전사 🔗
WEBVTT
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I'm Christine.
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And I'm Christina.
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In 2024, I moved to Texas from LA.
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And to keep in touch, Christine and I started a weekly game where we each pick a song that fits a chosen theme.
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This game deepened our understanding of each other and the songs that shape us, inspiring the podcast you're listening to now.
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Each week we share our pics, swap stories, and dig into tracks you might love.
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And a lot of the time have never heard of.
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Welcome to Stereothematica, your favorite atypical music podcast.
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Let's hear it.
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Any experience with yodeling?
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What do you think?
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I think so, but what's your earliest experience with it?
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It's funny because I and I know that yodeling is like it's kind of a worldwide phenomenon, right?
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Yes.
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But growing up in the South, like you'd pretty much hear yodeling with music a lot.
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So I I actually can't remember the first time I heard yodeling.
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Oh wow.
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No, I mean, for sure, for me, it was the sound of music, probably the first time when I was like six years old or so when it was on TV, and the Lonely Goat herd song.
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And the puppet show.
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That one.
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Yeah, exactly.
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Okay.
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Yes.
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Okay.
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That is a really good, like, universal example of Yodeling.
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Yeah.
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No, I I loved that.
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I would watch it every year, and I'd kind of like grow up with the kids.
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Like the first time I watched it, I was Gretel's age.
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And then the second time, like, and you just like I was so connected to that movie for so many years and all the songs, but especially I think that lonely goat herd is truly what introduced me to what Yodeling was.
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That's very cute.
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It's a very what are they?
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They're Swiss, right?
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Yes.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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Okay.
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So very Swiss like Alps Yodeling.
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Oh, yeah.
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And then there was the peppermint patty commercial.
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Do you remember that one?
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Load full transcript
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No.
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Oh yeah.
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So that was like this farmer dude, and he gets out of his truck and he's talking about the peppermint patty.
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You know what that is, right?
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The course love him.
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So he's like, when I take a bite out of the peppermint patty, it makes me feel like I'm at the top of the coldest mountain.
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And then he like yodel on his he gets onto his truck, yodels, and then all the dogs bark, or actually not bark, they're like howling around him.
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It's so cute.
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I need to watch this.
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Oh yeah, I'll put it in the show notes.
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That's just so sweet and funny.
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It's like it's I understand that that's probably like the origin of yodeling, but it's not how I ever think of yodeling.
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Yeah.
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I think of like country music yodeling.
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No, or like hillbilly stuff, you know?
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That's so funny.
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And we'll get to that definitely, but I don't.
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I think of the like the Al Swiss.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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Wow.
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The goats over here.
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Yeah, totally.
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So, okay.
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I really don't know much about Yodeling, at least I didn't until um I proposed this theme.
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But honestly, I think I just wanted to share a very specific song with you.
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Yeah.
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And we'll get to that song in a bit in our songs.
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But before we get into our picks, should we talk a little bit about Yodeling as an art form?
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I was hoping you would enlighten me and our listeners.
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Okay.
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So first of all, did you know that in 2025 UNESCO inscribed Yodeling on its intangible cultural heritage of humanity list?
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I didn't love that, but God bless them.
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Yeah, I just learned that.
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That's incredible.
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And then according to the Yodeling Wikipedia page, it's a form of singing that involves repeated and rapid changes in pitch between the low-pitched chest register or chest voice and the high-pitched head register or falsetto.
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Does that make sense to you?
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Yeah.
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I'm like trying to picture it and like even feel it like yo.
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Right.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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I I guess I can I can totally see it.
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Okay.
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I think that is helpful, even you just doing that.
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Thank you.
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Now, as as we kind of alluded to, it's generally believed to have originated in the Alpine regions of Switzerland, Austria, and southern Germany, where herders used it to communicate across valleys and to call livestock.
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And then the word itself Jodel comes from the German Jodelin, meaning to sing with syllables, and that's spelled J-O-D-E-L-N.
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Of course, Jodeling isn't just a European tradition.
