The 1960's in Country Music ~ When Everything Changed

People may have selective (or rather, "limited") memories about the nineteen sixties in country music.

I was there.

Let me tell you about the 1960's in country music.

First of all, everything EXPLODED.   Sure, it started out quite sedate and unobtrusive.  But even at the beginning of the decade, something was different.  The most obvious difference was that Nashville no longer had a stranglehold on country music.  No, a town called Bakersfield was making itself known, whether Chet Atkins liked it or not.

Nobody (mostly) remembers Wynn Stewart, but I bet Merle remembers him, because, aside from Lefty Frizzell, Merle sounded like no one more than Wynn, who also wrote one of Merle's first hits, "(Sing Me A) Sad Song".

The top hits of 1960 were the somnambulistic, "He'll Have To Go",  by Jim Reeves, of whom I never understood the attraction; frankly;  Even as a five-year-old, I recognized that this song was sort of "icky"; and it disturbed me.  

On the more righteous side, Ferlin Husky had a hit with "Wings of a Dove"..  

And, in a continuation of the nasally-voiced singers of the 1950's, Hank Locklin had a hit with "Please Help Me, I'm Fallin'".

But, frankly, not too many people cared about Jim Reeves, or even Ferlin; and if they recognized Hank Locklin at all, it was only for a minute.

No, it was Bakersfield that the true music lovers latched onto.  And here is Wynn Stewart, starting it all off:





1961 dropped a couple of monstrous hits on us.   

Willie, in essence, sold this song to the highest bidder.  And luckily, Faron Young was the winner of the lottery.

Willie's song was great, but if not for Faron's my-eye-eyen'd , the song would have been rather pedestrian.  Clever, sure.  But not heart-tugging.  Faron did that.



Hank Cochran and Harlan Howard (bow down before them) wrote this next song for Patsy Cline.

I don't know what can be said about Patsy Cline that hasn't already been said.  I say, just watch and listen:



Sure, 1962 may have been the year that Hank Snow created a hit with a song that I, in a fit of utter boredom, memorized the words to:



But let's face it:  1962 was Patsy's year.  

This song, naturally, is at the top of my list of the Twenty Best Country Songs of All Time.  And here's Willie again.  I bet he didn't auction off this song, and if he did, he was a blithering idiot.





1963 was rather ripe with country hits.  There was Ring of Fire, of course; written by June Carter and Merle Travis.  There was Abilene, recorded by a guy who deigned to call himself George Hamilton IV (the first time I learned about Roman numerals).  

There was this, and I dare you to not include it on your top twenty list:



I've decided to throw out my predetermined format and post a bunch of 1963 songs, because, speaking of ripe, 1963 in country music is the essence of ripe.  

Here is Skeeter Davis:



I had absolutely no idea who Ned Miller was; never even saw a picture of him; but my dad loved this song.  I'm guessing Ned was a recluse, which is fine, and completely acceptable to me.  Even if he was in his basement, recording this song on a reel-to-reel tape recorder, that doesn't negate the fact that this was a huge hit in 1963; and mostly, it doesn't negate the fact that Dad loved it:



Dave Dudley had a hit with a song that he had absolutely no idea would become an alt-country lover's guilty pleasure, when re-recorded by Steve Earle in the eighties.  No, Dave was an innocent traveling musician when he did this:



I could go on (and on and on and on) about the year 1963 in country music. I have no idea why everything went BLAM! that year.  But it did.

Be that as it may, 1963, for me, is represented by Bobby Bare (and Mel Tillis) with this (and thank you, my good friend Alice, for teaching me how to play this intro on my guitar):



I'm plum exhausted, and exhilarated, from enumerating just the first four years of the sixties, so I think it's time to take a breather.

1964 will come later (and I'm thinking there will be a whole lot of Buck Owens and a bunch of Loretta Lynn; but who knows?  I may surprise myself.) 

Recalling the nineteen sixties in country music is exhilarating for me.

Maybe you had to be there.

