Everybody wants to sing Hank's
songs
By Billy Watkins
bwatkins@clarionledger.com
Hank Cochran was on a date to the movies, but he couldn't wait until it was over. A song was rattling around in his head, and he had to get it down on paper.
 Special to The Clarion-Ledger Hank Cochran Cochran's signature songs Hank Cochran wrote two songs that made him a songwriting legend. Here are some of the entertainers who have recorded Make the World Go Away and I Fall to Pieces. Make The World Go Away Charly McClain I Fall To Pieces A. Neville/T. Yearwood Source: www.hankcochran.com |
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"But the movie . . ." she said.
"Let's go," he repeated.
In the 15 minutes it took him to drive from the theater to his apartment in Nashville that night in the early 1960s, Cochran had written Make The World Go Away, which was a No. 1 hit for Eddy Arnold and has been recorded by 16 other artists, including Elvis Presley and Lou Rawls.
"But that's the way most of the really good ones come to me — zap!," says Cochran, by telephone at his home in Nashville. "I tell people all the time, I don't write songs. God writes 'em, and I just hold the pen. They think I'm kidding, but it's true."
Cochran, 68, a native of the small Delta town Isola, will be inducted Saturday night into the Mississippi Music Hall of Fame. He already is a member of the Nashville Songwriters International Hall of Fame and the Country Music Walk of Fame.
His selection was a no-brainer, says executive director Jim Brewer. "Hank Cochran has written many, many noteworthy songs."
When CMT recently ranked the Top 100 songs in country music history, three of them were Hank Cochran tunes. At one time, he had five of the Top 10 country hits on the charts.
His song list includes Fall to Pieces, a No. 1 hit for Patsy Cline that he co-wrote with Harland Howard; The Chair, a No. 1 song for George Strait; and Don't You Ever Get Tired (of Hurting Me), a No. 1 record for Ronnie Milsap.
Cochran has had songs recorded by Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, George Jones, Loretta Lynn, Reba McEntire, Nancy Sinatra, Emmylou Harris, Elvis Costello and Linda Ronstadt, among many others.
Forty-three years after arriving in Nashville, he's still churning out songs that current top-of-the-chart artists battle to claim. Womack has two of his songs on "hold," which means she has reserved the right to record them. Brad Paisley and McEntire recently recorded Cochran tunes.
And coming this fall is a tribute album to Patsy Cline. Four of Cochran's songs will be included and performed by Womack, Norah Jones, Natalie Cole and Rebecca Lynn Howard.
Meeting Cole in the recording studio was one of the most emotional events of his career, Cochran says.
"Nat King Cole was always my favorite," Cochran says of the late singer. "When me and Natalie were introduced, I could barely talk. I just broke down crying. She did, too. She knew how much I loved her daddy's music. So it's really special to me that she's singing one of my songs."
In a way, he gave us Willie Nelson.
Cochran talked executives at Pamper Music, a publishing company where he was a songwriter, to take a chance on Nelson.
"One night a bunch of us were in the back of Tootsie's (a famous bar in Nashville), and we were taking turns playing songs," Cochran recalls. "Every time it came around to Willie, I'd just sit there and listen to him, totally amazed. I finally said, 'Excuse me, but who wrote those songs?' He said, 'I did.' I wanted to know what publishing company he was with, and he said that nobody would sign him.
"I told him to be at Pamper the next day. He showed up in an old green Buick."
Cochran was making $50 a week at the time and was up for a $50 raise. When he urged his bosses to sign Nelson, they told him they couldn't afford it.
Cochran agreed to forego his raise and use the money to sign Nelson.
"Willie has thanked me a million times since then," Cochran says.
"I used to open shows for him, but after a while I told Willie I was headed to the house, that I'd be better off trying to get mine and his songs recorded and he could stay out on the road," Cochran says.
He laughs. "I just got back from five days with him on the road. A little bit of that will get to you."
 Special to The Clarion-Ledger Eddie and Hank Cochran performed as the Cochran Brothers, but they weren't really brothers. |
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His parents divorced when he was 9. He moved to Memphis to live with his father and eventually wound up in an orphanage. He ran away a couple of times, and finally was sent to live with his grandparents in Waynesboro.
At age 12, he and his uncle Otis Cochran hitchhiked from Mississippi to New Mexico where they got jobs in the oil fields. His uncle taught him how to play guitar.
He returned to Mississippi for a while as a teenager, then moved to California and got a job picking olives. He also formed a duo with Eddie Cochran — The Cochran Brothers — though they were not related.
Hank Cochran moved to Nashville when he was 24, chasing the dream of becoming a songwriter. The dream panned out just like he had envisioned it.
"I knew I was left here for something," he says.
When Cochran was not yet 2 years old, he came down with pneumonia, whooping cough, measles and mumps all at the same time. The doctor called the family in from the fields, said there was nothing he could do.
His grandfather, a preacher who worked during the week sharpening saws, fell to his knees in prayer. "If that ain't what saved me, it sure had a lot to do with it," Cochran says.
That is the basis for the title track of his upcoming gospel album, Something About Jesus. Willie Nelson sings the chorus on the song.
"I knew it must be a pretty good song when Willie looked at me and said, 'Well, boy, you've done it again, haven't you?' " Cochran says. "I don't know where this stuff comes from. Like I said, all I do is hold the pen."
SEPTEMBER 26 - OCTOBER 2, 2002 -- THE LEGEND AND THE PEN
The Legend and the Pen Country songwriting great Hank Cochran releases an album that testifies to his enduring legacy
by Larry Wayne Clark
Hank Cochran
Livin' for a Song (Gifted Few Records)
Who'll be the next to pick up the pen
That holds the ink the words flow with
And be brave enough to bare the depths of their soul?
Who is able to live with their heart full of holes?
Hank Cochran, the man who wrote those lines, is nothing if not a survivor. Not the kind we see on TV, roasting rodent kabobs on exotic beaches and battling trumped-up hardships, but the real hardscrabble deal. Barely educated, a castoff who grew up in foster homes and orphanages, Cochran represents a breed of songwriter that's almost unrecognizable to us now--a species in rapid decline like some rare jungle tribe whose habitat has been eroded by civilization.
Today, Music Row is populated by singers and songwriters with MBAs and sweatless Stetsons who learned their licks not in the honky-tonks but from their mom and dad's Merle Haggard LPs. Country's pioneers--Harlan Howard, Waylon Jennings and Chet Atkins--are vanishing at an alarming rate. Faithful to his lifelong belief in God and the pen, Cochran--now 67, married five times and fighting diabetes--mourns his fallen peers and keeps on going.
