{"id":6355,"date":"2011-03-19T09:52:10","date_gmt":"2011-03-19T13:52:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/?p=6355"},"modified":"2011-03-23T07:22:34","modified_gmt":"2011-03-23T11:22:34","slug":"dallas-frazier-country-funk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/dallas-frazier-country-funk\/","title":{"rendered":"Dallas Frazier: Country Funk"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Mention of <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/index.php\/jim-ford-godfather-to-pub-rock\/\" target=\"_blank\">Jim Ford<\/a><\/strong> and <strong>Joe South<\/strong> recently reminded me that I\u2019ve been meaning to write something about <strong>Dallas Frazier<\/strong>, who is another one of those artists who was adept at blending country and soul.\u00a0Frazier is the man who wrote &#8220;Mohair Sam,&#8221; which was a big hit for <strong>Charlie Rich.<br \/>\n<\/strong><br \/><iframe class='youtube-player youtuber' type='text\/html' width='425' height='355' src='http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/OB9k9UT1xY0?rel=0&amp;fs=1&amp;ap=%252526fmt%253D18' webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen frameborder='0'><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>This is the record that is part of <strong>Rock Lore<\/strong>, because the time the <strong>Beatles<\/strong> met <strong>Elvis<\/strong>, he was obsessed with it and supposedly played it constantly during their visit, even playing along on the bass.\u00a0I\u2019d never seen this clip before today, but here\u2019s Rich singing it on <strong>Shindig<\/strong> in 1965:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ej2qtKipH-w\"><\/a><iframe class='youtube-player youtuber' type='text\/html' width='425' height='355' src='http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ej2qtKipH-w?rel=0&amp;fs=1&amp;ap=%252526fmt%253D18' webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen frameborder='0'><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>He looks so uncomfortable there, but here is singing it again during his &#8217;70s phase.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=dg7kU2GPJpM\"><\/a><iframe class='youtube-player youtuber' type='text\/html' width='425' height='355' src='http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/dg7kU2GPJpM?rel=0&amp;fs=1&amp;ap=%252526fmt%253D18' webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen frameborder='0'><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>He was one of the biggest stars in Nashville at that time, and he\u2019s gotten much less stage-shy.\u00a0Nice shirt.<!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<p>Frazier wrote several other songs in the same vein in the mid-&#8217;60s while Charlie was recording for Smash. Here&#8217;s &#8220;She&#8217;s a Yum-Yum.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Hu-AREVjyqE\"><\/a><iframe class='youtube-player youtuber' type='text\/html' width='425' height='355' src='http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Hu-AREVjyqE?rel=0&amp;fs=1&amp;ap=%252526fmt%253D18' webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen frameborder='0'><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>This is Rich\u2019s golden age. The <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Complete-Smash-Sessions-Charlie-Rich\/dp\/B000008K01\/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1300472592&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Complete Smash Sessions<\/em><\/a> CD is out of print in the US, but I see there\u2019s an import version of this material called <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B004IT0ZQS\/ref=s9_simh_bw_p15_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&amp;pf_rd_s=center-2&amp;pf_rd_r=12J8TN1BTWPSN23WDTTC&amp;pf_rd_t=101&amp;pf_rd_p=1280261722&amp;pf_rd_i=5174\" target=\"_blank\"><em>It Ain&#8217;t Gonna Be That Way &#8211; The Complete Smash Sessions<\/em><\/a> that isn\u2019t too expensive.\u00a0 I can\u2019t recommend it highly enough. Here&#8217;s &#8220;Just a Little Bit of You.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=AJvy9IGRMrE\"><\/a><iframe class='youtube-player youtuber' type='text\/html' width='425' height='355' src='http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/AJvy9IGRMrE?rel=0&amp;fs=1&amp;ap=%252526fmt%253D18' webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen frameborder='0'><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>These songs are almost novelty songs, which is a genre I usually despise, but they\u2019re redeemed by the great singing and the funky rhythm section.<\/p>\n<p>Dallas Frazier was mostly a songwriter, but he also recorded some too. Here\u2019s his own version of &#8220;Elvira,&#8221; later made famous by the <strong>Oak Ridge Boys<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=8myQhT9WU9A\"><\/a><iframe class='youtube-player youtuber' type='text\/html' width='425' height='355' src='http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/8myQhT9WU9A?rel=0&amp;fs=1&amp;ap=%252526fmt%253D18' webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen frameborder='0'><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>I like the drums.\u00a0There\u2019s a nice two-fer of Frazier\u2019s two albums <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Sessions-Elvira-Tell-Like\/dp\/B0012CJMG8\/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1300472378&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Elvira\/Tell It Like It Is<\/em><\/a> on Raven.