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Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter

Related threads:
Lyr Req: San Francisco Mabel Joy (Mickey Newbury) (4)
Lyr Req: Heaven Help the Child (Mickey Newbury) (3)
Obit: Mickey Newbury (1940-2002) (6)
Help: American Trilogy (4)
Lyr: San Francisco Mabel Joy (Mickey Newbury) (8)
Lyr Req: Just Dropped In (Mickey Newbury) (3)
Lyr Req: Why You Been Gone So Long (Mickey Newbury (3)


Beer 14 Jan 11 - 12:55 PM
pdq 14 Jan 11 - 01:37 PM
lefthanded guitar 14 Jan 11 - 04:14 PM
Joe Offer 14 Jan 11 - 04:19 PM
Beer 14 Jan 11 - 04:31 PM
pdq 14 Jan 11 - 04:43 PM
maeve 15 Jan 11 - 04:13 AM
Acorn4 15 Jan 11 - 04:24 AM
gnu 15 Jan 11 - 05:20 AM
Acorn4 15 Jan 11 - 08:07 AM
bobad 15 Jan 11 - 08:19 AM
GUEST,bankley 15 Jan 11 - 10:37 AM
Beer 15 Jan 11 - 11:52 AM
Jeri 15 Jan 11 - 12:09 PM
Jeri 15 Jan 11 - 12:25 PM
GUEST,Larry Saidman 15 Jan 11 - 12:34 PM
Beer 15 Jan 11 - 12:37 PM
bobad 15 Jan 11 - 12:49 PM
pdq 15 Jan 11 - 01:36 PM
rumanci 15 Jan 11 - 01:39 PM
GUEST,Larry Saidman 15 Jan 11 - 02:12 PM
GUEST,Larry Saidman 15 Jan 11 - 02:19 PM
pdq 15 Jan 11 - 02:26 PM
Beer 15 Jan 11 - 02:36 PM
Beer 15 Jan 11 - 02:41 PM
Dorothy Parshall 15 Jan 11 - 04:25 PM
GUEST,Tom Ghent 15 Jan 11 - 09:55 PM
GUEST,Tom Ghent 15 Jan 11 - 10:06 PM
pdq 15 Jan 11 - 10:20 PM
GUEST 16 Jan 11 - 06:12 AM
GUEST,Tom Ghent 16 Jan 11 - 06:18 AM
Beer 16 Jan 11 - 08:41 AM
GUEST,bankley 16 Jan 11 - 09:33 AM
pdq 16 Jan 11 - 10:31 AM
GUEST 16 Jan 11 - 06:16 PM
GUEST,Tom Ghent 16 Jan 11 - 06:18 PM
GUEST,Tom Ghent 16 Jan 11 - 08:18 PM
pdq 16 Jan 11 - 08:33 PM
pdq 16 Jan 11 - 08:37 PM
Stewie 16 Jan 11 - 09:09 PM
Beer 16 Jan 11 - 09:26 PM
pdq 16 Jan 11 - 09:40 PM
Beer 16 Jan 11 - 09:43 PM
GUEST,Tom Ghent 17 Jan 11 - 07:31 AM
Beer 17 Jan 11 - 07:46 AM
GUEST,Tom Ghent 17 Jan 11 - 08:38 AM
GUEST,bankley 17 Jan 11 - 11:49 AM
GUEST,Tom Ghent 17 Jan 11 - 07:51 PM
GUEST,jim 18 Jan 11 - 02:02 PM
Beer 18 Jan 11 - 08:49 PM
Beer 18 Jan 11 - 09:03 PM
GUEST,jim 19 Jan 11 - 04:50 AM
GUEST,Tom Ghent 19 Jan 11 - 06:43 AM
GUEST,Tom Ghent 19 Jan 11 - 07:13 AM
GUEST,Tom Ghent 19 Jan 11 - 07:17 AM
GUEST,bankley 19 Jan 11 - 07:54 AM
bobad 19 Jan 11 - 08:16 AM
Beer 19 Jan 11 - 09:18 AM
GUEST,Tom Ghent 20 Jan 11 - 10:20 AM
Beer 20 Jan 11 - 04:17 PM
GUEST,Tom Ghent 20 Jan 11 - 05:23 PM
GUEST,Larry Saidman 22 Jan 11 - 01:28 AM
GUEST,Tom Ghent 22 Jan 11 - 08:40 PM
GUEST,Larry Saidman 23 Jan 11 - 02:22 AM
GUEST,bankley 23 Jan 11 - 04:15 PM
GUEST 28 Apr 11 - 06:10 PM
Larry The Radio Guy 24 Sep 13 - 03:47 PM
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Subject: Mickey Newbury Top Songwriter
From: Beer
Date: 14 Jan 11 - 12:55 PM

There has only been 5 threads started on Mr. Newbury and these totaled 23 comments. One thread was on his passing and there were 6 post's.
Strange that for a singer songwriter he is really not that well known except for a few that are in his league as well. The following is taken from his web site.

