A country way of life, Episode 13 (Dave Cobb, Buddy Harman, Dewayne Blackwell)
Author: Jonny Brick.
Producer: Dave Cobb
Dave Cobb is the current custodian of the famous ‘A’ Room at RCA Studios where Owen Bradley made so many timeless records. I once read that Cobb, a former musician who played guitar in the band Tender Idols, nowadays only appears live as an auxiliary guitarist when he wants to join one of his clients on a big stage. If you watch Chris Stapleton’s Farm Aid show of 2018 or his Saturday Night Live performance of Midnight Train to Memphis with Sturgill Simpson, you can spot Cobb on guitar.
He is best known for his collaborations with both men. He has made every one of Stapleton’s five albums, as well as Simpson’s first two, High Top Mountain and Metamodern Sounds in Country Music. Cobb also helped sculpt the sound of albums by Jason Isbell, Brandi Carlile and The Highwomen. In an interview with Spin in 2023, he reveals that his method is to get a live vocal down before anything else surrounds it.
Having lived and worked in Los Angeles and Nashville, Cobb now makes records in his studio in his home state of Georgia, whose melting pot of black and white music guided and continues to guide the Dave Cobb sound.
Player: Buddy Harman
In a time before drum machines, the human drummer was king. In Nashville, the timekeeper extraordinaire was Buddy Harman, whose work must have been heard by billions of people at this point. He was in the room when many, many hits were recorded, as part of the A Team of session musicians.
Harman came along at a time when the rise of rock’n’roll had made it easier for country fans to appreciate beat-driven music. Stand By Your Man, Cathy’s Clown, Oh Pretty Woman and Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree are four number one Hot 100 hits with Harman on them. He also backed Patsy Cline on her run of smashes including Crazy and She’s Got You, and he can be heard on Elvis tunes like (Marie’s the Name) His Latest Flame, Stuck on You and I Got Stung.
Songwriter: Dewayne Blackwell
When Dewayne Blackwell died in 2021, I hope he showed up to heaven in boots to ruin a black tie affair. He wrote those lines for the song Friends In Low Places, which Garth Brooks turned into a stadium and karaoke anthem, after initially singing a demo version which was intended to find its way to George Strait.
Brooks remarked on his death that Blackwell was a ‘pure rhymist’, which is clear in the strong rhymes of the chorus of that smash: ‘low places/ beer chases/ social graces/ oasis’. Blackwell’s song I’m Gonna Hire A Wino To Decorate Our Home, which was a number one for David Frizzell, caught Brooks’s ear because it described the sort of character common in Oklahoma.
Blackwell himself was born in Texas and started as a singer in his family band The Blackwells, whose existence came to an end when one of the trio died in a bike accident. Blackwell was able to move from performer to songwriter, thanks mostly to Mr Blue, a number one Hot 100 hit for The Fleetwoods in 1959 which Brooks cut for his album No Fences.
Blackwell shifted into country in the 1980s, writing the theme song for the Clint Eastwood movie Honkytonk Man as well as hits for Sammy Kershaw (Yard Sale) and Conway Twitty (Saturday Night Special).
All Episodes can be found here
For more country music evangelism, go to countrywol.com where you can read Monday essays, Friday reviews and Sunday Hymn Sheets. Follow Jonny’s Country Music Calendar at the Country Way of Life Facebook page (facebook.com/acountrywayoflife).