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Similar vocal techniques evolved around the world, including in Persian classical music, African pygmy music, and many other musical traditions.
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But the earliest known written reference to Yodeling dates to 1545, when a text described the singing or calling of a cowherd from Appensal, a region known for yodeling antshees in the Swiss Alps.
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So then in the 19th century, Swiss Yodeling became a form of folk entertainment.
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And in the 20s and 30s, by way of European immigrants, it found a new home in American country music, which we will be getting to.
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But I wasn't thinking about any of this when I proposed the theme.
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I just wanted to share Dolly Parton singing Mule Skinner Blues, Blue Yodel Number Eight.
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Welcome to the two.
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And it made me remember just how much joy she brought me as a kid.
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And it's weird.
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I don't think we've ever talked about Dolly, like on the podcast or even as friends.
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So maybe before we get into the song's history, care to share any of your like personal Dolly experience?
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Oh, I I mean personally, I just love her so much.
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Like we lost such a legend recently.
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And I it is funny that we've never talked.
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Yeah, I don't, I guess we've never talked about her.
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I think not only for music, but like in the world, like everything she's done with her her books, like the free books for kids and whatnot.
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And a few years ago, I read a book about her that made me love her even more.
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It's called She Come By It Natural.
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It's by Sarah Smarsh.
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And it's a really great book if you want to learn about her life and just kind of some of her personal struggles.
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And especially, I mean, one of the things that I had originally thought about, like it was a struggle for me, was that I think she for a long time never like called herself a feminist.
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Yes.
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Yeah.
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And that frustrated me.
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And I felt like, what the heck are you talking about?
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You're like one of the most badass women in music, especially in country music, which is so male-dominated.
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And the book just kind of talks about her own brand of feminism and how she, you know, how she just like such a badass businesswoman, so smart, like so clever, doing it all while not being a piece of shit.
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Which, like, I mean, not only is she such a good singer, such a have you seen the videos of her picking, like yes.
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No, I you're gonna make me cry because I know, I know.
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There is something so special about her, and I'm so glad you're like mentioning all of this because we'll get to it a little bit more when I allude to when I talk about a podcast, um, a certain podcast about Dolly.
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But no, it's it's so true, and she really is.
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I I hate to say it, but like a saint in in many ways.
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Yeah.
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I and I I say I hate to say it about being a saint because it feels so cliche to say.
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No, I hear you.
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And I think, you know, I also I know she didn't choose to be childless, like that was something that was a struggle for her, but it did.
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I really admired her for being a childless woman and and somebody who used that opportunity to care for other children.
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Yeah, for sure.
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So yeah, just what a saint.
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What a and I love this song.
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So yeah, good, good, good kudos.
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You know, it's funny because for me, like my first experience with Dolly was at a very young age.
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She would be on Johnny Carson a lot as a guest, and they had this very funny banter.
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But but truly, more than anything, it was a physical characteristic that stood out about her.
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Her dimples.
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Her dimples, I think, endeared me to dimples at such an early age that I have always been attracted to that.
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And Thomas has dimple.
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Oh, cute.
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And little boyfriends I've had along the years have had dimples, and it's just there's something that is so warm about a face with dimple.
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It's like cherubic.
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Yeah, really, perfect for that.
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And exactly for her, but that's what I always like.
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Even watching nine to five as a kid, hearing that song, it's her music, her way of being is just so warm and welcoming.
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And it it's she's just a joy to watch.
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So yeah.
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But I mentioned it.
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Did you know about the Dolly podcast, Dolly Partons America?
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I have heard of it.
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Okay, and I have not listened to it.
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It came out a few years back, right?
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Yes, in 2019.
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And did you know it's the same person who brought us Fela Kuti Fear No Man, Jad Abramad?
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I did know that, yes.
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Okay, but I I only knew that probably because when I was listening to the Fear No Man podcast, they mentioned this podcast somehow.
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Well, it's a must-listen and um another limited series, and it's focusing on the life and music of Dolly Parton.