The Reverence As a writer's writer, Mickey is highly praised by the crème de la crème:
 Steve Earle: "Mickey is the godfather of all of us Texas writers."
 John Prine: "Mickey Newbury is probably the best songwriter ever."
 Sam Phillips: "One of the greatest songwriters and performers… a rare talent."
 Steve Young: "What a great and soulful writer he was. He is and always will be a hero of mine."
 Willie Nelson: "He was one of the best writers we've ever had and one of the best friends I've ever had."
 Lorrie Morgan: "My greatest teacher was Mickey, who would sit with me for hours and explain songwriting to me..."
 Rodney Crowell: "When I first arrived in Nashville, I was really transformed by Mickey, and for many years,
I emulated Mickey Newbury."
 Waylon Jennings: "If you don't like to hear Mickey Newbury, you're not American." (Waylon also spoke of "Hank
Williams' pain songs and Newbury's train songs…")
 Larry Jon Wilson: "Newbury was and is in my broadest memory my favorite songwriter. There's no question of that.
There's him there alone and then there's all the rest of us."
 Tom Russell: "I'd tell him how much I loved his songs. He was the master of the middle tempo ballad... Killer songs
and sentiments. Few of us would have the guts to write like that."
 Johnny Cash: Mickey's neighbor on Old Hickory Lake referred to Mickey as a "poet" and in 1971 on national TV,
Johnny introduced him as "one of the finest writers in the country."
 Larry Gatlin: "In 1971, Dottie West told me I looked enough like Mickey that I had to be able to write songs. I might
have looked like him, but I sure couldn't write like him. He was one of a kind."
 Joan Baez: "There was something very special about Mickey. He wrote endlessly... beautiful, heart-wrenching,
sad scores of music, and I'm not sure where all that came from; he was very pleasant. I just considered him a friend."
 Kris Kristofferson: "God, I learned more about songwriting from Mickey than I did any other single human being.
To me he was a songbird. He comes out with amazing words and music... I'm sure that I never would have written
Bobby McGee, Sunday Morning Coming Down... if I had never known Mickey. He was my hero and still is."
(Kristofferson also told Mojo magazine in March, 2008 that he had the rhythm of Newbury's Why You Been Gone So
Long going in the back of his mind when he wrote Me and Bobby McGee.)

http://www.mickeynewbury.com/

Here is a touching song by him.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UM2PKcLSaYA

Ad.


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Subject: RE: Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter
From: pdq
Date: 14 Jan 11 - 01:37 PM

Impossible to classify his man, which means his work will not be dated anytime soon.

We He went to the Bay Area to check out what was happening in the late '60s.

He has a couple of songs on the 1971 Big Sur Folk Festival Record, along with Joan Baez, Mimi Farina, Kris Kristopherson and an amazing "Ain'tNobody's Business" by Taj Mahal. Record never has made it to CD format, at least not yet.


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Subject: RE: Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter
From: lefthanded guitar
Date: 14 Jan 11 - 04:14 PM

He's always been one of my favorites- a friend and I play his songs whenever we get the chance- a songwriter's songwriter.
His songs just get under your skin and resonate for ever.

I believe WFUV did a segment devoted to his music one afternoon last year.


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Subject: RE: Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter
From: Joe Offer
Date: 14 Jan 11 - 04:19 PM

What can be said about him, Adrien? He was a good guy and a terrific songwriter. There's only so many ways to say that. You can't really discuss his songs too much, because his diction was good and his ideas were clear and it was easy to understand what he wrote.

He's certainly worthy of discussion, but what's to discuss? I think it's best to just sit back and enjoy his music.

-Joe-

I see we didn't even post an obituary in his obituary thread. Here's the bio from his Website, http://www.mickeynewbury.com:

    Mickey Newbury was born Milton Sims Newbury Jr. in Houston Texas, May 19, 1940 to Maime and Milton Newbury. As a child, he was inseparable from younger brother, Jerry; a friendship that continued throughout his life. In high school, Mickey decided to write songs. As a teenager, he shut himself up in his room, writing poetry and learning to play guitar. He organized a doo-wop group called The Embers.

    In 1959, Mickey joined the Air Force and was assigned to England for three years. When he returned to the United States, he pursued his dream of being a songwriter. He lived in a ’54 Pontiac and traveled around Texas, Tennessee, and Louisiana playing gigs and working on shrimp boats. Eventually he found himself in Nashville, and in 1964, signed a publishing contract with Acuff-Rose. He moved to Nashville in 1965 and about this time, his first child Joe was born. Shortly thereafter, Jimmy Elledge was first to cover a Newbury song, Just as Long as that Someone is You.

    1966 was the year the music industry noticed Mickey Newbury. Don Gibson had a Top Ten Country hit with Newbury’s Funny Familiar Forgotten Feelings, while Tom Jones scored a world hit with the same song. In 1968, Mickey saw huge success; three number one songs and one number five – across four different charts; Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In) on the Pop/Rock chart by the First Edition, SweetMemories on Easy Listening by Andy Williams, Time is a Thief on the R&B chart by Solomon Burke, and Here Comes the Rain Baby on the Country chart by Eddy Arnold. This feat has not been repeated. That year, Mickey’s first album, Harlequin Melodies, was released by RCA.

