In 1971, country music was ever so slightly starting to turn toward the "sappy". Most of the year's awards don't reflect that; however, as you watch the progression from the 1971 awards into those of 1972, I think you will start to see a trend emerge.
Overall, the 1971 CMA's rewarded some stellar songs and stellar performers. And the best news of all was, they eliminated the Comedian of the Year category!
I'm going to run these two awards by you early in the post, because frankly, these performers kept winning these awards year after year, and I've run out of videos.
INSTRUMENTALIST OF THE YEAR
Jerry Reed
INSTRUMENTAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
Danny Davis & the Nashville Brass
VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR
Porter Wagoner & Dolly Parton
Technically, this single was released in 1971, so it didn't help Porter and Dolly win the 1971 award, but geez, give me a break. I'm running out here. They just keep winning.
This performance of "The Right Combination" is from the Porter Wagoner Show, and once again, I must comment on P & D's lack of color coordination. The deep red "cactus" coat with the princess pink dress just clash, in my estimation. Nevertheless, they do have matching towering blonde bouffants, so that's a plus.
Dolly has a bit of a laughing fit during this performance, and I think I can guess why. It seems to me that fiddler Mack Magaha was just a bit too "enthusiastic" during his solo. Not that I'm complaining - it was fun! And I guess when you've got the spotlight, even for four bars, you've gotta make the most of it!
VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
The Osborne Brothers
Wow, I love these guys! Sonny and Bobby, the Osborne boys. Bluegrass, yes, but some really great bluegrass! As Sonny notes in his introduction here, the Osbornes were the first to record the song, "Rocky Top", and I think they did it the best out of the hundreds who subsequently recorded the song, including our female vocalist listed below.
I love the banjo here; I love the mandolin. I love the harmonies. Gee, I kinda miss these guys.
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
"I Won't Mention It Again" - Ray Price
Funny, but considering that this was the album of the year, the only way one can buy it on Amazon is in the LP format. Now granted, if this was 1971, sure, I'd buy an LP. But I'm not what they call an "audiophile", which is just a fancy word for people whoe are living in the past. I no longer own a turntable.
You see, I'm old enough to remember how aggravating the whole vinyl record-playing process was. Almost as aggravating as computers! You'd either have to listen to the whole album, or else get up off your chair, go over and lift up the stylus and try to place it exactly at the beginning of the song you wanted. Oh, and you'd have to scrape the dust off the needle every so often with your fingertip. Then, sometimes you'd get records that weren't exactly "round". You'd hold them up at eye level, and the warpness was evident. And I don't know why, but some of the albums were of a harder vinyl material, while others were like limp paper. And then storing them. You'd have to have a whole long bookcase row of LP's, and then, because they were positioned right up against each other, some of the album covers would have those black round indentations on them, from snuggling up too close to their next-door neighbor.
So, I'm not gonna buy this, or any other, album on LP.
But, all ranting aside, Ray Price is one of the legends of country music, and one of my all-time favorites. YouTube doesn't seem to have any of the cuts from "I Won't Mention It Again" available, so I just thought I'd throw in this one, because, after all, it is on the list of my top twenty country songs of all time.
Wow, not only a steel guitar prominently featured, but three, count 'em, three fiddles! Nice going, Ray!
SINGLE OF THE YEAR
Help Me Make It Through The Night - Sammi Smith
I'm psyched to get to include another of my top twenty country songs of all time here! This song, as you know, was written by Kris Kristofferson; one of many great songs by a "how does he do that?" songwriter. Man, if only I could write like.......oh, sorry; I'm off topic again.
A lot of people recorded this song, but Sammi had the hit, and while a lot of people did a great job on it, none did better than this (even if she had to sit on a hay bale in her evening gown to sing it):
MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Charley Pride
While this is not a vintage performance, it's still a good quality video (not one of those hand-held video camera operations), and thus it is actually enjoyable.
Well. It seems that old Charley has put on a few pounds since 1971. And I'm glad he could come in from doing his gardening to perform this number. What's with the lime green sweatshirt?
