The third annual CMA awards, in 1969, were, like 1967's, kind of a rout. One guy took home five of the ten awards.
But, before we get to the big winner of the evening, let's take a look at some of the other winners, shall we?
SONG OF THE YEAR Carroll County Accident - recorded by Porter Wagoner, written by Bob Ferguson
See? Porter actually had hit songs even before Dolly came along! This was, by far, Porter's biggest solo hit.
I'm not saying that one could listen to this song over and over, because, face it, once you know the "punch line" (so to speak), it kinda takes the fun out of it.
(This is coming out all wrong; I don't mean to imply that the song is funny or fun; although it is pretty corny, when you think about it.)
I will say that my friend, Alice, and I did rewrite the words to this song, and that actually was funny.
But, getting back to the song....You gotta love Buck Trent's electric banjo.
FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR Tammy Wynette
Here's Tammy doing one of the songs that won her the female vocalist award in 1969, "I Don't Wanna Play House". This song was written by Billy Sherrill and Glenn Sutton (who just passed away this week). Sherrill and Sutton wrote other hits songs for Tammy, including another of my favorites, "Take Me To Your World", as well as many, many hit songs for David Houston.
As you know by now, Tammy is one of my all-time favorite singers. And very classy, as demonstrated by this performance. Miss you, Tammy.
INSTRUMENTALIST OF THE YEAR
Chet Atkins
INSTRUMENTAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
Danny Davis & The Nashville Brass
Yup, Chet won again - third year in a row! And for the first time, Danny and his Brass took home the instrumental group honors.
Sadly, I cannot find any videos on YouTube of the Brass's performances, but here is two birds, one stone:
Danny Davis & The Nashville Brass with Chet Atkins (not a "video", per se - sorry):
I liked the Nashville Brass. It was an acquired taste, to be sure. There wasn't a lot of "brass" being heard on country records at the time (or ever), except for "Ring Of Fire".
I wasn't aware that Danny was actually a producer for RCA Records, and (not surprisingly) the story is that Waylon pulled a gun on him at one point. Apparently, they did not work well together (although if I have a problem with a co-worker, I just generally try to avoid them. Gunplay is frowned upon in my office.)
Anyway, with Waylon nowhere in sight, Chet and Danny put together this number, and the song was always a favorite of my dad's (as recorded by Billy Vaughn).
COMEDIAN OF THE YEAR Archie Campbell
You know, I can kinda see why the CMA eventually did away with this award. Rarely do music awards feature "comedian" categories. You know, the Grammys and what-not. And by rarely, I mean "never".
Because, what's comedy got to do with music? (Oops, what century am I living in? It's got everything to do with music nowadays, albeit not intentionally.)
But, with this category, I can see where country music got its "hick" reputation. I mean, c'mon guys (and gals), couldn't we just focus on the music? Did we really need to hand out an award to some refugee from Hee Haw? I'm not trying to come off as an elitist; I just don't (and didn't ever) find this stuff very funny.
But anyway, with that rousing introduction, here's Archie Campbell (God love 'em):
The good news is, this award was only given out one more year.
And now we get to the "rout" portion of our awards presentation. We'll start it off with the:
SINGLE OF THE YEAR A Boy Named Sue - Johnny Cash
Hey! This version doesn't have the, "I'm the BOOOOOP that named you Sue"! Kind of a surprise! Man, censorship was tough back then! They say a lot worse stuff now! And, you know, there's a difference between "swear words" and stuff that's TRULY offensive.
Anyway, this was the original version, recorded live at San Quentin, and released as a single (with the "BOOOOP", of course.) And there's Carl Perkins on guitar!
Nice to see this. Johnny looks like he was having a heck of a time, and the inmates were, too. Bet Merle was wishing he was still incarcerated, so he could have been there (okay, maybe not).
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Johnny Cash At San Quentin
You gotta hand it to old Johnny. Who else was putting on concerts in prisons back then? Nobody. And he was having a good time, you can tell. I think he deserved the album of the year award, not only because "albums" weren't country music's forte back then, but because he had the moxey (I wanted to use a different word) to go to San Quentin and entertain those guys.
VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR Johnny Cash & June Carter
There are several versions of this song available on YouTube, but for historical accuracy, I wanted to feature a performance from that era.
Oh, and coincidentally, they were introduced by that master of mirth himself, Archie Campbell!
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
Surprise! Johnny Cash
This is a fun video to watch. Look how young the Statler Brothers look here! And there's Lew DeWitt! I don't know if you know this, but a lot of people don't: June Carter did not sing the "mama sang tenor" part on the recording. I guess she was unavailable or something, but it was Jan Howard who sang the part on the record.
A side note, if you will permit: While June may be (okay, is) the most famous Carter Sister, have you ever heard Anita sing? She had a pure, lovely voice.
I found a rare video treat, and while it doesn't have anything to do with the 1969 CMA awards, I have to share:
Hey, who's that guy she's singing with? I think he might have had some country songs that hit the charts awhile back. Can't think of his name, though........
COUNTRY MUSIC HALL OF FAME
Gene Autry
Okay, here's what I know about Gene Autry in a nutshell (and it's a very small shell): He did cowboy movies (or serials); he sang cowboy songs; he recorded "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer"; he wore a big white hat; his biggest non-holiday song was, "Back In The Saddle Again".
You know, I haven't lived forever! I don't know about people who came to prominence in the 1940's.
Anyway, here's a compendium of Gene Autry snippets:
Interestingly, while researching Gene Autry, I found that he recorded this song, and since 1969 was definitely Johnny Cash's year, how about this for a finale:
So, all in all, for 1969's CMA awards, pretty much everybody could have stayed home, except for Tammy Wynette, because the female vocalist award was the one category that Johnny wasn't eligible to win.
Kudos, Johnny! Good work. You came a long way from Dyess, Arkansas.
1970 is next! A personal favorite of mine!
Showing posts with label johnny cash. Show all posts
Showing posts with label johnny cash. Show all posts
Friday, September 26, 2008
Thursday, September 25, 2008
The CMA Awards - 1968
1968 was the first year that the CMA awards were televised; on CBS, I think.
I remember these awards, for their low point in cutting off Bob Wills, as he was starting to make his speech, after being inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. He got to the stage, opened his mouth to speak, and suddenly we were "joining our regularly scheduled news broadcast, already in progress."
Even at my young age, I knew that was just rude. And disrespectful.
I don't care who you are or how young you may be. If you like George Strait, even a little bit (?), you need to know about Bob Wills. Watch this:
So, Bob Wills was disrespected in 1968. Hold on. It gets worse.
SONG OF THE YEAR
Honey - recorded by Bobby Goldsboro, written by Bobby Russell
Okay, it's a difficult choice, but I would have to say that this is my MOST HATED SONG OF ALL TIME.
Shall we count the ways in which this song is PUTRID? Sappy, yes. But more than that. Words really cannot describe. Suffice it to say that I was SO GLAD that Honey hit that tree with her car. Had she not, I would have had to take matters into my own hands. Honey was a bimbo. She deserved to die. I mean, if you can't even drive your car to the market without ramming into a tree, then your existence is some stupid freak of nature, and yet, some clueless poor sap is now SINGING about you and eulogizing your rank stupidity, and we all have to suffer the consequences.
But knowing Bobby Goldsboro, he also loved his bowl of Rice Krispies (remember the story told, ad nauseum, about how he stepped on a Rice Krispie kernel, and hurt his foot? I think he told Merv, Johnny, Joey, and any local-cable access guy who would listen about his stupid Rice Krispie incident, and it didn't even have a punch line!)
So now, Bobby's mourning the loss of his Rice Krispies, which, sadly had more intelligence in their individual kernels than HONEY had in her vast wasteland of a brain pan.
Moving on (while monitoring my blood pressure), let's look at the:
SINGLE OF THE YEAR
Harper Valley PTA - Jeannie C. Riley
This song was written by Tom T. Hall, so basically any connection to this song has to be limited to someone with a middle initial prominently displayed.