    Mickey met New Christy Minstrel member Susan Pack on a blind date in 1967 and would not see her again until 1969. Soon thereafter, they were married and living on a houseboat on Old Hickory Lake outside of Nashville. Over the next four years, Mickey released three albums that raised the bar on Music Row. Produced at Cinderella Studios outside of Nashville, and utilizing Nashville’s best musicians, Newbury’s trilogy of albums - Looks Like Rain, Frisco Mabel Joy and Heaven Help The Child are often referred to as masterpieces.

    Following the birth of their first child, Chris, in 1973, the Newburys moved to Oregon, to Susan’s home town, just down the street from her parents, to raise their family. A daughter, Leah, followed in 1977. In 1980, Mickey was inducted into the Nashville Songwriter’s Hall of Fame.

    During the 80s, Mickey took a break from the music business to concentrate on his growing family and golf. Stephen joined the family in 1983 and Laura was born in 1986. In the early 90’s, he started writing, recording, and performing again, encouraged by his friends Bob Rosemurgy, Marty Hall, and Owsley Mannier. In 1995, Mickey’s health began to fail, but he continued to produce beautiful music. 1995 to 2002 were some of his most productive years, during which time he almost doubled his catalogue. He also directed his attention to other ventures, beginning work on children’s books based on his story-songs. On September 29, 2002 he succumbed to a long time lung disease and passed away in his sleep at home in Springfield, Oregon.

    Mickey Newbury’s songs have been covered by hundreds upon hundreds of artists; over 1,000 covers have been documented. Mickey also recorded 25 albums over 35 years. Though he considered himself a songwriter first and singer second, his own albums are critically acclaimed and highly desired by a very passionate fan base the world over.

    Many consider him to be the best of the best. Kris Kristofferson says, “God, I learned more about songwriting from Mickey than I did any other single human being. To me he was a songbird. He comes out with amazing words and music... I’m sure that I never would have written Bobby McGee, Sunday Morning Coming Down... if I had never known Mickey. He was my hero and still is.”

    Mickey’s love was the music, not the business. Among Mickey’s peers, he was always seen as a champion of the songwriter. Among his family members and associates, he was seen as a wonderful son, husband, father, and friend.


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Subject: RE: Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter
From: Beer
Date: 14 Jan 11 - 04:31 PM

Very well said Joe. Just reading what a few of the artist had to say about him above leaves one speechless.
Thanks pdq and lefthanded guitar as well.
ad.


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Subject: RE: Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter
From: pdq
Date: 14 Jan 11 - 04:43 PM

There is a typo in my statement... should be he went to the Bay Area, not we...I never met him as the mistake in typing implies.

"...because his diction was good and his ideas were clear..." ~ Joe Offer

Well, that surely separates him from John Prine.


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Subject: RE: Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter
From: maeve
Date: 15 Jan 11 - 04:13 AM

Thanks, Adrien. I see I need to learn about Mickey Newbury. Here are a couple of Youtube links for those who, like me, are unfamiliar with the man and his music:
"She Even Woke Me Up To Say Goodbye" Mickey Newbury
"An American Trilogy"

I'll be back after I wake up.


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Subject: RE: Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter
From: Acorn4
Date: 15 Jan 11 - 04:24 AM

East Kentucky -tribute to Micky Newbury


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Subject: RE: Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter
From: gnu
Date: 15 Jan 11 - 05:20 AM

Beer... "Just reading what a few of the artist had to say about him above leaves one speechless."

Indeed, Beer. High and well deserved praise.


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Subject: RE: Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter
From: Acorn4
Date: 15 Jan 11 - 08:07 AM

Didn't Elvis do one of his songs?


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Subject: RE: Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter
From: bobad
Date: 15 Jan 11 - 08:19 AM

Despite all the accolades accorded him, I must say that I am not very familiar with his work at all, I recognize a couple of songs but I did not know that he wrote them. I will make it a point to familiarize myself with his music now. Thanks Adrien, for the heads up.


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Subject: RE: Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter
From: GUEST,bankley
Date: 15 Jan 11 - 10:37 AM

Tom Ghent played lead (not the metal) guitar with him for awhile..
he said that Mickey didn't really need a guitar player, so I guess they got along just fine... I notice similarities in Tom's writing esp the ballads


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Subject: RE: Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter
From: Beer
Date: 15 Jan 11 - 11:52 AM

Wow!, Ron. Great observation.


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Subject: RE: Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter
From: Jeri
Date: 15 Jan 11 - 12:09 PM

It's possible most people know his songs through others: Elvis & "American Trilogy", and Jerry Lee Lewis "She Even Woke Me Up To Say Goodbye", Kenny Rogers & the First Edition "I Just Dropped In (to See What Condition My Condition Was In)".

I bought "Looks Like Rain" back in the 70's, because I'd heard "San Francisco Mabel Joy" on some radio station, and was curious about what else he'd written. I really liked that album, but even folks who liked country music didn't know who he was. Folks in Texas knew him, though. I think that until somebody gets to mega-star status, music is still somewhat local.

I don't know why he wasn't better known. He sure had an amazing voice to go with the song-writing genius.