I don't know why none of these videos of this song have him whistling at the end, like he did on the record. Has he lost his whistling capabilities? And it was just a sorry sight to see him try to hit a low note instead of doing the whistle, and he couldn't quite do it. Low note, indeed. Not to pick on ol' Charley.
I'm just going to get this out of the way now, with apologies. There's no embeddable video of the song of the year winner by the original artist. I will give you a link to a non-embeddable version, however. But since I still wanted to include this category, I did find an alternate version, done by, I'm sure, the runners-up for the Vocal Duo of the Year award. So, here's:
SONG OF THE YEAR
Easy Lovin' - recorded by Freddie Hart; written by Freddie Hart; done here by Conway & Loretta:
I don't want to be mean to C & L, since they are the substitutes here for the original, but they really did this badly! Why were they so far behind the beat? Geez, did they just get awakened from a nap?
Here's how it really goes: Easy Lovin' - Freddie Hart
Just so you know, Freddie is a very nice gentleman. I have an autograph from him on my bulletin board (on the same sheet of paper as MERLE HAGGARD's autograph!), where he wrote, "To Shelly, a little doll" (I was just a kid then). This version is the superior version of the song, by far.
FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Lynn Anderson
Now, I like Lynn Anderson. She had a lot of great songs, especially during her Chart Records years. You know, she did do other songs besides "Rose Garden". As I've mentioned before, yes, she is a distant relative of mine, a fifth cousin once removed or something equally obscure, but that's neither here nor there. I just happen to like her.
This video is from a 1970 single, and probably helped her win the award. It's an old Hank Snow song, without the nice lead-up, which she just conveniently left off...."I was totin' my pack along the dusty Winnemucka road......." (you know how it goes). This song is a tongue-twister, and I was just dorky enough back then to learn it. I could probably remember it now. Let's see.....hang on.......Reno, Chicago, Fargo, Minnesota, Buffalo, Toronto, Winslow, Sarasota........yup! I can remember it!
Funny that this performance is from the Lawrence Welk Show (she was, early in her career, a regular). Lawrence, you know, is from Strasburg, North Dakota, not too far from my old stomping grounds. And I used to play the accordion, too (dork alert #2!)
So, here we go with "I've Been Everywhere"
Okay, hold on here. First of all, she's lip-synching this! And thus, I feel kinda sorry for the goofy guy who has to "fake" playing that xylophone/harmonica contraption (what the heck is that?). Then, did you notice that she looked down at her wrist before one of the verses? She's cheating! She wrote the words on her arm! Lynn, Lynn, Lynn. I took the stupid time to memorize this song; you could have at least done the same. I'm terribly disillusioned.
Well, that just leaves the Entertainer of the Year, and here we go again.....
Now, I see this video is also from the Lawrence Welk Show. Hey, I didn't plan this! I didn't even know ol' Charley ever appeared on the LW Show.
But I will say this: Charley certainly looks younger and thinner here, and he was nice and polite. And Lloyd Green is here on the steel! Okay, Charley had two hits in 1970 that probably garnered him this award, and I already featured one of them. The other one, "Wonder Could I Live There Anymore" isn't available on YouTube, so I decided to just go with one that I like.
So, here's the 1971 ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
Charley Pride
Showing posts with label ray price. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ray price. Show all posts
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Blast From The Past - Top Country Hits Of 1970
I always enjoy traveling back in time, to revisit the days of country music of yore.
Today, I chose the year 1970, because I think I've forgotten a lot of the music from way back then, when I was but 15 years old, and thereby is the challenge....find some good stuff from the year 1970.
As you know by now, I always like to start these things off on a high note, so here's a high note:
MERLE HAGGARD - THE FIGHTIN' SIDE OF ME
Anyone who knows me, knows that Merle Haggard is, to me, the best thing that ever happened to country music. That said, this is not my favorite Merle song, not by a long shot. But it does have its charm.
And it was a huge hit in 1970, leading millions of country music fans to the false assumption that Merle was a conservative.
But, doesn't he look cute here? Nice, wavy hair. Young. Shy smile.