I don't have any quibbles with this song, except for the fact that it was played over and over and over....and over.
This style of song would never make it nowadays. It really is all verses. There's no chorus. Certainly there's no bridge. Tom was lucky that he was writing at a time when one didn't need to conform to a standard pattern of songwriting. He would just be poor and working at a 7-11, moaning about the fact that nobody will listen to his songs. Join the club, Tom.
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison - Johnny Cash
Again, not to come off as being a chronic bitcher, but how many damn times do we need to hear this song? Yea, I know. Key of E. I played it, too. Didn't you? Didn't everyone?
Again, do you think in your wildest dreams that a song like this would make it nowadays? Ha! (as Johnny would say). You'd be patted on the head and sent off on your way back to your factory job, shame nipping at your heels. You'd join old Tom T. Hall, working at the 7-11 and bitching about how A&R guys have no taste; no taste at all, in music.
FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Tammy Wynette
Whew! Something I can get behind, finally! What can I say about Tammy Wynette? I am just in awe of her talent. I miss Tammy. We'll not see the likes of Tammy again, well, probably never. Like Patsy, someone like Tammy comes along once in, what, 50 years?
Here's the song that probably won her the award in 1968:
MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Glen Campbell
This single was released in 1967, so it probably played a major role in Glen winning the male vocalist award in 1968. It was written by John Hartford.
I like this one. I know that Glen tended to record Jimmy Webb songs, and I like some of those. But this is just a nice, folky kind of song (that has a lot of verses, if you study it) and it has a banjo! And didn't Glen use this as his theme song for his show on CBS? So, I guess he liked it, too.
VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton
Okay, I wouldn't technically call Porter and Dolly a "group", but there wasn't a "duo" category back then, so there you go.
Porter and Dolly went on to win this award countless times, deservedly so. Their major competition, at least for awhile, was Conway and Loretta, so I think there might have been some knock-down, drag-out fights in the alley of the Ryman Auditorium, over who was the better duo. But alas, Conway didn't want to muss up his oily slicked-back "coiff", so Porter won.
Here's a 1967 song, that probably garnered this duo their first (of many) awards:
COMEDIAN OF THE YEAR
Ben Colder
Okay, it's maybe an acquired taste. Maybe you had to be there. But I frankly find Ben Colder (Sheb Wooley) funny. "Ben Colder here". She said, "It ain't been no colder here than anyplace else".
What Ben (Sheb) did was take-off's on popular songs, in a drunken, debauched kind of way. So here's "Almost Persuaded # 2 1/2":
The INSTRUMENTALIST OF THE YEAR and INSTRUMENTAL GROUP OF THE YEAR repeated from 1967: Chet Atkins and The Buckaroos. Take a look back at my previous post to see a sampling of their wonderful performances.
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
Glen Campbell
Yes, Glen was at his peak in 1968. I like Glen better now than I did back then. It was, to be honest, a stretch to call what he was doing "country". Jimmy Webb is a wildly successful songwriter, and I love his song, "Galveston". I just don't really like this one. But it put Glen in the catbird seat, and made him entertainer of the year for 1968.
Are we having fun yet? I am. I like this retrospective of the CMA awards, year by year.
And if 1968 sucked, and you know it did, just hold on. It starts to get better, as the years go by.
I remember these awards, for their low point in cutting off Bob Wills, as he was starting to make his speech, after being inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. He got to the stage, opened his mouth to speak, and suddenly we were "joining our regularly scheduled news broadcast, already in progress."
Even at my young age, I knew that was just rude. And disrespectful.
I don't care who you are or how young you may be. If you like George Strait, even a little bit (?), you need to know about Bob Wills. Watch this:
So, Bob Wills was disrespected in 1968. Hold on. It gets worse.
SONG OF THE YEAR
Honey - recorded by Bobby Goldsboro, written by Bobby Russell
Okay, it's a difficult choice, but I would have to say that this is my MOST HATED SONG OF ALL TIME.
