I am such a HUGE Oak Ridge Boys fan! I haven't seen them for awhile, so luckily, I turned on my TV the other night, and there they were!
Obviously, William Lee has shaved off his beard in this picture, but he still has that "Golden" hair, so he's truly unmistakable.
And just like in North Carolina, he completely dominates this song.
Joe Bonsall, however, (on the left) is not to be undeterred. Sure, he might be considered some people's "third" choice, but without that steady, high harmony, where, realistically, would the Boys be?
Duane Allen is his usual suave self. Maybe a bit too middle-of-the-road, but don't discount him!
And who can forget Richard Sterban? Admittedly, in this picture, he's not wearing his signature shades, but one can always count on Richard to deliver those bass notes; maybe not what you'd necessarily expect, and something just a bit off-kilter, but the group just wouldn't be entirely cohesive without Richard and his quirky personality.
Together, you might say, they form one perfect voice.
A big dash of dashing Duane, some William Lee for much-needed color; Richard for that unexpected flavor, and, of course, Joe Bonsall, to hold everything together.
And here they are, all together, doing one of their biggest hits:
Here 'tis, the day after Thanksgiving, and a long weekend to boot! What better time to check out the happenings of 1986?
In the news, there was a bunch of bad stuff. Did you ever notice that the yearly news recaps never include any good news? For example, the Challenger space shuttle exploded. Then the Chernobyl thing. See? All bad.
No wonder it's more uplifting to check out the pop culture of the day.
For example, in the Nielsen ratings, this show ranked right up there:
Norm!
In the world of movies, there was a bunch of serious-minded stuff that nobody remembers. The movie that people really remember from 1986 is this:
In pop music, there was a lot of good stuff (the eighties being my favorite time for rock/pop), but I don't think anything beats this one:
With that bit of 1986 background, let's move onwards and upwards to the CMA Awards.
The strangest award of 1986 was for the INSTRUMENTAL GROUP OF THE YEAR. I couldn't actually believe it, so I checked a few other sources, and yes, it's true. The Oak Ridge Boys were the instrumental group of the year! What?? This sort of boggles the mind, because the Oak Ridge Boys are nothing if not a vocal group. I'm thinking, this is the deal. The CMA voters wanted to give the ORB something, and they also wanted to give another group something. So, what to do? Hey! How about this? We'll give the ORB the instrumental award! They won't care. It's an award, after all.
So, yes, the Oak Ridge Boys were the instrumental group of the year. Listen along with me, if you will, and let's see if there's any actual instrumental parts to this song:
Why, yes. There were a couple of brief instrumental interludes. But that was the backup band. I don't care, really. I just enjoyed watching this performance again. After seeing this, though, I think the ORB won for their splendiferous outfits!
The big news, of course, from the 1986 CMA's was that Chet Atkins did not win the INSTRUMENTALIST OF THE YEAR award! I know! I'm flabbergasted, too! The award went, this time, to the hardest working fiddler in country music, Johnny Gimble.
Here's a rare video (although a bit out of sync), featuring Connie Smith (a personal favorite!), along with another one of my personal favorites, Merle Haggard, on fiddle, side by side with Mr. Gimble himself.
The VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR was another one of those one-time pairings. But at least, unlike Anne Murray and Dave Loggins from 1985, this song was actually country, so two thumbs up for Marie Osmond and Dan Seals.
Ahhh, remember when country music was melodic and pretty? Watching this performance was a treat.
Dan Seals was on a roll in 1986, as evidenced by his win for SINGLE OF THE YEAR. (Was this really 1986? Where the heck does the time go??) I loved hearing this song again, and the video is pretty cool, too. But I'm a sucker for good dancing. And I won't even quibble about Dan having to play his guitar upside down. Geez, I'm left-handed, too, but some things just need to be done the right way. Anyway, here's "Bop":
Ronnie Milsap was back, and just as good as ever in 1986, with the ALBUM OF THE YEAR, "Lost In The Fifties Tonight". Static-y though it is, this video is still worth watching. One of the best voices ever to come out of country music.
Since this was the VIDEO OF THE YEAR, I searched 'til I found the actual video. It's only right. Here is, "Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes", by George Jones.