And here's Bonnie Owens in the background, smiling. Probably thinking, "You a**hole. Oh sure, on stage, you make everyone think that you're such a nice, sweet, genteel guy. Try living with you! You and your black moods. And I can't even get away from you, since, when you go out on tour, I go."
I'm just conjecturing here, of course. But I know the type.
Now, for something completely different, remember this? It was a big hit in 1970:
JACK BLANCHARD & MISTY MORGAN - TENNESSEE BIRDWALK
This video proves two things:
1. In 1970, even a lounge act could have a major hit.
2. People were awfully easy to please back then.
And to think that I was kind of lukewarm about "The Fightin' Side Of Me"!
Here, you've basically got a duo with their dueling synthesizers, a really corny song, and big hair. What more do you need for a hit? And poor Tanya Tucker is trying to look enthusiastic.
Alas, Jack and Misty are now residing on SoundClick. Hey, even we're on SoundClick! It's not the most discerning site for music. But, you know, things happen.
CHARLEY PRIDE - IS ANYBODY GOIN' TO SAN ANTONE
I've always been ambivalent about this song. I mean, it's okay. It has a nice twin fiddle opening. But it's kind of boring, really. No offense to the writers - and it apparently took two people to write this song. It's simply a matter of divergent tastes, I guess, because it was a number one hit. So, more power to them! The best part of the song is Charley's whistling at the end. Of course, that's not actually a part of this video.
One note, though. I would really have hated to be in Charley's band, because I think I might have just fallen asleep during these numbers. Charley had a lot of potential, but his song choices just weren't the best. After "The Easy Part's Over", things sort of went downhill.
MARTY ROBBINS - MY WOMAN, MY WOMAN, MY WIFE
I always love watching Marty Robbins concert videos. As Marty notes here, he won the Grammy for this song, and "I don't want you to think that I feel that my song was the best song of the year....I heard many songs that year, but I never heard any that I liked better than mine".....(heh heh)
When you listen to the lyrics of this song, you almost want to break down in sobs, in sympathy for this poor woman's life......
Hands that are strong but wrinkled
Doing work that never gets done
Hair that's lost some of the beauty
By too many hours in the sun
Now, maybe it's just me, but it seems like Marty was making a pretty good living. Did he have his wife living in some run-down shack without running water? Good god. Maybe Marty had the "main house", and the "woman, woman, wife" was relegated to the abandoned chicken coop out back. Seems kinda cruel.
But, in the end, while the little woman is out mowing the grass, Marty is here doing a superb job as usual. I particularly love the way Marty kind of "slides" up to the high notes. It's sort of his signature. I do not, however, understand why his bandmate (Bill Johnson, is it?) is shuffling index cards behind him. Maybe he was practicing for his upcoming toastmaster speech.
Maybe we could learn more about that here: Country Music Hall of Fame Panel Discussion: The Story of My Life: Friends and Family Remember Marty Robbins
I can't seem to find which recording from 1970 was the number one record of the year, but I've got two finalists in mind. Here is the first one:
CONWAY TWITTY - HELLO DARLIN'
I'll just admit it and get it over with. I never really "got" Conway Twitty. Sort of like George Jones. I know that both of these guys are revered in many country circles. I guess it's just a matter of taste.
Don't get me wrong. Conway had some earlier hits that I liked a lot, including this one. Then, sometime later, he got all "curly permed" and started remaking Pointer Sister songs and other crimes against humanity, and all the while, he kept building up his fan base. I just don't get it. I liked him way better before he became a sex symbol for the blue-haired ladies.
And, admission number two. I went to a package show that included Vince Gill and somebody (?) and Conway Twitty, and I actually left before Conway came on. A short time later, he passed away, so I still feel kind of guilty about walking out - in hindsight.
Anyway, kudos to Conway for this huge hit. And it was HUGE. And I can definitely see where it would be a fun song to sing.
BLOGGER'S NOTE: I'm going to break from the topic at hand for a moment, because, while Tammy Wynette had three number one songs in 1970, and while Tammy won the female vocalist award at the 1970 CMA Awards, none of her three hit songs from 1970 are available on YouTube.