"The Pen," a song from Cochran's latest album, Livin' for a Song, testifies to his unwavering commitment to the songwriter's life, as well as to the ties that bind those who embrace it.
That pen you're holding, son, is mightier than the sword
And it flows with the blood of the lamb and the power of the Lord
The pen brought me fortune and I pray for you it does the same
And when they open that Big Book let us stand together
When they call our names.
Cochran, who has heard everyone from Patsy Cline to Elvis Costello cut his songs, has good reason to respect, and even worship, the power of the pen. Born Garland Perry Cochran in Isola, Miss., in 1935, he was a child not only of the Depression but also of divorce, neglect and various other Dickensian clouts of ill fortune. As a young boy, he spent time in St. Peter's Orphan's Home in Memphis before moving back to Mississippi to live with his preacher grandfather and his wife. Confused and rootless, he ran away a lot, but somewhere along the way discovered music, learning a few chords on the guitar and singing in church. Like many before and since, he also sat glued to the weekly broadcasts of the Grand Ole Opry as if salvation itself might emanate from the radio speaker. In Cochran's case, it probably did.
At age 12, Cochran and a guitar-playing uncle hitchhiked to New Mexico, where the two found jobs as roustabouts in the oil fields in and around Hobbs. Drained by the dangerous work, Cochran eventually made his way to Los Angeles, where he worked at Sears, Roebuck and Co. and, not yet 16, was forced to return to school. To his humiliation, the burly ex-roughneck found himself sitting in a class of fourth graders.
Enjoying some success in local talent contests, Cochran continued to heed the call of music. He advertised for a guitar player to form a group and met future rock 'n' roll icon Eddie Cochran ("Summertime Blues"). Though unrelated, the two formed a duo called The Cochran Brothers that hovered somewhere between country and rock 'n' roll, releasing a few records to no great acclaim. Eddie then followed Elvis into the wild lands of rock 'n' roll, while Hank cast his vote for country. The two parted amiably, Eddie becoming a short-lived rock star before dying in a car accident in 1960. Hank moved to Nashville to begin one of the longest-running and most illustrious careers in the annals of country music.
By that point (1960) a husband and father, Cochran began writing for Pamper Music, barely scraping by on his songwriter's draw of $50 a week. Then, in 1961, Patsy Cline cut a song he wrote with Harlan Howard called "I Fall to Pieces." The record became a smash on both the country and pop charts, and suddenly, Cochran found himself in demand as a writer, guitarist (backing up Justin Tubb on the Opry)--even a recording artist, scoring a Top 20 hit with "Sally Was a Good Old Girl."
Inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Association International's Hall of Fame in 1974, the man that some call "The Legend" has had his songs sung by such luminaries as Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald and Loretta Lynn. Cochran's "Make The World Go Away" was a 1965 hit for Eddy Arnold, and it's been covered by numerous others since. Actor-folksinger Burl Ives had a pop hit with "Funny Way of Laughin' " in 1962, a song Cochran swears he wrote in his sleep, waking only long enough to mumble it into a bedside tape recorder. (He claims to have "dream-written" many songs.) Two decades later, George Strait took a pair of Cochran co-writes, "Ocean Front Property" and "The Chair," to the top of the country charts.
Cochran's success continues to this day. An upcoming Patsy Cline tribute CD will see classic Cochran material rendered by Trisha Yearwood, Reba McEntire, Lee Ann Womack and neo-jazz star Norah Jones. A new Cochran song, "She'll Be Back," is also included on Womack's latest CD. At an age when many would be happy to rest on their laurels and enjoy retirement, Hank Cochran clings stubbornly to the present, reading Billboard and writing daily, cultivating relationships with new artists while remembering his favorites from the past. (He still communicates with Eddy Arnold.) Cochran's momento-strewn Hendersonville home teems with activity; cronies of all ages come and go--songwriters, pickers, performers. It's not unusual for newcomers to be asked to sign a guest book and have their picture taken by Cochran's photographer wife, Suzi.
With all that's going on in his life, Cochran remains most excited by the projects that are most immediate to hand. Especially intriguing is the recently completed Livin' for a Song, an album that's aptly subtitled A Songwriter's Autobiography. Released on Cochran's own Gifted Few Records label, and co-produced with Jim Vest, the CD is a 14-song testament to Cochran's legacy--part mission statement, part chronicle, part celebration, part living will. On "The Pen," a track that's primarily a recitation and perhaps the most revealing number on the album, Cochran ponders passing the torch, as well as what it means to "live for a song."
Well, I might as well give you this old guitar
It's been a helluva ride for me out of Hell so far
Can you write it with your heart in Heaven and your feet in sin?
No, you can't
Find somebody else to pick up the pen.
Hank Cochran o Livin¹ For A Song (Gifted Few) Speaking of legends, Hank Cochran doesn¹t seem to get a lot of mentions when folks speak of the greats, but he¹s a wonderful songwriter. Try "Make the World Go Away," or "I Fall to Pieces" or "Ocean Front Property." Maybe "Don¹t Touch Me" or "A-11." Well, this new CD is full of traditional country tunes with heart and soul, and - fittingly - some fine performances. "He Little Thinged Her" is classic, as is "Livin¹ For A Song" and "Something Unseen." Fans of traditional country done right from a familiar source should go directly to www.hankcochran.com and buy this. If you love Haggard and The Possum, there¹s no excuse. By Michael Clark
Al Kunz
There's no arguing that Hank Cochran has had a long and successful music career. He and Harlan Howard wrote Patsy Cline's "I Fall to Pieces." Eddy Arnold recorded his "Make the World Go Away" and artists as varied as Merle Haggard, Greg Kihn, Tom Jones, even Donny & Marie have cut his tunes. Five of his songs were once in the top ten at the same time. It's apparent why he's the only writer inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Association International Hall of Fame with a unanimous vote.
Although primarily known as a songwriter, Cochran's other credits include performing as half of the Cochran Brothers with Eddie Cochran (no, they aren't really brothers) and as a partner with Ray Price in a successful music publishing company. His latest release, subtitled "a songwriters autobiography," contains the songs that have had "special meaning" in Cochran's life. In the liner notes he explains he chose "the songs I liked to sing when I was younger, and the ones about significant changes in my life to some of my favorites that I wrote with friends...Most have not been hits, but they are some of my favorites."