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Subject: RE: Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter
From: Jeri
Date: 15 Jan 11 - 12:25 PM

Here's a studio demo of Just Dropped In and I Wish I Was a Willow Tree from YouTube. The first is a lot more contemplative than the 1st Edition's version, and I never heard the second, but I like it a lot.


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Subject: RE: Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter
From: GUEST,Larry Saidman
Date: 15 Jan 11 - 12:34 PM

"You can't really discuss his songs too much, because his diction was good and his ideas were clear and it was easy to understand what he wrote."

I have to disagree with that comment, Joe. Mickey Newbury was a genius and his songs were often quite lyrically complex. I remember a friend and I spending many hours talking about some of the meanings. Listen to songs like "Heaven Help the Child", "33rd of August", "Saint Cecilia", Dizzie Lizzie" (w. "King George the Fourth yelled someone from the crowd". and so many others.


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Subject: RE: Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter
From: Beer
Date: 15 Jan 11 - 12:37 PM

Very very different than the 1st Edition version. I do believe that I like Mickey's better.


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Subject: RE: Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter
From: bobad
Date: 15 Jan 11 - 12:49 PM

Wow, great stuff, thanks for those links, Jeri. What a singer!...What a writer!


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Subject: RE: Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter
From: pdq
Date: 15 Jan 11 - 01:36 PM

Texas singer-songwriters who are outstanding, a short list:

Guy Clark
Joe Ely
Townes Van Zant
Robert Earl Keen, Jr.
Butch Hancock
Austin DeLone
Steve Fromholtz
Kris Kristopherson
Billy Joe Shaver
Willy Nelson
Waylon Jennings
Jimmy Dale Gilmore
Mickey Newbury
Delbert McClinton
Rodney Crowell...

and a great lady, Cindy Walker


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Subject: RE: Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter
From: rumanci
Date: 15 Jan 11 - 01:39 PM

I love reading threads like this about somebody I knew nothing about previously growing up with music the other side of the Atlantic.   Thanks so much for all the contributions, knowledge and sharing and huge thanks Beer for starting the thread at all. Love it. THIS is one of the wholly rewarding strengths of this place and this community.
rum


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Subject: RE: Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter
From: GUEST,Larry Saidman
Date: 15 Jan 11 - 02:12 PM

HEAVEN HELP THE CHILD by Mickey Newbury.

1912 in New York I take a walk up to Park Avenue
To sip some brew with my good friend, Maggie the Bohemian;
She is such a woman of the world, and I'm the envy of the men.

Heaven help the child, Heaven help the child.

Paris in the 20's, it can offer plenty
to a young man with a vision so they say.
With a friend named Fitzgerald, I'm headed for the old world
On a merchant schooner bound for Biscaye Bay.

Heaven help the child; Heaven help the child.
Take him back to where he's never been.

Bridge:
We're all building walls, they should be bridges.
We're all building walls, they should be bridges.


Nothing like a freight train to get you to the city,
Would you pick another sad song for me Jim
Hate to leave the old man all alone to work the cotton
But the country never seems to bother him.


Heaven help the child, Heaven help the child
Heaven help the children everywhere.


War is hell to live with, I said to the general
As we made the battle plans out for today
This will be the last one, only God be willing
Then we can go back home this time to stay.

Tag ending
Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind
Let's sip a cup of kindness then, my friend, for days gone by.


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Subject: RE: Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter
From: GUEST,Larry Saidman
Date: 15 Jan 11 - 02:19 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MdqiLmrww4

Not sure if this is the right way to post a youtube link. Hope it works. (for Heaven Help the Child).


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Subject: RE: Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter
From: pdq
Date: 15 Jan 11 - 02:26 PM

His a connection to Folk is just as strong as his connection to Country...


"...the origins of 'American Trilogy' stemmed from a performance at the Bitter End West in Los Angeles in the 1960s. During a conversation with comedian David Steinberg about the perceived redneck qualities of country music and the proportional closed-mindedness of the American counterculture, the two discussed the recent headlines regarding the refusal of blacks in recently integrated Southern high schools to sing 'Dixie' as the school fight song.

Newbury reportedly played a heartfelt rendition of the song that evening that conveyed another level of meaning. Cooper wrote: 'With a gentle strum of his guitar, [Newbury] began to sing the words, 'Oh I wish I was in the land of cotton.' But, instead of belting them out in the rebel-yell style that everybody was accustomed to, he plucked the notes slowly on his old guitar, and his voice took on a rich, haunting quality that called up a different set of images—visions not of a mean-spirited South, but of a poignant South, a land caught in the grips of tragedy and suffering for 150 years.'

Cooper concluded: 'Before the impromptu trilogy was completed, it had become one of the most supercharged events in the history of the Bitter End West. Every other sound in the room had vanished in the emotion of the moment. Odetta, the famous black folk singer, was sitting in the front row with tears in her eyes, and Newbury knew that he had accomplished his purpose and a great deal more.'"


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Subject: RE: Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter
From: Beer
Date: 15 Jan 11 - 02:36 PM

Here you go Larry.
Ad.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MdqiLmrww4


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Subject: RE: Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter
From: Beer
Date: 15 Jan 11 - 02:41 PM

Thanks rum.
ad.


