Hey, are you still with me? I'm still here, counting down the CMA awards for each year. You thought I'd give up by now, didn't you? Ha! I haven't! Hey, I'm going to at least get through the seventies. And who knows? Maybe I'll even go on to the eighties!
What can one say about 1977? I don't know. I barely remember it myself. I guess I was busy changing diapers and being pregnant. That kind of takes your mind off music.
I think at that time I still had the console stereo (with the velvet inserts) that I'd been given by my parents. I'm thinking we moved up to the Bang & Olufsen sometime in 1979. On credit.
So, if you asked me to recall who actually were the big country music stars in 1977, I honestly couldn't have told you. Of course, I've looked now, so I know. The years kind of ran together for me around that time.
The sort of nice thing about that time period was that an artist could be famous for "awhile" before that fame was snatched away from them and bestowed upon the newest "thing". Unlike now. "Oh, Keith Urban? He's so 2007." At least in the seventies, they gave people a couple or three years.
Thus, some of the award winners were "repeats" from previous years. Such as:
VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
The Statler Brothers
INSTRUMENTALIST OF THE YEAR
Roy Clark
There was a new contender, however, for VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR, which was sort of refreshing, after several years of Porter & Dolly and Conway & Loretta.
Jumping on the bandwagon of "duet singing" this year were good old Jim Ed Brown (of the Browns) and his partner Helen Cornelius.
Remember this one?
Oh sure. They're singing in the old folks' home. And they're a bit long in the tooth to be worrying about unintended pregnancy. But still. You gotta admit, Jim Ed and Helen can still sing it. I always liked this song. It was kind of a throwback to those fifties pop ditties, albeit with a completely different subject matter.
FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Crystal Gayle
Hey, this song was all over the radio in 1977. In fact, it was so "all over the radio" that I don't really care to hear it ever again.
That said, it was certainly a big hit for Crystal (of the long, long, flowing locks). Crystal (nee Brenda Webb) is, of course, Loretta Lynn's kid sister. So, that did help her get a recording contract. But she pulled her own weight, at least with this song. But you've gotta admit, Crystal was mostly famous for her really, really long hair. Which is a weird thing to be famous for, when you think about it.
And it kind of put her in a bind, I would think. Even if she wanted to go with the latest "do", it would be extremely bad publicity for her. I don't think she ever had the option of cutting her hair into a "shag". And just think of the extra weight she was carrying around. Yea, when she was 21, it was no big deal. But now she's old and arthritic, and she's still hauling that hair around. Kind of a burden.
Anyway, here's a performance by Crystal (Brenda) from 1977 of, of course, Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue:
Sadly, I saw Crystal about a year or so ago, doing one of those PBS specials, called "Hits of the Seventies" or something, and you could really tell that she just didn't give a damn about that song anymore. Basically, she sang it like this: "dontknowwhenivebeensoblue......youvefoundsomeonenew.....anddontitmakemybrowneyesblue". But you have to sing it in a really slurry voice. As if you've had one too many apple 'tini's. Which is probably what it took to make her sing that song again. Can't really blame her.
INSTRUMENTAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
Original Texas Playboys
I can get aboard this! This is some really good music! Unfortunately, it was a couple of decades too late, but still! Bob Wills was famous in the forties and fifties. And here it was, 1977, and his band finally got an award. "Oops, we forgot!"
I think it was probably Asleep At The Wheel who reminded voters how good Texas swing music was. So, thanks, AATW!
This video is, of course, not the original Texas Playboys, cuz, first of all, it's from 2005, and secondly, they'd have to be about 108 years old to be still doing this, and I'm kind of leery about that. Anyway, here they are:
SINGLE OF THE YEAR
SONG OF THE YEAR
Lucille - recorded by Kenny Rogers; written by Roger Bowling and Hal Bynum
It's easy to forget how huge Kenny Rogers was in 1977. Cuz it was over 30 years ago, after all. But, trust me, he was huge. I saw him in concert around 1980 in Duluth, Minnesota, and the stadium was packed. And this was even before "The Gambler". Kenny had a knack for picking timeless songs, and "Lucille" is timeless. Kudos to the writers!
