This week we have two songs to play along with, Deep In The Heart of Texas and an Irish Seasonal song Wild Rover.   What on earth do these two songs have in common?   They both require you to stamp your feet!   4 times for Deep in the Heart of Texas and 3 times for Wild rover. 

Deep in the Heart of Tesax is on page 67 of our book.   

Remember, we sing Deep in the Heart of Texas in 2 keys, It is a 2 chord song A and E7 for the first 4 verses and C and G7 for the last 4 verses.  

In Wild Rover (Key of C) you stamp your feet 3 times in the Chorus right after " And it's [G7] no nay never, (3 stamps).   Wild Rover (Key of C) is on page 37.

Whiskey in the Jar is an Irish traditional song set in the southern mountains of Ireland, often with specific mention of counties Cork and Kerry. The song, about a rapparee (highwayman) who is betrayed by his wife or lover, is one of the most widely performed traditional Irish songs and has been recorded by numerous artists since the 1950s.

The song first gained wide exposure when Irish folk band The Dubliners performed it internationally as a signature song, and recorded it on three albums in the 1960s. In the U.S., the song was popularized by The Highwaymen, who recorded it on their 1962 album Encore. Irish rock band Thin Lizzy hit the Irish and British pop charts with the song in 1973. In 1990, The Dubliners re-recorded the song with The Pogues with a faster rocky version charting at No. 63 in the UK. American metal band Metallica in 1998 played a version very similar to that of Thin Lizzy's, though with a heavier sound, winning a Grammy for the song in 2000 for Best Hard Rock Performance. In 2019, Canadian singer-songwriter Bryan Adams performed a cover of the song on his album Shine a Light.

The song's exact origins are unknown. A number of its lines and the general plot resemble those of a contemporary broadside ballad "Patrick Fleming" (also called "Patrick Flemmen he was a Valiant Soldier") about Irish highwayman Patrick Fleming, who was executed in 1650.

In the book The Folk Songs of North America, folk music historian Alan Lomax suggests that the song originated in the 17th century, and (based on plot similarities) that John Gay's 1728 The Beggar's Opera was inspired by Gay hearing an Irish ballad-monger singing "Whiskey in the Jar". In regard to the history of the song, Lomax states, "The folk of seventeenth century Britain liked and admired their local highwaymen; and in Ireland (or Scotland) where the gentlemen of the roads robbed English landlords, they were regarded as national patriots. Such feelings inspired this rollicking ballad."

At some point, the song came to the United States and was a favorite in Colonial America because of its irreverent attitude toward British officials. The American versions are sometimes set in America and deal with American characters. One such version, from Massachusetts, is about Alan McCollister, an Irish-American soldier who is sentenced to death by hanging for robbing British officials.

(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66  is a popular rhythm and blues song, composed in 1946 by American songwriter Bobby Troup. The lyrics follow the path of U.S. Route 66 (US 66), which traversed the western two-thirds of the U.S. from Chicago, Illinois, to Los Angeles, California. The song became a standard, with several renditions appearing on the record charts.

The lyrics read as a mini-travelogue about the major stops along the route, listing several cities and towns through which Route 66 passes: St. Louis; Joplin, Missouri; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Amarillo, Texas; Gallup, New Mexico; Flagstaff, Arizona; Winona, Arizona; Kingman, Arizona; Barstow, California; and San Bernardino, California. Winona is the only town out of sequence: it was a very small settlement east of Flagstaff and might indeed have been forgotten if not for the lyric "Don't forget Winona", written to rhyme with "Flagstaff, Arizona".

Many artists who have covered the tune over the years have changed the initial lyrics, usually to "It goes to St. Louis, down through Missouri ..." then continuing with Oklahoma City and so on. Of the eight states through which the actual route passes, only Kansas and its cities are not mentioned (US 66 only passes eleven miles (18 km) inside the state's southeast corner).

Nat King Cole, with the King Cole Trio, first recorded the song in 1946 at Radio Recorders in Los Angeles. Capitol Records released it as a single, which became a hit, appearing on Billboard magazine's singles charts. It reached number three on the magazine's Race Records chart and number eleven on its broader singles chart.[2] Cole later re-recorded the tune in 1956 (for the album After Midnight) and 1961 (The Nat King Cole Story).

The song has become a standard and has been recorded by numerous artists.[3] Bing Crosby with the Andrews Sisters recorded a version, which reached number 14 on the Billboard chart in 1946.[4]

In 1964, the Rolling Stones included a version on their self-titled debut album. In a song review, critic Richie Unterberger called it "the most famous rock version of the song ... one of the best songs on the Rolling Stones' debut album, and one of their most popular in-concert numbers on their early tours". The group learned it from a version that Chuck Berry recorded for his 1961 album New Juke Box Hits, although Unterberger also notes that a version by Perry Como was a source for the lyrics.

Baby (Mama) Won't You Please Come Home is a blues song written by Charles Warfield and Clarence Williams in 1919.

The song has been covered by many musicians and has become a jazz standard. The first hit version was Bessie Smith's 1923 recording, which stayed on the charts for four weeks peaking at No. 6.

