The Story Behind The Song………………………………… “Big City” – Merle Haggard (#1, 1982) Merle Haggard rarely got enthused about any of his album projects. He always claimed that he wasn’t really trying very hard to turn out a good record, that whatever happened, good or bad, was all the same to him. But the “Big City” project was different for some reason. Maybe it was because of his brand new association with Epic Records, after many years at Capitol. “Big City” would be the debut album for his new label, and perhaps he was trying to make a good impression. Whatever the reason, Haggard has always spoken very highly of the “Big City” album project, saying that he is very proud of it. The record took about two years to write and refine, and oddly enough, the title track was one of the last songs added to it. Longtime friend Dean Holloway accompanied Merle to Britannia Studios in West Hollywood for several of the sessions that would make up the “Big City” album. Holloway became totally disgusted with the Los Angeles area, complaining to Haggard about, among other things, the “dirty sidewalks of the big city.” That’s all it took to pique Merle’s creative juices. He took note of that line, and off he went writing what would turn out to be the title track for the album, finishing “Big City” in just twenty minutes. In the early days of his career, Merle had performed in a lot of barrooms and clubs, and the order of the day in country music was the honky-tonk “shuffle” beat, most notably associated with Ray Price’s musical style at the time (Price later switched to a smoother, more pop-oriented sound). Well, Haggard did so many shuffles at the clubs that he grew to hate the style and vowed never to resort to that sound in the studio. But when Merle went in to record “Big City,” guess what? He decided to put a good old shuffle beat on it, the first of his entire recording career, and it worked. The record kicked off with the twin fiddles of Tiny Moore and Jimmy Belkin and “Big City” turned out to be an extension of Merle’s 1969 hit “Workin’ Man Blues,” lamenting the stress of the rat race and the precarious posture of Social Security. Haggard is of the belief that anybody could have sung “Big City” and had a hit with it because the song proclaimed what people wanted to hear, things they believed in their hearts and were disgusted having to put up with, but skittish about publicly stating it themselves. The tune sailed to #1 on Billboard’s country singles chart on April 10, 1982. The following year, the “Big City” album was certified gold on June 11, 1983, becoming Merle’s first gold album in nine years. It was the third of his career after a couple of “greatest hits” packages on Capitol. Haggard followed “Big City” with another track from the album called “Are The Good Times Really Over,” yet another commentary on the American economy (I can’t write here what Merle thinks of the economy now!). Peaking at #2, its melody was similar to “My Favorite Memory,” the “Big City” album’s first single and Merle’s first of twelve #1 hits for the Epic label (in all, he scored 38 chart-toppers, most for Capitol). With the similarity in melodies, it’s not surprising that both “Are The Good Times Really Over” and “My Favorite Memory” were written the same day. – JH youtu.be/rscqSCxaKLo
Posted on: Sat, 23 Aug 2014 12:27:32 +0000
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