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Ruthann Robison (1951) was a paternal aunt of Pearl Robison (1973) but instead of Conyers, Georgia, Ruthann grew up in Savannah.
This song describes a weekend in the summer of 1968 when a seventeen-year-old Ruthann and her boyfriend Billy Wainwright spent a romantic night on Tybee Island. Ruthann and Billy would go on to marry and have three kids, Pearl’s cousins.
Depending upon your orientation, Tybee Island is either the terminus or starting point of Highway 80, which at one time ran continuously from Tybee Island to San Diego, California. During the 1960s, US 80 was decommissioned west of Dallas.
Billy Wainwright was from Savannah
Ruthann Robison was his girlfriend
July ’68 they took East 80
And drove to the highway’s end
Billy built a fire near the lighthouse
As shadows began to grow
They shared a bottle of Mateus
And sang songs like “Ode to Billy Joe”
On Tybee Island, Tybee Island
The waves sparkle like diamonds
The sand on the beach
The salt and the sea
Billy picked a Georgia peach on Tybee Island
Ruthie spread out the tattered blanket
That Billy kept in that old truck
They talked underneath the starlight
Until the sun came up
On Tybee Island, Tybee Island
The waves sparkle like diamonds
The sand on the beach
The salt and the sea
Billy picked a Georgia peach on Tybee Island
Ruthann said she wanted ten children
Billy told her all his deepest dreams
They kissed and the world stopped spinning
That’s how love is when you’re seventeen
On Tybee Island, Tybee Island
The waves sparkle like diamonds
The sand on the beach
The salt and the sea
Billy picked a Georgia peach on Tybee Island
The sand on the beach
The salt and the sea
He picked a Georgia peach on Tybee Island
Frank David Leone was born in Shreveport, Louisiana and has lived in the South his entire life with the exception of eight
years in NYC. Leone has also lived and worked at music in Dallas and Nashville. He currently resides in rural Tennessee with his wife and three cats.
His songs have been recorded by Lee Ann Womack, Chris Knight, Rebecca Lynn Howard, and Joy Lynn White, among others....more
Father and daughter team up to make pretty folk music inspired by the day she was born and the day she'll leave home. Bandcamp New & Notable May 5, 2015
Stirring Americana set to acoustic arrangements and topped by the legendary Alice Gerrard’s lovely, world-wise voice. Bandcamp New & Notable Oct 23, 2023
”Seawheel Acoustic” delivers captivating melodies and heartfelt lyrics in songs that are equal parts soothing and enchanting. Bandcamp New & Notable Jul 10, 2023
Tom Houston swings between heartfelt folk and quirky slice-of-life spoken word, augmented with electronics, on his latest LP. Bandcamp New & Notable Nov 15, 2022
The debut album from Leeds-based artist Jake Whiskin is full of atmospheric Americana tinged with hard-hitting classic rock. Bandcamp New & Notable Nov 10, 2022
Kieran Kane & Rayna Gellert offer up a stunning minimalist country record, conjuring huge emotions with little more than vocals & guitar. Bandcamp New & Notable Feb 13, 2022