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Posted By: floyd jane Roy and Gene - co-write with The Merritts - 04/02/13 10:29 PM
It's great what this forum provides... and none greater than the friendships and "partnerships". I've done a few things with Bud and Janice (Merritt). They do cool stuff. Not long ago, Bud sent me a song they had written (a while ago, I think) and asked if I might want to "tweak it" a bit - a co-write. I decided that I might be able to "add something"... and did, in fact do a re-write of what they had. I could hardly resist. Roy Rogers was my first hero. I had a shirt and hat. I had the lunchbox!!!

This is the result. I thought they would want to record it as a "Merritts" song, but they felt it needed a male vocal. So I did a "more country" version. And Janice provided some beautiful harmony on top of that. Tried to mix it in a way that would make Roy and Dale proud. We hope you enjoy it....


Roy and Gene (... <<< that's the song)


Comments welcomed...

floyd (and Bud and Janice, I think...)
Posted By: Achordocaster Re: Roy and Gene - co-write with The Merritts - 04/02/13 11:09 PM
Floyd,

Very nice! Neat song. Vocals are great, mix is great.

If I had one critique it would be that while the steel guitar sounds wonderful... I wish it wasn't the only one playing background fills. Maybe a guitar or fiddle on one or two verses to break the monotony of just the steel, maybe no fills on the first verse.
Just my .02... Please take with a grain a salt!

Greg
Posted By: Sundance Re: Roy and Gene - co-write with The Merritts - 04/03/13 12:49 AM
Brought back some sweet glued to the tv Saturday morning childhood memories.

Enjoyed it very much.
Posted By: Danny C. Re: Roy and Gene - co-write with The Merritts - 04/03/13 02:13 AM
Also brought back some fond memories here. You guys should be proud of this colaboration. I loved the fade with all the cliche lines from Roy and Gene.

Later,
Posted By: RobbMiller Re: Roy and Gene - co-write with The Merritts - 04/03/13 03:10 AM
Nice job. Roy's smiling.
Posted By: gibson Re: Roy and Gene - co-write with The Merritts - 04/03/13 11:11 AM
That triggered a few memories.

An enjoyable listen

Alyn
Posted By: Noel96 Re: Roy and Gene - co-write with The Merritts - 04/03/13 11:45 AM
Hi Janice, Floyd and Bud,

I didn't have too much Roy or Gene when I was growing up but that didn't stop me from enjoying the song. It's very professional sounding on ALL levels. The Jane/Merritt writing combo sure works well!

It's "I'm heading back for another listen or two!" from me

All the best,
Noel
Posted By: 90 dB Re: Roy and Gene - co-write with The Merritts - 04/03/13 12:36 PM
Well done folks! Roy and Gene would be proud.



Regards,

Bob
Posted By: boehm Re: Roy and Gene - co-write with The Merritts - 04/03/13 02:27 PM
Antwort auf:

Hi Janice, Floyd and Bud,

I didn't have too much Roy or Gene when I was growing up but that didn't stop me from enjoying the song. It's very professional sounding on ALL levels. The Jane/Merritt writing combo sure works well!




I couldn't have said it better.

Guenter
Posted By: floyd jane Re: Roy and Gene - co-write with The Merritts - 04/03/13 05:45 PM
I realized I forgot to list the RealTracks - for those interested.
After all... that's what this part of the forum is all about...

RealTracks in song: ~520:Bass, Electric, Pop HalfNotes Ev 165
RealTracks in song: ~407:Guitar, Acoustic, Fingerpicking Ev 165
RealTracks in song: ~1677:Guitar, Acoustic, Fingerpicking CountryBrent Ev 120
RealTracks in song: 378:Guitar, Acoustic, Strumming DoubleTime Ev 088
RealTracks in song: ~428:Fiddle, Rhythm Bluegrass Ev 130
RealTracks in song: 2028:Fiddle, Soloist CountryAndy Ev 065
RealTracks in song: 1697:Pedal Steel, Rhythm CountryDrivin8ths Ev 150
RealTracks in song: 2003:Pedal Steel, Soloist CountryPaul Ev 165

RealDrums in Song: NashvilleEven8^1-a:Sidestick, HiHat , b:Snare, Ride
Posted By: Danny C. Re: Roy and Gene - co-write with The Merritts - 04/03/13 11:40 PM
Quote:

That triggered a few memories.

An enjoyable listen

Alyn



Not too mention they "Champion'ed" the old westerns.

