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.

Blast From The Past - Top Country Songs Of 1961

I thought we might look back to the year 1961 tonight. I sort of grabbed that year at random; however, it occurred to me that there could well have been some classic country songs that were hits in 1961, so, in consulting my trusty Wikipedia, I found that I was right! There were a bunch of them!

Oddly, my old friend, Wikipedia, does not seem to want to tell me which song was the TOP hit of 1961, but I could take an educated guess. More on that later.

Let's start with this one, shall we?

DON'T WORRY - MARTY ROBBINS


What can I say about Marty Robbins that I haven't already said in a previous post? But, without even reading that, this video speaks for itself. It captures the essence of Marty in concert; his personality, and above all, his wonderful voice.

Merle Haggard cites Marty Robbins as one of his influences. You can hear a bit of Marty in Merle's singing. Merle always did have excellent taste.

CRAZY - PATSY CLINE


Sorry about the buzzing in this video. This was the only one I could find. Old Willie is still counting his money from Patsy's recording of this song - the money he's hidden from the IRS, of course.

Patsy also had another number one hit in 1961 - I Fall To Pieces. There is, unfortunately, no video available of that one.

You'll notice that Patsy is wearing some kind of weird headband in this performance. That's because she was injured in a car crash shortly before this song became a hit. You remember the scene in Coal Miner's Daughter - Beverly D'Angelo lying in her hospital bed, drinking beer from a straw. Ahh, if we didn't have movies, how would we learn about history?


WALK ON BY - LEROY VAN DYKE


Talk about a blast from the past! Here's Leroy in all his long sideburned glory and his patchwork sweater and Elvis bouffant, hiding behind some sliding panels, to sing his big hit song from 1961.

Have you ever seen a more disinterested audience? One girl actually looked away, trying to get the barmaid's attention, because, alas, no one had any drinks on their tables. What kind of b***sh** bar is this?? And the main act doesn't even work from a stage. He has to sneak out from the coat closet to sing his song.

And that one helmet-haired woman right next to him will barely make eye contact. She really doesn't approve of the subject matter of the song. She gives him some tepid applause at the end, but she's steaming. "Where'd he meet this hussy, she's wondering. Probably at some sleazy bar. Oh wait, I'M at some sleazy bar."


JIMMY DEAN - BIG BAD JOHN


Sorry, but this was the only video I could find. He starts out with that old chestnut, "Bill Bailey", but eventually, if you stick with it, he does get to "Big Bad John".

Whatever happened to Jimmy Dean? I mean, yea, he's got his sausages and his breakfast bowls, but what about the man himself? Remember when he had a variety show on ABC? He even had one of the earliest Muppets as a regular on his show. Okay, yes, I'm dating myself, but is Jimmy still around? Still out doing grocery conventions, hawking his wares? He does have good sausage, I'll grant you that. But, you know, he did music, too. Or at least, "talk-music".


ELVIS PRESLEY - ARE YOU LONESOME TONIGHT


Here's Elvis, with the Leroy Van Dyke sideburns and bouffant -- oh wait, that's the ELVIS sideburns and bouffant.

I could have used the clip of the bloated, drug-addled Elvis doing this song, but that seems kind of disrespectful. Let's remember Elvis in his more youthful days.

And yes, this was a hit on the COUNTRY charts.


BUCK OWENS & THE BUCKAROOS - FOOLIN' AROUND


Yes, this is a later version, but I always like to include the Buckaroos, featuring Don Rich, whenever possible.

I wonder, in watching this, if Dwight Yoakam is imitating Buck, or is he actually imitating Don Rich, in his singing style? Listen to some of the phrasing and compare.

This song and performance is a prime example of simplicity in songwriting. Nothing much to it, really, but it made a big impact. We really don't need to over-think these things.


WANDA JACKSON - RIGHT OR WRONG


At one time, Wanda Jackson was considered the "Female Elvis". Long before Tanya Tucker.

This clip proves that the voice is still as strong as ever. Yes, she now sings the song in a lower key, but give me a break! We all get older. Geez!