 













 

 


 




 

More Great Country Singers From The Seventies ~ Johnny Rodriguez

Remember when country music was readily identifiable?  Unfortunately, we've now homogenized it, which is apparently great for milk, but not so great for music.

I don't really get the allure of making all music sound the same.  What if we don't like that sound?  Well, too bad, because we have no other choice.  It's all McMusic; take it or leave it.

Country music has always suffered from an inferiority complex, all due to the put-downs of people who never actually listened to it, or did hear one song, but hated the cry of a steel guitar (because those people were heartless), but we long-term fans got used to the barbs long ago, and we just shrugged them off.

So, country music, at least since the seventies and Kenny Rogers, tried hard to shed its true self, and become more like, let's say, the Bee Gees.

This self-loathing had a brief respite in the mid-1980's, when the neotraditionalist movement took hold, thanks to artists like Rodney Crowell and Dwight Yoakam.  That trend, unfortunately, did not last long, and look now what we're stuck with.  And I'll admit (again) that I don't actually listen to country radio, because, frankly, the few times I've had the courage to flick that dial over to a country station, I've wanted to pull my car over to the side of the road and regurgitate.

The argument is that new artists emulate the sounds they grew up hearing.  Fine.  Then why are these guys in country music?  The answer is simple; country music is easier to "make it" in than any other genre.  It's pure commerce.

Unfortunately, we, the fans, are the ones who suffer the consequences of their commercial aspirations.  

I used to live by the sage that the pendulum always swings back.  I lived through various bad times in country music, and it always eventually got better.  I don't think that's true anymore.

But I guess that's why we now have Americana.  Americana is country music, but we can't call it country music anymore, because that term has been appropriated by the new guys (I want it back).

A true Americana artist is Johnny Rodriguez.

1973 was one of those schizophrenic years in country music.  The established stars were kind of waning, and their output reflected that.  Their singles weren't what they once had been.  We still heard some real country songs on the radio, like "Satin Sheets", but we also heard Olivia Newton-John, and Dottie West's recording of a Coca-Cola commercial.

Probably the biggest star in 1973 was fifteen-year-old Tanya Tucker, and I liked her and hated her.  Hated her just because she was fifteen and she was so good.  I was eighteen and I could barely sing on key.  One likes to aspire to something; thinking, "I'll get better; just give me time".  But it's kind of a rude awakening when somebody younger than you is miles better, and you realize you just need to give up.

So, with the established stars on the wane, and with the pop world knocking on country's door, a new single by a guy named Johnny Rodriguez made us all perk up our ears.  This song was country, but it also was a new, young voice; and a good really good voice.

Tom T. Hall discovered Johnny, and he wrote his first big hit.  Tom T. is an iconic country writer, but the interesting thing about Tom T. is that he never wrote a song with a chorus.  I don't know how he got away with it, but he did.  I guess talent trumps, huh?

The debut single was called, Pass Me By:



Johnny followed that smash single with three more in 1973, all from the album, "Introducing Johnny Rodriguez".  Yes, I have the album, of course.

Ridin' My Thumb To Mexico:



Here's Johnny with his mentor, Tom T, doing, You Always Come Back To Hurtin' Me:



You know, and I know, that Lefty Frizzell wrote this next song, and that Merle Haggard recorded it, too.  But Johnny had a big hit with it; That's The Way Love Goes (sorry for the bad video quality, but this was all I could find):



Johnny also recorded We Believe In Happy Endings.  I always remember the Emmylou Harris/Earl Thomas Conley version, but Johnny did it first:



I'm always finding little surprises when I search out music videos.  I have this album (as I said), but I completely forgot that Johnny did a version of Easy Come, Easy Go.  This song is rather seminal for me, because, as a recent high school graduate, on a pre-summer trip with my best friend, Alice, I (and she) sang along to the radio to the Bobby Bare version, which will always live in, not infamy, per se.  What is the opposite of infamy?  Famy?  By the way, Bobby's version was called, Ride Me Down Easy.  I didn't know you could just change up song titles, willy-nilly.  But I guess you could back then!