Later,
Posted By: Janice & Bud Re: Roy and Gene - co-write with The Merritts - 04/05/13 01:38 PM
Quote:

Quote:

That triggered a few memories.

An enjoyable listen

Alyn



Not too mention they "Champion'ed" the old westerns.

Later,



What the heck, I'll play too -> Floyd co-wrote this tune faster than a speeding "Bullet."

This project was a lot of fun and something that in the days before the net and particularly this forum would never have happened. We sketched out the tune about 5 years ago and it languished as I knew that although Janice came up with a good melody my lyrics were way too sparse. Floyd schooled me on the rewrite by substituting rich imagery for "just description" in a couple of verses, adding subtle but meaningful twists and, of course the outro. This close exposure to his song writing has made me completely rethink a couple of tunes that I've been working on!
Posted By: sixchannel Re: Roy and Gene - co-write with The Merritts - 04/05/13 06:15 PM
I had a 'Hopalong Cassidy' wristwatch when I was VERY young. Does that count?
Great track. Enjoyed the composition and the vocals and the fade out as they ride slowly into the sunset.
Excellent job.
Ian
Posted By: floyd jane Re: Roy and Gene - co-write with The Merritts - 04/06/13 03:18 PM
Greg - thanks for the careful listen - and your thoughts. There actually is quite a bit of fiddle in the song. I avoided adding guitar leads because there were few if any in the old cowboy-singer songs - they were a lot of pedal steel and a bit of fiddle. So I wanted to kind of capture a modern version of that.

Josie - glad you enjoyed it.

Danny - thanks for the listen. the snippets at the end just seemed a natural way to end...

Robb - thanks

Alyn - clever! - appreciate you dropping by
Posted By: floyd jane Re: Roy and Gene - co-write with The Merritts - 04/06/13 03:23 PM
Noel - your childhood missed out! Every Saturday Roy and Dale thought us the lesson we grew up on... glad you enjoyed the song tho'

Bob - thanks.. of course, You've already covered the genre...

Guenter - thanks!
Posted By: floyd jane Re: Roy and Gene - co-write with The Merritts - 04/06/13 03:25 PM
Alyn and Danny and Bud -

"Whoa Nellie (Belle)!!!!" Don't get me started.....
Posted By: Pat Marr Re: Roy and Gene - co-write with The Merritts - 04/07/13 02:18 PM
great song, great collab, great time!
thanks!
Posted By: F.M.M. Re: Roy and Gene - co-write with The Merritts - 04/07/13 08:09 PM
hi floyd and jane great production guys love your songs guys eric
Posted By: floyd jane Re: Roy and Gene - co-write with The Merritts - 04/07/13 10:23 PM
Ian - thanks for coming along for the ride (into the sunset). Somehow I missed you the last time around - really sorry about that - it was not intentional...
I've had some people who seem to intentionally "skip over" my comments... I don't get it.. it's kind of childish - like when we had HopaLong Cassidy stuff (he was one of my heroes too)... anyway... thank you for the comments.

Pat - appreciate you droppin' in for a listen. thanks.

eric - thanks!
Posted By: floyd jane Re: Roy and Gene - co-write with The Merritts - 04/07/13 11:39 PM
Hey everyone -

Thanks - we appreciate you listening and providing feedback.

floyd
Posted By: Janice & Bud Re: Roy and Gene - co-write with The Merritts - 04/08/13 12:30 AM
Quote:

Alyn and Danny and Bud -

"Whoa Nellie (Belle)!!!!" Don't get me started.....



Did we leave out "Buttermilk" and the Eureka Cafe?


For you youngsters.....Buttermilk was Dale Evans' horse and she ran the Eureka Cafe where Pat Brady who drove Nellie was the cook. And, for the record, Dale wrote "Happy Trails." OK I've exhausted my 50's Westerns trivia and I'm sure your glad of it!
Posted By: Phil Babylon Re: Roy and Gene - co-write with The Merritts - 04/11/13 02:51 PM
Wow,
really liked this.
I loved the way the fiddle was mixed way down and the steel more up front.
I may have to pinch that mix of realtracks - they seem to sit very nicely together.
Thanks.
Posted By: Steve Young Re: Roy and Gene - co-write with The Merritts - 04/14/13 11:00 PM
Floyd,

Very nice! Great tribute to some great guys from days gone by! I had the privilege of leading worship for a banquet where Dale Evans was the guest speaker, years ago. What a classy lady! Roy was not able to make that meeting. I was really hoping to get to meet him!

I always really enjoy your work! Janice did a great job with the harmonies.

Steve
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