The Urban Cowboy

Don Woods

I watched the final episode of last laugh In Vegas where a selection of aging celebs from this country were invited to Vegas to appear there....it was a pretty rough ride for some of them with all the rehearsing etc but the final show was really good....they all fulfilled their dream....and got the ultimate buzz....I had a similar experience when I was asked to do a Ricky Nelson tribute concert backed by the guy who played the solos on his records...James Burton...to sing Hello Mary Lou etc backed by the guy on the records was surreal.....I have always been a massive fan of James (who also backed Elvis) since the 50's and although I ended up doing 8 concerts with him it was the first one I will never forget. 2.The news in this country is obsessed with the royals.....headline news about Kate and William's latest addition with huge proportions of the news spent standing outside the hospital....then we have the up and coming royal wedding with everyone guessing what she might wear etc....THERE ARE OTHER THINGS WHICH ARE FAR MORE IMPORTANT GOING ON IN THE WORLD!!!....the media goes worse by the minute....I think most of it is run by star struck teenagers. 3.ABBA have reformed to record a couple of songs...which I haven't heard yet....to me they were the ultimate group...they never wrote a bad song...musically and lyrically brilliant....considering the are Swedish....and also back on the scene is Gilbert O'Sullivan who is another brilliant songwriter...I really enjoy good lyrics which tell story...an art which seems to have been lost these days...I know we are from a different universe but even now the likes of Jailhouse Rock still stands the test of time...it is a masterpiece....I remember Gilbert O being ripped off by his then management..... 4.which brings me to the next subject...The Bay City Rollers....there was a documentary on their rise to fame which was very interesting....I didn't realise how huge they were at the time...they always looked like a bunch of barbie dolls to me...but they were virtually as big as the Beatles concert wise....it was a very interesting insight into the reality of showbiz...ending up with them seeing nothing of the millions they must have made....and they were just one of many....I actually did a gig with Eric Faulkner a few years ago...he played folk stuff and songs he's written himself.....no John Lennon I'm afraid. 5.The secret of surviving in the pop world is to keep control of you material....youngsters are too anxious to sign anything to get famous.....I have sent you one of my songs which illustrates how to do it....it is called Urban Cowboy and has a very interesting story concerning a cowboy organisation (in every way) in Birmingham back in the day....had I not been tuned in U could have lost a lot of dough.