And it's nice to see Kenny pre-facelift. I mean, have you seen him lately?? He's got those weird eyes, sort of like the depictions of those space aliens who've kidnapped people and taken them aboard their spaceship. I think Kenny has a guaranteed class action suit there.
The big winner of 1977 was indisputably Ronnie Milsap. Here's what he won:
ALBUM OF THE YEAR - Ronnie Milsap Live
MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
Obviously, I've posted a whole bunch of Ronnie Milsap videos in previous posts, but here's one I haven't yet posted. I'm a big, big Ronnie Milsap fan, so I don't mind searching out Ronnie videos.
COUNTRY MUSIC HALL OF FAME
Merle Travis
This is a really poor video, but this is the guy who wrote "Sixteen Tons", so he deserves his moment in the spotlight. Merle also wrote "Dark As A Dungeon". I'm a fan of those dark songs, so I'm on board with this, absolutely.
Of course, this is the famous version. Tennessee Ernie Ford. That's kind of a relic of the past, isn't it? I vaguely remember when ol' Tennessee was a big media star. I was about 4 or 5 years old at the time. So, that's basically the dark ages. But here he is:
Here's Guy Clark's version of Dark As A Dungeon:
I really enjoyed this performance!
Thus ends our look back to the year 1977 in CMA history.
Not bad, eh?
Showing posts with label ronnie milsap. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ronnie milsap. Show all posts
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Monday, October 20, 2008
The CMA Awards - 1976
I guess 1976 was the year of the Outlaw. While the pop stylings of the Hollywood set still won their share of awards, hope was in the air.
I'll start by saying that the "regulars" won their usual awards. Not to diminish their achievements, but the same people just kept on winning in their "niche" categories.
I've exhausted YouTube's supply of videos for these folks, so I'll just say that the INSTRUMENTAL GROUP OF THE YEAR were Roy Clark and Buck Trent; and the VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR was the Statler Brothers.
Fortunately, the MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR award went to someone new this time around, Hargus (Pig) Robbins.
For those who are unaware, Pig Robbins played piano on pretty much every song that was ever recorded in Nashville.
'bout time that one of the session players got some recognition!
As you can imagine, as a session player, there really aren't any videos, per se, of Pig Robbins. But here's one from Patty Loveless's latest CD that Robbins played on. Just to show you, he's still going strong!
The SONG OF THE YEAR was written by Larry Weiss, and it went a little something like this:
RHINESTONE COWBOY - Glen Campbell
I've come to appreciate Glen Campbell more as the years have passed. I used to not care for him so much. But this song, I must say, was catchy at the time, and it still is.
The FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR was (again) Dolly Parton. Now, I think that Dolly is a good songwriter. Having said that, she had some really sukky songs during this time. We'll call it her "experimental period". "I Will Always Love You" was sappy enough, but then she did this one:
This was obviously done during Dolly's struggles with weight. Maybe that's why she wasn't at her best. It had to affect her self-esteem. Cuz this song is really crappy. Sorry.
MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Ronnie Milsap
As long as I can find videos of Ronnie, I'll keep posting them. I'm a pretty big Ronnie Milsap fan. He's one of those artists, like Ray Stevens or Bobby Bare, who don't get their just due.
This is a fun video, because it includes a medley of some of Ronnie's biggest hits. Enjoy.
And now we come to the Outlaw portion of our show. The SINGLE OF THE YEAR was recorded by two old pals, who, according to Willie's biography, tended to fight and fuss a lot, but they were still good friends. Willie, as you know, was generally very relaxed, while Waylon's medications tended to have the opposite affect. This, naturally, created some tension between the two. But watching this video leads one to believe that everything was quite all right, and regardless of their squabbles, they made some very nice music together.
GOOD HEARTED WOMAN
I can't help but notice, though, that they keep a'showin' his hands, but not his face on TV (second reference to the Dukes of Hazzard - I'm keeping count.)
Oh, by the way, WAYLON and WILLIE were also named VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR. Chalk up another one for the Outlaws.
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Wanted: The Outlaws
As I've written before, this was an album that none of the participants had a clue was being released until it was, well, released. The producer at RCA, Jerry Bradley (Owen Bradley's son) slapped the whole thing together from previously released material. He picked the songs; he picked the participants. They were: Waylon, Willie, Tompall Glaser, and Jessi Colter. And he decided to call them the "Outlaws". News to them! They didn't even know they were outlaws!