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But because Jad is also from Tennessee, there's an interesting connection there.
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Also, his dad was her doctor.
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Oh yeah.
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So because of that friendship, he well, the dad introduced him to Dolly, and then she really opened up to him.
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And it's it's a very like she she gets real, and they have some you know great episodes, as as he's known for.
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I'll check it out, even though Jad is sounding like maybe he's a Nepo situation.
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Um, I mean Tennessee Doctor.
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There are worse cases.
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Just kidding.
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I'm kidding.
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Such a hater.
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Um, I truly hadn't realized how important mule skinner blues was in the history of country music and maybe more specifically bluegrass, and also for Dolly's career.
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Did you know this?
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You know, I don't think I did, actually.
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It was not one that I could put my finger on saying, like, oh yeah, mule skinner blues, you know, like, but when I listened to it, I was really like taken with it.
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Yeah.
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I'm pretty sure the first time I heard it was on NTS radio, just like randomly listening to like one of this whatever was playing.
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And I though I could have heard it maybe on Hee-Ha.
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I I used to watch dude, I used to watch Hee-Ha as a kid.
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Although I can't confirm that she played it on Hee-Ha.
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I tried, but I didn't see that.
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However, Dolly got her first big break on the Porter Wagoner show, which was a popular variety TV series filmed in Tennessee.
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You know this from like 61 to 80?
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Wow.
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I know that mostly because of the book, but also I love a lot of the Dolly Porter duets.
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Yeah.
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Well, Dolly started in 1967.
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That was her big break and left in 1974, which she ended up writing a song about.
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And as Dolly tells it, it was Buck Trent, another famous country musician who worked on the show who suggested she do it.
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And it truly ended up, at the time at least, being one of her biggest hits.
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Yeah.
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And then the original version was released actually in 1930 by Jimmy Rogers.
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Wow.
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I feel like you know who Jimmy Rogers is.
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I bet I do, but right off the bat, I'm not like astronomy about okay, good.
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I mean, I like truly off the bat, I didn't know either.
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But then as I started researching and seeing all the connections and then listening to his music, I'm like, oh my god, yeah.
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And and I'm sure you'll have the same reaction.
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So he's often known as the father of country music, but Rogers was actually reusing an opening exchange from another song by Delta Blue singer Tom Dixon.
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And that song, Labor Blues, starts with a call and response between a worker and his boss.
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And it's good morning, Captain, good morning, shine.
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And it's all about a man letting the boss know he's fed up with working without being paid.
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Dixon, of course, was black, in case that wasn't obvious, Delta Blue singer.
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I should also clarify that the word shine in this context was a racist term for a black man.
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And both Rogers' original and Bill Munro's 1940 version kept the word shine.
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However, when Woody Guthrie covered it in 1944, he changed shine to sun.
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And most covers have since.
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But Dolly's version takes it a step further, saying, Good morning to you, sir, as we just heard.
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Oh yeah.
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Yeah.
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Now in in mule skinner, blues instead of a worker, quitting over unpaid wages.
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The narrator is a mule skinner looking for a job.
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And to be clear, a mule skinner is not someone who skins mules but hurts them.
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Did you know that?
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No.
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I was a little worried, honestly.
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You thought I was like, duh.
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No, no, no, not that.
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But like you thought the skinning was like when I first What would one use a mule skin for?
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I don't know.
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For like for like a rug.
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That is the next thing.
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So Rogers added his trademark Yodeling style, known as the Blue Yodel, which differentiated it from the Swiss Yodeling.
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And Mule Skin or Blues was originally known simply as Blue Yodel number eight.
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Rogers actually had recorded a total of 13 Blue Yodels between 1927 and 1933.
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And in addition to the Yodeling, the songs were based on the 12-bar blues format Rogers learned from working on the railroad with black musicians, of course.
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I say of course because we we know that most music was uh stolen or inspired by black musicians.
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Yes.
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Just want to give credit where credit credit is due.
