The Blues - Live

[00:00.24] Now I was born down in Friars Point, Mississippi
[00:03.76] And I know all of you know exactly where Friars Point, Mississippi is
[00:07.97] But just in case you don't, I'm gonna tell you anyway
[00:10.89] It's about sixty miles south of Memphis, Tennessee
[00:14.08] Right on the Mississippi River
[00:16.22] And I lived there until I was about ten years old
[00:19.12] And then I moved way up north
[00:23.18] About ten miles
[00:26.28] Over into Helena, Arkansas
[00:28.70] And I spent all my growing up years in those two towns
[00:31.40] And the kinds of music that I was subjected to back then
[00:35.26] Of course naturally was country music
[00:38.13] And then there was gospel music
[00:39.96] And then there was a, another music
[00:41.92] That was born right there where I was
[00:43.65] I mean literally born right in Helena and Friars Point and that area
[00:47.25] A great old music called blues
[00:49.78] And I always thought that was sort of a second cousin to country music
[00:56.07] Because of the tremendous feel that it has
[00:59.06] And growing up about thirty miles away from me over there
[01:02.07] In Tupelo, Mississippi was Elvis
[01:04.76] And he was listening to the same kind of stuff
[01:08.12] And although I'd had my own band since I was
[01:10.21] And my own radio show too since I was ten years old
[01:12.65] And played for all kinds of things around where I lived there
[01:17.64] For all those years I never once thought
[01:19.98] About country music as a profession
[01:23.85] I guess the thought of competing with people
[01:26.59] Who were my heroes just never crossed my mind
[01:31.32] Sort of had 'em up on a pedestal like that
[01:34.58] And you couldn't quite reach that back then
[01:38.13] But when Elvis came along and started that rock and roll stuff
[01:40.68] I said, "Hey, now I think I can do that
[01:43.95] Or just a little bit, I think I can do it"
[01:46.33] So I jumped in there with Elvis and Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis
[01:50.07] And Charlie Rich and Roy Orbison and Carl Perkins and people like that
[01:55.17] And I stayed in the rock thing for about ten years
[01:58.05] And did pretty good, had a lot of gold
[01:59.46] Records and all that kind of stuff
[02:01.76] But I always knew I was doing my second best
[02:05.75] And from time to time I'd wonder just how good could I do
[02:09.46] If I was doing what I do best
[02:11.62] And that's country music
[02:13.79] So in 1965 I finally reached the point to where I said
[02:18.63] "Well, maybe I've, maybe now I've lived long enough
[02:24.46] And experienced enough of the things that a country song's all about
[02:28.65] To be able to jump in there and
[02:29.98] Compete with my heroes in country music
[02:33.13] And maybe even do justice to a country song"
[02:35.72] So I decided to make the switch
[02:38.34] And the rest as they say is country music history
[02:41.70] I enjoyed what I did back then
[02:45.28] But I love what I'm doing now and there's a big difference
[02:48.97] And when you hear a Conway Twitty song
[02:50.92] You certainly hear country music
[02:53.03] But you also hear a little gospel
[02:56.52] And you hear a little rock and roll
[02:57.91] Like the Ruby song we did a while ago
[03:00.89] And also you hear a little blues
[03:02.11] And we've chosen a song from one of
[03:03.53] Our albums from a couple of years back
[03:05.05]