But once the money started rolling in, they were happy to call themselves anything the producer wanted....."old shoes", "peanut m & m's".......they didn't care. Fortuitously, the album wasn't titled, "Wanted: The Peanut M & M's".
Here is a track from that multi-$$$-selling album:
Regardless of the world-renown of the Outlaws album, the ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR award went to this f-f-f-fellow:
MEL TILLIS
Truth be told, Mel didn't win for his singing. He won for his funny stories. Sort of like this:
But one should not let Mel's "entertaining" obscure his accomplishments as a songwriter. After all, he wrote "Detroit City", "Ruby (Don't Take Your Love To Town)", among many, many others, including a string of hits for Webb Pierce. And he also wrote one of my all-time favorite classic country songs, "Heart Over Mind".
Here's but a sampling of some of Mel's songs:
HALL OF FAME
Paul Cohen
I admit, I didn't know anything about Paul Cohen, but when I looked him up, I found that he produced a whole lot of stars for Columbia Records. Here's a couple:
Later, at Kapp Records, he also produced Mel Tillis, so I guess what goes around comes around.
And he produced the second inductee from 1976:
Kitty Wells
Isn't this the quintessential country song? And this was recorded in 1952! That's even before I was born! Kitty is 89 years old now. Country singers, both male and female, owe a debt to Kitty Wells.
I'll start by saying that the "regulars" won their usual awards. Not to diminish their achievements, but the same people just kept on winning in their "niche" categories.
I've exhausted YouTube's supply of videos for these folks, so I'll just say that the INSTRUMENTAL GROUP OF THE YEAR were Roy Clark and Buck Trent; and the VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR was the Statler Brothers.
Fortunately, the MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR award went to someone new this time around, Hargus (Pig) Robbins.
For those who are unaware, Pig Robbins played piano on pretty much every song that was ever recorded in Nashville.
'bout time that one of the session players got some recognition!
As you can imagine, as a session player, there really aren't any videos, per se, of Pig Robbins. But here's one from Patty Loveless's latest CD that Robbins played on. Just to show you, he's still going strong!
The SONG OF THE YEAR was written by Larry Weiss, and it went a little something like this:
RHINESTONE COWBOY - Glen Campbell
I've come to appreciate Glen Campbell more as the years have passed. I used to not care for him so much. But this song, I must say, was catchy at the time, and it still is.
The FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR was (again) Dolly Parton. Now, I think that Dolly is a good songwriter. Having said that, she had some really sukky songs during this time. We'll call it her "experimental period". "I Will Always Love You" was sappy enough, but then she did this one:
This was obviously done during Dolly's struggles with weight. Maybe that's why she wasn't at her best. It had to affect her self-esteem. Cuz this song is really crappy. Sorry.
MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Ronnie Milsap
As long as I can find videos of Ronnie, I'll keep posting them. I'm a pretty big Ronnie Milsap fan. He's one of those artists, like Ray Stevens or Bobby Bare, who don't get their just due.
This is a fun video, because it includes a medley of some of Ronnie's biggest hits. Enjoy.
And now we come to the Outlaw portion of our show. The SINGLE OF THE YEAR was recorded by two old pals, who, according to Willie's biography, tended to fight and fuss a lot, but they were still good friends. Willie, as you know, was generally very relaxed, while Waylon's medications tended to have the opposite affect. This, naturally, created some tension between the two. But watching this video leads one to believe that everything was quite all right, and regardless of their squabbles, they made some very nice music together.
GOOD HEARTED WOMAN
I can't help but notice, though, that they keep a'showin' his hands, but not his face on TV (second reference to the Dukes of Hazzard - I'm keeping count.)
Oh, by the way, WAYLON and WILLIE were also named VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR. Chalk up another one for the Outlaws.
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Wanted: The Outlaws
As I've written before, this was an album that none of the participants had a clue was being released until it was, well, released. The producer at RCA, Jerry Bradley (Owen Bradley's son) slapped the whole thing together from previously released material. He picked the songs; he picked the participants. They were: Waylon, Willie, Tompall Glaser, and Jessi Colter. And he decided to call them the "Outlaws". News to them! They didn't even know they were outlaws!
