Page 52 - Blues Festival Guide Magazine 2024 Digital Edition

Visiting First Cousins

By Reverend Billy C. Wirtz You should also check out:
Hi friends, once again it’s my extreme privilege to hip you Stop, Look and Listen − Gonna Shake This Shack Tonight.
to some wig-flippin’ sounds you might have missed along the This is what Patsy sounded like after a few (several) drinks on
way and will thank me for, after diggin’ them deeply. a Saturday night at the Country Palace. There are many fans
Blues has always been the base of a tree with so many that prefer this period in her career. Ms. Hensley sings rock ‘n
branches. Although social media pages and even record roll and honky tonk dance floor favorites in their embryonic
labels tend to separate the various genres, my 20 years in state, uncluttered by strings and background singers. The song
radio programming have taught me that listeners love to “In Care Of The Blues” shows her astounding vocal chops.
discover new artists and styles they aren’t familiar with. I’m The original version of “Walkin’ After Midnight” is just a plain
assuming if you’re reading this, you are already a blues fan, ol’ classic blues shuffle. What a voice.
so I don’t have to sell you on its importance or appeal. Here
are some first cousins of what you may think of as “the blues” Ray Price
for you to get acquainted with and enjoy. Beginning with: Nightlife
Columbia 1971
Back in the ’60s, Nashville was trying to soften the message
of “hillbilly music” with artists like Jim Reeves, Patsy Cline and
Slim Whitman, and they succeeded – people that had turned
up their noses at this “hick music” began to admit to liking Patsy
and Eddie Arnold. Meanwhile, down in Texas, Ray Price burned
up the dance halls with the Cherokee Cowboys, a stunning
collection of musicians including Willie Nelson on bass, Johnny
Paycheck also on bass and two dazzling steel players named
Jimmy Day and Buddy Emmons. Within a few short years after
this album, Price himself would join the countrypolitan crowd
with lush strings and arrangements, and have a mega hit with
“For The Good Times.” However, in 1963, completely out
of left field, Ray Price and his road band recorded this blues
album. The album opens with a spoken welcome by Ray over

Patsy Cline
Sweet Dreams: The Complete Decca Studio Masters 1960-1963
Virginia Patterson Hensley (aka Patsy Cline); the gal from
Virginia left us with some great music that cut across all genres.
She sang country, but had the soul of a blues singer and the
phrasing of a jazz artist. Along with “Crazy” and “Walkin’
After Midnight,” she recorded ballads, rockers and straight-
up blues numbers. Check out these two CDs. They contain 51
tracks, including all the big hits in glorious remastered quality;
you can actually hear her breathe off mic between verses!
Her ballads are stand-outs, heart wrenching and soulful. It’s
the blues seen through the eyes of the bad girl in the back
of class, who now tends bar at the Moose Lodge and waits
tables at the big 10-4 truck stop. Her cynical laugh on “Why
Can’t He Be You” spells it all out.

50 Blues Festival Guide 2024