I'm not crazy about the spangled plus-sized blouse, but you know, it's not easy losing weight when you get to a certain age. Believe me. I'm fighting valiantly against that. I've lost 26.4 pounds in the last 4 months, but it's hard work! But kudos to Wanda Jackson! She still sounds great.


Here's a couple of top hits from 1961 for which I cannot find performances by the original artists, but I didn't want to exclude these songs, because they're really good. So, I'll label these with the artists performing in the video, but I'll also list the original artist in parentheses.


HANK WILLIAMS III - YOU'RE THE REASON (BOBBY EDWARDS)



LEANN RIMES - I FALL TO PIECES (PATSY CLINE)



I really hate to leave out Don Gibson (Sea Of Heartbreak and Sweet Dreams) and Roger Miller (When Two Worlds Collide), because they are both classic, CLASSIC songwriters. But I couldn't find any videos of these songs.

Which leads me, finally, to what I THINK was the top song from 1961. I don't know this for a fact, but I'm willing (willie) to bet money on it:

FARON YOUNG - HELLO WALLS


It just doesn't get much better than that. One of my favorite singers; one of the world's best songwriters.

I guess 1961 was a red-letter year for country music.

Blast From The Past - Top Country Hits Of 1977

As with rock music, the seventies were lackluster years for country music. In previous posts regarding top country hits, I've jumped over the seventies, and with good reason.

I'm not saying everything was bad, because it wasn't. In fact, there were some very memorable country songs released during the seventies decade. It just might take me awhile to find them......

Again, I chose the year randomly. Because I like to be surprised.

So, let's see what we can dig up.

We always like to kick these things off with something good. So, here's something good:

MERLE HAGGARD - RAMBLIN' FEVER

The rule of thumb here is, we don't make fun of The Hag. So, let's just say, this is a very nice live performance, including the Strangers, featuring Bonnie Owens.

We do get a glimpse of Roy Nichols and Norm Hamlet here, which is always a treat. Aside from the Buckaroos, the Strangers were the best band in country.

And, come to think of it, the Strangers is a great name for a band!


MARTY ROBBINS - DON'T LET ME TOUCH YOU

Hey! 1977 is starting out better than I'd hoped!

Here's another great LIVE performance. This really shows the essence of Marty Robbins as an entertainer. Notice that, while he goofed around in his inimitable way, he never lost sight of the song.

Seeing this reminds me of how much I miss Marty.


While we're on a roll:

THE KENDALLS - HEAVEN'S JUST A SIN AWAY

This has always been one of my favorite country songs, and it was a huge hit for the Kendalls. One tiny criticism here: Jeannie's blue shiny parachute outfit with the red boots worn on the outside of the pants is not a fashion statement I would choose to emulate. But it was 1977, after all. Maybe dressing ugly was the thing to do back then. But I don't really recall that.

Funny story (to me). My toddler used to sing along with this song on the radio. And if you don't think a two-year-old singing, "Heaven's just a sin away" is funny, I don't know what funny is.

Ah, good times.


JOHNNY PAYCHECK - SLIDE OFF OF YOUR SATIN SHEETS

Introduced here by Jim Ed Brown and Jerry Clower (a true pain in the ass - "whoo!"), here's a guy who never got the credit he deserved.

Here is one biography I would love to read. Johnny lived a colorful life, to say the least. And while he may have taken a wrong turn on the road of life (for example, biting off someone's ear), he was a great artist and a great songwriter.

He's another one of those, sadly, forgotten artists.


EDDIE RABBITT - TWO DOLLARS IN THE JUKEBOX

Is that The Wolfman introducing Eddie???

Wow! Blue leisure suits and shaggy hair. That reminds me of my first wedding! Just slap on a boutinniere, and you've got my wedding in a nutshell!

But I digress, due to the unfortunate flashbacks. Eddie is another one of those (sadly) forgotten artists. I really liked him. And I really like this song. For a boy from New Jersey, he knew how to find the essence of a country song.


