SiriusXM 349 – The Bakersfield Beat

[Channel98]

The Bakersfield Beat debuted in April 2018 on SiriusXM Channel 349. The channel is curated by Dwight Yoakam and, not surprisingly, plays a lot of Dwight Yoakam songs – but the channel also plays many artists who are not well-known outside of Bakersfield. Here is a dinky sample of the playlist. Jimmy Thomason, a fiddle player and country singer from Waco, performed regularly in the 1950s on the weekly Homefolks program on KERO-Channel 10 in Bakersfield. Herb Henson hosted The Trading Post, a daily variety show on KERO-TV in the 1950s. From 1960 until his death in 1963, he managed country music station KUZZ. Rockabilly singer Bob Ross recorded only one single, for Falcon Records in Bakersfield. Vancie Flowers, an Oklahoma-born singer/guitarist, recorded for Pike Records in the small town of Arvin, east of Bakersfield.

SiriusXM 349 – The Bakersfield Beat

A Thousand Miles From Nowhere - Dwight Yoakam (2/1993)
Ain't That Lonely Yet - Dwight Yoakam (2/1993)
Always Late - Dwight Yoakam (9/1988)
Blame The Vain - Dwight Yoakam (58/2005)
For Love's Sake - Dwight Yoakam (LP/2000)
Heart Of Stone - Dwight Yoakam (LP/1995)
High On A Hilltop - Buck Owens (LP/1963)
I Love You More & More Each Day - Tommy Collins (--/1955)
I Wish I Had Died In My Cradle - Tommy Collins (--/1956)
I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better - Byrds (--/1965)
Louisiana Rain - Nashville West (LP/1978)
Now Hear This - Jimmy Thomason (--/1956)
Okie From Muskogee - Merle Haggard (1/1969)
One Of These Days - Emmylou Harris (3/1976)
Papa Gene's Blues - Monkees (LP/1966)
Please Please Baby - Dwight Yoakam (6/1987)
Stingy Daddy - Bob Ross & His Teens (--/1959)
Stood Up - Ricky Nelson (8/1958)
Streets Of Bakersfield - Dwight Yoakam/Buck Owens (1/1988)
The Back Of Your Hand - Dwight Yoakam (52/2003)
The Legend Of Bonnie & Clyde - Glen Campbell (LP/1968)
The Old Country Waltz - Neil Young (LP/1977)
Throughout All Time - Dwight Yoakam (B/1987)
Travelin' Band - Creedence Clearwater Revival (--/1970)
Truckin' - Dwight Yoakam (LP/2003)
Up The Path & In My Door - Herb Henson (--/1957)
What A Man - Vancie Flowers (--/1959)
Worried Mind - Wanda Jackson (LP/1965)

 

[Channel98]

The Bakersfield Beat channel is a fun channel. That's because it's so unpredictable. I just heard Carmelita by Warren Zevon. In 1972, Zevon wrote the song about a heroin-addicted writer in love with a girl from Ensenada and recorded two demo versions. Canadian singer/guitarist/pianist Murray McLauchlan recorded the song for his 1972 debut album. Zevon finally recorded his own version in 1975 for his second album, cleverly titled Warren Zevon. He of course is best known for his 1978 hit Werewolves Of London. Here is Zevon's version of Carmelita, featuring the Eagles' Glenn Frey on rhythm guitar and harmony vocals:

 

[Channel98]

The Bakersfield Beat channel is full of surprises! I just heard Hop, Skip & Jump by the Collins Kids. When the single was released in April 1957, Oklahoma-born Larry (who also played guitar) was 12 and his sister Lorrie was almost 15. Larry would later co-write Delta Dawn and You're The Reason God Made Oklahoma. Here is the song. It was a regional hit in parts of the midwest:

 

[Channel98]

Here are some more songs that were just played on The Bakersfield Beat channel – but can anyone explain how the Monkees' Look Out, Here Comes Tomorrow qualifies as an example of the Bakersfield sound? What Bakersfield neighborhood did Davy Jones come from?