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Now, his first blue yodel, uh number one, T for Texas, which great song.
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You you will like like it's a good song.
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Became a huge hit in 1928 and helped establish Yodeling as a signature sound in American country music.
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And then the 13th was recorded shortly before his death in May of 1933 and was released posthumously as Jimmy Rogers' last blue Yodel.
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He's also got a Yodel for California.
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I think that's number four.
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And another one, number nine.
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Number nine, actually.
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Yeah, that's really good.
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I think that's that's about Mississippi, maybe.
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Anyway, all of them.
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Just like check them out and I'll link a few.
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It was Bill Monroe who helped make the song a bluegrass staple.
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And even Dolly Parton performed it with him in 1978.
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But when Dolly took it into the country charts in 1970, she really made it her own.
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Merrill Haggard, The Cramps, Odette, and Hank Williams Jr.
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all have versions.
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And they're all in our show notes for further deep diving.
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It's like you can go on and on forever.
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Yodel forever.
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And once again, we barely scratched the surface here.
00:17:20.799 --> 00:17:33.279
Um, in addition to a bunch of videos of the different covers, I've got a few great articles about Yodeling and the song, including one called No Mules Were Skinned: The History of Mule Skinner Blues.
00:17:33.440 --> 00:17:33.759
Nice.
00:17:34.079 --> 00:17:37.200
So happy research to everyone else.
00:17:37.359 --> 00:17:44.880
Like I've had a lot of fun doing this one, but now I want to hear all about your pick because I know very little about this person.
00:17:45.279 --> 00:17:46.240
Okay, nice.
00:17:46.480 --> 00:17:51.759
And I was over here thinking how funny it was that the Californian picked the Yodeling episode.
00:17:51.920 --> 00:17:57.839
But now that we know about the the roots in the Alps, like the possibilities are endless.
00:17:58.160 --> 00:17:58.559
Truly.
00:17:58.720 --> 00:18:10.640
And this was a fun one because you know, one of my favorite Yodelers is Hank Williams, and Hank really nails it with Love Sick Blues, which was released in 1949 by MGM Records.
00:18:10.720 --> 00:18:12.559
So let's hear him take a go at it.
00:18:32.240 --> 00:18:37.759
And as excellent as this version is, it's actually not a Hank Williams original.
00:18:38.000 --> 00:18:49.759
This song was written in 1922 by Cliff Friend and Irving Mills and was featured in the musical O Ernest, which is apparently based on Oscar Wilde's The Important of Being Earnest.
00:18:50.000 --> 00:18:51.599
Wow, not what I imagined at all.
00:18:51.920 --> 00:18:52.960
Right, me neither.
00:18:53.200 --> 00:18:56.480
It's like, is this where they got the idea for O'Mary from?
00:18:57.039 --> 00:18:57.519
Maybe not.
00:18:58.000 --> 00:19:06.160
But um, there was not a lot of information on the web about O Ernest, so I don't think we're gonna be seeing it at the Pantages anytime soon.
00:19:06.400 --> 00:19:13.279
And I do not want to fall down a rabbit hole, but I this song is a Tin Pan Alley song.
00:19:13.440 --> 00:19:14.319
Do you know what that is?
00:19:14.400 --> 00:19:16.480
Or are you familiar with Tin Pan Alley?
00:19:16.960 --> 00:19:18.880
I want to say I am.
00:19:19.119 --> 00:19:21.039
I am definitely familiar with the term.
00:19:21.279 --> 00:19:28.559
I only vaguely know, so please tell me about it because I don't even want to like guess.
00:19:28.880 --> 00:19:32.319
No, I had heard the term too, but it it meant nothing to me.
00:19:32.400 --> 00:19:36.240
It was just like it's in my brain, and yeah, it's in my brain.
00:19:36.319 --> 00:19:38.720
And did Hosono mention it at the concert?
00:19:38.880 --> 00:19:44.000
I feel like he at one point was talking about something and mentioned mentioned Tin Pan Alley.
