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29 comments:
Discuss Country music. Love it ? Hate it ? Too redneck ? Too right-wing ? Which are you favorite Country songs ?
In February 1980 Kenny Rogers had a UK #1 hit with "Coward Of The County" which I loved. The UK Top 40 wasn't very fertile ground for Country music but Coward Of The County was Kenny Rogers second #1 after "Lucille" in 1977. He'd also reached #2 in 1969 with "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love To Town" and also made the Top 10 with "Islands In The Stream" in 1983 so I guess Kenny Rogers is the most successful Country singer ever in Gt. Britain. I can't say I'm much of a Country fan but in recent years I really liked such songs as "It's Five O' Clock Somewhere" by Alan Jackson, "Red Solo Cup" by Toby Keith, "We Are Never, Ever Getting Back Together" by Taylor Swift (which sounds like pop to me but apparentlt it's country) and "Redneck Crazy" by Tyler Farr which I think is meant to be serious but the video is more humorous.
History of Country Music
Billie Bob: You know how people like good music?
Joe Don: Yep
Billie Bob: what if we made it not that way?
Yoyo
In 1984, this yankee from Chicago stationed at Ft. (Mother) Rucker, Alabama, to learn to fly helos for Uncle Sam. We started spending Saturday nights at a place called "The Long Branch." I learned to like and respect country music. Hank (I ripped my face off falling off a cliff while totally drunk) Williams Jr. was my fav.
I lived in Enterprise, AL just oustide the gates. It had a massive monument in the town center with a (romanesque?) goddess-lady holding up a plate. ON the plate was a boll weevil. They worshiped the boll weevil b/c it killed the cotton crop 100 years earlier and forced them to switch to peanuts. Southern "Bama is now the peanut capital of the world!
30 mintues down the road is Dothan, AL, the condom capital of the world (Trojan).
A bit to the west, the hold an annual rattle snake round up where they find and kill 1000s of rattle snakes and have a righteous party for the weekend.
I don't think we were too far away from Opp (short for Opportunity).
It was a grand time down south... and I definitely liked country music.
Great subject! Great memories!
I tend to delve into the country area when it's more rockabilly type music, Rosanne Cash had a nice bit on the Carl Perkins HBO special with Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Ringo, etc.., back in 1985. I liked Dwight Yoakam with his 'Backersfield' hit (with Buck Owens..).
Who doesn't love 'Amarillo By Morning' by George Strait..? A classic.
At his prime days, Glen Campbell had some great country/pop hits with 'Lineman for the County'.., just a fantastic voice, carving a great career for the ol' studio guy who played on many classic tracks for both the Monkees and the Beach Boys.
My old lament is that I grew up hatin' the country bands on Hee Haw back in the '70s, like the guy playing table-top steel guitar in the background. Now that I've gotten good with slide guitar and have done gigs at my age, I now want to BE that guy. Tooo funny.
I find that as I grow older I prefer music that is perhaps more profound, thoughtful, and simple. Older country seems to do that. I am now going to listen to "Blood on the Saddle " by Tex Ritter! I encourage all of you to give it a listen today!!!
In the last couple of decades Country music has built up quite a following in the UK and BBC Radio 2 has a weekly Country music show which interviews Country music stars and goes to the CMA music awards every year - I'm not a regular listener of the show but I do tune in every so often. Another big country hit in the UK was Tammy Wynette's "Stand By Your Man" which reached #1 in May 1975, seven years after its' original U.S. release - the follow-up was "D.I.V.O.R.C.E" and in November 1975 Scottish comedian, Billy Connelly, had a #1 hit with a spoof version of that song, doing better than Tammy's version which failed to make the Top 10. I also love Dolly Parton's "Jolene" which was a British Top 10 hit in 1976 and "Annie's Song" which reached #1 for just 1 week in October 1974, the same week that the Planet Of The Apes TV show began on TV - is John Denver country ? Anyway, Annie's Song was Denver's only British Top 40 hit - amazingly, he had NO OTHER UK HITS AT ALL !!!
Real country music is a niche product. Today's Popular Country that dominates radio is simply just classic Top-40 pop songs with either a fiddle or a twang in the lead vocals.
Yoyo
Colin I love it! I left flight school to be stationed in way south German in 85. In south Germany country music is HUGE! Indeed one of the biggest hits when I was there was "Ich bin eine Bayerisches Kowgirl!" I am a Bavarian Cowgirl '
For the life of me, I can't get myself to enjoy the bulk of straight-on Country (think Buck Owens, Tammy Wynette, etc) at all. It touches me not a bit. But-- I don't mind Hank Williams Sr too much, and really do enjoy singing his music quite a lot-- go figure?
My ear does enjoy the material you tend to hear down at the "Western" end of the Country & Western spectrum. . . less whiny, more tight harmonies. And Bluegrass is kinda a separate thing as well, where technical musicianship and virtuosity just seems to be a casual assumption.
