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Cindy Walker, the legendary Texas country
music songwriter died at the age of 87 on March 23 at
Parkview Regional Hospital in Mexia, Texas. During her
sixty-plus years as a songwriter she has left us a legacy
of fantastic songs. Cindy wrote such classics as "In
the Misty Moonlight", "Distant Drums",
"Dream Baby", "Cherokee
Maiden", "When My Blue  Moon
Turns To Gold Again", "China Doll", "The
Warn Red Wine", "You Don't
Know Me", "Blue Canadian Rockies"
and dozens more.
Walker's success has been a combination
of luck, pluck and a lot of talent. She began by writing
songs for the singing cowboys on the silver screen and
she appeared in a series of what were called film jukebox
"soundies" in the 1940's…probably the equivalent
of today's music videos.
Willie Nelson has recorded 13 of
Cindy Walker's songs on You Don't
Know Me: The Songs Of Cindy Walker, which was
produced by Fred Foster (best known for his work with Roy
Orbison). The CD was released just days after Cindy died.
Just a handful of the mind-blowing musicians to be found
here include stellar steel guitarist Buddy Emmons, fiddle
greats Johnny Gimble and Randy Elmore, electric guitarist
Brent Mason and harmonica genius Charlie McCoy.
 Cindy
Walker started writing from an early age and her own first
song that impressed her was "Dusty
Skies". The idea came from a batch of newspaper
articles that she found in her grandmother's attic about
the dust storms in Oklahoma. Walker said, "it broke
my heart and I had to write it to get over it." When
Bob Wills & The Texas Playboys later recorded the
song, Cindy said that Playboy vocalist Tommy Duncan cried
on it.
Bing Crosby accepted Walker's "The
Lone Star Trail" for an upcoming movie and Cindy
landed a recording contract with Decca Records. But her
greatest goal was to get her songs to The King Of Western
Swing, Bob Wills. In 1941 she was on her way to post some
demo recording to Wills in Tulsa, Oklahoma when she saw
Wills' bus driving down a Los Angeles street on the way
to a recording session. She literarily rang every hotel
until she found Wills manager O.W. Mayo who agreed to
listen to her songs. She played two newly written songs
"Dusty Skies" and
"It's All  Your
Fault", plus "Don't Count Your Chickens".
Mayo liked what he heard and introduced Cindy to Bob Wills.
Wills first recorded five of Walker's songs on his next
Columbia session. The working relationship lasted for
many years with Wills and Walker collaborating a several
songs together and Wills included thirty-plus songs in
his movies.
In the early 50's Ernest Tubb scored
with "The Warm Red Wine"
and later with Red Foley recorded a good natured duet
"Don't Be Ashamed Of Your Age"
(written with Bob Wills). Eddy Arnold scored a hit with
"Take Me In Your Arms And Hold
Me" and they wrote, "You
Don't Know Me" which Arnold recorded in 1956.
Webb Pierce co-wrote and recorded "I
Don't Care", Roy Orbison "Dream
Baby" and Ray Charles also recorded "You
Don't Know Me".
Willie Nelson has always made a point
of re-paying the people who have helped him in his career
and the songwriters and honour the songwriters whose
wonderful songs have inspired him. He recalls, "I Was
doing "Miss Molly"
and "Bubbles In My Beer"
and "I Was Just Walking Out The
Door" when I was a teenager." To close
this album Willie has cut "I
Was Just Walking Out Of The Door" giving it
the Willie Nelson heart-wrenching delivery as if Cindy
Walker had written the song especially just for
Willie!!!
May 2006
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