00:19:44.240 --> 00:19:45.279
Oh, that's super interesting.
00:19:45.599 --> 00:19:51.920
Yeah, but I couldn't
remember exactly, and maybe he said something else, but well, that's I I'd be the I'll go look into that.
00:19:52.079 --> 00:20:08.240
But to give you a quick sense of what Tin Pan Alley is or was, it was this collection of music publishers in New York City that started in the late 1800s, and maybe there's some differences of opinion from what I read online, but maybe ended around the time of the Great Depression.
00:20:08.880 --> 00:20:20.400
And it was sheet music that these composers and different music publishers would put out and pedal them around, uh, because that was like what was available back then.
00:20:20.480 --> 00:20:25.119
And Tin Pan Alley songs dominated popular music at that time.
00:20:25.279 --> 00:20:30.640
And I'm sure you will recognize some of their big hits, including Take Me Out to the Ball Game.
00:20:30.799 --> 00:20:35.279
Okay, Yes, We Have No Bananas, and Over There, just to name a few.
00:20:35.599 --> 00:20:47.200
Yes, there's quite a few Tin Pan Alley songs out there, but this was Love Sick Blues originated as a Tin Pan Alley song, which I'm kind of curious to understand what that would have sounded like.
00:20:47.359 --> 00:21:02.480
Because the the one version that I was familiar with was Hank Williams, but so so back to our Yodeler, the person who actually first made this a country hit was Rex Griffin, who recorded a yodeling version of the song in 1939.
00:21:02.640 --> 00:21:13.039
And Rex was actually a big influence on Hank Williams, who later went on to cover Love Sick Blues on one of his earlier performances on Louisiana Hair, which I'll talk about a little bit later.
00:21:13.279 --> 00:21:22.480
So when Hank's version of Love Sick Blues was released in 1949, which I did not realize it was that old, like that to me is crazy.
00:21:22.559 --> 00:21:34.000
Yeah, it it became an instant success and it quickly reached number one on Billboard's top country and western singles chart and number 24 on the most played in jukeboxes list.
00:21:34.240 --> 00:21:34.720
Really?
00:21:34.880 --> 00:21:41.519
Yes, and I don't know about you, but I'm a jukebox lover, and well, I was not anymore.
00:21:41.839 --> 00:21:43.839
I mean, you don't I don't see them anymore.
00:21:44.079 --> 00:21:46.319
I just played songs in a jukebox last weekend.
00:21:46.559 --> 00:21:46.799
Really?
00:21:46.880 --> 00:21:47.519
Oh, yeah.
00:21:47.680 --> 00:21:48.240
It was a black.
00:21:48.559 --> 00:21:49.200
You're in Texas.
00:21:49.519 --> 00:21:49.920
I know.
00:21:50.079 --> 00:21:50.640
Good point.
00:21:50.880 --> 00:21:55.680
They had a little jukebox at every booth in this like restaurant that I went to.
00:21:55.920 --> 00:21:56.160
Okay.
00:21:56.319 --> 00:21:57.599
It was a very old restaurant.
00:21:57.759 --> 00:21:59.519
Okay, I need to know the logistics of that.
00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:02.799
Um, they didn't work, so I had to get up and go.
00:22:05.519 --> 00:22:06.559
Anywho.
00:22:07.200 --> 00:22:08.400
Okay, so
back to Hank.
00:22:08.960 --> 00:22:20.160
If you're not familiar with him as a listener, it's probably because he died too soon because he passed away at just 29 years old at the peak of his successful musical career.
00:22:20.400 --> 00:22:25.200
Hank was born Hiram Williams in 1923 in Mount Olive, Alabama.
00:22:25.440 --> 00:22:30.319
He was born into very humble conditions and had an often absent father.
00:22:30.480 --> 00:22:42.160
He had chronic back pain due to a spinal condition he was born with, but he found a lot of joy and success in singing and was influenced by singing in the church and hillbilly music.
00:22:42.480 --> 00:22:50.799
And speaking of California as my resident Californian, he was enamored with cowboy movie stars like Gene Autry, the singing cowboy.