Therefore, since I happen to think that Tammy is one of the best female singers of all time (second only to Patsy Cline), I felt it warranted including a Tammy video here, even if the song is not technically from 1970. So, here is (and I happen to love this song):
TAMMY WYNETTE - TAKE ME TO YOUR WORLD
Okay, now back to 1970. Well, here's another top hit of the year - maybe this one was #3; I don't know; can't tell. Nobody will tell me. But it's a great song and a great performance, nevertheless. A song written by Kris Kristofferson.
RAY PRICE - FOR THE GOOD TIMES
Not much to say about this. Just a classy performance.
JOHNNY CASH - SUNDAY MORNING COMING DOWN
The most interesting aspect of this performance is that the recording itself is this performance. If I remember correctly, this was the first time that Johnny actually performed Kris's song, and it was recorded to be released as a single. I guess this is one of the few times in history in which a live performance sounds exactly like the record.
Oh, and he promised not to say, "stoned". But, of course, he did. That's Johnny.
JERRY REED - AMOS MOSES
I apologize for the relatively poor quality of this video. Unfortunately, it was the only live performance by Jerry of this song that I could find.
Rest in peace, Jerry Reed (March 20, 1937 - August 31, 2008)
And now for something completely different.
Am I the only person who remembers Susan Raye? She and Buck Owens had some duet hits back in the seventies, and a really nice album, titled, "We're Gonna Get Together". Susan also had a string of hits of her own. Unfortunately, all I can find on Amazon are LP's! Hey, I don't have a turntable anymore. Somebody needs to reissue these. Sundazed, maybe?
This is apparently Susan's first number one hit. She had a lot of others I liked better, but here is:
SUSAN RAYE - WILLY JONES
I have since learned, through searching the net, that Susan subsequently retired from the music business, and became a marriage, family, and child counselor. She also married Jerry Wiggins, Buck's drummer (I knew that) and had six children. I didn't think anyone ever retired from the music business. I thought they just went to Branson. Kudos to Susan.
WAYLON JENNINGS - BROWN EYED HANDSOME MAN
I always love watching Waylon's performances, be they the "clean cut Waylon" or the "shaggy Waylon". Waylon was great. And notice Jessi Colter here on the keys? This is just a real nice performance.
ANNE MURRAY - SNOWBIRD
Okay, maybe For The Good Times wasn't number three. Maybe this was number three. Because it was HUGE. This was, of course, Anne Murray's first number one single.
I've always liked and admired Anne Murray. She seems so real. Doesn't buy into that show biz stuff. Just a great, great singer.
FARON YOUNG - (MEDLEY) - FEATURING GOIN' STEADY
Campy schtick aside (just slide that little slider button closer to the end to get to "Goin' Steady"), make no mistake, Faron Young was a tremendous performer. If you consider that Faron started out in the late forties on the Louisiana Hayride, and here he was, in 1970 with three number one songs (Goin' Steady, Occasional Wife, and "(If I Ever Fall In Love With A) Honky Tonk Girl), that's not too shabby of a career. And, at this time, he hadn't yet released "Four In The Morning".
Of course, Faron is essentially forgotten by people who should know better, but he was my favorite country singer, and an astute businessman. Sadly, he reached a tragic end. But I always smile when I see videos such as this one.
PORTER WAGONER & DOLLY PARTON - DADDY WAS AN OLD-TIME PREACHER MAN
Before I talk about what a great duet team Porter and Dolly were, did you notice the introduction to this number?? What the ?? This performance is from the Wilburn Brothers TV show, and Doyle (or Teddy - who knows?) says to Porter, "Why don't you tell us about this song that Dolly wrote?" Well, ahem, Dolly's standing right here! Wow, sexism was alive and well in 1970. I bet she just wanted to shove him out of the way, after he and his brother horned in on their (her) song. She could have used those long fingernails to stab him. But no, she just smiled sweetly. I don't even know anything about Doyle (or Teddy - who knows?), but man, I really don't like him. I think I heard that Loretta wasn't crazy about the brothers, either, after she finally got out of her contract with them.
