The Never Ending Pool

Dylan obviously always liked Webb Pierce (1926-1991), one of the great Country stars of the 50s. As a kid he had bought his records: when Robert Shelton, "visiting Dylan's boyhood home in Hibbing, MN in 1968, was shown the old records, 78s and vinyl left behind in his bedroom [...] they included 'a flood of Hank Williams' lonesome blues', some Webb Pierce and the LP Hank Snow Sings Jimmie Rodgers' Songs" (Gray, Encyclopedia, p. 159). Pierce is also mentioned in "No Direction Home" as an early influence on Bob. And recently he played his version of Jimmie Rodgers' "California Blues" on the "California" TTR show.



About Webb Pierce:
All Music Guide
Webb Pierce - Official Website (with biography and discography)
The Webb Site
Wikipedia

"More And More" - written by Pierce and Merle Kilgore - was a Country and Pop hit in 1954 and Dylan surely knows the song since then. He played it at the Savoy Hotel in London (besides f. ex. "Remember Me", "I Forgot More Than You'll Ever Know", "Blues Stay Away From Me" and some Hank Williams songs) during the filming of "Don't Look Back". In 1989 he performed it at one show with Bucky Baxter on pedal steel sitting in and then again with Van Morrison taking the vocals in 1998.

More and more I'm forgetting the past
More and more I'm living at last
Day by day I'm losin' my blues
More and more I'm forgettin' bout you

But oh how hard I'd tried to keep you by my side
And oh how I cried the day we said goodbye
Day by day I'm losin' my blues more
And more I'm forgettin' bout you

Bob Dylan, More And More (26.8.1989, Houston), mp3
http://www.morerootsofbob.com/890826_Houston_MoreAndMore

Webb Pierce, More And More (1954)
mp3:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/rvwik2

at YouTube (mid-50s TV show)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkUwBnlPY_k

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More Webb Pierce from YouTube:

In The Jailhouse Now (with Red Sovine)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XILPUjF232M

I'm Walking The Dog
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQc9cLiv5Bc

I Don't Care
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ocpulqkKOc

New Silver Bells
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5FpQzhhNhA

That Heart Belongs To Me
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIL0TCa7H7o

You're Not Mine Anymore
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNpL2jbicX4

Honey Look What You've Done (June Carter)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xh7G0zt1N0U

Why Baby Why? (the George Jones hit, here peformed with Marty Robbins and Carl Smith)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORXjqzBD8ro
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Can You Find it In Your Heart (with Kitty Wells)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drlAh8eZ_fk
"Can you find it in your heart to forgive me" is a line that Dylan may have appropriated in a slightly varied form for Saving Grace: "If You find it in Your heart, can I be forgiven?"

Teenage Boogie
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dH-X1ogRhd8
For more about this song see here

Honky Tonk Song
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGMRHBauGhg

Thank you Lost Chords..Peace..

I wish they still wrote songs like that. I try but I can't.

great singer - here he is toward the end of his life:

'I'm in the Jailhouse Now'/'More and More' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fllU6_-5odU


'More and More' was used in the horror movie 'The Hills Have Eyes' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwyVkL9j8_I

interesting supplement to lostchord's 'Roots of Bob' series:
http://www.downhomeradioshow.com/2007/02/songs-that-inspired-bob-dylan-parts-1-2/

Songs That Inspired Bob Dylan Parts 1 & 2 (Eli Smith)
(2 x 1 hour downloadable programmes)

Eli’s Comments:
One of the main points of today’s show for me was to tryin’ drive a nail into the coffin of “originality.” Musicians, probably artists in general in this country seem to be real hung up on being “original.” That leads to bad art. Steal stuff! Steal it from everywhere constantly. You’re doing it anyway unconsciously, might as well embrace it and do it more consciously. Generally speaking, if you think somebody made something up, its just because you don’t know where they stole it from. Another main point is, don’t just check out Bob Dylan’s music, its well worth it for any music lover to check out the wonderful variety of folk and popular music that Dylan himself has listened to and loved.

These are songs that Dylan has heard and then used the melody, the lyrics or parts of both to create his own songs. In this way he has taken the older forms of music that he was exposed to and changed the feeling to suit himself and his contemporary audience. Bob Dylan takes various songs and forms of music and “Bob-Dylanifies” them.

Bob Dylan is one of the most successful popular assimilators and remakers of American folk/vernacular music from his generation- and his generation was a kind of pioneer generation. The development of music in the last 80-100 years has been very rapid so its hard to say where things begin, but the 60’s was a watershed era and Dylan was there from the very early stages with a fresh and compelling approach. Dylan achieved a powerful mix of forces and an alchemy which is in many ways very hard to dissect. What’s in his sauce?! We hope this show offers some perspective on that and gives people some traction. However, as great as it is to become aware of Bob Dylan’s direct sources, its his talent and ability to combine them, creating a whole greater than the sum of its parts, that is truly inspiring.

Mr. Cords, thank you so much. I so enjoyed your set!! June Carter was so funny, I forgot that, thanks for sharing. She was so funny doing the grasshoper skit, funny girl, thanks a million. The More and more song I must have played half a dozen times singing along, 'keep'em coming' as my grandpa use to say as he washed grandma's dishes.