It’s time for another abrupt change of pace with these songs. Late sixties Country should do the trick. This is another song bursting with nostalgia for me and once again harken back to my Grandma and Grandpa Schmidt’s various camper vans and motorhomes.
Homer and Jethro, while certainly my favourite, were not the only musicians dubbed onto cassette tapes wrapped in vivid pink case labels and stored in a homemade tape box shoved under the driver’s seat of the aforementioned campers. The second most memorable cassette was a mix of Classic Country tunes. I’ll be honest, part of me remembers these being on the flip side to the Homer and Jethro stuff but it must have been a separate cassette. Whatever, I distinctly remember listening to “Carroll County Accident” by Porter Wagoner and a small collection of greatest hits from this guy. Yeah, my youth was pretty special.
This guy is no slouch or obscure chart topper. Charley Pride would certainly register as a giant of Country music and I was introduced to him via dubbed cassettes in my Grandpa’s van. It’s the Canadian dream. I was fond of many of Charley’s songs on that tape. “Crystal Chandeliers” was a biggie, as was “Kiss an Angel Good Morning”, but it was this song that was my favourite. I think it likely had something to do with my voice changing and suddenly being able to mimic the chorus, especially that little slide down for the “me”. Yeah…special.
Damn it would be fun to go back, even for just a day, and listen to those tapes in the motorhome parked behind the Printery. Alas, memories are all I got. I’m going to kick off the weekend with a time travel trip in my mind thanks to my favourite Charley Pride song, “Just Between You and Me” from his 1969 album Charley Pride in Person.
Studio Version:
Live Version:
Leave a Reply