Cochran starts the disc the same way he started his singing career, working the gray area between country and '50s rock with a rocked-up version of the Hank Thompson hit "Wild Side of Life" (re-titled "Honky Tonk Angels" here). The honky-tonk portion of this title foreshadows the rest of the disc that leans heavily toward cry-in-your-beer honky-tonk ballads and the smoother Ray Price-styled countrypolitan of "Something Unseen." Originally a hit in 1970 for Jack Greene, Cochran's wife Suzi suggested he cut this tune, one of her favorites, because of the great lyric. In this twist on the stereotypical cheatin' song, the singer knows that something or someone is pulling his lover away from him "like a puppet on a string." He's not sure what the pull is, but concludes that cheatin' would be better than a vague desire for something better.
I'd be happier to know that there was someone new At least I'd know there was someone who would take care of you 'Cause what if there's no ending to your dream That's pulled you away to something unseen
"Practically everything I write is from something that happened to me or someone close to me," says Cochran. "I Fell Apart" was written for Willie Nelson's drummer, Paul English after his wife's suicide, while "You Let Me Down" strikes closer to home. Written in the early '70s while the hurt was still fresh, this classic-sounding, cry-in-your-beer lament takes aim at a former friend (or lover) who had a problem delivering on promises.
I guess last night was the worst night I ever knew Besides thinking I was gonna die, Honey, I was missing you But I remembered what you told be, you said that you'd always be around But when I really needed you, you let me down
"The Pen" and "Livin' For A Song" were both considered for the disc's title track. Co-writers Bo Roberts and Dave Holster brought Cochran the title and partial lyrics letting him finish the song. "When we got finished with it, they said, 'Man, that's great, but don't you think we ought to change that line about muddy tears running down my face,'" explained Cochran. "I said, have you ever slept on the side of the road with the damn trucks runnin' 70, 80, 90 miles an hour by your head . . . well, then it stays in, because I have." Cochran resists the temptation to overly romanticize his songwriter's life, including both ups and downs in the autobiographical "Livin' For A Song."
I have slept on satin sheets, dined with Kings on wine so sweet Made my bed out in the street livin' for a song Spent a lifetime on the road like desperados chasin' gold I've been bought and I've been sold livin' for a song
Life's so full of melodies with words that rhyme and harmonies Til I write mine I'll always be livin' for a song
While "Livin' For A Song" looks back at a long career in Nashville, working and writing with Willie Nelson, Ray Price, and dedicating the disc to the late Harlan Howard, possibly country music's greatest songwriter, "The Pen" looks forward. As Cochran ponders the current state of Nashville songwriting, it's apparent that he has concerns.
Who'll be the next to pick up the pen That holds the ink the words flow with And be brave enough to bare the depths of their souls Who is able to live with their hearts full of hope
But he still has hope for the future of country songwriting and provides his formula for success if any young songwriters-to-be care to heed his wisdom.
If it's you that God gives the reason and the rhymes Will you write it for his sake or nickels and dimes You better get ready if it's your time, cause it won't be long And you know the world is ready for some brand new songs
In his late sixties, Hank Cochran continues Livin' For A Song, writing new songs that continue to be recorded by today's country stars. In the liner notes he says "my best buddy Red Lane has been hanging at my place for a while and we sure have some good songs to share with you." It sounds like Hank isn't planning to put that pen down anytime soon.
*Visit www.hankcochran.com for the latest news, a full biography, and a long list of hits that only hints at the number of Hank Cochran songs recorded by other artists.
Contact Al Kunz at kunz@rockzilla.net
New Music Reviews
08/02/02 Friday
Weekender 23H
Review
Hank Cochran , "Livin' for a Song: A Songwriter's Autobiography" (Gifted Few): Cochran is one of Nashville's legendary songwriters, penning hits from the 1960s on. But this album, only his seventh, is not about "I Fall to Pieces," "Make the World Go Away" or "The Chair." Instead, it's about his life as a writer, with special songs from his career.
He kicks it off, though, with one he didn't write - "Honky Tonk Angels," which Cochran delivers in a scorching 1950s rockabilly style, complete with chorus, to show his roots.
Some of the 14 songs were cut by others, such as the Ray Price hit "You Wouldn't Know Love," and some appear for the first time. All share Cochran 's low-key production values and his gritty, expressive vocals, which combine for an authentic and powerful traditional country sound. Cochran , 67, is most revealing autobiographically in "The Pen" and "Livin' for a Song," which say it all.
--John Goodspeed
BY DAN ARMONAITIS
One of the most prolific Nashville songwriters of his time, Hank Cochran has been responsible for some of country music’s biggest hits through the years, having penned such classics as “I Fall to Pieces,” “A-11” and “Make the World Go Away.” And the list of folks who have recorded his material read like a who’s who in country music history: Patsy Cline, Merle Haggard, Buck Owens, Eddy Arnold, Loretta Lynn, George Jones, Elvis Presley... the list goes on and on.
Despite such an illustrious songwriting career, Cochran’s recorded output is quite sparse, which makes his latest effort, Livin’ For A Song, that much more special. The 66-year-old has delivered an eclectic album reflective not just of his passion for country but also of the many other styles he’s dabbled in through his entire career, including rockabilly, blues and gospel.
Kicking off with a rollicking cover of Hank Thompson’s hit “Honky Tonk Angels” that owes greatly to the time he spent recording with the legendary Eddie Cochran (no relation) during the ‘50s, the album never ceases to lose the listener’s attention. There’s several honky tonk weepers that would make even the most burly man in the world cry, highlighted by such tunes as “He Little Thinged Her,” which sounds like it could’ve been a massive hit for George Jones, and “You Wouldn’t Know Love,” which you could picture Roy Acuff belting out on the Grand Ole Opry. Other highlights include reflective tunes such as the partially spoken word “When Cotton Was King” and the autobiographical title track.
Hank Cochran, who began his performing career as part of the popular 1950's duo, 'The Cochran Brothers' (Eddy Cochran was the other, but they weren't actually real brothers) wrote his first song at the age of 13. Over the years since then, he has had his songs recorded by an impressive list of artists that includes; Patsy Cline (the success of "I Fall To Pieces" a co-write with Harlan Howard, enabled him to become a full time songwriter in 1961) Ray Price, Lynn Anderson, Eddy Arnold ("Make The World Go Away"), Chet Atkins, Johnny Cash, Ernest Tubb, Don Gibson, Vern Gosdin, Merle Haggard, Emmylou Harris, Waylon Jennings, Loretta Lynn, Reba McEntire, Wayne Newton, Buck Owens, Elvis Presley, Junior Brown, Ty Herndon, Tracy Byrd, LeAnn Rimes, George Strait, Lee Ann Womack, George Strait ("The Chair," a co-write with Dean Dillon, is still one of my all-time favourites) Daryle Singletary & Wade Hayes among many others in other genre's of music and he has consistently held top charting positions for the last 5 decades. He was inducted into the Country Music Foundation's Walkway of Stars in 1967 and the Nashville Songwriters' Association International Hall of Fame in 1974.