THE OAK RIDGE BOYS - Y'ALL COME BACK SALOON

Obviously, this is a later performance of this hit song, because it's missing something important ~ William Lee Golden and his long, flowing beard. This appearance came some time after William Lee quit the band in disgust. If I remember correctly, he quit because the other members of the group refused to sing off-key, like him. Just kidding.

But William Lee was a big part of the group, so I was glad that he came back eventually, even though I was kind of over the ORB by the time he did come back.

But let me tell you, in their day, the Oak Ridge Boys were huge! I went to see them at the State Fair back in the seventies, and I was thrilled. Ah, how times change.

My former hairdresser, who was kind of an ORB fanatic, and traveled all over the country to see them perform (?), told me that, surprisingly, Joe Bonsall was the nicest "Boy". I guess Richard Sterban (the flailing tambourine player) wasn't very nice at all. Nor was Duane Allen. That kind of surprised me. Duane "looks" nice. I guess that just goes to show you that appearances can be deceiving, when picking one's favorite Boy.

Oh, and aren't you glad "Elvira" wasn't from 1977, so I don't have to include it here? I know I am.


EMMYLOU HARRIS - (YOU NEVER CAN TELL) C'EST LA VIE

Speaking of HUGE, Emmylou was HUGE in the seventies.

And here she is, doing an old Chuck Berry song. One of Chuck's better songs, in my opinion. But I always was a sucker for French.

And, hey! There's RODNEY CROWELL! And here I always thought that was a woman singing harmony on that song. (No offense, Rodney.) I happen to be a huge Rodney Crowell fan, so it's good to see him in his earlier endeavors.

And, is that the guy from "My Name Is Earl" playing steel guitar??


GEORGE JONES & TAMMY WYNETTE - NEAR YOU

Everybody always says that George Jones is the "king of country music", or "the voice", or the "plastic grocery bag", or the "dead-bolt lock", or the "stained coffee mug", or the "spray nozzle", or something, of country music. I must admit, I'm not a big admirer of George Jones. I mean, he's okay, but I just don't get all the hoopla. It's not that I dislike him. But, to me, there are many better singers from his time.

If you want to split hairs, I would say:

The King Of Country Music = Hank Williams
The Voice = George Strait
The Plastic Grocery Bag = Well, let's go with Kenny Chesney (ha! ha!)

But, again, I'm way off topic.

Tammy Wynette, on the other hand = The Voice (well, first runner-up to Patsy Cline).

So, I'll go with Patsy Cline, then Tammy Wynette for $200, Alex.

But, together, these two did sound good. I never tire of hearing Tammy.

So, let's just say, to be fair, the duo succeeded because of Tammy's voice and George's harmonies.

Let's close this segment out with this one:

WAYLON JENNINGS - LUCKENBACH, TEXAS

You've gotta tip your hat to (most likely) the biggest song of 1977.

Unfortunately, I can't find a video of Waylon & Willie singing together, and the video I did find is not a real great performance.

But, much like Emmylou and the ORB, Waylon was doing well in 1977. I think he deserves a topic all his own, and I plan to do that at some point.

And, like Marty and Eddie and Johnny and Tammy, Waylon is (sadly) gone, too.

I guess 1977 wasn't so bad after all. Kind of hard to argue with artists such as these.

But, in all honesty, there were a lot of bad hit songs that I didn't include here, because I'm going with the positive tonight.

For whatever reason.

I know; that's not like me.

At all.


There you go.

A REAL Entertainer

(originally posted 04-22-07)

I hear the two biggest acts, concert-wise, in country music nowadays are Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw. Personally, I wouldn’t pay a dime to see either one, but that’s just me.

Country music has changed a lot. I’m not exactly sure when that happened, but I think it was sometime in the late ’90’s. Cuz I was going along, happy as could be, listening to country radio; then all of a sudden something changed on me. I was content listening to George Strait and Diamond Rio and Mark Chesnutt, and then things got really out of hand. I blame Faith Hill. Not for any particular reason; she just happens to be my scapegoat of the moment. But I seem to remember that she had one of her interchangeable songs on the radio, and the DJ’s were discussing it and talking about how it really wasn’t country, and lo and behold, it did cross over. And then everyone jumped on the bandwagon and changed country music from country to “pap”. And that’s where they lost me.

