I absolutely love Paris, Texas. Whenever I'm forced to name my favorite movies, it's always in my top five. It amazes me that Wim Wenders waited till the last minute to record the score and still ended up with something so perfect. If you haven't seen the movie, I highly recommend it, but be ready for some heartbreak.

A tragically hip song lyric.. "If I die of vanity, promise me, promise me If they bury me some place I don't want to be You'll dig me up and transport me, unceremoniously Away from the swollen city breeze, garbage bag trees Whispers of disease and the acts of enormity And lower me slowly and sadly and properly Get Ry Cooder to sing my eulogy"

"Ry Cooder", "Boomer's Story", and "Into the Purple Valley" are part of my musical DNA. His version of the Woody Guthrie classic "Vigilante Man" would probably be my favorite if I had to pick just one. Gotta mention his bad-ass mandolin version of "Billy the Kid" too. I got hipped to a lot of classic American music by Mr. Cooder, along with David Bromberg, Taj Mahal, Hot Tuna and The good ol' Grateful Dead! Roots and branches, man. Roots and branches!

I’ve been a Ry Cooder fan since high school when his first album came out. The one with the Airstream trailer on the cover. I saw him open for Captain Beefheart around 1971 at the Eastown Ballroom in Detroit. Ted Nugent and the Amboy Dukes were the headliners. Ry opened the show by himself. He was seated in a chair with an array of stringed instruments around him. He played each masterfully and sang with soul. He played on Safe As Milk, Captain Beefheart’s first record, so there was a connection. Beefheart’s show was all that I wanted. They played that unique music superbly. He had the Lick My Decals Off version of the Magic band and wailed on the theremin, harmonica, and soprano sax (yikes). I can still picture the whole thing in my mind and almost hear it. There were about 7 or 8 of us and we went back stage before Ted came on and met the Captain and the Magic band, but I don’t think Ry was around. We left during Ted’s first number. Not an enviable slot, following Ry Cooder and Captain Beefheart.

The "Buena Vista Social Club " produced by Ry Cooder is one of my favorite recordings .

Beautiful things happen on your channel Otis. Hearing a great musician speaking so lovingly and enthusiastically about another great musician is so life-affirming. For us mere mortals it's as close as we'll ever get to people like Ry. Thank you once again.

They're all good but this ones kinda special

A fourth floor jumper! That. is. hilarious! Though, I have to say, those high hotel rooms can be pretty scary! A forever iconic image of Ry Cooder for me is of him rockin' the Seattle Center Opera House stage, solo, with just a mandolin and his voice, at the 1974 Bumbershoot Festival. That made an impression on me. Also, 1981 at the University of Washington HUB (student union) Ballroom, where he played and showed a documentary about Mance Lipscomb.

Theme From Southern Comfort; I Can't Win; Dark End of the Street; Across the Borderline; Ry's guitar on John Hiatt's "Lipstick Sunset"; Dirty Chateau; No Banker Left Behind; Humpty Dumpty World; Harbor of Love; Brother is Gone; Houston in Two Seconds. Also his work with the Rolling Stones and John Hiatt are standouts.

Besides being a great guitarist, Ry has millions of crazy stories. It would be very cool if someone could archive all of them, like a Alan Lomax thing. He's a living encyclopedia of music.

just across the border line. and he wrote it thanks Otis! Ry is the coolest guy on the planet

Ry Cooder: An original; not spoiled or broken by the music business; has a musical soul; a "regular guy" artist; the most expressive slide player this side of Muddy Waters; low profile, big influencer.

Love this guest.

Feelin Bad Blue’s, I locked on to it right away the first time I heard it, I was surprised and astonished at the same time it just went right thru me. I started noodling around on a guitar after hearing it the first time because of Ry Cooders amazing slide playing.

Favourite Ry Cooder song? Can't be done. I've been following this guy for half a century and he keeps on dong something new and great. Check out the latest with Taj Mahal. Hooray for that!

My favorite Ry song? Really? How can I choose? One record that I love is the one he made with Gabby Pahinui. Loved that record on a freezing cold Midwestern winter day.

Ry Cooder's records from the 70s are gold. That said, I'd choose Boomer's Story if I must choose one.

Otis, thank you so much for this one. I can never get enough Ry Cooder. I've had so many chicken-skinned moments listening to him play. Ry is a musical world unto himself, his own genius point of view. Bring us more from Mark Fain, who surely has many more stories to share. Great stuff!