Shall we count the ways in which this song is PUTRID? Sappy, yes. But more than that. Words really cannot describe. Suffice it to say that I was SO GLAD that Honey hit that tree with her car. Had she not, I would have had to take matters into my own hands. Honey was a bimbo. She deserved to die. I mean, if you can't even drive your car to the market without ramming into a tree, then your existence is some stupid freak of nature, and yet, some clueless poor sap is now SINGING about you and eulogizing your rank stupidity, and we all have to suffer the consequences.
But knowing Bobby Goldsboro, he also loved his bowl of Rice Krispies (remember the story told, ad nauseum, about how he stepped on a Rice Krispie kernel, and hurt his foot? I think he told Merv, Johnny, Joey, and any local-cable access guy who would listen about his stupid Rice Krispie incident, and it didn't even have a punch line!)
So now, Bobby's mourning the loss of his Rice Krispies, which, sadly had more intelligence in their individual kernels than HONEY had in her vast wasteland of a brain pan.
Moving on (while monitoring my blood pressure), let's look at the:
SINGLE OF THE YEAR
Harper Valley PTA - Jeannie C. Riley
This song was written by Tom T. Hall, so basically any connection to this song has to be limited to someone with a middle initial prominently displayed.
I don't have any quibbles with this song, except for the fact that it was played over and over and over....and over.
This style of song would never make it nowadays. It really is all verses. There's no chorus. Certainly there's no bridge. Tom was lucky that he was writing at a time when one didn't need to conform to a standard pattern of songwriting. He would just be poor and working at a 7-11, moaning about the fact that nobody will listen to his songs. Join the club, Tom.
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison - Johnny Cash
Again, not to come off as being a chronic bitcher, but how many damn times do we need to hear this song? Yea, I know. Key of E. I played it, too. Didn't you? Didn't everyone?
Again, do you think in your wildest dreams that a song like this would make it nowadays? Ha! (as Johnny would say). You'd be patted on the head and sent off on your way back to your factory job, shame nipping at your heels. You'd join old Tom T. Hall, working at the 7-11 and bitching about how A&R guys have no taste; no taste at all, in music.
FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Tammy Wynette
Whew! Something I can get behind, finally! What can I say about Tammy Wynette? I am just in awe of her talent. I miss Tammy. We'll not see the likes of Tammy again, well, probably never. Like Patsy, someone like Tammy comes along once in, what, 50 years?
Here's the song that probably won her the award in 1968:
MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Glen Campbell
This single was released in 1967, so it probably played a major role in Glen winning the male vocalist award in 1968. It was written by John Hartford.
I like this one. I know that Glen tended to record Jimmy Webb songs, and I like some of those. But this is just a nice, folky kind of song (that has a lot of verses, if you study it) and it has a banjo! And didn't Glen use this as his theme song for his show on CBS? So, I guess he liked it, too.
VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton
Okay, I wouldn't technically call Porter and Dolly a "group", but there wasn't a "duo" category back then, so there you go.
Porter and Dolly went on to win this award countless times, deservedly so. Their major competition, at least for awhile, was Conway and Loretta, so I think there might have been some knock-down, drag-out fights in the alley of the Ryman Auditorium, over who was the better duo. But alas, Conway didn't want to muss up his oily slicked-back "coiff", so Porter won.
Here's a 1967 song, that probably garnered this duo their first (of many) awards:
COMEDIAN OF THE YEAR
Ben Colder
Okay, it's maybe an acquired taste. Maybe you had to be there. But I frankly find Ben Colder (Sheb Wooley) funny. "Ben Colder here". She said, "It ain't been no colder here than anyplace else".
What Ben (Sheb) did was take-off's on popular songs, in a drunken, debauched kind of way. So here's "Almost Persuaded # 2 1/2":
The INSTRUMENTALIST OF THE YEAR and INSTRUMENTAL GROUP OF THE YEAR repeated from 1967: Chet Atkins and The Buckaroos. Take a look back at my previous post to see a sampling of their wonderful performances.
