ROY ACUFF "GREAT SPECKLED BIRD" Lyrics

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Roy Acuff Great Speckled Bird Music Video

Music Video Title: "Great Speckle(d) Bird" by Roy Acuff & His
Smoky Mountain Boys
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Roy Acuff Great Speckled Bird Lyrics Information:

GREAT SPECKLE BIRD 1
Written by: Roy Carter & Rev. Guy Smith-1936 2
Performed by: Roy Acuff & His Crazy Tennesseans or His Smoky Mountain Boys 3 4
First released: 5
Single: 1937
Album: 1958 6

1 The title of the song comes from the Bible verse, Jeremiah 12:9 "Mine
heritage is unto me as a speckled bird ..." Most versions of the Bible say
that it is a speckled bird, however for some reason, the title of the 1958
album referenced in Note 5 below is, "Great Speckle Bird," without the
'd,' and Acuff pronounces it speckle. Almost every other reference that I've
seen to this song considers the word "Speckled."

2 The tune is the same as the traditional melody used in the folk song "I
Am Thinking Tonight of My Blue Eyes," originally recorded in the 1920s. The
same melody was later used in the 1952 country hit "The Wild Side of Life,"
sung by Hank Thompson, and the even more successful answer song 7
performed by Kitty Wells called, "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky-Tonk Angels."

3 From 1934 to 1935, Acuff's backup group was named The Tennessee
Crackerjacks , 1935 to 1938, they were called The Crazy Tenneseeans. In
1938 their name was changed again to The Smoky Mountain Boys. Depending
upon the time records were pressed, the labels reflect the change of name.
Personnel performing on this recording:
* Roy Acuff (guitar)
* Jesse Easterly (guitar)
* Clell Summy (guitar)
* Red Jones (bass)

4 Also covered by:
Blue Love Monkey
Pat Boone
Reverend Pearly Brown
The Browns
June Carter-Cash
Johnny Cash
The Chuck Wagon Gang
Tommy Collins
Dick Curless
Don Edwards
Josh Graves
David Grisman
Holiness Church
Ferlin Husky
Wanda Jackson
Sonny James
Jim & Jesse
The Joranaires
Jerry Lee Lewis
Hoss Linneman
The Lonesome Pine fiddlers
Hank Locklin
The Louvin Brothers
Rose Maddox
Allan "Mac" McHale & the Old Time Radio Gang
Jim McReynolds
Charlie Monroe
Marty Robbins
Nashville Pianos
Nashville's Finest Instrumentalists
The Osborne Brothers
Minnie Pearl
Marty Taybon
Don Reno
Marty Robbins
The Singing Conquerors
Bert Southwood
The Stonemans
The Stones River Ranch Boys
Adam "Swannee" Swann
Ernest Tubb & the Texas Troubadors
Charlie Walker
Kitty Wells
The Wilders
Lucinda Williams
Mac Wiseman
et al.

5 Released on: *
SINGLE(s):
(1)Roy Acuff:
A-side: "Great Speckled Bird"
B-side: "My Mountain Home Sweet Home"
(a) Conqueror, 10-Inch, Vinyl, 78rpm Single, #8740, US-1937.
(b) Vocalion, 10-Inch, Vinyl, 78rpm Single, Reissued, #04252, US-1938.
(c) Columbia, 10-Inch, Vinyl, 78rpm Single, Reissued, #37005, US-1946.
(d) Columbia, 10-Inch, Vinyl, 78rpm Single, Reissued, #020031, US-1948.

(2)Roy Acuff:
A-side: "Fireball Mail"
B-side: "Great Speckled Bird"
(a) Hickory, 7-Inch, Vinyl, 45rpm Single, #1191, US-1962.

ALBUM(s):
(A)Roy Acuff: Songs of the Smoky Mountains
(1) Columbia, 10-Track, Mono, 78rpm LP, #CL-9004, US-1949.
(2) Capitol, 10-Track, Mono, 78rpm LP, #T-617, US-1955.
(3) Columbia, 10-Track, Mono, 3rpm LP, #CL-2103, US-1963.
(4) Dualtone Vintage 12-Track CD, #1106, US-2002.
(5) Longhorn 12-Track Cassette, #3038, US-2000.

(B)Roy Acuff: Great Speckle Bird
(1) Harmony, 10-Track, Mono LP, #HL-7082, US-1958.
(2) Hallmark, 10-Track LP, #HM-622, UK-1969.

(C)Roy Acuff: The Essential Roy Acuff 1936-1949
(1) Columbia-Legacy 20-Track, Stereo CD, #CK-48956, US-1992.
(2) Columbia-Legacy 20-Track, Stereo Cassette, #CT-48956, US-1992.
(3) SBME, 20-Track, Stereo CD, #723869, US-2008 8 .

* The album(s) and record(s) listed here may have different versions
of the song than the one that was transcribed. Also, this list is not
intended to be the complete discography on which this song appears.

6 There may be earlier issues that contain this song, but I haven't been
able to find written documentation of them.

7 As the name suggests, an answer song is made in response to a previous
song, normally by another artist. The concept became widespread in blues
and R&B recorded music in the 1930s through 1950s. Answer songs were also
extremely popular in country music in the 1950s and 1960s, most often as
female responses to an original hit by a male artist. Today, this practice
is most common in hip hop music, especially as the continuation of a feud
between performers. Sometimes an answer record imitated the original very
closely (like a parody) and occasionally a hit song would be followed up
by the same artist.

8 Transcribed from the track on this album.

	Great Speckled Bird lyrics, Roy Acuff related songs
	1. The browns → Great speckled bird 2. Hank locklin → Great speckled bird 3. Marty robbins → Great speckled bird 4. Ernest tubb → Great speckled bird 5. Ferlin husky → Great speckled bird 6. Kitty wells → Great speckled bird 7. Rose maddox → Great speckled bird 8. Norma jean → Great speckled bird 9. Phish → Icculus 10. Barenaked ladies → Grade 9 11. The dead milkmen → I dream of jesus 12. Manfred mann's earth band → My name is jack 13. Eddy arnold → When you say love 14. Better than ezra → Special 15. Sublime → Raleigh soliloquy pt. ii 16. Atomic opera → Jesus junk 17. Blind guardian → Journey through the dark 18. George jones → What am i worth 19. Dead milkmen → I dream of jesus 20. Oi polloi → Sell-out