Great stories, Ry Cooder is incredible. The Soundtrack to 'Paris, Texas' is better than the movie :)

Paradise at Lunch was the first time I heard Ry. It's great album.

Every time I listen to a song from Ry Cooder, I think it's my favourite...So I can't choose.

I got to sit 2nd row center at NYC Town Hall for 2 hours watching Ry on the Boomer's Story Tour with Jim Keltner on Drums, Tim Drummond Bass and Jim Dickerson on an Upright Piano, he looked straight at me several times and smiled as I must have had that Spielberg look of astonishment watching him play close up! Another time at the Bottom Line NYC seeing Ry on the other side of the pillar from me was James Taylor with Carly Simon, and James appreciated that I was cool about his presence but he could tell I was a fellow guitar player because at the very same time after Ry did something on guitar only Ry would or could do James would look at me with a huge smile and we'd both be nodding our heads and applauding! Thanks Otis these videos are great!

"Jesus is on the main line"

Ry’s I Flathead album is perhaps my favorite album of all time. It’s silly, quirky and at times makes little sense but it rips me to shreds (in a good way). I rarely make it through 5000 Country Music Songs dry-eyed. I enjoy his older material but for me, his last 5 or 6 albums are his best work.

Nobody from the Jazz album... Great delivery from Ry's vocals and sublime backing vocals from the other guys. Pure class.

“Memo For Turner” is my favorite since it is the coolest, greasiest Rolling Stones song the Stones never played. Was my introduction to Ry - and blew me away.

I think my first album was Bop till You Drop, Then Jazz. Get Rhythm, Prodigal Son.... Saw him with Little Village at the Tower in Upper Darby. Love the YT early stuff with Bobby King and Terry Evans and, wow, Flaco Jimenez. and on and on.

" Across the Borderline" Ry with John Hiatt and Jim Dickinson the purest form of ear candy

The Crossroads soundtrack is as good as Paris Texas, with Ry and Sonny Terry and others. It's fantastic blues. But I also love Down in Mississippi with Terry Evans. And also Ry with Pops Staples on the Father, Father album. I would love to hear a full album of Ry Cooder & Bonnie Raitt 😎 It would sell millions, but record companies are dumb and both artists have been 'dropped' in the past. So glad they kept making music for us.

There are so many songs by Ry Cooder that I love but there is one that really stands out in my mind, I’m captivated by it every time I hear and it’s on the Boomer’s Story album, Maria Elena.

Grandma made the best homemade soup. If episodes were soup this one would be as good as grandma’s. Thank you friend. 🍲 🌵

I actually knew Ralph Trotto , the man who owned the guitar Ry is playing in the thumbnail. He was a blind gospel singer and a fantastic guitarist from my home county in Indiana. Ralph was one of the people who taught Lonnie Mack to play certain styles. He was quite a character and anyone who ever met him remembers him

I had to revisit this again. The hotel story is hilarious and the white house story even more so.

Love the Otis Shuffle at the end of all your vids.

Fourteen years before "Paris, Texas" Ry Cooder provided some of the soundtrack for "Performance", starring Mick Jagger. Ry had played with the Stones in the late sixties. In the mid-seventies, I saw Ry Cooder play (somewhere in Alabama; Tuscaloosa, maybe?). This was around the time that he released "Chicken Skin Music" and he had the band from that album, playing a mix of Tex-Mex and Hawaiian music. I have one specific memory: at some point, in the middle of a song, while everyone was playing, Ry Cooder got noticeably angry and seemed to argue with his accordion player, even while the two of them continued to play music.

I remember hearing One Meatball on Dr Demento when I was a kid. He’s pretty much my favorite musician. Hard to pick a song, too many to chose from. Have my alarm set to play Down in Hollywood. Absolutely love My Name is Buddy.

What is it with bass players and the ability to tell a good story? Mark Fain and Mike Bub are both so good at it. ✌🇨🇦

Near Impossible to pick a favourite....this month it has been "UFO Has Landed In The Ghetto"....just because!

My all time favorite Ry Cooder tune is "Memo From Turner", from the Performance Soundtrack, with some of The Stones. The slide guitar on that tune is hard to beat. About 15 years ago I managed to figure out how to play it (it's in open G); what a great track to play along to...

Ry Cooder to me is the ultimate in honesty and integrity. I've many of his albums and I think his soundtrack for The Long Riders deserves special attention, but I love all his styles. Going To Brownsville on the Old Whistle Test video is jaw-dropping. With or without a band behind him, he shines and with a band he lets everyone shine. This guy IS music. Thanks Otis! I just watched/listened to two of Ry's interviews (1983 and 2014) !YESTERDAY! on YT. I highly recommend them to your followers.

