I like some country. I've said that before. That love stems from growing up in a small town that had a jukebox full of the stuff. The country I like, however, tends to take a more pop approach. Not that I don't like some hardcore country too, but for the most part, what I like is a little more mainstream.
Johnny Lee is a prime example of what I like. The first Johnny Lee song I heard was Lookin' for Love, which appeared on the Urban Cowboy soundtrack. I thought that was a great song, singable, cool as hell. The next song was Cherokee Fiddle, also on the Urban Cowboy soundtrack. Loved that even more.
Check out the first verse, pre-chorus, and chorus to Cherokee Fiddle.
Check out the first verse, pre-chorus, and chorus to Cherokee Fiddle.
Cherokee Fiddle (Michael Martin Murphey)
Verse1
When the train rolled into the station,
Rolled up his sleeves and rosined up his bow.
Fiddled upside down . . .
Orange Blossom Special.
'Cause if you wanna make a livin' you gotta put on a good show.
Pre-Chorus
When he'd smell the smoke and the cinders,
He'd slick back his hair and open up his case.
Chorus
Play a Cherokee fiddle.
He'd play it for the whiskey
'Cause good whiskey never let him lose his place.
Those are great lyrics. Whether you like country or not, I urge you to listen to this tune. Let me know what you think. It's a great song with a nice groove.
By the time I'd heard those two tracks, I knew I wanted a little more Johnny Lee, so I took my happy butt to the record store and bought Johnny Lee's Greatest Hits on CD. Besides having the two songs I really dug, this CD had eight more songs, each one as hip as the two I already dug. There's the nice country ballad Prisoner of Hope, the feel-good When You Fall in Love (you'll recognize the signs), and the uptempo love song One in a Million.
Johnny Lee didn't do much writing, but he certainly knew how to pick a song. I've been listening to these tunes for a long time and haven't gotten tired of them yet.
