Christmas Time’s A Comin

Johnny Cash, June Carter, Kris Kristofferson and Rita Coolidge perform a wonderfully cornball “Christmas Time’s A Comin’” from The Johnny Cash Christmas Special 1978. Kris and Rita met at a ticket counter in 1972 and managed to end up seated beside each other on a plane heading to Tennessee– Kristofferson was going for an interview with Look magazine and Coolidge to rehearse with her band (she’d just released her first album and was prepping for a tour). They fell in love on that plane, were married in 1973, had a daughter, appeared together in Sam Peckinpah’s Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid and made three albums together before calling it quits just a bit after this video was filmed in 1979.

Don Van Vliet, a.k.a. Captain Beefheart, died yesterday. He would’ve turned 70 on January 15th. Here he is on “Late Night with David Letterman” in 1982, explaining to Dave how a member of his band acquired the name Richard “Midnight Hat Size” Snyder. R.I.P. Captain.

Sometimes great things do come in little packages. For instance, Blood is the New Black‘s pop-up shop in Echo Park. Open since mid-November, Blood is the New Black(market) is packed with loads of gifts for everyone on your holiday gift list all under $50. Located at 1825 W Sunset Blvd, with hours going as late as 11 PM for all you late night shoppers, the store is only open until December 28th.

Ranging from Portland General Store toiletries for the dudes in your life (which we featured back in September)  to beautiful jewelry from Beard of Stars, Species by the Thousands, Laura Lombardi, and Alex and Chloe for the ladies, plus tees from Blood is the New Black, books, zines, records, mix tapes and prints, home-made brittles from Morning Glory Confections, and calendars for the coming year from The Wild Unknown, you’ll have no trouble picking up something for everyone.

Stock in all styles is extremely limited, so when it’s gone, its gone. Don’t say we didn’t give you a heads up!
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Van Morrison- Ballerina

Van Morrison performing “Ballerina” live at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland in 1974.

Bill Monroe & his Blue Grass Boys – Close By

Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys performing “Close By” on The Country Show: with Stars of the Grand Ole Opry in 1955. The Boys include Charlie Cline on the banjo, Ernie Newton on the bass, Jackie Phelps on the guitar and Bobby Hicks, Red Taylor & Gordon Terry on the fiddle.

We are giving away three (3) pairs of tickets to see John Grant, ex-frontman for the Czars,  with the Chapin Sisters and J. Tillman tomorrow night,  December 16th at the Autry Museum in Griffith Park. Three amazing acts in one night! To win tix, e-mail whenyouawakela @ gmail.com (subject: John Grant) and tell us your favorite song about cowboys (in honor of Gene Autry, aka the Singing Cowboy). Include your first and last name in the email. Three winners will be picked and contacted.

John Grant (feat. Midlake)-I Wanna Go To Marz

Charlie Louvin – Hickory Wind

“Gram was a weird boy,” mutters the 83 year-old post-op country legend Charles Loudermilk (better known as Charlie Louvin) in this video taken at the Americana Music Festival in Nashville, TN back in September. The Battle Rages On as he promotes his latest album of war songs and continues to make a good recovery in his fight against pancreatic cancer.  Louvin first performed this Parsons tune a year ago at the Gram Parsons Guitar Pull in Waycross, GA. Sure, it’s a bit off, but no amount of cancer is gonna stop him from keeping on and callin’ us home, hickory wind.