Hear You Howling

Just got the sad news that Tony Joe White no longer walks among us. The man they called the Swamp Fox, writer of immortal songs like Polk Salad Annie and Rainy Night In Georgia, was 75. Miss him.

Tony Joe White - Black Panther Swamps

Polk Salad

"Everyday 'fore supper time she'd go down by the truck patch, and pick her a mess of polk salad and carry it home in a tote sack..." Here's a little botany lesson for y'all. Polk salad - Phytolacca Americana, also known as poke salad - is a hardy plant that grows in the southern states of the US. Said to be kind of toxic, one should definitely boil and rinse it before cooking. The leaves are said to taste like spinach, while the stalks resemble okra. Polk salad was especially popular during hard times, when people had little else to eat. And since times are tough all over again at the moment, here's a little recipe for you. Also happens that the mighty Tony Joe White wrote a tasty swamprock song about it. And about a girl called Annie of course. "Gators got your granny..."

Tony Joe White - Polk Salad Annie

Long Live Longnecks

I have to admit this tenpack formula is a rather lazy affair, but heck, it´s summer, right? Let´s milk it some more then. Today we´re going completely country, with a varied and soulful selection of originators, outlaws and outsiders of the genre. So take that rocking chair outside, pour yourself a tall cool one (may I suggest the Lone Star brand?) and "sing a little bit of these workin´ man blues..."

Merle Haggard - Workin´ Man Blues MP3

Louvin Brothers - Let Her Go, God Bless Her MP3

Steve Young - One Car Funeral Procession MP3

Tom T. Hall - I Hope It Rains At My Funeral MP3

Delmore Brothers - I´m Lonesome Without You MP3

Tony Joe White - High Sheriff Of Calhoun Parish MP3

Red Sovine - Phantom 309 MP3

Larry Jon Wilson - Let Me Sing My Song For You MP3

Jim Ford - Harlan Country MP3

Johnny Dowd - Ballad Of Frank And Jesse James MP3