Wednesday 3 March 2010

The Happy Hammond Goes - Pop Country

The influence of country music on the British charts over the past few years has been more substantial than many people realise. From the 'King' of country music Hank Williams Jnr. came three of his greatest million sellers namely "Your Cheatin' Heart", "Jumbalaya" and "Hey, Good Lookin'"; these form the basis of a very interesting collection of classic country melodies arranged specially for the Hammond organ.

You don't have to be a country and western fan to enjoy this album as it is styled to suit all tastes. If you were not sure of the origins of these songs this will serve as a tribute to the contemporary country writers whose material falls into many categories.

Gerry Butler was taught the rudiments of music at the age of six by his father, a notorious "pub" pianist in the Stockton-On-Tees area. Such was Gerry's ability that several 'breaks' in his schooling were caused by the objections of his headmaster to his playing in a dance band. After completing his National Service with the R.A.F. ha has played with the following orchestras:- The Blue Rockets, Teddy Foster, Vic Lewis, Oscar Rabin and before going freelance, ten years with Bob Miller as staff arranger.

Side One

1. Gentle On My Mind
2. Detroit City
3. Release Me
4. Jumbalaya
5. A Million Tears From Now
6. Hey Good Lookin'

Side Two

1. He'll Have To Go
2. King Of The Road
3. Take These Chains From My Heart
4. Little Green Apples
5. Silver On The Table
6. Your Cheatin' Heart

SHM 701 - 1970

1 comment:

  1. Hey there! Love yr site, but I can't find a link for a lot of these....like this one....I thought I knew how to dig up links on ANY page, but you've got me stumped....thoughts?

    ReplyDelete