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
Glen Campbell
Yes, Glen was at his peak in 1968. I like Glen better now than I did back then. It was, to be honest, a stretch to call what he was doing "country". Jimmy Webb is a wildly successful songwriter, and I love his song, "Galveston". I just don't really like this one. But it put Glen in the catbird seat, and made him entertainer of the year for 1968.
Are we having fun yet? I am. I like this retrospective of the CMA awards, year by year.
And if 1968 sucked, and you know it did, just hold on. It starts to get better, as the years go by.
Saturday, August 2, 2008
A Fond Look At Duets
One doesn't hear too many duets anymore. I guess it goes in cycles. There was a time when duets were, apparently, the thing to do. Especially in the sixties. People were always pairing up, sometimes with one duet partner for awhile; then they'd switch to a new one.
For example, in country music, Loretta Lynn started her duet career recording with Ernest Tubb. Then she later joined up with Conway Twitty and became quite successful. Even Porter Wagoner didn't start out with Dolly Parton. His previous duet partner was Norma Jean. And, of course, Dolly later went on to record some hits with Kenny Rogers.
In pop music, people seemed to stick together more. There were, of course, Sonny & Cher. But also Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell. The Everly Brothers (duh). Sam & Dave. You get the picture.
This gal started out singing with dear old dad, but she later had a lot of success teaming up with Lee Hazelwood.
Here's NANCY SINATRA & LEE HAZELWOOD: JACKSON
Of course, that's all well and good, for camp's sake, but here's the original:
JOHNNY CASH and JUNE CARTER - JACKSON
Speaking of MARVIN GAYE and TAMMI TERRELL, here's:
AIN'T NO MOUNTAIN HIGH ENOUGH
Marvin Gaye was cool.
Well, you gotta include Sonny and Cher, but I just can't watch "I Got You Babe" another time. So, here's a song of theirs that I always liked:
SONNY and CHER - BABY DON'T GO
I know I've mentioned this in the past, but one reason I love watching these old videos from the sixties is because they usually include cheesy dancing. And, you know, let's face it, the jerk was not compatible with a lot of songs. You can't just dance the jerk to every song - especially a ballad. I don't know why they tried. But they did.
I do want to throw in some not-so-obvious selections, and this is a cool one, from the eighties.
Who could ever forget those memorable lines, "What have I.....what have I......what have I......"
PET SHOP BOYS and DUSTY SPRINGFIELD - WHAT HAVE I DONE TO DESERVE THIS
And, like Marvin Gaye, Dusty Springfield was cool, too.
Speaking of legends, here's:
GEORGE JONES and TAMMY WYNETTE - GOLDEN RING/ONE/THEY'RE PLAYING OUR SONG
I'm so excited that I found this one: Barbara Mandrell also had a duet partner in her early days, and it was David Houston. I love this song:
DAVID HOUSTON and BARBARA MANDRELL - AFTER CLOSIN' TIME
She was so cute, wasn't she?
Oh, let's just get it over with and watch this one. Thanks, Barry Gibb. I think every time I turned on the radio in 1978, I heard this song. And then I'd get it stuck in my head.
KENNY ROGERS and DOLLY PARTON - ISLANDS IN THE STREAM
Earlier, of course, Dolly had another duet partner. Here's one I like:
PORTER WAGONER and DOLLY PARTON - THE LAST THING ON MY MIND
I don't want to intimate that the only country duets were done in the sixties and seventies. They went on as long as the 1980's! (Okay, yea, I know about Brooks & Dunn and Sugar & Spice, or whatever the heck the rest of them are called). I like Brooks & Dunn. I'll try to find some videos, but I'll betcha they're not embeddable - how much you wanna bet?
Anyway, here's a duo that I just happen to love. And this is one of my favorite songs of theirs:
FOSTER and LLOYD - TEXAS IN 1880
FIVE STARS on this one!
And while we're on the topic of my favorite artists, here's two for the price of one!