Lovely guy and great stories. Thank you 👍

Yeeeeah coffee already made. Impeccable timing Otis. 👌

I saw Ry when toured with Ricky Skaggs. pretty special. Hard to pick a favorite song, but Jesus on the Mainline is right up there. I wore out the Boomer's Story album when I was a young man. That was a long time ago.lol. Ry is special and so are you, Otis. Thank you!

I loved what cooder did on the southern comfort soundtrack

So Very Cool. Inspired me to get my Vinyl LP Paris Texas Soundtrack out, have not listened to it in what must be over 25 years. SO Awesome. Thankyou

You have the coolest guest with the coolest stories. You have to be really cool to be in with these entertainers.

Anything he does is amazing

Otis, now you hit my sweet spot, Ry is on my playlist EVERYDAY! thanks again! song: the very thing that makes you rich makes me poor.

As far as influences, I saw in an interview where Ry's "Into the purple valley" was one of Ronnie Van Zant's favorite albums. Influence? Listen to Billy the Kid ('72) from Rys album and Mississippi Kid ('73) from Skynyrd's first album. Money Honey, also on Rys album, was covered and Co- sang by a young female singer Dale Krantz in 79. That song led her to be asked to be lead singer for the Rossington Collins band, post plane crash. Thanks Ry!

It's darn near impossible to pick a favorite Ry Cooder song. As both a solo artist and a sideman, he has created an extensive body of work that is as consistently outstanding as it is diverse. I am partial to his acoustic and mandolin-driven albums such as Boomers Story and Into the Purple Valley, but nearly everything that the man makes is top quality. Plus, he is an amazing storyteller and raconteur. I vote for Ry Cooder to be named USA Ambassador of Music to the World.

My fav Ry Cooder album is Paridise and lunch.

I love his slide playing on the movie Memo From Turner. Also his slide playing on The Rolling Stones Let It Bleed album

Ry is one of those guys who truly learned from what came before and in the most respectful way made it his own like a great cook creates a amazing dish Ry cooder gives you food for your soul

Great stories Mark. Nice idea Otis Gibbs. Ry Cooder is in a league of his own. I been playing Chavez Ravine a lot recently.

My first exposure to Ry was when I saw the movie Southern Comfort. And I was blown away I looked at the credits and discovered it was Ry Cooder. Great movie and sound track !!!

My favourite Ry Coorder song? An impossible question to answer. But today my favourite is across the borderline. But tomorrow? Who knows...

Great interview! Going to miss you Otis! RIP sir!

"Cold Cold Feeling" from Election Special (2012) really shows Ry's sense of humor. It's a greasy slow blues with lyrics from the perspective of then-president Obama. "They're gonna re-segregate the White House, I have to go in through the kitchen door" had me rolling on the floor the first time I heard it.

God (or Otis Gibbs, same thing), picking a favorite Ry Cooder song is like picking my favorite kid. That being said though, if Ry and Flaco Jímenez are both on a song, I'm listening intently, the volume goes up and life is good. Ry coulda made a good Texas Tornado.

Good morning Otis.. 5 am here in Washington state coffee ready.. see you somewhere down the road

PARADISE AND LUNCH was my first by RY, he never disapointed me. Especially when i learned he played with CAPTAIN BEEFHEART, you don't need a better recomendation. In fact, PARIS TEXAS was my first, then i started making the collection,funny how much you can forget since the late 80s...

I was hooked when I heard Bop till you drop!

omg.... what great stories ! ! ! thanks as always otis. your the best

Amarried man s a fool-my childhood - ❤️❤️

fave ry cooder song? lots, but just to twist the knife. "honky tonk women." More seriously, the cover of "everything's gonna work out fine" on bop til you drop might just be the best recording of the 20th century

The opening cut of the Bueno Vista Social Club is first album would be my favorite...I think it's called Chan Chan or something like that but it's slow and deep and shivers your spine when he plays the first slide lick. I think it's a Cuban Tres and an Ampeg upright 3/4 bass on that spike stand that start that tune.

Ry . Absolutely. What intergrity! Love to hear him talking about music... it is a deep lesson.

Great story as usual

great stories!!!

Another great video Otis, thank you. I've been a fan of Ry Cooder since Into The Purple Valley (what a cool cover that album had!). To listen to Ry is to get an education.