00:22:51.039 --> 00:23:00.799
And unfortunately for Hank Williams, he also discovered alcohol at a very young age, which did eventually lead to his untimely death.
00:23:01.039 --> 00:23:02.640
It is rumored out there.
00:23:02.720 --> 00:23:10.559
I mean, it's very hard to corroborate some of these things because there's a lot of different ideas about who he was and where he came from online.
00:23:10.720 --> 00:23:22.160
But supposedly he got his first guitar at age eight and started following around Rufus Tot Payne, who was a black blues singer and street performer in Georgiana, Alabama.
00:23:22.400 --> 00:23:29.119
And then just to fast forward a bit, Hank eventually gained enough notoriety performing with his band and solo.
00:23:29.519 --> 00:23:33.119
But his band, which I love, they're called The Drifting Cowboys.
00:23:33.279 --> 00:23:35.359
So obviously he had a little bit of a theme.
00:23:35.519 --> 00:23:35.759
Yeah.
00:23:36.400 --> 00:23:44.400
But he was able to uh get signed by MGM in 1947, and that's when he released his first big hit, Move It On Over.
00:23:44.559 --> 00:23:45.359
Do you know that one?
00:23:45.599 --> 00:23:46.480
I don't think I do.
00:23:46.640 --> 00:23:51.279
I'm I'm not like trying to get you to sing, but would you mind singing bar?
00:23:52.720 --> 00:23:54.319
You have to reciprocate one day.
00:23:54.480 --> 00:23:54.720
One day.
00:23:54.880 --> 00:23:58.559
But it it goes, move it on over, slide on over.
00:23:58.880 --> 00:24:04.960
And I think he's like, move over, little dog, because the big dogs come in through, or something like that.
00:24:05.039 --> 00:24:06.559
There's a lot of singing about doggies.
00:24:06.720 --> 00:24:06.799
Okay.
00:24:08.000 --> 00:24:08.559
Yeah, of course.
00:24:09.039 --> 00:24:10.079
It's a good song.
00:24:10.400 --> 00:24:10.960
I'll listen to it.
00:24:11.039 --> 00:24:11.839
I've not heard it.
00:24:13.039 --> 00:24:13.279
Okay.
00:24:13.440 --> 00:24:14.960
I feel like it's one of those ones.
00:24:15.119 --> 00:24:17.039
I don't even, I could go down a rabbit hole.
00:24:17.279 --> 00:24:24.319
Anyway, in 1948, Hank moved to Louisiana because he was offered a spot on Louisiana Hayride.
00:24:24.640 --> 00:24:45.680
And if you or our listeners are unfamiliar, Louisiana Hayride was a first a radio show and later a television show of musical performances that ended up launching the career of many country musicians we know and love, including Johnny Cash, Faran Young, Willie Nelson, Bob Wills, and even Alvis Presley.
00:24:46.160 --> 00:24:49.359
So it was here he first performed Love Sick Blues.
00:24:49.599 --> 00:24:59.599
And while I couldn't find any videos of Hank performing on the Louisiana Hayride, I was able to find some recordings, which I'll share in the show notes, like just the radio recordings.
00:24:59.839 --> 00:25:02.079
Because do you know his song, John Balaya?
00:25:02.480 --> 00:25:04.319
Of course I do because you shared it with me.
00:25:04.559 --> 00:25:04.720
Okay.
00:25:05.039 --> 00:25:05.599
Do you remember?
00:25:06.000 --> 00:25:07.279
Was that for a theme?
00:25:07.680 --> 00:25:11.359
Yes, we haven't done it yet, but it's for a specific theme.
00:25:11.920 --> 00:25:12.799
Okay, I remember now.
00:25:13.119 --> 00:25:13.359
Yes.
00:25:13.519 --> 00:25:13.759
Yeah.
00:25:14.000 --> 00:25:14.240
Okay.
00:25:14.319 --> 00:25:15.440
And that's so funny too.
