The Grateful Dead or Sawyer Brown?

This is a results post on my last Battle of the Bands. The song was The Race Is On. The original recording was made by George Jones. I must say as all of the initial votes rolled in for Sawyer Brown, I was thinking I called this all wrong. I was thinkin' I shoulda put Sawyer Brown directly against George Jones. But then all of you Deadheads weighed in and it got more interesting. Just joking about the Deadhead thing. Some of you couldn't be more unDead. Ha!

The good news was that my once lopsided battle started to even out.

In the end, your votes stacked up like this:

The Grateful Dead ~ 6 votes
Sawyer Brown ~ 8 votes

So, like usual, my vote doesn't change anything at all (not that there's anything wrong with that!). I really like Sawyer Brown. In fact, I like their version even better than the George Jones original. So, my vote lands squarely with Sawyer Brown. And that increases their lead to 9 votes.

I fully intend to be back here on the 15th with another battle. I've even got some battles floating around my brain. However, I'm totally psyched for what I have planned on April 1. I'm really looking forward to that one, so please come back for it, as it will be unlike anything I've done here.

BoTB ~ The Race Is On

Hey all. I did post a very late results post a few days ago. For those of you who don't feel like jumping back one post, I Won't Dance finished in a tie (8-8). I got the pleasure of deciding the winner (for once, maybe twice). And that means that Frank Sinatra came out on top. I love his version of that song. I also included my backstory with that song (if you're interested). There's almost always a backstory.


Anyway, it's the 1st of the month again. That means I had to dig up another song to do battle.

I first heard today's song in the early 90s. I had no idea (until today) that this song had been covered so many times. Wow. So, if there is another version to which you are particularly partial you can inform me in the comments. You can't vote for it, but you can yak all about it.

What is this song????

THE RACE IS ON.

Ole Possum (George Jones) recorded it first (I do believe). I'm not even going to consult wikipedia on this. I'm simply going to trust my memory.

The Grateful Dead liked it so much that they recorded it in 1981 on their Reckoning album. That is the first contender in this very fast battle.



Sawyer Brown recorded it in 1989 on their album The Boys Are Back. It's also pretty darn fast;)



Please vote for the version of this song you prefer. If you want to get into the Ins and Outs of why you like one better than the other... I LOVE long comments!

For more Battle of the Bands fun, check out the other BOTB bloggers to vote on their battles. I've stopped trying to keep up with who is running a battle and who isn't. To see who is participating, go here: Stephen T. McCarthy's Battle of the Bands Blog.

The Soundtrack of My Life, A Window For Every Door

If you read the last Soundtrack post, it wasn't pretty. It was junior high school. Well, we aren't outta them woods yet.

BUT, today's story is a nice one. Whew!

Date: First day of 7th grade
Place: Hallway outside of health class

You're probably wondering why we're in the hall. Well, the gym teacher taught health class. I can't really remember the guy except he was big and had no neck. Yep, one of those guys, so he was coming from the gym, and he was late.

Meanwhile, I started talking to this blonde haired girl that I didn't know while we waited. She was really nice (unlike so many other people at this dreadful place). Turned out we had quite a few classes together. She would become my best friend all through high school, and someone that I'm still extremely fond of today. You can call her Jennifer The First. Jennifer was a popular name in the 60s and there are lots of 'em in my demographic.

Anyway, as I loosed myself from the girl down the street and the girl one street over, I found myself a new group of friends. Jennifer The First, Jenny, Michelle, and Kris. We all were in band, choir, etc. Some of us also loved theatre. These people saved my life. I'm so thankful for them. But most of all for Jennifer The First.

I know this song isn't actually geared toward friends. But I do thank God for each of them. I've got to give credit where credit is due... I thank God for you.

Well, I've been called a self-made man
And girl don't you believe it's true
I know exactly how lucky I am
When I'm gettin' this close to you

It's high time I'm giving some praise
To those that got me where I am today

I got to thank mama for the cookin'
Daddy for the whuppin'
The Devil for the trouble that I get into

I go to give credit where credit is due
I thank the bank for the money
Thank God for you

A strong heart and a willing hand
That's the secret to my success
A good women, I try to be a good man
A good job, Lord, I know I've been blessed

I'm just a part of a greater plan
It doesn't matter which part I am

I got to thank mama for the cookin'
Daddy for the whuppin'
The Devil for the trouble that I get into

I go to give credit where credit is due
I thank the bank for the money
Thank God for you

I got to thank mama for the teachin'
Daddy for the preachin'
The Devil for the trouble that I get into

I got to give credit where credit is due
I thank the bank for the money
Thank God for you

Mama
Daddy
Devil

Yeah, I got to give credit where credit is due
I thank the bank for the money
Thank God for you

I thank mama
I thank daddy
Devil

Well, I got to give credit where credit is due
I thank the bank for the money
Thank God for you

Can you imagine what this life would be like without friends to make it all bearable?

If you're enjoying these posts, feel free to share your own Soundtrack. This isn't a hop. No requirements at all, but a suggestion to do it one song at a time. (If you participated in the hop several years ago, you can still do this. Just post them one song at a time, with the freedom to add more songs if you'd like.) I'll link to all participants at the bottom of each of these posts:

StMcC Presents BATTLE OF THE BANDS

Are You Ready for A to Z?

I posted something a while back announcing my participation in this year's April A to Z Blogfest in April.  I have even started writing posts and saving them in Word.  If I were truly On The Ball they would ALL be completed.  Since I am not, as of right now, I have written through the letter "G."  Yeah, that is a bit of letdown to me, too.

However, I can break the news on my theme.

Throughout the month of April you will be getting a Daily Dose on the topic of (drumroll) Passions, Phases, and/or Life Lessons.  Each one of these things started out as a Passion, but may have turned into a Phase, or Life Lesson.  I wanted to choose something that would be good Getting To Know Me stories AND would be interesting reading day after day due to the variety in subject matter.

I don't know if I will be able to work in the weekly Thursday posts on top of the A to Z posts or not.  We shall have to see how things work out.  So, kids, brace yourselves.  In April, it is going to be something here every day but Sunday.