Johnny had other great songs, including Down On The Rio Grande.  But alas, there is no video to be found of this recording (not even a static album cover with the song playing over it).  So, I guess you'll just have to hum it.

I'm posting this next song again, just to prove that Johnny is still out there; still performing.



You can't keep a good great artist down.

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?

~~~

Country Music Hall of Fame Snubs Bobby Bare Again!

I've got some issues with the Country Music Hall of Fame.

One time, a long time ago, I belonged to the CMA. It was so long ago that I didn't remember how the Hall of Fame voting works, so I looked it up:

Hall of Fame Election Procedures

Candidate Criteria

The first inductions were made in 1961. If one counts the latest announcement, from last week, that brings the total inducted to 108.

So, it's not exactly an exclusive club anymore, unfortunately. I was perturbed that it took until the year 2000 (after he had passed away) for Faron Young to get inducted into the Hall. Willie groused about that, too.

Let me be clear that I don't begrudge any artist being awarded the honor. But what's right is right. We're so quick in this throwaway society to discard the old, perhaps out of fear of appearing "uncool" or out of touch. But let's not play the game of leap frog. If a deserving artist gets passed over by someone who came later; much later, does the first guy or gal lose his or her chance completely? Is that how it works? I hope not.

I'm not some kind of Bobby Bare fanatic. I'm frankly not fanatical about any artist, at this stage of my life. I like a whole bunch of artists. It's just that when I started writing this blog, and I started posting about the Hall of Fame, whether it was a recap by year, or whether it was a post about the latest inductees, it occurred to me that Bobby Bare wasn't in the Hall, and I thought to myself, "that's odd".

The link to the criteria I posted above is all fine and dandy. You know, and I know, that these "electors" are not following any type of criteria. But, for the sake of argument, let's say that they are. In which of the criteria does Bobby Bare not fit?

Span of influence?

Bobby had his first hit record (as "Bill Parsons") in 1959. His last charted single was in 1983.

Influence on others?

Let's ask Mel Tillis and Kris Kristofferson. Let's ask Ian Tyson and Tom T. Hall. Let's ask Billy Joe Shaver, among others. I'm guessing that Bobby influenced these guys' careers as songwriters, and it's safe to assume that Bobby also influenced their pocketbooks.

Quantity vs. Quality?

Let's look:





No embed, but this is one of my favorites:

Ride Me Down Easy

If the videos were available, I could post a bunch more.

So, the latest crop of inductees has been announced. I'm not going to quibble with the choices (at least not now). I may write about them at a later time, if I can rouse myself from the slumber that overtook me as I read the names.

I will, however, post this quote from one of the three, Roy Clark:

"I think what happened," he said with a grin, "is that I lasted long enough until they ran out [of other candidates]."

Well, no. You didn't. The Hall just seemed to "forget" about some.

It's time to right the wrong. 2009 would have been a good time. Fifty years since his first hit record. Alas, it didn't happen in 2009.

Let's shoot for 2010. At least 2010. Unless the "e-LEC-torrrs" decide that Carrie Underwood deserves it more. Cuz that would be the "hip", albeit "wrong" thing to do.

By the way, do you wonder who these "electors" are? I do. And do they have any connection with or knowledge of the roots of country music?

Stand up and be counted, guys! (and gals!)

And if you need a lesson in the history of country music, YouTube is great for that. But then again, you'd have to actually have the right search terms.

As a postscript, just for fun, I'll leave you with this:



~~~

Blast From The Past - Top Country Hits Of 1966

I had so much fun with 1963, I thought I'd stick with the sixties for awhile. I chose 1966, because it doesn't really hold any significance for me, so therefore, it'll be a surprise to see what top songs I can find for that year. And it's fun to be surprised. This isn't a class lecture, after all. It's supposed to be fun.

Here's someone I haven't had the pleasure of featuring yet on my blog, but she has always been one of my favorite singers. And boy, she really had a lot of hits in 1966! I guess that was her year.

