She told me she was twenty-three
(They always do)
Turned out she was in high school
Now her daddy wants to walk me to the hangin’ tree

Run, boy, run
You gotta move
Run, boy, run
You gotta move

Well, an easy goin’ rock ‘n’ roll refugee
Booked trouble on a southbound train
The law books say that I'm a guilty man
And I wouldn’t get time to explain

Dead run, ain’t no stoppin’
‘til I make the borderline
Two more miles on a bottom land run
‘til I find a sanctuary in the Georgia pine

Hey, run, boy, run
You gotta move
Run, boy, run
You gotta move

Hey, run, boy, run
You gotta move
Run, boy, run
You gotta move

On the six oh five
Come on, oh yeah
Oh, oh yeah
Oh, get down

Okay

Russ Giguere - Rosarita Beach Café (1971)

Born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire in 1943, Russ Giguere moved to California with the intentions of making it as a folksinger. Having not yet received a record deal, he was happy to accept the guitarist position offered to him by Terry Kirkman and Jules Alexander, the two eventual co-founders of the band that would become The Association. As a member of The Association, Giguere experienced three number one hits, “Cherish,” “Windy,” and “Never My Love,” as well as numerous other charting hits. In 1971, he decided to part ways with The Association in an attempt to make it as a solo artist. In that same year, he released his one and only solo album, Hexagram 16, on the Warner Bros. label. His solo accomplishments didn’t reach the same regard as those with The Association, so Giguere rejoined when the band reformed together in 1979. These days, Giguere continues performing with the latest lineup of The Association.

Released on Giguere’s Hexagram 16 album, this song appeared as the opening track on the back half of the album. The album was named after a passage in I Ching and featured numerous guest appearances, including Jerry Yester, Larry Knechtel, Bobby Womack, and others. This song, as well as the rest of the album, didn’t make a dent in the charts. Perhaps it was because Giguere’s solo songs didn’t have the same harmonies as his fans came to expect from his time in The Association. Or perhaps it was because they weren’t that good.



Russ Giguere - Rosarita Beach Café (1971)

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Lyrics:

Tennessee sour mash whiskey on my breath
Rosalie, Susie, and Lucy on my mind
I drove my old car down
The dusty streets of this old border town
I didn’t know I'd get stuck such a long, long time

It was one of those hot, dry, dime-a-dozen down along the Baja days
I fell through the door of the Rosarita Beach Café
I got myself a table with a view of the breakers in the bay
Ice-cold Dos Equis on the way

I got a million dollar bill
And they can't change it
And they won't let me leave until my tab is paid
So I might as well settle down
And buy the house another round
I’m a permanent guest of the Rosarita Beach Café

Well, I got a real nice table with a view of the breakers in the bay
I sit here; I drink myself into a daze
I soon fell in with thugs and thieves
And gamblers from the beach
Well the devil himself, he offered all-night game
But the night wind came along
Like a dark-eyed señorita's song
Blew my straight flush out across the waves

I've got a million dollar bill
And they can't change it
And they won't let me leave until my tab is paid
So, I might as well settle down
Yeah, and buy the town another round
I’m the permanent guest ‘round the Rosarita Beach Café

With a bottle and a table at the Rosarita Beach Café

The Everly Brothers - Bye Bye Love (1957)

Born Isaac “Don” Everly (b. 1937) and Phillip “Phil” Everly (b. 1939), these American brothers were in the top two of the charts by the time they were twenty and eighteen years old, respectively. Born in Kentucky, the Everly brothers close vocal harmonies inspired artists of the 1960s such as The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Simon & Garfunkel, and many others. In 1956, family friend Chet Atkins had the brothers signed at Columbia records, but the release of their first single, “Keep A’ Lovin’ Me,” flopped and they were dropped from the label. Not to be discouraged, the duo signed with Cadence and released their first million-copy seller in March 1957, also heard below. Through 1957 and ’58, the brothers toured a rugged schedule with Buddy Holly, supporting their hit songs “Wake Up Little Susie,” “All I Have to Do is Dream,” “Bird Dog,” and many others. The 1960s saw a slight decline in popularity, as the brothers had a falling out with their manager and were consequently cut off from their usual songwriting team. Sales were especially low after the Everly’s stopped working for six months to report to boot camp in November 1961, having enlisted in the Marines as reserves to avoid getting drafted. Their last top ten hit, “That’s Old Fasioned,” was in 1962. Between drug addiction, a falling out between the brothers, and working with The Hollies, there’s a lot more to the story than what’s been briefly touched upon here.

