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:: Billy Edd Wheeler - They Can't Put It Back ::

Who says you can't tell a record by it's cover? I bought this record
simply because I liked the way the cover looked, and I assumed a few
things about it that turned out to be pretty much right on. Stuff
like, "this guy's a square folk singer being marketed as psychedelic
because this record came out in 1967".

I'd never heard of Billy Edd Wheeler, but when I started checking into
it, I found out he's actually fairly well known. For one thing, he
co-wrote the song "Jackson" (as recorded by June Carter & Johnny Cash
AND Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazlewood) which I've definitely heard of, but
best of all he co-wrote "Coward of The County" for Kenny Rogers. That
record enabled Billy Edd to live a comfortable life for the past 25
years.



But there's a whole lot more to BEW than that. Born in West Virginia,
graduated Berea College in Kentucky then served 2 years as a Navy
pilot. Went back to teach at Berea College and played folk music on
the side. Then attended Yale Drama School studying playwriting. Moved
to New York to try his hand at being a playwright and started writing
songs as well. Wrote 2 hits for the Kingston Trio. Became a solo
recording artist during the 60s and 70s with a few hits to his name
and finally retired with his family to North Carolina where he writes
poems, plays and songs, plays banjo in bluegrass bands and has
compiled books of Appalachian humor.



I chose this song because of it's poppy folk-psych sound and
environmentalist message. He may have looked like a square in a time
when all the hipsters had long hair, paisley shirts and flared jeans,
but Billy Edd Wheeler was an achiever who did it his way, and that's
pretty dog gone hip in my book.


Mike

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