My recent dive into Today's Country Hits was at once enlightening and depressing. Discounting the revelation that the songs are bad (bad!), the singers are utterly forgetful.
Music (and artists) are machine-molded. Some cigar-chomping industrial mogul is getting richer by the day churning out these plastic widgets. "Son, it's not about perpetuity; it's all disposable, boy; and the rubes'll keep coming back for more! Hardy-har-har! (cough)"
Granted, I haven't listened to today's country enough to be able to distinguish one bland artist from another, but even if I did, could I? Two days ago I sampled the current top ten tracks and today I would disgracefully bomb the pop quiz.
I'm a crafter, which means I follow a pattern; but even I switch things up now and then. I like to put my own stamp on my creations. Today's acts, however, seem content following the dots ~ fake southern twang in just the right places, pickup trucks in verse one; one, count 'em, one fiddle riff heavily enveloped by EDM beats.
These guys are not artists; they're products.
I like listening to Willie's Roadhouse on SiriusXM. I'm not completely on board with all the tracks. Some are even before my ancient times; but I certainly know the artists when I hear them; like 'em or loathe 'em. Few of the singers featured on the channel can be confused with someone else. The instant I hear Tanya, Hank, Faron, Webb, Paycheck, Price, Buck, MERLE, even Jack Greene and Bill Anderson, I know who's singing. And each of them had their individual niche. One can't compare a Haggard song to a Ray Price track. I can even distinguish a Nashville Sound (Atkins) recording from a Bakersfield production (Nelson).
Singers were who they were and each was his own man (or woman).
The lure of country was discovering a new artist who was different or an intriguing sound. Even in the eighties, individualism reigned: Strait, Travis, Yoakam, The Judds, Black. Today's goal seems to be "sound like everybody else". This is not a prescription for legend status. But maybe that's not the goal. "Who wants to be a legend? I want my money now!"
You want a song you can dance to, even in a roadside honky tonk that you ducked inside to get out of the rain?
Good luck, millennial hipsters. Nobody's ever gonna punch your songs up on the juke box.
The guys who write obituaries for newspapers are probably around thirty or so. Maybe forty at the most. Everyone knows that companies are in the midst of showing baby boomers the door. That leaves a gap when it comes to writing about someone's life, because these young guys (and/or girls) don't have a clue who Mel Tillis was. It makes me mad when I realize that an obituary consists of bits gleaned from Wikipedia. A life should mean more than that. Especially Mel Tillis's.
Country music would have been so much less if Mel Tillis hadn't come along.
When I first became involved with country music, I didn't know Mel Tillis. I might have seen "M. Tillis" in parentheses beneath the song title on a '45 single, but at that time, I only cared about who sang the song. Granted, I was only around thirteen, so I was as shallow as a...well, thirteen-year-old.
I didn't even know that the title song of my all-time favorite album (because it was Dad's all-time favorite album) was written by this Mel Tillis guy. Dad bought the LP in 1965, when I was still engrossed in the orange and yellow Capital '45's released by this group called "The Beatles".
Sorry, apparently they didn't make videos in 1965, but this is still awesome:
Seeing as how I was a remedial country music student, once my best friend Alice began schooling me in the ways of (good) country music, I caught up with this next song. Alice also was the person who taught me how to play (chord) guitar (I never actually learned how to "play"), and she taught me the intro to this song.
Detroit City was released in 1963, and while I didn't listen to country music then, one could not help but be exposed to it, because the radio stations played an eclectic mix of musical styles. My cousin and I created a comic book about "singers when they get old". Bobby Bare was one of our subjects, but in our version he was an actual bear. Our comic was a huge hit among my Uncle Howard's bar crowd. Orders rolled in, but unfortunately we would have had to recreate the whole thing by hand over and over, so we sacrificed the big bucks (twenty-five cents) we could have made from the venture, essentially because we were lazy.
Around 1967 Alice and I were excited to see Bobby Bare in person, but thanks to a freak winter fiasco, we never got to. We ended up going back to her house and watching the local TV broadcast of Bobby's performance.
A lot of my musical history is tied up in Detroit City, and it was all thanks to Mel Tillis:
The very first song I ever wrote went like this:
1967, you taught me how to play
All those Merle Haggard songs
Man, he had a way
And the intro to Detroit City
I remember it today
You were my hero then
You still are today
So, again, it all started with Mel.
Much like I traveled back in time to capture songs like "City Lights", I didn't quite catch that Mel had written this hit song from 1957. Was Mel around forever?
