Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Country Music Hall of Fame Inductees - 2009

Don't even get me started about the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Has it become irrelevant, or is it just me? It seems like the electors have to choose three names, so they kind of put a bunch of names into a hat and draw three out. No disrespect. Yes, I guess this sounds disrespectful, but my point is, why some of these artists, and not others who are so OBVIOUS?

I don't want to get into the whole Bobby Bare thing again, but c'mon. And he is but one example of deserving artists who are overlooked. Seriously, Charlie McCoy before Bobby Bare?

I know I'm kind of late with this post, but the 2009 announcement was so irrelevant to me, and I frankly had more important topics to cover, that I kept putting it off. Plus, I wasn't sure how to approach this in an interesting way. But let's give it a try.

Roy Clark

While I can appreciate Roy Clark as an artist, I can't say that I'm a fan. No offense to Roy, but I tend to view him as a novelty act. Granted, he did host Hee Haw (an insult to the intelligence of country fans, if there ever was one), and granted, Buck Owens hosted it, too. But at least Buck Owens had a previous track record as an artist.

I'm not saying that Roy never had a good song. He did have this one, thanks to Bill Anderson:



And granted, he was a very good guitarist. Hence, his version of Malaguena, albeit not even close to a country song:



And he had a hit song in 1974, called "Honeymoon Feelin'":



And he was a banjo picker and a fiddler. As evidenced by:



I guess the problem I have with Roy is stuff like this:



Now, some may like it. It's not my cup of tea. But congrats anyway, Roy.

Charlie McCoy


Charlie McCoy has a long resume as a studio musician. He played on such seminal albums as Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde On Blonde. He also played harmonica on Roy Orbison's recording of Candy Man. Remember that?

Granted, this video has Roy subbing for Charlie McCoy, but I can't pass up an opportunity to post a Roy Orbison video.



But back to Charlie. Here's his rendition of the Orange Blossom Special:



How about some 40's music? Here's Charlie with Choo Choo a'Boogie:



I'm a sucker for '40's swing music, so I like this.

So, overall, I'm kind of getting on board with Charlie being inducted.

Barbara Mandrell


On the other hand, there's Barbara Mandrell. I feel like I'm in a time warp, viewing and listening to Barbara's music, but there's no doubt that, in the seventies especially, Barbara was THE female country singer. I can't deny that I put Barbara's LP's on my stereo and sang along.

First of all, there's this:



And I've said it before, but it bears repeating. Wasn't Barbara the Barbie Doll come to life? Look at that platinum blonde hairdo. Look at those cool false eyelashes and that white lip gloss. And, you know, The Midnight Oil was a great country song.

As was Standing Room Only:



I can't lie; this is one of my very favorite Barbara Mandrell songs (please ignore the Judy Jetson uniform):



One cannot forget (well, okay, I can't forget) that Barbara formed a duo with the late, great David Houston, and had a hit on one of my favorite cult classic songs, "After Closin' Time" (and I love Barbara's pantsuit):



Remember this old Roy Head classic? Barbara put her own spin on "Treat Him Right":



I'm just going to ignore the clunkers like "Sleepin' Single in a Double Bed" and "Crackers".

But what about this?



So, okay, maybe my initial reaction has changed a bit. I think Charlie McCoy deserves his spot.

There was never any question that Barbara Mandrell deserves hers.

But Roy Clark before Bobby Bare? Nah, I just can't get on board with that.

Maybe next year. Right, Hall of Fame deciders?

~~~

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