Other recordings besides Bessie Smith in 1923 include, Clarence Williams' Blue Five (1927), George Thomas with McKinney's Cotton Pickers (1930), Clarence Williams and His Orchestra (1930), Clarence Williams and His Jazz Kings (1931), The Mills Brothers (1932), Django Reinhardt (1937), Lionel Hampton (1938), Louis Armstrong (1939), Count Basie Orchestra (1944), Bing Crosby with Eddie Heywood, recorded August 9, 1945. Benny Goodman and His Orchestra (1945), Jo Stafford with the Nat King Cole Trio (1946), Sidney Bechet & His Feetwarmers (1949), Ray Charles (1952), Jack Teagarden (1954), Frank Sinatra - included in his album Where Are You? (1957), Louis Prima with Keely Smith (1957), Billie Holiday (1959), Ricky Nelson (1960), Della Reese (1960),Ella Fitzgerald on her 1961 Verve release Ella in Hollywood, Sam Cooke (1962), Sarah Vaughan (1962), Dinah Washington - Drinking Again (1962), Al Hirt (1962) on his album, Horn A-Plenty.

(Up A) Lazy River is a popular tune and song by Hoagy Carmichael and Sidney Arodin, published in 1930. The melody is by Arodin, arranged and with words modified by Carmichael. It is considered a jazz standard and pop standard, and has been recorded by over 60 well known artists, including Chet Atkins, Benny Goodman, Louis Armstrong, Sidney Bechet, Leon Redbone, Peggy Lee, Mills Brothers, Woody Herman, The Platters, Bob Wills, Les Paul, Gene Vincent and many, many more

The Song is Ended (but the Melody Lingers On)" is a popular song composed by Irving Berlin in 1927. Early hits in 1928 were by Ruth Etting and by Whispering Jack Smith. In 1948, Nellie Lutcher and Her Rhythm briefly charted with the song.  The song has been recorded by numerous singers over the years.

The song's lyric is referenced in Ira Gershwin's verse to "They Can't Take That Away from Me", in the line the song is ended, but as the songwriter wrote, the melody lingers on. 

When the Saints Go Marching In  origins are unclear. It apparently evolved in the early 1900s from a number of similarly titled gospel songs, including "When the Saints Are Marching In" (1896) and "When the Saints March In for Crowning" (1908).  

The earliest versions were slow and stately, but as time passed, the recordings became more rhythmic, including a distinctly uptempo version by the Sanctified Singers on British Parlophone in 1931.  The first known recorded version was in 1923 by the Paramount Jubilee Singers on Paramount 12073. Although the title given on the label is "When All the Saints Come Marching In", the group sings the modern lyrics beginning with "When the saints go marching in". No author is shown on the label. Several other gospel versions were recorded in the 1920s, with slightly varying titles but using the same lyrics, including versions by The Four Harmony Kings (1924), Elkins-Payne Jubilee Singers (1924), Wheat Street Female Quartet (1925), Bo Weavil Jackson (1926), Deaconess Alexander (1926), Rev. E. D. Campbell (1927), Robert Hicks (AKA Barbecue Bob, 1927), Blind Willie Davis (1928), and the Pace Jubilee Singers (1928).  This song was famously recorded on May 13, 1938, by Louis Armstrong and his orchestra.

Button Up Your Overcoat is a popular song. The music was written by Ray Henderson, the lyrics by B.G. DeSylva and Lew Brown. The song was published in 1928, and was first performed later that same year by vocalist Ruth Etting. However, the most famous rendition of this song was recorded early the following year by singer Helen Kane, who was at the peak of her popularity at the time. Kane's childlike voice and Bronx dialect eventually became the inspiration for the voice of cartoon character Betty Boop (most famously using Kane's famous catchphrase Boop Boop a Doop).

From January 9, 1929, to December 21, 1929, Jack Haley and Zelma O'Neal sang "Button Up Your Overcoat" on Broadway in the musical, Follow Thru. They reprised the song in the film version which opened on September 27, 1930, and was one of the first movies in Technicolor.

Dinah is a popular song published in 1925 and introduced by Ethel Waters at the Plantation Club on Broadway. It was integrated into the show Kid Boots. The music was written by Harry Akst and the lyrics by Sam M. Lewis and Joe Young. Hit versions in 1926 were by Ethel Waters, The Revelers, Cliff Edwards, and Fletcher Henderson.

One singer, Fannye Rose Shore, became so identified with the song that DJ Martin Block called her "Dinah Shore", which then stuck as her stage name for the next 50 years.

Monster Mash is a 1962 novelty song by Bobby "Boris" Pickett. The song was released as a single on Gary S. Paxton's Garpax Records label in August 1962 along with a full-length LP called The Original Monster Mash, which contained several other monster-themed tunes. The "Monster Mash" single was number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on October 20–27 of that year, just before Halloween. It has been a perennial Halloween favorite ever since.

Pickett was an aspiring actor who sang with a band called the Cordials at night, while going to auditions during the day. One night, while performing with his band, Pickett did a monologue in imitation of horror movie actor Boris Karloff while performing the Diamonds' "Little Darlin'". The audience loved it, and fellow band member Lenny Capizzi encouraged Pickett to do more with the Karloff imitation.

Pickett and Capizzi composed "Monster Mash" and recorded it with Gary S. Paxton, pianist Leon Russell, Johnny MacRae, Rickie Page, and Terry Berg, credited as "The Crypt-Kickers". The song was partially inspired by Paxton's earlier novelty hit "Alley Oop", as well as by the Mashed Potato dance craze of the era. A variation on the Mashed Potato was danced to "Monster Mash", in which the footwork was the same but Frankenstein-style monster gestures were made with the arms and hands.