The trouble is, it’s not even good pap. It’s crap. Oh, you can look back on some of the pop songs of the ’60’s and say, “Well, that song was just a bit of fluff”, but I guarantee you, whatever song it was, it was 100% better than the stuff that’s being played on country radio right now. Anyone who claims to be a country fan right now is to be pitied. Because they have no clue what real music is like, and in their naivete, they actually think that what they’re hearing is GOOD music. It’s a real shame. I pity the fools.

So, that leads me to the topic at hand - a REAL entertainer.

When I was about 5 or 6 years old, my mom took me to my first concert ever. It was at the Grand Forks Armory, and the entertainer was MARTY ROBBINS. Obviously, I have scant memory of that time, but I do remember some aspects of that concert. I remember that he really had a good time — he had a couple of guys who sang harmony with him on some of his songs, and he brought them up to the mic and he was goofing around with the guys, making the audience laugh, but still he never lost sight of the song, and he performed it magnificently. I will venture a guess and say that the song was “El Paso”.

When the concert was over, Marty sat at a table and signed autographs. My mom tried to kind of push me up to the table to get a signature, but I was shy, even at that age, so I refused to go.

So, with my rudimentary math, I am estimating that this was 1960 or 1961.

So, fast forward a few years, with the advent of cable TV and The Nashville Network, and it was possible to see Marty on the tube quite regularly.

The thing that struck me about Marty was his JOY of performing. He would sit at the piano and do his songs with that soulful voice that he possessed, but yet he would have these asides that he would throw at the band members, saying silently that this wasn’t rocket science; this was FUN. This man loved to entertain. He lived to entertain. He wanted people to have fun. He understood that this was ENTERTAINMENT. He had those white Nudie suits with the rhinestones; he had that handlebar mustache. He was HOT.

In the late ’70’s, I got another chance to see Marty in concert. I think it was the late ’70’s because I remember having two young children that I brought along with me, as well as my mom and dad. This was the Red River Valley Fair in Fargo. The seats weren’t the best; we were kind of far back. But there he was, in his white rhinestone suit with that white piano, and did he work the crowd! He was hilarious. He interacted with people in the front row. He made gentle, but funny jokes at their expense. He made fun of himself. This was a man who knew what it meant to PERFORM. And he loved it and we knew it.

I think I may have some pictures somewhere of that concert. I’ve seen a lot of concerts in my day, and I’ve forgotten a lot of them. This one, I remember.

It wasn’t long after that concert that Marty passed away. He was in his prime. Mid-fifties, I think. The last song of Marty’s I remember being played on the radio was, “Some Memories Just Won’t Die”. Fitting.

Anyone who claims to love country music should go to YouTube and look for Marty Robbins videos. Take a look at how a REAL entertainer entertains. I’m not even going to go into his superb songwriting abilities, nor his beautiful voice. What I remember about Marty Robbins is, he loved to entertain. He understood his audience.

He was a one-of-a-kind.

Forgotten Artists

(originally posted 12-29-06)

I’ve got many, many songs ripped to my computer. When I’m relaxing after a hard week, I scroll through the songs to find something to listen to that fits my mood. Often I marvel at the quality of music that I stumble upon by accident. And I think, what a shame that these artists are probably long forgotten. Some of them are no longer with us, but damn! They sure made some good music.
So, here’s a few of my recent finds (and some people that you’ve probably never heard of):

David Houston ~ Anyone who has listened to country music for as long as I have (hmmm…….40 years?) will remember David Houston. He is one of the artists who is no longer with us, but he had a great voice, and a great vocal range! The songs that I rated as 4 stars or more are “You Mean The World To Me”, “Baby Baby (I Know You’re A Lady)”, and “After Closing Time”, which he recorded with Barbara Mandrell.