Written by the aforementioned songwriting team of Felice and Boudleaux Bryant, this song was rejected by more than thirty artists before being accepted by The Everly Brothers as their first single for Cadence Records. Reaching number one on the country charts, it only reached number two on the pop charts, being kept off the top spot by Elvis Presley’s “(Let Me be Your) Teddy Bear.” Notable cover versions of the song include a live rendition by Simon & Gafunkel for their Bridge Over Troubled Water album in 1970 and a particularly bitter version by George Harrison in 1974 that altered some of the lyrics to address his ex-wife, Pattie Boyd, leaving him for his best friend Eric Clapton. The version heard below is the first release of the song.



The Everly Brothers - Bye Bye Love (1957)

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Lyrics:

Bye bye love
Bye bye happiness
Hello loneliness
I think I'm gonna cry

Bye bye love
Bye bye sweet caress
Hello emptiness
I feel like I could die
Bye bye, my love, goodbye

There goes my baby
With someone new
She sure looks happy
I sure am blue
She was my baby
‘til he stepped in
Goodbye to romance
That might have been

Bye bye love
Bye bye happiness
Hello loneliness
I think I'm gonna cry

Bye bye love
Bye bye sweet caress
Hello emptiness
I feel like I could die
Bye bye, my love, goodbye

I'm through with romance
I'm through with love
I'm through with countin’
The stars above
And here’s the reason
That I'm so free
My lovin’ baby
Is through with me

Bye bye love
Bye bye happiness
Hello loneliness
I think I'm gonna cry

Bye bye love
Bye bye sweet caress
Hello emptiness
I feel like I could die
Bye bye, my love, goodbye
Bye bye, my love, goodbye
Bye bye, my love, goodbye
Bye bye, my…

Jerry Jeff Walker - Mr. Bojangles (1968)

Born Ronald Clyde Crosby on March 16, 1942, this country singer and songwriter is a local legend in the state of Texas. After his first band The Tones was rejected for an appearance on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand in Philidelphia, Crosby and his group tracked down Dick Clark’s home and received the recommendation to try out at Baton Records in New York City. Although the band was signed to a deal, Walker was one of the two members instantly dropped from the group due to the label’s request of wanting a quartet. After graduating high school, Crosby joined the National Guard, but went AWOL traveling the country as a street folk singer, playing a ukulele. By 1963, Harriet Ottenheimer of the coffeehouse The Quorum had introduced him to the guitar; and, by 1966, Crosby had adopted his stage name of Jerry Jeff Walker. In the mid-1960s, he spent most of his time playing folk music in the Greenwich Village, New York. By the late ‘60s, he co-founded a group with Bob Bruno called Circus Maximus that had a successful single (“Wind”) and two full-length albums (Circus Maximus and Neverland Revisited). Bruno’s love for jazz, however, put an early end to the group and Walker went solo. Into the 1970s, he made his permanent residence in Texas where he still lives today, continuing to perform and record.

The song heard below was inspired by a man that Walker met in a jail cell on the 4th of July in 1965. After a murder during a Fourth of July parade and, not knowing who the killer was, the New Orleans police detained everyone who was near the scene of the crime. A homeless man who had already been in the holding cell, nicknamed Mr. Bojangles, began talking to Walker and telling him about his life and the dog he had which had been run over long ago. Wanting to change the mood, the other men in the cell asked Bojangles to do something entertaining, so he began to tap dance.

Although the subject of the song is based on a real person, Mr. Bojangles has never been properly identified. Uninformed rumors circulated for years that Mr. Bojangles was one of two African Americans in the area at the time: Bill “Bonjangles” Robinson or Babe Stovall. But Walker has refuted these estimates, citing that at the time jail cells in New Orleans were segregated by race. Thus, Robinson and Stovall wouldn’t have been in the same cell as Walker.

Written by Jerry Jeff Walker in 1968 after the breakup of Circus Maximus, this song may be most famously known by its cover version by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in 1970. This version, first released on Walker’s 1968 album, Mr. Bojangles, is the original version and reached number seventy-seven on the charts. Besides the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, the song has since been covered by Bob Dylan, Neil Diamond, Sammy Davis, Jr., and many others.



Jerry Jeff Walker - Mr. Bojangles (1968)

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Lyrics:

I knew a man Bojangles and he danced for you
In worn-out shoes
With silver hair, a ragged shirt, and baggy pants
The old soft shoe
He jumped so high- jumped so high
Then he lightly touched down

Mister Bojangles
Mister Bojangles
Mister Bojangles
Dance

I met him in a cell in New Orleans, I was
Down and out
He looked at me to be the eyes of age
As he spoke right out
He talked of life- talked of life
Laughed, slapped his leg a step

He said, “The name’ 'Bojangles,'” and he danced a lick
Across the cell
He grabbed his pants fo’ a better stance
Oh, he jumped up high
He clicked his heels
He let go a laugh- he let go a laugh
Shook back his clothes all around

Mister Bojangles
Mister Bojangles
Mister Bojangles
Dance

He danced for those at minstrel shows and county fairs
Throughout the South
He spoke with tears of fifteen years how his dog ‘n’ him
They traveled about
His dog up and died- he up and died
After twenty years he still grieves

He said, “I dance now at every chance in honkytonks”
“For drinks and tips”
“But most the time I spend behind these county bars”
“’cause I drinks a bit”
He shook his head and as he shook his head
I heard someone ask, “Please”

“Mister Bojangles”
“Mister Bojangles”
“Mister Bojangles”
“Dance”

Mister Bojangles
Mister Bojangles
Mister Bojangles
Dance...

New Riders of the Purple Sage - Rainbow (1972)

Often shortened to the New Riders or NRPS, this country rock band was formed in San Francisco, California in 1969 by a handful of notable musicians in the Bay area. As far back as the early ‘60s, John Dawson, nicknamed “Marmaduke,” had been known by his friends to have a penchant for the country music heard in the eastern parts of the United States. In 1966, Dawson’s tastes had expanded quite a bit (along with his mind) through the blooming drug culture and acid experimentation popular at the time. After some short stints performing in various bands in 1967 and ’68, Dawson began performing in local coffeehouses where he blended his new found love of psychedelics with his classic love of country and bluegrass. By 1969, Dawson began featuring his old friend, Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead, in his shows when the Dead were taking a break from touring. As luck would have it, country rock had been climbing in popularity over the past few years in thanks to artists like The Band, Gram Parsons' era of The Byrds, The Flying Burrito Brothers, and Bob Dylan all releasing country-inspired albums. Thinking that they should have a full-fledged band to back them, Dawson (on acoustic guitar) and Garcia (on the pedal steel guitar) picked up David Nelson of Big Brother and the Holding Company to play lead electric guitar and Phil Lesh and Mickey Hart of the Grateful Dead to play bass and drums, respectively. Although this lineup would change very frequently over the next forty-plus years, these noted musicians became the first lineup of the New Riders of the Purple Sage.

In 1970, Spencer Dryden of Jefferson Airplane replaced Mickey Hart on the drums while Dave Torbet of the Grateful Dead replaced Phil Lesh on the bass. In 1971, Buddy Cage replaced Jerry Garcia on the pedal steel guitar. The band’s second released album, titled Powerglide, was this new lineup’s first album together. It was the highest charting album released by any incarnation of the band, reaching number thirty-three on the Billboard 200 in 1972. Although the album featured guest appearances by Jerry Garcia, Bill Kreutzmann, and Nicky Hopkins, this particular song only featured the new official lineup mentioned above. Written by John “Marmaduke” Dawson, this song was the second track and one of six original songs on the Powerglide album.



New Riders of the Purple Sage - Rainbow (1972)

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Lyrics:

Sing me a rainbow, shine me a dime
Drop in and see me any old time, honey
And if you love me, tell me you do
Reason I’m asking is ‘cause I love you, honey
Oh, don’t you know that I love you?

When I was living, I felt so ashamed
Well, now I’ve been giving and feeling less pain
So, honey

Sing me a rainbow, shine me a dime
Drop in and see m any old time, honey
And if you love me, tell me you do
Reason I’m asking is ‘cause I love you, honey
Oh, don’t you know that I love you?

