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Proud Marys of yesterday and today


pogo97

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Maybe but I also get a lot of requests from very drunk men. One in particular wanting Sweet Home Alabama comes to mind. I could doing James Taylor and Elton John and some guy will come up stumble to to the stage and ask for 'Free Bird" or some other way out thing.

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I had a request recently [at the blues jam I host] for 'some Johnny Cash...' Not one to be dissuaded, the requester buttonholed me on break 'c'mon, don't you know any Johnny Cash?', so I opened the next set with 'A Boy Named Sue'...the requester was not amused...go figger...

Last night a 'middle aged' woman requested 'Blue Bayou'...my boss says, 'you know it right?'

Well yeah, but Roy Orbison ballads are not typically played at blues jams, but I whipped it off...any tip? Nope...but she did come and thank me on my break, and then explained how she used to do it in an accordian band, blah-blah-blah...and I'm thinking...okay, but you played stump the band, how about a nice tip?

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A couple of young doods came up to me a few weeks ago in an upscale restaurant and asked if I knew any Radiohead, specifically Paranoid Android. Couldn't do that one but I did remember the first part of Exit Music For a Film so they felt catered too. But then again I'm a whore and will try anything once.

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I did a retirement home gig yesterday and while playing a lead guitar part I walked out to hear what the frontal (only one speaker) sound like. Since I was out there, I walked up to a couple of ladies that were sitting at the nearest table and got no reaction from them. Next to the last song I played was Proud Mary and these two ladies were dancin' in their chairs!

 

I never learned Wagon Wheel. Love Blue Bayou but the range from low to high is too much for me!

 

Some of the biggest wedding songs (that I don't play): Billie Jean, Footloose, September. Last year it was "shut up and dance", "I can't feel my face" and "Uptown Funk".

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When I was very young, "Yakety Sax" was the worn out song for saxophonists, "Wipe Out" was the equivalent for drummers. Is there one for guitarists?

 

BTW, I'm jealous, "Wipe Out" has faded away, "Yakety" hasn't.

 

One more thing to note: The people who request "Yakety Sax" rarely tip, and when they do, it's probably only a buck. I made $60 for playing "Night Train" once. There is a profound message there somewhere, but I don't know what that is. :)

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Nah, Jimmy "Night Train" Forest, although we do our own arrangement with a rhythm more like the 1960s recording by The Viscounts.

 

Mr. Brown did it in straight 8ths, and I prefer the shuffle/swing rhythm for that song.

 

Had a request for "Yakety" on Tuesday, didn't make a dime. The audience and the requester enjoyed it though, so it was all good.

 

A request doesn't require a tip, but over the years I just have observed that "Night Train" tippers are much bigger spenders than "Yakety" people.

 

"Harlem Nocturne" is probably my 3rd most requested sax song, and I dearly love to play that one. I learned it decades ago, and it still hasn't gone stale. I probably play it about 4 times a year.

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I had a request recently [at the blues jam I host] for 'some Johnny Cash...' Not one to be dissuaded, the requester buttonholed me on break 'c'mon, don't you know any Johnny Cash?', so I opened the next set with 'A Boy Named Sue'...the requester was not amused...go figger...

 

Oh, come on! You know that "Johnny Cash" == "Folsom Prison." If someone asks for JC, they expect FP. And in my experience, if a band announces that they're about to play some JC, they mean FP. Always. Never mind that the man had forty years of hits and then some.

 

Me, I like "Ways of a Woman in Love" and "I guess things happen that way" but what would I know?

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because they all want to sing along with that one line...'I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die...' People are weird.

I would have done 'Ring of Fire', but to be honest, I only remember all the words to 'Sue'...and it actually went over well in the room...just not with the requestor. Screw him, no tip either...

Hence I am starting a 'pro jam' next month where I am the host/leader; not gonna be taking unpaid requests unless they fit.

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I don't think there's a rap artist that has more songs about killing somebody than Johnny Cash does. Pharrell Williams

 

It's odd, though. I can't think of any singer with the breadth and depth of Johnny Cash that is so consistently represented by only one song. He's clearly a cultural icon, but I'm not sure of what, except himself.

 

Then people change that line to ‘I shot a man in **hometown** etc.’ Which just irritates me. ‘Reno’ is there because it sounds right, not because he actually shot a man there. And ‘Kingston,’ ‘Shabawgan’ and ‘San Clemente’ don't • sound • right. Sheesh.

