Charlie Louvin, RIP

The singer/guitarist Charlie Louvin, whose career in country music covered more than six decades, has died at age 83. He recorded dozens of wonderful songs, both alone and with his brother Ira, but my favorite Louvin track has to be this apocalyptic Cold War classic from 1952:

Bonus link: one of the greatest album covers ever.

Comments

[Jo Dean]

Wow, OK that dude was just totally cool like that.

total-anonymity.edu.tc

[Mister DNA]

What a bummer.

Satan is Real gets a lot of notoriety due to its album cover, but there's some mighty fine gospel music on that album (although The Family Who Prays is their best gospel album, IMO. Tragic Songs of Life is their best all-around album).

Bonus link: Ira & Charlie with Paul Yandell on guitar doing I Don't Believe You've Met My Baby.

[Jesse Walker]

Satan is Real gets a lot of notoriety due to its album cover, but there's some mighty fine gospel music on that album

Oh, yes. Including the original version of "The Christian Life," later brought to the rock world by the Byrds. But the Louvins' version is sincere.

[Audrey the Liberal]

McLouvin

[SIV]

Only 4 comments on the death of Charlie Louvin? Hipster douchebags are scarcer than chicks around here.

[East Bay Jay]

Charlie was still active in his later years. Saw him 2 or 3 years ago and he was still the real deal, cracking jokes that would have fit in Hee Haw even. Intersting that it happened in San Francisco, not actually 'country country', as part of the annual Hardly Strictly Bluegrass fesitval, and Charlie played before Dave Alvin - an interesting pairing as both became stars with their brothers and then continued on as solo acts when their brothers quit the business.