In Nicholas Dawidoff’s book, ‘In The Country of Country’ there’s a fascinating portrait of Merle Haggard from around twenty years ago. Dawidoff’s premise is simple; he goes to the places where the country music was made. He travels to Virginia, Kentucky and  Tennessee and, in the chapter on Merle Haggard, up to Northern California. There he encounters Merle figuring out how he can interpret the music of Iris Dement. The Hag had discovered Iris Dement because she covered Big City on Tulare Dust: A Song Writers Tribute to Merle Haggard. Hearing Dement’s version of ‘Big City’ on his tour bus, Merle had the coach pull in at the next town so he could get copies of Dement’s first two albums. It was then he heard her song,  ‘No Time To Cry.’  So, as we catch up with them both in Dawidoff’s tale, Merle has asked Iris over to Shade Tree Manor, his Northern Californian compound, so she can teach him the song that would eventually appear on his album 1996.

By an interesting coincidence it was this album that was my first purchase of The Hag. Back then I dipped in and out of country music when something caught my ear. A couple of years before I too had been consumed by Iris Dement for an entire summer after my own father passed away. It was the album that got me through a strange, disconnected period of life. Mere tackles Iris’s song in the same key with a mature wistfulness only a country veteran could muster. When it comes to the line ‘cause I’m older now, I aint go to no time to cry,’ he phrases it so perfectly somehow, well… you just get it. Interesting too that Iris’s own choice of Merle song on Tulare Dust was ‘Big City.’ Haggard’s own decision to settle in Northern California was itself a flight from his original home in Bakersfield where it ‘didn’t rain enough.’ Big City’s famous lyric goes:

Turn me loose, set me free
Somewhere in the middle of Montana
And give me all I’ve got coming to me

And keep your retirement
And your so-called Social Security
Big city turn me loose and set me free

Perhaps that’s what people buy into when they relate to Merle Haggard. In a world where the epithet has been cheapened beyond recognition Merle Haggard wholly deserves the status of ‘legendary.’   A Country Great because he did what he wanted and unusually stayed  far away from the big city no country blog ever fails to mention: Nashville. Merle distrusted the musicians there and knew that being separated by thousands of miles was the distance he needed to create his own special world. What a world that was. A fifty year career including a back catalogue of songs anyone (country, rock ‘n’ roll, folk or pop musician would kill for) and then……the voice.

I love the fact that Merle is a great songwriter; it’s what matters most to me, but there is also something strangely compelling about a great country voice. In Merle’s case it’s a voice you believe in. Often within a line it can bend your heart then, as quickly, fire you up as he spits out another perceived injustice. More than anything else it often seemed as if Merle Haggard understood his own audience’s fears and aspirations well enough to articulate something they might be feeling. Think Okie From Muskogee, Branded Man, Working Man’s Blues or Mama Tried. But then he sang love songs which make you want to get up and start all over again. ‘Silver Wings’ or ‘Today I Started Loving You Again’ or ‘Misery and Gin.’

This Tuesday we’ll play you these songs sung by some great artists as well as The Hag himself. We will hear from Suzy Boguss, Sturgill Simpson, Sam Outlaw, Marty Stuart, Willy Vlautin and Timothy B Schmit. Then we’ll hear the voice of the man himself from an interview he gave in 1976 with David Allan on BBC Radio 2. Finally we will conclude our year long Merle celebration by playing hits no. 37 and 38 from Merle’s catalogue of No 1 singles. We will be celebrating 80 years since Merle was born (6 April), the same date he left us one year ago.

It will be two very special and, I hope, quite sentimental hours of music and conversation. If you love Merle Haggard we will aim to celebrate what you already know. If you don’t we think you might well by the end of the show. Join me if you can this Tuesday evening on BBC Radio Scotland FM from five past nine.

In an old, cold church in Hackney on a January Thursday, Mr Richard Murdoch and I shared a mall epiphany. It was a one song sung by Peter Bruntnell called ‘Long Way From Home.’ In the seat behind me was my agent, and a man who knows a thing or two about Americana, Paul Fenn. ‘Ah…’ he anticipated,’ I’ve heard so much about this man but never seen him. He’s meant to be very good.’ He wasn’t wrong. It was, perhaps, the highlight of a very good night at the UK Americanas.