"Livin' For A Song" is Hank's first release since his Number One Americana CD "Desperate Men: The Legend & The Outlaw" was issued in late 1996. His last Country CD, "Make The World Go Away" on Electra Records, dates back to the early '80s.
Of the title track he said, "All I did was write my biography, it wasn't always easy and at first there were parts of it I didn't like, but now I do. And I'd do it all over again." Co-written with Bo Roberts and David Holster, "Livin' For A Song," is a tribute to the sometimes hard-knocks and soul-searching lifestyle that songwriters must sometimes endure. This is a songwriter's song, sung by a master of the craft.
Of the 14 tracks on the album, 10 are penned or co-penned by Hank with the other 4 tracks coming from 'foreign' writers. Best of the latter is undoubtedly, the wonderful, partly spoken, "When Cotton Was King" a nostalgic look back at how things used to be. Written by Andy Wrenn, the song also benefits from the added vocals of Clinton Gregory on the chorus.
You wouldn't expect a bad song from this songwriting master, and you don't get one. Every one of the 10 Hank Cochran penned songs on here are expertly crafted. From telling his life story in the title track, to a story of losing out to someone else in love with, "He Little Thinged Her." There's heartbreakers in "You Wouldn't Know Love" a wonderful song penned with Dave Kirby, the similarly themed "I Fell Apart," and "Something Unseen" a song that as I write, is climbing back into the top 10 of the EMS European charts after recently making it's way down (and must surely be in with a chance of gaining the record for the longest stay on the chart) while the spiritual and moving, "The Pen" another recitation, is guaranteed to raise a hair or two on the back of the neck!
Not all the songs on here are downbeat though, as Hank does a lively cover of "Honky Tonk Angels" and goes into western/swing mode for "Magic In The Band" a good, catchy toe tapper, co-written by Hank with Craig Dillingham.
Whenever you talk of top Nashville songwriters, the first two names that come to mind are Hank Cochran and Harlan Howard. They are and (sadly, in the case of Harlan), were the songwriter's songwriter. The one's that other writers look up to. I am sure there is many a songwriter out there who would love just a little bit of that Hank/Harlan magic in their songs. Produced by Hank along with Jim Vest, "Livin' For A Song" is an excellent album, and an essential part of any country music fans collection. It certainly is in mine!
Ray Grundy
Ray Grundy's Metro Country
http://www.metrocountry.co.uk
Steve Ekblad
Hank Cochran and country music are veritable synonyms. As one looks back over Hank's contribution to the country music art form, the realization comes that country music would not have been the same without his work. "Livin' For A Song" is Hank's brand new release. It is subtitled "A Songwriter's Autobiography" since it spans a body of work that delivers favorites of Hank's written at various points in his life as well as other of Hank's favorite songs. Amazingly the songs are none of the hits recorded by the many other artists that have been rewarded with hits performing Hank's most famous work. Nonetheless, you will realize you are listening to a treasure trove of great songs--anyone could have been just as big as his most recognized work.
The CD kicks off with a foot stomping bar room tune, Honky Tonk Angels, where Hank dives in with a fervor. On this tune as well as the whole album, the backing musicians are first class. Pounding piano and slick guitar combined with excellent production will invite you to listen carefully to capture every nuance. Something Unseen is a beautiful ballad where Hank describes his frustration with a love who is pulled away from him. The song features the fiddle work of Walt Cunningham also featured on backing piano. Hanks voice delivers the goods with the help of backing vocalist Kathy Lee Jarrell.
I Fell Apart has a tight rhythm created by the acoustic steel string guitar work of Mike Baker, drummer Mark Beckett, and bassist David Roe allowing the moaning steel guitar work of Jimmy Vest to stand out and complement Hank's voice. He Little Thinged Her is a personal favorite requiring several repeats before moving to the next song every time I listen. In it Hank tells the story of losing a love to the little things presented to her by another suitor. It has a hit of legendary status written all over it in my book [I'm listening again as I write--grin]!
Nobodys Fool has a bouncy country twang with Hank revealing his story telling voice. Solo acoustic, electric and steel guitar solos let the musician's stretch out a bit and you are rewarded with tasty and precise instrumental breaks. You Wouldn't Know Love is a lamenting story of how the woman he loves has no recognition of love. Hank warms the tune with his impassioned voice recollecting all his sorrow. In the shuffling tune You Let Me Down, Hank recalls how alone he is in the time of his greatest need with his lover's broken promise of always being with him. Ouch--you can feel his pain! Magic In The Band invites the listener to understand the band's enthusiasm when playing out. He advises that it is not the alcohol, it is the music!
When Cotton Was King is a story--part spoken, part sung about the old days where times were more certain and times were simpler. Sometimes Mississippi is a tune co written by Hank, Kirk Roth, and John Roth that recalls a man's past and compares it to the Mississippi river that always calls to him. The Pen is a challenging song that asks who will be the next brave enough to use the pen to write the stories that they have to tell. You can feel the weight of a songwriters pen as Hank tells this story. I'm Going Home is a old-time sounding tune with Hank telling the story of looking forward to going back to his home to down south where the pace and the life are more suited to his style.
What A Beautiful Woman describes the joy a man has for the love of his life. He describes himself as the luckiest man alive. This one was penned by Jim Vest. Living For A Song is the title track for this album. In this slow country ballad Hank tells the story of his songwriting. It is a passionate song about the life that a songwriter lives.
Hank is the king of country song and source of many songs we measure country music by. This is simply a must have CD in your collection. Hank delivers every minute you listen!
By BRIAN AHERN
Tracks: Honky Tonk Angels; Something Unseen; I Fell Apart; He Little Thinged Her; Nobody's Fool; You Wouldn't Know Love; You Let Me Down; Magic In The Band; When Cotton Was King; Sometimes Mississippi; The Pen; I'm Goin' Home; What A Beautiful Woman; Livin' For A Song. Running time: 47:19.
Hank Cochran’s brand new album Livin’ For A Song is subtitled “A Songwriters Autobiography”. It takes you through the life of one of country music’s best loved and most gifted songwriters without touching on his vast portfolio of hits recorded by a whole host of top performers.
This country list includes a virtual who's who of country acts plus more across the board names that include Elvis, Dean Martin, Tom Jones and so many more. In fact, Hank has had 39 BMI Performance Awards in both country and pop and is a long time member of The Songwriters Hall Of Fame.
