2/2: Johnny Bush - Here Comes The World Again
PART 2 OF 2: On the occasion of Johnny Bush's passing in October of 2020, we've got a two-part podcast tribute to the man who epitomised Texas dancehall music. Part two has us digging back into the show archives for an episode which originally aired in July 2017.
From the original show notes: In this episode, we're featuring a hard country album from Johnny Bush: "Here Comes The World Again" (1973). After having served in Ray Price's and Willie Nelson's bands, he had paid his dues and this was Bush's first release on a major label (RCA). "Whiskey River" (written by Bush) was just about to become a big hit and it seemed Johnny Bush's star was on the rise. In the summer of 1972, however, a mysterious vocal condition put Bush's well-known high notes at risk. He adopted tricks to get around it, but the impact was profound: within a few years, he could barely speak, and it was only many years later with some enterprising medical treatment that Bush was able to regain his singing abilities. This album came at a very uncertain time for "The Country Caruso", but you wouldn't know it from the material included. This is a fantastic collection of jukebox-friendly shuffles, drinking songs, broken-heart ballads and beer joint singalongs - fiddles and steel guitar abound. Highlights include the "Cold Grey Light Of Dawn", dancehall favourite "Green Snakes On The Ceiling" and "Here Comes The World Again".