An All American Band: The Drive-By Truckers

A few years back, my friend and co-blogger Fletcher McNeill told me that an indie Southern Rock band, The Drive-By Truckers was coming to town. He asked me if I wanted to go see them perform live. Not the biggest fan of Southern Rock, except the original Allman Brothers Band, I nonetheless paid attention when I later heard a few tunes by DBT on the radio and was impressed. I then purchased their latest CD at the time, The Dirty South, and started listening to it more intently.

I was flabbergasted by the songwriting, especially for "Where the Devil Don't Stay," "It Sounded Like a Train," and "Carl Perkins' Cadillac." And the songs grew on me even more as I listened to them repeatedly. The Austin City Limits website says that DBT "surveys the modern South with a complex blend of realism-tempered pride and compassionate but uncompromising analysis," and I agree.

The ballad "Carl Perkins' Cadillac," written in the third person, tells the story of how Sam Phillips, the founder of Sun Records, promised (and subsequently delivered) a Cadillac to the first artist who worked for him to achieve a gold record in sales. The song, in a flowing and reverent manner invokes the names of many of the founders of rock and roll -- Carl Perkins, Elvis, and Johnny Cash. Not coincidentally, DBT hails from the mini-musical mecca Muscle Shoals, Alabama, also the source of Sam Phillip's roots. The Muscle Shoals area continues to produce interesting new bands like DBT and Fiddleworms.

Back in 2004, attending that DBT live show with Fletcher, left me, in a word, amazed. The Truckers performed for several hours, going through a large chunk of their repertoire. Since then, despite personnel changes, they continue to put out quality albums. Still, I must confess that The Dirty South continues to be my favorite.

Enjoy "Never Gonna Change" from The Dirty South!




On a side note, DBT served as the backup band for Bettye Lavette's 2007 break-out album, The Scene of the Crime, which I mentioned in a previous blog.

Peaking at 64

In the spring of 2008, I attended a Houston cultural festival, called iFest (i for International) to see a performance by guitar blues legend Buddy Guy (who was terrific). However, the warm-up act, a one-hit wonder R&B singer named Bettye LaVette, also blew me away. Her phrasing, the way she conveys emotion, is amazing. It turns out that I was not alone in my assessment and that LaVette was just hitting her stride. The past couple years have been very good for Ms. LaVette. Since that show, she has gone on to:

- Win a BMA (Blues Music Award) for Best Contemporary Female Blues Singer
- Perform a show-stopping version of "A Change is Gonna to Come" as a duet with Jon Bon Jovi at the Obama Inauguration Concert

Bettye LaVette, who turned 64 this year, is getting more attention now than she did for most of her career. She recorded her first song in 1962, when she was 16, and has been working as an entertainer ever since. That song, "My Man - He's a Lovin' Man" became a Top Ten R&B Hit. Her next hit, 1965's "Let Me Down Easy," led to a tour with The James Brown Revue.

Watching this video of her performing The Who's "Love Reign O'er Me" at the 2008 Kennedy Center Honors, you can see clearly why she is suddenly receiving the attention she deserves:

When I saw her perform, she mostly performed work from her 2007 album, The Scene of the Crime, telling powerful stories and transforming country songs. On that album she is backed up by the alt-country band, The Drive-By Truckers, a group I will feature in a future blog posting. A special treat is the one song she wrote, her autobiographical "Before the Money Came".

On her website, Ms. LaVette is promoting her new album, Interpretations: The British Rock Songbook, which will be released on May 24th. This summer she will be touring with Robert Plant. A line from a review in this week's New York York Times proclaims, " Ms. LaVette, 64, now rivals Aretha Franklin as her generation’s most vital soul singer."

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