I never understood why this guy named Webb Pierce was considered the Hank Williams of the fifties. Pierce didn't even write his own songs! And he was rather an awful singer, but apparently the "nasal" sound worked for him. In the fifties, who was the competition? Pat Boone? The only thing I know about Webb Pierce is that he had a guitar-shaped swimming pool and he was a renowned asshole. Regardless, Mel Tillis wrote this song and Webb should have thanked him for it, but apparently that wasn't Pierce's modus operandi:
More my style was this single released in 1967:
And seriously, all this time, I had no idea that a guy named "Mel" had written these songs.
So, when did I become aware of this Mel Tillis guy? In the mid-sixties, I began hearing songs on the radio by someone who had a different sort of voice. He was no Ray Price. He sang like the words were stuck in his gullet. I was judgmental. The songs were good, but I was perplexed by the singer.
Eventually, as more of this guy's recordings got played by the DJ's, I became used to him.
In 1970, I got hooked. This is one of my favorite recordings ever.
In the mid-seventies, Mel's career took off. He was still writing songs and still writing hit songs, like:
By then, I'd bought his live album, and it was hilarious. I never knew that Mel Tillis stuttered! Of course, if you read the various obituaries, that's practically all that is written about him.
Yea, Mel Tillis was funny. And Clint Eastwood and all the Hollywood set loved him.
This might have been from a Clint movie, or maybe not, but I think it was:
This one, I'm pretty much convinced is from a Clint movie:
Here's one more (Mel did it better):
I'm going to guess that the most famous song Mel Tillis ever wrote was this next one. It would have been nice if Kenny Rogers had tweeted a few words and had thanked Mel for his career, but whatever. I'm not going to judge the propriety or impropriety of not acknowledging.
Mel Tillis was with me all my life and I didn't even know it. I didn't know that Mel was wrapped up in my musical belonging.
Pay it forward, they say.
Mel paid a lot of artists' ways.
Mel Tillis is wrapped up in my musical memories. Ir's not everyone who can encompass a person's life. I wanna cry just thinking about him. And I truly miss him.
Thank you, Mel Tillis, for things I didn't even know you taught me.
It's not as if I'm so conceited as to think that music was invented in the nineteen sixties. Sure, that's maybe when my musical education began, but I am vaguely aware that music actually existed before I was born. Not good music (ha)....I'm being facetious. I know there was good music in the fifties. And I have the Ray Price albums to prove it. But there's most likely a lot about the fifties that I don't know, so, since a person I work with is so enamored of it, I wanted to at least give it a shot. My retrospective of the '40's was excruciating. I have much higher hopes for the ten years hence.
1950 found us still HANKering for Hank Williams. I'm sorry that no music videos exist of Hank. I, as much as you, hate staring at a static picture while listening to a song. The person who slapped this up on YouTube maybe could have put a smidgeon of effort into the project; I'm just sayin'.
Nevertheless, here is Why Don't You Love Me Like You Used To Do:
An artist I know very little about is Lefty Frizzell. I do know that he was most likely Merle Haggard's favorite singer, since Merle started out his career sounding just like Lefty, until someone pulled him aside and said, "Uh, you might want to just sing like yourself". Merle was always adept at impressions, though. He started off sounding a lot like Lefty; a lot like Wynn Stewart, somewhat like Bob Wills.
I do not know why Merle Haggard always factors into every music post I make ~ I'm thinking I might as well just shoot for the stars and write a damn book about Merle Haggard.
But, Merle aside, 1951 found Lefty Frizzell hitting the top of the charts with this song:
1952finally found a woman topping the charts!
Kitty Wells always struck me as being a reluctant star.It was almost as if she was embarrassed to be up on the stage, when she had clothes to wash and dinner to fix at home.
That's always been the conundrum.I'm no feminist, but I understand that women, as well as men, can have artistic leanings, and while the men have no compunction about expressing their artistic side, women feel the need to apologize for theirs. I'm guessing that in 1952, it was almost shameful for someone like Kitty to have a career, although no doubt, her husband Johnnie didn't mind depositing the royalty checks.
Irrespective of Kitty's reluctance, this song sort of started it all for women in country music:
Webb Pierce was huge in the nineteen fifties. I admit that I don't know why. He had an odd voice; nasally. But there is no denying that he was the king of kings in Nashville. He even had a guitar-shaped swimming pool. My theory is that he had a lot of dirt on a lot of people; and thus he ruled the Nashville culture with an iron fist. Songwriters quivered in his doorway and practically pleaded on hands and knees for Webb to record their songs. He got the pick of the litter; song-wise. Probably like George Strait; except George can sing.
