“A COUNTRY LIVING LEGEND” – by Des Kelly

HE IS ONE OF A VERY FEW ACTUAL LIVING LEGENDS OF COUNTRY MUSIC, OR THE “MUSIC OF LIFE”, AS I REFER TO IT. HAS BEEN AROUND WITH PAST ICONS (IN MY BOOK), SUCH AS MERLE HAGGARD, GEORGE JONES, RAY PRICE, AND CHARLEY PRIDE, TO NAME JUST A FEW, STILL PLAYS AN ACOUSTIC/ELECTRIC GUITAR THAT HAS CERTAINLY SEEN BETTER DAYS, NAMED TRIGGER (AFTER ROY ROGER’S HORSE), HAS “BEEN THERE & DONE THAT”, WITH THE BEST OF THEM, INCLUDING THE LATE, GREAT WAYLON JENNINGS, HE CERTAINLY LOOKS THE PART, AND HIS AGE, AND DOES NOT EVER BOTHER TO EVEN TRY TO LOOK ANY YOUNGER THAN HE IS, ALTHOUGH

WILLIE NELSON WAS QUITE A HANDSOME YOUNG DUDE DURING HIS HALCYON DAYS, QUITE A FEW YEARS AGO.

WHAT STRUCK ME ABOUT WILLIE NELSON WAS HIS “STYLE” OF SINGING. SURE, HIS TONES ARE SLIGHTLY MORE NASAL THAN GUYS SUCH AS RAY PRICE, JOHNNY CASH, JIM REEVES, AND MANY OTHERS OF THE SAME CALIBRE, ALL OF WHOM WERE TRUE COUNTRY “STARS”, BUT WILLIE WOULD ALWAYS SING HIS SONGS IN WHAT WOULD BE TERMED “OFF-BEAT”TO LISTENERS WHO WERE NOT MUSICALLY-MINDED, BUT, SPEAKING MUSICALLY, NOT IN CADENCE, WITH THE REST OF THE MUSICIANS PLAYING THE GIVEN MUSIC. HOWEVER, THE BEAUTY OF THE WILLIE NELSON METHOD HAS ALWAYS STRUCK ME AS BEING “OFF-TEMPO”, AND YET, “IN-TIME”, IN A MANNER SOMEWHAT FOREIGN TO OTHER MUSOS.

THE SONG I HAVE CHOSEN FOR ALL MY E’LANKA READERS AND MEMBERS IS ONE OFMY FAVOURITE SONGS, PERIOD. ONCE YOUHAVE HEARD IT, MY FRIENDS, YOU WILL WANT TO LISTEN TO IT OVER AND OVER AGAIN.

IT IS CERTAINLY THE BEST VERSION OF THIS BEAUTIFUL SONG, AND I AM PROUD TO PRESENT IT TO EVERYONE IN EXACTLY THE SAME WAY I PRESENT ANY REQUESTS FOR SONGS OR MUSIC -ONLY THE BEST VERSIONS AVAILABLE.

PLEASE REQUEST AWAY, AND I WILL PLAY.

Desmond Kelly.

(Editor-in-Chief)  e’Lanka.