Bluegrass Serenade

I decided to have a little fun today. Fun for me anyway, since it doesn’t involve politics, chickens, dogs, kittens, haybales, rain or wind. I am dying to go see my new granddaughter but that has to wait a few weeks.

A few days back a friend posted a video of a bluegrass band performing the Christmas song “Angels We Have Heard on High“. My reply was that they can bluegrass almost any song and I am liking and appreciating those performers skills the more I listen with a preset in my truck to the Sirius Bluegrass channel.

The musicianship of some of these folk is astounding!

And since we are now living smack dab in the middle of hillbilly territory, I’ll leave it to the masters of the genre to tell that story – which is the reverse of our story.

But, did you know a vast number of popular songs have also been bluegrassed?

Below, I’ve compiled a list of some popular songs you very likely have heard played on the radio over the past 40 years in a way you’ve never heard them before. In listing them, I’ll include the song title as well as the artists who performed the original hits. You’ll see the artists performing them now as you view each one. Sit back and give them a listen and let me know what you think.

Sorted by (original) Artist/Song. Also noted are “live” performances where you can watch them play, as well as just “audio” w/lyrics, plus a few “instrumentals” as well w/no lyrics.

• Thunderstruck (AC/DC) – live
• You Shook Me All Night Long (AC/DC) – live
• Walk Like an Egyptian (Bangles) – live
• Drive My Car (Beatles) – live
• Get Back (Beatles) – live
• With a Little Help From My Friends (Beatles/Joe Cocker) – live
• More Than a Feeling (Boston) – live
• I Shot the Sheriff (Bob Marley/Eric Clapton) – instrumental
• Turn The Page (Bob Seger) – live
• For What It’s Worth (Buffalo Springfield) – live
• Going Up The Country (Canned Heat) – live
• Have You Ever Seen the Rain (Creedence Clearwater Revival) – audio
• Smoke on the Water (Deep Purple) – audio
• Money for Nothing (Dire Straights) – live
• American Pie (Don McLean) – audio
• Rocket Man (Elton John) – live
• Your Song (Elton John) – audio
• American Woman (Guess Who) – audio
• Paradise City (Guns and Roses) – live
• Sweet Child O’ Mine (Guns and Roses) – live
• Call Me the Breeze (JJ Cale/Lynyrd Skynyrd) – audio
• Don’t Stop Believing (Journey) – live
• Carry on Wayward Son (Kansas) – audio
• I Wanna Rock and Roll All Night (Kiss) – audio
• Kashmir (Led Zeppelin) – audio
• Rock and Roll (Led Zeppelin) – audio
• Whole Lotta Love (Led Zeppelin) – audio
• Free Bird (Lynyrd Skynyrd) – audio
• Gimme Three Steps (Lynyrd Skynyrd) – audio
• I Know a Little (Lynyrd Skynyrd) – audio
• California Dreaming (Mama’s and the Papa’s) – audio
• Enter Sandman (Metallica) – live
• Billie Jean (Michael Jackson) – live
• Harvest Moon (Neil Young) – live
• Crazy Train (Ozzy Osbourne) – audio
• Another Brick in the Wall (Pink Floyd) – instrumental
• Purple Rain (Prince) – live
• You Can’t Always Get What You Want (Rolling Stones) – audio
• Born to be Wild (Steppenwolf) – live
• Renegade (Styx) – audio
• Free Fallin’ (Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers) – instrumental
• Wildwood Flower (Jim Stafford) – live
  ^{_{OK, this wasn’t the classic about ganja we remember but the song is correctly titled. But I wouldn’t put it past the Amish to have a sense of humor – some do. However, since we are surrounded by Amish, I included it here as well. They have a huge playlist of mostly gospel music (surprised?) and they do it very well.}}

Here are a few more that aren’t really much different in their bluegrass outfits than they were originally.

• Devil Went Down to Georgia (Charlie Daniels Band) – live
• Ghost Riders in the Sky (Johnny Cash/Outlaws) – live
• Sweet Home Alabama (Lynyrd Skynyrd) – instrumental
• Fire on the Mountain (Marshall Tucker Band) – audio
• Dance, Dance, Dance (Steve Miller) – live

There are many more if you just look. Some of the links above are compilations where you can discover additional songs. Now, after compiling this list I feel obligated to go make myself a playlist.

I close with one of my favorite renditions of one of the most famous bluegrass songs of all time – that is a hit on its own standing. This star-studded lineup performs it with the master who started it all.

Just a few notes about this piece. Steve Martin disclosed he was petrified with performing with this group. But, he actually did quite well and you could see his immense relief when he made it through his solo. Marty Stuart got his start as a 15 year old musician with Flatt and Scruggs before he launched his own career years later so he was more than familiar with all of them. Paul Shaffer is,… well,… Paul Shaffer. I just hope he has a good chiropractor.

Thanks Liz for the inspiration – and diversion 😉