Working Mans Birthday

A huge happy birthday goes out to country music legend Merle Haggard. Merle has always been one of my all time favorite country music stars. He lived the cowboy life. Filled with booze and jail. Weather it was breaking into a bar in the middle of the day or singing in front of millions of fans or performing his mentor Jimmie Rogers songs like they were his own, Merle not only had the talent for songwriting but also had the stage presence. He always stood on stage and looked like the biggest man on stage. His songs from Mama Tried to Working Mans Blues to Fighting Side Of Me are country staples and will always be played in all your favorite honky tonks all over the world. Sad songs, mad songs, train songs, pain songs, Merle was the master of them all. So everyone grab your favorite fine whiskey or gin and have a toast to the most respected man in country music today, Merle Haggard.

Setting the Blues on fire

Take Son House mix him with a little Doc Watson add a little bit of Jimmie Rogers and you have Ben Prestage. Blues is on a comeback folks, not since the folk blues explosion of the 60's have we seen such a huge amount of blues musicians come out of the woodworks. Prestage came out fists flying and knocks you on your ass with his in your face down home country blues. This traditional song brings tears to my eyes and stomping to my feet. As i listen to it I can see myself at a fish fry back in the 1930's listening to John Hurt or Furry Lewis. Never in my life would I ever think that music can come out like that again and out comes todays blues musicians proving me wrong in a good way. I can listen to it all day everyday, its one of those things that can never get old. No matter if your Charley Patton or Ben Prestage. Good music like this goes down smooth like a good bottle of whiskey, but instead of hitting your lips it hits your ears and after enough your drunk on blues.