I keep forgetting that Taylor Swift started out as a Country artist. Even she herself has bid a fond, but realistic, farewell to being corralled into that genre.
Country is still a good haven for the Baritone voice, though-- pop and (what's left of) rock and showtune/pop-broadway has all given itself over completely to Tenors. There are shows now where every male voice is. . . a high tenor. Sheesh!
HB
CH47-- Can you explain "Boiled Green Peanuts for Sale" to those of us who have driven through rural Florida & Alabama-- seeing those hand-scrawled signs at the side of roads that the Scooby-Doo Gang would have been hesitant to stop on. . . ? What the heck---?
HB
Not a big fan of too many recent country artists. But I have just about every Johnny Cash album from the mid-60s to the early 70s. Bitter Tears, Orange Blossom Special, Man In Black, Hello, I'm Johnny Cash, Everybody Loves A Nut, Blood, Sweat and Tears, Ring Of Fire, all great LPs. Plus his two live albums recorded at Folsom and San Quentin, that's an extremely strong era for any artist.
growing up in the '60s & '70s, I hated Country music. I enjoyed the corny humor of Hee Haw, but would leave the room when the musical guest would perform. In high school, I was in Jazz Band and still couldn't stand Country. I could appreciate the talent of a good guitarist or banjo, but just didn't like the twang of the voices or the steel guitars. Strangely enough, I was a huge fan of England Dan & John Ford Coley, who were more 'folksy' and pop. As long as the voices and music weren't too twangy, I liked the lyrics. Later, my wife converted me into listening to Jimmy Buffet, who can have his Country side, too.
Tex Ritter's "Blood on the Saddle" is great, but mainly 'cause it featured in Disney's Country Bear Jamboree attraction. Since it was Disney, I listened to and enjoyed every song on the album, back when I was 10 years old. Still enjoy this WDW classic.
Disney - Blood on the Saddle is great indeed, that's why Disney uses it! Ritter has other greats like High Noon and Froggy went a Courtin!
Human Belly- whenever I see your monicker I think of a Basil Wolverton cover for PLOP and get slightly nauseous:(. I'll get back to you soon, when I feel better! Promise!
I've grown to appreciate country from playing in my band. The dance floor will always fill up to Wagon Wheel, Friends in Low Places, and Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy. Corb Lund is from my home province, and he has some good songs like Time to Switch to Whiskey. Johnny Cash goes over well with audiences, Ring of Fire, Folsom Prison.
And furthermore we start our monthly ukulele group like session (40 of us or so) with Hank William's Jambalaya! We really have a rich musical heritage!
Nice choice for a topic, Colin! Don't think we've ever touched on country.
I'm not a big fan of Country, but have some in my musical library. Mary Chapin Carpenter, John Denver (okay, pop country), Patsy Cline, Glen Campbell, among others. And one of my favorite songs from the 80'same was "Smokey Mountain Rain" by Ronnie Milsap.
HB- great point regarding the lack of lower range male vocals these days. It's true, you never hear a baritone or bass. I wonder why...
The very occasional country record really stands out for me.
'Not The Tremblin' Kind' - the debut LP from Laura Cantrell - is one of my favourite LPs of all time. Majestic.
Neko Case is fantastic too, I love her voice and attitude.
Aside from these standouts (and Johnny Cash too, of course) I find much country music a bit of a slog. Always up for recommendations though!
My dad used to listen to Kenny Rogers and the Oak Ridge Boys so we heard a lot of country during road trips and vacations. Must have heard "Lucille" and "Elvira" at least 1000 times. Though country has really not caught on with me, I did always like Charlie Daniels doing "The Devil Went Down To Georgia" which got a ton of airplay. And who can forget Dolly Parton who seemed to be everywhere in the mid-seventies. "9 to 5" must have been on a continuous loop on some cable channels around that time.
But perhaps my nostalgic favorite is from the. Muppet Show, with the Muppet Country Trio singing the clever "Can I Get To Morrow Today?"
I don't listen to much of the modern pop/country.
I was never a big country fan (and living in Saskatchewan, that puts me in the minority), but my parents were really into it, so I absorbed a lot over the years. There's a few classic songs I like (Hank Williams Sr., Johnny Cash, Johnny Horton) and the odd newer song that I take a shine to (Keith Urban's "John Cougar John Deere, John 3:16" or Maren Morris's "My Church" ... though I think it's her voice that does it for me on that one).
Human belly, boiled peanuts are freshly harvested dug out of the earth and boiled and they are sold that way. That is different from the dry roasted peanuts which are dried and roasted and can sit on a shelf for years. So my southern friends all told me be careful when you buy the green peanuts and ensure they are fresh because they will spoil. For what it is worth my southern friends also told me do not eat shrimp or crawdads unless their tails are curled. This is because crawdads with straight tails were dead before they were boiled and there is no telling why they were dead.
Is Sir Paul's Rocky Racoon country?
I will say this about that:
Country music is a really hard chicken to pin down.