The sound of a coffin opening was imitated by a rusty nail being pulled out of a board. The sound of a cauldron bubbling was simulated by water being bubbled through a straw, and the chains rattling were simply chains being dropped on a tile floor.

The Adams Family Theme The theme for the 1964 TV series The Addams Family was written and arranged by longtime Hollywood film and television composer Vic Mizzy. The song's arrangement was dominated by a harpsichord and featured finger-snaps as percussive accompaniment.  Actor Ted Cassidy, reprising his "Lurch" voice, punctuated the lyrics with words like "neat," "sweet," and "petite." Mizzy's theme was popular enough to enjoy a single release, though it failed to make the national charts.

Return to Sender is a 1962 hit single recorded by American singer Elvis Presley and performed in the film Girls! Girls! Girls! The song was written by Winfield Scott and Otis Blackwell and published by Elvis Presley Music.

The song peaked at #1 on the UK Singles Chart, and was the UK Christmas number one of 1962. It also reached #2 on the American Billboard singles chart. 

Blackwell and Scott were a team of songwriters who wrote songs for rhythm and blues artists such as LaVern Baker, Ruth Brown and Clyde McPhatter. To be able to make a living as songwriters, they decided to begin writing pop and country songs for the likes of Carl Perkins, Conway Twitty, Johnnie Ray, Connie Francis, and Elvis Presley. After Blackwell wrote Presley's hits "Don't Be Cruel" (1956) and "All Shook Up" (1957), Freddy Bienstock, vice president of the record company Hill & Range, looked to the duo to write songs for Presley's films. 

Scripts for Presley films would note places where a song was to be inserted into the film as well as suggested titles and genres for such songs. While other songwriters would adhere to these notes, Blackwell and Scott would not, as they were used to the creative freedom of the rhythm and blues field. The songwriters decided to write a great song without any concern for whether or not it fit into the film's storyline.

They found inspiration in a returned piece of mail. A demo that they had sent to a record company of returned to them with the words "Return to sender! No such person! No such zone!" stamped onto it. Blackwell and Scott decided to use those phrases as lyrics in a song about a failing relationship between "a spiteful woman and a heartbroken man."

Upon finishing "Return to Sender," Blackwell and Scott played it for producer Hal B. Wallis on a piano. Wallis liked the song and decided to release it as a single. The script for Girls! Girls! Girls! was rewritten to accommodate "Return to Sender," much to the surprise of the song's writers. Scott said that the experience taught the duo a valuable lesson - "Write a great song - and they'll find someplace to put it".

Move It On Over was recorded on April 21, 1947 at Castle Studio in Nashville, Hank's first session for MGM and the same session that produced "I Saw the Light," "(Last Night) I Heard You Crying in Your Sleep," and "Six More Miles to the Graveyard." Nashville had no session men during this period, so producer Fred Rose hired Red Foley's backing band, one of the sharpest around, to back Williams. As biographer Colin Escott observes, Rose probably felt the instrumental break needed a touch of class to smooth out Williams' hillbilly edges, and the band, especially guitarist Zeke Turner, was likely too fancy for the singer's taste.

The song is considered one of the earliest examples of rock and roll music. Though many claim the song, "Rock Around the Clock," released in 1954 by Bill Haley & His Comets, which would go on to become the first hit rock and roll single, the song resembles "Move it On Over", as both feature the same twelve-bar blues arrangement with a melody starting with three repetitions of an ascending arpeggio of the tonic chord.

The song follows a man who is forced to sleep in the doghouse after coming home late at night and not being allowed into his house by his wife. In many respects, the song typified Williams' uncanny ability to express in a humorous way the aspects of everyday life that listeners could relate to - and rarely heard on the radio. As fiddler Jerry Rivers later recalled, Hank's novelty songs "weren't novelty - they were serious, not silly, and that's why they were much better accepted and better selling. 'Move It on Over' hits right home, 'cause half of the people he was singing to were in the doghouse with the ol' lady.

“Move It on Over“ was Williams' first major hit, reaching #4 on the Billboard Most Played Juke Box Folk Records chart and got him a write up in The Alabama Journal. The revenue generated by the song was the first serious money the singer had ever seen in his life. It also earned him a spot on the coveted Louisiana Hayride, the training ground for the Grand Ole Opry.

It Had to Be You is a popular song written by Isham Jones, with lyrics by Gus Kahn. It was first published in 1924.  It has appeared in many films: Ruth Etting in the 1936 short film Melody in May.  It appeared in manyfilms including:Edward G. Robinson and Harry Seymour in the 1938 film A Slight Case of Murder, Priscilla Lane in the 1939 film The Roaring Twenties. Ginger Rogers and Cornel Wilde in the 1947 film It Had to be You, In the 1944 film Mr. Skeffington, by Danny Thomas, In the 1951 film I'll See You in My Dreams, Gene Kelly and Marie McDonald danced to it in the 1947film Living in a Big Way (while it was being sung by a mixed group), Dooley Wilson in the 1942 filmCasablanca, George Murphy in Show Business (1944), Betty Hutton in the 1945 film Incendiary Blonde, Diane Keaton in the 1977 film Annie Hall. Peter Reigert and Amy Irving dance to the song in Crossing Delancey (1988).  It also appeared in the 1992 film A League of Their Own by Megan Cavanagh.

