Christy McWilson: Johnny Cash, The Picketts and Seattle Music
Seattle singer and songwriter Christy McWilson is our guest for this episode, recorded on the deck at her home.
Christy is a fourth generation Californian who moved to Seattle in 1980 on a promise from her husband that they’d stay two years. Two years later she was in a band and the deal was off. She walks Scott through all three stretches of her career: the Dynette Set, The Picketts, and two solo records with Dave Alvin for HighTone.
The story to hear is August 8, 1995, on the pier in downtown Seattle. The Picketts shared the bill with Johnny Cash and the Carter Sisters. Cash walked out during their sound check, listened, and gave Christy a thumbs up that nobody else in the band saw. Later, June Carter told her she sang like a little nightingale.
Christy also names the Seattle rooms she has loved from the stage: the Crocodile, the Tractor, and the Backstage in Ballard, which she still misses. From the audience she picks the Triple Door, Slim’s Last Chance, and the Conway Muse, which has since changed its name. In West Seattle it’s Easy Street Records and C&P Coffee, which gives her a night each year to back young students on their ukuleles. At the time of this recording she was planning one more record. The episode closes with her band playing on the deck.
Before you go
That is the whole idea behind the Explore Washington State Card. Free to carry, with a little something waiting at participating places when you visit. Your zip code is a vote for which towns we sign up next, and our weekly Washington travel newsletter starts landing right away.
Get your free card- About the Author
- Latest Posts
Founder and editor of Explore Washington State, which he started on Anderson Island in 2010. A lifelong Washington resident who has lived in Tacoma, Ellensburg, Olympia and Seattle and now calls Wenatchee home, Scott curates every place we recommend and answers reader questions himself. He also hosts the Exploring Washington State podcast.
