Instruments: Steel Guitar Date of Birth: 1933 Place of Birth: Enterprise, Alabama Date of Death: April 30, 1998
Harold Lee "Curly" Chalker is of pedal steel guitar, known as "Curls...Hee Haw for 18 years, played sessions by Lefty Frizzell...on Hank Thompson's "Wild Side of Life." also with Charlie McCoy & Doug Kershaw, and was even open-minded (adj. included for ex.) enough to contribute to the Country Porn album by Chinga Chavin here. (beat ya to the blog)
Chalker has a nickname, "the King of Chords." uncredited on Marie Osmond's "Paper Roses," and on Simon & Garfunkel's "The Boxer" and he played live or in the studio with Willie Nelson, the Gap Band, Ray Price, Leon Russell, and the original Bill Haley and the Comets.
Chalker almost went to prison once for whacking a drunk over the head with the metal leg of his pedal steel guitar. Chalker died of a cancer-related brain tumor.
~Eugene Chadbourne, All Music Guide
died April 30, 1998 (age 66) at a nursing home in Nashville, TN. of a cancer-related brain tumor.
O R I O N - "as long as they spell myname right publicity is okay I guess...thank you, thank you very much".
intro to my article on Orion, written in the style of Nick Tosches...stay tuned for full article, either serialized through this site or on the perfect american site THE完 PERFECT完 AMERICAN な
The history of Orion begins with invention-anointed; a true Historasy that unrolls until its decisive end, or rather, its indentation. This is its dashed dissection.
In the city of harsh-hardeners with Titanic dreams, vacant or heisted--Orion was anecdote,cued from emulators, ordinators, Instamatic-worshipers...
Orion was inalienable of Elvis excess; his supernatural excrescence; of his incorporeality--his America.
From the Troy of music and like superstructures came the name Orion--and it was Mammon's, in the loot of its velour blousing whose muscles and shoals were retooled ; in the foul, mean language of Elvis--
that was Orion.
Top Elvis Impersonator Killed.. Gunned Down in His Alabama Pawn Shop Dec. 15, 1998
By Todd Venezia
ORRVILLE, Ala. (APB) -- One of the world's most famous Elvis impersonators was killed when a robber with a sawed-off shotgun stormed into a pawn shop he owned and blasted him and his ex-wife at close range, authorities said.
Jimmy EllisJimmy Ellis, who for years used his remarkably Elvis-like voice in a masked stage persona he called Orion, was standing before the display counter in his Jimmy's Pawn and Package Store just after noon Saturday when the gunman burst in and, in seconds, turned the quiet shop into a slaughterhouse.
"Mr. Ellis never had time to do nothing or say nothing," Dallas County Sheriff Harris Huffman Jr. told APB News. "He just opened fire in seconds and hit Mr. Ellis in the side."
After the first blast, which left the 53-year-old Ellis mortally wounded and crawling for safety, the gunman turned his weapon on the singer's 44-year-old ex-wife, Elaine Thompson, who was on a stool behind the counter. He fired once into her face, killing her instantly and hitting another worker, Helen King, in the hand.
Wounded victim shot at again.. The gunman, who police believe is Plantersville resident Jeffery James Lee, then fired twice more in an attempt to blast Ellis a second time as he struggled to find a haven behind a computer desk, Huffman said. The shot missed, and then Lee allegedly turned his attention to the cash register, which he knocked off the counter after he could not open it, Huffman said. He then dropped the gun, fled the store and drove off in a car with two accomplices, authorities said.
Huffman said King, who played dead, was treated and released from a hospital for her hand wound. Ellis died in his store about 10 minutes after the attack, Huffman said.
Later that day, sheriff's deputies caught up with the two alleged accomplices, Andre Darren Lee, 19, who is the alleged gunman's brother, and Jerry Dewayne Johnson, 17, who is his cousin. Police later found Lee holed up in a motel about 30 miles outside Atlanta. All three are being held without bail and are facing the possibility of the death penalty on two counts of capital murder, authorities said.
