Bo Bedingfield

I have a conflicted relationship with country music. While pop country like Alan Jackson or Garth Brooks makes me want to take a crowbar to my radio, I remain a huge Johnny Cash fan. I love artists who straddle the lines between country and folk, who capture the raw musical talent and three-chords-and-the-truth storytelling that is at the heart of country music, without the over-production and the sappiness and the terrible twang.

One such artist is Bo Bedingfield. Bo's college band, Uncle Jed's Oil, has a special significance in my story which I'll tell another time. Since UJO disbanded, Bo has drifted in and out of different groups and I admit I've stalked him the whole way, buying or downloading his tunes whenever I could. Below is one of my favorites, "Alone," written while he was recording with The Wydelles. If you turn off your prejudices and let yourself hear past the slide guitar, I promise there's raw beauty waiting for you.

Bo Bedingfield & the Wydelles – "Alone"


Bo Bedingfield & the Wydelles – "You Should Never Go To Paris"

Image: Mike White