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Subject: RE: Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 15 Jan 11 - 04:25 PM

Rumanci said it. She spoke my mind. Thanks all. I never ever heard of him either - before.


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Subject: RE: Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter
From: GUEST,Tom Ghent
Date: 15 Jan 11 - 09:55 PM

Ron,one of the very first things Kris K. did when I first arrived in Nashville, as the result of his having invited me there after hearing me perform in NYC, was to introduce me to Mickey. Kris thought our writing was similar, and that we'd get a kick out of hearing one another.... We sat around that first night,in Mickey's houseboat, Kris, Mickey, and I, and traded songs, and emptied bottles till dawn! A few days later, an observer to that evening, who turned out to be a writer for a Music Row newsletter, wrote that Kris, Mickey, and I shared a common similarity, which was that none of the three of us wrote like anyone else!!! Believe me I'm flattered at being mentioned in the same breath as either of those guys! In '71, I believe it was, I appeared solo, at the Monterey Pop Festival, I sang "She Even Woke Me Up To Say Goodbye" in honor of Mickey, who couldn't there, followed by "Whiskey Whiskey"!For this two song set, I received the only standing ovation of the day! I'm not sure if it was because I was dumb enough to perform solo at a "rock" fest, or if they just loved "shitkicking" and knew it when they heard it!!! lol


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Subject: RE: Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter
From: GUEST,Tom Ghent
Date: 15 Jan 11 - 10:06 PM

pdq, Who is this person "Cooper" you refer to when talking about Mickey Newbury?


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Subject: RE: Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter
From: pdq
Date: 15 Jan 11 - 10:20 PM

"...quoted from the book Watermelon Wine in an article written by Peter Cooper in The Tennessean, the origins of 'American Trilogy' stemmed from a performance at the Bitter End West in Los Angeles in the 1960s..."


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Subject: RE: Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter
From: GUEST
Date: 16 Jan 11 - 06:12 AM

pdq,
Actually that was a performance at the Bitter End in NYC, with the late Dennis Linde ("Burning Love")on Bass, and yours truly on flat top guitar, and Mickey in his "captain's" chair picking his nylon string... That was the evening Dennis and I "plotted" to speed up "Tell Me Baby. Why You Been Gone So Long", as I joked about during the Ormstown show with Bruce and Ron.......Yes! Odetta was in the front row.....She was always very supportive of other musicians, as far back as I can remember, a great lady....Shel Silverstein was in the front row, as well! He, Kris, Mickey, Dennis, and I had flown up from Nashville together, as we were recording the sound track for "Ned Kelly" the following day....He's not mentioned on the cd, but Mickey is whistling on a track or two, also....He whistled as beautifully as he sang!!! May Odetta, Shel, Dennis, and Mickey all rest in peace....They are truly missed......


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Subject: RE: Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter
From: GUEST,Tom Ghent
Date: 16 Jan 11 - 06:18 AM

pdq, Sorry, I forgot to sign in on this last post about Mickey, Dennis, Odetta, Kris and Shel......That's what happens when you're getting old and it's 5a.m.!!! lol Sure did love to see all of you i9n Canada this last September....Let's hope we can do it again!!!


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Subject: RE: Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter
From: Beer
Date: 16 Jan 11 - 08:41 AM

Thanks Tom for sharing those great memories with us. Odetta, Shel, Dennis, and Mickey maybe at rest but we still have you around. Please continue to share your great stories.
ad.


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Subject: RE: Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter
From: GUEST,bankley
Date: 16 Jan 11 - 09:33 AM

Tom has recently been doing research for a new one called 'Southern Snow'... b/w 'Shovel This'.... ha, ha


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Subject: RE: Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter
From: pdq
Date: 16 Jan 11 - 10:31 AM

Thank you Mr. Ghent...I am just a fan who tries to hold the fort until the real troopers arrive.


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Subject: RE: Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter
From: GUEST
Date: 16 Jan 11 - 06:16 PM

Pdq, If it weren't for fans like you, there would be no reason to do what I do! Thank God for you and all those like you! Without you I am the tree falling in the woods.......Never apologize for the part you play in this!!!!


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Subject: RE: Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter
From: GUEST,Tom Ghent
Date: 16 Jan 11 - 06:18 PM

OK! So I'm just as forgetful at 5pm !!!! lol


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Subject: RE: Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter
From: GUEST,Tom Ghent
Date: 16 Jan 11 - 08:18 PM

pdq,I just did a bit of research concerning the Mickey Newbury show in the sixties that Peter Cooper wrote about! Seems that Peter, more than likely, wasn't born yet at that time! This may have blurred his memory just a bit!!!! lol I'm sure he's talking about the show I mentioned, but I'm sure he is too young to have been there, either! lol
Peter writes that he saw his first Kristofferson show at age 5.....That would have had to be at least 1970, after Kris's first LP was released on Monument Records! It's still my favorite of all his albums!


