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Difficult Listening 17 - Hasil Adkins, what hath Hank wrought?

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    Posted 7 years ago

    artfoot
    (367 items)

    I found my first Hasil (pronounced "hassle") Adkins CD in a record store 99 cent bin. I had no idea who he was but he had a quirky enough look that I figured I could risk a buck. It turned out to be a good investment.
    Hasil grew up as the youngest of ten children of a West Virginia Depression Era coal miner. They lived in a company-owned tar paper shack where he somehow managed an interest in music. Hearing Hank Williams on the radio, the story goes, Hasil thought Hank was playing all the instruments and to imitate that, he became a "one man band" - guitar, drums, harmonica, and a few other noise-makers all hooked together - and learned hundreds of songs. A less well known story and certainly an advantage in his interest, Hasil was gifted with "perfect pitch". Just because he could, he would string his guitar with various gauges of baling wire and tune it up. There are lots of stories about Hasil - look him up on your search engine.
    Sometime in the 1950s, Hasil started writing songs. He wrote Country songs like his idol Hank Williams and Country Rock R&B like Jerry Lee Lewis, only he wrote about meat, yard sales, and decapitation. He wrote about dancing and drinking and combining the two. Starting in 1962, Hasil began self producing 45rpm records. He would send an unsolicited copy of each recording to the sitting President of the United States. Only Richard Nixon thanked him.
    By the time any of his music was released as an album, it was simultaneously released as CDs in the 1990s.

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    Comments

    1. iggy iggy, 7 years ago
      Another great one! This guy is one down home country dude.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0V2vk_txqI
    2. racer4four racer4four, 7 years ago
      I listened to him a bit, but sorry I can't love him.
      You are educating me however Harry!
    3. buckethead, 7 years ago
      How could you not love his song "No More Hot Dogs?"

      He is different.... :)

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Nz9jR_AuLM&start_radio=1&list=RDEMR0XRF9C33l5NFWnWwarsMQ
    4. artfoot artfoot, 7 years ago
      Thanks Karen. I don't expect everyone to like much of the music(?) I'm posting. I do think though that most people are not aware a lot of it exists. My goal is just to provide some exposure to an audience that may not encounter it otherwise. I appreciate that you gave it a try.
    5. AnythingObscure AnythingObscure, 7 years ago
      Yikies...yet one more, indeed, fabulous example of "difficult listening"...

      Thanks SO much artfoot, for sharing all these with us -- I've been (well, trying to anyway?) enjoying them too. Reminds me of years ago, sitting in my car in the park at night, listening to the Dr. Demento show on the radio...but the songs Dr.D played were usually intended to be weird...this guy, maybe not so much...?? <LOL>

    6. artfoot artfoot, 7 years ago
      Thank you for listening.
    7. Vintagefran Vintagefran, 7 years ago
      Hi artfoot, I don't know the artist, I'll have to give him a listen. I was struck by the similarity between the covers of Live in Chicago and The Clash's London Calling. I wonder if The Clash were fans at f his?

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