Week 3

Musically speaking, I was all over the place when I was younger. I had no clue what I liked. Sometimes, I liked the melody of a song. Sometimes, the rhythm. Sometimes, the lyrics. Any genre was fine with me. Long before I could play guitar, I fell in love with a song called "That's That," by an incredibly talented guitarist named Michael Johnson. The movement in the song probably caught me first - slow and precise, but pulsing. I'd say I was twelve when I first heard it. I was a moody kid, who didn't really know anything about heartbreak. But still, in some way I related to the sad and despondent lyrics about a love lost. Man... My oldest is the exact same way. Maybe I shouldn't be so hard on him. 

I actually recorded this song on a four-track cassette tape recorder in 1996 or so. I'm pretty sure it was the first song I ever covered. It was horrible. Hopefully, that track will never resurface, lest I be publicly humiliated! Not too long after, I was riding in the car with a coworker. I knew he had previously worked in the music business, but he didn't talk much about it. He often asked me about my own music, so I let him listen to a few songs that I had recorded. One of them was "That's That." He started to chuckle a bit. He went on to tell me that at one point, he had been Michael Johnson's manager.  Small world, huh? 

In revisiting this song for "52," I gathered that Jerry Douglas played dobro on the original recording. Jerry has played on far too much music to list here, but you might know him from his time spent with Alison Krauss and Union Station. Just go listen to "Choctaw Hayride," for a little dose of the master. He amazes me. Alas, there is no dobro on my version. Nor do I claim that it outshines the original. Nonetheless, I had fun recording it for a second time.  So, that's all for now. Or should I say... That's That.  

Enjoy,

Christopher

Recorded January 13-14, while everyone in my house was sick. Everyone. 

"That's That" written by Hugh Prestwood.