As the "theme" of When Harry Met Sally (1989),it finished as #60 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs survey of top tunes inAmerican cinema.  Notable recordings include: Doris Day, Frank Sinatra, Jimmie Lunceford, Bing Crosby, RayCharles, Harry Nilsson, Harry Connick, and Barbra Streisand.

Toot, Toot, Tootsie is a 1922 song with music and lyrics by Gus Kahn, Ernie Erdman and Danny Russo.  It debuted on the Broadway musical Bombo, where it was a major hit. It was first recorded by Al Jolson with Frank Crumit's orchestra for Columbia Records. It was further popularised by Eddie Cantor.

This song has become associated with the age and image of the flapper during the Roaring Twenties.

'Toot, Toot, Tootsie' appeared in the films The Jazz Singer (1927), Rose of Washington Square (1939), I'll See You In My Dreams (1951), and Remains to Be Seen (1953). It was also performed in the fifth episode of The Brady Bunch Hour and the eleventh episode of season 4 of Gimme A Break!.

Other artists who recorded the song include Billy Murray together with Ed Smalle; Hoosier Hot Shots, Art Mooney, Eddy Howard, Wayne Newton, Brenda Lee and Jack Mudurian.

Walkin After Midnight is a song written by Alan Block and Donn Hecht and recorded by American country music artist Patsy Cline. The song was originally given to pop singer Kay Starr; however, her label rejected it. The song was left unused until Hecht rediscovered it when writing for Four Star Records. Originally Cline was not fond of "Walkin' After Midnight", but after making a compromise with her label she recorded it.

In January 1957, Cline performed the song on an episode of the CBS television program Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts. It garnered a strong response from viewers and was therefore rush-released as a single on February 11, 1957. "Walkin' After Midnight" became Cline's first major hit single, reaching No. 2 on the Billboard country music chart and No. 12 on its pop chart. Although the song was her only hit until 1961, the single version sold over one million copies and is often included on authoritative lists of the all-time greatest songs in country music.

I Fall to Pieces is a single released by Patsy Cline in 1961, and was featured on her 1961 studio album, Showcase. Written by Hank Cochran and Harlan Howard, "I Fall to Pieces" was Cline's first number-one hit on the Country charts, and her second hit single to cross over onto the Pop charts.

One night, Cochran and Howard thought of a title, "I Fall to Pieces". The demonstration version of the song was recorded at Pamper Music in Goodlettsville, Tennessee, by Howard's wife, Country singer Jan Howard. Harlan Howard pitched the song to Decca producer Owen Bradley, who tried to find the right artist to record it. The song was turned down numerous times, first by Brenda Lee, who found the song "too Country" for her pop style. Bradley asked Country star Roy Drusky to record it, but he turned it down, stating that it was not a man's song.  Patsy Cline was in the hallway and asked if she could record it.

When Cline began recording the song, she had second thoughts about it, after she discovered that popular Nashville background singer group, The Jordanaires, would serve as the support vocalists. Cline was afraid The Jordanaires would drown out her sound, and also felt that the Pop ballad style Bradley wanted it recorded in did not suit her own style, but Bradley was trying to make the song appeal to the Pop market, an idea that Cline rejected wholeheartedly  She had several arguments with Bradley about the lush, after-midnight style arrangement, but eventually Cline broke new ground once again, when she recorded it in the new style that Bradley wanted. But Patsy was not the only one having problems at the session. Composer Harlan Howard relates,

On the night of the session, we absolutely did NOT want to do the standard 4:4 shuffle that had by then been done to death. We were trying all kinds of other (basic rhythm) combinations, but they all just failed so, it had to be the shuffle then. But the amazing thing was, once Patsy got into the groove, she just caressed those lyrics and that melody so tenderly that it was just like satin. We knew we had magic in the can when, on the fourth take, every grown man in that studio was bawling like a baby and Bradley said `That's the one'.

On the Road Again is a song written and made famous by American country music singer Willie Nelson.

The song, about life on tour, came about when the executive producer of the film Honeysuckle Rose approached Nelson about writing the song for the film's soundtrack. "On the Road Again" became Nelson's 9th Country & Western No. 1 hit overall (6th as a solo recording act) in November 1980, and became one of Nelson's most recognizable tunes. In addition, the song reached No. 20 on the Billboard Hot 100, and No. 7 on the Adult Contemporary chart. It was his biggest pop hit to that time and won him a Grammy Award for Best Country Song a year later.

In 1980 Nelson starred in his first leading role in the film Honeysuckle Rose, about an aging musician who fails to achieve national fame and his relationship with his family, who also are part of his band that travels throughout the United States while playing in different venues. Shortly after signing the contract, Nelson was approached during a flight by the executive producer of the movie, who requested him to write a song about life on the road to use as the theme song.  Nelson quickly wrote the song on a “barf bag”. The tune features a "train beat".

Crazy is a ballad composed by Willie Nelson. It has been recorded by several artists, most notably by Patsy Cline, whose version was a No. 2 country hit in 1962.

Partly due to the genre-blending nature of the song, it has been covered by dozens of artists in several genres over the years; nevertheless, the song remains inextricably linked with Cline. Nelson's own version appears on his 1962 debut album ...And Then I Wrote.