Brenda Lee ~ Well, happily, Brenda Lee is still alive and kickin’. “Fool #1″ ~ she has a great smoky quality to her voice on this song. She sang the hell out of it. She was produced by Owen Bradley, which accounts for the great arrangements, but she is one helluva singer. Other recommendations include “Break It To Me Gently” (yes, she did it long before Juice Newton), “All Alone Am I”, and “Too Many Rivers”.

Connie Smith ~ Yup, Connie’s still around, and married to Marty Stuart, I might add. Was there anything she sang that wasn’t great? Connie was a major influence on me as a singer. The young whippersnappers probably won’t remember Connie Smith, but at one time, she was the biggest selling female country artist, and rightfully so. Bill Anderson discovered her and wrote a lot of her songs, and it’s really difficult to single out any of her recordings as the “best”. I’m partial to “Just One Time” (written by Don Gibson), and “Ain’t Had No Lovin’”, which was a great country torch song.

Lynn Anderson ~ well, she’s actually a distant relative of mine (according to my mom’s tales); a second or third cousin or something. BUT, before I knew that, I LOVED Lynn Anderson’s songs. Her Chart records are the best, before “Rose Garden” came along. Geez, didn’t we just grow to hate that song? Sadly, I’ve lost all my albums, but I had a bunch of Lynn’s. I think her version of “Even Cowgirls Get The Blues” (a Rodney Crowell song) is better than Emmylou’s. “Sing A Sad Song” is very, very sweet. Hard to top Merle’s version, but she comes close. And yes, she was on the Lawrence Welk Show, but hey ~ Lawrence was from North Dakota, just like me, so there.

Charlie Rich ~ Well, Charlie just happened to record one of the all-time best country songs ~ “Behind Closed Doors”. One of my favorite Charlie memories was watching him on the CMA awards show, setting fire to the slip of paper that announced John Denver as the “country” male vocalist of the year. I think he made his point. He was truly a country blues artist. Listen to “Sittin’ And Thinkin’”, which he happened to write. I’ve got the Essential Charlie Rich, which is a two-disk set, and it’s awfully difficult to narrow down the best songs.

Del Reeves ~ My husband thinks “Girl On The Billboard” is the funniest/cheesiest country song ever. He happened to discover that song on his own, and he put it on one of his compilation tapes. “A deedle-do-do-do”…. ha ha. But actually, Del recorded some very good songs. An obscure recording of his, “Landmark Tavern”, that he recorded with Penny DeHaven, is one of my faves. And none other than George Strait covered “Good Time Charlie’s”.

Faron Young ~ Well, don’t get me started. At one time, Faron was my ultimate favorite country singer. Well, let’s start with a Willie song, “Hello Walls’, and let’s just continue on. “Wine Me Up”, “Step Aside”, “Your Time’s Comin’” (a Kristofferson song), “If I Ever Fall In Love (With A Honky Tonk Girl)”, written by Tom T. Hall, “Alone With You”, which would be one of my choice songs to cover. There’s just too damn many to mention. Faron Young was the George Strait of his day.

Johnny Bush ~ Well, damn if “Undo The Right” isn’t one of THE best country songs of all time. I think Johnny Bush was unfairly labeled as a “Ray Price Wanna-Be”, but I think ole Ray loves Johnny’s recordings, too.

Mel Tillis ~ Okay, “Heart Over Mind” with those twin fiddles. He wrote it; he did the best recording of it. And you gotta admit, he was one of the best writers on Music Row. He launched Kenny Rogers’ career with “Ruby”. And he made Webb Pierce the number one artist of his day. This guy wrote some classic songs.

Eddie Rabbitt ~ Eddie Rabbitt is more than just “I Love A Rainy Night”, although I like that one! I bought his first album (and yes, they were albums back then) and my favorite of his is “Two Dollars In The Jukebox”, but of course, I’m a sucker for that honky tonk music. Sadly, Eddie is gone, too.

Marty Robbins ~ Well, okay, Marty deserves a topic of his own. And I’m going to write about him when I feel like I can do it justice. Marty left us in the ’80’s, and probably a lot of younger people don’t know anything about him. These people are FOOLS. I’m gonna save my words for another topic, but let’s just say, for now, “Don’t Worry About Me”.