CONNIE SMITH - NOBODY BUT A FOOL

Introduced by Bill "Endless Recitation" Anderson, here's Connie performing at the most uncool high school prom ever. "Who's going to be singing at the prom? Frankie Avalon?" "No, Bill Anderson and his Po' Boys." "Yay!"

As I mentioned, the Po' Boys are backing up Connie here. And they do a good job. I did think it was totally inappropriate, however, for the drummer to snicker, "Shake your BOO-tay!" Go back and watch. Read his lips. That's just rude in any decade.


MERLE HAGGARD - THE BOTTLE LET ME DOWN

Admittedly, this is a shaky amateur vido, but a shaky amateur video of Merle is still better than a professionally-produced video by any other artist.

I would advise the videographer (?), however, to practice panning a bit. It's kind of static and, well, not boring, really, but okay, boring. Not that Merle himself is boring. But it would have been nice to see the band, too.

Good tip for beginning guitar players....This song has only two chords in it. So, really easy to learn! Trust me. As a novice player myself (for about mumble mumble years), this song is easy to play!


JEANNIE SEELY - DON'T TOUCH ME

Wow ~ this was fun to watch! Boy, I haven't heard this song in a long time. I can't even find anything to make fun of in this video. Excellent performance; she looked good; she sang perfectly.

Jeannie wrote this song ~ she was a really good songwriter, having written hits for other artists as well.

It struck me, as I was watching, that this is the chord progression I use in 99.9% of my songs. Hey! No wonder I sound dated! Cool ~ now at least I know! If 1966 music ever comes back in style, I'm ready!


ROGER MILLER - ENGLAND SWINGS

Lest we forget Roger Miller, here's a live performance of one of his hits from 1966. I personally don't think anyone should forget Roger Miller, but you know how people's attention spans are nowadays.

I'm not sure what TV show this is from, but the teenage audience certainly was enthusiastic. Later, they all discovered The Who, and they subsequently hid their Roger Miller albums under their beds.

Ah, but in 1966, Roger was cool. I think he always was cool. He was a tremendous songwriter. Although, to sing one of his songs, one needed great breath control, because you will notice, there were very little pauses between words in his songs. He wrote a lot of words!

This is by no means my favorite Roger Miller song, but this was a hit.


THE STATLER BROTHERS - FLOWERS ON THE WALL

Hey, The Statler Brothers just got inducted into the Country Music Hall Of Fame, didn't they? I'm asking, because my memory is really bad. And the sad part is, I think I blogged about that not too long ago.

So, this was their first hit, featuring the late Lew DeWitt. Look how young they look here! The brothers have now retired. So, they're now sitting on that white-painted front porch with the red gingham curtains, just rocking away. Well, all of them except Lew, I guess.

I always thought Phil had the toughest job of all the "brothers". Harold did the lowwww part, Don sang the lead, Lew (and later Jimmy Fortune) had the high harmony, and there was Phil, somewhere in the middle. Kudos, Phil! I know you haven't gotten much recognition over the years, but where would these songs be without your "somewhere in the middle" part?


BILL ANDERSON - I LOVE YOU DROPS

Ooh! My teeth are starting to hurt, watching this video! Hey, they can't all be winners. Apparently, someone liked this song, because it was one of the top hits of 1966.

In retrospect, Bill would vow never to write another song that had sssso many s's in it. Because it really sounds lame when you sing it: "I love you, dropsssss. I miss you, dropsssss." Sort of sounds lisp-ish.

I make fun of Bill (and his endless talking songs), but he was and is an excellent songwriter. Starting with "City Lights" for Ray Price, up until today, with "Give It Away" for George Strait, hey, I bet the guy is really rolling in dough!

And so what if someone played a practical joke on him, and told him he'd make an excellent singer. You have to laugh at yourself sometimes. And laughing is especially easy when you are rolling in dough.


JOHNNY CASH - THE ONE ON THE RIGHT IS ON THE LEFT

The first thing one notices about this video is that Johnny is stoned.

With that in mind, it is a wonder that he actually remembered all the words, and only slightly messed up one time.

And what the heck is he playing? A ukelele? Or just a mini-guitar? No matter.

This song is some kind of political protest song of some sort. I don't really get into those, but I guess it was clever. Not by any means one of my favorite JC songs, but my dad always liked this song, for some reason. But he was known to like quirky things.


BOBBY BARE - THE STREETS OF BALTIMORE

No quibbles here. Because Bobby Bare is cool.

You know, I can keep saying it and saying it until I'm blue in the face. But it's time to put Bobby in the Hall Of Fame. If you need more videos, there's plenty more where this one came from. I'm getting a little tired of repeating myself, but c'mon, powers-that-be! Do you have dementia? I can stop this tirade at any time. It's up to you. And by "you", I mean whoever the heck it is that votes for the Hall Of Fame. I shouldn't have to remind you. Geez. Don't you have an alphabetical list you refer to, or something? Morons.


LORETTA LYNN - YOU AIN'T WOMAN ENOUGH

You know, every time I see Loretta performing, all I can think of is Sissy Spacek in "Coal Miner's Daughter". I saw that movie (more than) a few times, and I liked it a lot. Just a tip, though. Mooney Lynn looks nothing like Tommy Lee Jones. I mean, if he did, who wouldn't have married him? (I mean, back when Tommy Lee Jones was hot.)

One of the funniest parts of that movie, for me, was when Mooney (or "Doolittle", as Loretta called him) took publicity photos of Lorett-y, and used the bedspread as a backdrop. "Put the backdrop back on the bed", Tommy Lee (Mooney) said, when the photo shoot was over. I thought that was funny. Sort of like how our band works now ~ improvising as we go. Okay, maybe it was just funny to me.

I remember seeing Loretta (the real Loretta) in concert at Panther Hall in Fort Worth, Texas, when I was just a young'n. It was pretty cool. This was a place where you had to bring in your own booze, but you could buy "mix" there. Well, of course, I wasn't drinking or anything.......I just mean, this is what I saw.

Yikes. Anyway, I did get Loretty's autograph, and I remember telling my mom that it looked like she signed it, "Buffalo Lynn". She had terrible handwriting. But I guess when you get married at age 13, you probably miss the penmanship class at school.


So, to sum up 1966, did you know that the CMA awards were not presented until 1967? I didn't know that. However, the Grammy awards for that year included:

• Best Country & Western Vocal Performance, Female -- "Queen of the House," Jody Miller.
• Best Country and Western Vocal Performance, Male -- "King Of The Road", Roger Miller
• Best Country & Western Single -- "King of the Road," Roger Miller.
• Best Country Song -- "King of the Road," Roger Miller
• Best Country & Western Album -- The Return of Roger Miller, Roger Miller
• Best New Country & Western Artist -- Statler Brothers

So, it looks like it was a "Miller" year pretty much all around. Notice how they call it, "Country & Western". How quaint.

And also notice how, "Queen Of The House" was simply a ripoff of "King Of The Road"? I mean, nothing against Jody Miller, but I think there had to be other records more deserving. Well, the Grammys were still learning about "country & western" music back then.

And, for my usual disclaimer, there were several hit songs from 1966 that were unavailable on YouTube. I don't know for sure, but I'm thinking, "Almost Persuaded" was probably the top song of that year (by David Houston, by the way), but this one is nowhere to be found, video-wise.

So, I'll leave you with this one:

BUCK OWENS & THE BUCKAROOS - OPEN UP YOUR HEART

Blast From The Past - Top Country Hits Of 1963

I thought it might be nice to get back into country music a little bit, since, you know, that's sort of my niche. I got sidetracked with some stuff that ticked me off (See: Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame), and other stuff, like American Idol. And by the way, I surrender. I wasn't going to post much about AI, but it's too good and/or bad to pass up.

But to get back into the country groooove, I just randomly picked 1963. No reason, really. I just think it's kind of fun and eye-opening to review the hits from earlier days. You know, when it actually was country music.

