JENKS TEX CARMAN On Crown & Design

Thursday, November 20, 2008


A baker's dozen from this star of early country music television. A controversial figure, he seems to straddle that slippery gray area between genius and hack. His playing and singing are erratic to say the very least, but there is something compelling about his originality.
I bought the Crown album (CLP 5324) in Harrow, Ontario some years back, having heard of him but never having heard his music. Nothing could have prepared me for Carman's bizarre phrasing (he makes Hank Snow sound like Pat Boone) and his, uhhh, questionable sense of both meter and intonation. I wanted to dismiss it, but to be truthful I find myself continually drawn back to it.
These files consist of the ten tracks from the Crown LP plus three more instrumental tracks from the Design LP "Kings Of The Steel Guitar", DLP-196.

Click here for a biography of Jenks Tex Carman

Tracks:

1. Beverly Ann
2. Wreck Of Old #9
3. Wild And Wooly West
4. Pal Of My Heart
5. Wondering
6. Wolf Creek
7. Get Along Pony
8. My Baby I'll Be There
9. Border Town
10. My Hawaii Calls
11. Hilo March
12. Kahila March
13. Hillbilly Hula

"Wildwood Flower" is listed on the jacket of CLP 5324 but not included on the record.

*download here*

3 comments:

Robert said...

This is the only way I can see to contact you. We had a country radio station in the Los Angeles area called KFOX. In late 1963 or early 64 they played this song called " Silly Hillbilly Willy" Have you ever heard it? I bought the 45 but don't know where it went or who sang the song. If you know where i could possibly find it please e-mail Falls City Slim and my e-mail is:

fallscity@gmail.com

Thank you for any help you might provide

brujo said...

thank you for the Jenks Tex Carman a true idiosyncratic player something like an outsider artist of country music you are right his music does draw you back as it is so unusual .Thank you also for The Blue sky Boys once again an excellent job in transferring to digital it is also great to see the original covers etc .regards brujo

Lonesome Lefty said...

in response to the two comments above, firstly, i unfortunately don't own nor have ever heard the recording "silly hillbilly willy" :-< glad however that the tex carmen and blue sky boys was appreciated, and i REALLY appreciate the comments about the quality of the transfers, as this is a very subjective process, and ultimately a judgment call. too little restoration sounds messy because you really haven't dealt with the intrusive audio distractions, while too much can sound dead because you've taken away too much of the music, throwing out the baby with the bathwater, so the speak. part of the brevity of making these transfers public is the knowledge that someone else may always have done it different...