I admit, I was a year off. That's not bad, though. I had no hope nor expectation that Marty Stuart would be inducted in the Modern Era category in 2020. I simply felt it was The Judds' time.
I readily admit I completely missed The Judds' rise. I'd abandoned country music for about a decade, which was completely country music's fault; not mine. And nineteen eighties pop was really, really good; I don't care who wants to argue the point -- while country music was putrid. Sure, I missed country's renaissance, but how was I to know country that would suddenly heal itself? I'd chalked it up as a lost cause, after too many Sylvia and Billy Crash Craddock singles.
I sure didn't know about this:
Or this:
Or this:
In fact, I missed the best of The Judds. I did keep up with them via People Magazine, though. Constant drama is a catalyst for bad, and The Judds were nothing if not drama. I scrolled through the articles about Wynonna's marriages and Naomi's and Wynonna's squabbles. They became tabloid fodder and diminished the talent that they were. But living in the spotlight probably changes a person; makes them keen to their public image.
By the time I learned to appreciate The Judds they were almost over. Their hit-making days didn't last long, basically from 1984 to 1991, but they did score fourteen number ones in only eight years.
A few of their better recordings:
To be eligible for the modern era category, at least twenty but not more
than forty years, must have passed since the artist reached national
prominence. What this means is that The Judds beat out the obviously
most deserving candidate, Dwight Yoakam. The Country Music Hall Of Fame
and Nashville in general has long had a bias against Bakersfield artists
(Merle Haggard simply could not be ignored), so it will be interesting
to witness the HOF twists themselves into knots in the future to NOT
induct Dwight.
I rarely agree with the Hall Of Fame choices, but I don't begrudge The Judds. They simply could no longer be ignored by whoever the mysterious HOF voters are. I will say, however, that three superior recordings do not necessarily elevate an artist to hall of fame status. But no one can deny that they left their imprint on country music.
Some asshat at an event called the Du Quoin State Fair in Illinois decided to fire the band Confederate Railroad from its grandstand lineup (after signing a contract with them) because of their name. The band was scheduled to perform with Restless Heart and Shenandoah under the banner “90s Country Reloaded Day” (one of my all-time favorite country eras).
The "woke" imbecile went on to state:
“While every artist has a right to expression, we believe this
decision is in the best interest of serving all the people in our
state.”
Confederate Railroad was formed in 1987and hit its stride in the early nineties with country hits like "Queen of Memphis", "She Took It Like a Man", and "Trashy Women" (not a personal favorite). While not by any means one of my preferred bands, they were innocuous; and you know, I never gave the band's name a second thought. Every band needs a name, after all.
In the case of the Blah Blah Blah State Fair, apparently some annoying political blogger (is there any other kind?) complained that someone's (his) fragile feelings would be hurt by a band he'd never in his life heard of taking the stage in front of...you know, people. And who reads blogs anyway? Apparently only beta boys from the Illinois Ag Department.
Here's the deal, Ag Dude: It's just a name.
Coming up with a band name can be a tedious process or a spur-of-the-moment one. Sure, you could use a random word generator, which would produce a result like Fungus Quarry; or you could fret about it for months and quibble with your band mates until the resulting animus causes the group to break up. And if you do decide to stay together and ultimately land upon a name that everyone is okay with, then hit the big time, how could you know that some thirty years later a quivering mouse will pull the covers over his head and sob because your moniker has triggered infantile PTSD?
Sure, it starts with Confederate Railroad, but where does it end? We could dissect every country band name and find something to enrage us.
For instance, did you know that Oak Ridge, Tennessee was the place where in 1942 the first atomic bomb was built? Bye bye, Oak Ridge Boys. Sorry.
The name Asleep At The Wheel offends me because it promotes drowsy driving. Ray Benson, you had a great run. Now it's over.
I suppose you didn't know that The Statler Brothers were named after a brand of facial tissue. Is tissue bio-degradable? The environment is too precious to risk it. Harold, Don, et al ~ you've gotta go.
