When Lefty Frizzell was still a teenager trying to sing his way out of picking cotton for a living, he played 15 minute spots on KGFL in Roswell, New Mexico and fashioned himself as “a boy with a wave in his hair and a curl in his voice.” It wasn’t long before Lefty hit it real big on the national country charts with his “If You’ve Got the Money, I’ve Got the Time” and “I Love You a Thousand Ways.” In the liner notes to the two-disc set Look What Thoughts Will Do Frizzell is quoted as saying “...I get tired of holding high notes for a long time. Instead of straining, I just let it roll down, and it feels good to me.” Thank the country music gods it felt good to him, for no matter the reasons for his mellifluous vocal style, Frizzell sweet-voiced his way through many classic country tunes and deeply influenced a number of other future country music legends. It’s tough to pick one song to highlight Frizzell’s way of singing, but I’ll throw “You Can Go On Your Way Now” out there. (And is it me, or does that pedal steel sometimes sound like a lazy zither?)
Lefty Frizzell - You Can Go On Your Way Now [buy]
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