Soon after we were kindly sent two of his albums and informed by our old friend Iain Sloan that Peter was coming to Scotland. Iain (pedal steel player to Blue Rose Code and The Wynntown Marshalls) was putting a small band together and we were keen to see if they would include the AC in their tour itinerary.

As someone who pays scant attention to music journalism I’ve managed to miss out on the good press that has followed Peter over the years. But those of you who know better will already be aware that Peter has been much admired by the music writers over the years although none of that seems to have been matched by exposure to his music on the airwaves. It’s a shame because there is so much there to enjoy. If you love The Jayhawks, Bill Callahan, Alex Chilton, the late Bap Kennedy and Richmond Fontaine you are going to love Peter’s music. In fact I would say his songs contain the same simplicity and ache of our very own Teenage Fanclub. (which makes me wonder why we aren’t playing them more too?) Indeed he is one of Willy Vlautin’s favourite singers and, though Peter’s own subject matter covers a wider target, there is something akin to the pathos and humanity found in Willy’s own songs and novels. Where Willy’s own stories could all begin and end in a dingy bar in Reno, Peter’s casts a detached but accurate eye over Spitfire Pilots, Jimmy Webb and eastern mountain tops.

If that isn’t enough we welcome back one of our oldest chums, the good Ben Glover. Ben defines Americana these days. Moving from Antrim to Tennessee, he’s made a clutch of albums over there and written with some great artists including Mary Gauthier and Gretchen Peters. On Ben’s previous record we found him recording songs in Ireland he’d written in Nashville. This time round he’s looking back across the water and reflecting on home on a partly traditional record themed around exile. The Emigrant (the title track he wrote with Gretchen Peters) contains covers and originals of stories of what what, in Sam Outlaw’s phrase, we’re all looking for: Home.

By the time you read this many of you may have had a chance to see Ben or Peter in concert last week. This Tuesday, stay in and enjoy the songs and stories of these brilliant artists. It all starts from five past nine on BBC Radio Scotland.

It was one of those early parties soon after coming to Glasgow. I was innocently nursing a beer when my pal came up to me and determined he would know my opinion. I saw a slight madness in his eyes and knew the argument would not be settled unless I agreed to the principle of the hypothesis. ‘Who is it Rick?…. Tell me,’ he gently pushed, ‘ Buddy Holly or Chuck Berry?’ It was pointless asking if we had to choose, he was way beyond that. ‘Oh, it’s Chuck, Swan..it’s definitely Chuck.’ He slid off my shoulder and fell back into a relaxed slump on the carpet. I’d passed the test.

35 years later I have often thought of that conversation and how, I feel slightly guilty at letting Buddy down. (Females please note, only blokes have time to worry about this kind of stuff) I chose Chuck then and for many of the same reasons I’d pick him now, though I pray we are beyond the binary when it comes to musical decision making. Back then I knew some basic things about Chuck Berry that I still think are pretty important. His name was in the brackets of some of the records I’d owned as a kid that meant the world to me, every band I knew or wanted to know covered at least one of his songs and he was, to me, a great singer songwriter. Retrospectively all of that and more could be said about Buddy Holly too but there was one other factor about Chuck…well, he was kinda dangerous.

Aged 18 and still in school, Chuck was sent to reformatory for armed robbery. There was no ‘Merle sees Johnny’ moment here however. On his release he settled down to work in an auto plant before his big break arrived nearly ten years later. He met Leonard Chess in May 1955  who signed him to his legendary label in Chicago starting an incredible 60 year career. Chuck’s first single and still one of his most loved songs, Maybellene was his own take on Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys‘ traditional song Ida Red. From George Jones through to Johnny Cash and Emmylou Harris Chuck’s songs have weaved their way through country music and rock ‘n’ roll. Nothing would have been possible had he not written the songs or played and sung the way he did. Last year he announced plans to make his first new album in 38 years which he would be making for Nashville’s own Dualtone Records. This is the cover of the album which has still to come out.

On Tuesday we’ll play Chuck and we’ll explain a little of his country connections. We’re delighted to say we are also going to include a new track from the (excellent) new Angaleena Presley album, some vinyl from Conor Oberst, a new song from Scotland’s own Eugene Twist and Edinburgh band, Mersault. Look out for more tracks from Hurray For The Riff Raff and we pay tribute to Dolly Parton’s Mr Everything, pedal steel player Don Warden who died last week.

