Music Monday: A Tribute to Loretta Lynn

 

I am not a huge country music fan. I have no idea who is on the charts and I don't even know how to find the local country radio stations. But I grew up listening to Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, and John Denver (along with classical, disco, and rock music). These people define "country" for me. 

And now Loretta Lynn is dead.

It's hard to describe what I'm feeling. I'm numb because the news feels fictitious. I'm sad because she was such a lovely person. I grieve for her family, because I know that they are reeling. I'm happy when I remember singing along to her on car rides. 

I never knew that Loretta wrote and songs that were banned from radio stations. I listened to "The Pill" last week, and nearly laughed myself out of my chair. The woman had so many children, I completely get why she would be so happy at the advent of the pill. "Fist City" is violent, but in a way I understand and even approve of. Honestly, I would be introducing any woman hitting on my husband to my fist.

I guess it's time to say goodbye to Loretta Lynn, the woman.  Luck for us, her music will stay with us forever.

Music Monday: Chris Barron & The Spin Doctors

 

I don't know how many of you remember when the Spin Doctors first hit the scene, but I do. I remember gong out to clubs or bars and dancing to these high-energy songs while singing along.

Like a lot of bands, Spin Doctors released a hugely successful first album and then never managed to match that success with their following albums.  Mind you, the music is still exceptional. It just never became as commercially popular as A Pocket Full of Kryptonite.

Chris Barron, singer and songwriter, still sings with the band. But he also does some solo work. I re-discovered Chris Barron in the 2010s, when I bought the album Songs from the Summer of Sangria off of his BandCamp website. The music is more chill but just as thoughtful as his Spin Doctors music. And I recommend listening to it when you want to just kick back and let life flow.