Newbury, Mickey / Better Days

Drag City

MICKEY NEWBURY was a songwriter’s songwriter at the dawning of the era of the singer-songwriter, yet he was also an unknown name on the Billboard charts. Mickey Newbury found early writing success in Nashville, enabling him to pave the way for his friends and contemporaries like Kris Kristofferson, Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark and David Allen Coe. Even to this day, Newbury continues to influence the most championed songwriters. His songs have been recorded nearly 1400 times by more than 1000 performers including Johnny Cash, Scott Walker, Ray Charles, Joan Baez, Dolly Parton, Tammy Wynette, the Box Tops, Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy and Nick Cave. He is the only songwriter ever to have number one hits (with different songs) in the pop, country, R&B and easy listening charts within the space of one year (and three of those songs were in the charts simultaneously!). But Mickey Newbury himself was by far the best interpreter of his own songs.   Better Days collects MICKEY NEWBURY demo material, alternate versions of several favorites, and a radio session. Listeners will hear a crisp and clean version of Mickey’s astonishing songwriting, singing and playing; refreshing to the ears after a swim through the powerfully concentrated sounds he created in the Cinderella garage. (STREET DATE - 5/17/2011)

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