MEREDITH JENKS
Zephaniah OHora is a fixture of the Brooklyn Country Music scene. His fantastic, self-released debut album This Highway is a nod to Merle Haggard, Marty Robbins, and Red Simpson with a decidedly New York bent.
He stopped by the Tennessee Border Show to talk about his record, his influences, and some of his favorite country tunes. Listen below and find the full July 30th edition of the Tennessee Border Show here.
KURT MARKUS. ROGER RESSMEYER/CORBIS
Nat Hentoff's blurb on the back of Lost Highway: Journeys and Arrivals of American Musicians sums up Peter Guralnick's work in 20 words or so, "Indispensable...The chapter on Merle Haggard is as if Chekhov had filed a report from Harrah's in Lake Tahoe."
The Chekovian Haggard chapter to which he refers took place in 1978 in Merle's suite at the Lake Tahoe casino. Haggard's marriage to Bonnie Owens was dissolving. He needed her signature on some divorce papers so he could marry his other back-up singer, Leona Williams. Hentoff's connection between Guralnick's fly-on-the-wall style and Chekhov's aptitude for perception and subtext is on the mark.
The late Hentoff called Guralnick a "national resource." He's a GRAMMY-winner, an acclaimed author, and a genuine Merle Haggard fan. We spoke earlier this month for WKCR's Merle Haggard Memorial Broadcast & Birthday Celebration. The interview originally aired April 6, 2017.
JESSICA FEY
The story goes that Will Oldham's first performance some 25 years ago included a cover of Merle Haggard's "It's Not Love (But it's Not Bad.)" Merle Haggard's music figures prominently in Oldham's work as Bonnie 'Prince' Billy. His 2007 take on "The Way I Am" introduced Merle to a new audience of music-lovers, including yours truly. Next month will see the release of Bonnie 'Prince' Billy's full-fledged Merle Haggard tribute album, Best Troubador. (Check out the video for bonus track "Mama Tried" here.)
Will Oldham spoke with me last week about Hag and the new album for WKCR's Merle Haggard Memorial Broadcast & Birthday Celebration. Our conversation originally aired April 6, 2017.