But all sexism aside, I would venture that Porter and Dolly were probably the best country duo ever. And it wasn't just because of Dolly. People sort of like to push Porter aside (like Dolly should have done to Doyle - or Teddy), and give Dolly all the credit, but I've heard Dolly sing duets with other artists, and the mix doesn't sound as good. I don't think just anyone's voice can match up with hers. Porter's did. And her voice did not overpower the songs. His parts come through loud and clear. They had the right combination (yea, that was corny).
Yes, this post is very long. I hope you just skipped the parts you weren't interested in. But, number one, there turned out to be a lot of good songs and/or available videos from 1970; and, two, I had a lot of free time. : )
So, I will leave you with what I think was probably the top single of 1970. Absent an official chart, it's just a guess on my part, but if you consider how many times this song was played over and over and over and over, so that you just wanted to grab your plastic-cased table-top radio and smash it to smithereens, while simultaneously banging your head into the wall, WELL! That sounds like a HIT!
Don't get me wrong. I like Lynn Anderson! And I'm even distantly related to her (or that's some old family tale that was invented and passed along - I could go either way on that).
And the song itself, written by Joe South, is pleasant enough, the first 5,000 times you hear it.
But hey, you be the judge. Watch it once. Then tell me if you could stand to watch it again and again the rest of the day. And you already have certain parts in your head, even before you watch it, don't you? How about, "or let go - o - o - oh" ?
But Lynn does look awfully cute here, with her feathered dress.
So, here we go:
LYNN ANDERSON - ROSE GARDEN
This now concludes our look back to the year 1970.
Today, I chose the year 1970, because I think I've forgotten a lot of the music from way back then, when I was but 15 years old, and thereby is the challenge....find some good stuff from the year 1970.
As you know by now, I always like to start these things off on a high note, so here's a high note:
MERLE HAGGARD - THE FIGHTIN' SIDE OF ME
Anyone who knows me, knows that Merle Haggard is, to me, the best thing that ever happened to country music. That said, this is not my favorite Merle song, not by a long shot. But it does have its charm.
And it was a huge hit in 1970, leading millions of country music fans to the false assumption that Merle was a conservative.
But, doesn't he look cute here? Nice, wavy hair. Young. Shy smile.
And here's Bonnie Owens in the background, smiling. Probably thinking, "You a**hole. Oh sure, on stage, you make everyone think that you're such a nice, sweet, genteel guy. Try living with you! You and your black moods. And I can't even get away from you, since, when you go out on tour, I go."
I'm just conjecturing here, of course. But I know the type.
Now, for something completely different, remember this? It was a big hit in 1970:
JACK BLANCHARD & MISTY MORGAN - TENNESSEE BIRDWALK
This video proves two things:
1. In 1970, even a lounge act could have a major hit.
2. People were awfully easy to please back then.
And to think that I was kind of lukewarm about "The Fightin' Side Of Me"!
Here, you've basically got a duo with their dueling synthesizers, a really corny song, and big hair. What more do you need for a hit? And poor Tanya Tucker is trying to look enthusiastic.
Alas, Jack and Misty are now residing on SoundClick. Hey, even we're on SoundClick! It's not the most discerning site for music. But, you know, things happen.
CHARLEY PRIDE - IS ANYBODY GOIN' TO SAN ANTONE
I've always been ambivalent about this song. I mean, it's okay. It has a nice twin fiddle opening. But it's kind of boring, really. No offense to the writers - and it apparently took two people to write this song. It's simply a matter of divergent tastes, I guess, because it was a number one hit. So, more power to them! The best part of the song is Charley's whistling at the end. Of course, that's not actually a part of this video.
One note, though. I would really have hated to be in Charley's band, because I think I might have just fallen asleep during these numbers. Charley had a lot of potential, but his song choices just weren't the best. After "The Easy Part's Over", things sort of went downhill.