00:25:15.599 --> 00:25:22.559
Because like I do think Hank Williams had a big impact on like my musical experience, like from childhood.
00:25:22.799 --> 00:25:28.640
But John Balaya is such a beloved song in Louisiana.
00:25:28.799 --> 00:25:33.200
And I didn't even know it was written by somebody who was not from Louisiana.
00:25:33.519 --> 00:25:33.759
Yeah.
00:25:34.000 --> 00:25:35.119
So very cool.
00:25:35.279 --> 00:25:38.559
And like I would I will share that recording in the show notes.
00:25:38.720 --> 00:25:44.079
It sounds very old-timey, but it's fun because like people have covered so many versions of it.
00:25:44.799 --> 00:25:57.839
But so in 1949, Williams actually made his debut at the Grand Ole Opry, where he received six encores, and his success and fame just kept going up and up and up from that moment.
00:25:58.240 --> 00:26:09.839
Sadly, Hank's alcoholism and back pain were a really tough combination, and he ended up dying in the backseat of a Cadillac on his way to a show on New Year's Eve in 1952.
00:26:10.000 --> 00:26:12.240
And as I mentioned, he was 29 years old.
00:26:33.359 --> 00:26:38.160
So even though his career and life were short, he's made a huge impact on country music.
00:26:38.319 --> 00:26:48.160
And to speak to his Yodeling, it was an understated way of practicing the art form that really added to his music without dominating or potentially turning off skeptical listeners.
00:26:48.480 --> 00:26:59.119
Don't you think it's kind of like when I this is obviously not like a true Yodeling song, but it incorporates Yodeling elements into it in a very what feels to me like authentic way.
00:26:59.440 --> 00:26:59.839
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:27:00.160 --> 00:27:11.839
So in 2023, the Country Music Hall of
Fame stressed that Williams set the agenda for contemporary country song craft and the standard by which success is measured in country music, which is a huge honor.
00:27:12.079 --> 00:27:17.039
And he truly has so many hits, it's incredible to think that he died before he even turned 30.
00:27:17.839 --> 00:27:19.440
And it's interesting.
00:27:19.519 --> 00:27:21.119
I I'm not going to talk about his sons.
00:27:21.200 --> 00:27:22.000
He has two sons.
00:27:22.160 --> 00:27:25.279
Well, a son and a grandson, Hank Williams Jr.
00:27:25.440 --> 00:27:32.240
and Hank III, who are both country music singers, but they're kind of like outlaw country, which is not my jam.
00:27:32.799 --> 00:27:49.440
I will end in saying that, you know, while countless country singers have been influenced by his music, there's a new wave of fans who might have been inspired to investigate Hank when they heard or saw a young cowboy yodeling in a Walmart in 2018.
00:27:49.680 --> 00:27:51.519
Christine, I think you're familiar with this guy.
00:27:52.079 --> 00:27:55.119
It's funny in just my yodeling research, he came up.
00:27:58.079 --> 00:27:58.799
You are or not?
00:27:59.200 --> 00:27:59.680
Unimpressed.
00:27:59.839 --> 00:28:00.319
Unimpressed.
00:28:02.640 --> 00:28:06.960
These kids, these cute kid videos, I'm never impressed.
00:28:07.680 --> 00:28:12.079
And the he that we're talking about is Mason Ramsey, who no, it's all good.
00:28:12.160 --> 00:28:18.880
He he shot to internet fame when he was singing and yodeling Love Sick Blues in an Illinois Walmart.
00:28:19.119 --> 00:28:23.519
The thing about him that weirded me out was how much he looked like a cartoon character.
00:28:23.759 --> 00:28:29.119
Like the bow tie, the the big belt buckle, the it's obnoxious.
00:28:29.279 --> 00:28:29.680
Yeah.
00:28:29.920 --> 00:28:36.000
And and I know that there's country people everywhere, but for it to be in Illinois felt like what's going on?
00:28:36.400 --> 00:28:37.440
It was planned.
