By Henry Lipput
What do I know about hillbilly music? Or, to paraphrase the title of a Lloyd Cole and The Commotions song: why I like hillbilly music.
In the 1980s, Marshall Crenshaw put together a compilation of country, then called hillbilly, music released by Capitol Records in the 1940s and 1950s. I was, and still am, a big fan of Crenshaw's; so I bought the album and have enjoyed Hillbilly Music … Thank God! Volume 1 over the years. I've also listened to Honky Tonk Heroes, a collection of country / hillbilly music compiled by Allan Jones for Uncut magazine's free cover CD about 15 years ago, more than a few times.
There were a few musicians that were included on both of these discs, but neither included songs by Little Jimmy Dickens. Dickens, who died in 2015 at 94, was the longest-performing member of the Grand Ole Opry (over 60 years) and is the subject of The Rhinestone Hillbilly: A Tribute To Little Jimmy Dickens.
Dickens, born in West Virginia, was known for his novelty songs including his biggest success, "May the Bird of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose." He introduced the sparkle of rhinestone-studded suits to country music and also pioneered the use of twin lead-guitar lines with his Country Boys band.
If you've read this far and still aren't sure how you feel about hillbilly music you need to listen to Larry Groce's cover of "I Got A Hole In My Pocket" on Rhinestone Hillbilly. Dickens's 1958 original is not far from the world of Buddy Holly, but Groce turns it into a lost Rockpile outtake with a lead guitar that could have been played by the great Dave Edmunds.
In addition to Groce (host of NPR's Mountain Stage program produced by West Virginia Public Radio), the album is filled with major talents from the world of Americana, bluegrass, soul, and country.
Rock and Rock Hall of Famer, Bill Withers, with his first new recording in decades, performs the heart-breaking, spoken-word "(You've Been Quite a Doll) Raggedy Ann." And actress-artist Ann Magnuson, with the help of what sounds like a pump organ, takes Dickens's upbeat tune of unrequited love "Slow Suicide" and makes it a chilling tale of loss not unlike "The Long Black Veil."
Other highlights include Charlie McCoy's harmonica-driven opener "Fireball Mail," the terrific guitar, harmonica, and fiddle mix on Mollie O'Brien and Julie Adams's take on Dickens's signature tune "I'm Little But I'm Loud;" and The Carpenter Ants send "How To Catch An African Skeeter Alive" down to New Orleans.
Other songs with wonderful performances, like Tim O'Brien and Kathy Mattea's "Poor Little Darlin'," Russ Hicks's "They've Stole My Steel Guitar," Connie Smith's "We Could," and John Lilly's "Out Of Business" are loyal to the spirit of Dickens's time and would have found a welcome place on either of my hillbilly music collections.
The Rhinestone Hillbilly: A Tribute To Little Jimmy Dickens is out now from the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame.
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