MARTY ROBBINS - MY WOMAN, MY WOMAN, MY WIFE
I always love watching Marty Robbins concert videos. As Marty notes here, he won the Grammy for this song, and "I don't want you to think that I feel that my song was the best song of the year....I heard many songs that year, but I never heard any that I liked better than mine".....(heh heh)
When you listen to the lyrics of this song, you almost want to break down in sobs, in sympathy for this poor woman's life......
Hands that are strong but wrinkled
Doing work that never gets done
Hair that's lost some of the beauty
By too many hours in the sun
Now, maybe it's just me, but it seems like Marty was making a pretty good living. Did he have his wife living in some run-down shack without running water? Good god. Maybe Marty had the "main house", and the "woman, woman, wife" was relegated to the abandoned chicken coop out back. Seems kinda cruel.
But, in the end, while the little woman is out mowing the grass, Marty is here doing a superb job as usual. I particularly love the way Marty kind of "slides" up to the high notes. It's sort of his signature. I do not, however, understand why his bandmate (Bill Johnson, is it?) is shuffling index cards behind him. Maybe he was practicing for his upcoming toastmaster speech.
Maybe we could learn more about that here: Country Music Hall of Fame Panel Discussion: The Story of My Life: Friends and Family Remember Marty Robbins
I can't seem to find which recording from 1970 was the number one record of the year, but I've got two finalists in mind. Here is the first one:
CONWAY TWITTY - HELLO DARLIN'
I'll just admit it and get it over with. I never really "got" Conway Twitty. Sort of like George Jones. I know that both of these guys are revered in many country circles. I guess it's just a matter of taste.
Don't get me wrong. Conway had some earlier hits that I liked a lot, including this one. Then, sometime later, he got all "curly permed" and started remaking Pointer Sister songs and other crimes against humanity, and all the while, he kept building up his fan base. I just don't get it. I liked him way better before he became a sex symbol for the blue-haired ladies.
And, admission number two. I went to a package show that included Vince Gill and somebody (?) and Conway Twitty, and I actually left before Conway came on. A short time later, he passed away, so I still feel kind of guilty about walking out - in hindsight.
Anyway, kudos to Conway for this huge hit. And it was HUGE. And I can definitely see where it would be a fun song to sing.
BLOGGER'S NOTE: I'm going to break from the topic at hand for a moment, because, while Tammy Wynette had three number one songs in 1970, and while Tammy won the female vocalist award at the 1970 CMA Awards, none of her three hit songs from 1970 are available on YouTube.
Therefore, since I happen to think that Tammy is one of the best female singers of all time (second only to Patsy Cline), I felt it warranted including a Tammy video here, even if the song is not technically from 1970. So, here is (and I happen to love this song):
TAMMY WYNETTE - TAKE ME TO YOUR WORLD
Okay, now back to 1970. Well, here's another top hit of the year - maybe this one was #3; I don't know; can't tell. Nobody will tell me. But it's a great song and a great performance, nevertheless. A song written by Kris Kristofferson.
RAY PRICE - FOR THE GOOD TIMES
Not much to say about this. Just a classy performance.
JOHNNY CASH - SUNDAY MORNING COMING DOWN
The most interesting aspect of this performance is that the recording itself is this performance. If I remember correctly, this was the first time that Johnny actually performed Kris's song, and it was recorded to be released as a single. I guess this is one of the few times in history in which a live performance sounds exactly like the record.
Oh, and he promised not to say, "stoned". But, of course, he did. That's Johnny.
JERRY REED - AMOS MOSES
I apologize for the relatively poor quality of this video. Unfortunately, it was the only live performance by Jerry of this song that I could find.
Rest in peace, Jerry Reed (March 20, 1937 - August 31, 2008)
And now for something completely different.
Am I the only person who remembers Susan Raye? She and Buck Owens had some duet hits back in the seventies, and a really nice album, titled, "We're Gonna Get Together". Susan also had a string of hits of her own. Unfortunately, all I can find on Amazon are LP's! Hey, I don't have a turntable anymore. Somebody needs to reissue these. Sundazed, maybe?