But once the money started rolling in, they were happy to call themselves anything the producer wanted....."old shoes", "peanut m & m's".......they didn't care. Fortuitously, the album wasn't titled, "Wanted: The Peanut M & M's".
Here is a track from that multi-$$$-selling album:
Regardless of the world-renown of the Outlaws album, the ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR award went to this f-f-f-fellow:
MEL TILLIS
Truth be told, Mel didn't win for his singing. He won for his funny stories. Sort of like this:
But one should not let Mel's "entertaining" obscure his accomplishments as a songwriter. After all, he wrote "Detroit City", "Ruby (Don't Take Your Love To Town)", among many, many others, including a string of hits for Webb Pierce. And he also wrote one of my all-time favorite classic country songs, "Heart Over Mind".
Here's but a sampling of some of Mel's songs:
HALL OF FAME
Paul Cohen
I admit, I didn't know anything about Paul Cohen, but when I looked him up, I found that he produced a whole lot of stars for Columbia Records. Here's a couple:
Later, at Kapp Records, he also produced Mel Tillis, so I guess what goes around comes around.
And he produced the second inductee from 1976:
Kitty Wells
Isn't this the quintessential country song? And this was recorded in 1952! That's even before I was born! Kitty is 89 years old now. Country singers, both male and female, owe a debt to Kitty Wells.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
The CMA Awards - 1975
1975 was a weird year for the CMA's. Actually, it was just a weird year, period. Everybody watched their hard-earned savings go down the drain; the US was in a recession; gas prices were high. The President (Ford) thought the way to get the country back on track was to have everyone slap on a "WIN" button (Whip Inflation Now). Flash forward to 2008. Oh wait, I thought we were talking about 2008.
And, of course, we had a presidential campaign going on. Just like now.
And just like now, the music of 1975 sort of sucked.
In 1975, country music was stuck in a rut. The CMA vote-counters, I'm sure, were just as flummoxed as everyone else. Everybody was getting tired of handing out the same old trophies to the same old people, but there just weren't too many bright spots on the horizon. Things needed to change, to light a spark under the record-buying public, but instead, Nashville was offering up the same girl singers in their same Little House on the Prairie dresses, with their same three-chord songs about the no-good man that done them wrong.
If there were new acts being signed, they sure didn't seem to get promoted. A few newcomers hit the charts now and then, but it happened in spite of Nashville, not because of it.
The powers-that-be in the country music business probably had that tired attitude that said this stuff is good, and we're not changing it. You know, sort of like some old tired music blogger who's always talking about how the country music of the nineties was so much better.
But, in spite of themselves, the promoters and movers 'n shakers in Nashville knew that something needed to be done. So, this is what they came up with:
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
John Denver
Okay, this isn't what would spring to MY mind immediately, if I was looking for a fresh voice for country music. And this isn't even country music. It's folk. And even today, 33 years later, this still sort of sucks.
I now remember why I used to hate John Denver.
And this, coupled with Olivia Newton-John's win the year prior, was what got the old timers in country music all riled up, and led them to create their own organization. (I think that lasted about one or two years). And they gave all their awards to Grandpa Jones, even female vocalist of the year, and he was sort of p.o.'d about that.
So, like the industry folks of 1975, you can see I'm torn. I hated John Denver and all the sappy crap that he stood for, but I also didn't think that Grandpa deserved awards, either (nothing against Grandpa).
If I, and everyone else, was looking for something a bit more exciting to get behind in 1975, this was pretty good:
MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Waylon Jennings
(And you notice in this video, they kept a'showin' his hands, but not his face on TV; at least not right away.)
Can you picture the scene backstage, when Waylon ran into John Denver?
"Hey there, little snot-nosed creep. How ya doin'?"
"Um, fine, Mr. Jennings. Thanks for letting me be here."
"Wadn't my idea, son. If it was up to me, I'd rather just shoot ya."
"Thanks, Mr. Jennings! I've gotta go now. I think I need to clean my wire-rims."
"Get the hell outta here, boy!"
So, there you have it. The yin and the yang, shall we say, of 1975. The schizophrenia that permeated the confines of the Ryman Auditorium.
I wish I could say that there were a bunch more surprises that year, but there weren't.
The FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR award went to Dolly Parton for this little song, that, if anyone remembers correctly, didn't do much on the charts. Who knew that Dolly would eventually end up earning one BAZILLION dollars in royalties for it? Lucky!
The SINGLE OF THE YEAR was awarded to Freddy Fender for this song, which is sweet, and has the added bonus of being the first CMA award given to a Hispanic performer (although Johnny Rodriguez surely deserved something for "Pass Me By").
The ALBUM OF THE YEAR went to Ronnie Milsap for "A Legend In My Time". I've already posted the video of this song before, so I thought I'd go with something different this time around.
Just as a postscript, however, I did have this album, and it was good. Country, for the longest time, didn't really know what to do with albums. They'd basically slap on a hit or two, and fill up the rest with cover songs. Ronnie didn't do that. He found some songs that nobody had yet recorded, which was refreshing. And it was a fun album.
This song was recorded long after 1975, but I just like it:
The VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR was the Statler Brothers.......again. Sorry, but I'm just running out of videos of these guys. So, I thought (in the hopes that they don't keep winning, simply for the fact that I'm reaching the end of my video-search capabilities) that I would post a video of their alter-egos, Lester Moran & the Cadillac Cowboys. Enjoy.
CONWAY and LORETTA won for VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR yet again. I've run out of videos, so if you want to see them in concert, please check my previous posts. Not to be cavalier, but the available videos on YouTube are quite limited.
For a refreshing change of pace, JOHNNY GIMBLE won the INSTRUMENTALIST OF THE YEAR award. Johnny goes waaaaay back to the Bob Wills days, and I think he's the best fiddler to ever grace the world of country music.
Here's a video that also features Suzy Bogguss and Chet Atkins.
INSTRUMENTAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
Roy Clark & Buck Trent
Well, I remember Buck Trent when he was one of Porter's Wagonmasters. He gave Porter that distinctive sound. But, as time moved on, so did Buck, and he evenutally teamed up with Roy Clark, and I guess they did some recordings. Not that YouTube could attest to that, because I couldn't find any videos of the two of them in performance together.
This was the best I could find, and I don't know what the setting of this was, but I think it was a gathering of the old folks at home.....the nursing home.
It's sort of disturbing, in a way, to see how all these folks have aged, but hey, they seem to be having a good time, so good for them! Anyway, Roy is in the audience, and Buck (I barely recognize him) is front and center as the ladies of the Opry sing this old chestnut. I didn't know that was Norma Jean, but Jeannie Seely still looks remarkably good! And there's Bill "I'm still winning songwriting awards" Anderson in the audience, along with Little Jimmy Dickens, Johnny Bush, Jim Ed Brown, and a bunch of other people who are apparently a shell of their former selves, because I have no idea who they are, but they must have been somebody at one time.
SONG OF THE YEAR
"Back Home Again" - John Denver
Obviously, this is a (much) later performance of this song, but I actually don't hate it! It's a pretty good one!
So, John definitely had it in him to do good songs. It's just that that "Sunshine" song was such a loser. But this one I like.
COUNTRY MUSIC HALL OF FAME
Minnie Pearl
I think she was a nice lady. And boy, what a legacy. She was probably the first female in country music who made you stand up and take notice. She wasn't going to fade into the woodwork, like a pair of red velvet drapes. She was out there! Yelling, "HOWWWW-DEEEEE!" And I bet if you saw her, you didn't forget her. She was out there, traveling in a wood-paneled station wagon with Hank Williams and Faron Young, with the bass fiddle strapped to the top. She had ultimate confidence.
And her induction was well deserved.
The videos available of Minnie aren't many. But here's one from a George Burns special, that'll give you the essence of Minnie Pearl.
So, there you go. 1975. Where the past met the.......future? Where a legend like Waylon stood on the same stage with a legend like John Denver........two completely incompatible artists. But they came together in a truly strange year for country music.
And, of course, we had a presidential campaign going on. Just like now.
And just like now, the music of 1975 sort of sucked.
In 1975, country music was stuck in a rut. The CMA vote-counters, I'm sure, were just as flummoxed as everyone else. Everybody was getting tired of handing out the same old trophies to the same old people, but there just weren't too many bright spots on the horizon. Things needed to change, to light a spark under the record-buying public, but instead, Nashville was offering up the same girl singers in their same Little House on the Prairie dresses, with their same three-chord songs about the no-good man that done them wrong.
