Corrine, Corrina - Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys

Corrine, Corrina - Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys

3:25

single, 1940

Written by Charlie McCoy and Bo Chatman, 1928

I thought this song was traditional, but I guess it's credited to the people who first recorded it.  Everybody and their brother has done this song, even Cab Calloway!  I've heard a couple, but am really only familiar with Bob's version.  Anyhoo, this is a great example of jaunty Western swing.  It's a honky-tonk blend of steel guitar twang, piano, and big-band shuffle styles.  The vocal is heavy on aw-shucks personality ("I love Corrina / You know darn well I do"), peppered with cowboy interjections.

California - Joni Mitchell

California - Joni Mitchell

3:50

Blue, 1971

Written by Joni Mitchell

The narrator is in Europe, but pines for California, despite the bad news in the States: "They won't give peace a chance / That was just a dream some of us had."  She says of France, "I wouldn't want to stay here / It's too old and cold and settled in its ways here."  The second verse, in which she sings of meeting "a redneck on a Grecian isle" is about some hippie she met.  She writes about him in "Carey" as well; here she calls him a rogue and says he stole her camera.  Mitchell's voice is the star, but James Taylor plays a subtle, springing acoustic guitar which sets the mood.

Grand Coulee Dam - Woody Guthrie

Grand Coulee Dam - Woody Guthrie

2:12

single, 1941

Written by Woody Guthrie

Based on the traditional tune "Wabash Cannonball," this is a rarely patriotic folk anthem by Guthrie, celebrating the scale and ambition of one of America's great New Deal projects. The feat of civil engineering is elevated into mythic frontier heroism, casting the dam as a symbol of progress and American power. "And there roars the flying fortress now to fight for Uncle Sam, / Spawned upon the King Columbia by the big Grand Coulee Dam."  Hearing an optimistic Guthrie singing not of hardship, but of good old factories humming, is a little odd.

Chantilly Lace - Nashville Teens

Chantilly Lace - Nashville Teens

3:09

single, 1964?

Written by J.P. Richardson

Despite their name, the Nashville Teens were English.  Here, they totally retool the Bopper's big hit and give it a glorious British Invasion garage rock makeover.  They use the telephone call conceit sparingly, upping the tempo and bringing in guitars, hard-hitting drums, and a blues-rock tone akin to Them or the Animals.  The piano is still there, giving it a boogie-woogie aspect, but the delivery is all rock snarl.

I Want Candy - The Strangeloves

I Want Candy - The Strangeloves
2:57
single, 1965
Written by Bert Berns, Bob Feldman, Jerry Goldstein and Richard Gottehrer

Some say this song was inspired by dancer Candy Johnson.  I have heard this hit over the years, of course (it's pretty inescapable, even if only in parody form), but I guess I always assumed it was literally about sugary confectionary.  But it's about a girl!  "Got everything that I desire / Sets the summer sun on fire."  Sung in a schoolyard chant Bo Diddley beat, with primitive-sounding percussion (deep toms, few snares) and only a few guitar lines.  No polish, all swagger and big dumb earworm.  The group pretended they were Australian sheep farmers to get publicity.  How odd.

When You Walk in the Room - Jackie DeShannon

When You Walk in the Room - Jackie DeShannon

2:38

Breakin' It Up On the Beatles Tour!, 1964

Written by Jackie DeShannon

The narrator of the song finds it hard to express her love: "I close my eyes for a second and pretend it's me you want / Meanwhile I try to act so nonchalant."  But the wistful lyrics are belied by her bright, uptempo alto vocal delivery and a surging, chiming guitar sound.  It's got girl-group energy, but the effect is more Merseybeat via singer-songwriter.  Sort of at a crossroads between old-school vocal pop and new rocking pop.  It could be a Carole King number.  

When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again - Elvis Presley

When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again - Elvis Presley

2:22

Elvis, 1956

Written by Wiley Walker and Gene Sullivan, 1940

A toe-tapping, catchy song of lost love and hope ("When my blue moon turns to gold again / You’ll be back within my arms to stay"), showing the King's early mastery of blending country, gospel, and rockabilly into something unmistakably his own.  Elvis electrifies the song with his smooth, yearning vocals and a light, swinging rhythm, not quite honky-tonk nor full-blown rock swagger, but definitely devlivered with confidence and talent.

When the Ship Comes In [live] - Bob Dylan

When the Ship Comes In [live] - Bob Dylan
3:05
The Bootleg Series Vol. 7: No Direction Home: The Soundtrack, 2005 (recorded 1963)

Written by Bob Dylan

One of my favorite early Dylan songs.  I love the insistent guitar that propels the song along, the melody and pitch rising and falling like waves.  It's like a gospel march wrapped in a folk protest song.  This version was recorded at Carnegie Hall on October 26, 1963.  It doesn't differ a great deal from the studio version (which runs at 3:14) — that live show prerequisite would come with later, grumpier Dylan — but it's such a terrific song, I'll hear it again only slightly tweaked, I don't mind.

When I Stop Dreaming - The Louvin Brothers

When I Stop Dreaming - The Louvin Brothers

2:25

single, 1955

Written by Charlie Louvin and Ira Louvin

An in-harmony country weeper, blending close brother-duet singing with deep Appalachian bluegrass and gospel and early honky-tonk influences.  Its aching, sorrowful style helped define the emerging genre of country heartbreak ballads: "You can teach all the raindrops to return to the clouds / But you can’t teach my heart to forget."  The song asserts unrelenting love and grief lasting beyond death, the message simple and devastatingly pure. It’s a cornerstone of the stylistic roots of modern country and Americana music.

When This River Rolls Over You - The Stands

When This River Rolls Over You - The Stands

2:58

All Years Leaving, 2004

Written by Howie Payne

This song is coated in vocal harmonies, harmonica breaks, gently jangling guitars, and it practically exudes nostalgia, especially the Byrds and early Bob Dylan.  Lyrically and in the guitar and nasal vocal delivery and imagery, Dylan is a towering shadow here.  "Ain't it a shame babe how your words fall in an empty place / No one to follow or to trace."  I like it, but I would not have been surprised to hear it was from the late '60s.