Thanks for this Otis, great tales Mark!

I’m enjoying all the love for Ry!! Good work!! 👍🏻👍🏻🤘✌️

"Down in Hollywood -- They literally drag you outa your car and kick your ass!" -- Love Me some Ry Cooder.

Totally loved this! Too funny! Mark Fain is a class act! I highly respect him! Thanks for sharing this Otis!

Wonderful stuff Otis. Ry Cooder, in my mind the very best slide player, composer, and humanitarian. Have loved his work for many years now and Paris, Texas was an astonishing movie with the late great Harry Dean Stanton. Keep them coming Otis.

I love Ry Cooder, Otis. And Paris, Texas is such a brilliant album. Another fantastic interview there my brother.

All of the Paris, TX soundtrack is my fave. That last story about not wanting to go to the White House and then having a great time 🙃

Some of my favorite Ry COODER music is that soundtrack Paris TEXAS.

A Magic Band alumni.

Hey Otis, loved this like always. Thank you 🙏 My favorite is “The Tattler”.

Wow!

Thank you Otis for sharing all these great stories. One love from Groningen 👊

Great stories, Otis! I saw Ry open for Eric Clapton at the Paramount in Seattle, circa 1980. Fantastic!--EC shoulda taken the night off. Cheers--luv your channel!

If anyone doesn't like this they just don't need to try and find anything to like. You always have such great people on to tell such great stories. Thank you.

Damn Otis....killing me with this one .... Glad to know that someone so close to Ry thinks hes so special....Ive seen him a couple times and watched a level of "evoking" music out of instruments (and also out of his band/singers) that I have not seen or felt anywhere else. This was great fun and education. Thanks

Iam still smiling and still grinin...thank Otti

Ry’s the man

More priceless stories. I was just listening to 'The Prodigal Son' today and next thing I knew this interview popped up in my notifications. I must have missed it on the weekend, but I am glad it caught up to me. I think the internet may be here to stay. ;)

Great stories Otis, thanks. It has been a while so I had to listen to this after your video. "Trouble, You Can't Fool Me" is my favorite Ry Cooder song.

Oh my God do I love Ryland Cooder!!! I have been collecting everything he’s ever been on as a backing musician and all his solo & soundtrack recordings since I was in the eleventh grade high school. You knew he was playing guitar at 16 backing Captain Beefheart, right? You knew that it’s him playing for Lowell George on that 1st Little Feat album, right? Lowell had cut a finger with a razor blade while “building model airplanes”. Couldn’t play what he wanted on that 1st LF album. You knew it was Ry Cooder came up with the hook & licks stolen by Keith Richards & used for Honky Tonk Women & Love In Vain & possibly others, right? Keith had hired Ry as back-up for the Let It Bleed album, I think it was. Ry was just screwing around on guitar in the recording studio waiting on the Stones to mix their medicines & whatnot & looks up into the control booth & there’s Keith up there rolling tape on Ry just entertaining himself to kill time. The Rolling Stones had to later pay Ry a portion of royalties for that. That tale comes from an interview Ry did with Rolling Stone magazine back in the late ‘70s. My favorite Ry Cooder album is/are 2 he did with my long gone hero, the Memphis/Delta Dali Lama Jim Dickinson: INTO THE PURPLE VALLEY, BOOMER’S STORY and also the soundtrack for THE LONG RIDERS. I believe Jim produced both of those 1st two mentioned albums. God… that was a GREAT interview with your pal. God knows. Thank you, Otis. You lift the spirits of this old geezer. God but I absolutely love everything I’ve ever heard by Ry Cooder. I put him up there with Dylan. Only Ry is a much cooler cat!

Ry is one of my absolutely favorite guitar players. Lucky enough to see him with Flaco andJohn Hiatt in Copenhagen (another country, but just the other side of the strait, no bridge then). Been playing slide and open tunings since the eghities becouse of him. Even have his picture on my wall.

Cooder's mandolin playing is among my favorite on the instrument.

Great Story !! Thanks Otis ... Jimmy ....

Thanks for another goodun friend !

Super Great I always learn so much from your videos thank you so very much you are a real treasure!!

I enjoy these interviews with Mark. Feel free to do more of them.

This is amazing, Otis. Thank you for having Mark share these stories.

I love Fernando Sez and I love Ry to death. And Mark Fain is freaking GREAT

just awesome..I love this guy

@Otis Gibbs I wish you could upload two hours of videos everyday. It has become my favorite form of entertainment.