Billy Burnette "Wrong One Right"

Today is a tale of music royalty. In the 50s, brothers Dorsey Burnette and Johnny Burnette were two of the three members in the legendary Rock and Roll Trio (Paul Burlison was the third one). We are talking the dawn of rock and roll here. And Billy Burnette is to the castle born, as Dorsey Burnette was his dad. The term Rockabilly – well, Billy is the ‘billy’ part of it; his cousin is Rocky. There is a cool short history to be found here.

By age eleven Billy had recorded his first album, and then two years later at thirteen, he toured with Brenda Lee while he was teaching himself to play guitar. Aside from myriad solo projects through the years, Billy spent time playing with the likes of Fleetwood Mac, Roy Orbison and John Fogerty. Among lots of others, Ray Charles, The Everly Brothers, Gregg Allman, and Ringo Starr have recorded his songs. And he had the good taste to cover Peter Green’s classic “Oh Well,” just part one, on the album Memphis in Manhattan in 2008.

Cut to 2011, as we welcome a new release from Billy Burnette called Rock N Roll With It. It is his first studio album in a decade. Later this week, on Saturday, November 12, he will be inducted into the International Rockabilly Hall of Fame in Jackson, TN. Billy has kept it fresh, powerful, and alive for all these years. He brought royalty to Marathon Recorders in Nashville when he came to play for Music Fog: guitar God, Kenny Vaughan, monster drummer Jimmy Lester, and the legendary Dave Roe on upright bass. It don’t get no better, that is for sure, as Billy Burnette pours it on. This is a wake up, a Monday song, so fasten your seat belt, it’s “Wrong One Right.”

-Jessie Scott

Bottle Rockets "Smokin' 100's Alone"

First off, an impassioned plea for you to quit smoking if you still smoke cigarettes.  There ain’t no upside to it, it will make you sick.  It is poison, ya know?  Remember the first drag you ever took; how it made you gag, how the blood rushed to your head, how you might have felt like throwing up? I quit four years ago.  I chewed Nicorette gum until my jaw hurt, but I was over the addiction by the end of one week.  And I didn’t much feel like chewing anymore after that.  And then the trick is, don’t even take a drag, don’t bum, not even one. You can’t waver, or you will be smoking again.

This rant was prompted by “Smokin' 100's Alone,” a masterful portrait from the Bottle Rockets.  Yay! We were finally in the same city, at the same time, and they came in for the Music Fog Fall Marathon.  The band will celebrate their 20th anniversary next year,  and they recently released a new, deconstructed album, Not So Loud: An Acoustic Evening with the Bottle Rockets.  It was recorded in an acoustic setting at a 19th century schoolhouse, and reimagines their songs through the keen eye of American folk music.  Brian Henneman’s voice is a remarkable instrument, as he beseeches us to look at a woman who is questioning her choices. The song was originally on the 1997 album 24 Hours A Day, and can be found on their new album, too.  Today we bring you the Music Fog version, with Mark Ortman on drums and Keith Voegele playing bass, filmed in Nashville last month during Americana Fest.  And what to do with all that money that you’ll be saving by not buying cigs?  Pick up a couple of Brox albums! Hell yeah.

- Jessie Scott

Carrie Rodriguez "I Cry For Love"

The Guy Clark tribute at The Long Center in Austin was a simply marvelous affair; amazing people doing amazing songs.  Guy is the possessor of a lifetime catalog of quiet snapshot moments, insightful reflections, and songs about true love.  As I get older, it seems to me that men are more romantic than women.  Guy’s love songs are tender and heartfelt.  I encourage you to pick up a copy of the new tribute album coming out on December 6th, This One’s For Him, or for that matter, any of Guy’s wonderful albums through the years. Much to dig into. And a special thanks to Tamara Saviano, Dr. Gary Hartman, and Kathleen O’Keefe for a job well done on the show.

This week, we've brought you several unreleased tunes, as we continue to roll out what we captured at Marathon Recorders last month at Americana Fest.  It amazes me that so many artists come to us with brand new tunes. We are humbled by the trust. Today, we bring you a unreleased song from the stunning and massively talented Carrie Rodriguez, written by Chip Taylor. She is touring Europe right now, and you simply have to see her if you are in the UK, Italy, France, or Belgium.  The last time we did a session with her, it was just Carrie and Hans Holzen. This time she bought the whole band. Here's Carrie and Hans,  along with Luke Jacobs, Ryan Lovan, and Kyle Kegerreis, doing “I Cry For Love,” OK maybe the girls are romantic too...!!

- Jessie Scott