This is Hank’s first album since Desperate Men recorded in 1994 with his friend Billy Don Burns. His latest ramble through life takes you to the early 1950 when Hank was in partnership with the late Eddie Cochran (no relation) playing early rock 'n' roll and country. Hank Thompson had a massive hit with this Arlie Carter song, which Hank Cochran rips into. “Something Unseen” was a hit for Jack Greene way back in 1970—It sure is a joy to hear the songwriter’s version of this beautiful ballad, love the relaxed production too. “I Fell Apart” was written for Paul English, Willie Nelson's long-time drummer, after Paul’s wife committed suicide—again truly beautiful.
“He Little Thinged Her” is a smashing story of a guy who paid attention to the little things that counts in life and romance and the way that this guy won out over the big spender. Red Lane joins Hank at the writer’s table for “Nobody’s Fool”—I can see a queue to cut this one. Dave Kirby joins Hank in the writing of “You Wouldn’t Know Love” which was cut by Ray Price at one stage. Hank describes it as one of his favourites. It’s so country that even the little sparrow sat on my office windowsill had a tear in its eye.
The tears still flow for “You Let Me Down” written in the early '70s—another storming ballad of lost love. “Magic In The Band” is a muso’s song that tells how it’s hard to get out of a good groove when the feeling is high—this is a new song co-written with Craig Dillingham. Andy Wrenn wrote “When Cotton Was King” a splendid recitation, which I can relate to being from the cotton capitol of old. Yes Manchester, England. You southern boys grew it and picked it for us to make into cloth. I am old enough to remember when cotton was king.
“Sometimes Mississippi” tells of Hank's youth in his home state combined with his pleasure at going back from time to time. At one stage this album was going to be called “The Pen” a song that asks the question of who will take over as songwriters. This song should be a songwriter’s anthem, and probably will be. Rock Kilough wrote “I’m Goin’ Home”—a happy gospel-type song with some neat front porch picking to move the feeling along.
“What A Beautiful Woman”, written by Jim Vest and Arti Portilla, finds Jim Vest on lead vocals for a beautiful song. “Livin’ For A Song” brings this very enjoyable album to a close with another songwriter's anthem. I hear exactly what Hank Cochran is saying because country music sure wrote my life and I wouldn’t change it for a million. Well I might change part of it, if I could chose which part.
A must for all fans of honest country songwriting from a grand master of his trade. Love it to bits.
New CDs:
Hank Cochran Livin' for a Song (Gifted Few Records) www.rollingstone.com
There may be no better writer working in Nashville today than Hank Cochran. Only his friend, Harlan Howard, managed to match Cochran's bridging six decades of popular song in Music City, as Cochran has penned songs covered by Lefty Frizzell, Ray Price, Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris, Leann Rimes and scores of others from the late Fifties to the present. With the Dean's passing earlier this year, Cochran's role as living treasure increased tenfold, but with Livin' for a Song, Cochran rails against being a passive treasure relegated to a museum. A rollicking cover of "Honky Tonk Angels" fires up this new collection of fourteen tracks, and hints that Cochran has more than enough gas to burn through another decade. His rocks suitably offed, Cochran settles into his bread and butter, the ballad, with a trio of classic weepers: The Price-ish, fiddle-driven "Something Unseen," the pedal steel-propelled "I Feel Apart" and "He Little Thinged Her." It's the first of this lovely trinity that best captures Cochran's singular gift. "Before I go there's something I must know/Just what's inside of you, you can't control/That pulls you like a puppet on a string/Away from me to something unseen." Perhaps a tribute to Howard, it's a lovely rumination on death, delivered with a shuffle that still makes you want to dance. (ANDREW DANSBY)
(June 17, 2002)
Reviewed by Kathy Coleman
As far as songwriters go, Hank Cochran remains one of the finest examples living. Having turned out classics of country music such as "I Fall To Pieces," "Make The World Go Away," "He's Got You" (also recorded as "She's Got You"), and "Ocean Front Property," and has been recorded by artists from Patsy Cline to George Strait. Hank's also had a formidable recording career of his own, from recording with rocker Eddie Cochran (no relation, although they billed themselves as "The Cochran Brothers"), and then going on his own as a country artist. He was inducted to the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1974. He has won dozens of awards not only for his own recordings, but for the many number 1 hits he's penned for Ray Price, Eddy Arnold, Elvis Presley, Loretta Lynn, Patsy Cline, Merle Haggard, George Strait, Ronnie Milsap, Vern Gosdin, George Jones, Jeannie Seely, and many others.
With this new disc, his first since the 1996 release, "Desperate Men: The Legend & The Oulaw," Hank salutes the art of the song. With his own powerful, raw vocals taking on many new songs of his own as well as others, he chooses songs that are all individual, rare, and glorious. He begins Livin' For A Song with a startling hardcore rockin' version of the classic "Honky Tonk Angels" (written by Arlie Carter). It's a hook that grabs and keeps the listener paying attention throughout the whole. He follows it with a searing fiddle-drenched tune, "Something Unseen." Hank's voice wavers with emotion, sheer golden country tones. Hank proves he remains a writer of real country, music ripped from the heart's blood to burn into the soul, with each of the songs he has penned on this album.
"I Fell Apart," and "He Little Thinged Her" are both superb examples of pure country music writing. Hank teams with Red Lane for "Nobody's Fool," a toe-tapping, laid-back, bluesy number. Other collaborations include songs written with Dave Kirby, Craig Dillingham, Kirk and John Roth, Bo Roberts and Dave Hoister; songs Hank didn't write himself include tracks penned by Andy Wrenn, Rock Killough, and Jim Vest with Arti Portilla.
There is little spit-and-polish on this album; it's unvarnished country, pure and undiluted, not overrun through a producer's board or tweaked for modern commercial consumption. This is a real country disc for the real country fan, a cheer for those people who still write a country song and those who still want to record them, and, in the process, made for those of us who still want to listen to them. Fiddle and steel, solid high lonesome blues and beer-drenched sorrow, it's all here. From tracks like the extremely impressive "You Let Me Down" to the sweet, introspective "The Pen," which asks almost the same question as George Jones' classic "Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes?" Hank produces an album that is so worth hearing, so rich, and so classically country it's sure to be overlooked by the mainstream, and that's a shame.
Hank closes out the disc with the title track, "Livin' For A Song," which is perhaps an autobiographical tale, the story of the hard life of a songwriter, and how it feels to put your feelings to music. "I have slept on life's highway/muddy tears painting my face/a rhyme or two was a big pay day/Living for a song. Using words for my lifeline/forsaking all just for a rhyme/building steps I know I can't climb/Living for a song."