Believe What You Say - Ricky Nelson (10/1958)
Carmelita - Warren Zevon/Glenn Frey (LP/1976)
Dreams Of Clay - Dwight Yoakam (LP/2000)
Fallin' For You - Buck Owens (LP/1965)
Green River - Creedence Clearwater Revival (--/1969)
Home Of The Blues - Dwight Yoakam (LP/1988)
Hop, Skip & Jump - The Collins Kids (--/1957)
I Never Will Marry - Linda Ronstadt (8/1978)
If I Needed You - Emmylou Harris/Don Williams (3/1981)
If Teardrops Were Diamonds - Dwight Yoakam/Willie Nelson (LP/2003)
It Only Hurts When I Cry - Dwight Yoakam (7/1991)
Just To Satisfy You - Glen Campbell (B/1967)
Look Out, Here Comes Tomorrow - Monkees (LP/1967)
Lucille - Everly Brothers (--/1960)
Midnight Flyer - Eagles (LP/1974)
Nighttime Lady - Rick Nelson & The Stone Canyon Band (LP/1972)
Pocket Of A Clown - Dwight Yoakam (22/1994)
Since I Started Drinkin' Again - Dwight Yoakam (B/1990)
Take Me In Your Arms - Joe Carson (--/1957)
Together Again - Vince Gill/Paul Franklin (LP/2013)
Why Did She Stay With Him - Dave Alvin (LP/1991)
Wine Takes Me Away - Merle Haggard (LP/1968)
You're The One - Dwight Yoakam (5/1991)

 

[Channel98]

Red Simpson – his real first name was Joseph – had only one big country hit, I'm A Truck, which reached #4 in February 1972. Yes, it was written from the standpoint of a truck: "There'd be no truck drivers if it wasn't for us trucks. Look at him sippin' coffee and flirting with that waitress. And where do you think he left me? That's right, next to a cattle truck. Why couldn't he have put me over there next to that little pink Mack? Gosh, she's got pretty mud flaps. And talk about stacked – they're both chromed."

The Bakersfield Beat just played Sweet Love by Glen Ayers, Red Simpson & the Keynotes. It was Simpson's first recording, released in 1957 on Tally Records, a Bakersfield label founded two years earlier by Charles "Fuzzy" Owen and his cousin, Lewis Talley. The label also released singles by Herb Henson, Al Hendrix, Fuzzy Owen, Cliff Crofford, Bill Carter, Wally Lewis, the Three Notes and – before they signed with Capitol in 1965 – Merle Haggard and Bonnie Owens. Here is Sweet Love. "Tell me more! I'm listening! Okay, let's go!"

 

[Channel98]

Ernie Kelley recorded only one single, Seal Rock. The Bakersfield Beat just played it. It was written by Ralph Yaw and Mel Waters and released December 22, 1958 by Bakersfield label Global Records. From 1927 to 1934, Yaw managed the Coconut Grove in Bakersfield and played piano in the house band. He then became a songwriter and arranger, working with Stan Kenton, Les Brown, Count Basie, Cab Calloway and other bandleaders in the 1930s and '40s. Here is Seal Rock. It is truly bizarre.

 

[sadchild]

When I saw that there's a channel named "The Bakersfield Beat", I immediately thought "REALLY?! A CHANNEL BASED ON THE BAKERSFIELD SOUND?!"

Alas, no.

 

[Channel98]

Why didn't somebody tell me sooner? The Bakersfield Beat, SiriusXM Channel 349, is simulcasting on Channel 58 (Prime Country) during Memorial Day weekend. Here is what was just played:

Guitars, Cadillacs – Dwight Yoakam (4/1986)
Hello Mary Lou – Ricky Nelson (9h/1961)
High Fashion Queen – Flying Burrito Brothers (LP/1970)
Honky Tonk Man – Dwight Yoakam (3/1986)
Hoy Hoy – The Collins Kids (--/1957)
I’d Avoid Me Too – Dwight Yoakam (LP/2003)
L.A. International Airport – Susan Raye (9/1971)
Liar – Dwight Yoakam (LP/2015)
Little Sister – Dwight Yoakam (7/1987)
Making Believe – Emmylou Harris/Herb Pederson (8/1977)
Mixed Up Rhythm & Blues – Johnny Taylor (--/1956)
My Heart Gets All The Breaks – Wanda Jackson (51/1967)
New Speedway Boogie – Grateful Dead (Bh/1970)
Nothing But Love – Dwight Yoakam (LP/2012)
Packed Up & Shoved Off – Abe Mulkey (--/1958)
Sorry You Asked? – Dwight Yoakam (59/1996)
The Last Heart In Line – Dwight Yoakam (LP/2005)
The Sweetest Gift – Linda Ronstadt/Emmylou Harris (12/1976)
Untied – Tommy Collins (10/1955)

Here is Hoy Hoy by the Collins Kids. They both sang and played guitar. They released 12 singles between 1955 and 1959. When they began recording, Larry was 11 and his sister Lorrie (Lawrencine) was 13. Hoy Hoy came out in Decem,ber 1957. This performance is from Tex Ritter's 1957-58 Ranch Party program. There were eight episodes of the series and the Collins Kids appeared in every one.

 

[Channel98]

Here is what was just played on The Bakersfield Beat:

A Heart Break Ago – Bill Woods & His Orange Blossom
Playboys With Hillbilly Barton (--/1953)
A Maiden’s Prayer – Buck Owens & The Buckaroos (LP/1965)
All Of Me Belongs To You – Merle Haggard (LP/1967)
Cathy’s Clown – Everly Brothers (1h/1960)
Cryin' Time - Buck Owens (B/1965)
Don’t Let Your Goodbye Stand – Rick Nelson (LP/1972)
Hard Headed Woman (Live) – Wanda Jackson (LP/1958)
Hey Little Car Hop – George Weston (--/1958)
If There Was A Way – Dwight Yoakam (B/1991)
Just Before Dawn – Del & Sue Smart (--/1964)
Leaving Louisiana In The Broad Daylight (Live) – Emmylou
Harris & The Nash Ramblers (UR/1990, LP/2021)
Lonesome Feeling – Herb Pedersen (LP/1984)
Same Fool – Dwight Yoakam (LP/1998)
Silver Threads & Golden Needles – Linda Ronsatdt (20/1974)
Sittin’ In The Balcony – Eddie Cochran (18/1957)
Stickshifts & Safetybelts – Cake (LP/1996)
Surfer Girl – Dave Alvin & Chorus (LP/2006)
The Dark End Of The Street – Flying Burrito Brothers (LP/1969)
Waterfall - Dwight Yoakam (LP/2012)
Workin’ Man Blues – Merle Haggard (1/1969)
You’re Still On My Mind – Byrds (LP/1968)
Your Tender Loving Care – Dwight Yoakam (LP/2007)

Dave Alvin's remake of Surfer Girl, a 1963 Beach Boys hit written by Brian Wilson, is from the 2006 CD West Of The West, which pays tribute to California songwriters: Merle Haggard, John Stewart, John Fogerty, Tom Waits, Jackson Browne and others. Here is Wanda Jackson's version of Elvis Presley's 1958 number-one hit Hard Headed Woman from the November 1958 album Live At Town Hall Party. The sound quality is excellent but the video quality is poor. *Sigh*

 

[sadchild]

I don't think I recognize a single song from those lists. Not enough rap-metal in there I suppose...

 

[Jon]

Big fan of Dwight Yoakam, but other than the Everly Brothers none of those ring a bell.

 

[Channel98]

The Bakersfield Beat just played Wynn Stewart's first single, I’ve Waited A Lifetime, from 1954. He recorded it at age 19. You waited a lifetime, Wynn? Really? And Wynn is short for Wynnford but his name was shown on the label as Win Stewart. I've Waited A Lifetime failed to chart but Stewart went on to have 19 top-40 country hits and one number-one, It’s Such A Pretty World Today.