T For Texas

The Oxford American is a literary magazine based in Little Rock and dedicated to writing from the Southern USA. Once a year it has a music issue which is accompanied by a CD.

How one of those CDs ended up in the Buddhist bookshop in Bethnal Green I don't know, but that's where I found it. This particular CD is devoted to music from Texas and dates from 2014. Whoever compiled it did a great job. There are tunes on there from the 1930s to the 2010s and while it is heavy on country they also squeeze blues, soul, gospel, jazz, Tex-Mex and Western Swing into the mix.

You would recognise many of the acts on the CD - Willie, Waylon, Buddy, Janis, Guy Clark and Bob Wills just for starters - but they have avoided any of the obvious song choices. There are a few less familiar names as well. Here are three of them.

"I Done It" - Moon Mullican

"Fools's Blues" - J.T. "Funny Paper" Smith

"El Gustito" - Rick Trevino

Here are two more Texans for you, selected for the remarkable musical similarities between them.