It's a beautiful album, and a touching, wonderful salute to the usually hidden hero of the song not just the singer, but the one who found the words and made them rhyme. The songwriter.
1. Honky Tonk Angels
2. Something Unseen
3. I Fell Apart
4. He Little Thinged Her
5. Nobody's Fool
6. You Wouldn't Know Love
7. You Let Me Down
8. Magic In The Band
9. When Cotton Was King
10. Sometimes Mississippi
11. The Pen
12. I'm Goin' Home
13. What a Beautiful Woman
14. Livin' For A Song
Livin' For A Song - Hank Cochran
Remo Ricaldone
Hank Cochran è una figura storica della country music di Nashville. Le sue doti compositive lo hanno portato a ricevere numerosissimi attestati dalle più importanti associazioni musicali americane, senza tuttavia farlo diventare una vera e propria star. L'ormai sessantaseienne musicista del Mississippi, nel corso di una carriera che supera ampiamente i quaranta anni, ha scritto brani per moltissimi grandi della country music: prima di tutto Patsy Cline per la quale scrisse la celeberrima "I Fall To Pieces" (in compagnia di Harlan Howard, altro grande autore di Nashville scomparso recentemente),poi Chet Atkins, Tracy Byrd, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Emmylou Harris, Waylon Jennings, Reba McEntire, Buck Owens, George Strait,Lee Ann Womack, Keith Whitley e moltissimi altri. Dopo qualche anno di silenzio discografico Hank Cochran è ritornato i studio e ha inciso una serie di canzoni nella più classica tradizione country. Non mancano, specialmente nei brani uptempo, le influenze rock'n'roll e blues che lo spingono verso quelle sonorità con le quali crebbe in quel di Isola, Mississippi. A mio parere sono proprio questi i momenti migliori nei quali Hank Cochran si esprime in maniera assolutamente all'altezza del suo nome. "Nobody's Fool" e "You Let me Down" hanno nei cromosomi il blues del sud degli States che qui ben si amalgama con la country music. "When Cotton Was King" è profondamente autobiografica e si apre con una bella chitarra acustica e un 'talkin'' che introduce una melodia che ricorda i vecchi outlaws texani Willie Nelson e Waylon Jennings. Anche "Sometimes Mississippi" va a scavare negli intimi ricordi del passato e lo fa con grande grazia. "I'm Goin' Home" è uno dei capolavori dell'album con il suo andamento mosso e le sue influenze country, gospel e blues. Chitarra suonata con il bottleneck, piano e steel guitar si intrecciano in maniera superba. "Livin' For A Song" è il vero e proprio manifesto della vita di Hank Cochran, lo scopo e il grande amore che ha contraddistinto la sua carriera. Il brano più noto dell'album non è stato tuttavia scritto da Hank Cochran; si tratta di un classico della country music, "Honky Tonk Angels", qui rivisto in un arrangiamento che però non le rende piena giustizia. Comunque questo "Livin' For A Song" è un disco interessante che ci mostra (ancora in buona forma) uno dei grandi songwriters della storia della country music.
HIGHWAY FM Magazine
Jean Agostini
HANK COCHRAN "Livin' for a song" Gifted Few Records Hank cochran est peu connu du grand public, et son nom ne doit inspirer que la catégorie des gens passionnés par la lecture des livrets intérieurs de CDs et pochettes d'albums. Les artistes par contre connaissent le talent et la prL'année 61 ose de ce bonhomme qui approche les 70 ans. Le catalogue des hits signés Hank Cochran est réellement imposant. Jugez plutôt: "I fall to pieces", "She's got you", "Make the world go away", "A little bitty tear", "The chair", "Don't touch me" et "Don't you ever get tired of hurtin' me". La petite histoire n'en fait que peu mention, mais dans ses plus jeunes années, Hank a travaillé avec Eddie Cochran, et ils s'appelaient les Cochran Brothers. Même si le vrai nom de Hank est Garland Perry Cochran, sachez qu'il n'y a aucun lien de parenté. L'année 61 marque son premier hit "I fall to pieces" pour Patsy Cline, co-écrit avec le regrété Harlan Howard, et voici une liste non exhaustive des artistes ayant repris ses chansons: Lynn Anderson, Eddy Arnold, Chet Atkins, Junior Brown, Jimmy Buffett, Tracy Byrd, Johnny Cash, Elvis Costello, Elvis Presley, Linda Ronstadt,, Dean Martin, Lee Ann Womack, et de son propre chef, Hank a réalisé "Desperate men, the legend and the outlaw" en 96 et ce CD "Livin' for a song" en 2002. Les 14 titres varient de la ballade au honky tonk, de la soul au blues. "Magic in the band" célèbre le Texas swing, "Honky tonk angels" se distingue avec une section cuivre et beaucoup de guitares. Violon et pedal steel sont aussi invités. Ecoutez
Bland de få som har gåvan att skriva odödliga låtar hör också Hank Cochran. 66 år gammal visar han i ett nytt album, Livin´ for a song", (Gifted few records) att mästartakterna sitter i. Make the world go away och I fall to pieces är de två mest kända av de gamla låtarna, och snart sagt varje artist i Nashville har spelat in någon av hans låtar. I fall to pieces är förstås given på den hyllningskiva för Patsy Cline som kommer i höst. Natalie Cole har valt den.
Cochran kan sjunga själv också, och det blir ju så mycket lättare med de egna låtarna där texten och refrängerna efter en par lyssningar känns som gamla bekanta. En gång hade han fem låtar samtidigt på 10-i-topp. Det finns historier om hur han skrev hitlåtar i logen före showen, eller två på samma dag. Inte konstigt att han kallas The Legend.
Man kan lyssna och få tag på skivan på www.hankcochran.com
Translate:
Among the few with the gift(ability) to make immortal song belong Hank Cochran. 66 years old he shows in a new album. Living for a song (Gifted few records) that his master hand(ship) is still there. Make the world go away and I fall to pieces is the two most famous old songs hed made, and almost every artist in Nashville has record one of his songs.
I fall to pieces is of course evident(clear) on the (homage) cd for Patsy Cline later this year. Natalie Cole chosed it. Cochran can sing himself too, and it´s so much easier with his own songs and the lyric and refrains after a couple of listenings feels like an old friend.
Once he had five songs at top-10. You can hear stories about how he wrote hits in the dressingroom before the show, or two on the same day. It´s not strange that they call him The Legend.
You can listen och buy the cd on www.hankcochran.com.