I don't disagree with the sentiment, but isn't this song basically just naming off a bunch of names? Well, it didn't win for song of the year; just video, so I guess it really doesn't matter.
This, however, was the SONG OF THE YEAR; written by Paul Overstreet and Don Schlitz. And it's a good one. Country; if anyone remembers that genre. "On The Other Hand", recorded by Randy Travis.
Man, I miss country music!
HORIZON AWARD - Randy Travis!
Lucky for me, I get to include one of my top twenty country songs of all time here, "1982":
Wow, Randy looks like a kid here! If you recall, the mid-1980's saw a renaissance in real country music; thanks to artists like Randy, Alan Jackson, Vince Gill, and, of course, George Strait. Remember when you could sing along with the radio to songs like this? I don't even listen to country radio anymore, much less sing along to it. What the hell happened? Randy's great, and I'm glad he's got that second career going now. Geez, how did he become obsolete? I think we're a bit too quick to toss people aside, especially when we've got nothing to replace them with.
The FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR was, again, Reba McEntire. This is a video that really kind of ticks me off. I mean, here she is, the long-suffering wife, being all forgiving and understanding, while jerk-face husband is off throwing snowballs with his latest conquest up in someplace called "New England". I think Reba should have kicked his sorry ass to the curb. Really. Who would want to take him back? A$$hole. Get the alimony, Reba. See how long his snowball-throwing friend will stick around when he has $10.00 to his name. Give me a break.
VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR - The Judds
Yes, it was because of the Judds that the Oak Ridge Boys got relegated to instrumental group of the year. But, you know, the Judds really did deserve the vocal duo award.
Here's a video of a song from 1986:
Hey, I love the Judds. But watching Naomi really gets on my nerves. Flouncing around in her founcy dress. Trying to act like she's 20. I guess we'll just call it "background singer-itis".
You know, I'll just say, that if you were of a mind to go out honky tonkin' in the eighties, this was the song that could get a gal out on the dance floor. I know. It's the most romantic song that George ever sang.
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR - Reba McEntire
Yup, Reba captured the big award in 1986. Here she is, still curly-permed. Back before she decided that she needed to get some cosmetic enhancements done. Chronologically, of course, this video is not corrrect, but give me a break. I find what I can find.
Hall Of Fame
The Duke Of Paducah
The Duke Of Paducah, aka Whitey Ford (wasn't that a baseball player?) was a country comedian, who was popular from the 1930's through the 1950's. He was a popular staple of the Grand Ol' Opry, as evidenced by this clip (with prelude by Faron Young):
Wesley Rose
Wesley Rose was a country music publisher, and the son of legend Fred Rose, who nurtured Hank Williams' career. Wesley was of a different era from his father, of course, and therefore promoted songs by writers/acts such as the Everly Brothers, Marty Robbins, Boudleaux and Felice Bryant, Don Gibson, John D. Loudermilk, and Mickey Newbury.
Here's a representation of a song written by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant:
All in all, 1986 was a pretty good year for country music. I really can't complain. Most likely, one of the best years ever. We had Randy, George Strait, the Judds, Ronnie Milsap, and a whole bunch of others.
We'll probably never see the likes of this again. But hope springs eternal. So, on to 1987.
Ahhh, the eighties are a'rollin' now! We got past that first hurdle - 1980 - so now it's onwards and upwards!
Think back to 1981, if you can. I couldn't. So I looked it up. There were, of course, some major events that year (as in every year - duh). And most of those events seemed to revolve around President Ronald Reagan. "Well", he started out his year just dandy.....by being shot. Not a good way to start your year. Later, he fired the striking air traffic controllers, and he named the first woman to the Supreme Court (which, in hindsight, wasn't a real great choice).
Not to be outdone, Pope John Paul II was also shot.......twice.
Prince Charles married Lady Diana Spencer. (He later asked, "Couldn't I have just been shot?")
In pop culture, Blondie and Hall & Oates and Dolly Parton, along with Sheena Easton, all had big hit records.
Clint Eastwood was starring with a chimp in the sequel, "Any Which Way You Can". And Burt Reynolds was camping it up in "Cannonball Run".