Fans mourn star's death..
Word quickly spread through this town about 20 minutes west of Selma that one of its most popular residents was killed. Soon, Ellis fans around the country were mourning.
"I was just devastated," said Kathy Hoffman, a Maryland woman who is the president of the Jimmy Ellis fan club. "It's just a very sad thing. He was just the sweetest guy."
Ellis' career took off after Elvis Presley's death in the late 1970s when producers at Presley's former record label, Sun Records, discovered that his voice sounded hauntingly like the King's.
They suggested that he don a mask and perform under the name "Orion," doing a mix of old Presley standard and his own work. He stood out among the many Elvis impersonators partly because of his voice and partly because he only performed as Orion, never claiming publicly to be copying Elvis. Broke from Presley image..
He enjoyed several years of popularity and worked with many of the top performers in Nashville such as Jerry Lee Lewis and Loretta Lynn. According to Hoffman, his fan club once numbered in the thousands. However, in the mid-1980s, the novelty of his act wore off, and he removed his mask in an attempt to be taken more seriously.
It wasn't an easy move for the Orrville native. In a 1997 interview, he said that his attempt to be a star in his own right was stifled by his voice's natural likeness to Presley. "It's been both a blessing and a curse," he said. "The Nashville establishment won't accept anyone who sounds that close to Presley."
In the '90s he went back to his Orion persona and played the U.S. earlier this year. He also stayed closed to his core fans.
"He was a friend," Hoffman said. "He was a very easygoing person. His career was important to him, and he was sometimes discouraged because he had so many ups and downs."
Todd Venezia is an APB News staff writer - toddv@apbnews.com
this is the craunchiest post i could think of. mr fontana is suffering withdrawals but will be back shortly. i would like to take this opportunity to thank him for the public forum and for his, the best site on the www.
Simply fill in the craunks below with whatever craunches you like. When you're craunchy, hit the "See Craunchy!" button, and your choices will be inserted into the craunch. What you've craunched up may end up being craunchtastic, craunchingly funny, craunching silly, craunzy or just plain craumb. It all depends upon the craunchies you've craunched and how they "crauchify" the craunchory!
CRAUNCHY AND CRAUNCH Input Your CRAUNCHY Choices:
.
ENJOY THESE CRAUNCHY VIDEOS WHILE I WORK ON MY POST ABOUT ORION! "IT'S JUST LIKE A MINI-MALL"
CRAUNCHY CRAUNCH
an example of craunch:
The most craunchy.music in the U.S. today is called
"Country and Craunchy" music. The musicians all wear
cowboy craunch huggers.and play electric craunch.
They sing about roping craunches.and craunching
out in the stable. In a lot of songs, the people end up with a broken
craun.and vow they will never craunch-up.again.
Most country records are made in Nashville, Tennessee, the home of
the Craunching.Old Opry. Most cowboys are just ordinary
craunchers.who wear big hats and tell even bigger craunchies.
.
.
CRAUNCHY Grammar Primer
Something Adjektivisch: An ADJECTIVE describes:
Grinding Fathers, the smoothness of the pigs and the cuts which are ugly
..
If we request STATIONARY WORK, we would wish:
(Mexico, Oakland) or (bathroom-cooks)
.
An ADVERB tells As it fingers the winch Fonda who informed. This verb generally finalises
An EXCLAMATION or Disturba: CRAUNCHY-generator of the atrophying word; to shout outside oddest!
How I interest the CIA! Guidebooks! grunted-crying! I'M DADo!
.
A NOUN is the name for a Hooker:
Polystyrene, the umbrella cockatoo, the bathtub of Tabatha and theWekzeugspritze
are nouns.
When we request PLURALE + plus one.
Because an example pluralized is
DaisyGettersGarters
.
.
A VERB is is a word affidavit. If he is executed you ...
are a Rich wimp
executed is the verb
Put the verbs in past tense if the directions say PAST TENSE.
