THOMAS BOSSIUS
1. Rank Strangers, “Early Morning Rain”
From: Country Our Way. Polydor, LPHM 46270, 1969, 33⅓ rpm.
The Gordon Lightfoot cover “Early Morning Rain” was the first single to be taken from Rank Strangers debut album Country Our Way (1969). The song charted for 16 weeks at the Swedish Top Ten chart. Here it is presented live on the Swedish TV show Hylands Hörna in 1970.
2. Country Minstrels, “Take Me Back to Tulsa”
From: Country Palace. Tonpress, SX-T 52, 1986, 33⅓ rpm.
Country Minstrels started playing together in 1964 and is one of the first Swedish country groups. Here is a live performance of Merle Haggard’s “Take me back to Tulsa” from a concert in the Netherlands from 1984. The line-up features two of Sweden’s top musicians in the genre: Janne Lindgren on steel guitar, and Thomas Haglund on fiddle.
3. Bluegrass Swedes, “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down”
From: Mystery Train. Great Music Production, GMP7712, 1978, 33⅓ rpm.
The Tennessee Travelers were one of the earliest bluegrass bands in Sweden, featuring the three brothers Haglund (Thomas, Mats and Urban) from Borlänge, Dalarna. For a while they regrouped as the Midnight Cowboys playing modern country with Red Jenkins as singer, but they soon returned to bluegrass again re-named as The Bluegrass Swedes.
4. Jill Johnson & Titiyo, “Pale Blue Eyes”
From the TV-show An Evening with Jill Johnson (2013).
Jill Johnson is Sweden’s best known country artist. Here she has teamed up with pop/electronica artist Titiyo for a country rendition of Lou Reed’s “Pale Blue Eyes”.
5. Cina Samuelson, “Please Help Me I’m Falling”
From: Roots & Memories. 2014.
One of the songs from Cina Samuelson’s album Roots & Memories (2014), performed live at the release concert at Sagateatern in Borås, October 2014.