Tag Archives: American

Van Morrison: Pay The Devil

Pay the Devil

On March 6, 2006, “Lost Highway” label released “Pay the Devil”, the thirty-second Van Morrison studio album. It was recorded in 2005, and was produced by Van Morrison. The album features twelve cover versions of American country and western songs and three original compositions.

Personnel:

  • Van Morrison – vocals, acoustic guitar
  • Crawford Bell – vocals
  • Trionagh Moore- vocals
  • Olwin Bell – vocals
  • Karen Hamill – vocals
  • Aine Whelan – vocals
  • Leon McCrum – vocals
  • Paul Godden – guitar, steel guitar
  • Mick Green- guitar
  • Johnny Scott – vocals, guitar
  • Geraint Watkins- piano
  • Paul Riley- acoustic bass
  • Ian Jennings – double bass
  • Nicky Scott – electric bass
  • Bobby Irwin – drums
  • Bob Loveday – violin
  • Fiachra Trench- vocals, string arrangements
  • Gavyn Wright- string section leader

Track listing:

  1. There Stands the Glass – Alize Gresham, Russ Hull, Mary Jane , Shurtz
  2. Half as Much – Curly Williams
  3. Things Have Gone to Pieces – Leon Payne
  4. Big Blue Diamonds – Earl J. Carson
  5. Playhouse – Van Morrison
  6. Your Cheatin’ Heart – Hank Williams
  7. Don’t You Make Me High – Daniel Barker, Ken Harris
  8. My Bucket’s Got a Hole in It – Clarence Williams
  9. Back Street Affair – Billy Wallace
  10. Pay the Devil – Van Morrison
  11. What Am I Living For? – Art Harris, Fred Jay
  12. This Has Got to Stop – Van Morrison
  13. Once a Day – Bill Anderson
  14. More and More – Merle Kilgore, Webb Pierce
  15. Til I Gain Control Again – Rodney Crowell

Woody Guthrie

On October 3, 1967, Woodrow Wilson “Woody” Guthrie died aged 55. He was musician (guitar), singer-songwriter, whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional, children’s songs, along with ballads and improvised works. He performed with the slogan “This machine kills fascists” displayed on his guitar. His song “This Land Is Your Land” has become one of the most popular music pieces in the history of the American popular music, and is regularly sung in American schools Big number of famous musicians and authors have acknowledged Guthrie as their major influence, including:Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Bruce Springsteen, Harry Chapin, John Mellencamp, Pete Seeger,  Joe Strummer, Billy Bragg, Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, Jeff Tweedy, and Tom Paxton.

Plastic Ono Band: Give Peace A Chance

GPAC

On June 1, 1969, in room 1742, in “Queen Elizabeth Hotel”, in Montreal, Canada,  John Lennon and Yoko Ono recorded the song “Give Peace A Chance”. The song was written by Lennon and recorded by André Perry, using a simple setup of four microphones and a four-track tape recorder. Lennon played acoustic guitar, accompanied by Tommy Smothers from the “Smothers Brothers”, also on acoustic guitar. The recording session was attended by number of journalists and celebrities, including Petula Clark, Timothy Leary, Rabbi Abraham Feinberg, Joseph Schwartz, Rosemary Woodruff Leary, Dick Gregory, Allen Ginsberg, Murray the K and Derek Taylor. The song was released as a single by “Plastic Ono Band” on July 4, 1969 (UK), on “Apple” label. “Give peace a chance” became an anthem of the American anti-war movement during the 70’s.