With the success of Charley Pride, major labels were, however briefly, emboldened to look for black country talent. Stoney Edwards was all three, a multi-ethnic artist whose resume included bootlegging, major health problems, and a lifetime of hard, honest work. Born in Seminole, Oklahoma (but discovered at a Bay Area Bob Wills tribute), he wrote and sang in the style of Merle Haggard and Lefty Frizzell.
Edwards nibbled the charts often enough in the early '70s to keep Capitol interested for a time, but was dropped in the late '70s. It is tempting, in the hindsight of political rectitude, to argue for the unfairness of the brevity of his career, but this solid twenty-song set doesn't quite make the case. Edwards had a warm, supple voice that is just a half-step from being exceptional. Compare his recording of "She's My Rock" to George Jones' version. Naturally, few will win such a contest, but it's a good reminder of the difference between being very good and having an extraordinary talent. And that is the difference between the middle and the top of the charts. At least in a world that makes sense.
The pity is that his songwriting (and Edwards was illiterate; one wonders how much he wrote that was lost with his death April 6, 1997) has been so little recognized, for he did have a rare gift. Beginning with his first single, "A Two Dollar Toy", Edwards revealed a gentle, caring eye for the details that distinguish poor folks' lives. As a songwriter, he moved from that Haggard-ish tone through "The Fishin' Song", which might have been a Roger Miller hit, into the semi-autobiographical "Head Bootlegger Man", which sounds more than a little like a Jerry Reed cut.
He was also a fine interpreter of other people's songs. Witness his aching versions of Jesse Winchester's "Mississippi You're On My Mind" and Eddy Raven's "I Spent A Week There Last Night". Indeed, Poor Folks Stick Together is a fine introduction to a singer well worth knowing.
Only one quibble. Edwards worked with songwriter/producer Chip Taylor a fair bit. And while "Blackbird (Hold Your Head High)", his last charting single (it hit #41 -- pretty good for a song with the line "Just a couple of country niggers..." cut in 1975) is a trifle weird, and worth hearing even, it's not quite representative of that relationship
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