When I was growing up in East Texas, my family hosted annual (and epic) 4th of July BBQs. Some of my earliest memories are of shaking my tail feathers to country music and zydeco at these get-togethers, and every year I honor the tradition by playing a motley assortment of blues, folk, bluegrass, gospel, and rockabilly. This year I've decided to share some of my favorites, which I always find add a bit of pep to any shindig.
You can find the full mix streaming on Spotify here, or you could follow the links below to Amazon to purchase the tracks individually.
1. Kitty Wells—"Hey Joe"
2. Patsy Cline—"Walking After Midnight"
3. Robert Johnson—"Cross Road Blues"
4. Howlin' Wolf—"How Many More Years"
5. Leadbelly—"Black Betty"
6. Carl Perkins—"Matchbox"
7. George Jones—"White Lightnin'"
8. Earl Scruggs—"Don't Get Above Your Raisin'"
9. Elizabeth Cotten—"Vastopol"
10. The Carter Family—"Will the Circle Be Unbroken"
11. Woody Guthrie—"This Land is Your Land"
12. Porter Wagoner & Dolly Parton—"The Last Thing on My Mind"
13. The Louvin Brothers—"My Baby's Gone"
14. Johnny Paycheck—"She's All I got"
15. Bobbie Gentry—"Ode to Billie Joe"
16. Ricky Nelson—"Boppin' the Blues"
17. Memphis Slim—"Boogie Woogie"
18. Loretta Lynn—"Coal Miner's Daughter"
19. Doc Watson—"Liza Jane"
And for an added bonus, here are a few non-classic tracks that I think are equally well-suited for the 4th:
1. Kitty, Daisy & Lewis—"Going Up the Country"
2. Neko Case—"John Saw That Number"
3. Old 97's—"Doreen"
4. Richard Buckner—"Surprise, AZ"
5. Jolie Holland—"All Those Girls"
(Image: Everett Collection/Shutterstock)
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Nice photo. Say, where are all the non-white Americans?
It's a shame ol' Quincy moaned and groaned. I loved the first picture with this post. Great songs.
Thank you for the list, and happy 4th!
This is a great list. And for those who have never heard of her, Jolie Holland is stupendous.
Great list! But no John Phillip Souza?!?! FTW?
Hey, I'm a moaner and groaner, what can I say? I'm not trying to ruin anybody's nostalgia. I just think Americana is a little bit more complicated than that photo suggests. America is a wonderful, diverse thing. Always has been. OK, sermon is over. Happy Fourth, everybody!
Love the picture. So Fred Astair.
@QUINCYSCOTT, I agree.
Nice playlist! I grew up in East Texas too! Tyler, TX
@Marfanboy: That's awesome! I grew up between Marshall and Jefferson.
@Quincyscott: I completely agree, which is why I tried to get a bit of diversity in the playlist at least. Glad you like the tunes!
As a community band member, I really appreciate the lack of Sousa here. There are plenty of places to get your Sousa fix, people. Bands are playing every single damn march he ever wrote all over, I promise, and they're playing them for you!
John Mellencamp would definitely be on my list!
Yeah, and Sousa isn't so much cookout/BBQ music as it is concert-in-the-park music, I think.
My boyfriend's dad was from Dallas and was an entertainer. This photo reminds me of his hit in the 50's..."Dance, Franny, Dance"...check it out on YouTube under Floyd Dakil. You will like it too!!!
Let's put on a show!
This is such a GREAT assortment of tunes. As a rockabilly girl at heart. And I love anything Americana. Music, food, holidays, friends, and so much more. This is great!
Too bad spotify isn't available in canada, I would have liked this playlist.
Old 97's....good call!