Restless Heart? Making fun of cardiac patients? Real sensitive.
Don't even get me started on Alabama. Roy Moore? Come on...
When it comes to Diamond Rio, I'm stringently opposed to sullying the earth to mine precious stones for the top one per cent to flash.
Oh, so you call yourselves Highway 101? I'd suggest Bike Lane 101 as an alternative. Need I explain?
The Judds ~ I don't know what "Judds" are, but I'm pretty certain I'm opposed to them.
Soon all the billboards will advertise, "Band ~ Your Name Here ~ Coming Soon!", and one can roll the dice on purchasing tickets for the show.
I'd vent my rage at the dolts who work for the Illinois Department of Agriculture, but it's all so silly (except not silly for the band, who lost a crucial paycheck).
I'm not thrilled with my generator's random number, because 1985 was not a banner year for country. Country music was in that awkward stage -- between utter crap and greatness. There were some glimmers of hope, though. If one wants music that's really bad, they could pick basically any year between the late seventies and...well, 1985.
As the picture above denotes, however, ooh yes, there were glimmers.
I could waste yours and my time doing a corny countdown, but let's just start with the number one single of the year, shall we?
The deep, complicated reason why I love this song: IT'S COUNTRY.
"Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind" is essentially the perfect country song. But, oh, it's not just the song -- it's the sublime performance, from the tiny yodel in George's delivery to the heart-thumping twin fiddles to the four-four shuffle beat to the just-right steel guitar riff.
Readers of this blog know how I feel about George Strait. George, along with Randy Travis and Dwight Yoakam, saved country music. It was almost dead and mercifully begging to be buried, and then George came along, like a vision.
I've told the story before of how I'd given up on country music; switched the dial on my radio in disgust; became enamored with MTV and real true (not facsimile) music. Then I happened to take the kids over to Mom and Dad's one evening and Mom popped in a VHS tape (yep!) of some hillbilly singer performing live somewhere in Texas. I thought, "What's this crap?" I didn't know any of the songs (they weren't being played on MTV). The singer was a "pretty boy" in a big cowboy hat -- no doubt another imposter trying to grab Merle Haggard's mantle. I went home that night more puzzled than impressed. But though I was loathe to admit it, this guy had something. And gradually, I began alternating between the rock station and the country station that I had to reprogram into my car radio.
So, yes and thank you, George Strait. Even hard-headed goofballs like me can learn something.
I wish I could say 1985 turned out to be a great year for my rediscovery of country music, but alas, it wasn't.
There was this girl singer that I'd first noticed a few years before. She wasn't hitting it big, but I liked her. I actually talked my mom into going to an indoor rodeo with me because I'd heard this gal would be performing...I guess in between the bulldogging and the steer wrestling competitions. (In a small town, we took our entertainment where we could find it.) Mom was about as impressed with Reba McEntire as I was the first time I saw George Strait. I, though, liked her because she was authentically country. That would sadly change later. Some musical lifespans are short.
Here is how she once was:
I am perplexed that the next song was released in 1985. It seems to me to be a latter Judds hit, because once again, the Judds I first discovered were singing "Mama He's Crazy", but maybe I just have time muddled in my brain. I apologize for not being able to find a better video -- I would love to know what happened to all the eighties music videos that were played on CMT, because they sure are nigh impossible to find. So, here's the best I could find:
Ricky Skaggs was a bluegrass artist who wanted to become a country star. And he did. But he's still a bluegrass artist. Be proud of who you are! I like bluegrass. 1985 could stand an infusion of bluegrass. Here's some:
Here's something good. Good. I love Rosanne Cash's voice; not crazy about her politics, but that's neither here nor there in the music realm. Rosanne Cash is how would-be singers would like to sound. That's damn high praise.
I really dislike Marie Osmond. I suppose it's not her fault, per se, but she signed on to do those weight loss commercials, where she poses in her deceptively slimming dress and looks down her nose at us, because she lost fifty pounds, because some big company gave her their program for free. Nevertheless, this is a good song -- mostly because of Dan Seals:
Not to be redundant, but c'mon. This, again, is a perfect country song. If you've ever spent a night out at a honky tonk and you hear the opening strains of this song, you're gonna go out on the dance floor and two-step -- it's decreed. Yep, this is George again:
I do believe that Alabama is the act I've seen live more times than any other. It's not that I'm a great Alabama fan; it's just that they toured incessantly and they kept showing up in my town. Again, we grabbed our entertainment where we could find it. I like them -- they're okay -- they certainly were a staple of my local country music station for about a decade. So, here they are:
It's a myth that The Highwaymen were a big phenomenon in 1985. But myths are okay. As long as we know the truth. And face it, here are some country music giants.
I love Ronnie Milsap -- is he still performing? I'm thinking 1975 was the first time I heard him, so he had a great run. There are those artists you just want to tuck inside your pocket and reach for them when you need a musical lift. You don't necessarily think about them very often, but they're there.
Woefully, I didn't see many of these artists live. I saw Ronnie, Alabama (three frickin' thousand times), Reba; and it was an unbelievable quest, traveling all the way to Montana only to find that the artist's bus got mired in a snowstorm in Wyoming and his Montana show was canceled; then a few months later, to a city much closer to home -- Fargo, North Dakota -- to finally, FINALLY! see George Strait in concert. I have no regrets -- I can at least say I saw George Strait live.
1985 wasn't that bad. One great song can make up for a year's worth of crap. And there was more than one good song that year.
It's kind of unreasonable to expect more than that.
Why are so many songs written about being crazy? Crazy isn't a desirable state, is it? Or IS IT? I don't personally know any crazy people, but it's probably very peaceful. Crazy people don't get annoyed by driving over potholes or their neighbor leaving their garbage can on the curb for approximately three months. Or by relentless TV commercials for Australian Dream or some dweeb standing in front of the Statue of Liberty grilling them about, "Why do you have that car insurance?"
Hence, I think "crazy" might actually equal "serene".
And with that thought forcing out any coherent concerns from my brain, I have decided to do a "crazy" countdown. (Oh, that's another annoying ad -- "The Final Countdown" performance while some poor working dude is just trying to nuke his burrito in the microwave -- I watch far too much cable news.)
So, wheeeee! I'm ready to be crazy!
10. I Go Crazy -- Paul Davis (The ultimate 70's song - no offense to the seventies. P.S. Love the hair.)
9. Crazy Love -- Poco (Know the song; didn't know this was the name of it.)
8. Still Crazy After All These Years -- Paul Simon (Filler, to be honest. Never really was enamored of this song.)
7. Crazy For You -- Madonna (I always enjoy returning to the 90's)
6. She Drives Me Crazy -- Fine Young Cannibals (Always go with the falsetto, I say)
5. I've Always Been Crazy -- Waylon Jennings (WAY better!)
4. Crazy Little Thing Called Love -- Dwight Yoakam (Okay, yea, I know it's a Queen song - don't care.)
3. Crazy Arms -- Ray Price (Yes! Music!)
2. Mama He's Crazy -- The Judds (The Judds basically rescued country music, in case you forgot.)
1. Crazy -- Patsy Cline (C'mon - you know it's probably the best song of all time.I have nothing more to say.)
Thank you for going crazy with me. After listening to Patsy Cline, I've decided that crazy isn't so bad.
Why, you ask, didn't I include Prince? Well, His Highness is rather "protective" (let's say) of his videos. I don't know why; I don't understand exactly why a performer wouldn't want to be seen, but that's his gig. I often don't even understand my own thought processes, and I would say I know me pretty well.
I did find one, though (a video; not a brain wave). Let's see how long this can remain here before I receive a cease and desist letter
Some guy, apparently a "programming consultant", recently made waves when he proclaimed that if one wants to build a successful radio station, one needs to stop playing women, dammit!