This is apparently Susan's first number one hit. She had a lot of others I liked better, but here is:
SUSAN RAYE - WILLY JONES
I have since learned, through searching the net, that Susan subsequently retired from the music business, and became a marriage, family, and child counselor. She also married Jerry Wiggins, Buck's drummer (I knew that) and had six children. I didn't think anyone ever retired from the music business. I thought they just went to Branson. Kudos to Susan.
WAYLON JENNINGS - BROWN EYED HANDSOME MAN
I always love watching Waylon's performances, be they the "clean cut Waylon" or the "shaggy Waylon". Waylon was great. And notice Jessi Colter here on the keys? This is just a real nice performance.
ANNE MURRAY - SNOWBIRD
Okay, maybe For The Good Times wasn't number three. Maybe this was number three. Because it was HUGE. This was, of course, Anne Murray's first number one single.
I've always liked and admired Anne Murray. She seems so real. Doesn't buy into that show biz stuff. Just a great, great singer.
FARON YOUNG - (MEDLEY) - FEATURING GOIN' STEADY
Campy schtick aside (just slide that little slider button closer to the end to get to "Goin' Steady"), make no mistake, Faron Young was a tremendous performer. If you consider that Faron started out in the late forties on the Louisiana Hayride, and here he was, in 1970 with three number one songs (Goin' Steady, Occasional Wife, and "(If I Ever Fall In Love With A) Honky Tonk Girl), that's not too shabby of a career. And, at this time, he hadn't yet released "Four In The Morning".
Of course, Faron is essentially forgotten by people who should know better, but he was my favorite country singer, and an astute businessman. Sadly, he reached a tragic end. But I always smile when I see videos such as this one.
PORTER WAGONER & DOLLY PARTON - DADDY WAS AN OLD-TIME PREACHER MAN
Before I talk about what a great duet team Porter and Dolly were, did you notice the introduction to this number?? What the ?? This performance is from the Wilburn Brothers TV show, and Doyle (or Teddy - who knows?) says to Porter, "Why don't you tell us about this song that Dolly wrote?" Well, ahem, Dolly's standing right here! Wow, sexism was alive and well in 1970. I bet she just wanted to shove him out of the way, after he and his brother horned in on their (her) song. She could have used those long fingernails to stab him. But no, she just smiled sweetly. I don't even know anything about Doyle (or Teddy - who knows?), but man, I really don't like him. I think I heard that Loretta wasn't crazy about the brothers, either, after she finally got out of her contract with them.
But all sexism aside, I would venture that Porter and Dolly were probably the best country duo ever. And it wasn't just because of Dolly. People sort of like to push Porter aside (like Dolly should have done to Doyle - or Teddy), and give Dolly all the credit, but I've heard Dolly sing duets with other artists, and the mix doesn't sound as good. I don't think just anyone's voice can match up with hers. Porter's did. And her voice did not overpower the songs. His parts come through loud and clear. They had the right combination (yea, that was corny).
Yes, this post is very long. I hope you just skipped the parts you weren't interested in. But, number one, there turned out to be a lot of good songs and/or available videos from 1970; and, two, I had a lot of free time. : )
So, I will leave you with what I think was probably the top single of 1970. Absent an official chart, it's just a guess on my part, but if you consider how many times this song was played over and over and over and over, so that you just wanted to grab your plastic-cased table-top radio and smash it to smithereens, while simultaneously banging your head into the wall, WELL! That sounds like a HIT!
Don't get me wrong. I like Lynn Anderson! And I'm even distantly related to her (or that's some old family tale that was invented and passed along - I could go either way on that).
And the song itself, written by Joe South, is pleasant enough, the first 5,000 times you hear it.
But hey, you be the judge. Watch it once. Then tell me if you could stand to watch it again and again the rest of the day. And you already have certain parts in your head, even before you watch it, don't you? How about, "or let go - o - o - oh" ?
But Lynn does look awfully cute here, with her feathered dress.
So, here we go:
LYNN ANDERSON - ROSE GARDEN
This now concludes our look back to the year 1970.
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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)