Category: Music

CD review: “Songs of Tucumcari”

While looking over the track listing of the "Songs of Tucumcari" complication compilation CD, a thought struck me: When has such a small town as Tucumcari, N.M. (population 5,900) inspired so many songs? Maybe it's because the city's association with Route 66. Maybe it's from being the first significant town that westbound travelers encounter when … Continue reading CD review: “Songs of Tucumcari”

Songs about Tucumcari

The Tucumcari-Quay County Chamber of Commerce is about to release a 14-song CD filled with songs that refer to the Route 66 town of Tucumcari, N.M., according to the Quay County Sun. The Chamber of Commerce will sell the CDs to tourists and the locals as a Chamber fundraiser. In the beginning of the research, … Continue reading Songs about Tucumcari

“Route 66” gone country

Found this video of Bryan Fontenot and Outlaw Inc. performing a western swing version of "Route 66," plus a nice acoustic song of his own. Fontenot has a voice that was born to sing honky-tonk songs.

The power of dedicated volunteers

This story in the Tulsa World does a good job in explaining how a bunch of volunteers helped return the historic Coleman Theatre in Miami, Okla., to its original grandeur. Barbara Smith, the executive director, once told me that the theater was very close to meeting the wrecking during the 1980s. The theater was eventually … Continue reading The power of dedicated volunteers

“If I Had It Back”

Here's Mark Maysey, playing a moving song he wrote, titled "If I Had It Back." The song is basically a dedication. Maysey explains in the notes on the video, which have been lightly edited: Dedicated to a lovely Mexican woman named Manueal Nellie Ramos Fyock, who raised me from a child and tragically lost her … Continue reading “If I Had It Back”