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Subject: RE: Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter
From: pdq
Date: 16 Jan 11 - 08:33 PM

I was trying to make the connection between California and Mickey Newbury's style of writing, which is more open-minded than most Nashville folks and different than Most texans also. The article I found looked good so I quoted part of it.

Kristofferson was actually raised in San Mateo County, as was Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead. Joan Baez and Neil Young also adopted San Mateo County as home and still live there.

In an interview, Newbury cedited Dr. Stanley's magic potion for "Just Dropped In (To See What My Conduition Was In)" and Ksistofferson credited the same substance when he wrote "Sunday Morning Coming Down". I still have no idea how long Mr. Newbury was in the Golden State, but "Just Dropped In.." was released in 1968.


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Subject: RE: Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter
From: pdq
Date: 16 Jan 11 - 08:37 PM

BTW, a club called The Bitter End West sounds about as silly as one called Fillmore Auditorium East.


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Subject: RE: Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter
From: Stewie
Date: 16 Jan 11 - 09:09 PM

Mickey Newbury was a first-rate performer and writer. I have most of his albums and have enjoyed them all.

Pdq, you omitted the great Terry Allen from your list of outstanding Texas songwriters. I would probably put him at the top of mine.

--Stewie.


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Subject: RE: Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter
From: Beer
Date: 16 Jan 11 - 09:26 PM

Forgot to mention pdq that that is a very impressive list that you posted. I know most but there are about three that I must look up.

Tom,
I was fortunate enough to catch Kris in Montreal when he first began touring. Concerts I will never forget.
ad.


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Subject: RE: Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter
From: pdq
Date: 16 Jan 11 - 09:40 PM

Actually, you could tripple that list and it would still be way short of complete.

Please add to it Steven Stills, Michael Nesmith and Michael Martin Murphey.


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Subject: RE: Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter
From: Beer
Date: 16 Jan 11 - 09:43 PM

And lets not forget Bob Wills.


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Subject: RE: Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter
From: GUEST,Tom Ghent
Date: 17 Jan 11 - 07:31 AM

Ad, I hope you got to hear some of Kris's "lesser known" songs....All great writers tend to have many songs which are even better than the ones for which they are famous!


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Subject: RE: Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter
From: Beer
Date: 17 Jan 11 - 07:46 AM

Well, if they are on any of his vinyls than I probably wore them out as I have all except the last couple he released.


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Subject: RE: Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter
From: GUEST,Tom Ghent
Date: 17 Jan 11 - 08:38 AM

Ad, Hopefully, one day some of the old demos, made late at night in the music row publishing houses during the 60s and 70s, will find there way to cd! A lot of them were GREAT !!!

pdq, glad you mentioned the stuff from the book.....It just struck me as being a bit strange, I personally never heard of there being a "Bitter End" in LA, and I lived there from 66-68.....It always amazes me when I read books about the sixties....They, like the internet, always seem to contain lots of mis-information...lol....

An old village friend of mine from those days, said I should change the name of my new cd, "Retroflect", to "Songs From Greenwich Village In The '60s, Performed By Someone Who Was Actually There" lol!!
I'm not sure that would fit on a cd label!!!! lol


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Subject: RE: Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter
From: GUEST,bankley
Date: 17 Jan 11 - 11:49 AM

and where can folks buy a copy of said CD, Mr.Tom ????


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Subject: RE: Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter
From: GUEST,Tom Ghent
Date: 17 Jan 11 - 07:51 PM

Ron,as you know, "Retroflect" is a limited edition cd... I put together specifically to bring to Canada for the re-union gig, which you and Adrien so kindly set up with you, Bruce Murdoch and me.... I thought it would be great to celebrate the last time Bruce and I had seen one another, which was 45 years earlier in the Village, with a cd of songs from that time and place......It is available at MusicStack, while they last.....


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Subject: RE: Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter
From: GUEST,jim
Date: 18 Jan 11 - 02:02 PM

rab noakes' version of frisco depot is just wonderful


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Subject: RE: Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter
From: Beer
Date: 18 Jan 11 - 08:49 PM

Please explain Guest jim how your post fits into this thread. Truly, I'm curious.
With all due respect.
ad.


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Subject: RE: Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter
From: Beer
Date: 18 Jan 11 - 09:03 PM

Hay Tom!!, how about a Newbury story. You must have one.
ad.


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Subject: RE: Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter
From: GUEST,jim
Date: 19 Jan 11 - 04:50 AM

Frisco Depot is one of his finest songs and this is a great version thats all


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Subject: RE: Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter
From: GUEST,Tom Ghent
Date: 19 Jan 11 - 06:43 AM

Jim and Beer, The way my post fits into all this is very simple.....
Apparently, there was a story that was written about Mickey, "The American Trilogy", and The Bitter End West in LA.....Although I know that Mickey spent some time in California, and may have even worked as a writer for a tv show (it might have been the Smothers Brothers) for a while, if my memory serves me right, I believe that the performance,to which the writer referred, actually took place at the Bitter End in NYC, a few years later....That being said, there is so much out there about the sixties, that is written by people who were not actually there, that it just tied in with the humorous comment that DR.Susan Robbins,(another music veteran from the 60s) made about my cd.... That's all.....Many of us who actually lived through those magical times, hold them extremely close to our heart and just like to see history recorded rather than re-written....No biggy....I Have many stories about Mickey and will gladly tell more as time goes by....Nothing I've said was in any way intended to fault anyone who has read or my reference to any of those articles, only to attempt to clear the water, since Mickey and I were friends............


