We miss you Shel

Growing up, you had to have read or have had read to you the poems of the late great Shel Silverstein. What many people don't know about him though is that he has a prolific song writer as well, penning hits that would chart for such diverse artists as Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show, Tompall Glaser, The Irish Rovers, and Johnny Cash (who would perform his songs 25 Minutes to Go and the classic A Boy Named Sue).

Earlier this month, a collection of artists both young and old assembled a collection of his songs for Twistable, Turnable Man - A Musical Tribute to the Songs of Shel Silverstein. Here's the line up:

1. Lullabys, Legends and Lies: My Morning Jacket
2. The Twistable, Turnable Man Returns: Andrew Bird
3. This Guitar Is For Sale: John Prine
4. The Unicorn: Dr. Dog
5. The Winner: Kris Kristofferson
6. Queen Of The Silver Dollar: Sarah Jarosz w/ Black Prairie
7. Daddy What If: Bobby Bare, Jr.
8. The Cover Of The Rolling Stone: Black Francis w/ Joey Santiago
9. Sylvia’s Mother: The Boxmasters
10. Me And Jimmy Rodgers: Ray Price
11. A Boy Named Sue: Todd Snider
12. The Ballad Of Lucy Jordan: Lucinda Williams
13. The Living Legend: Bobby Bare, Sr.
14. The Giving Tree: Nanci Griffith
15. 26 Second Song: My Morning Jacket

While there is definitely a country slant here, It's an interesting angle on a man best known for writing about sidewalks ending and trees giving.

Lucinda Williams - The Ballad of Lucy Jordan : Twistable, Turnable Man - A Musical Tribute to the Songs of Shel Silverstein

Visit the compilation's label Sugar Hill Records.