Artist:Jesse Winchester
Song:The Brand New Tennessee Waltz
Album:The Best of Jesse Winchester
Singer songwriter Jesse Winchester's career was hampered by his move to Canada to avoid the Vietnam War. That meant he couldn't tour the US. Obviously most record companies won't sign an artist with that restriction. But Winchester did sign and had a long career. The only other draft dodger in music that I recall was Pure Prairie League lead singer Craig Fuller. Winchester was born May 17, 1944 in Bossier City, LA. His family moved to Memphis when he was 12 years old. After Winchester graduated from Williams College in Williamstown, MA in 1966, he received his draft notice and moved to Montreal. He told Rolling Stone in 1977 "I was so offended by someone presuming to tell me who I should kill". Winchester had been in bands since high school. He started writing songs and performing at coffeehouses. He met The Band's Robbie Robertson who got him a record deal with Ampex Records. The Brand New Tennessee Waltz is from Winchester's 1970 debut album Jesse Winchester. Robertson produced with Todd Rundgren. Levon Helm appeared on the album. The album was critically acclaimed. But because Winchester couldn't tour the US, he was unable to promote the album. Plus the audio tape manufacturer Ampex shouldn't have been in the record business in the first place. Rundgren recorded for Albert Grossman's Bearsville label so he got Winchester a deal there. Though Winchester never had commercial success, his songs were recorded by many artists. Nicolette Larson and Michael Martin Murphey were among those who had chart success with his songs. Winchester was the first to record Russell Smith's Third Rate Romance which would become a hit for Smith's band Amazing Rhythm Aces. After Winchester was granted amnesty in 1976, he started touring the US. Winchester remained on Bearsville until 1981. This Rhino comp covers the Bearsville years. Winchester recorded for the Canadian labels Attic and Stony Plain. These albums were released in the US by the bluegrass label Sugar Hill. Stony Plain owns the rights to Winchester's back catalog. Winchester moved to Memphis in 2002. He continued to perform until he was diagnosed with cancer in 2011. His final two albums were recorded for Appleseed. He died on Apr. 11, 2014 at age 69. Here's Jesse Winchester with The O'Kanes performing The Brand New Tennessee Waltz on the Apr. 14, 1990 episode of the TNN show The American Music Shoppe.
No comments:
Post a Comment