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Subject: RE: Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter
From: GUEST,Tom Ghent
Date: 19 Jan 11 - 07:13 AM


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Subject: RE: Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter
From: GUEST,Tom Ghent
Date: 19 Jan 11 - 07:17 AM

I meant to say "anyone who has read or MADE reference to...."


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Subject: RE: Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter
From: GUEST,bankley
Date: 19 Jan 11 - 07:54 AM

The Monterrey Pop Festival was a huge milestone in music history..
It was held in June 1967 btw. So many great acts from many genres.
Otis Redding died just 6 months later and 'Dock of the Bay went to #1..
Really cool that you were there AND played AND survived...


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Subject: RE: Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter
From: bobad
Date: 19 Jan 11 - 08:16 AM

I note that Tom was also on the bill at the Big Sur Folk Festival of 1970 which also featured such acts as Joan Baez, Kris Kristofferson, The Beach Boys, Country Joe McDonald and others.


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Subject: RE: Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter
From: Beer
Date: 19 Jan 11 - 09:18 AM

Thanks GUEST,jim.
Thanks to you Tom as well for sharing what you feel comfortable with. In that, I mean seeing that you knew M.N. on a personal bases, there would be stories that are best not shared on open forum.
ad.


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Subject: RE: Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter
From: GUEST,Tom Ghent
Date: 20 Jan 11 - 10:20 AM

When Mickey was booked to play the Bitter End in NYC,in 1970 or 71, He asked Dennis Linde and me to back him up....For the next few mornings, we would take his houseboat out to the center of the lake, drop anchor, and rehearse sitting on the top deck, soaking up the sun until it went down.....Mickey loved that houseboat, and his privacy as well! I'm amazed anyone ever got him to go out and perform! We all kidded him about being a hermit...When we got to NY, Mickey went to his room, where he stayed until the gig....Dennis and I ran around the city and then returned to the room, Mickey had booked for us...Well, Dennis was a real funny guy, and a bit of a rocker, as well...(after all Dennis did write, "Burning Love")!... He suggested that maybe, since most of Mickey's songs were so slow, that we should take it upon ourselves to speed up "Tell Me Baby, Why You Been Gone So Long"!!! We rehearsed it, and that evening, when we got to that song on our set list, we kicked it off at about twice the normal speed!!!! lol..
Well, Mickey turned and looked at me, then at Dennis, then at me...then at Dennis....lol !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If looks could kill, I wouldn't be writing this! Finally, he decided to go along with the joke and just sing it at that tempo! It was DY-NO-MITE!!!! Since that time, everyone I've ever heard do that song, has done it that way!!!
Dennis and I were sure Mickey would have "something" to say about it after the show, but he never did! As a matter of fact, the next day, after our "Ned Kelly" sessions, he took me out and bought me a new pair of boots.... Dennis ended up producing Mickey's classic cut of "American Trilogy", a short time later....I'd say, that all in all, he took our little prank pretty well!


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Subject: RE: Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter
From: Beer
Date: 20 Jan 11 - 04:17 PM

Great story Tom.
ad.


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Subject: RE: Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter
From: GUEST,Tom Ghent
Date: 20 Jan 11 - 05:23 PM

Thankks Beer, I'll tell you another in a day or two...


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Subject: RE: Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter
From: GUEST,Larry Saidman
Date: 22 Jan 11 - 01:28 AM

Yes Tom, please keep those Mickey Newbury stories coming. I've been a fan since I first saw his name as a songwriter in the Don Gibson 45 of "Good Morning Dear". Have all his albums and cd's---including the great posthumous recording (Blue to This Day).

Here are the lyrics to one of his greatest songs, Saint Cecilia--this version off his "Nights When I Am Sane" cd.

Saint CeCelia is in her garden,
Pickin' paper violets.
For all the wide-eyed children,
Sadly clingin' to her dress.
Singing, "Blessed be the heavenly,
To hell with all the rest."
Her salvation is her virtue,
But her sins, her emptiness.

Cryin', "I'm unfeeling,"
She crawled into her shell.
I said, "How can I be like Jesus,
When I've just begun, myself?
To find my own way back, at times,
I think I know me well.
Then at other times a stranger's,
Standin' where my body fell."

"Save the children, save the children,"
Cried the captain to the crew.
For there can be salvation only,
For a precious few.
Who would leave this sinkin' ship,
And build a balsa-wood canoe,
And sail with me,
Across this mighty water?

Saint CeCelia's in her garden,
Singin', "Come into the fold."
But all her little children now,
Would rather rock and roll.
Singin', "Blessed be what you used to be,
Away with all that's old."
Oh, the silence is golden,
But the lonliness is so cold.