Naturally that got some feathers ruffled (ooh, is that sexist? I guess male chickens have feathers, too.) But aside from the predictable outrage, this man's proclamation is just asinine. Is he at all familiar with country music?
Now, I'm not really "hip" to the latest in country warblings - my husband flipped the channel to the CMT Music Awards the other night, and I didn't recognize anyone except the two guys from the TV show, Nashville, and Reba. And I still don't know who the dude was who was dressed as a hospital orderly. But I do know the history of country music - the soul of country music. And you and I can thank the women for that soul. Need I remind everybody?
Oh, wait:
Did you forget:
What a wimp:
Oh, I forgot:
What?
Damn those women singers!
Demure:
Ridiculous to think that women could...
OMG, not two women!
Scandalous!
Okay!
I still remember this:
Well, I could go on...and on...but you get my drift.
So, radio programmer guy, I think you know where you can stick your "bro" records. You can stick 'em on the turntable, if you want, but c'mon. Let's not pretend.
I've been fixated on the song, Dreaming My Dreams, and today I found out about an interactive exhibit that the Country Music Hall of Fame has developed, called "Dreaming My Dreams". That's sort of eerie.
Nevertheless, this is awesome! I haven't explored the full range of this exhibit yet, but this is right up my alley! You can click on a 45-RPM record and hear it. Plus, there's tons of neat country-obsessive stuff to explore!
Big kudos to whoever thought this up! You know me; I'm an eighties country-kind-of gal, and this exhibit lets me indulge in all that eighties country stuff: George Strait, Dwight Yoakam, Alan Jackson, the Judds....ahhh....heaven. But wait! There's more! The exhibit goes back a long ways; back to Dolly and Johnny Paycheck and all those people; and back further still.. And it goes forward (for you forward-leaning fans); forward to now; today. One can get lost in this. It's a good way to get lost. Click on this and there is no need to thank me. I"m just bringing you all the news that's fit to be brought. I am rarely floored by anything anymore. This thing floored me.
Yes, I have counted down (or up, as the case may be) the CMA awards, all the way from 1967 through 1989. Whew! That's a lot of years. And frankly, I needed to take a break. It started to feel like a homework assignment after awhile, and you know, I have enough "have to's" in my daily life, as is.
But now I'm back! I'm not one to leave a job unfinished, so I'm back and refreshed and ready to tackle the nineties!
First, as usual, a bit of background about the year 1990.
In the news, well, the first Gulf War began.
Here's the first President Bush announcing that fact:
I really have no comment about this, other than that George H.W. Bush should've followed my lead and finished what he started. Could've saved us a lot of grief.
But, if I've said it once, I've said it a whole bunch of times, what we really remember about a given year isn't that world event stuff; it's pop culture!
One of the top movies of 1990 was this:
I could've gone with the top, top movie of the year, "Pretty Woman", but I decided not to be so cliche. But suffice it to say that 1990 was apparently the year that the chicks got their flicks.
In the world of pop music, Michael Bolton was being overwrought, as usual. (I wonder if Michael still has that mullet). Here's one of the top pop songs from 1990 (yes, really):
Another top pop hit from the year featured Wendy, Carnie, and Chynna (thus "Wilson Phillips"). Here's "Hold On":
Which leads us to the 1990 CMA Awards.
Once again in 1990, the Musician of the Year award was won by fiddlin' Johnny Gimble. I'd thought I'd exhausted all the Johnny Gimble videos, but I found a new one! Here's Johnny with Floyd Tilman, doing a number called, "I'll Keep On Loving You":
The Vocal Duo of the Year was, yes, once again The Judds. Sure, in this twenty-first century world, the Judds might seem like old-hat. But there's a handful of artists (and I think I could actually list them on one hand) that typify the 1990's, and on one of those fingers I would count Wynonna and Naomi.
Here's "Born To Be Blue":
Enjoyably (for me), a new name appeared in 1990 to take home the Vocal Group of the Year award. And that new name was the Kentucky Headhunters.
