The Big Easy List: Roll Muddy River

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Ah, we’re back to normal. By that, I mean it’s time for a country song that you’ve never heard. We’ll have a couple of those before returning to some rock and roll. By the way, next month we’re moving from the Big Easy to the Big Apple! But first, a trip down the river. Roll Muddy River - Wilburn Brothers My constant gripe act. THE act that keeps getting overlooked for the Country Music Hall of Fame in my books. Yeah, I get it. Teddy and Doyle Wilburn ruffled a lot of feathers in Nashville in their business dealings, including their TV show’s “girl singer,” Loretta Lynn. The Wilburns owned a publishing company and Lynn, as an up-and-coming songwriter, was signed to it. She was so furious with their business dealings that she stopped doing her own songs (Shel Silverstein wrote “One’s on the Way,” for instance) so as not to give the publishing company money. That is anger. No, I don’t know all of the details…but, considering how important the Wilburn Brothers were to the launching of Lynn’s career, the fact that she never mentioned them in her autobiography Coal Miner’s Daughter ought to tell you something. While I’m griping, let me continue. The Osborne Brothers (best known as the guys who did “Rocky Top”) covered this song, and oooh, I hate their version. Why? “That chord.” The Wilburns’ version goes from G to D in the chorus, while the Osbornes’ rendition goes from G to F. I call that a “flat tire chord progression.” It sounds like they’re not sure that they want to do the song. This was a top five hit for the Wilburn Brothers in 1963. We had the album this was on, and I loved it then. Hey, I still do! So, if you’re inclined, after you’ve listened to me gripe, reward yourself with the sweet close harmonies of the Wilburn Brothers. Roll Muddy River Written by Betty Sue Perry Recorded by the Wilburn Brothers From Never Alone, 1963 NEW ORLEANS LYRICS: New Orleans on to old Saint Lou