Get Lucky

We have made it through one of those weird holidays that many Americans have adopted because it is a good excuse to get drunk. We have Cinco de Mayo, which I’m not sure is that big of a deal in Mexico. We also have the most recent one - St. Patrick’s Day. I always find it interesting because most Americans are not Catholic and are not of Irish descent. I wonder how many revellers in green actually know who St. Patrick is.

Anyway, this is not a post about holidays of drinking. This is a post about something else that is associated with Ireland. I have always heard the old saying about “the luck of the Irish”, and I have been thinking quite a bit lately about luck. I have always considered my self lucky, and this is not just some useless opinion on my part. There is scientific proof.

Many years ago, some friends and I went to a psychic. Some of us actually believed in fortune-telling, and some of us were going for the fun. We were instructed to only tell the lady our birth date and time. Honestly, we were kind of nervous because she was a local celebrity of sorts. She was a morning personality on the local Rock station that we all listened to.

So, I go into her room with my information, and she plugs it into a computer program that brought up the alignment of the stars at the time of my birth. She studied it for a while before saying that I had the highest quotient of luck of anyone she had ever read. I thought that was cool and somewhat accurate.

I have been very fortunate in many aspects of my life. I won’t bore anyone with details, but I have been able to do the things that I have wanted to do. I have seen the places that I wanted to see. I have had the job that I have always wanted to have.

I only hope that my luck doesn’t run out.

What makes luck? I don’t know. Some people say that we make our own luck. That could be true. Others say that luck just happens sometimes. That could be true, too. Heck, it could be a little of both.

To help keep my luck going, I have decided to list a bunch of “lucky” things.

Lucky Brand Jeans - I wear them, so maybe that will keep the luck flowing.

I don’t wear them as well as she does.

Luck Be a Lady – Hey, this song was good to Sinatra, so maybe it will be good to me.

The epitome of cool.

Lucky Luciano – He must have been lucky because he is one of the few Mafia guys who died of natural causes.

The Father of Modern Organized Crime

Lucky Charms – I have never eaten them. Perhaps I should.

I’m not sure about that guy.

Is that enough luck? I thought about listing Luck, the HBO series, but they killed a couple of horses. I wouldn’t consider that very lucky. There is also this great movie called Lucky Number Slevin that I have seen a thousand times, but almost everyone gets killed. That’s not very lucky, either.

That settles it. I am sticking with the “lucky” things that I mentioned, and I hope everyone that reads this gets lucky.

Deadaroo

Last weekend, my state hosted Bonnaro, the music festival that has become a destination for those looking for a good time and good music. They have a wide variety of acts, and I have often said that I would like to go if I could fly in on a helicopter for a few hours. Listening to music would be awesome, but I am too well into my years to be hanging out in a field without a hot shower.

After reading a lot of blogs and tweets about Bonaroo, I began to think about what performers I would like to see at a festival. Then, I took it a little further. What performers have I never seen live but would like to see? Then, with an idea string going, I began to think about the performers I would like to see live but never will because they are, well, not live. They are dead.

After coming up with a list of dead performers that I wished I had seen, I came up with my own music festival fantasy -Deadaroo. These are not zombie versions of famous people. This is a collection of people in their primes. This is a music festival of some of my favorites at the top of their game.

The following is a list of acts; the stage where they will perform; and, the thing I would most want to see them do (with links).

Appearing on the “Knockin’ ‘Em Dead” Comedy Stage:

Jerry Clower, the Mouth of the South, telling his greatest stories, including A Coon Huntin’ Story.

Rodney Dangerfield with his self-deprecating routine and trademark line, “I get no respect.”

Jackie Gleason, famous for television and movies, was also great at stand up comedy and was known for the signature line,”How sweet it is.” The video is from The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast (begin watching at 5:03).

The Rat Pack, consisting of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., and others, brings their Vegas act to the stage.

Scheduled for the “Dead Zone” Music Stage:

Big Joe Turner, early R&B and Rock and Roll pioneer, performing his hits, including “Shake, Rattle and Roll“.

Jim Croce, folk singer extraordinaire, singing “I Got a Name” and the rest of his classics.

Waylon Jennings, one of the original Outlaws of country music, with a passel of hits including “Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys“.

Johnny Cash – the Man in Black, the legend, and someone I actually met – singing songs that span decades but ending with one of the early ones, “Folsom Prison Blues“.

Sam Cooke, paragon of R&B and Soul, bringing his best and “Bring It On Home to Me“.

