Whiskey River (Take My Mind)

The True Story of Texas Honky-Tonk

Johnny Bush, Ricky Mitchell

• Publisher: University of Texas Press
• Year: 2017
• ISBN:
  9781477315484
• Topic: Médias et arts de la scène
• Subtopic: Biographies de musique

"Fans of live music will get a kick out of" this Texas Country Music Hall of Famer's "fond but brutally honest memories, playing gigs with Willie Nelson" ( Publishers Weekly ). When it comes to Texas honky-tonk, nobody knows the music or the scene better than Johnny Bush. Author of Willie Nelson's classic concert anthem "Whiskey River, " and singer of hits such as "You Gave Me a Mountain" and "I'll Be There, " Johnny Bush is a legend in country music, a singer-songwriter who has lived the cheatin', hurtin', hard-drinkin' life and recorded some of the most heart-wrenching songs about it. He has one of the purest honky-tonk voices ever to come out of Texas. And Bush's career has been just as dramatic as his songs—on the verge of achieving superstardom in the early 1970s, he was sidelined by a rare vocal disorder. But survivor that he is, Bush is once again filling dance halls across Texas and inspiring a new generation of musicians. In Whiskey River (Take My Mind), Johnny Bush tells the twin stories of his life and of Texas honky-tonk music. He recalls growing up poor and learning his chops in honky-tonks around Houston and San Antonio. Bush vividly describes life on the road in the 1960s as a band member for Ray Price and Willie Nelson. Woven throughout Bush's autobiography is the never-before-told story of Texas honky-tonk music, from Bob Wills and Floyd Tillman to Junior Brown and Pat Green. For everyone who loves genuine country music, Johnny Bush, Willie Nelson, and stories of triumph against all odds, Whiskey River (Take My Mind ) is a must-read.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Foreword
• Introduction
• Acknowledgments
• Prologue
• 1. I Love You So Much It Hurts
• 2. The Pipeliner Blues
• 3. Forever and Always
• 4. Crazy Arms
• 5. Night Life
• 6. Devil’s Disciple
• 7. The Other Woman
• 8. The Sound of a Heartache
• 9. Undo the Right
• 10. You Gave Me a Mountain
• 11. Whiskey River
• 12. Man with No Soul at All
• 13. Time Changes Everything
• 14. Please Talk to My Heart
• 15. Home to Texas
• Johnny Bush Discography
• Selected Reading List
• Index
• Permissions