L.A. Songs: California Zephyr

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Oh, no, it’s more country music! And, hey, if you’re going to use country music, you need to use the big guns. Here’s about as big a gun as I can pull out, given that there are punks and rockers and blues singers and R&B singers still recording this guy’s stuff. Off to L.A. we go! California Zephyr Sometimes, they say, death is a good career move. There was actually an episode of Rock of the 80s on Showtiime where someone was trying to get Andy Summers of The Police to fake his death so the band could make more money. In hindsight, we know better: can you imagine what Hank Williams could have written if he’d lived to be 39 instead of dying at 29? This was one of his multiple demo tapes that were overdubbed and released as a single after his death. Let’s face it: he was a great songwriter, and the songs were good, so why not release them. This particular recording is the demo, without the overdubs. That’s how I prefer my songs. And, truthfully, I’d like the old passenger trains back, too, for a trip. California Zephyr Written by Hank Williams Recorded by Hank Williams Released as a single, 1956 L.A. LYRICS: She left L.A. this morning burning up the right-of-way