When we ask for specific words gradissimo:
NUMB DOLOR, anise, the meander of the BODY, weak wrongs, the green one's nest
the world's largest prescription or regular meeting of tgif-pdr book club
i received another message from him by telegram one hour ago:
Fantastisch di riguardo. È interessante. Per me. Come sono andato. E per i lettori. Erano con la metà nel sonno. Di conseguenza sono sempre riparazione putrid. All'inizio di Nizza.
Ringrazia /Z
please reader, if you speak italian, provide a rough translation of this latest obscurity...it troubles my sleep and i feel unsure of his mental disposition.
fine points of nashville music scene terminology analyzed: courtesy of cutting edge reportage via channel 4 (edgy precursor of craunchy tnn) part 1
earliest nasville scorchers clip i know: cats records promo spot
"from anger to 'let's party'" part 2 of rube-er-ick primer court of ch. 4: replacements clip at cantrells shuts down camera
nudie tribute, jats, perry, jeff, tony alamo style (now that was a craunchy cat): intro'd by the 80's musical answer to vince vaughn from the the 60s tribute band craze
best first video of late, lamented country/punk hybrid genesis: with jack (r.i.p.) and andy starring in memorable 'upstairs at tootsies' footage
"Jason and the Scorchers, Nashville's legendary rockers, will reform for one concert only June 2, 2007 at the Exit In Nashville Tennessee. This will be a benefit concert, with all profits earmarked to help pay the medical expenses for Perry Baggs. Perry is courageously fighting diabetes and kidney failure, and is on dialysis 3 days a week. He is the original Scorchers' drummer, harmony singer, and songwriter of some of the band's biggest songs. His courage in the face of his illnesses is a great inspiration to many in the Nashville music community, as well as other diabetes and dialysis patients."
"Health permitting, Perry does plan to play drums on some songs at the show, and sing harmony. Warner E. Hodges will be on guitar, Jason Ringenberg on vocals, Fenner Castner on drums filling in for Perry as needed, and Kenny Ames on bass. Old Scorchers Ken Fox and Andy York may make an appearance if their schedules permit. The show will start promptly at 8:30 PM. The band will do two sets."
Jason also told the Reckless Country Soup mailing list "If you want to see the band again in this format, you had best make this one. It's for a good cause, and who knows if something like this will ever happen again."
Tickets to the event are available through either Ticketbiscuit or Ticketmaster: The Exit/In is located at 2208 Elliston Place in Nashville, Tn. Their phone number is (615) 321-3340. Here is a link to a Map of Nashville, with the location of the club highlighted.
Jason and the Scorchers last played together in 2003, in shows in Nashville, Wisconsin, Minneapolis, and Lincoln, Nebraska. Since then, lead singer and songwriter Jason Ringenberg has been touring to support his children's persona Farmer Jason (2006's Rocking in the Forest, 2004's A Day at the Farm) and several solo rock/folk albums (2003's Empire Builders, 2002's All Over Creation). You can learn more about Jason's recent travels and buy his albums at his website: www.jasonringenberg.com
Pollstar recently published a good article about Farmer Jason.
Warner Hodges currently playing with Stacie Collins and the Disciples of Loud! Warner Hodges has been very enthusiastic about his work with Stacie Collins. Warner has said Collins has recently encouraged him to open up his guitar technique and 'do what I do with the Scorchers.' This came after he played cautiously with her for his first few shows. Stacie Collins is a charismatic lead singer and an excellent blues harpist whose sound has recently veered more toward roots rock.
Warner also said he has done plenty of writing for the Disciples of Loud, but he hasn't had the time to record with them. The Disciples combine melodic hard rock with Warner and Todd Austin's fire-breathing guitar licks to make them one of Nashville's most exciting bands.
Warner will also play with BOTH Stacie Collins AND the Disciples of Loud on June 30 in Wapakoneta, Ohio at Rhythm and Brews' 10th-year anniversary party! Jason Ringenberg is also scheduled to play at this party! Given that Fenner Castner plays drums in the Disciples and the Scorchers, and Kenny Ames is the Scorchers' bassist as well as the original Disciples bassist, there might well be a mini-Scorchers reunion on June 30th in Ohio!
more praxis bands
part 3: have dinner with the hodges: warner's got the coolest folks in the world. ain't nothin' craunchy bout that: blanche's got the best voice in nashville: you heard me loretty
here is the last message i received from Mr. Dante Fontana:
I just want to tell you that there is something wrong. A RUPTURE of the CHAIN. You must begin. I do not know, because it is erroneamente, exactly like the creatures of the living. I don't know why this is. Much wealth! And the end to finish mercies! My cold time was false. The general hour of the problem is my late face when the last weeks will come to suffer and be GONE. They are evaluated. I age. The doctor...nevertheless, it could find nothing. To all the cases it is one, a definitive Schufterei odor, this blogging, of that I preoccuparsi. Tasks that finish are better. They are not buzzards in everything. They are videos of the right. The distant ones of the separated warnings, and see, this is what happens. IV's...more later. /Z.
and only minutes later the brave one tried to explain in words, dear reader, i could not comprehend:
...(like the tree of the trowel of the beginning of method)
Therefore, this that you can do: - for the copy of incastonare the code - in the context of the tree of the trowel of the beginning (post for disporlo you must structure the Beschreibers of manerá.
publish 'the certainty' - the text it made, the code, more ahead - the end
publish it to them is much that it would have to think
Something went wrong and I just learned to live with it.
I'll be gone.
Good luck! /Z
and so i publish. i publish to you, for him: that you would think of him. it is his wish.
The proper place for me to start is in the beginning, with myself and the only video, to my knowledge, in which i appear:
OUR FAVORITE BAND, America's obscure, favorite, country band! Unbraced by the country-scenti until 2002, when chestnut-sniffing greyhound and obscuranter/mp3 blogger, scott soriano, atop his blog, Crud Crud, found an ugly little e.p. in a thrift store, fell in love and immediately pronounced his discovery, The Perfect American DIY 7":
Witness the only live footage ever captured of this reclusive clan. (E.Davies, trapped in a spiderweb, falls under the spell once again of the Recluse and seems to delight in the tension of the South's secretive antiheroes and wasted storytellers.) Writhe with snake handlers and choke down their poisonous hillbilly-pact in a bayou of bloated ecstasy, as they prod the edge of Man's law. Look away, look away...Dixieland, from the terrible ghost of neglect in this disturbing portrait of a singer mumbling the lyrics to his half-remembered song like Syd Barret from Bayou LaBloat.
Please stay tuned for updates on the decryptination of MDF's last message and for a few stunningly perfect blogettes, including:
a jerry lee lewis craunchy greatest videoblogette or two...
as well as blogettes on:
- Jason and the Scorchers' recent benefit concert for their ailing drummer - a Nashville New Wave 80's Country-Punk Roundup
and, of course, more craunch than you can shake a craunch at!
"Sunday Night, later named Michelob Presents Night Music, was an NBC late-night television show which aired for two seasons between 1988 and 1990 as a showcase for jazz and eclectic musical artists. ... " (Quote from the Wikipedia entry.)
"A revelation to music fans, this show appeared and disappeared with little fanfare, being light-years ahead of the bulk of it's audience in style and substance. Every possible realm of music was boldly explored...from minimalist art-noise to traditional folk styles and everything beyond and in-between. Absolute genius, a marvelously noncommercial experiment that was doomed to failure despite itself. ..." (Quote from user comment at the IMDb entry for 'Sunday Night')
The show was hosted by Jools Holland (only first season) and David Sanborn. I've collected some YouTube clips from episodes of the tv show:
Note: Thanks to bobby4000 and especially to scmm42 for uploading these great clips! Some tracks have no song titles. If you know a title or two please leave a comment. And note that the quality of the video clips is not super high.
"In 1956, she made her solo debut on Capitol Records with "I Gotta Know" which made a one week appearance on the country charts that year. Here she is on Ranch Party, intro'd by Tex Ritter."
