Did you ever think you'd be hearing Paul McCartney singing a bluegrass song?
That's the talk this week and the subject that has been filling scores of newspaper stories and blog posts from the smallest weekly publication all the way up to the Wall Street Journal. All due to the upcoming release next Tuesday of comedian Steve Martin's 2nd Bluegrass CD which features Paul McCartney singing the lead on one of Martin's original compositions, "Best Love"
Well, as it turns out the stars have been aligning to that particular combination for some time. Many Lennon/McCartney compositions have been recorded or played live by others with bluegrass arrangements for some time. The IBMA series of Webinars this month focuses on What we can learn from The Beatles' Music. The Beatles own 1965 version of the Buck Owen's classic "Act Naturally" could easily have been a "Bluegrass Beatles Song" had they directed it to be so.
When one looks at how various musical trends evolve, the Beatles and Bluegrass are not really that far apart after all. The original 1956 Quarrymen with John and Paul (who joined the band in Oct. 1957) were a SKIFFLE Band.
Skiffle is a type of popular music with jazz, blues, folk, roots and country influences, usually using homemade or improvised instruments. Originating as a term in the United States in the first half of the twentieth century, it became popular again in the UK in the 1950s.
Skiffle is very much akin to Appalachian Mountain Music which is where Bluegrass originated. Today, a more popular term is JUG BAND music (using a mix of traditional and home-made instruments). Many bluegrass bands and JUG BANDS use the same song material.
Of course, it's not the first time McCartney has done bluegrass. In 1958 the group, The Quarrymen recorded "In Spite of All the Danger" - a song written by Paul McCartney and George Harrison. Could this "Skiffle" song actually be the first "Beatle Bluegrass"?
Then in 1991, on MTV's "Unplugged" series, McCartney performed "Blue Moon of Kentucky" in both bluegrass and rockabilly styles.
So Steve Martin's "Best Love" recorded with The Steep Canyon Ranges and Paul McCartney is not really that far off the mark.
For some, this may not qualify as traditional bluegrass due to the instrumentation variation. With a stroke of genius, Nicki Sanders, the Steep Canyon Rangers Fiddle player sat down in the studio, on recording day none the less, and wrote the cello part for this song. Paul McCartney's voice with a cello is one unbeatable combination.
Hear the song: "Best Love" this week on Prescription Bluegrass.
- Ricky Skaggs / I Know What It Means To Be Lonesome
- Rhonda Vincent and the Rage // Muleskinner Blues
- Larry Stephenson /// Poor Old Cora
- Scott Holstein / Clinch Mountain Hills
- Ralph Stanley // Brand New Tennessee Waltz.
- Spring Creek /// Clinch Mountain Freak-Out
- Nu Blu / I Won't Be Around
- The Peter Rowan Bluegrass Band // The Family Demon
- Will White /// Wild Flower
- Steve Martin/Steep Canyon Rangers w/Paul McCartney / Best Love
- Pickin' On The Beatles // Love Me Do
- Tom Rozum / Don't Fix Up The Doghouse
- Jack Cooke / I'm Walking The Dog
- Red White and the Dixie Blue Grass Band / Salty Dog Rag
- The Nashville Bluegrass Band //// Doghouse Blues
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