Long Black Veil

 Since I first heard  Long Black Veil on Music From Big Pink in the summer of 1968, it has been one of my favorite songs. I have heard it played many times by many artists and it always sounds good. It is close to being the perfect country song. Long Black Veil was featured in a post I wrote in July 2008.

 Written by Danny Dill and Marijohn Wilkin, the song was originally recorded by Left Frizzell. It went to #6 on country charts for Lefty in 1959 and has since been recorded by Johnny Cash, The Kingston Trio, Joan Baez, New Riders of the Purple Sage, and of course, The Band.

While researching a post about Jamey Johnson and his new tribute album to Hank Cochran, I came across this video of Jamey, Merle Haggard and Kris Kristofferson playing Long Black Veil at a recent Merle Haggard show. The video has some focus issues, but it is worth checking out. My post on the Hank Cochran record is coming soon.