Here are the (older) boys performing on the Marty Stuart Show, doing my favorite and yours, Dumas Walker:
Glad to see that Fred Young still has his coonskin hat!
Anybody who ever stepped foot inside a honky tonk in the early nineties knows this song, inside and out. Who hasn't two-stepped to this song? Well, I, for one, definitely have. And I like the Kentucky Headhunters!
The Vocal Event of the Year is bittersweet for me. Keith Whitley had already passed away, and his widow, Lorrie Morgan, recorded her vocals over a demo that Keith had done of a song called, "Til A Tear Becomes A Rose". Alas, there couldn't be a video of the two performing this song together, but I still wanted to include it. This is a beautiful recording.
Here's "Til A Tear Becomes a Rose", by Keith Whitley and Lorrie Morgan:
The Song of the Year was written by Don Henry and Jon Vezner, and was recorded by Jon Vezner's wife, Kathy Mattea. The song was "Where've You Been":
A beautifully written song, to be sure. Just not country, really.
Which leads us to the Female Vocalist of the Year award, and that award was bestowed upon Kathy Mattea. Here is "Battle Hymn of Love" (and I actually like this song better than the other one, but maybe that's just me):
The Male Vocalist of the Year was another one of those "count on the fingers of one hand" artists, Clint Black. Amazingly, I had to find this video on MTV. Sad. Here's Clint's single from 1990, "Put Yourself In My Shoes":
That new-fangled award, Music Video of the Year, was given to this celluloid performance. It's kind of sweet; kind of heart-rending. Tony Arata wrote this song:
The Horizon Award winner in 1990 was, inexplicably, Garth Brooks. I guess my thought is, by 1990, Garth wasn't really what one would consider a "newcomer". Maybe the CMA was catching up.
Garth had a couple or three big hits in 1990, but I had to include this one, just for the fact that the song annoyed me so much. Granted, the first one or two times I heard it, I thought it was catchy. After the 2,501'st time I heard it, I just wanted to pound my car radio into millions of pieces. Seriously. I remember driving home from somewhere?......and that damn song came on the radio once again, and I just wanted to kill myself. Luckily, I didn't actually kill myself. If I had, I wouldn't be able to post this video.
And yes, Garth is one of the five fingers of the 1990's. And yes, I was never a big Garth fan, but I did see him in concert with my mom (the last concert I ever attended with my mom), and yes, he was impressive. So, (ten gallon) hat's off to Garth Brooks.
On the other hand, the Single of the Year is a song that still holds up! And I really don't want to kill myself when I hear it! I guess that's why it was named single of the year!
Here's Vince Gill (with a shadowy Patty Loveless singing harmony), doing "When I Call Your Name":
By my calculations, that only leaves the BIG award of the night, Entertainer of the Year. I spent way too much time trying to find videos of this guy's hit songs from 1990, with no luck. Finally, in desperation, I decided, the hell with it, and I decided to go with this instead. And YOU'RE WELCOME:
Ah- Ha! (as Bob Wills would say). Yes, my favorite artist of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. 1990's entertainer of the year, George Strait. Hall of Fame
Yes, in the deepest recesses of my memory, I remember seeing this guy on TV (black and white TV). And frankly, to a five-year-old, this guy was sort of scary. I mean, he had that deep voice, and that Snidely Whiplash mustache.
Turns out he wasn't really scary and mean. I learned this from watching reruns of "I Love Lucy". And any guy who would say, "Bless your little pea-pickin' heart" was okay in my book. My thin little book of five-year-old knowledge. Still, I much preferred my daddy.
Anyway, this is a really poorly-thought-out tribute to Tennessee Ernie Ford, but I'm kind of tired, and I've been writing and researching for a few hours, but you can see him for yourself here:
Thus ends my first foray into the world of the CMA's in the 1990's.
