What in the world has happened to country music? I was
perusing the newspaper the other day and stopped down to check out the current
top 10 song rankings. I’m a hip guy
(nudge, nudge, wink, wink) and I need to be current with my tunes. It’s bad
enough that I didn’t know a soul on the pop charts, but I don’t think I had
ever heard any of the songs on the country top ten.
I made it a point to listen to country music stations one
day as I traveled. Holy crap, but that was painful to do. Has Nashville deemed
it necessary to mix country, rock and rap into songs these days? I was in the
airport the other day and I thumbed through a country music magazine to put a
name with a face. It looks like the current “stars” are nothing but a load of
wanna be rock rejects. Wannabe rock & rollers put on a goofy ass hat and
become country. How precious…
I imagine that people in the 70’s probably thought the same
thing about Charlie Daniels and Willie Nelson, but back then music had
substance. The 70’s were about rebellion and fighting back. “Uneasy Rider” by
Charlie Daniels was a great story of long hairs vs. the crew cut, Pabst Blue
Ribbon drinking, country establishment of the times. Today, country singers
sing about mudding in 4 wheel drives, wearing John Deere caps and being slutty.
Not a lot of believability. Kind of like some of the rap songs I occasionally
hear…
Folks, we need another list! Maybe we can show people what
music is and what music is about. But
first, a picture of old & young Willie.
Doing what you have to to get people to pay attention to you.
Flippin the bird to Nashville
and doing your own thing...
Top Country Music Singers or Groups
(No particular order)
George
Strait- Definitely a gimme. No singer has done more to the genre.
Jerry
Jeff Walker- Father of Americana music. Sorry Woody Guthrie, but Jerry Jeff
brought it to the mainstream. Robert Earl Keen has no clue….
Ray
Price- What a voice.
Linda
Ronstadt- Easily the most versatile singer ever. Her first stuff (“Silver
Threads & Golden Needles”) is amazing. Her Mexican Ranchero or Mariachi
music is some of my favorite.
Johnny
Cash- Little bit of early rock n roll and mixed with country. Elvis went
mainstream and Johnny Cash made music.
Conway
Twitty- Just listen to “Hello Darlin” and you’ll see why.
Tammy
Wynette/George Jones- Best duo ever and pretty good by themselves. See “DIVORCE”
and “The Race is On”
Alabama-Who
the hell is Rascal Flatts? I’ve already forgot…
Waylon Jennings/Willie Nelson-Outlaw country is a little tired
these days, but these two did more for the progressive movement than anyone.
Luckenbach, Texas still hates them for using their town in a song.
Bob
Wills- “It don’t matter who’s in Austin, Bob Wills is still the king.”
Alan
Jackson- A man truly making music because he wants to.
Obligatory
Honorable Mention
It is hard damn work to come up with this group
of honorables. There are so many singers and songwriters that can actually
carry a tune and leave us wanting more. I’ll try to be impartial….
Gene
Watson- Baytown, Texas native that made it to the big time. Great voice and
good cry in your beer music.
See “Got No Reason Now For Going Home”.
Pam
Tillis- Good genes (her dad is Mel Tillis, my hero J) and a set of pipes. Should
have gone farther, but I think some people would say her voice was too twangy
for her era.
Jimmy
Buffet-Probably the most underrated in this whole group. Band wagoner’s
fill up stadiums to see him, but thanks to Dink Stephens brother Paul, we found
out about him way before the Parrot Head was conceived.
Clint
Black- He’s a little of a youngster compared to others. He made his bones
with Garth, but had more scruples to be himself. Listen to “Closing Time” from
his first album.
Patty
Loveless- Similar to Clint, because she too, played what she wanted to. Saw
her open for George Strait after she was already a star in her own right. Say’s
a lot about who she is…
The
Byrds-The Byrds? At first I thought they were making fun of twangy country
music, but as I listened, I heard country with an edge. Kind of like if Buck
Owens and Chrissie Hynde had an illegitimate child….
Michael
Murphy-Similar to a chameleon. He goes from cosmic cowboy stage to
mainstream country to buckaroo country. All of it top notch.
Ricky
Skaggs- His band was one of the great ones. He’s on the bluegrass now, but
his music is timeless.
Martina
McBride- Was tough to choose between her and Linda Ronstadt. Her voice is
to Ray Price’s.
Moe
Bandy/Joe Stampley- Saw them both in the early 80’s. Moe was a rodeo
crooner and Joe was a beer joint songster.
Who can forget “Where’s the Dress” by them as
a duo, “All These Things” by Joe and “Someday Soon” by Moe.
There
are a ton of others to mention in this list; Gary Stewart, Steve Wariner,
Asleep At The Wheel, The Gatlin Brothers, Mickey Gilley, Earl Thomas Conley,
Reba McIntire, Sweethearts of the Rodeo, Radney Foster, Deborah Allen, Janie
Fricke, Charly McClain. I could keep on typing till midnight if I had the time.
It
really is sad to see where country music has fallen to. I don’t think it was
purposeful or any evil intent was the factor. Money rules everything it seems
and this may be the common denominator to country music being tits up. All the
so called divas in popular music can take lessons from Linda Ronstadt, Emmy Lou
Harris and Martina McBride to name a few. The redneck phase of male singers who
try a little to hard to be “country” is hard to watch and even harder to listen
to. You don’t need to slut it up or see how trashy you can be. Just sing.
This is a negative dissertation, but I bet I’m not the only
one who see’s this gutter dive called country music. I wish I could sing. I
wish my hands and fingers could play the guitar. I’ll never know what it’s like
to stand on a stage and hear applause. These people on my list have all the
before mentioned talent and use it the right way. Well most of them did. George
Jones drank like a fish and drove lawn mowers to town, but I digress.
Jimmy Buffet had a song called “Making Music for Money”, that
told of making music to please yourself and not for the money. A little bit out
there (we all need to make money to live) but I think it was a common thread in
the day. What would I do if I had the
“talent”? I’d probably blow it all on a bottle of 30 year old scotch and a big
ass T-bone steak dinner.
Ohhhh,
but it would be good…
