Three-Point Shots, Vol. 2, No. 3: Music Appreciation Edition
I've always enjoyed listening to music, and I love learning the backstories behind songs, albums and artists I appreciate. Here's three of those stories.
Welcome to another edition of Three-Point Shots, a part of my Life Its Ownself Substack page. This one is dedicated to music and musicians I like. I’d love your thoughts about and suggestions for additional music conversations.
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But first, your moment of Zen … via the James Webb Space Telescope, a photo of the dark side of the moon passing in front of the earth during last week’s total solar eclipse. Credit: NASA/NOAA
Sunday, April 21, 2024
Happy San Jacinto Day to those who celebrate! The battle of San Jacinto, 188 years ago today, was a decisive win for the ragtag Texian army over the larger and better-equipped Mexican army. More importantly, General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, who both commanded the army and was President of Mexico, was captured and, three weeks later, signed the peace treaty that granted Texas independence from Mexico.
Santa Anna’s defeat and capture reminds us of the perils of being an authoritarian dictator. By the time he marched north to put down the rebellion in Texas, he also faced open rebellion in 14 other provinces. One just can’t be everywhere at once, putting down incipient rebellions in Zacatecas and Tabasco while chasing down insurgent Anglos and Mexicans in Texas.
At the time, the new nation claimed territory that extended all the way into modern-day Wyoming. It would take another generation for the boundary disputes and challenges to be resoved and for modern Texas to emerge.
The Battle of San Jacinto is most enthusiastically celebrated in San Antonio, with its four-day Night in Old San Antonio street party and its Batlle of Flowers and Fiesta Flambeau parades. Fiesta Week is currently underway in the Alamo City,
R.I.P., Dickey Betts
Dickey Betts, the lead guitarist for the Allman Brothers Band for 50 years, passed away last week at the age of 80. He originally was the second lead guitar of the band, trading licks with lead guitarist Duane Allman. Their chemistry could be heard on the band’s iconic Live at Fillmore East album. But by the time the band became a household name, Duane was dead and Dickey was the lead. He contributed some of the band’s most enduring songs, including “Ramblin’ Man,” “Blue Sky” and the majestic “Jessica.” My college suitemate Jim Donovan, on hearing the latter song, gave it the perfect recommendation: “I’d sure like to meet that woman.”
My take: I was a big fan of the Allman Brothers in their early 70s blues-rock phase. Their musicianship was superb, especially the twin lead guitars. But by the time Gregg Allman married Cher in 1975, my musical interests had moved on.
Like many bands from that era, the Allman Brothers split and reformed several times over the ensuing decades, beneficiaries and/or victims of the nostalgia and buying power of their Boomer fan base. The band retired for good in 2014, followed by Gregg Allman’s death in 2017.
Who Doesn’t Love Eliza Gilkyson?
I have always liked the singer-songwriter Eliza Gilkyson, who’s been based in Austin and Taos over the years. My favorite song of hers is “The Beauty Way,” which she wrote with Mark Andes. It captures the journey of a musician from youthful inspiration to jaded acceptance of her fate:
Doe eyed kid and a little transistor
Tuned into Wolfman jack
I picked up a guitar heard the sirens whisper
And I never looked back little darling
And I never looked back …Sometimes I wish I could unplug this cord
And my soul or my money I could save
Oh but every time I say I'm gonna quit the Beauty Way
I hear my bones just turning in their grave little darling
Bones turning in their grave
Here she is, performing the song in a songwriters’ circle in 2014:
My take: I love the world-weariness of this esong, especially the “little darling” tagline added to each verse. I also love its grounding in the Beauty Way, the Navajo spiritual path and teaching. As a working musician, she’s trying to follow the Beauty Way, but the pressures and stresses of her career wear her down.
Terry Gilkyson on the Beauty Way
Eliza’s song is autobiographical. In the first verse, she alludes to her father:
My father made a pretty damn good living
Playing music on the Beauty Way
He's gonna die with some money in his pocket
Wish I could do the same today little darling
Wish I could do the same today
Her father was Terry Gilkyson, a successful singer-songwriter in the 1950s and 60s. My favorite song from this time is “Memories Are Made of This,” which he wrote and was recorded by Dean Martin with Terry as part of the backing trio.
My take: I always loved “Memories” with its evocagtion of the sweetness and sadness of a life commitment. It made me happy to discover the family connection between the song and my favorite Eliza Gilkyson song.
The music selections above are, admittedly, idiosyncratic. My tastes are eclectic, and I do not listen to music with a critic’s ear or sensibility. I’d love to hear your thoughts on these selections and your suggestions for additional music to mention.
Which resources would you recommend for a history of Texas?
Visited the Bullock Museum in Austin last month. Two things impressed me. The first was a stark realization that Governor Abbott is trying to be a dictator as Santa Ana was trying to dictate to future Texans. May the gov meet the same fate as Santa Ana. Two: the displays about the black people in Texas were skipped over by our guides. I wandered off and educated myself