I do want to recap the fingers of my one hand, however. Here's what I came up with:
The Judds
Clint Black
Garth Brooks
George Strait
That leaves one more finger, and I have a feeling that there will be a couple of more names popping up as we peruse the decade that is the nineties. Which means that I am going to have to grow one additional finger. I can live with that. Being deformed and all. It's all for a good cause.
Here's the deal: I'm sick of getting in my car and turning my radio dial to the oldies station, simply because it's the best option. I'm sick of classic rock, too. I deleted the country station from my presets, because listening to that station just makes me nauseous.
Is there anyone out there like me, who doesn't like new country? To me, it's sort of a personal affront, the way the music business threw country music off the cliff, and decided to force-feed us this *crap* that we're now subjected to. I mean, c'mon. Couldn't they have just created their own genre? Call it country-crap, or me-centric country, or I-really-want-to-be-a-rock-star-country, or I'm-only-in-it-for-the-money-country, or any name you might find more suitable.
And they could have left country music alone!
From what I read (not from what I hear), the big stars are some teenage girl, a histrionic duo that used to be a trio, a little bald guy who loves islands, and.......well, I guess that's all I know.
At least George Strait has stuck to his principles.
So, I want to start a revival. But who am I? I'm nobody. I don't have any clout. But it seems to me that if a bunch of people got together and started demanding good music, well, who knows?
Here's the kind of stuff I would like to hear (only new stuff - I already have the old stuff):
Isn't it great to look back and remember all those things from, say, 21 years ago? Things that maybe we'd rather forget, but then again, who knows what we might rediscover? Maybe something good!
In the world of news in 1988, we got ourselves a new President. Remember this?
Yea, that guy did a lot of great things for us. Hmmm, let's see now. What did he do? Well, he went into Iraq, sort of, but didn't finish the job; leaving us to inherit this big mess that we found ourselves in, just a few short years later. He begot a son who single-handedly demolished the Republican Party. Oh yea, and he DID raise taxes. So, I guess our new President in 1988 hit a triple!
Which is why I prefer to talk about pop culture!
In 1988, we enjoyed this classic movie from Tim Burton. (And boy, doesn't Alec Baldwin look young here!)
Another hit movie from 1988 was "Cocktail"; a movie that I never actually saw. But I do own the soundtrack CD.
Why didn't I see it? Well, c'mon. It did star Tom Cruise.
The only reason I'm including it here is so that I can include the Beach Boys video of "Kokomo". For some reason, this song gets dissed a lot. I don't get what the vehement hate of this song is all about. It's catchy. It's the Beach Boys. I like it.
And it not only features the glorious voice of Carl Wilson singing the high parts, but also Mike Loooove "fake playing" the saxaphone!
I'm not sure what happened to pop music in 1988, but according to the top songs of the year, it took a steep nosedive.
However, here's a good one (did you forget about this one?)
Here's another pop hit from 1988. Remember Rick Astley? Of course you do! Sure, he looks like a little kid, but he does have a great voice. Although the whole disco beat thing is sort of dated - even for 1988.
So, with that bit of background information, let's move on to the 1988 CMA awards, shall we?
Probably the most amazing happening of 1988 was that Chet Atkins stepped up to again claim the prize for MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR! Sure, you (and I) thought that Chet's time in the spotlight had passed. Oh no! Chet was back! And frankly, I think the CMA should rename this award the "Chet Atkins Musician of the Year Award". I mean, really.
Here's a clip from way back in 1954, just for fun. Chet, playing "Mr. Sandman" (those red houndstooth jackets were BIG in 1954!):
VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR was the Judds! Yes, I know that the Judds tended to waver between vocal duo and vocal group. But this time, it was vocal DUO!
Here they are, doing, "I Know Where I'm Goin'":
The SONG OF THE YEAR in 1988 was "Eighties Ladies", written (and recorded) by K.T. Oslin.
K.T. had that one big hit, in 1988, and I guess some smaller follow-up singles, but "Eighties Ladies" was her moment in the sun. As I watched this video, my thought was, "What exactly is the point?" But I'm sure there was one. Maybe I didn't get it because I was only 33 years old in 1988. But the thing is, I still don't get it. Nice song, though.
