#red steagall

[father-moss]

Today’s haul

[trashvideofinland]

Benji seikkailee / Benji the Hunted (1987) Walt Disney Home Video https://www.videospace.fi/release/benji_seikkailee_vhs_walt_disney_home_video_finland

[musicandmotors]

Ray Charles & Norah Jones – “Here We Go Again” Song written by Don Lanier and Red Steagall

[gypsy-cowboy]

Today’s haul

[movie-titlecards]

Benji the Hunted (1987)

My rating: 4/10

That overly sombre news segment at the beginning is pretty great and I had high hopes for the rest of the movie, but unfortunately it really doesn't maintain that energy - it quickly turns into Animals Looking: The Movie, especially since, presumably for safety reasons, the animals don't actually interact very much.

[forsoothsayer]

The Memories In Grandmother’s Trunk by Red Steagall

They came in a wagon from St. Jo, Missouri Grandmother was seven years old I remember she said she walked most of the way Through the rain, and the mud and the cold. She saw the Comanche, they came into camp Not the savage she'd seen in her dreams They were ragged and pitiful, hungry and cold Begging for salt pork and beans. They staked out a claim at the cross timbers breaks Where the big herds went north to the rail. One day a cowpuncher gave her a calf Too young to survive on the trail. Their Jersey cow gave more milk than they needed The calf grew up healthy and strong. She staked him that fall in the grass by the creek And pampered him all winter long. In April her daddy rode into Fort Worth With her calf on the end of his rope. He traded her prize for a red cedar trunk That she filled full of memories and hope. I found grandmother's trunk hidden under a bed In a back room where she used to sleep. I've spent the whole morning reliving her youth Through the trinkets that she fought to keep. There's the old family Bible, yellowed and worn On the first page was her family tree. She'd traced it clear back to the New England coast And the last entry she made was me. I unfolded a beautiful star pattern quilt In the corner she cross stitched her name. I wonder how many children it kept safe and warm From the cold of the West Texas plain. There's a tattered old picture that says "Mom, I Love You" Tho' faded, there's a young soldier's face. And a medal of honor the government sent When he died in a faraway place. A cradleboard covered with porcupine quills Traded for salt pork and beans, Was laying on top of a ribbon that read Foard County Rodeo Queen. Dried flowers pressed in a book full of poems A card with this message engraved, To my darlin' wife on our 25th year And some old stamps my grandfather saved. Of course there are pictures of her daddy's folks They sure did look proper and prim. I reckon if they were to come back to life We'd look just as funny to them. Grandmother's life seemed so simple and slow But the world started changin' too soon. She heard the first radio, saw the first car And lived to see men on the moon. Life on this planet is still marching on And I hope that my grandchildren see, My side of life through the trinkets I've saved The way grandmother's trunk does for me.

[quarters4thejukebox]

Mike and the Moonpies “Smoke ‘Em If You Got ‘Em”

There’s no one like Mike and the Moonpies (or, at least I haven’t run into them). Seriously though, find me another band that’s playing true, Texas honky-tonk. And I’m not talking about packing Nutty Brown with a bunch of belligerent Greek-lifers. I mean the old dancehall down some desolate county road that lets you bring your own liquor and still puts sawdust on the wooden dance floor. Sonically, The Moonpies epitomize the best parts of Urban Cowboy (which is busy reviving), with some vintage George Strait, Red Steagall, and Johnny Bush mixed in there.

The Moonpies’ newest release, Mockingbird leads off with the single, “Smoke ‘Em If You Got ‘Em.” It’s a pedal steel-heavy song that drives like the road (I imagine) on which it was inspired. A strong start, without question. The whole album, in fact, is not just one to be listened to, as much as it is to be danced to. That’s what I love most about a band like The Moonpies. The prideful part of me wants to say this is only found in Texas.  ;)

While I encourage you to spin the entire record for maximum enjoyment, you can’t pass up tracks like “I Don’t Love You,” featuring guest vocals by hometown songstress, Carson McHone. The title track, “Mockingbird” is a bouncing tale of Mike’s real-life experiences that brought him to the stage. “Never Leaving Texas” finds it’s home on this album, which you might have first heard on their vinyl split with George Strait through Daytrotter. The album rounds out with “Delilah,” “Song In Here,” and “Miserable Man.” All songs are different in their own right, and mustn’t be skipped. 

Bottom line, buy this dang record. Let it wear a hole in your preferred listening method like a tobacco can in the back pocket of your favorite Wranglers. Even better, get out there and dance along to the music live! To “say it simply,” you won’t regret it.

[quarters4thejukebox]

Red Steagall "Lone Star Beer and Bob Wills Music"

In case you didn't already know, I'm obnoxiously Texan, and this is such a perfect example of Western swing and Texas honky-tonk that fits that frame of mind. This is the kind of stuff I grew up listening to in the dance halls. Though I've never seen Red, my dad got to see him perform around San Antonio "back in the day."

And Red's not only a musician. His list of talents and accomplishments might as well stretch as wide as the Lone Star State. In addition to his numerous records, he's had many TV and radio appearances, acted in and produced movies, is included in many hall of fames, is a Poet Laureate of the State of Texas, and is even credited for discovering Reba McEntire. 

Now, if you've had as hectic of a day as I have, you better believe that Lone Star beer and Bob Wills music will be keeping my heart alive tonight.