As the finale, THE country legend known to many as Luke the Drifter, Hank Williams singing “Hey Good Lookin’” and many more classic songs.

At “Rock in Pieces”, the main stage, Deadaroo brings you:

Isaac Hayes, Black Moses of 70s Soul, with his Academy Award winning theme, “Shaft“.

James Brown, the Hardest Working Man in Show Business, performs all of his hits, including “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag“.

Stevie Ray Vaughan, one of the greatest bluesmen ever, breaks out his guitar and plays “Mary Had a Little Lamb“.

The Reggae man himself, Bob Marley, straight from Jamaica with songs such as “No Woman No Cry“.

Ray Charles, genius and master of all musical genres, performs songs known to all and promises to stoke the crowd with “What’d I Say“.

Who could top those legends? Who is worthy to close the show of such greatness? Jimi Hendrix, the greatest guitar player of them all, as he electrifies Deadaroo with “Purple Haze” and other songs of psychedelic form.

That’s Deadaroo. The End

The State of Music – Part 5

“At Last” is a classic by Etta James, and it is also how I feel about coming to the end of this nationwide journey. I must say that it was a little tougher than I had anticipated. However, the last ten states are in the que and ready to go.

South Dakota – Not only did I find a song with South Dakota in the title, but I also found one with my favorite South Dakota town in the title. “Deadwood, South Dakota” by Nanci Griffith takes its inspiration from the old mining camp in the Black Hills. There is a lot of history about this town, but I will only mention one tidbit. This is where Wild Bill Hickok was killed while playing poker and holding Ace’s and 8′s, the Dead Man’s Hand.

Tennessee - My state. The state that inspired me to take up the mantle of discovering the music of the states. I still have no idea how many songs have Tennessee in their title. The combination of the music industry and the easy ability to rhyme something with the state’s name created myriad possibilities. I had a hard time choosing the right one, but finally settled on a song that was written about my hometown. Ron Sexsmith has never been here but still wrote a song called “Lebanon, Tennessee”.

Texas – Another state that finds itself chronicled in song, Texas has been source material for songwriters since it first claimed independence from Mexico. However, this time we are going with anything remotely Country & Western. We are going with Chris Rea, one of my favorite singers from the 1980s, and his recording of “Texas”.

Utah – Going in, I figured the Mormon Tabernacle Choir had a song about Utah. I was wrong. Nobody has a song about Utah except Marty Robbins. He loved songs about western places and recorded “The Red Hills of Utah”.

Vermont – “Moonlight in Vermont” has been sung my numerous artists. During my search, I found versions by Tony Bennett, Rosemary Clooney, Sam Cooke, Nat King Cole, Billie Holiday, Percy Faith, Bobby Womack, Mel Torme…heck, the list goes on and one. With that type of popularity, credit must be given to the writers, John Blackburn and Karl Suessdorf. After listening to several renditions, “The State of Music” panel goes with the version recorded by – drumroll – Frank Sinatra.

Virginia – Of all the songs I discovered while completing this task, I am more proud of this one than any other. “East Virginia Blues” was recorded by the Carter Family. I’m not talking about the Carter Family with Mother Maybelle and her children, which included June Carter Cash. I am talking about the original group started by A.P. Carter. There is a great story there that predates anything that happened in Nashville.

Washington – It’s been mentioned a couple of times that to qualify a song does not have to be about a state. It only needs to have its name in the title. Washington lends itself to this because there is also a president and a famous city with the same name. A bunch of songs use Washington, but I went with one about the park in New York City that is named after the president. Not very stately, I reckon. “Washington Square” is an instrumental recorded by The Village Stompers.

West Virginia – “Country Roads Take Me Home” does not count. Not only is the state name not in the title, but John Denver spends the whole time describing the Virginia without a direction in front of it. I picked “West Virginia Underground” by Taylor Made.

Wisconsin - Finding a song for this state was a pain in the ass. Everywhere I turned there was state songs, fight songs and nothing remotely artistic. Finally, I came upon Bon Iver and the aptly names “Wisconsin”.

Wyoming – John Denver recorded a lot of songs about states without naming his songs after them. In the end, literally, I found one called “Song of Wyoming” about the wide open spaces and natural wonders of the West. Of course, he had a bunch of songs about the same topics. This one just happened to fit in the list.

50 states. 50 songs. 50 different artists (I think). I tried to vary the genres as much as possible, and, despite a little complaining, I actually liked the search. Also, I found some new stuff that I may listen to again. I hope you guys liked the list as much as I liked putting it together. If you want to catch up on the complete version, then check out parts – one, two, three and four.