K.T. Oslin also garnered the FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR award.
Never to be heard from again. Okay, I guess that's a little harsh. Harsh, but basically true.
1988 ushered in a new award from the CMA's, VOCAL EVENT OF THE YEAR. I guess vocal event means that some people get together, who don't normally get together, and they record a song.
These gals recorded more than a SONG. They did a couple of albums, I think. And henceforth, they will be known as the TRIO.....Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton, and Linda Ronstadt. Three superior singers. A match made in heaven, as they say.
The MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR in 1988 was my friend, and everybody's, Randy Travis.
Here's a nice video from 1988, "I Told You So":
For some strange, unknown reason, the Country Music Association apparently decided NOT to name a MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR in 1988.
Surely, it couldn't have been because there were no good videos! For example, what about this one?
Rodney Crowell got robbed in 1988 anyway (see ALBUM OF THE YEAR), so I'm happy to include him here. And I'm giving him my own personal MAA (Michelle Anderson Award) for 1988 Video of the Year.
Moving on to categories that were actually awarded by the CMA, the SINGLE OF THE YEAR was a good one!
Here's one of country's best voices, Kathy Mattea, with "Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses":
And, hey CMA's! If you didn't like my Rodney Crowell video choice, how about Kathy Mattea's? See, I think there were a LOT of great videos in 1988. Morons.
The VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR happens to be one of my personal favorites, Highway 101.
I can't emphasize enough how influential Highway 101 was in the country music world of the eighties. The original members (the real band) were Cactus Moser, Curtis Stone, Jack Daniels, and, of course, Paulette Carlson. Paulette, the Stevie Nicks of country music (only better!)
There seems to be a dearth of Highway 101 videos available on the web, and this is really the only one I could find (of the original band). Chronologically, this is incorrect, since this recording is from 1989, but here's one of many good ones from Highway 101:
Paulette is originally from Minnesota, and she is just a very lovely person. I was sad when the original group disbanded.
1988's HORIZON AWARD winner was Ricky Van Shelton. Ricky is a fine singer, and he had a lot of hit songs. My one wish for Ricky, however, would have been for him to record more originals, rather than remaking so many older songs. I guess it was a managerial decision. I just don't know why. There's a lot of great songs floating around. I'm sure Ricky would have had many to choose from.
Here's "Somebody Lied" (originally recorded by Conway Twitty):
This leads us to our last two awards of the evening ~ ALBUM OF THE YEAR and, of course, the biggie, ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR.
Both awards were won this year by none other than Hank Williams, Jr. ALBUM OF THE YEAR - Born To Boogie
Ol' (young?) Hank was on a roll!
Here's a video of one of the tracks from the album of the year, featuring a few people you'll recognize, such as Foster & Lloyd, Ricky Van Shelton, Highway 101, The George Satellites, Vince Gill, Restless Heart, Waylon, and many, many more. Here's "Young Country":
Sure, we know that Roy Rogers was a singing cowboy, and that he had a wife who was named for a guy, and he had a horse named Trigger. And he did western serials and he had poor Trigger stuffed (after Trigger died, of course).
But Roy did much more. Roy formed the Sons of the Pioneers. Take a listen here:
And I always heard that Roy Rogers was a heck of a nice guy.
Loretta Lynn
Lorett-y (sorry, I just recently watched "Coal Miner's Daughter" again) was one of the female pioneers of country music. She followed in the tradition of Kitty Wells and Patsy Cline, but her songs had a perspective all their own, because she wrote 'em. Loretta would never had had a career in country music, had it not been for the hard work and perseverance of her husband, Mooney (or Doolittle - you choose). And I'm sure that Loretta would be the first to agree.
Here's Loretta performing one of her biggest hits:
So, we bid a fond adieu to 1988. A year that saw the rise of some of our (at least my) most cherished country stars. And Hank Williams, Jr., too.