00:28:37.759 --> 00:28:38.640
Uh I hope so.
00:28:38.799 --> 00:28:39.119
I don't know.
00:28:39.279 --> 00:28:42.160
I feel like these people are trying to do viral stuff all the time.
00:28:42.240 --> 00:28:44.880
They're just like going out there hoping that something sticks.
00:28:45.279 --> 00:28:53.519
It freaks me out that he was um just a little slip of a boy yodeling there in Walmart and people were recording him.
00:28:53.680 --> 00:28:58.000
But he did he did really get some some fame from that.
00:28:58.079 --> 00:29:01.039
And I think he can uh his his 15 minutes or whatever.
00:29:01.359 --> 00:29:04.720
It's probably more like 15 seconds these days, but he can thank Hank.
00:29:05.279 --> 00:29:10.240
And if that isn't a random enough way to end my segment, I don't know what is.
00:29:10.480 --> 00:29:16.240
So thank you, Christine, for giving us this opportunity to practice our vocal range.
00:29:16.400 --> 00:29:17.279
Yeah, no, thank you.
00:29:17.440 --> 00:29:25.200
And and it's funny, I think this initially started out as me pandering to you, sort of, like choosing that theme.
00:29:25.279 --> 00:29:28.799
I guess I could have done a lot of different themes for this particular song.
00:29:29.200 --> 00:29:32.000
But I don't know, I'm kind of turning into a country girl.
00:29:32.240 --> 00:29:34.480
I think thanks to some of your influence, maybe.
00:29:35.119 --> 00:29:36.960
This is my work, my work never ends.
00:29:37.519 --> 00:29:43.119
Okay, but um I'm wondering, do you mind if I give you a little unsolicited advice?
00:29:43.680 --> 00:29:44.559
I'm dying for it.
00:29:44.720 --> 00:29:47.200
I I think it should be very predictable.
00:29:47.359 --> 00:29:48.960
Um, no surprise.
00:29:49.759 --> 00:29:54.559
Everyone just listen to Dolly Parton's America podcast.
00:29:55.039 --> 00:29:58.720
You think you know her, you think you love her, you might even think you don't care.
00:29:59.440 --> 00:30:00.880
All legitimate feelings.
00:30:01.279 --> 00:30:05.119
But I guarantee you will learn something fascinating about this legend.
00:30:05.519 --> 00:30:10.160
What's the inspiration for Jolene or who she wrote I Will Always Love You For?
00:30:10.480 --> 00:30:13.839
And the story behind how it was used in the bodyguard.
00:30:14.240 --> 00:30:16.000
And that's just the surface stuff.
00:30:16.480 --> 00:30:16.960
Truly.
00:30:17.200 --> 00:30:20.000
And you'll probably learn more about yourself in the process.
00:30:20.240 --> 00:30:24.559
You'll laugh, you'll cry, you might even be annoyed from time to time, like I was.
00:30:24.720 --> 00:30:26.799
And maybe you'll become a better person.
00:30:26.960 --> 00:30:28.240
Only time will tell.
00:30:28.400 --> 00:30:31.039
And I'm not just saying this because I'm a woman.
00:30:31.279 --> 00:30:32.240
Advice over.
00:30:33.200 --> 00:30:35.920
Christina, what are you conjuring for next week?
00:30:36.240 --> 00:30:39.279
I think it's time to get spooky.
00:30:40.720 --> 00:30:42.720
I'm sort of looking forward to that.
00:30:43.680 --> 00:30:45.680
Thanks for listening to Stereothematica.
00:30:46.079 --> 00:30:50.559
If you like what you're hearing, please consider a review, a rating, or sharing with a friend.
00:30:50.799 --> 00:30:56.240
And follow us on Instagram at Stereothematica, where you can share your favorite Yodeling song.
00:30:56.480 --> 00:31:00.799
We've also got our Infinite Spotify playlist linked in our show notes.
00:31:01.039 --> 00:31:05.119
And visit stereothematica.com for more fun.