Eddie Tapp - The Great Speckled Bird. (1965)

Описание: Australian country music singer/songwriter Eddie Tapp recorded a cover version of the song "The Great Speckled Bird" for his self titled EP recorded in March 1965 and released in June that year on the Hadley Label (HEP 504).

The lyrics for "The Great Speckled Bird" were written by the Reverend Guy Smith based on Jeremiah 12:9 from the Bible and put into song by US musician Charlie Swain. The tune used was from a song called "Thrills That I Can't Forget" written and recorded by US singer/songwriter Welby Toomey with Edgar Boaz on guitar on the 13th of November 1925. He would record the song using the pseudonym of John Ferguson. Welby Toomey would record 23 songs for the Gennett Record Label between November 1925 and November 1927 of which 13 were rejected and 1 song never issued. None of the Toomey recordings have ever been reissued.

The Carter Family would record the song as "I'm Thinking Tonight Of My Blue Eyes" in 1927 using the same tune and most of the lyrics of the Toomey song. US country music singer/songwriter Roy Acuff would be the first to record the song as "The Great Speckled Bird" in 1936. The tune would be well known to many as the tune also used for the song "Wild Side Of Life", and "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels".