You never know who you're going to meet on the internet and I came to know Peter Tibbles (bio here) via email over the past couple of years. His extensive knowledge of most genres of music and his excellent taste became apparent only gradually (Peter's not one to toot his horn) but once I understood, I knew he needed his own column at Time Goes By - or, better, that TGB needed his column - which appears here each Sunday. You can find previous Elder Music columns here.

Watching the ongoing story of the oil-well catastrophe reminds us that the Gulf is famous for other things as well. It's had many natural and unnatural disasters over the years; I imagine you can rely on at least one each year.

The Gulf Coast has also given the world some fine songs. I've included two (well, two and a half) about the natural disasters. I don't think there are any good songs about the man-made ones out there yet.

It didn't take long to come up with these as they feature some of my favourite performers singing some of my favourite songs. Actually, I should say “we” rather than “I” as Norma, the Assistant Musicologist, came up with most of them while I was looking for a piece of paper to write them down. She beat me to that as well. So, checking the A.M.'s list...

We decided to go from left to right with the songs, so we start in Texas. Indeed, the South Coast of Texas is first cab off the rank with a song of that name from an album of that name as well. This is one of Guy Clark's best (of course, all of his are really good).

♫ Guy Clark - South Coast of Texas

For such a small place, Galveston has had some pretty good songs written about it. The most memorable is just called that and was written by Jimmy Webb. However, I've already featured that before so I'll go with Galveston Flood written and performed by Tom Rush.

This is one of the disaster songs. Well, the name sort of gave that away.

♫ Tom Rush - Galveston Flood

Okay, moving next door into Louisiana. I could have filled this column with songs just about New Orleans but it deserves a column of its own so I'm leaving it completely alone today. Instead I'm going with the capital, Red Stick, and Asleep At The Wheel.

I don't think a broken heart qualifies as a disaster in the grand scheme. Well, maybe. The Wheel is a group that keeps the spirit of Bob Wills alive with a modern twist on Texas swing.

♫ Asleep at the Wheel - Red Stick

Louisiana gets the second of the disaster songs with Randy Newman's Louisiana 1927.

Although born in Los Angeles, Randy spent several years in New Orleans in his childhood before the family moved back to L.A. He was from a musical family – three of his uncles won Oscars for their music, as has Randy. His songs are often witty or satirical but this one isn't (unless I didn't get the joke). More observational.

♫ Randy Newman - Louisiana 1927

On to Mississippi and two songs by the same artist, Jesse Winchester.

Jesse was born in Louisiana and lived on a farm in Mississippi until his father had a heart attack when Jesse was 12. They moved to Memphis and dad studied and became a lawyer. Jesse attended university in Massachusetts where he studied German. This included a year living in Germany where he spent most of his time playing in a rock band.

In spite of that, he graduated and was subsequently drafted. We're talking the mid-sixties here. He flew to Montreal and eventually became a Canadian citizen. He's produced many fine albums which, apart from the latest few, aren't readily available. More's the pity as they are excellent.

Fortunately, I managed to get them when they were around. This is Mississippi You're on My Mind.

♫ Jesse Winchester - Mississippi You're On My Mind

The second is a brooding song called Biloxi. Tom Rush also does a good version of this but I think he misses the menacing quality Jesse brings to it. And Jesse should know, it's his song (as is the previous one).

♫ Jesse Winchester - Biloxi

I was originally going to skip right over Alabama, but it's on the coast so it deserves a place. Lynyrd Skynyrd's Sweet Home Alabama was a candidate, but I've already scheduled that in another column. Then I thought of Stars Fell on Alabama. "That doesn't fit with the other songs" said the A.M.

"I have Jimmy Buffett doing it" I replied.

"Oh, that's okay then."

So that's the Alabama song. I could have used The Doors performing that very tune (Alabama Song) but I have used that one as well.

♫ Jimmy Buffett - Stars Fell on Alabama

As all the other tunes today are singer/songwriter-y types things, the next one rather stands out like a moment of fun at a Joni Mitchell concert, as it's fifties' rock 'n' roll. We're now in Florida, with a little bit of change of pace. Tallahassee Lassie. Freddy Cannon is the person to blame for this one.

Freddy had a number of hits in the late fifties and early sixties. This one came out in 1959.

♫ Freddy Cannon - Tallahassee Lassie

We're now about as far as we can go. Just a bit of a stroll south along A1A with Jimmy Buffett again.

This could be considered the half disaster song as Jimmy is pondering the hurricanes. Indeed, the song is called Trying to Reason With The Hurricane Season.

♫ Jimmy Buffett - Trying to Reason With The Hurricane Season