Oh, yes, you are magic, I know that you are
‘cause I saw you riding last night on a star, honey

Sing me a rainbow, shine me a dime
Drop in and see me any old time, honey
And if you love me, tell me you do
Reason I’m asking is ‘cause I love you, honey
Oh, don’t you know that I love you?

Oh, honey
Oh, don’t you know that I love you?

The Dillards - Nobody Knows (1968)

Formed by brothers Doug and Rodney in Salem, Missouri in 1962, this American bluegrass band was vital in development of the country-styled rock in southern California during the 1960s. They introduced bluegrass music to the nation as a whole by playing music on The Andy Griffith Show, starring in a recurring role as the fictional band, “The Darlings.” Many bands of the 1960s took a country and bluegrass style of music and blended it with rock, pop, and psychedelic music. Perhaps the most notable group of the time to do this was The Byrds, who cite this band as having a very strong impact on their sound. Other artists to have been influenced by this group include the Eagles, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Dan Fogelberg, Linda Ronstadt, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Elton John, Fairport Convention, and many, many others. In turn, the country and bluegrass artists influenced by this band have gone on to largely influence artists in various genres to this day.

In 1968, the group decided to give in to the ’60s pop music surrounding the globe and branched out to a bluegrass sound that featured orchestration and drums. Doug Dillard, a founding brother in the band, was unhappy with the new direction that the group was headed and decided to go his own way. The new musical style of the group was first fully featured on their fourth album, Wheatstraw Suite, and rejected by Capitol Records, who the group was signed with. To get the record out, the group signed on to their old label, Elektra. This song was the second track on the album and written by Mitch Jayne, the bass player, and Rodney Dillard, a founding brother.



The Dillards - Nobody Knows (1968)

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Lyrics:

Nobody knows
Nobody ever knows
No one ever knows
When things won’t stay the same

She’s in love with you
And you know you love her, too
There will come a time
When she won’t know your name

There’s a lot of things to die
Every time the day goes by
There’s a lot of things
That people can’t explain

You can be in love today
By meaning every word you say
Knowing when tomorrow comes a word you say

Will be a lie

Nobody knows
Nobody ever knows
No one ever knows why
Love must go away

We play the games
And never really understood
Never really understand the games we play

Nobody knows
Nobody ever knows
No one ever knows
When things won’t stay the same

She’s in love with you
And you know you love her, too
There will come a time
When she won’t know your name

The Byrds - Goin' Back (1967)

Originally known as The Jet Set, this band was eventually inspired to use an unconventional spelling for their finalized name by The Beatles. From their cover songs, such as Pete Seeger’s “Turn! Turn! Turn! (to Everything There is a Season)” and Bob Dylan’s “Mr. Tambourine Man,” to the tracks they penned themselves, they put together some of the most memorable songs to come out of the 1960s. Becoming one of the top selling acts for a brief period, they also saw their individual members go on to continue great things after the end of the band. David Crosby, for instance, went on to co-create Crosby, Stills & Nash, while nearly all of the other members had successful solo careers. An attempt to summarize the intricate history of this band, their music, and its members in this small space would more than likely not be possible. Their work has inspired countless other artists and their music continues to help define the 1960s.

This is the song that split The Byrds apart. Written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King in 1966, it was a bit slower and a slightly bit more country than what the band had normally been putting out. David Crosby didn’t like it at all. He disliked it even more after finding out that it was considered over “Triad,” a song he had written, for their upcoming album. With tensions getting high, Crosby was fired from the group and this song was released as a single (in 1967). It also later appeared on the band’s 1968 album The Notorious Byrd Brothers. The song has been recorded and released by man artists, including Dusty Springfield, Nils Lofgren, The Move, Diana Ross, Bon Jovi, Phil Collins, The Pretenders, and many others.