Nelson wrote the song in early 1961; at the time he was a journeyman singer-songwriter who had written several hits for other artists.  Nelson originally wrote the song for country singer Billy Walker, who turned it down for the same reason Roy Drusky turned down "I Fall to Pieces" the previous year: that it was "a girl's song". The song's eventual success helped launch Nelson as a performer as well as a songwriter.

Musically the song is a jazz-pop ballad with country overtones and a complex melody. The lyrics describe the singer's state of bemusement at the singer's own helpless love for the object of his affection.

Interviewed for the Ken Burns 2019 American PBS TV miniseries Country Music, Nelson says he originally titled the song "Stupid", but changed it after playing it at Tootsie's Orchid Lounge and getting fan reaction.

I Walk the Line is a song written and recorded in 1956 by Johnny Cash. After three attempts with moderate chart ratings, it became Cash's first number one hit on the Billboard charts. It reached number 17 on the US pop charts. It remained on the record charts for over 43 weeks, and sold over 2 million copies. It has also been used on many LP's released from Sun Records, such as With His Hot and Blue Guitar, Sings the Songs That Made Him Famous, and Sings Hank Williams. It was the title song for a 1970 film starring Gregory Peck and a 2005 biopic of Cash starring Joaquin Phoenix.

The musical content of the song as sung by Johnny is complex as it has multiple key changes.  You can hear him in this performance change keys 4 times throughout the song (despite the fact that the original recording clocks in at under three minutes). Upon listening attentively, Cash can be heard humming the root of each new key as he changes.  https://youtu.be/BCHayA2s_AU

Folsom Prison Blues is a song written in 1953 and first recorded in 1955 by American singer-songwriter Johnny Cash. The song combines elements from two popular folk styles, the train song and the prison song, both of which Cash continued to use for the rest of his career. It was one of Cash's signature songs. It was the eleventh track on his debut album With His Hot and Blue Guitar and it was also included (same version) on All Aboard the Blue Train. A live version, recorded among inmates at Folsom State Prison itself, became a No. 1 hit on the country music charts in 1968. In June 2014, Rolling Stone ranked it No. 51 on its list of the 100 greatest country songs of all time.

Cash was inspired to write this song after seeing the movie Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison (1951) while serving in West Germany in the United States Air Force at Landsberg, Bavaria (itself the location of a famous prison). Cash recounted how he came up with the line "But I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die": "I sat with my pen in my hand, trying to think up the worst reason a person could have for killing another person, and that's what came to mind."

You can play along in the Key of G with Brad Paisley here  https://youtu.be/HWJ5t9X-qMk Cash played it in F many time in his mid career

Bad Bad Leroy Brown  is a song written by American folk rock singer Jim Croce. Released as part of his 1973 album Life and Times, the song was a Number One pop hit for him, spending two weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in July 1973. Billboard ranked it as the No. 2 song for 1973.

Croce was nominated for two 1973 Grammy awards in the Pop Male Vocalist and Record of the Year categories for "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown".  It was his last number-one single before his passing on September 20 of that year.   Play along Jim Croce at the midnight special in key of G https://youtu.be/EwPRm5UMe1A

I'll See You in My Dreams is a popular song written by Isham Jones, with lyrics by Gus Kahn, and was published in 1924. Originally recorded by Isham Jones and the Ray Miller Orchestra, it charted for 16 weeks during 1925, spending seven weeks at number 1. Other popular versions in 1925 were by Marion Harris; Paul Whiteman; Ford & Glenn; and Lewis James, with three of these four reaching the Top 10.

The song was chosen as the title song of the 1951 film I'll See You in My Dreams, a musical biography of Kahn.

Popular recordings of it were made by many leading artists including Cliff Edwards, Louis Armstrong, Bing Crosby, Doris Day, Ella Fitzgerald, Mario Lanza, Tony Martin, Anita O'Day, The Platters, Ezio Pinza, Sue Raney, Jerry Lee Lewis (1958, instrumental), Andy Williams, and Linda Scott. A "Texas Swing" version was recorded by Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys.  The song was also recorded by Django Reinhardt and the Quintet of the Hot Club of France, and inspired Merle Travis to record it as a guitar instrumental. Many other guitarists including Chet Atkins and Thom Bresh followed in Merle's footsteps.  

You can play along with these versions.  Key of F Joe Brown   https://youtu.be/OlUPn99s86w

Key of C: Doris Day Key of C https://youtu.be/O1eiHm6Peho

Ella Fitzgerald https://youtu.be/7fHT3ppE7aw

Shaving Cream is a song written by Benny Bell in 1946, and originally sung by Paul Wynn. It is a novelty song where each verse ends with a unique rhyme.

After the song began to be played on the Dr. Demento radio show in the 1970s, Vanguard Records reissued the song in 1975, and it became a hit, peaking at #30 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

A remake of "Shaving Cream" performed as a duet with Dr. Demento was released on the albums Dr. Demento's Dementia Royale and Dr. Demento's 25th Anniversary Collection. Dr. Demento occasionally performed the song live in concert with "Weird Al" Yankovic's band (Yankovic playing accordion). Another 1970s cover version was recorded by a soca group, The Fabulous Five.

