James Talley (born November 9, 1944) is an American
country blues
Country blues (also folk blues, rural blues, backwoods blues, or downhome blues) is one of the earliest forms of blues music. The mainly solo vocal with acoustic fingerstyle guitar accompaniment developed in the rural Southern United States in t ...
and
electric blues
Electric blues refers to any type of blues music distinguished by the use of electric amplifier, amplification for musical instruments. The guitar was the first instrument to be popularly amplified and used by early pioneers T-Bone Walker in the ...
singer-songwriter.
Biography
Born in
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...
, Talley is an artist whose vision of the American experience, as author David McGee has said, is "startlingly original." As a youth, Talley's family moved from their home in
Mehan, Oklahoma
Mehan is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Payne County, Oklahoma, United States. It was first listed as a CDP prior to the 2020 census.
The CDP is in central Payne County, on the northeast side of the valley of St ...
, near Stillwater, to
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
state, where his father worked as a chemical operator in the
Hanford plutonium factory. After five years in
Richland, Washington
Richland () is a city in Benton County, Washington, United States. It is located in southeastern Washington at the confluence of the Yakima and the Columbia Rivers. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 60,560. Along with the nearby c ...
, and realizing the hazards his father's employment presented, the family relocated to
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...
. Talley graduated from the
University of New Mexico
The University of New Mexico (UNM; es, Universidad de Nuevo México) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1889, it is the state's flagship academic institution and the largest by enrollment, with over 25,400 ...
with a degree in fine arts.
After college, encouraged by
Pete Seeger
Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American folk singer and social activist. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, Seeger also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of the Weavers, notably ...
while on a trip to New Mexico, Talley began to write songs that drew upon the culture of the Southwest.
These early songs eventually became ''The Road to Torreón'', a saga of life and death in the Chicano villages of northern New Mexico. Released in a boxed edition by Bear Family Records in 1992, it was a collaboration of photography and music, with a photographic essay contributed by Talley's lifelong friend, photographer Cavalliere Ketchum.
In 1968, Talley moved from New Mexico to
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...
to try to get his songs released. Over the years
Johnny Cash
John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...
,
Johnny Paycheck
Johnny Paycheck (born Donald Eugene Lytle; May 31, 1938 – February 19, 2003) was an American country music singer and Grand Ole Opry member notable for recording the David Allan Coe song "Take This Job and Shove It". He achieved his greates ...
,
Gene Clark
Harold Eugene Clark (November 17, 1944 – May 24, 1991) was an American singer-songwriter and founding member of the folk rock band the Byrds. He was the Byrds' principal songwriter between 1964 and early 1966, writing most of the band's best ...
,
Alan Jackson
Alan Eugene Jackson (born October 17, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for blending traditional honky-tonk and mainstream country pop sounds (for a style widely regarded as "neotraditional country"), as well as penning many o ...
,
Hazel Dickens
Hazel Jane Dickens (June 1, 1925 – April 22, 2011) was an American bluegrass singer, songwriter, double bassist and guitarist. Her music was characterized not only by her high, lonesome singing style, but also by her provocative pro- unio ...
, and most recently
Moby
Richard Melville Hall (born September 11, 1965), known professionally as Moby, is an American musician, songwriter, singer, producer, and animal rights activist. He has sold 20 million records worldwide. AllMusic considers him to be "among the ...
, have recorded his songs.
His album ''
Got No Bread, No Milk, No Money, But We Sure Got a Lot of Love'' was released during an era when
outlaw country was gaining ground in Nashville. Joining country music and the blues,
B. B. King, played his first Nashville session with Talley in 1976, as his lead guitar player.
Talley's recording career now spans over thirty years. John Hammond, Sr. at
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...
in New York was his first mentor, and championed his writing in the early 1970s. When Hammond could not get Talley signed to Columbia, he sent him to
Jerry Wexler
Jerry may refer to:
Animals
* Jerry (Grand National winner), racehorse, winner of the 1840 Grand National
* Jerry (St Leger winner), racehorse, winner of 1824 St Leger Stakes
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Jerry'' (film), a 2006 Indian fil ...
, who was starting a new Nashville operation with his
Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
label at the time. Wexler signed Talley to his first recording contract at Atlantic Records. Atlantic's Nashville operation, however, did not do well at the time and Atlantic closed its Nashville office.
Talley then moved to
Capitol Records
Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...
where he released four albums during the mid-1970s: ''Got No Bread, No Milk, No Money, But We Sure Got a Lot of Love'' (1975); ''Tryin’ Like The Devil'' (1976); ''Blackjack Choir'' (1977) and ''Ain't It Somethin’'' (1977).