It all starts at five past nine on BBC Radio Scotland FM this Tuesday. Join me if you can.

Right now I can’t really take it all in , but I’m going to try to give you a flick around 72 hours or so of this last C2C weekend….

For starters I can’t quite get the image of Brad Paisley singing the first verse of ‘This Is Country Music‘ on an acoustic guitar before he up ended it, then signed it to Stuart (aged 11, above) on the front row telling him…’C2C 2027..starring Stuart.’ We were all in tears. Then there is Cam not even reaching the last bars of Burning House before the 3000 people gave a standing ovation or would you rather I told you about the moment of disbelief as Darius Rucker tore in-aboot Blackstreet’s No Diggety? Perhaps I’ll gloss over Zac Brown Band’s bizarre cover of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody‘ and concentrate instead on their fine version of Van’s Into The Mystic. Then there were the consistently good things like the set Maren Morris performed and of course the weekend’s stand out moment for me, as expected, an astonishing tour de force of country music…Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives. Yes, I did ask if I could introduce them onstage and yes, I was thrilled they said, ‘Yes,’ but equally I was floored by their beautiful rendition of Marty Robbins’ El Paso and Marty’s incredible solo mandolin version of Orange Blossom Special.

I’ve left so much out, but if you missed any of it you can catch up on the same performers from their London Shows as recorded on Radio2 Country. Equally if you want to hear a little bit of what they are all thinking about you might want to join us this Tuesday when we play out an amazing series of conversations. Down in BBC Scotland’s foyer on Friday and Saturday afternoons we welcomed some of the stars of C2C to join an audience of regular listeners for some country conversations. Darius Rucker explained his musical journey from 90s darlings Hootie and The Blowfish to becoming a No 1 Country Singer. Marty Stuart told us so many great stories about his love of the west, Folsom Prison and the late great Johnny Cash and finally breakout star Maren Morris revealed how she’d never really planned on being the singer of her own songs. If you want to find out more detail you’ll need to tune in.

Tune in too for some interesting backstage chat to Zac Brown Band, Brad Paisley, Cam and Chris Young. Particularly interesting is country superstar Brad’s own doubts and fears about his next album and how he was convinced to make some changes. Brad was joined on stage by one of Country’s finest voices, Chris Young and it was great to be backstage with Chris on the weekend his latest single (a duet with Vince Gill called, Sober Saturday Night) went to #1 on the Country Airplay Chart.

Over the course of this week’s show you will hear some great reflections on where country music is right now and get a chance to hear the music our guests are making. It’s 72 hours distilled in to 120 packed minutes. Join me from five past nine this Tuesday on BBC Radio Scotland FM.

There are albums and there are Chuck Prophet albums. There are gigs and there are Chuck Prophet gigs and then there are the songs. On his new album, ‘Bobby Fuller Died For Your Sins,’ (you know there won’t be a better album title than that this year) Chuck lands one of his finest within the first 10 minutes. ‘Open Up Your Heart’  is a simple paen to unrequited love, but to what, to whom? There is so much that Chuck holds dearly it might not be till you get to the end of side two that you discover the answer. Is it the rock heroes we’ve lost in 2016, the diminishing of his home city San Francisco or even the unexplained sudden deaths of boyhood heroes like the aforementioned Bobby Fuller?  Fuller was the man who wanted to be the next Buddy Holly and who died in mysterious circumstances outside his LA  apartment in 1966 just months after his version of ‘I Fought The Law’ became his first top ten hit.

In Chuck’s new record he introduces the grand concept of California Noir and brings it all home with an angry and moving tribute to a young man called Alex Nieto who was killed in the Bay Area in controversial circumstances by the San Francisco police. It’s a protest song worthy of Neil Young in full spate. The thing about Chuck, which you may well already know, is he’s a man more comfortable with affirmation than blank protest. Chuck reminds me of that great quote often paid in tribute to the French Impressionists, ‘The world is so full of such wonderful things, we should all be as happy as kings.’

This Tuesday on Another Country we will have Chuck Prophet and his wonderful Mission Express in session and conversation. It will be the third time Chuck has been back to see us and each time he plays in Scotland a growing assembly of admirers are at pains to tell anyone who will listen how great the gigs have been. Seeing Chuck and The M.E. live at King Tuts a few years ago was as good a live experience as I had in that year. It’s been a huge disappointment not to be within the city limits when the band have visited these last two times. My esteemed producer, Richard Murdoch, has virtually bought a Mission Express season ticket and I suspect that one of these days he’ll just plain disappear on the their tour-bus if I don’t watch out. I say no more – join us this Tuesday and be ready to be Chucked.