DWIGHT YOAKAM and BUCK OWENS - STREETS OF BAKERSFIELD
Before we leave country (for now), let's listen to my favorite Conway & Loretta duet:
CONWAY TWITTY and LORETTA LYNN - AFTER THE FIRE IS GONE
Okay, that concludes our country segment for now. Now on to "Midnight Special". Remember that show? It was on Friday nights, late, and I'd happen to catch it just as I was coming home from my late-night drinking.......I mean, bible study.
Of course, Kenny Loggins went on to a great career in movie soundtracks. I don't know exactly what Jim Messina went on to, but here's a good one:
LOGGINS and MESSINA - YOUR MAMA DON'T DANCE
Yikes, this was from 1973? Man, that's old! Hey, wait a minute - I graduated in 1973! Man, I'M old!
Even older, here are Seals and Crofts, from 1972:
SEALS and CROFTS - SUMMER BREEZE
I do want to know, however, how they managed to get jasmine in their minds. Cuz that's kind of strange. I mean, I don't have lilac bushes in my mind (I don't think).
Older still, although the video is newer:
SIMON and GARFUNKEL - MRS. ROBINSON
I had to include this, since I watched "The Graduate" again a couple of weeks ago on Free In Demand movies. I love watching old movies (old, meaning, from the '60's). Then I watched "Rain Man" last week, because I hadn't seen it for awhile, and I wanted to compare Dustin Hoffman's performance in that movie to the earlier one. "Rain Man" is a really good movie! I really dislike Tom Cruise, but Hoffman was great in that.
This is really off-topic, but there is a song in the movie, "Rain Man" that I just love. It's called, "Beyond The Blue Horizon", and I had to watch the end credits to find out who sang it. Surprisingly, it was Lou Christie. The falsetto man himself! I downloaded the song from Amazon, because I am just so taken with the song. I've completely gained a new respect for Lou Christie.
I guess I'll close out this post with just one more song. I think this topic deserves to be continued, don't you? So, I'll pick up on it in another post.
Well, I really love the Everly Brothers. It all goes back to, "Bye Bye Love" and me performing that song as part of a trio, when I was just nine'ish.
But aside from that, this is a lovely song, and a good way to end this chapter.
THE EVERLY BROTHERS - CRYIN' IN THE RAIN
For example, in country music, Loretta Lynn started her duet career recording with Ernest Tubb. Then she later joined up with Conway Twitty and became quite successful. Even Porter Wagoner didn't start out with Dolly Parton. His previous duet partner was Norma Jean. And, of course, Dolly later went on to record some hits with Kenny Rogers.
In pop music, people seemed to stick together more. There were, of course, Sonny & Cher. But also Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell. The Everly Brothers (duh). Sam & Dave. You get the picture.
This gal started out singing with dear old dad, but she later had a lot of success teaming up with Lee Hazelwood.
Here's NANCY SINATRA & LEE HAZELWOOD: JACKSON
Of course, that's all well and good, for camp's sake, but here's the original:
JOHNNY CASH and JUNE CARTER - JACKSON
Speaking of MARVIN GAYE and TAMMI TERRELL, here's:
AIN'T NO MOUNTAIN HIGH ENOUGH
Marvin Gaye was cool.
Well, you gotta include Sonny and Cher, but I just can't watch "I Got You Babe" another time. So, here's a song of theirs that I always liked:
SONNY and CHER - BABY DON'T GO
I know I've mentioned this in the past, but one reason I love watching these old videos from the sixties is because they usually include cheesy dancing. And, you know, let's face it, the jerk was not compatible with a lot of songs. You can't just dance the jerk to every song - especially a ballad. I don't know why they tried. But they did.
I do want to throw in some not-so-obvious selections, and this is a cool one, from the eighties.
Who could ever forget those memorable lines, "What have I.....what have I......what have I......"
PET SHOP BOYS and DUSTY SPRINGFIELD - WHAT HAVE I DONE TO DESERVE THIS
And, like Marvin Gaye, Dusty Springfield was cool, too.