Here are two versions to play along with: Bell/Wynn https://youtu.be/l4bD-hvy9mQ  The Fabulous Five Regge version https://youtu.be/M6LoVvhruvs

Cornbread and Butterbeans is a traditional song that there is not a lot of information available on.  I first heard to performed by the Wyois. The Carolina Chocolate Drops is an old-time string band from Durham, North Carolina. Their 2010 album, Genuine Negro Jig, won the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards.  Cornbread and Butterbeans was on that album.   You can play along with these versions:

Carolina Chocolate Drops https://youtu.be/UbxMDsJPXKw

Lehman Monroe a.k.a. "Johnny Tyler https://youtu.be/nm7D54ZpHyM

There is also a version in C you can play along with Molly Johnson https://youtu.be/HsWIjMW6Y5E Replace the G with C, C with F and D7 with G7 to play along in Key of C 

Half as Much is an American pop standard written by Curley Williams in 1951. It was first recorded by country music singer Hank Williams in 1952 and reached number two on the Billboard Country Singles chart.  According to the 2004 book Hank Williams: The Biography, Williams was not too enamored with"Half as Much" and only recorded it at producer Fred Rose's insistence.  

Williams recorded it at a session at Castle Studio in Nashville on August 10, 1951. He was backed b yJerry Rivers (fiddle), Don Helms (steel guitar), Sammy Pruett (lead guitar),Howard Watts (bass), probably Jack Shook (rhythm guitar), and either Owen Bradleyor Fred Rose on piano.  "Half as Much" is notable for being the only Hank Williams recording to feature a solo barroom piano at its conclusion. Two months after Williams recorded"Half as Much," Curly Williams recorded it for Columbia Records, so Rose held back Hank's release until March 28, 1952 to clear the way for Curley's release on November 2, 1951.  

Also in 1952, Rosemary Clooney recorded a number-one, hit version for Top 40 markets in the US, this version also went to number three in the UK.  Other notable covers include: Patsy Cline (1962), Ray Charles (1962), Eddy Arnold (1964), Sharon Redd (1967),  George Jones (1960), Kitty Wells (1960), Marty Robbins, George Hamilton IV, Don Gibson, Glen Campbell (1973), Petula Clark(1974), Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn (1988), Emmylou Harris (1992), Cake(1998), Van Morrison (2006).

You can play along with Hank here https://youtu.be/STffPqt-hQs 

Hey Good Lookin'  is a 1951 song written and recorded by Hank Williams, and his version was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2001.  Williams was friendly with musician Jimmy Dickens. Having told Dickens that Dickens needed a hit record if he was going to become a star, Williams said he'd write it, and penned "Hey Good Lookin'" in only 20 minutes while on a plane with Dickens, Minnie Pearl, and Pearl's husband Henry Cannon. A week later Williams recorded it himself, jokingly telling Dickens, "That song's too good for you!"

Hank recorded it on  March 16, 1951, at Castle Studio in Nashville. The single was released on on June 22, 1951. Williams was backed on the session by members of his Drifting Cowboys band, including Jerry Rivers (fiddle), Don Helms (steel guitar), Sammy Pruett (electric guitar), Jack Shook (rhythm guitar), Ernie Newton or "Cedric Rainwater", aka Howard Watts (bass), and either Owen Bradley or producer Fred Rose on piano. 

Williams performed the song on the Kate Smith Evening Hour on March 26, 1952; the appearance remains one of the few existing film clips of the singer performing live. He is introduced by Roy Acuff and banters with a young June Carter. He is wearing his famous white cowboy suit adorned in musical notes.  The rare clip displays the singer's exuberance on stage while performing an up-tempo number, and he appears at ease in the relatively new broadcast medium of television. You can play along with hank on that clip here: https://youtu.be/bjCoKslQOEs

The Prisoner's Song  is a song copyrighted by Vernon Dalhart in 1924 in the name of Dalhart's cousin Guy Massey, who had sung it while staying at Dalhart's home and had in turn heard it from his brother Robert Massey, who may have heard it while serving time in prison.

"The Prisoner's Song" was one of the best-selling songs of the 1920s, particularly in the recording by Vernon Dalhart. The Vernon Dalhart version was recorded on Victor Records in October 1924 and marketed in the hillbilly music genre. It was likely one of the best-selling records of the early 20th century. Although contemporary data show that Victor pressed slightly over 1.3 million copies during the record's peak years of popularity,[3] anecdotal accounts sourced from a 1940s promotional flyer report sales as high as 7 million. The song's publisher at the time, Shapiro, Bernstein & Co., reportedly sold over one million copies of the song's sheet music.

It was later performed by many others, including Hank Snow, Bill Monroe, and Brenda Lee. The first verse was sung by Liberace at the end of an episode of the 1960s television show Batman in which Liberace played the double role of twin criminal brothers, both of whom ended the episode behind bars.   You can hear Vernon Dalhart sing the song in the Key of D here https://youtu.be/ROSCnA6RI6w  To play along, replace the C with a D,  F with a G and G7 with an A7 in the sheet music or use a capo on the 2nd fret.

I'm Using My Bible as a Roadmap was written by Don Reno and Charles Schroeder in the early part of the 1950s.  Don Reno together with Red Smiley and The Tennessee Cutups, first recorded the song on January 15, 1952. The original recording was released two months later in March 1952. American bluegrass singer Mac Wiseman did his own cover of the song afterward.  This is a very popular Bluegrass Standard and has been recorded by many artists.  