Songs such as 'I Fall To Pieces', 'Little Bitty Tear', 'Funny Way of Laughing', 'Make The World Go Away', 'It's Not Love (But Its Not Bad), 'Don't Touch Me', 'Ocean Front Property' and 'The Chair' are all classed as country standards today. These songs and many, many more were either written or co-written by Hank Cochran (nicknamed The Legend). His songwriting career stretches back almost half a century. The number of artistes who have recorded songs by Hank Cochran is too numerous to mention…almost anyone who is anyone will have recorded a song by Hank. More recently these include Lee Ann Womack, Ty Herndon, Wade Hayes and Daryle Singletary. He has seen 30 of his songs holding chart positions at one time. Even Dean Martin cut 'She's Got You' (changed to 'He's Got You') and invited Hank down to Las Vegas to see him perform the song.
While in Nashville during March (2002), Nashville's notable publicist Martha Moore arranged for me to meet-up with Hank at Sony Tree Publishing House to talk about his songwriting career.
Hank Cochran, born in Isola, Mississippi during 1935. He worked for a while in the oilfields of New Mexico in the mid 50's, before playing gigs in Belle Gardens, California. "My mother and dad got a divorce when I was nine years old, so I went out on my own. I was working in the Mississippi making caskets and I told my mom…there has to be something better than this out there. I'm going to go seek it out…And I'm still seeking it out! (laughs)
My uncle and I hitchhiked to Hobbs, New Mexico. It was in the winter and we almost froze to death. We stopped in Hobbs because we had gone just as far as we could before we were going to fall over. I don't know where the hell we were going, but we were going. (laughs) I went out to California…I guess I was about 14-15 and I got a job at Sears and Roebuck…It was a huge store and I worked on the 5th floor and worked on roller-skates. I worked there for quite a while and had picked-up the guitar and was learning that and learnt everything my uncle knew. (laughs) So I was just searching for it, and started singing on those amateur contests, you know…squeaking, geeking an all that, anyway you could get a high pitch."
In 1954 Hank teamed up with 16-year-old guitarist Eddie Cochran (same name, but not related). After hearing about the impact Elvis was having, The Cochran Brothers moved towards rock 'n' roll, recording on the Ekko label. "I thought I'd put a little group together and needed a guitar player. I was checking around and it was said there was a kid over in Belle Gardens, which was about 5-8 miles from where I lived. They said he was a hell of a guitar player. I said what's his name and they said Eddie Cochran. I said Eddie Cochran and they said yeh…spelt the same and all that. I went over and picked him up and headed off, with two or three other guys with us. We ended-up doing duets and calling ourselves the Cochran Brothers. We went to work for Lefty Frizzell and as a matter of fact we went to Honolulu and all around with him. I couldn't handle the rock 'n' roll anymore. I told Eddie… damn I can't handle this anymore! People pulling on me and grabbing me and all that. I said…I'm going to stick with the country and you just handle this rock 'n' roll." Eddie died at about 20 years of age in a car crash on the way to Heathrow airport on the wet morning of April 17, 1960. His taxi blew a tyre and crashed into a lamppost on the A4 near Bath. Eddie died in hospital that afternoon, the year following the death of Buddy Holly. "It just tore me up, like I've been tore up in the last six months. It's just unbelievable here. What went on here….just too many funerals!"
Writing his own songs, 1960 saw Hank make a move to Music City to try and sell them and joining Ray Price and Hal Smith's publishing house Pamper Music. Hank also helped sign other songwriters to the company and after meeting Willie Nelson at Tootsies Orchid Lounge; he brought Willie on to the payroll to an exclusive songwriter agreement. Hank became great friends with the late Harland Howard, writing 'I Fall To Pieces' together for Patsy Cline. "Me and Harland were real close friends for 42 years. I talked him into moving back here. He was staying in California when I started working for Pamper. He was sending songs and I was getting them cut. I said why don't you just come on back here. He finally said OK, and me and June Carter found him a house and he and Jan moved back. I first met him during a disc jockey convention in October 59. When we all moved back to California, I had a bunch of shows and stuff to do in the holidays…Christmas, New Year and all that. Then I caught a bus and a four day ride, I came back here…got a job with Pamper paying $50 a week and stayed (later to become co-owner). I was getting $50 a week and $10 went to mom Upchurch…the lady at the boarding house where I was staying. $25 of it went back to California to my wife and three kids, so what little bit of money left, was about $12 a week to live on. So I got to be friends with a lot of guys who were playing the Opry…the first spot paid $10 and the second spot paid $3."
"I got to be a real good friends with Patsy Cline when I was staying at mom Upchurch's. Darrell McCall was a good friend and played bass and worked the road with Patsy sometimes. He took me over and introduced me to her. I think he was going by the name of Darrell Young then. Donnie Young was there, who turned out to be Johnny Paycheck and George McCormack and 'Shorty' Lavender who played fiddle for Ray Price…part owner of Pamper. She was trilled that I was there.
I had this idea of 'I Fall To Pieces' and part of it wrote. I went over to Harland's and me and Harlan sat down and finished it. Harland said…well that is a little different melody you've got there. And me coming form California…I guess it was! One of my favourite singers was and still is, Nat King Cole. I guess that is why me and Jim Reeves got to be so close. So, as I was running the company and getting the songs recorded, we'd get a demo recorded by Harlan's wife Jan. I got to know Owen Bradley and I said when are you going to cut Patsy? He said you know, this is the first time that I'll actually be producing her and pick songs. You see before, anything she recorded had to be a Four Star song, because she was signed to Four Star in California. He said…do you have anything that sounds like a hit? I said I swear that I believe I do Mr Bradley. I sung him a little of it and he said…if you'll go and get me a dub of that, I'll cut that with somebody. Everybody on the label turned it down and Patsy didn't like it. I showed it to Chet (Atkins) and all the people he was cutting and they turned it down and everybody in town. It became one of the biggest songs in country music. I've told friends of mine just starting out who get discouraged. Always try to remember to keep this in mind…the better the song is, the harder it is to get it cut, because it's not the everyday run of the mill. Because it's different, they are afraid to take that step and the ones that ain't are the ones that have the huge successes!"
Amongst his successes, Ray Price recorded 'Make The World Go Away' in 1963. Merle Haggard recorded Hank Cochran/Glenn Martin's 'It's Not Love (But Its Not Bad)', which not only made #1 in 1972, but also received nomination for CMA Song Of The Year in 1973. Haggard also recorded 'Don't Touch Me' and George Strait had #1 hits with 'The Chair' (1985) and 'Ocean Front Property' (1987) which debuted on the top spot, and both songs being co-written with Dean Dillon.