Speaking of legends, here's:
GEORGE JONES and TAMMY WYNETTE - GOLDEN RING/ONE/THEY'RE PLAYING OUR SONG
I'm so excited that I found this one: Barbara Mandrell also had a duet partner in her early days, and it was David Houston. I love this song:
DAVID HOUSTON and BARBARA MANDRELL - AFTER CLOSIN' TIME
She was so cute, wasn't she?
Oh, let's just get it over with and watch this one. Thanks, Barry Gibb. I think every time I turned on the radio in 1978, I heard this song. And then I'd get it stuck in my head.
KENNY ROGERS and DOLLY PARTON - ISLANDS IN THE STREAM
Earlier, of course, Dolly had another duet partner. Here's one I like:
PORTER WAGONER and DOLLY PARTON - THE LAST THING ON MY MIND
I don't want to intimate that the only country duets were done in the sixties and seventies. They went on as long as the 1980's! (Okay, yea, I know about Brooks & Dunn and Sugar & Spice, or whatever the heck the rest of them are called). I like Brooks & Dunn. I'll try to find some videos, but I'll betcha they're not embeddable - how much you wanna bet?
Anyway, here's a duo that I just happen to love. And this is one of my favorite songs of theirs:
FOSTER and LLOYD - TEXAS IN 1880
FIVE STARS on this one!
And while we're on the topic of my favorite artists, here's two for the price of one!
DWIGHT YOAKAM and BUCK OWENS - STREETS OF BAKERSFIELD
Before we leave country (for now), let's listen to my favorite Conway & Loretta duet:
CONWAY TWITTY and LORETTA LYNN - AFTER THE FIRE IS GONE
Okay, that concludes our country segment for now. Now on to "Midnight Special". Remember that show? It was on Friday nights, late, and I'd happen to catch it just as I was coming home from my late-night drinking.......I mean, bible study.
Of course, Kenny Loggins went on to a great career in movie soundtracks. I don't know exactly what Jim Messina went on to, but here's a good one:
LOGGINS and MESSINA - YOUR MAMA DON'T DANCE
Yikes, this was from 1973? Man, that's old! Hey, wait a minute - I graduated in 1973! Man, I'M old!
Even older, here are Seals and Crofts, from 1972:
SEALS and CROFTS - SUMMER BREEZE
I do want to know, however, how they managed to get jasmine in their minds. Cuz that's kind of strange. I mean, I don't have lilac bushes in my mind (I don't think).
Older still, although the video is newer:
SIMON and GARFUNKEL - MRS. ROBINSON
I had to include this, since I watched "The Graduate" again a couple of weeks ago on Free In Demand movies. I love watching old movies (old, meaning, from the '60's). Then I watched "Rain Man" last week, because I hadn't seen it for awhile, and I wanted to compare Dustin Hoffman's performance in that movie to the earlier one. "Rain Man" is a really good movie! I really dislike Tom Cruise, but Hoffman was great in that.
This is really off-topic, but there is a song in the movie, "Rain Man" that I just love. It's called, "Beyond The Blue Horizon", and I had to watch the end credits to find out who sang it. Surprisingly, it was Lou Christie. The falsetto man himself! I downloaded the song from Amazon, because I am just so taken with the song. I've completely gained a new respect for Lou Christie.
I guess I'll close out this post with just one more song. I think this topic deserves to be continued, don't you? So, I'll pick up on it in another post.
Well, I really love the Everly Brothers. It all goes back to, "Bye Bye Love" and me performing that song as part of a trio, when I was just nine'ish.
But aside from that, this is a lovely song, and a good way to end this chapter.
THE EVERLY BROTHERS - CRYIN' IN THE RAIN
Thursday, July 24, 2008
50 Years Ago! Top Country Hits Of 1958
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!
You ain't earned nothin' yet, honey.
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!
You ain't earned nothin' yet, honey.
Friday, March 21, 2008
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:
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
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
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
Thursday, March 20, 2008
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:
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.
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.
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