As a fan of a wide variety of popular (and not-so-popular) music from the 1950s (and sometimes even earlier) up through the present, one of my bucket list projects for years has been to put together a list of my 100 favorite songs of all time. At some point I decided that, once I got around to figuring that out, I could put it out on a blog, for the infinitesimally small proportion of the Internet world that might be interested. So, here we are. While the Top 100 will be a major focus, I also plan to post on a variety of other musical (and occasionally non-musical) topics, in which you may or may not be interested. (If a particular posting doesn’t ring your bell, you’re only a few clicks away from a dancing cat video on YouTube.)

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Favorite Musical Artists: Lyle Lovett


It’s more or less a coincidence that Lyle Lovett comes up right after Mary Chapin Carpenter. Fans of the latter, of course, are sure to be familiar with these lines from “I Feel Lucky”:
 
Now eleven million later, I was sittin' at the bar.
I bought the house a double, then the waitress a new car.
Dwight Yoakam's in the corner, tryin' to catch my eye.
Lyle Lovett's right beside me with his hand upon my thigh.
[obviously with her consent; see chorus below]
I feel lucky,
I feel lucky, yeah.
Hey Dwight, hey Lyle, boys, you don't have to fight.
Hot dog, I feel lucky tonight.
 
(I have to admit I started to wonder, when in recent years it became annoyingly typical for the two of them to appear at Wolf Trap on back-to-back evenings, forcing me either to choose between them or endure two late nights in a row.)
 
The best summary of Lovett’s music I could find came from Last.fm: “Lyle Lovett is an Americana singer-songwriter and actor from Klein, Texas, who has been described as "the thinking man's cowboy". While typically associated with the alt-country genre, his albums typically incorporate folk, swing, blues, jazz and gospel music as well as more traditional country & western styles.”
 
Concert notes (all from appearances at Wolf Trap with his Large Band unless otherwise noted): 2019 2018 2017 (at Strathmore with John Hiatt) 2016 2015
 
Favorite songs:
 
If I Had A Boat
That's Right (You're Not From Texas)
Here I Am
Closing Time
Church
 
She's No Lady
I Will Rise Up/Ain't No More Cane
What Do You Do/The Glory Of Love
Simple Song
Penguins
 
Nobody Knows Me
Don't Touch My Hat
L.A. County
Good Intentions
My Baby Don’t Tolerate
 
North Dakota
Family Reserve
Pass Me Not O Gentle Savior
Wallisville Road
Which Way Does That Old Pony Run
 
Bonus tracks -- Funny How Time Slips Away (duet with Al Green), and Francine Reed’s performance of Wild Women Don't Get the Blues (always a highlight of his Large Band shows)

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