We’re also going to spin some excellent new records we’re excited about. Listen out for wonderful things from Alison Krauss, John Moreland, Sam Outlaw and a particular favourite of mine from Romantica. Listen out too for some previews of Country To Country stars who will be coming to Scotland this weekend. We’ll have music from Reba McEntire, Maren Morris and Chris Young. We’ll play some great new Rhiannon Giddens on vinyl and bring you some cool Carolina Chocolate Drops connections. All this in two hours I hear you say? Yes, I reply.  We’re on from five past nine this Tuesday evening on BBC Radio Scotland FM. Join me if you can.

Right now I’m going to paraphrase my old mucker, Showbiz Niz. While rightly upbraiding us for a lack of Louvin Bothers on the AC (at one point) he launched into a short history of popular music. ‘If there were no Louvins there would be no Everleys.  No Everleys  – no Beatles. No Beatles – no pop music!

He had a point. It also follows on from there. No Beatles – no Byrds or Buffalo Springfield. Both of those bands went on to begat The Flying Burrito Brothers, Poco and The Eagles and with that the birth of country rock…I know I’m simplifying…but this week’s AC guest needs to be put in the context. Timothy B Schmit was the man who replaced The Eagles’ Randy Meisner in Poco and about ten years later, the same man again in The Eagles. Quite a feat.

When I made my first solo album I worked with a brilliant drummer called Scott Crago who was then drumming with the reformed Eagles. Don Henley didn’t want to play drums all the time so Scott was the man. I remember asking what the current Eagles line up was. When he ran through the familiar names I must have looked puzzled when Timothy’s name was mentioned. Scotty burst into song and five words answered my query….’I Can’t Tell You Why.’ A big Eagles song written and sung by Mr. Schmit and as familiar a radio hit as any of their biggest songs.

On this week’s AC we have Timothy B Schmit in conversation and an exclusive solo session he recorded for us last month. He’ll be talking about his new solo album, ‘Leap of Faith,‘ his work with those Eagles and in particular his great friend the late Glenn Frey. You’ll also hear the story of one of the most remarkable session musicians from that seventies LA scene.

We’ve also got some great new music from Ags Connelly, Laura Marling and …from Iceland….Kaleo,

We will be bringing you some recordings from artists who’ll be visiting Scotland for Country to Country. We’ll also have news of how you can be in the audience when we host our close one-to-one conversations with some of the biggest names in country music on the C2C weekend. It’s going to be good and it all fits into a packed two hours of this week’s Another Country. We’re live on BBC Radio Scotland FM from five past nine this Tuesday evening. Join me if you can.

It’s probably as good a time as any to reflect a little. Last week was my youngest child’s mid-term so he and I set out on a short holiday. We left his mother at home as she was busy treading the boards by night and rehearsing during the day. Apart from the obvious benefits of a holiday it was a joy to me to have a room of my own, an iPod and my little travel speaker. (a gift from my good friend Gregor Philp)

In the late afternoon and evenings, when we’d returned from our day’s skiing I found myself alone with a book and some old playlist from the last few  years of the AC. I reacquainted myself with some old friends. There were some gems from Low, Bob Dylan’s last few studio albums, Nathaniel Ratliff, Buddy and Julie Miller, Tiny Ruins, Bonnie Prince Billy and Blue Rose Code…oh and so much more. I had a wee moment. In the middle of it all I reflected how little of this music I would know had it not been for my ears behind the desk on Another Country. So,for the record, (or the records) I feel very lucky.

Occasionally too I’m very grateful that I get sent some lovely vinyl…..tonight I want to share some of this gorgeous double album of Townes Van Zandt duets. Texas Rain has now been beautifully reissued by the good people at Charly records…a loving home if ever there was one.

I’m also glad that on my return there’s another pile of new records and some, as yet unplayed, artists who await their audience. Two hours or broadcast time may seem a long time to get through but do believe me when I say that every song we play fights for air time. No sooner have we settled on a playlist for the show than something comes along which we think, ‘Hold on – we need to include that one.’ There’s another one of these moments this week as we introduce the beautiful voice of Will Stratton for you.Originally a Californian, Will is now from New Jersey, but we will have a very special Californian section in the show which includes music from Sam Outlaw, Cam and Chuck Prophet.

