The Poor Top Ten: Poor Boy Blues (#1)

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The bills are all paid for March, so I guess I’m not all that poor. It’s a good thing this is wrapping up now. Fear not, there’s more money to be had: @DianneN reminded me I haven’t ever done a money countdown, so I’ll follow in this vein next. But for now, the richest of the songs with “poor” in the title. #1: Poor Boy Blues - Chet Atkins and Mark Knopfler One of the great things about music, and what makes it so magical, is you never know where the influences go once the song plays. Steve Goodman said that it’s just out there when a song gets played on the radio, and the things that get picked up on someone’s radar can sometimes baffle the mind. I know that personally: I occasionally have to remind anyone who stumbles on my stuff for the first time that I really DO like Mel Tormé AND the Clash AND Dean Martin AND the Delmore Brothers AND Pink Floyd. So that’s what we have here. Country guitar king Chester B. Atkins (who had an affinity for jazz like you wouldn’t believe) and former Dire Straits frontman Mark Knopfler getting together for a little fun. Just a one-off, a couple of thump-picking guitarists having a good time. And it won a Grammy. For vocal performance. I emphasize that because what may be my favorite Chet Atkins quote is when he described getting signed by RCA Victor and Steve Sholes asking him if he could sing. “‘Yes,’ I lied,” Atkins wrote in his autobiography. Just a couple of thumb-pickers having a great time, and passing it on to anyone who’d listen. Like me. Thanks for reading. Poor Boy Blues Written by Paul Kennerley Recorded by Chet Atkins and Mark Knopfler From Neck and Neck, 1990 I ain’t got nothing that you can use: