Rolling on the River

Anyone crossing or driving along the Tennessee or the Mississippi Rivers sees barge traffic–long strings of low boats pushed by a multi-story tug. As Americans reel from gasoline that costs more than four dollars per gallon, it’s interesting to look at the impact of the most efficient method of shipping.

When Ringo was a Nashville star

Ringo Starr, whose Beatles gave country music the biggest punch in the gut since Elvis, was a country music fan. You could hear it when he sang a Buck Owens favorite, “Act Naturally,” with the Fab Four on their Help! album. Just two months after the Beatles broke up in 1970, he came to Nashville to record a country album. Beaucoups of Blues was the title, and therein lies a tale told very well in this week’s Nashville Scene.