Good old Wikipedia hasn't failed me yet. You can find just about anything there. If you're not picky about accuracy. But I figure, how hard is it to copy and paste info from Billboard Magazine? So, I'm relatively certain that Wik's list of top songs for any given year is probably correct.

We always like to start our shows with an uptempo number, so here we go:

BUCK OWENS & THE BUCKAROOS - ACT NATURALLY

This is a live performance! Lucky for me to have found this! From the syndicated Buck Owens TV show. Don't you love their BRIGHT! colorful outfits? (I guess guys don't call them "outfits").

They kick off the show with "Buckaroo", which I guess must have been the theme song of the show. It's so nice to see Don Rich again, by the way.

A common misconception is that Buck wrote "Act Naturally". It was actually written by Johnny Russell. Not that it's a big deal, but I like to give credit where it's due.

So, to sum up, a hit song from 1963 not written by Buck Owens; performed in some kind of Mayan temple, BRIGHT outfits; good beat; you can two-step to it.

Seems like this performance has it all.


DAVE DUDLEY - SIX DAYS ON THE ROAD

Is it just me, or does Dave seem kind of pissed off here? I guess being stuck in a tractor cab for six days would make anyone cranky. Suffice it to say, this is one dude you don't want to accidentally spill your drink on.

And he's hungry, too! That's just a recipe for disaster. I know he hasn't been eating well, because he had to stop to hitch up his pants in the middle of the song. He's obviously lost some weight while out on his run. And the little white pills, I hear, are good for weight loss, too.

To make matters worse, the only clean shirt he had to wear to the show was that yellow matador number. All in all, Dave was not in a good mood. Just ask the band, after he locked them out of the tour bus, and they had to hitchhike home that night.


BILL ANDERSON - STILL

Poor Bill. Jilted by his girl at the popcorn stand.

Little known fact ~ the reason she jilted him was because she just couldn't take his endless depressing recitations anymore.

She'd say something innocent, like, "How was your day?" And he'd launch into, "Another day, another hour, I just can't seem to get you off my mind."

"I think about your perfume as I'm making copies at the copy machine. Co-workers ask me what's wrong, and I say, oh, nothing. I'm just thinking about Sally's perfume again. And they nod. Because they can see just how much I miss your perfume".

"And then when I go to the little kitchenette to pour myself a cup of coffee, I see your laughing eyes in the coffee decanter, and I start to cry. Because I miss your laughing eyes. So, I pour a little cream in my coffee, and your eyes start to get all cloudy".

"And I sit down (on the floor, because there are no chairs in the little kitchenette), and I start to count on my fingers the hours until I can see you again."

"And Gus stops by, and he smiles, knowingly. He knows that I'm missing your laughing eyes......and your perfume."

"Eventually, I get up off the floor and go back to my cubicle. I start mindlessly shuffling papers at my desk, and in the papers, I see the swirl of your hair."

"So, in addition to your perfume and your laughing eyes, NOW I'm seeing the swirl of your golden hair."

"And my boss comes over, and he asks me, 'Did you get the Wilson report done yet?' And I look up at him with a tear in my eye. And he knows."

"He says, 'You've been writing another song about Sally with the cloudy eyes and the twirling hair and the Coty Emeraude cologne, haven't you?'"

"And I say, 'You're mostly right. It's LAUGHING eyes and SWIRLING hair. And it's HEAVEN SENT perfume'."

"But you get my drift."

"So, I've spent endless hours; okay maybe just eight hours, but they seemed endless, away from you, and now here you are."

"And you're asking me how my day was. Isn't that just like you? To ask how my day was."

"That's why I love you so much, and why I will never, ever be more than one step away from you."

"I'll be there in your thoughts, there in your dreams, there when you step outside in the morning to pick up your newspaper. That'll be me, parked at your curb, in the brown Chrysler Imperial. Trying to look inconspicuous. So, even if we're far apart (which can never happen, trust me), I love you STILL."

So, eventually Sally entered the witness protection program. Bill, to this day, writes letters to Sally (LONG letters). Ones that Sally will never read, because she has left no forwarding address.