Makin' Whoopee is a jazz/blues song, first popularized by Eddie Cantor in the 1928 musical Whoopee!. Gus Kahn wrote the lyrics and Walter Donaldson composed the music for the song as well as for the entire musical.  The title refers to celebrating a marriage. Eventually "making whoopee" became a euphemism for intimate sexual relations. The song has been called a "dire warning", largely to men, about the "trap" of marriage. "Makin' Whoopee" begins with the celebration of a wedding, honeymoon and marital bliss, but moves on to babies and responsibilities, and ultimately on to affairs and possible divorce, ending with a judge's advice.  Gus Kahn is one of my favorite lyricists.  Here are just a few of the songs he wrote the lyrics to: "I'll See You in My Dreams" (1924), "It Had to Be You" (1924) "Yes Sir, That's My Baby" (1925), "Ukulele Lady" (1925), "Persian Rug" (1927),"Goofus" (1930), "Dream a Little Dream of Me" (1931) 

Midnight Special is a traditional folk song thought to have originated among prisoners in the American South. The song refers to the passenger train Midnight Special and its "ever-loving light" (sometimes "ever-living light"). In 1934 Huddie William "Lead Belly" Ledbetter recorded a version of the song at Angola Prison for John and Alan Lomax, who mistakenly attributed it to him as the author.  Some folks think the song is about a prisoner who breaks out of jail and takes the Midnight special to freedom.  Some think he breaks out and stands in front of the train after hearing of his wife's passing.   Although many artists have covered the song only two versions of the song have reached the US Billboard Hot 100. Paul Evans recorded the highest-charting version of "Midnight Special," reaching number 16 in the winter of 1960. Five years later, Johnny Rivers' version reached number 20 in 1965. The Johnny Rivers version was used as the theme for the NBC music program The Midnight Special.  

Kaw-Liga was written in 1952 and released in 1953.   It is one of just a handful of songs that Williams wrote with Fred Rose, who produced his records and published his songs through his company Acuff-Rose. Rose often "doctored" the songs Hank composed, making suggestions and revisions, with biographer Roger M. Williams noting that Rose's contribution to Hank's songs was probably craftsmanship, whereas Williams' was genius. Roy Acuff later recalled: Hank would come up with the ideas, and Fred would say, "Well, write it down and let me look at it." Hank'd bring it to Fred, and Fred would sit at the piano and compliment Hank and say, "Maybe you can express this a little differently, let's change it a little bit," but Fred never changed Hank's thinking.

Kowaliga is a community in central Alabama on Lake Martin. Named after a legendary Native American for which a wooden statue was later placed near the lake, the song was written by Hank when he was staying at a lakeside cabin that he owned and still stands today. 

Wabash Cannonball "The Great Rock Island Route", also known as "Wabash Cannonball", is the title of an American folk song that describes the scenic beauty and predicaments of the Wabash Cannonball Express as it traveled on the Great Rock Island train route. Over many years, this popular song's music has remained unchanged while the verses have been updated by song artists.

As early as 1882, sheet music titled "The Great Rock Island Route" was credited to J. A. Roff. This version and all subsequent versions contain a variation of this chorus:

"Now listen to the jingle, and the rumble, and the roar,

As she dashes thro' the woodland, and speeds along the shore,

See the mighty rushing engine, hear her merry bell ring out,

As they speed along in safety, on the "Great Rock-Island Route."

The Carter Family made one of the first recordings of the song in 1929, though it was not released until 1932. Another popular version was recorded by Roy Acuff in 1936. The Acuff version is one of the fewer than 40 all-time singles to have sold 10 million (or more) physical copies worldwide. 

Truck Drivin' Man is a popular country song written and recorded by Terry Fell in 1954.  One of his band members, Buck Owens, sang harmony with him on the recording.

In 1965, Owens recorded the song himself, omitting the fourth verse - "When I get my call up to glory, They will take me away from this land, I'll head this truck up to Heaven, 'Cause I'm a truck drivin' man."

Others who have recorded the song include Ricky Nelson, Boxcar Willie, Charley Pride, Bill Anderson, Conway Twitty, Jimmy Martin, Dave Dudley, Red Simpson, Jim & Jesse, Charlie Walker, The Flying Burrito Brothers, George Hamilton IV, Rick Nelson, Glen Campbell, New Riders of the Purple Sage,[3] Willie Nelson, Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen, Anthony Field, Plainsong, David Allan Coe, Leon Russell, Toby Keith, Aaron Tippin, Robert Walker, the J. Geils Band, and Canadian musicians Stompin' Tom Connors and Dick Nolan.  Here is a version sone by Conway Twitty in Key of A  https://youtu.be/GzjVh0d-xj0

You can play along with this version in C  https://youtu.be/9ME6H1SXbgU 

I've Been Everywhere was written and first performed by Australian entertainer Geoff Mack in 1959, and dotted with some 90 places on the Aussie map in its rapid-fire lyrics.  It was  recorded in 1962 by the Australian singer Leslie Morrison, who used the stage name Lucky Starr. The original version was a list of Australian destinations, including Wallangarra, Billabong, Darwin and Woolloomooloo. Later in 1962, Mack re-wrote the lyrics with places in America (using a map to determine place names), and country singer Hank Snow took it to the top of the Country charts. Snow was originally from Canada, but was known for traveling, which is often what he sang about.

