Singer/ Songwriter
Here are some songs of James Talley:
WHAT a star.
I had the occasion to see him and listen to the songs of James Talley in Buehl (The very best Bluegrass-Festival in Germany) in May 2010.
It was so moving. When he sang his song "My cherokee maiden"" ( dedicated to his wife who was in the audience too) or the song about his father: "Richland,Washington", who worked in a plutonium factory or - and I confess, tears where in my eyes, this outreaching song "chief Joseph" about the struggle of existence the Indian tribe "Nez Perce" fought against the US army....
....ladies and gentlemen,
its a honour to introduce James Talley on my website.
And thanks so much to Walter Fuchs, who made this concert true and unique.
Got no bread, no milk, no money,
but we sure got a lot of love.
James Talley is an Oklahoma born folk-country-blues singer and songwriter, whose career spans forty years. His name has been mentioned alongside Woody Guthrie, Merle Haggard and Bob Dylan, and he's been praised for the quality of his songwriting and wise, expressive voice. Noted author and music critic, Peter Guralnick has said of James' work, "There are few singer-songwriters who could produce a collection of such magnitude coupled at the same time with such lightness, beauty, and all-out social conscience. Woody Guthrie never wrote a more direct or affecting song than 'Richland, Washington,' Bruce Springsteen never wrote a more powerful one than 'Tryin' Like the Devil." Talley's "Song Of Chief Joseph" comes from his "Journeys" album.
James performed twice at The White House for President Jimmy Carter, and at the Smithsonian Institution, and in other concert venues around the United States and in Europe. B.B. King played guitar on James third album, Blackjack Choir, in 1976, marking the first time the legendary bluesman had ever recorded in Nashville. Johnny Cash, Johnny Paycheck, Alan Jackson, Hazel Dickens, the late Gene Clark, and most recently Moby, among others, have recorded his songs.