SKEETER DAVIS - THE END OF THE WORLD

Here's Laura Ingalls, on the banks of Plum Creek, singing........

Oh, wait. That's not Laura Ingalls. That's Skeeter Davis!

One really can't begrudge the Little House On The Prairie attire, since this was a HUGE hit for Skeeter.

It was a cross-over hit!

I like it, but there's one thing that bugs me.....and that's the stilted recitation. Has she never seen Bill Anderson?? Wow, Skeeter, you should have learned from the master!

Why. Does my heart. Go on beating.
Why. Do these eyes. Of mine cry.

It's almost believable! But not exactly.

Anyway, kudos to Skeeter on a monster hit from 1963. And she was a really nice person. So just disregard my previous comments.


FLATT & SCRUGGS - THE BALLAD OF JED CLAMPETT

I couldn't find an actual performance by F&S, so this will have to suffice.

And who could forget this classic opener, anyway?

Of course, this video raises a lot of questions:

• If you can just shoot at the ground and strike oil, where's my shotgun?

• What happened to MRS. Clampett? I don't want to start any rumors or anything, but she never seemed to be mentioned on the show, even in passing. I don't know if Elly May was just dropped off on Jed's shack-step or what, but if there really WAS a Mrs. Clampett, apparently, nobody ever missed her. Again, I don't want to make any assumptions, but it seems like old Jed was pretty handy with that gun.

• Who would take a dolt like Jethro along on a move to Beverly Hills? If I was in Jed's shoes, I would have just packed up in the dark of night and pushed my jalopy out to the main road, so no one would be the wiser.

• What does, "Welllll, Doggies" mean?

• Did Mr. Drysdale truly only have one customer at his bank? What the hell? How bad of a banker do you have to be, if you live in Beverly Hills, and the only customer you can get is some rube from Arkansas?

Well, these are my questions. I'm sure you have many of your own.


JOHNNY CASH - RING OF FIRE

While this is a 1968 performance, the song itself was recorded (and was a hit) in 1963. There were two versions of this video to choose from on YouTube, but I chose to go with the better quality one. Plus, by this time, Johnny'd stopped taking those "little white pills" that Dave Dudley had told him about, so he had a little more bulk on his frame.

The song was written by June Carter and Merle Kilgore, and this performance featured not only the Carter Sisters, in their HOT PINK! dresses, but also a youngish-looking Carl Perkins.

A huge hit from the year 1963.


So, to sum up, there were a lot of big hit songs, most notably those from Patsy Cline, for which I could not find videos. Alas! I don't want to leave the impression that the ones I've included here were the only hits from that year. I wish, especially, that more videos from Patsy were available on YouTube. Maybe one day they will be.

I also couldn't find videos for "Abilene", "Detroit City", and "Ruby Ann", among others. Pity. I really like those songs. And my intent is not to exclude them.

But, as we say goodbye to 1963, let me leave you with this one. After the video, I do have a comment.

BOBBY BARE - 500 MILES AWAY FROM HOME

Okay, TWO comments.

1. If you want to learn how to do recitation correctly, Bill and Skeeter, here's someone from which to take notes.

2. CMA Hall Of Fame voters ~ Are you forgetting someone, per chance?? C'mon. It's time.

The Country Music Hall Of Fame 2008

The 2008 inductees into the Country Music Hall Of Fame were announced this week.

A new twist this year is that the inductees will not be announced during the CMA awards telecast. They wouldn't want to waste valuable time that could be better used to showcase the latest eighteen-year-old sensation, or to feature another performance by someone like that country music stalwart, Sheryl Crow.

It's actually better for the inductees that they get their own separate ceremony. Frankly, most people who watch the CMA awards would have no clue who these people are, and these viewers would be irritated by having to endure such minutia. Bring on Bon Jovi!, they'd scream. Someone who's really country!

But, for those who might care, the inductees this year are:

Emmylou Harris
Tom T. Hall
The Statler Brothers
Pop Stoneman (posthumously)

Emmylou, as everyone is aware, has been a champion of country music for many, many years.

