Paddy One Tune

Just caught a glimpse of the genius that is Kris Kristoferson on the box - but have to admit that when he sings one of his classics I can't help but think of all the nights I have spent listening to diabolical cover versions of KK, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson. Garth Brooks, Kenny Rogers and even Elvis.

From the age of 15 until I was about 22 I had various summer jobs, evening jobs, because I failed exam jobs etc etc and all of these involved pulling pints in hotel bars, function bars, pre disco bars, post dinner bars, pre dinner bars. so in effect between the years of 1988 and 1995 I worked in eight different pubs and five different hotels.

Over that period I became an expert on the pleasure that was the "saturday night music"
This pretty much always involved some yokel with a keyboard that was getting £5o plus free pints to play pre recorded music and to sing a few bars of the same ten songs
These guys were so good they could swig a pint - drag on fag - but the music never stopped


If I said you had a beautiful body
Sunday morning going down
Know when to hold them know when
Im just a poor boy and ...
If tomorrow never comes

In hindsight these men murdered classic songs - and they got away with it.

Here's one for you Omar combining two of the aforementioned....Enjoy the memories.

Cheers boxty

But the point of my point is the opposite

I love all this stuff and it IMO it is grade A
but my generation (pre internet post drinking for a living) heard 100 bad cover versions maybe before they heard the real thing - in fact if you asked them who sang ring of fire they would answer Big Jimmy "Phaidi Rua" gallagher" in the beach Hotel on a saturday night

A disserivice to your link

Omar I know exactly where you're coming from. There was a bloke who used to sing in a pub in Birmingham on Sunday nights who'd kill many a classic and for all I know he still does, my ears are too offended to find out though. He'd hit the bossa nova tempo button on his keyboard to accompany any song you can name!

The thing with Kristoferssonn is that 99% of the time his own versions of his songs were the best even if they seldom sound the same way twice and even if the songs have been made more famous by others eg Johnny Cash with Sunday Morning Coming Down or Janis with Me and Bobby MgHee. The only improvement I can think of with one of his tracks would be Elvis doing Help me make it through the Night but Elvis version was the definitive version of practically everything he recorded. Because of a raw and distinct, if somewhat acquired delivery Kristoffersonn would have a lot in common with fella's like Tom Waits or Leonard Cohen in this regard although sometimes with say the likes of Bob Dylan its often the case that his songs sound better covered by others.