While many know the late Shel Silverstein as an author of classic children’s books like The Giving Tree and Where the Sidewalk Ends, he also moonlighted as a country singer-songwriter.
His musical legacy will be honored on the upcoming Twistable, Turnable Man, which finds acts like John Prine, Dr. Dog, and Andrew Bird putting their own spin on Silverstein’s compositions. Hear one of My Morning Jacket’s two contributions below!
The album takes its title from of one of Silverstein’s quirky poems about a particularly bendy man — Andrew Bird was given the honor of adapting the poem into a song — and features songs penned by Silverstein himself, some of which were originally made famous by other artists. One of the most notable examples is “A Boy Named Sue,” which was originally performed by Johnny Cash and is covered here by Todd Snider.
Twistable, Turnable Man won’t hit stores until June 8, but in the meantime check out MMJ’s “Lullabys, Legends, and Lies” here. The song, already one of singer Jim James’ favorites, is a gently swaying country tune originally performed by longtime Silverstein collaborator Bobby Bare, Sr., who — along with his son Bobby Bare, Jr. — produced the tribute album.
LISTEN: My Morning Jacket, “Lullabyes, Legends, And Lies”
Twistable, Turnable Man track listing:
1. My Morning Jacket, “Lullabys, Legends, and Lies”
2. Andrew Bird, “The Twistable, Turnable Man Returns”
3. John Prine, “This Guitar Is for Sale”
4. Dr. Dog, “The Unicorn Song”
5. Kris Kristofferson, “The Winner”
6. Sarah Jarosz with Black Prairie, “Queen of the Silver Dollar”
7. Bobby Bare, Jr., “Daddy What If”
8. Black Francis with Joey Santiago, “The Cover of the Rolling Stone”
9. The Boxmasters, “Sylvia’s Mother”
10. Ray Price, “Me and Jimmie Rodgers”
11. Todd Snider, “A Boy Named Sue”
12. Lucinda Williams, “The Ballad of Lucy Jordan”
13. Bobby Bare, Sr., “The Living Legend”
14. Nanci Griffith, “The Giving Tree”
15. My Morning Jacket, “26 Second Song”
