YOU ALL DECIDED "BEARDS" AT THE SAME TIME?

Photo: Jim McGuire

It might be because of Dave Dudley's "Two Six Packs Away" that I kind of include country and western beer drinking music as an extension of trucker music. You gotta know it was on the juke boxes at all the truck stops all over the damn place. And Dudley also did "Six Days on the Road", hence a link. But the weird thing is, when I hear beer drinking type country that sounds like trucker music, I always envision the subject of the song at their local bar, just down the road, not a truck stop. That's where you'll find him between hauls. You're not going to get home and then go out to a truck stop. You're going to hook up with your buddies at the bar. And drink. Beer.

Dudley is, to me, the big daddy, the Chuck Berry of this type of music. Check him out in that photo above. The regal regular. Full on "don't fuck with me, kid" face. Think about that badass the next time you encounter some hipster douche thinking he's hot shit with his overpriced PBR.

Here's a mixed bag of drinking songs. The must-listen is "Two Six Packs Away". Dudley sounds drunk.

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Listen:
Dave Dudley - Two Six Packs Away mp3 at Rocky 52
Dave Dudley - Six Days on the Road mp3 at J.Yuenger
Hank Thompson - Six pack to Go (streaming) at YouTube
Ray Sunders - Beer Drinkin' Music mp3 at Internet Archive
Johnny Bond - You Can Tell the Man Who Boozes By the Company He Chooses mp3 at Internet Archive

SUCK ON THIS HIPSTER

I heard Hank Thompson's "Six Pack to Go" today, early. Before I'd even had a second cup of coffee, in a store that was piping in old school country and western music. It was weird hearing it that early. It's always been a going out or going home sort of song. But, man, what a way to start the day. I had to post it, and good ol' dependable Junk Shop Juke Box had it.

It made me want to post Dave Dudley's "Two Six Packs Away" for the umpteenth time. (That's Dudley above.) Yes, it's another six pack song, but it also gave me an excuse to slap some "Six Days on the Road" on you. And how about that  badass photo above? (By Jim McGuire, the full size can be seen here). Check him out. That right there is the real deal. Dudley at age 48, regular guy, bad habit, cool windbreaker, and irony-free PBR patch in tow.

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Listen:
Hank Thompson - Six Pack to Go mp3 (via DivShare) at Junk Shop Juke Box

Once you get to DivShare, click on the green "Download" button, and scratch your head for fifteen seconds while the timer counts down. When the button reappears, you're good to go.

Dave Dudley - Two Six Packs Away mp3 at Rocky 52
Dave Dudley - Six Days on the Road mp3 at J.Yuenger

HEY OPRY, SUCK ON THIS

You may have heard that Kitty Wells passed away today. I'm not going to sit here and pretend that I have much in the dark recesses filed away about her, so here's a scant few factoids. She was contemplating retirement in 1952, after only three years as a solo singer, when she was approached to record "It Wasn't God That Made Honky Tonk Angels." She agreed to record it because she was to receive $125, union scale at the time. It was an answer song to Hank Thompson's "The Wild Side of Life." Thompson's song was your basic woe is me type country song, with wimpering about his woman leaving him, how he's the only one who ever loved her, and lamenting about her partying tendencies. Wells's song basically cried bullshit on that, saying that cheating men are to blame for women leaving. Doesn't sound like a big deal does it? Well, the Grand Ole Opry thought so, banning Wells, and the song. That is, until it became a #1 hit on the country and western charts, the first by a woman. (Remind me, who made the Opry the experts anyway?) Wells went on to record some fifty albums and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1976. I guess she showed them.

Here's two Kitty Wells answer songs, and the dudes who inspired the comebacks (courtesy of Carnival Saloon), along with some Wells what not.

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Listen:
Hank Thompson - The Wild Side of Life at Carnival Saloon
Kitty Wells - It Wasn't God That Made Honky Tonk Angels at Carnival Saloon
Webb Pierce - Back Street Affair at Carnival Saloon
Kitty Wells - Paying For That Back Street Affair at Carnival Saloon
Kitty Wells - My Big Truck Drivin' Man mp3 at Beware of the Blog
Kitty Wells - I Heard The Juke Box Playing mp3 at Probe Is Turning-On the People
Kitty Wells- Release Me mp3 at Rocky-52
Visit:
Kitty Wells at Wikipedia

HAYSEED PAYDIRT

So, what to pick up for that retro roots fiend on your list? You know, the one who thinks they have everything sewn up. They have their cowboy shirts, Levis, pomade, boots, vintage ride and a few Hank Williams and Gene Vincent records. They've spent so much time covering the bases, getting all the required accessories, they've now considered their job finished, and retired to the bathroom mirror. Here's what you do: send them to school. Run down to your local drug store and pick up a couple packs of blank CD-Rs. Then head over to Western & Bop for the motherlode. The amount of genre specific stuff they've got is mindblowing. Really, they have all the bases covered. Hillbilly, rockin' hillbilly, obscure rockabilly, western swing, trucker favorites and more; and much of it obscure.

It will take a little bit of effort. The music they've posted is all in album length RAR files, which, if you're technically inclined, is no big deal. If you don't have experience with RAR files, or don't have a converter, it's easy enough to find one online (for Windows, try WinRAR at C.net). Look, if I can figure it out, you can. The payoff is huge. Here's direct links to their posts with "Rockin' Hillbilly" compilations, but do browse. If you're into anything affiliated with old country & western music, bookmarking should be a reflex. Now tell your greaser to get back to work!

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Rockin' Hillbilly - Volume 1, Volume 2, Volume 3, Volume 4, Volume 5, Volume 6, Volume 7, Volume 8, Volume 9, Volume 10 at Western & Bop

More country & western, hillbilly, western swing, trucker's favorites, and rockabilly compilations at Western & Bop

BIG FAT THANK YOU

Barstool Mountain's first post from the Top 100 Drinking Songs is "A Six Pack to Go" by Hank Thompson. I think he posted it early as a result of my last post, where I all but begged for it. Someone in Chicago buy the man a beer and send me the bill.

"A Six Pack to Go" is a near perfect drinking song. It has the requisite twang, pedal steel, easy-to-remember lyrics and just a dash of remorse.