Tommy Emmanuel

Perfect Song #15: “Choctaw Hayride” by Jerry Douglas

I have been a fan of Jerry Douglas for a very long time. Besides his solo work and being part of Alison Krauss & Union Station, there was a time when you could find his name on just about every country and bluegrass album coming out of Nashville. It seems like everything that his dobro touches sounds like it came from Heaven!

He has so many great original songs, but the one that I find absolutely perfect is “Choctaw Hayride.” It first appeared on the AKUS album New Favorite from 2001. Douglas and the band had just come off of success with work on the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack, so they could do no wrong as far as what they wanted to release. While the album is amazing to say the least, it is “Choctaw Hayride” that keeps the band firmly into bluegrass while showcasing the members’ instrumental prowess.

The song starts off with a heavy bass picking from the guitar, then Douglas kicks right in with a fast-paced dobro lick. From there, the band blasts right in, with each taking a short solo. But it is under the control of Douglas, as it pushes the traditional verse/chorus of most songs, giving us changes in time signatures and a bridge that skyrockets in tone.

It is completely bluegrass, but pushes the boundaries. That 2/4 beat stays through most of the song, with some fantastic shifts that makes heads turn. It’s Douglas’ skill with the fingerpicking and slide bar that will make any listener’s jaw drop. He is an absolute wizard.

The song has been a staple of AKUS’s live performances, and was included on the 2002 Live album.

If you want to see his real skill, check out this performance of the song with Tommy Emmanuel at the Ear Tumpet studio.

This song is what every dobro player strives for, or gives up on the instrument entirely. Douglas is a god on the instrument. He alone has set new standards for playing it, and pushed it to the forefront in bluegrass music. This song is proof.

Chew on it and comment.

Perfect Song #12: “Cannonball Rag” by Merle Travis

This is pre Eddie Van Halen shredding! I talked about Merle Travis in an earlier post about his songwriting (https://luegra.design.blog/2022/05/07/perfect-song-7-sixteen-tons-tennessee-ernie-ford-version/), and he was one of country music’s first superstars for his songs, his singing, and even his bit parts in Hollywood movies (check out From Here to Eternity). However, with most guitarists, he is famous for his trademark “Travis Picking.”

“Cannonball Rag” is Travis’ hallmark performance. I can lsiten to this song a thousand times and continue to be amazed. His picking is a combination of Mother Maybelle Carter’s scratch, hardcore bluegrass rhythm guitar, and classical fingerpicking. The result is a solo guitar sounding like two guitars and a bass playing at the same time. The listener cannot believe that all of that sound is coming from one guitar! Travis developed this style after studying Carter, Ike Everly, and Mose Rager. He used a banjo thumbpick and his bare fingers, which gave the bass runs a percussive feel, while the melody and rhythm strings a more harp-like feel.

Travis’ picking became a sensation in the early 1940s whenever he appeared on radio. He enlisted in the Marines during World War II, then returned to the country music scene around Cincinnati. In the late 1940s, he would appear in Hollywood shorts (“soundies”) showcasing his guitar skills. While he was getting better known for his songs, such as “Divorce Me C.O.D.” and “No Vacancy,” he still liked to show off his guitar prowess. He helped design an early version of a solid-body electric guitar with Paul Bigsby, which would later inspire Leo Fender’s designs.

While fans loved his singing and songs, guitarists such as Chet Atkins, Joe Maphis, and Doc Watson were heavily inspired by his guitar work. Watson even claimed to have named his son Merle after Travis (listen to their dialogue on the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s Will the Circle Be Unbroken album). Even modern guitarists such as Tommy Emmanuel cite Travis as a main influence.

“Cannonball Rag” Is one of those songs that from the first few notes, you know you are in for something amazing. That bass run along with the syncopated melody lines draw you in to think that you are listening to a small ensemble and not a solo guitar. Each verse begins with a different strumming/picking pattern, yet the last few bars of each verse return to a familiar pattern to let you know that Travis is getting back to the main theme. There are banjo rolls, blues bends, and bass solos, all sounding like each “player” is taking a turn soloing. This is the type of song that you turn up when cruising down a two-lane highway. It is also the type of tune that will either inspire the beginning guitar player to either work harder, or give up altogether.

I dare you to listen to this song and NOT hit repeat at least once or twice.

And if you still think that it is not one man only playing this song, here is a live version.

Are there any questions? Chew on it and comment.