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Subject: RE: Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter
From: GUEST,Tom Ghent
Date: 22 Jan 11 - 08:40 PM

Larry,
    Sadly, we lost Mickey several years ago to cancer.....Hard to believe it's been that long ago, seems like he was here only yesterday....
    Dennis died from cancer just a couple of yours ago, also....What a nice guy, and younger than the rest of us.....
    During the latter part of Mickey's time with us, he wanted to make sure that all his songs were recorded so his children would have them.
    He spent a good deal of his time in a small studio, just a mile or so from Music row....He had his oxygen with him, but would set it aside as he recorded each song!
    I believe that his children compiled and released his last few albums, and that many of songs were recorded in the manner which I've described, here....
   "Tell Me Sweet Friends, Why You Been Gone So Long" God Bless you, RIP.........


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Subject: RE: Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter
From: GUEST,Larry Saidman
Date: 23 Jan 11 - 02:22 AM

Tom, I remember that day! I had previously sold (through ebay) a hard-to-find Mickey Newbury LP (In a New Age) to a fellow named Randy, who told me he knew Mickey well and that he was ill. He mentioned 3 recent cd's of Mickey's that I didn't have---then offered to ask Mickey to ship them to me for free---and a couple weeks later there they were at my door! I was touched by the generosity.   The day that Mickey died Randy emailed me with the sad news.   

I have performed a lot of his songs over the years--and was in a group that did a very sped-up version of Saint Cecilia--with an instrumental break in the middle of about 5 people playing hand drums.

I find that although nobody does Mickey Newbury songs as well as Mickey Newbury, the lyrics and melodies are so solid that they are amenable to many different musical interpretations--without destroying the essence of the song.


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Subject: RE: Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter
From: GUEST,bankley
Date: 23 Jan 11 - 04:15 PM

one of the things that's helps me get thru the winter is books most on loan from the local library. Anyway, I like biographical things.. auto is okay sometimes.. anyhow I finished a good one on Sinatra, took it back along with Cole Porter and traded for Oscar Peterson, and Willie Nelson.. so I started with Wiilie. I get to a few chapters in and Nelson`s living in Ridgewood TN after making his first serious money as a writer. The kids from his previous marriage are gravitating to the farm. His 2nd daughter Lana is 14 and really cute. She and Mickey , who was 28 at the time got a thing going on and she wants to run away with him. At some point , Willie pulled a gun on Newbury and told him to disappear !!.. I believe he did... He ended up cutting a couple of Newbury songs later and gave him a nod in the Luckenback TX song..
So given the current thread, I thought that was funny.. and wanted to pass it along... hearsay you say


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Subject: RE: Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter
From: GUEST
Date: 28 Apr 11 - 06:10 PM

If anyone here is interested, three Mickey Newbury albums – Looks Like Rain, 'Frisco Mabel Joy and Heaven Help The Child – and a disc of unreleased tracks will be released next month (May 16) as a box set called "An American Trilogy". All the albums have been remastered from the original master tapes for the very first time. And the extra material all dates from the same period (1969-1973) and includes some never before heard songs.

You can download the remastered version of "An American Trilogy" for free here:
http://www.anamericantrilogy.com

More information on a new Mickey Newbury Facebook page.
http://www.facebook.com/mickeynewbury

Thanks,

Saint Cecilia Knows
http://www.saintceciliaknows.com
info@saintceciliaknows.com


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Subject: RE: Mickey Newbury a Genius Songwriter
From: Larry The Radio Guy
Date: 24 Sep 13 - 03:47 PM

I earlier posted the lyrics to Saint Cecilia from the Nights When I Am Sane album (later recorded on Winter Winds). He had an earlier version of that song on his 1978 "His Eye Is On the Sparrow" lp, with some very different lyrics. And it gives a very different 'message'.

There is a great mickey newbury website.   mickeynewbury.com., and I found a fascinating quote that gave me a glimpse into one reason that his songs are so amazing.

"The delivery was almost as painful to watch as it was for Mickey to experience. Good friend Marty Hall explained,
"To my observation, his songwriting typically would begin with a sweet bit of melody and a line or two. He would
then build on the lines until he had the basic structure of a song completed. Once he reached that point, the editing
began, and it could go on literally forever. If there were ever a song he completed perfectly and forever, I did not
know it. Mickey accepted the fact that he would only rarely come to a point of complete satisfaction with his own
work, but that only meant that a truce with the musical universe was in place until a better word or verse struck him."
"On a new song, Mickey would write verse after verse, carefully crafting each, and then he would assault each verse
with his terrible swift pen, frequently abandoning entire verses and reordering the remaining verses. The words
would transform, the verses would transform, and the song would transform. All of this was exhausting, and when it
was over, it was typical for Mickey to need sleep. When he would awaken, he would start the process all over again,
frequently going back to the discarded and previously edited verses and bringing them to mind yet again... He was
as cruel a master as one could possibly have on his own work. He would hold himself to a standard that would
frighten away the most gifted songwriters in the world. He would not compromise what he did, and if that meant
throwing a verse away, or working at it 12 times to just get one portion of one line in just the right fashion that he
wanted it, he would do it. He was absolutely committed to the quality of his craft."
From the biography, "Mickey Newbury - Crystal & Stone"


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