In 1953, Webb Pierce had a monstrous hit with this song, which anyone with a rudimentary acquaintance with an acoustic guitar can replicate, because the chord progression is so simple, my dog could play it.
Speaking of nasally voices, another big star of the 1950's was Hank Snow.
I mainly remember Hank Snow because of the song, "I've Been Everywhere", which has a bunch of town names that one has to sing really fast, because, well, it's a fast song.
As a challenge to myself once, I memorized the lyrics to that song, because I was young, and I didn't have hardly anything clogging up my brain at the time. It's not as if that knowledge was ever any use to me. It never came up in a trivia contest or anything. Nowadays, I can barely remember my own phone number.
But it wasn't "I've Been Everywhere" that had country fans singing along (as if) in 1954. It was this song:
You may not think it's a good song, but you should hear Martina McBride sing it. Not to belabor this, but I have never been able to figure out if it's "I don't hurt anymore", or "It don't hurt anymore". Wikipedia says it's "I", but then, why do they sing "it"? Grammatically, of course, it should be "I", but since when did good grammar factor into country music?
In the year of my birth, 1955, we were once again entertained by Eddy Arnold, who definitely put the "western" in country and western with this song about doggies, which Clint Eastwood and John Wayne informed me were not actual doggies, but rather cows.
There were tons of great songs in 1956, such as Why Baby Why, I Walk the Line, Singin' the Blues; as well as Blue Suede Shoes and Heartbreak Hotel, which were not technically country songs, but rather, rockabilly. Distinctions used to matter then. I, however, feel that it's high time we feature some Ray Price. My mom wasn't a real savvy music connoisseur, but she loved Ray Price. She, in fact, had a giant crush on him; while my dad just appreciated his music. I, too, appreciate Ray Price's music; especially from the time before he went all countrypolitan on us; when he just sang stone country songs.
Like this one:
1957 was another banner year for country music. Again, like 1956, there are loads of hits from which to choose; like A White Sport Coat, Gone ("since you've gone..."), My Shoes Keep Walkin' Back to You. But I've chosen this song, which could perhaps also be called rockabilly, but to me, is more of a rock 'n roll/country hybrid. Why did I choose this one? Silly ~ I always have to get a book plug in somewhere. I wrote a bit about this song in my book, Rich Farmers; but even more than that, I have placed this song on my list of the 20 Best Country Songs of All Time; and that's a tough list to crack. Here are the Everly Brothers:
I feel kind of (not really) bad featuring Ray Price again, but I can't let this song go unposted. In 1958, Ray had a monster hit with a song written by Bill Anderson (the young'ns will recognize Bill by the song, "Whiskey Lullaby") It was a tough choice, though. 1958 was swimming with great songs: Great Balls of Fire (yes, technically, rockabilly again, but dang! That song will get you up off your chair and dancing! Alone With You (Faron Young ~ love Faron Young); All I Have to Do is Dream
This is such a great song, though; I could not, in good conscience, ignore it. Once again, Ray Price: By 1959, the winds of change were blowing. Soon, Buck Owens and his Buckaroos would light a fire with a telecaster; Tammy Wynette would tear our hearts out with a crying steel and a voice like a wrenching sob. Loretta would get all feisty about the man who did her wrong. Kris would have one more beer for dessert. Bobby (and Mel) would go to sleep in Detroit City. Tom T. would gossip about the PTA. Lynn would refuse to promise us a rose garden. Merle. Yet, before the decade turned, a four-minute, thirty-eight second song would tell us a tale about a young man who fell in love with a girl named Felina; and about one little kiss. Here is Marty Robbins:
While the 1940's were essentially a bust for me, country music-wise; the fifties were ripe with promise. Granted, I never heard these songs (or don't remember hearing them) until a few years down the road; but I can thank artists like Martina for bringing some of them back. And I can thank my "best of" albums for introducing the songs to me a couple (or ten) years later.
The nineteen fifties in country music were not throwaway years. Nay, they were classic years; if for no other artists than Ray Price, Marty Robbins, and the Everly Brothers.
Oh, but the winds of change; they were a'blowin'.......
Wonder what your parents were listening to on the radio way back in 18, I mean, 19__?
Now's your chance to find out!
Just plug in your date of birth (or your anniversay or any other important date in your life), and you will be magically transported back in time....way, way back in time, to that glorious day.
So, naturally, mine is sort of lame, but it does have that wonderful merengue beat, which is what all the cool babies were dancing to in 1955.
Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White (they were into really long titles back then).
