My father’s birthday fell in the middle of the week, which paired him up with my Rock & Roll Hall of Fame post on Joan Jett. Not a bad place to land.
My mother’s birthday is today, a Random Weekend day, which provides me with one of those opportunities to spin the wheel and honor her with a mystery track.
This last happened on June 20, which was both Father’s Day and my older daughter’s birthday. The Random iTunes Fairy served up a Billy Joel song that day, a nice treat for both of them.
I was surprised to see that today’s random track is only the second song I’ve posted from Tift Merritt’s 2004 sophomore album Tambourine. Even more surprising is that the first time was just last summer, when another of its songs showed up on a random weekend.
My love for Tift Merritt is well-documented on the blog, and I have featured her more than 40 times, yet somehow only two of those posts come from this album, the first of hers I heard.
Concluding the chronological presentation of my 25 favorite songs…
‘Easy From Now On‘ – Miranda Lambert (2007)
The last time I posted Miranda Lambert’s ‘Easy From Now On,’ during a series on my favorite female vocalists, frequent commenter Dana suggested that Lambert was “this year’s model” and that “with time and perspective” I might not list her in my top ten.
That was a little more than a decade ago.
Today’s Random Weekend track is from Tift Merritt’s sophomore album, 2004’s Tambourine. This song is a cover of a rare cut by James Carr, a 60s soul singer best known for his recording of ‘The Dark End of the Street.’
This album was my first exposure to Merritt, who went on to become one of my favorite artists. I got Tambourine a few weeks before seeing her open for Elvis Costello, and the combination of this great album and her live show made me a fan for life.
Merry Christmas, everyone! My best to you and yours this holiday season.
Now, back to the music.
Yesterday I mentioned the “best of the 2010s so far” list I compiled five years ago. On that lineup, Tift Merritt’s 2010 See You On the Moon showed up at #9.
It’s a great illustration of how time can enhance (or diminish) the power of a piece of work that the same album now sits at #3.
