Bare recorded more than 100 Silverstein songs from 1972-1983
Original RCA and Columbia recordings including 25 previously unissued masters
Bobby Bare Sings Shel Silverstein Plus also features a 128-page hardcover book
containing interview, essay, lyrics, discography and photos
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — On October 2, 2020, Bear Family Records will release the eight-CD LP-sized box set titled Bobby Bare Sings Shel Silverstein Plus, containing 137 songs representing six full albums and a total of 25 previously unreleased tracks. (The “Plus” is a handful of tracks penned by other songwriters.)
Bobby Bare had huge, Grammy-winning hits on RCA Victor in the 1960s, with a folk-country sound and songs including “Detroit City” and “500 Miles Away From Home.” He then signed to Mercury Records, started a publishing company, and began recording songs by great songwriters like Tom T. Hall, Kris Kristofferson, and Billy Joe Shaver. When RCA offered him the chance to produce his own works it was the first time in Nashville that a top artist was in charge of his own creative endeavor. Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings heard about this and would demand the same autonomy — resulting in the Outlaw movement, in which creativity won out over business concerns.
Shel Silverstein’s enduring contributions to children’s literature have largely overshadowed his accomplishments as a cartoonist, playwright, performer and songwriter. With their clever lyrics and catchy melodies, Silverstein’s songs — including “Sylvia’s Mother,” “The Cover of Rolling Stone” and “A Boy Named Sue” — have been a wellspring for both folksingers and country artists. Many performers brought the Silverstein wit to country audiences, but no one recorded more of his songs than Bobby Bare.
Six albums are intact or amended in the new box: Lullabys, Legends and Lies was Bare’s 1973 artistic breakthrough; Silverstein conceived the downbeat Hard Time Hungrys (presented here with six additional songs) while America was gripped in a lengthy financial recession; Singin’ in the Kitchen features Bare’s family; Great American Saturday Night, originally withheld from release and unheard for more than 40 years, appears here with three additional tracks; Down & Dirty and Drunk & Crazy are benchmark albums from the early 1980s. The accompanying 128-page hardcover book features a new interview with Bare by Hank Davis, an overview of Silverstein’s life and work by Dave Samuelson, plus the lyrics to the 137 songs in this collection. A detailed discography and a treasure trove of pictures and album covers add to this definitive edition.
TRACK LISTING
CD 1 • Lullabys, Legends And Lies
Lullabys, Legends And Lies • Paul • Marie Laveau • Daddy What If • The Wonderful Soup Stone • The Winner • In The Hills Of Shiloh • She’s My Ever Lovin’ Machine • The Mermaid • Rest Awhile • Bottomless Well • True Story • Sure Hit Songwriters Pen • Rosalie’s Good Eats Cafe
CD 2 • Hard Time Hungrys plus
Hard Time Hungrys • (Taxes On) The Farmer Feeds Us All • Alimony • Two For A Dollar • Back Home In Huntsville Again • Daddy’s Been Around The House Too Long • Warm And Free • Able-Bodied Man • $100,000 In Pennies • Bottles And Boxes • Truck Driver, Truck Driver • The Unemployment Line • Too Much Blues • Things To Sell • Door To Door • Poor Blues • It’s Good To Know The Sun’s Still Shinin’ Somewhere • Lead Me Back Home
CD 3 • Singin’ In The Kitchen plus
Singin’ In The Kitchen • The Monkey And The Elephant • Lovin’ You Anyway • Where’d I Come From • Ricky Ticky Song • The Giving Tree • You Are • The Unicorn • Cloudy Sky • She Thinks I Can • Scarlet Ribbons • See That Bluebird • Sylvia’s Mother • You Know Who • Staying Here With Me • The Wheel • Love And Flowers • The Stranger • Chester • Bald Headed Woman • Baby Wants To Boogie • Brian Hennessey • Climbin’ The Ladder And Climbin’ The Walls • Yes, Mr. Rodgers
CD 4 • Stray Bare Tracks
Sweet Larraine • Lemme Be Something • Vince • Make It Pretty For Me Baby • Vegas • It Ain’t Easy • February Snow • Sing For The Song • From The Jungle To The Zoo • Too Many Nights Alone • Greasy Grit Gravy • They Held Me Down • This Guitar Is For Sale • There’s An 18 Wheeler In Front Of The Ritz Hotel • More Like The Movies • Hattie Halle And Big Dupree
CD 5 • More Stray Bare Tracks
Nobody Wants To Go Home • Childhood Hero • A Week On The Town (Gone As A Goose) • Yard Full Of Rusty Cars • When She Cries • Cold Day In Hell • So Good To So Bad • The Diet Song (Version 1) • When Hippies Get Older • Jennifer Johnson And Me • Me And Jimmie Rodgers • You Jumped Off The Gravy Train • Time • Drinkin’ From The Bottle • Someplace To Come When It Rains • Stacy Brown Got Two • The Jogger • Three-Legged Man • Rodeo Queen • The Diet Song (Version 2)
CD 6 • The Complete Great American Saturday Night
Great American Saturday Night • Red-Neck Hippie Romance • Kids Today • Dirty Ol’ Me • The Diet Song • Paintin’ Her Fingernails • Goodnight Little Houseplant • I Can’t Sleep • The Living Legend • They Won’t Let Us Show It At The Beach • The Day All The Yes Men Said No • Time • Whiplash Will • Me And Jimmie Rodgers • Someone To Talk To • Great American Saturday Night
CD 7 • Down & Dirty
Good For Nothing Blues (Funky Water) • Numbers • Some Days Are Diamonds • Tequila Sheila • Rock Star’s Lament • Crazy Again • Tecumseh Valley • Blind Willie Harper • Rough On The Living • Down To My Last Come And Get Me • Quaaludes Again • Goin’ Back To Texas • I Can’t Watch The Movie Anymore
CD 8 • Drunk & Crazy
Drunk And Crazy • Food Blues • The World’s Last Truck Drivin’ Man • I Can Almost See Houston From Here • If That Ain’t Love • Rock And Roll Hotel • This Much Rain • Song Of The South • Appaloosa Rider • Bathroom Tissue Paper Letter • Willie Jones • Gotta Get Rid Of This Band • Drinkin’ And Druggin’ And Watchin’ TV • Your Credit Card Won’t Get You Into Heaven • I’ve Never Gone To Bed With An Ugly Woman • Desperados Waiting For A Train