 

Went to an outdoor concert last weekend. Prog kinda band. ‘We're going to play some Johnny Cash.’ I turned to my friends: ‘It'll be Folsom Prison.’ Twang twanga twang twang twang twanga wa. And then they changed the location of the prison to Joyceville which is minimum security and nowhere near a train. I was out of there like a fleeing deer.

 

Ten years ago, maybe, it might have been ‘Ring of Fire’ or even earlier, ‘I Walk the Line.’ But now it's ‘Folsom Prison’ or you haven't ‘played some Johnny Cash.’

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Probably because it's "Folsom Prison Blues" so there will be someone who thinks it's a blues song. Forgive them for at least they came and spent money.

 

We do "Ring Of Fire" which I think is a better song and it goes over quite well. I thought about learning "Folsom" but I ended up with the "Ring" and think I made a good choice for us.

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Yes, Johnny Cash=Folsom. And we do "Ring" when the mood strikes. We make everything our own, but deep down..you gotta have a great song. And those two are great songs. Johnny Cash, knew what made a song great. There aren't many like him around today.

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1st, Thank you guys for letting others play voyuer to your conversations. It helps more than just those who post. Unless you've seen my other posts you don't know, I am not here as a performer. I am a mediocre guitarist, who had my chances. My daughter (16) is starting to gig as a solo acoustic act. She's getting better by the day. I have the damn-dest time getting her to learn some of the staple songs. I can't decide if it's me, and the kid just doesn't want to listen to dad or if its generational and she just doesn't want to. Occasionally she'll get a request and just look at me cross eyed. I laugh at her and we move on. That said, like wagon wheel, there are a few classics that have made a comeback in markets we have never heard of like; I Can't Help Falling in Love with You, We don't have to take our clothes off, fast car, and House of the Rising Sun. Weird, I know.

 

So in your expert opinion, what are some staple songs for a female artist, alto, with a bluesy rasp?

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Don't know these are staples, but I have a couple of playlists -- R&B women, pop women, country women -- with MY favorite songs sung by women. Here:

 

R&B

Chain of Fools Aretha Franklin

Respect Aretha Franklin

Nobody Knows You When You're Down & Out Bessie Smith

Hound Dog Big Mama Thornton

Mercy Duffy

Son of a Preacher Man Dusty Springfield

House of Blue Lights Ella Mae Morse

At Last Etta James

Something's Got a Hold on Me Etta James

I'd Rather Go Blind Etta James

Seven Day Fool Etta James

Why Don't You Do Right Lil Green

 

Pop

Johnny One Time Brenda Lee

Just One Look Doris Troy

Mr. Big Stuff Jean Knight

It's My Party Lesley Gore

You Don't Own Me Lesley Gore

Angel of the Morning Merilee Rush

Mama Said The Shirelles

Will You Love Me Tomorrow The Shirelles

Hurt Timi Yuro

It Hurts to Be In Love Timi Yuro

 

Country

You Say it Best When You Say Nothing at All Alison Krauss

Ode To Billie Joe Bobbie Gentry

After the Fire is Gone Conway Twitty & Loretta Lynn

Favorite Year Dixie Chicks

I will always Love You Dolly Parton

Jolene Dolly Parton

Making Believe Emmylou Harris

If I Needed You Emmylou Harris & Don Williams

My Elusive Dreams George Jones & Tammy Wynette

Satin Sheets Jeanne Pruett

Harper Valley P.T.A. Jeannie C. Riley

Jackson Johnny Cash & June Carter Cash

Grandpa (Tell Me About The Good Old Days) The Judds

Someday Soon Judy Collins

Except for Monday Lorrie Morgan

The Water Is Wide Luce Dufault

Drunken Angel Lucinda Williams

Down At the Twist and Shout Mary Chapin Carpenter

More Like Her Miranda Lambert

Faded Love Patsy Cline

Crazy Patsy Cline

I Fall to Pieces Patsy Cline

Strange Patsy Cline

Sweet Dreams Patsy Cline

Walkin' After Midnight Patsy Cline

The Way We Make a Broken Heart Rosanne Cash

The End of the World Skeeter Davis

Storms Never Last Waylon Jennings & Jessi Colter

 

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