"She wrote the soundtrack of my life," said Cyndi Fish Wetmiller, a Nanci Griffith fan from Pennsylvania, at a Facebook page devoted to the Texan singer-songwriter's fabulous body of work. That is a delightful tribute and we shall be hearing more from Cyndi before this series comes to a close.
For now, on day four of Salut! Live's own week of honouring Nanci, we turn to the Irish music in which she found inspiration.
I first considered a beautiful rendition of Red is the Rose with the Chieftains, performed during "An Irish Evening" at the Grand Opera House in Belfast on 1992.
But I was petulantly put off by the presence on the bill, his name above Nanci's, of one Roger Daltrey, whose muddled "let's-acclaim-Brexit-except-when-it-screws-UK-touring-musicians" approach to political analysis is unwelcome here. Nanci and the audience are blameless in this respect since the concert was held when Brexit was no more than a far right or Little Engerlander notion and Northern Ireland would, in any case, eventually vote Remain.
So I chose instead another 1992 performance, the gorgeous Little Love Affairs which she co-wrote with James Hooker but here on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno with the sumptuous virtuosity of Paddy Moloney and his colleagues, sounds like a dreamy Irish ballad. I hope you enjoy it.
p> * For other items in this mini-series, and further tributes to Nanci Griffith, please go to this link.
Leave a Reply