I was impressed with the variety of songs that he had to offer and the sense of humor that pervaded the content. I was excited to see that he would be playing one of those early Sunday evening shows at the Duck with a fellow Nashville songwriter named Craig Carothers on tour to support their collaborative CD, 2-FBYCR (two if by car).

Both of these gentlemen have a long list of song writing credits for songs made popular by big named artists. Don has had his work covered by Ray Charles, Conway Twitty, Gene Watson, John Conlee and BJ Thomas. Craig can claim fame in having had his songs recorded by Kathy Mattea, Lorrie Morgan, the Sons of the Desert and Peter, Paul and Mary.

What I didn’t know was that Craig Carothers has a sense of humor every bit as entertaining as that of Don Henry and that they had been collaborating on songwriting for years. Don Henry started off the evening’s song swap with one of their shared creations, “BFD” that pokes fun at the way acronyms have taken over so much of the modern English communication these days. Craig followed up with “That’s How Easy Goes” featuring a very cool unison vocal part. Don returned with one from “2-FBYCR” called “All of That for This”.

The evening continued with each of the guys doing humorous ditties like “Harley” about a biker baby and Craig’s sideways love song, ”You’re the Only One That Loves You More Than Me.” Craig also played “Little Hercules” which is the song that Trisha Yearwood covered, convincing Carothers to make the move to Nashville from Oregon. Not to be outdone, Don slipped in the current Miranda Lambert hit that he penned, “All Kinds of Kinds”.

Craig and Don are both very astute musicians in addition to being great song writers and they perform well together. Many song swaps have two or three musicians sitting on stools with one playing while the others watch or attempt a half-hearted lead or harmony on occasion. It was easy to tell that Don and Craig had worked on the show and both artists participated in every song whole-heartedly.

Not all of the songs were novelty songs or written with the intent of breaking into the Nashville charts. One of my favorites by Don Henry is “Singing Like a Byrd” written as a tribute to Roger McGuinn and his jingle jangle Rickenbacher, that trips my nostalgia switch every time I hear it.

The show was very much a good natured romp on the road for these guys, full of jokes and pranks. At one time Don was singing a song that included the imagery of staring out the motel window while the neon sign was flashing. Craig had slipped off of the stage and found the dimmer switch and was turning it up and down to replicate flashing neon. Don actually paused to see what was causing the lighting irregularity and both of them cracked up when he realized Craig’s prank. If it was staged it was very convincing.

All in all, the evening was relaxing and entertaining. Scanning the faces in the house, I noticed a sated smile on every one. There is quite a difference between the Texas singer/songwriter culture and that of Nashville. I found it refreshing to take a dip in the Nashville side of the pool for an evening with a couple of the best that Opry-town has to offer, but I think I’ll stay here in Texas for the long haul. Ya’ll have fun. We do.