''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'', and other music publications, have declared these albums American classics for their time. The 1976 song "Are They Gonna Make Us Outlaws Again?" was ranked number 60 in the book Heartaches by the Number - Country Music's 500 Greatest Singles.
During the 1980s and 1990s, Talley recorded four albums, which were released in Europe by the German Bear Family Records, ''American Originals'' (1985); and ''Love Songs and The Blues'' (1989); ''The Road To Torreón'' (1992) and ''James Talley: Live'' (1994).
In 1999, Talley started his own artist's label, Cimarron Records, and released ''Woody Guthrie and Songs of My Oklahoma Home'' (2000), his only album that covered someone else's songs; ''Nashville City Blues'', (2000), and was named Amazon.com's Folk Artist of the Year 2000. In 2002, ''Touchstones'' was released – a fresh retrospective of the songs from his early career.
It was recorded in Texas with the help of Talley's old friends,
Joe Ely and Ponty Bone. In 2004 ''Journey'' was released, a live recording made on his tour of Italy.
It displayed some of his classics as well as five new compositions. In February 2006, Talley's debut album, ''Got No Bread, No Milk, No Money, But We Sure Got a Lot of Love'' was reissued in a special 30th anniversary edition.
In July 2008, Talley simultaneously issued two CDs in digital download, ''Journey: The Second Voyage'', the remaining songs for the original live Journey recordings, supplemented with five new songs, and ''Heartsong'', an album of fifteen new songs and a re-recording of his song "She's The One," which was covered as "Evening Rain" by Moby.
Discography(selective)
Singles
* "Are They Gonna Make Us Outlaws Again" / "Forty Hours" –
Capitol
A capitol, named after the Capitoline Hill in Rome, is usually a legislative building where a legislature meets and makes laws for its respective political entity.
Specific capitols include:
* United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.
* Numerous ...
4297 – 1976
* "Alabama Summertime" / "When The Fiddler Packs His Case" – Capitol 4410 – 1977
* "Are They Gonna Make Us Outlaws Again" / "Whiskey On The Side" –
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...
,
Curb
A curb (North American English), or kerb (Commonwealth English except Canada; see spelling differences), is the edge where a raised sidewalk or road median/central reservation meets a street or other roadway.
History
Although curbs have ...
JT 37212 – 1982
[45Cat â€]
James Talley – Discography
/ref>
* Grand Coulee Dam
* W. Lee O'Daniel and the Light Crusty Doughboys
- there should be links to O'Daniel and The Doughboys
Albums
* '' Got No Bread, No Milk, No Money, But We Sure Got a Lot of Love'' – Original on Capitol Records 1975, (Torreon Productions) – 30th Anniversary Reissue in 2006 on Cimarron Records, Issue No. 1001
* '' Tryin' Like the Devil'' – Original Capitol Records-(Torreon Productions) – 1976; Cimarron Recordings Issue No. 1002
* ''Blackjack Choir'' – Original Capitol Records-(Torreon Productions) – 1977; Cimarron Recordings Issue No. 1003
* ''Ain't It Somethin – Original Capitol Records-(Torreon Productions) – 1977; Cimarron Recordings Issue No. 1004
* ''American Originals'' – (Torreon Productions) – 1985; Originally released without license by Bear Family Records, Germany; Cimarron Records Issue No. 1005
* ''Love Songs and The Blues'' – (Torreon Productions) – 1989; Originally released without license by Bear Family Records, Germany; Cimarron Records Issue No. 1006
* ''The Road to Torreón'' – (Torreon Productions) – 1992; Originally released without license by Bear Family Records, Germany; Cimarron Records Issue No. 1007
* ''James Talley: Live'' – (Torreon Productions) – 1994; Originally released without license by Bear Family Records, Germany; Cimarron Records Issue No. 1008
* ''Woody Guthrie and Songs of My Oklahoma Home'' – (Torreon Productions) – 1999; Cimarron Records Issue No. 1009
* ''Nashville City Blues'' – (Torreon Productions) – 2000; Cimarron Records Issue No. 1010
* ''Touchstones'' – (Torreon Productions) – 2002; Cimarron Records Issue No. 1011
* ''Journey'' – (Torreon Productions) – 2004; Cimarron Records Issue No. 1012
* ''Journey: The Second Journey'' (Torreon Productions) 2008; Cimarron Records Issue No. 1013
* ''Heartsong'' – (Torreon Productions) 2008; Cimarron Records Issue No. 1014
References
External links
James Talley's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Talley, James
1944 births
Living people
American blues singer-songwriters
Blues musicians from Oklahoma
Country blues musicians
Electric blues musicians
Singer-songwriters from Oklahoma
Oak Records artists