CBS was leading the TV hit parade, with shows such as "M*A*S*H", "Dallas", "The Jeffersons", and, of course:
And, you know, they kep' a'showin' his hands, but not his face on TV (3rd reference! - I'm a'goin' for a record!)
Which leads us into the 1981 CMA's.........
Strangely, the CMA voters liked the 1980 SONG OF THE YEAR so much, they decided to award it twice!
Yes, that's right. "He Stopped Loving Her Today" was again named song of the year. Writers Bobby Braddock and Curly Putman couldn't have been more pleased. Not to mention the repeat MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR winner, George Jones.
And here's the man himself, performing on, surprise! The 1981 CMA Awards telecast. (He knew the song pretty well by now.)
Our FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR was, well waddaya know - Barbara Mandrell! Sort of a letdown after the previous year's entertainer win, but still! And she won the award by recording crappy songs such as:
Almost as bad as "Sleepin' Single In A Double Bed", but not quite.
The HORIZON AWARD winner in 1981 was Terri Gibbs. Yes, she only had one hit song, but these horizon awards are tricky to predict. Who knew? Wonder whatever happened to Terri. Well, wonder no more. Here's Terri's official website: Terri Gibbs
I always kinda liked Terri. She seemed quite geniune. Here's the only performance I could find on YouTube of Terri doing her big hit number, "Somebody's Knockin'":
Chet Atkins again won INSTRUMENTALIST OF THE YEAR. No offense to Chet, but, you know, there were other musicians in Nashville around this time.
The ALBUM OF THE YEAR couldn't have gone to a nicer or more deserving fellow. This album went platinum, and rightly so. "I Believe In You" by Don Williams.
The VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR had one of my favorite country songs. Strangely, there are no videos to be found of the two performing this song. Probably some legal mumbo jumbo or something.
But I did find some embeddable audio of DAVID FRIZZELL and SHELLY WEST performing, "You're The Reason God Made Oklahoma":
Both of these artists have a pedigree, per se. David is the brother of legend Lefty Frizzell, and Shelly is Dottie West's daughter.
Interestingly, this song was featured in a 1981 movie, which I just happened to reference at the beginning of this post; Clint Eastwood's "Any Which Way You Can". That might have helped them win the award; I don't know. But I still really like this song.
Since I can't find any videos of the two performing together (I'm thinking there might be bad blood between them; what do you think?), here's a link to a CD of duets and solo tracks by David and Shelly (Hey! David and Shelly! That's like my husband and me! Hopefully there's not any bad blood between us.)
The SINGLE OF THE YEAR was kind of a "fun" song, starring the Oak Ridge Boys. Well, technically starring Joe Bonsall, Richard Sterban, and William Lee Golden's boots. Here's another performance from the 1981 CMA Awards telecast (which is always nice, since I'm talking about 1981) of "Elvira".
This is but a simple song, that continues to rise to a higher key as it goes along. Which makes it much easier for R. Sterban to hit those "low" notes. And is it just me, or is Richard kind of drunk with power on this number? Every time he does his "oom papa oom papa mou mou", the audience squeals. Heady stuff, no doubt. You gotta feel kinda bad for Duane Allen, though. He doesn't have any room to shine on this number. Even William Lee's boots get more attention than poor Duane.
Say what you will about the Oak Ridge Boys. They were superstars way back when, and I certainly enjoyed seeing them in concert. And, if you want to catch up with the "boys", just click here
In keeping with the "four man" theme, we now come to both the INSTRUMENTAL GROUP OF THE YEAR and the VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR.
I don't exactly know how they won the instrumental group award, unless it was for Jeff Cook's mean fiddle, but nevertheless, they won. And mark my words, they would continue to win awards for years to come.
Who am I talking about? Why, Alabama, of course.
Just a bit of background that matters to no one but me......In my small town, way back when, the concerts were few and far between. So, one went to basically any concert that was available. And Alabama was certainly a touring band! I saw them many, many........many times. Sometimes I couldn't really "see" them, because I was sitting high up in the nosebleed section. But I could still spot Randy's beard a mile away! I sort of became jaded. "Oh, here we go; Alabama........again." But that's kind of cruel and undeserved. If it hadn't been for Alabama, I'd have been sitting home on a Friday night, watching Johnny Carson doing his Floyd R. Turbow skit for the thousandth time. Not that I don't love Johnny, but one really needed to get out of the house once in awhile.