\u00a0He\u2019s not a great recording artist, but the songs are good.<\/p>\n<p>He was identified as a country artist, but he could get really funky. Here\u2019s his version of &#8220;Wearing That Loved on Look.&#8221;<!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=0ciTDwODtzk\"><\/a><iframe class='youtube-player youtuber' type='text\/html' width='425' height='355' src='http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0ciTDwODtzk?rel=0&amp;fs=1&amp;ap=%252526fmt%253D18' webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen frameborder='0'><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Elvis recorded this one during his late-&#8217;60s renaissance:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=0LHPnAH7ORM\"><\/a><iframe class='youtube-player youtuber' type='text\/html' width='425' height='355' src='http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0LHPnAH7ORM?rel=0&amp;fs=1&amp;ap=%252526fmt%253D18' webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen frameborder='0'><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s Frazier\u2019s version of <strong>Ronnie Self<\/strong>\u2019s &#8220;Home in My Hand.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=2-k9AVeiWGw\"><\/a><iframe class='youtube-player youtuber' type='text\/html' width='425' height='355' src='http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/2-k9AVeiWGw?rel=0&amp;fs=1&amp;ap=%252526fmt%253D18' webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen frameborder='0'><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>This later became a pub rock standard when <strong>Brinsley Schwarz<\/strong> recorded it on <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Nervous-Road-Brinsley-Schwarz\/dp\/B00005J7GJ\/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1300473083&amp;sr=1-2\"><em>Nervous on the Road<\/em><\/a>, and <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/index.php\/prime-dave-edmunds-77-81\/\" target=\"_blank\">Dave Edmunds<\/a><\/strong> did it on <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Repeat-When-Necessary-Dave-Edmunds\/dp\/B000002I7O\/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1300473122&amp;sr=1-1\">Repeat When Necessary<\/a> as well.<\/p>\n<p>Frazier was also capable of writing more conventional country weepers, like &#8220;There Goes My Everything,&#8221; which was a big hit for <strong>Jack Greene<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=pq4m2jsk9Nw\"><\/a><iframe class='youtube-player youtuber' type='text\/html' width='425' height='355' src='http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/pq4m2jsk9Nw?rel=0&amp;fs=1&amp;ap=%252526fmt%253D18' webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen frameborder='0'><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>This one was also recorded by Elvis.\u00a0I think Elvis saw in &#8220;Mohair Sam&#8221; a direction he wanted to explore, and he picked up on a few Frazier songs in that fertile period after &#8220;Suspicious Minds.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m going to end with a Dallas Frazier song some of you may be familiar with from <strong>Nick Lowe<\/strong>\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Impossible-Bird-Nick-Lowe\/dp\/B000003NOZ\/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1300473215&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Impossible Bird<\/a> album:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=F4I21_vooWI\"><\/a><iframe class='youtube-player youtuber' type='text\/html' width='425' height='355' src='http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/F4I21_vooWI?rel=0&amp;fs=1&amp;ap=%252526fmt%253D18' webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen frameborder='0'><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Dallas Frazier retired from the Nashville scene in the late-&#8217;80s to become a minister, but he was a master of country soul, and more people should know about him.<\/p>\n<nav class=\"page-links\"><strong>Pages:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/dallas-frazier-country-funk\/\" class=\"post-page-numbers\"><span class=\"page-num\">1<\/span><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/dallas-frazier-country-funk\/2\/\" class=\"post-page-numbers\"><span class=\"page-num\">2<\/span><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/dallas-frazier-country-funk\/3\/\" class=\"post-page-numbers\"><span class=\"page-num\">3<\/span><\/a><\/nav>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mention of Jim Ford and Joe South recently reminded me that I\u2019ve been meaning to write something about Dallas Frazier, who is another one of those artists who was adept at blending country and soul.\u00a0Frazier is the man who wrote &#8220;Mohair Sam,&#8221; which was a big hit for Charlie Rich. This is the record that <a href='https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/dallas-frazier-country-funk\/' class='excerpt-more'>[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[342],"tags":[5,440,299,182,4],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6355"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6355"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6355\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6355"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6355"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6355"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}