Listen out  too for some fine new things for Hurray For The Riff Raff, Valerie June, Drake White and our good friend, Andrew Combs. There will be something rather splendid from my old home city of Dundee too in the shape of a duo called Union Chapel.

However we have always been ‘Another’ Country and we take pride in the fact that we have brought you music from America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Wales, Ireland, England, South Africa, Denmark and a few places I have probably forgotten about. This week we are delighted to be welcoming Joana Serrat from Catalonia. We have been enjoying her third album here on the AC and on her way through Scotland last month she stopped by to record a session and a conversation for us. Joana’s own music has taken her well beyond the boundaries of her native Spain and for her most recent record, ‘Cross The Verge’ she took herself to Montreal to work with producer Howard Bilderman who has worked with Arcade Fire and some other illustrious Canadians. But don’t bother with me trying to describe it. Check it out yourself this Tuesday on Another Country from five past nine on BBC Radio Scotland.

It’s only the second time the Americana UK awards have taken place. Last Thursday we gathered in an old church in Hackney to celebrate Americana music and it felt as if the music had come of age. Perhaps it was the diversity of the performers, perhaps it was the geographic spread of the winners or perhaps it was because we were joined, on the night, by two of the greatest musicians these small islands have ever produced that we felt Americana was being truly affirmed.

I’ve always been a little doubtful about tidy music genres but I accept that Americana is a useful term as there is so much country music these days which doesn’t feel very country at all. Equally there is much outside the Nashville mainstream which celebrates the roots of Hillbilly/folk and western music more eloquently and more intensely than anything from Music Row. That said, there is also much in Nashville to get excited about and we in AC land would be the first to draw attention to the great singers and songs in contemporary country.

This Tuesday on the AC we’ll bring you the full range. From the doyen of English folk, Richard Thompson to desert blue grass from Utah and all points in between.

Firstly we welcome three Utah musicians who take the name 3hattrio. Their album, Solitaire, caught our attention late last year. They use a bluegrass based sound to make a unique music informed, as much as anything, by the desert that surrounds them as it is by the instruments they play. If you’ve not heard 3hatrio I’ll avoid trying to describe them in favour of letting you hear them in the first hour of the programme. It’s another wild strand of Americana that might well have you wanting to find out more.

In the second part of the show we will bring you more guests that we’ve ever had on one programme before. From backstage at last week’s Americana UK awards we will have a full report and catch up on the winners. I’ll be talking to organisers Bob and Trudie Harris, musical director Ethan Johns, Andy Fairweather-Low, Beth Nielson Chapman, Richard Thompson, Lewis and Leigh, Yola Carter and Sam Outlaw. I’ve probably forgotten a few people already. There was a great atmosphere at last week’s awards as it had been a great musical evening. Richard Thompson closed the whole evening off which had included a royal endorsement from Sir Van Morrison…..he was smiling and telling jokes! For Richard Murdoch and myself it felt like we were the proud parents at a school prize giving. Three of Thursdays winners had their first airplay on Another Country and it was genuinely moving to see the music of Sam Outlaw, Margo Price and Lewis & Leigh recognised and rewarded.

You can hear the music and the conversation from this great night in the second hour of this week’s AC. If we get any time we’ll try to squeeze in some great new things too. Join me this Tuesday from five past nine on BBC Radio Scotland if you can.

This is going to be tough. Last week we hosted an evening in the CCA which we all consider to be one of the best nights in the AC calendar. What a fabulous evening it was too. Old friends, Tift Merritt and new old friends Lewis and Leigh and a first time visitor who we hope will become a regular visitor, Margo Price. You can still hear this show on the BBC Scotland website and have a look at the photographs from our night here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04qwzl9/p04qwzhw. It sounded as good as it looked too.

So it’s going to feel a little disingenuous to have the best night of the year followed immediately by another one….but that’s what we’re planning tonight. In Studio live from BBC’s Pacific Quay we welcome Joseph, Brent Cobb and the one and only Jim Lauderdale all playing live on Another Country. Joseph will bring familial harmonies. Hailing from Oregon, Natalie Closner will be joined by her younger twin sisters Meegan and Allison playing songs from their 2016 second album I’m Alone, No You’re Not. We have played Joseph on the show over the last few months and we’re delighted that we’ll be able to hear those voices ringing out in our own studio. We’ll get a chance to get a chat with the sisters too and we’ll hear how they met up with Mike Mogis (of Bright Eyes fame) and recorded in his studio down in Omaha, Nebraska.