The first time I remember hearing Emmylou was when she did a duet of an old Louvin Brothers song, with Charlie Louvin himself ("If I Could Only Win Your Love"):



Of course, Emmylou was around long before that. She is indelibly linked to the late Gram Parsons, who in essence launched her career.

Through the years, she has recorded many classic songs, in addition to introducing fans to older songs that they may have forgotten.

Here is one of my favorites, from my favorite Emmylou album, "Elite Hotel". This song was written by Rodney Crowell, who is prominently featured in this video. The performance takes awhile to get going ~ there's a lot of, I guess, technical maneuvering prior to the song actually beginning, but it's worth watching, so stick with it. The song is, "Til I Gain Control Again".



Here's one more from Emmylou. This song was written by the late Townes Van Zandt. It was later recorded as a duet by Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard, but Emmy did it first. This performance is from 1977. The song is "Poncho And Lefty".



Tom T. Hall is probably better known as a songwriter than as a singer, although he had a string of hits on his own.

I found this video of Tom, along with Johnny Cash, performing a medley of his hits. (You will notice that Johnny plays a prominent role in this particular post).



As I said, Tom was probably better known for the songs he wrote for other artists, including, "You Always Come Back To Hurting Me", recorded by Johnny Rodriguez and "(If I Ever Fall In Love With A) Honky Tonk Girl", which was a hit for Faron Young.

Of course, Tom's best known song is this one:



It just struck me that this song actually has no chorus. It's all verses. So, it's the AAA (verse-verse-verse) song structure, as opposed to AABA (verse-verse-chorus-verse). It seems that most of Tom's songs didn't have choruses. That's sort of quirky. Of course, the song structure that's in style now looks something like A/#$!//B%-** (or something). And you'd better follow this rule, or you will never get a cut in Nashville!

The next inductee is (are?) The Statler Brothers.

I find it difficult to remember a time when the Statler Brothers weren't around. It seems like they've been on the country music scene forever.

They got their first career boost by becoming part of Johnny Cash's road show, and later his television program. And oh, by the way, they took their name from a brand of toilet paper.

Here's the Statler Brothers' first hit song (featuring the late Lew DeWitt):



Here is another Statlers hit, this one is from 1970. "Bed Of Roses":



I always loved when Johnny would do one of his gospel songs on his show, and would feature the entire cast. This performance not only includes the Statlers, but the Carter Sisters and Carl Perkins:



It's difficult to find a YouTube clip with Jimmy Fortune (who replaced Lew DeWitt). This is one of the few I could find, and poor Jimmy is reduced to singing June Carter's part. (On the actual recording of this song, it was Jan Howard who sang the female part, not June Carter. Just some useless trivia that I recall. I can barely remember my own name; yet, this I remember).



By the way, I should probably list the members of the Statler Brothers: Don Reid, Harold Reid, Phil Balsley, Lew DeWitt (originally), and Jimmy Fortune.

And now, for something completely different, here are the Brothers' alter egos, Lester (Roadhog) Moran & His Cadillac Cowboys, appearing on Nashville Now with Ralph Emery:



The posthumous inductee is Pop Stoneman. I don't know much about Mr. Stoneman, but I did manage to unearth some interesting facts:

In July and August 1927, Pop Stoneman helped Ralph Peer conduct the legendary Bristol sessions that led to the discovery of the Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers. Ralph Peer was a talent scout, recording engineer and record producer in the field of music in the 1920s and 1930s, working for RCA Records. In August of 1927, while talent hunting in the southern states with Victor Records, Ralph Peer recorded both Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family in the same session at a makeshift studio in Bristol, Tennessee.

But back to Pop Stoneman, he and his wife had 14 children, and the family went on to form the Stonemans, a group that became popular in the bluegrass arena.

So, Pop Stoneman is being honored as an early pioneer of country music.

Next, I will be lobbying to get Bobby Bare inducted into the Hall Of Fame. I actually had to go to the Hall Of Fame website to make sure he wasn't already there. Couldn't believe it. Geez.