Johnny Cash recorded a popular version of this song that was used in commercials for Comfort Inn and also in the 2004 remake of the movie Flight Of The Phoenix. Other artists to record the song include Rolf Harris, Lynn Anderson, Willie Nelson and The Statler Brothers.

Here is Johnny Cash singing it in key of Key E  https://youtu.be/WoIfglXAbh0

Eastbound and Down is a song written by Jerry Reed and Dick Feller, and recorded by Reed for the soundtrack for the film Smokey and the Bandit.  Reed co-starred with Burt Reynolds and Sally Field as Cledus in the movie.  The song features Reed on the lead vocal, and vocalist Gordon Stoker of the Jordanaires on the harmony vocal. It was released in August 1977 as a single on RCA Records.

The song spent 16 weeks on the U.S. country music charts, reaching a peak of #2.  The "...and Down" in the title and lyric is CB radio jargon for "I'm finished transmitting, but still listening to the channel." "bound and down" remains a common sign-off for truckers on CB radio.  Jerry Reed was a very underrated guitarist. Chet Atkins used to say he was the best guitarist ever.  He regularly makes the top 5 lists of best Nashville guitarists and the top 10 of all time.  This song was originally sung in key of G.   Here is a version I made in the Key of C you can play along with  https://youtu.be/ib9dw6qWfdM

Six Days on the Road was written by Earl Green and Muscle Shoals Sound Studio songwriter Carl Montgomery, made famous by country music singer Dave Dudley. The song was initially recorded by Paul Davis and was released in 1961 on the Bulletin label. In 1963, the song became a major hit when released by Dave Dudley, peaking at #2 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and cracking the Top 40 (#32) on the Hot 100, leading to it being hailed as the definitive celebration of the American truck driver.  In 1997, more than 30 years after Dudley's original version charted, country music band Sawyer Brown took the song back to #13 on the Hot Country Songs chart.   This song was originally perfromed by Dudley key of G.   Here are two versions in key of C to play along with. 

Taj Mahal  https://youtu.be/1WaHXscnbUw

Taj Mahal and the Rolling Stones https://youtu.be/K10wJ_I5WPE  

Doin My Time is a chain gang song written and recorded by Jimmie Skinner in 1948.  In 1951 Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs recorded a copy and it became a bluegrass staple of theirs for years.  In 1957 Johnny recorded it on his first album "Johnny Cash with his Hot and Blue Guitar" for Sun records.  Earl Scruggs re-recorded it in 2003 on his album "Earl Scruggs with Family and Friends".  

I was able to find a Youtube version in key of A so you can play along.  It is  performed by the famous Dobro Player, Jerry Douglas & The Earls of Leicester. If you play along you will notice there are banjo instrumental breaks, you stay on the [A] during the break.  Since Doing my Time is in Key of A so you will need to use a regular D7 instead of a "Hawaiian" two finger D7. Youtube Video in Key of A:  https://youtu.be/3-VsiD30O3U

Blue Bayou was written by Roy Orbison and Joe Melson  1961 and released by Orbison in 1963.  It was an international hit for Orbison.  It became Linda Ronstadt's signature Song when she released a cover in 1977 that was a top 5 hit.  The song has since been recorded over 120 times by various artists.

Blue Eyes Crying in The Rain  was written by songwriter Fred Rose in 1945. Originally performed by Roy Acuff in 1947, the song has been covered by many artists, including Hank Williams Sr., Johnny Russell, and Charley Pride. Most notably, the song was recorded by Willie Nelson as part of his 1975 album Red Headed Stranger. Both the song and album became iconic in country music history, and revived Nelson's success as a singer and recording artist. 

Peach Pickin Time In Georgia was written by  Clayton McMichen and Jimmie Rodgers in 1932.  The first recording of this song was 1932 by Rodgers.  Notable covers include Hank Snow, Merle Haggard, Doc Watson, and Willie Nelson.  You can hear Jimmie sing his 1932 recording here https://youtu.be/PHuIt7aeF0w  

Walking the Floor Over You  was written by Ernest Tubb and released in the United States in 1941. The original version included only Tubb's vocals and acoustic guitar accompanied by "Smitty" Smith on electric guitar. Tubb later re-recorded the song with his band, The Texas Troubadours.  The original single became a hit, reaching the No. 23 spot in the charts in 1941 but eventually the song sold over a million copies. It has been said "Walking the Floor Over You" was the first honky tonk song and it launched the musical genre of Honky Tonk. 

Birth of the Blues  is a popular 1926 song composed by Ray Henderson, with lyrics by Buddy DeSylva and Lew Brown. It was used in the Broadway revue George White's Scandals of 1926. It was recorded in its debut year by Paul Whiteman (with vocals by Jack Fulton, Charles Gaylord and Austin "Skin" Young, Harry Richman, and The Revelers.  Many, many, many covers of this song were recorded.  

Gone Fishin was written and recorded twice in 1950, neither recording charted.  In 1951 Bing Crosby had Louis  Armstrong as a guest on his Chesterfield Radio Show.  The show was being taped on April 19, 1951 for broadcast on April 25 that year. As was customary, the songs to be used in the broadcast were taped in advance as a back-up in case the live broadcast versions did not go well.  The song was so well received that Decca Records issued the pre-recording commercially and it charted briefly in June 1951 with a peak position of #19.

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