'The Chair' became a very popular song on the British country scene and the story line of the lyrics makes for an intriguing song. "Yes…(laughs) it really is! We were on my boat. It was after Christmas and before New Year and we went to stay on the boat. We were there just to write songs if they came along and to drink beer and stuff. We started working on some song…my wife Suzi was in the bunk back there laying down. And she said…there's a hit out by that same title. He (Dean Dillon) don't listen to radio and I don't. So I said, well hell, that takes care of that! Dean said yeh, yeh, "Excuse Me!!!" And it just started. It just went wham, wham, wham, and I said hold! I've already got the ending, the melody and everything, so let me go up to the mike and start. You just keep coming this-a-way and when we get about a minute and a half a piece, we'll stick-em together. Dean had a line and I said I've got a line that will fit that and I said 'Can I drink you a buy'. So we just stuck them together and when George Strait heard it, he said….I've just got to sing that line. 15 - 20 minutes it took"
Sometimes the best songs only take that long. 'Ocean Front Property' was another song with an intriguing line. "I was producing a demo session and I don't know where it came from, but I said to one of the guys…"grab that guitar and come here a minute". So we went into a room that ran off the studio. I had a verse and a chorus already written…just whap! I sang it to him and he played the guitar on it and about that time Dean kicked the door open and said…I knew you'd be in here writing another song. So I said….come on in, we need another verse. So Dean wrote another verse and that was it. Then we did a demo on it, but I wasn't pitching it. My Suzi says Hank 'An Ocean Front Property', is a hit! I said hey! I'm the writer, I'm the pitcher of this family and I don't think it's a hit. She said…well I think it is! And she stayed on me until I said…if you'll shut-up I'll send it to George. I sent it!!!…he came in and cut it. It was the first single from the album and that is what they titled the album. It was the first country album to go in at #1."
Jerry Lee Lewis recorded an album called 'Live At Hank Cochran's'. "I had a studio upstairs in my house and a friend of mine Sam MacVickery came up an idea to try and get Jerry Lee to cut a gospel album. Mac was real good friends with Jerry…I knew him, but not real well. We tried to get him to do it and he said…I don't know! Then one evening the phone rang and it was him. Jerry said…I've thought it over Hank and I think I'll do it. So I said OK when? So he said, I'll be over there in two and a half to three hours. So I said well OK, do we need some musicians? He said…no I just want to do it by myself and we'll put something with if we need it. So I called my engineer and said you need to get over here and make it real quick and hunt up all the tape that we've got. Jerry Lee said that he's coming over. It didn't seem as if we'd just turned around and there's Jerry Lee walking through the door. He had a fire-red Corvette and he just smoked that thing from Memphis. We did a hundred and five sides upstairs in my studio. There's a bunch of them that nobody's ever heard!
Hank released his album Desperate Men in 1996 and in April 2002 he released a new album, Livin' For A Song. The title cut is an ode to the art of songwriting and a tribute to the hard knocks and soul-searching lifestyle that the creative ones sometimes must endure.
"I said to Suzi…I've made a decision! She says…well that's news right there! (laughs) She says well what is it. And I said, I'm going to cut a record. She said You!…well that's the best news I've heard this year! So I said which one? And she said…well give me a day or two. She walked into my office and said…I've got it…'Livin' For A Song'. I said…well I'll be dammed, the closer it gets the harder it is to see. I said I can't believe I didn't think of that. I said hell that's me! That's my life in that song, and she said…that's right. Suzi said…there's nobody better than you, since you wrote it and it's your life, then you've to cut it. So I called Martha and told her and called Jim Vest and he said…God I think that's a great idea man! So we called Buck over at the studio and got some time as quick as we could, which was about three or four days. We went in and cut it. Mixed it and mastered it and Miss Martha shipped it over seas as the first single around February 1st. Martha called after about a week or so, and she said Hank, I think you may have a hit! So she said…you better get on it and finish the album."
'Livin For A Song' had been written about 2-3 years before, but never released by anyone. "I cut it with a guy, but he was another one that kinda just drifted off. And I don't know if I pitched it or not." The finished album was released in April with 14 tracks opening with Arlie Carter's 'Honky Tonk Angels'. "When me and Eddie Cochran started working together, we were doing rockabilly music. That first song on there…'Honky Tonk Angels', is a rocking version. So I put it there first to show everybody where I started…that far back and tried to bring it on up to where I am now. That is what I hope to do, because when I cut 'Livin For A Song', the steelwork is on a steel guitar…without pedals. Because when I came to town, there were no pedals, or they were just beginning to use them. In California a friend of mine who was a steel player, drilled out a hole in the fret board and fitted a stilson wrench with a coat hanger to one of the strings and when he stepped on that stilson wrench, it pulled it. All those Buck Owen records and Wynn Stewart records…well that's him. So I told Vest that when I came here, that was what they were doing and that was the way it was. And when I go out, that's the way it's going to be. So the ending of it…when they retard it, I raised him up, so that he'd be louder than the rest at the end. I hope everybody understands what I did."
The second track to be released as a single is 'Something Unseen'. "It is one of those Ray Price shuffles that I wrote quite a few of. It just knocked me and everyone else out in the studio when we cut it. Gosh, we were playing it for the people who were coming in to record. (laughs) I said, hell damn, perhaps we should release that next. So that is going to be the next single." Hank has written many songs for Ray Price with 22 of Hank's songs on the Ray Price box-set (Bear Records) and that doesn't cover all the songs he's cut! "He's cut a bunch of other things of mine. In fact he signed a new deal with another label…Audio. They 're all excited about it, as I am too. I talked to him last week and I said…hello sir. This is Hank who works for you. (laughing) Cos he was one of the owners of Pamper Music and I've actually been with him 42 years. So has Willie Nelson. So me and Willie kid him all the time. You know…he asked Willie to get him half a chicken when Willie was going out to run. Willie looked over at me and said…he thinks we still work for him! (laughs) And I said…don't we! You go get him his chicken, I'm gathering up things for him here. (laughs) So when he calls, I say yessir mister, I'm still working for you! He was on his bus going to Florida and I called him. I said I had just cut a Ray Price smash. He said…you better hold it for me. I said I don't know man, I sure do like it. I said boy it just sounds so much like you, I don't know. He said, I'm cutting four of yours already and people will get to thinking something! And I said…I still works for you! (laughing)."
'Something Unseen' entered the EMS charts and stands at #31 at the time of writing (May) while still climbing. 'Livin' For A Song' made #15 on 14th March 2002.