So, here we are, at the end of the awards ceremony......except for, hello! ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR.
No doubt, it was time to head into the kitchen to serve myself up some crackers and cheese, because he we go! Another LONG acceptance speech.
While Barbara was thrilled, thrilled to pieces, to win the entertainer of the year award in 1980, she was shocked - SHOCKED, mind you, to win it again in 1981! And there were SO many people to thank. Especially the little people. No, not the little people from the Wizard of Oz. Silly. The little people like YOU. The FANS. Without whom none of this would have been possible. And GOD. So, in essence, the little people and God.
I know that I come off as not liking Barbara Mandrell, but that's not true. What I didn't like were her insincere acceptance speeches. If she'd just performed, and NOT TALKED, I would have been happy as a clam!
Here's a performance of Barbara's from around that time.
And before we take a gander at it, let me just say that, no, she wasn't country when country wasn't cool. Barbara, in fact, can shoulder a lot of the blame for steering country in the direction that it's gone.
Barbara, with the scores of costume changes. Barbara, with the background dancing troop. Yes, Barbara wanted to expand her horizons, and there's nothing wrong with that. But at what cost?
She was the "pre-Reba". Both of them started out as "country" singers. Then their ambition led them to places where no self-respecting country fan wanted them to go.
And now we've got this mess to clean up.
And, ironically, Barbara now sounds "country", compared to the ones who've followed in her footsteps. See, give 'em an inch........
Here's what country used to sound like, way back when:
COUNTRY MUSIC HALL OF FAMEVernon Dalhart
Vernon Dalhart was an early pioneer of country music. With songs such as, "The Prisoner's Song" and "Wreck of the Old '97", he scored some of country music's first million-selling records.
It's important that we not forget from whence we came. Yea, he was country when country wasn't cool.
Here are the Statler Brothers, performing "Wreck of the Old '97":
Grant Turner
Grant Turner was the voice of the Grand Ol' Opry for 47 years. 47 years! Yowza! He was the only disc jockey to be inducted into the hall of fame until the year 2007, when my friend and yours, Ralph Emery, got his just due. Not too shabby, Grant Turner!
So, the nice thing about the year 1981 was that we saw some new faces emerge. No doubt, as the eighties wind around, we'll see many of these same folks again. But it's always nice to recognize some new talent.
Not a changing of the guard, per se, but a new day dawning on the landscape that is the CMA awards.
The CMA Awards website is sort of falling down on the job in 1978. Either that, or no one was named INSTRUMENTAL GROUP OF THE YEAR. The nominees were Asleep At The Wheel, Chet Atkins (for group?), the Charlie Daniels Band, Danny Davis & the Nashville Brass, and Les Paul (again, not a group). But alas, there is no actual winner listed. Was this category accidentally left off the ballot? Was it a five-way tie? The possibilities are many. But I guess we'll never know, will we? Not that this is the biggest award of the night, but it probably was important to those nominated, I'd think.
So, in the interest of inclusiveness, I'll just pick a winner. Well, Les Paul is a legend, and deserves a category all his own, and Chet Atkins is also a legend and has already won countless times, and Danny Davis and his Brass don't have any room left on their mantles. That leaves Asleep At The Wheel and the Charlie Daniels Band.
Here's a representation of each:
Well, I just can't pick. Neither of these performances are technically "instrumentals", but they feature instruments! I love both these bands, so I'm just gonna call it a tie and move on. Weigh in with your choice, if you are so inclined.
The INSTRUMENTALIST OF THE YEAR was again Roy Clark. No videos; sorry. Nothing personal. It's just that there aren't too many videos of Roy available, and I've posted just about everything I could find. But good going, Roy! Apparently you learned how to make friends and influence people in Nashville!
Surprisingly, the FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR award again went to Crystal Gayle. I don't get it. I don't have any animosity towards Crystal; it's just that she was kind of a "blip" on the country music scene. She had one big (okay, huge) hit, and some other minor hits, but she's basically known for one song. One song does not a career make.
