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From the cover of King of America (1986)
Song of the Day: A slow sizzling, smouldering heartbreak love song for 5th November, but hinting at explosive emotions from Costello’s breakaway 1986 country album, King of America
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Harry Chapin
Song of the Day: Next in the taxi line is this wistfully beautiful 1972 song from the American singer-songwriter’s debut album, Heads & Tales, about a driver who picks up a glamorous woman who turns out to be an old flame
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Lead Belly
Song of the Day: Also known as In The Pines, and Black Girl, today we move onto another traditional song variously interpreted, dark and brooding, haunting in its melody, and simmering with suspicion and jealousy
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The Animals may have done the best-known cover version, but there are arguably others than better it
To some it’s a masterpiece, to others a dirge, but from 17th century England to 20th century New Orleans, with artists that include Woody Guthrie, Nina Simone, The Animals and alt-J it’s a song that keeps evolving
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Bo Carter (1893-1964)
Song of the Day: The dirty blues historical exploration continues, with an emphasis on food innuendo, with the Mississippi singer also born Armenter Chatmon (1893-1964)
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Mississippi John Hurt (1992-1966)
Song of the Day: Pictured with Skip James on yesterday's Skip James post, his friend and contemporary Hurt was a blues country singer-songwriter known for his distinctively intricate fingerpicking style
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Ray Chalres
Song of the Day: After Sister Rosetta Tharpe performing in rainy Manchester in 1964, another great's rendition of a another wet weather number written by Tony Joe White in 1967 from his 1972 album Through The Eyes Of Love
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Roy Orbison, a voice of majestic tragedy
Song of the Day: After Santo & Johnny's exquisite, dreamy melody, a song from the man Elvis Presley described has being the world's greatest singer, her with lovesickness that filters into the subconscious
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Joni Mitchell in the early 1970s
Song of the Day: After two previous colourful entries, let's enter the vividly depicted world of the Canadian singer-songwriter, here taking us from Los Angeles to Paris and back on a journey of street and field scenes that capture big issues old and new.
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Dolly's a shade better
Song of the Day: After a colour-themed pair by Mattiel from Atlanta, let's enjoy twin versions from the Tennessee great, who also likes a shade of country and colour, in this tale of patchwork poverty, mother's love, and childhood pride
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Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - aka Will Oldham
Song of the Day: Nobody quite does upbeat or downbeat depressing like the Louisville singer-songwriter and actor Will Oldham, who has also gone under the Palace or Palace Brothers moniker, so let's do both with two versions of this song
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Bill Callahan
Song of the Day: The past week has featured a selection of wonderful Scottish artists, several of whom admire and have been influenced by this American singer-songwriter whose voice and simplicity of style has power and profundity
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Helen Reddy
Song of the Day: Following from yesterday's Japanese celebration song Girls' Day - Hina Maturi - a truly empowering number by the US-Australian singer to go alongside #March4Women running up to International Women's Day
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Johnny Cash. Still in pain, but with great dignity
Song of the Day: Our last song focused on dealing with teenage depression. Today, in one of his greatest career moments, Johnny Cash's cover addresses this in the autumn of his years, but also so much more
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Laura Gibson
Song of the Day: Continuing from our last entry, by Aldous Harding, another vocalist with a special form of melancholy, with work from the American artist's fourth solo album, Empire Builder, 2016
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Deer Tick
Song of the Day: Following on from our hooves, animal, and body parts band theme, we turn to two very contrasting tracks, from the versatile Rhode Island band who have variously been described as anything between alt-country and punk
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Clem Snide, from the cover of their 199 album, Your Favorite Music
Song of the Day: Among the Boston alt-country band's greatest songs, taken from their mischievously titled second album of 1999, Your Favorite Music, and written by singer Eef Barzelay, it trips along with a sensitive, wistful, lazily-paced beauty
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Thomas Earl Petty, 1950-2017
Song of the Day: Many great songs are being suggested to mark Petty's passing, but this, from the 1985 from the album of the same name, is defiant and moving, highlighting the importance of being oneself, of being proud of your roots, appropriate for an artist who constantly fought for artistic freedom
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Harry Dean Stanton in Paris, Texas. 'His face told a story'.
Song of the Day: A tribute to the actor who has died aged 91, whose style possessed a deep mystery, and had a gentle singing voice that evoked great pathos, doing a Willie Nelson song in a documentary about his life, Partly Fiction (2012), and more from his career
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