You have a wide ranging rainbow of sub genres that all together make what we call country music. No longer are you looking at country, Patsy Cline, Porter Wagner, Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, et al or Western, Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, Tex Ritter, and let's not forget Dale Evans!!! Now you've got Hats, No Hats, Duos, which I think is bigger in country music than other genres, bands, singers who are called bands, and singers with their own bands.
You can listen to a guy like Chase Bryan and I hear 70s R&B. Carrie Underwood and Miranda Lambert, Maddie and Tae, Lauren Alaina and Kellie Pickler who are pushing that Pop wall without really going out all the way. Jennifer Nettles, who I feel has one of the best voices out there, but always sounds like she's fresh of the Hicksville bus. If you want a country primer, listen to her solo work and her stuff with Sugarland (spells it wrong) and you'll hear what modern Country is.
I prefer the older songstresses, Lee Ann Womack, Patty Loveless, LeAnn Rimes, Roseanne Cash, Carlene Carter, Suzy Bogguss, Reba, Pam Tillis, I know I forgot so many but that's me era.
HB - country has the baritones!!! Luke Bryan, Billy Covington, Tim McGraw, Toby Keith, Brantley Gilbert, et al and all!!!
Where I live, IN TEXAS, you have country music from the Gulf Coast that, to me, is completely different from country music in the Panhandle. Known and Red Dirt Music, you're more likely to find a pedal steel with the fiddle whereas along the coast, it's now unusual to hear Louisiana influence in the music. You'll get an accordion in the band along with the fiddle, the pedal steel? Not so much.
Anyhoo, I'll leave it at that for now........
(It's two tickets to a concert
It's a Daytona airbrush T-shirt
Wondering who's gonna kiss you first
You know what I'm talking about
Hey baby whatcha doing tonight
It's butterflies and Bud Lights
Under the stars and on the stripes of a beach towel in a Spring Break town
It's playing in the night air
Through the speakers all night long
Couple kids just livin'
That American country love song
In every town, in every place
There's a boy who's trying to take a chance
And dance and find a way to run away with her heart
In the back of an old Ford truck
In the bar, just looking for love
In a pair of oh my blue eyes, let them fireworks start
That American country love song
Ain't ever gonna quit playing on and on and on
It's Chris loves Jenny on a license plate
It's daddy getting mad cause you came home late
It's one last kiss in the driveway
Hey radio DJ can you play that song
That she loves, so I can turn it up
And maybe turn her on
An American country love song
In every town, in every place
There's a boy who's trying to take a chance
And dance and find a way to run away with her heart
In the back of an old Ford truck
In the bar, just looking for love
In a pair of oh my blue eyes, let them fireworks start
That American country love song
Ain't ever gonna quit playing on, and on, and on, and on
So let's raise a glass, cheerleaders and quarterbacks
Cowboys and country girls, all around this small town world
To the same old pick up lines, we've tried a million times
All the bad and good as it gets, to the ones that you ain't met yet
In every town, in every place
There's a boy who's trying to take a chance
And dance and find a way to run away with her heart
In the back of an old Ford truck
In the bar, just looking for love
In a pair of oh my blue eyes, let them fireworks start
That American country love song
Ain't ever gonna quit playing on, and on, and on).
PS: The robots have been resting, and I'm very, VERY, concerned...
CH47-- thank you for clarifying a family mystery!
And Prowl, Country does indeed have the Baritones--! They kinda disappear in pop/rock. Elvis was a baritone (everyone forgets that)-- "lyric" baritone, actually. Jim Morrison was a baritone. George Harrison was baritone-ish, but had a very unusual, reedy quality in his resonance that made him sound like a tenor even when his pitches weren't that high (that's partly why he blended so well w/ the other two fellas, I think).
"Rocky Raccoon"-? Sort of a spoof of Western, maybe?
HB
Rolling Stones' 'Country Honk' and 'Far Away Eyes' for great Country send-ups..
Seeing Ronnie Wood mastering the table-top steel string is great fun.
My dad mostly listened to country music when I was a kid growing up in the 60s & 70s, and, yeah, the family watched Hee Haw regularly on Saturday nights, but although I like a few, mostly old country songs, I never felt much of an urge to buy any country albums, although strangely enough I did get a collection of songs by the Sons of the Pioneers when I was livng in Greece in 1995. By the mid-70s, tho', I was firmly a fan of rock music, and mostly stuff from the beginning of the British Invasion (which was mostly all new to me in the '70s as I'd heard very little of it during the '60s). But I can't say there's any genre of music I really hate, aside from just plain bad songs of any genre, but that's subjective. A song I hate someone else may love and vice versa. I've even changed my mind on some songs -- when punk was new and I first heard the Sex Pistols on the radio, when I was 15 or so, I thought they were horrid but about a decade later I got into their one studio album and really liked Public Image, Ltd. But I also enjoy old Johnny Cash and Hank Williams (Sr, not Jr) and somewhat more recent the Handsome Family -- I love the song Weightless Again.
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