The Byrds - Goin' Back (1967)

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Lyrics:

I think I'm goin' back
To the things I learned so well in my youth
I think I'm returning to
Those days when I was young enough to know the truth
Now there are no games
To only pass the time
No more electric trains
No more trees to climb
But thinking young and growing older is no sin
And I can play the game of life to win

I can recall a time
When I wasn't ashamed to reach out to a friend
Now I think I've got
A lot more than just my toys to lend
Now there's more to do
Than watch my sailboat glide
But every day can be
A magic carpet ride
A little bit of courage is all we lack
So catch me if you can
I'm goin' back

Now there's more to do
Than watch my sailboat glide
But every day can be
A magic carpet ride
A little bit of courage is all we lack
So catch me if you can
I'm goin' back

Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show - Queen of the Silver Dollar (1972)

The beginnings of this band can be traced from Southerners George Cummings, Ray Sawyer, and Billy Francis, who had all previously played together in The Chocolate Papers. Formed in 1967, their name comes from the eye patch worn by Ray Sawyer (who had a near-fatal car accident in 1967), mocking Peter Pan’s Captain Hook, and referencing “medicine shows,” which sarcastically referenced a warning against drug use. Trying to make it big in New Jersey, they added Jersey-native Dennis Locorriere, who would eventually become the band’s lead vocalist. In 1970, the band’s demo was heard by Ron Haffkine, who was working on a movie that's soundtrack was being written by the legendary poet, cartoonist, and author, Shel Silverstein. Choosing their music for the movie, the band formed a relationship with Silverstein that would lead to them frequently singing songs that written by him. They had numerous hits throughout the ‘70s and even into the ‘80s, including, “Sylvia’s Mother,” “The Cover of the Rolling Stone,” “Only Sixteen” (originally by Sam Cooke), “A Little Bit More,” and many, many more.

As the B-Side to "Cover of the Rolling Stone," this song was added to the group’s second album, Sloppy Seconds, released in 1972. Written by Shel Silverstein, it was overshadowed by other songs (that were also all written by Silverstein) from the album that became very successful, such as “The Cover of the Rolling Stone” and “Freakin’ at the Freakers Ball.”



Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show - Queen of the Silver Dollar (1972)

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Lyrics:

She's the Queen of the Silver Dollar
And she rules this smoky kingdom
And her scepter is a wine glass
And a barstool is her throne
And the jesters, they flock around her
And they fight to win her favors
And see which one will take the Queen
Of the Silver Dollar home

Yeah!

She arrives in all her splendor
Every night at nine o'clock
And her chariot is a crosstown bus
That stops right down the block
The old piano minstrel
Plays her song as she walks in
And the Queen of the Silver Dollar
She’s home again

She's the Queen of the Silver Dollar
And she rules this smoky kingdom
And her scepter is a wine glass
And a barstool is her throne
And the jesters flock around her
And fight to win her favors
And see which one will take the Queen
Of the Silver Dollar home

Aw
Yeah, alright!

Her royal gown is a satin dress
That's stained and slightly torn
And her sparklin' jewels are rhinestones
And her shoes are scuffed and worn
From the many roads she's traveled
And the wondrous sites she's seen
And I watch her and I pray
God save the Queen

She's the Queen of the Silver Dollar
And she rules this smoky kingdom
And her scepter is a wine glass
And a barstool is her throne
And the jesters flock around her
And fight to win her favors
And see which one will take the Queen
Of the Silver Dollar home

The Queen of the Silver Dollar
Is not as haughty as she seems
She was once an ordinary girl
With ordinary dreams
But I found her and I won her
And I brought her to this world
Yes, I'm the man who made a Queen
Of a simple country girl

She's the Queen of the Silver Dollar
And she rules this smoky kingdom
And her scepter is a wine glass
And a barstool is her throne
And the jesters flock around her
And fight to win her favors
And see which one will take the Queen
Of the Silver Dollar home

She's the Queen of the Silver Dollar
And she rules this smoky kingdom
And her scepter is a wine glass
And a barstool is her throne...

Moby Grape - Ain't That a Shame (1969)

Emerging out of the San Francisco music scene, this group featured all five members as songwriters and singers. Co-founded by their guitarist Skip Spence in 1966, they were managed by Matthew Katz, who was also the manager for Jefferson Airplane and It’s a Beautiful Day. Spence was also Jefferson Airplane’s drummer for their first album before parting ways with them. With this group, Skip and his bandmates would receive critical praise for their debut album, but would later become plagued with bad luck and misguided decisions. Despite going on hiatus six times since their formation, the group still performs to this day.

This song comes from the album Moby Grape ’69, the first album after the departure of Skip Spence, who the group had assumed would be returning to them but never did. The album wasn’t appreciated by many of their fans who considered it to be too country-rock oriented. In all actuality, it was a precursor to the sounds which would later be put out by country-rock groups like the Eagles. The song was written by Jerry Miller, Don Stevenson, and Peter Lewis.



Moby Grape - Ain't That a Shame (1969)

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Lyrics:

I'm getting’ tired of waitin’
If you don't come home, I'm leavin'
It's a hard life I'm leadin'
About to lose my mind

Ain't that a shame
Ain't that a shame
Ain't that a shame

Way I've been treated so unkind
Way you stay away for days
I believe I'm about to lose my mind
Woman, you've got to change your ways

Ain't that a shame
Ain't that a shame
Ain't that a shame

I'm so depleted
I'd steal everything I needed
What could I do?
I ’s down to the bone

Ain't that a shame
Ain't that a shame
Ain't that a shame

I'm gettin’ tired of waiting
If you don't come home, I'm leavin'
It's a hard life I'm leadin'
It's a hard row I'd hoe

Ain't that a shame
Ain't that a shame
Ain't that a shame

Conway Twitty - It's Only Make Believe (1958)

Born Harold Lloyd Jenkins in 1933, this American country musician held the record for most number one singles (in any genre) with fifty-five until it was broken by George Strait in 2006. He started his career with a rockabilly/rock and roll sound in 1958 and transitioned himself into a country star starting in 1965. He frequently won awards for his duets with Loretta Lynn and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame as well as the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.

This song was the B-side to a failed release “I’ll Try”. It was written by Twitty and drummer, Jack Nance. Because of the style in which Twitty sang, many people believed that it was Elvis Presley singing the song under a pseudonym. The song reached number one on both the American national charts and the British national charts.



Conway Twitty - It's Only Make Believe (1958)

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Lyrics:

People see us everywhere
They think you really care
But myself, I can't deceive
I know it's only make believe

My one and only prayer
Is that someday you'll care
My hopes, my dreams come true
My one and only you
No one will ever know
How much I love you so
My only prayer will be
Someday you'll care for me
But it's only make believe

My hopes, my dreams come true
My life I'd give for you
My heart, a wedding ring
My all, my everything
My heart I can't control
You rule my very soul
My only prayer will be
Someday you'll care for me
But it's only make believe

My one and only prayer
Is that someday you'll care
My hopes, my dreams come true
My one and only you
No one will ever know
How much I love you so
My prayers, my hopes, and my schemes
You are my every dream
But it's only make believe

Johnny Cash - The Long Black Veil [Live] (1968)

With a range in music from rock and roll, rockabilly, and blues to folk, gospel and country, “The Man in Black” is considered one of the most influential musicians of the twentieth century. He was a rebellious man that referred to himself as “the biggest sinner of them all” and was known to have a few run-ins with the law. He released hit songs for nearly fifty years, recording sixty new songs in the last four months of his life at the age of seventy-one. His story is one that cannot be done justice in such a limited space.

Ever since his 1955 song “Folsom Prison Blues,” he had expressed interest in doing a live concert at a prison. In 1967, with personal changes at Columbia Records, he got his wish. This song comes from his live album At Folsom Prison. It was written by Danny Dill and Marijohn Wilkin and was originally recorded by Lefty Frizzell in 1959.



Johnny Cash - The Long Black Veil [Live] (1968)

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Lyrics:

Ten years ago on a cold dark night
Someone was killed 'neath the town hall lights
There were few at the scene, but they all agreed
That the slayer who ran looked a lot like me

She walks these hills in a long black veil
She visits my grave when the night winds wail
Nobody knows, nobody sees, nobody knows but me

The judge said, “Son, what is your alibi?”
“If you were somewhere else then you won't have to die”
I spoke not a word, though it meant my life
I'd been in the arms of my best friend's wife

Did I hear somebody applaud?

Now the scaffold is high and eternity's near
She stood in the crowd and shed not a tear
But sometimes at night when the cold wind moans
In a long black veil she cries over my bones

She walks these hills in a long black veil
She visits my grave when the night winds wail
Nobody knows, nobody sees, nobody knows but me

Can I have a glass of water?