Aparently, rock & roll came into existence the year after I was born, because the next year, the number one song was "Heartbreak Hotel". And here I am, stuck with something that even Ricky Ricardo's orchestra refused to play.
Nevertheless.....
I do realize that radio kind of mushed all genres of music together back then, so I assume that my parents did listen to this song. However, I think they were more into country music, so here is the top country song from that moment in time, which is more befitting of, well, maybe not me, per se, but I do have a couple of brothers who might have nightmares listening to:
In The Jailhouse Now
Ahhh, good old nasally Webb Pierce. He with the flashy blinding Nudie suits. And that orange color is DIVINE!
Well, it was a simpler time back then. Simple times for simple babies.
So, what's YOUR song? If you comment, you have to give me a YouTube link, too. I love YouTube videos. They fill those empty hours, when I'm not practicing my Latin ballroom dancing.
Okay, fifty years ago - really? Geez, it seems like only yesterday, or maybe 20 years ago at the most. Okay, it doesn't really seem like yesterday, because I was only 3 years old in 1958, so I hardly remember these songs when they were hits.
I thought it might be fun to see what was hitting the charts, lo those 50 years ago. And to contrast the country music of then to the country music of now.
Well, we all sorta know where country music is now, and it's not pretty.
I think this quote from Jennifer Nettles (of Sugarland) in the latest Entertainment Weekly pretty much sums up the general attitude in Nashville today:
At the very least, Nettles sees Nashville changing.
"What is country anymore?" she asks. What, indeed? The article goes on to call Sugarland's third album "an unusually diverse CD that attempts to expand the template of mainstream country by embracing old-school R.E.M, Marvin Gaye, even hair metal.
"We've earned the space to express ourselves," says (Kristian) Bush. O-kay! So, now we know, I guess.
So, let's cleanse our palates with some offerings from the year 1958.
This first video is one of many hits for Johnny:
JOHNNY CASH - BIG RIVER
"We've earned the space to express ourselves". Give me a break.
Ray Price had a bunch of hits in 1958. Here's one of the best:
RAY PRICE - INVITATION TO THE BLUES Recognize the harmony singer? Look closer. Why, it's the songwriter himself, ROGER MILLER!
Well, here is one of my all-time favorite singers:
FARON YOUNG - ALONE WITH YOU
Here is someone you don't see anymore (well, he's passed away, but you know what I mean.) Don Gibson had FOUR number one hits in 1958. Here's one:
DON GIBSON - OH, LONESOME ME I think this song was covered numerous, numerous times by many artists. Good for Don.
Remember this? Yes, this is not the 1958 performance. Conway did re-record this song a few years after he made this song a HUGE hit. The 1958 performance was grainy and had poor sound quality. The one here will just make you dizzy (sorry). But I still like the sound better on this one:
CONWAY TWITTY - IT'S ONLY MAKE BELIEVE
You know, people tend to forget Webb Pierce, but there was no one bigger in country music in the late 1950's. Not to cast any aspersions, but he did insist on a co-writing credit for any song that he recorded. But I guess it was a win-win situation for all. At least Mel Tillis holds no hard feelings about that (I read his autobiography). I guess either you accepted Webb as a "co-writer", or you didn't get your song recorded at all. Not a hard decision when you have a family to feed.
Here's one written by Mel:
WEBB PIERCE - TUPELO COUNTY JAIL
Again, not a video from 1958, but still worth watching! Yea, I'm a huge Marty Robbins fan. Here he is, singing:
THE STORY OF MY LIFE
Well, this is not a 1958 rendition of this song (because Hank Locklin wasn't old and bald in 1958), but you have to give this guy credit! Much like Ray Price, even at an advanced age, he's still going strong!
HANK LOCKLIN - SEND ME THE PILLOW THAT YOU DREAM ON
Interestingly, a lot of artists we think of as "rock" actually had big hits on the country charts in 1958. Elvis, for one. I can't find any of those videos, but his hit songs from that year were:
Hard-Headed Woman
I Beg Of You
Wear My Ring Around Your Neck
Don't
By the same token, the Everly Brothers were major country stars that year:
All I Have To Do Is Dream
Devoted To You
And this one:
(No, this video is not from 1958. The one from '58 was very poor quality.)
THE EVERLY BROTHERS - BIRD DOG Oh yea, there was one other guy who seemed to have racked up a bunch of hits that year. He was sort of country, then rock, then country again.
Let's have a gander, shall we?
Oh yea, and THIS one:
One more time:
Okay, so where were we? Oh yea.
"We've earned the space to express ourselves."
Ha ha ha ha!