And try finding a video on YouTube that isn't "Brown Eyes". It's not easy! But here's one, and I don't have any recall of this song, but it seems nice:
Again, surprisingly, the SONG OF THE YEAR award went to Richard Leigh for a song that garnered Crystal the female vocalist award in 1977. That, of course, being, "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue". I don't know about you, and I don't know anything about Richard Leigh, so no offense, Richard, but I don't think I even want to hear that song ever again. But if you have a hankering to hear it, check my post for 1977. It would be rather redundant to post it again.
Luckily for me, the CMA handed out the MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR award to someone different this time around! Change is nice. This song technically didn't earn Don Williams the award, since it was released later, but since he probably never won anything again, I thought I would post it, seeing as how it's probably my one and only opportunity:
The VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR award went to someone new in 1977 as well: Kenny Rogers and Dottie West.
Again, this was a short-lived pairing. Kenny went on to record duets with others, including Dolly Parton and Kim Carnes. And this was Dottie's sort of "pop" phase. It was a snapshot in time. Nothing that anyone's going to remember in the larger scheme of things, but this made it big in 1977:
As a breath of fresh air, the Statlers didn't win the VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR award. Nothin' against the Statlers - I like 'em! But it was just time for a change. These four guys gave the Statlers a run for their money, and they were huge in the late seventies. I saw them in concert at the North Dakota State Fair, and I was pretty excited about the whole thing, I must say.
Here's a song from around that time, that surely gave them the nod for vocal group of the year:
THE OAK RIDGE BOYS
The SINGLE OF THE YEAR happens to be one of my personal favorites. Father-daughter team Jeannie and Royce Kendall - THE KENDALLS - had a very big hit with this song, and to me, it still holds up.
And I'll never forget my two-year-old singing along to "Heaven's Just A Sin Away":
ALBUM OF THE YEAR - Ronnie Milsap - It Was Almost Like A Song
I've been posting a lost of Ronnie Milsap videos lately, and I have sort of run out. I didn't realize that Ronnie had dominated the CMA awards for so many years, but kudos to him! I'm a big Ronnie Milsap fan. It's nice to be reminded that talent was, at one time, recognized.
Here's a Ronnie video, and if I posted it before, sorry. Again, there's not a lot of choices out there on YouTube.
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEARDolly Parton
I suppose some people view Dolly as one of those institutions that's always been there, sort of like George Washington. I, however, remember Dolly when she was simply the duet partner of Porter Wagoner. When she had her first singles, like "Somethin' Fishy"and "Dumb Blonde" on Monument Records. I guess I watched her career unfold. She, no doubt, helped Porter become relevant. Most of the duets they recorded were songs written by Dolly. Why has she endured, lo these forty-odd years later? I think because she's a great songwriter. And, to some, a great entertainer.
I never really liked Dolly "in person". Because she couldn't just sing the song, without offering some sort of commentary and endless giggling (while singing). Dolly does well singing harmony with others, such as Brad Paisley. Even Kenny Rogers. Just not in person. And Dolly has found a way to stay relevant through the years. In the early eighties, she reinvented herself as an actress. Who doesn't remember this:
I guess the reason that Dolly broke that glass ceiling (later to be broken by a few, but not by many) and be named Entertainer of the Year was probably due to this song, which is pop, and not country, but, hey, that's what they were looking for in 1978:
COUNTRY MUSIC HALL OF FAMEGrandpa Jones
Louis Marshall "Grandpa" Jones did, I guess, "old time" music. Not really bluegrass, per se. Not really country. He actually could be a serious musician, but his stage persona overshadowed any seriousness that he might have had in him. I kid Grandpa Jones, but he seemed like a decent fellow, and he was entertaining. Of course, we all know him from Hee Haw, and here's a number featuring Stringbean, Roy Clark, and a bunch of others:
So, there you go, 1978. Things were starting to get back to "country" in some respects, but the Country Music Association was still stubbornly clinging to that pop stuff. Weird that the two could co-exist so seamlessly. And people accepted it. A crossroads, maybe. 1979 will tell the tale.
