Thursday, July 30, 2009

Mmm, yeah, Merle doing western swing...

...at Willie's Place, Sirius Ch. 64: "...in your hearrrrt, please just remember...right or wrong, I'm still in love with you...."
I had heard about Merle Haggard's Tribute to the Best Damn Fiddle Player in the World a few times over the years, as it was the record that got George Strait interested in Western swing. I finally picked it up about eight years ago, and, just like everything else Haggard touched over his career, it was solid gold. He actually recorded it with a few members of the Texas Playboys, and you can tell by listening to it they were having a ball. With the way Haggard sang it you can tell he really loved that music, too. I was honestly surprised to find out it was still in print, but from what I remember quite a few of Haggard's albums have been reissued on cd. I highly recommend that one.
...and for you know who...all those times I sang you the fat bug song? ("Roly Poly," for the rest of y'all...) Merle Haggard's version, from this album, was the one I was singing...