Track Listing

1. Ballad of Davy Crockett - Fess Parker
2. Don't Take Your Guns to Town - Johnny Cash
3. Big Iron - Marty Robbins
4. Ballad of Paladin - Johnny Western
5. Paso - Marty Robbins
6. Cross the Brazos at Waco - Billy Walker
7. Long Black Veil - Lefty Frizzell
8. Life to Go - Stonewall Jackson
9. Big Bad John - Jimmy Dean
10. Tennessee Flat Top Box - Johnny Cash
11. Wolverton Mountain - Claude King
12. Saginaw, Michigan - Lefty Frizzell
13. North to Alaska - Johnny Horton
14. Twenty Miles From Shore - Hawkshaw Hawkins
15. Battle of New Orleans - Johnny Horton
16. Soldier's Joy - Hawkshaw Hawkins
17. Waterloo - Stonewall Jackson
18. Ballad of Jed Clampett - Flatt & Scruggs, Foggy Mountain Boys
19. May the Bird of Paradise Fly up Your Nose - Little Jimmy Dickens
20. Flowers on the Wall - The Statler Brothers
21. If You Can't Bite, Don't Growl - Tommy Collins
22. Boy Named Sue [Live] - Johnny Cash
23. Devil Went Down to Georgia - The Charlie Daniels Band
24. Pancho and Lefty - Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson
25. Highwayman - Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #184017 in Music
• Released on: 1990-12-29
• Number of discs: 1

Customer Reviews

What became of Ellie May? Did she enter a convent?
Columbia has released a series of CDs paying tribute to the Country Classics, volume 3 of which is entitled AMERICANA and contains twenty-five so called "saga songs", i.e. numbers which put to music stories of good vs. adversity.

This disk features a veritable posse of legendary artists. Johnny Cash is the most represented ("Don't Take Your Guns to Town", "Tennessee Flat Top Box", "A Boy Named Sue", "Highwayman" - the last with Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson). Others with more than one track are Marty Robbins ("Big Iron", "El Paso"), Hawkshaw Hawkins ("Twenty Miles from Shore", "Soldier's Joy"), and Stonewall Jackson ("Life to Go", "Waterloo").

Then, there are my favorites:

"The Ballad of Davy Crockett" (Fess Parker) makes me yearn for the coonskin cap I had as a kid. It'd look mighty fine at the big management meeting. (Actually, I think it was rabbit fur.) I'd probably run afoul of PETA, though. And who needs that hassle?

"Big Bad John" (Jimmy Dean) reminds me of the hero I once aspired to be. Unfortunately, real, everyday life is pretty much mundane. Besides, there are no mines locally, and sewer work doesn't have quite the same cachet.

Even though I love just about everything British (except Lemon Shandy), "The Battle of New Orleans" (Johnny Horton) is a real toe-tapper. Makes me want to dump tea into Los Angeles harbor. In your eye, Tony!

The next time I have to pay my IRS taxes, perhaps playing for them "May the Bird of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose" ("Little" Jimmy Dickens) would get a more warm `n' fuzzy response. Hmm ... maybe not.

Lastly, "The Ballad of Jed Clampett" (Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys) brings to mind Ellie May sunbathing out by the CEEment Pond. Let's dwell on that vision for a long moment. Dang, Uncle Jed! (If you haven't a clue as to what I'm blathering on about here, then forget it, as you're too young to appreciate this CD anyway.)

My only regret concerning this collection of down-home favorites is that the catchy theme from "Green Acres" isn't included. Pity. I was hoping to sing along.

Great CD -- want volumes I & II now!
This CD has lots of old ballads and great country music singers. These lyrics bring back lots of memories and chuckles; also, songs that have been forgotten through they years. It's great to put this CD in the the CD player and kick back and relax or to hit the road with it! My husband and I both think it's great and so do our friends and family that have had the pleasure of listening to it! Great for anyone that likes classic western movies, too!!

Oh, the memories!
I stumbled over this CD while looking for something with "Long Black Veil" on it. What a gold mine I found with all these mostly country oldies plus a few newer ones! About all that is missing is "Summer Wine" and "Miller's Cave." Even to my tin ears, the sound is great; and I certainly enjoy listening to the original recordings rather than someone else's.