There’s a family connection with Brent Cobb too. We first heard his music sitting in his cousin’s studio last year in Nashville. Dave Cobb, now custodian of Nashville’s RCA Studio A, gave us a sneak preview of Brent’s debut album which he’d produced fairly recently. Brent is from Georgia and he came to Nashville a few years back to start his career where he’s written some fine songs for other country artists already. Thanks to his father reminding Dave about his son’s music, Brent eventually found, in his own family, his ideal producer. We are already very aware of the title track of his album as it’s a song he wrote with our good friend Andrew Combs. ‘Shine on Rainy Day’ always seemed like an instant classic and Brent’s version reveals his own musical tastes which are perhaps more rootsy and raw than his friend Andrew’s. He is another artist who has contributed to that great project of Dave Cobb, ‘Southern Family.’ He’ll be playing songs from his debut album live this Tuesday night and he’s going to play a great country cover too.

If all of this is not too much we have a spectacular second hour planned too. For only the second time in the long life of the AC we welcome back Jim Lauderdale. Jim is a busy man and he doesn’t tour much this way, so we are delighted he’s going to join us to play some selections from his new album, ‘London Southern.’ Although Jim doesn’t tour the UK too regularly he did find time to record this album in London with Nick Lowe’s band…it sounds fantastic. If you don’t know Jim, his music or his many side projects  you are in for a treat. We’ll try to catch up with all the things he’s been up to but we hope it will lead you to finding out more yourself.

If I sound excited about this show it’s because I am. Do join me live this Tuesday on BBC Radio Scotland FM if you can.

It was red dirt track and our four by four was bouncing along nicely. From the rear-mirror swung the rosary beads and on the passenger side of the windscreen were the stickers of his favourite football team. The radio was playing some of his favourite songs. As the dust came up from the wheels and the truck made its way back to the main drive my friend, Stephen, pointed to our driver, Francis. ‘There are three things he loves, Ricky: The Catholic Church, his football team and……country music.’

Sounds like Tennessee or Texas? Wrong. It was Kazungula near Livingstone, Zambia just a few days ago. The driver was Francis the local organiser of the charity I was visiting. That whole story is for another time but, needless to say, Francis and I got locked into talking country for the next bumpy part of the journey. Later on in the week I’d come back after a long day visiting projects to see a fuzzy TV broadcasting the presidential inauguration from Washington DC. I wondered what my friend, Francis would make of the only name act that seemed to turn up for the event. Like may of the AC audience and production staff I can’t say I imagined Francis staying up beyond his bedtime to see a few songs by Toby Keith. It seems however Toby was one of the few to honour the new incumbent  on Pennsylvania Avenue. If The Donald wants to have an argument about numbers relating to this one then I think I can recap it fairly concisely:

Number of country acts you’d want to hear on any given night on the AC to play at inauguration: O.

Number of country acts not touching event with a barge pole: pick a number starting from 1000.

So this coming Tuesday you will hear a variety of artists, old and new, who were busy watching tv or shampooing their chickens last Thursday evening. You’ll hear some vintage Bob Wills on vinyl and something really great from Hank Williams. There will also be some new things from Brent Cobb, Holly Macve and Courtney Marie Andrews. Much of this is by way of celebrating the visit of many of the artists to Celtic Connections this month. Don’t forget that this week brings two AC’s as we will be bringing you our live show from the CCA in Glasgow as simulcast with BBC Radio 2 on Thursday evening. If you are not able to make the even you’ll be able to sit in the comfort of your own home or car and hear Margo Price, Lewis & Leigh and Tift Merritt perform songs live from the very heart of the festival.

I think Francis would have enjoyed all this much more than any inauguration ball, don’t you? When I asked him who his all time favourite artist was there was a simple answer: Don Williams. Sometimes you just have to opt for the right Don!

We’ll play a bit of that Gentle Giant this Tuesday on Another Country too.

Join me from five past nine on BBC Radio Scotland FM on Tuesday. On Thursday we’ll be live on BBC Radio 2 and Radio Scotland from 7.