If there were new acts being signed, they sure didn't seem to get promoted. A few newcomers hit the charts now and then, but it happened in spite of Nashville, not because of it.
The powers-that-be in the country music business probably had that tired attitude that said this stuff is good, and we're not changing it. You know, sort of like some old tired music blogger who's always talking about how the country music of the nineties was so much better.
But, in spite of themselves, the promoters and movers 'n shakers in Nashville knew that something needed to be done. So, this is what they came up with:
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
John Denver
Okay, this isn't what would spring to MY mind immediately, if I was looking for a fresh voice for country music. And this isn't even country music. It's folk. And even today, 33 years later, this still sort of sucks.
I now remember why I used to hate John Denver.
And this, coupled with Olivia Newton-John's win the year prior, was what got the old timers in country music all riled up, and led them to create their own organization. (I think that lasted about one or two years). And they gave all their awards to Grandpa Jones, even female vocalist of the year, and he was sort of p.o.'d about that.
So, like the industry folks of 1975, you can see I'm torn. I hated John Denver and all the sappy crap that he stood for, but I also didn't think that Grandpa deserved awards, either (nothing against Grandpa).
If I, and everyone else, was looking for something a bit more exciting to get behind in 1975, this was pretty good:
MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Waylon Jennings
(And you notice in this video, they kept a'showin' his hands, but not his face on TV; at least not right away.)
Can you picture the scene backstage, when Waylon ran into John Denver?
"Hey there, little snot-nosed creep. How ya doin'?"
"Um, fine, Mr. Jennings. Thanks for letting me be here."
"Wadn't my idea, son. If it was up to me, I'd rather just shoot ya."
"Thanks, Mr. Jennings! I've gotta go now. I think I need to clean my wire-rims."
"Get the hell outta here, boy!"
So, there you have it. The yin and the yang, shall we say, of 1975. The schizophrenia that permeated the confines of the Ryman Auditorium.
I wish I could say that there were a bunch more surprises that year, but there weren't.
The FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR award went to Dolly Parton for this little song, that, if anyone remembers correctly, didn't do much on the charts. Who knew that Dolly would eventually end up earning one BAZILLION dollars in royalties for it? Lucky!
The SINGLE OF THE YEAR was awarded to Freddy Fender for this song, which is sweet, and has the added bonus of being the first CMA award given to a Hispanic performer (although Johnny Rodriguez surely deserved something for "Pass Me By").
The ALBUM OF THE YEAR went to Ronnie Milsap for "A Legend In My Time". I've already posted the video of this song before, so I thought I'd go with something different this time around.
Just as a postscript, however, I did have this album, and it was good. Country, for the longest time, didn't really know what to do with albums. They'd basically slap on a hit or two, and fill up the rest with cover songs. Ronnie didn't do that. He found some songs that nobody had yet recorded, which was refreshing. And it was a fun album.
This song was recorded long after 1975, but I just like it:
The VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR was the Statler Brothers.......again. Sorry, but I'm just running out of videos of these guys. So, I thought (in the hopes that they don't keep winning, simply for the fact that I'm reaching the end of my video-search capabilities) that I would post a video of their alter-egos, Lester Moran & the Cadillac Cowboys. Enjoy.
CONWAY and LORETTA won for VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR yet again. I've run out of videos, so if you want to see them in concert, please check my previous posts. Not to be cavalier, but the available videos on YouTube are quite limited.
For a refreshing change of pace, JOHNNY GIMBLE won the INSTRUMENTALIST OF THE YEAR award. Johnny goes waaaaay back to the Bob Wills days, and I think he's the best fiddler to ever grace the world of country music.
Here's a video that also features Suzy Bogguss and Chet Atkins.
INSTRUMENTAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
Roy Clark & Buck Trent
Well, I remember Buck Trent when he was one of Porter's Wagonmasters. He gave Porter that distinctive sound. But, as time moved on, so did Buck, and he evenutally teamed up with Roy Clark, and I guess they did some recordings. Not that YouTube could attest to that, because I couldn't find any videos of the two of them in performance together.
This was the best I could find, and I don't know what the setting of this was, but I think it was a gathering of the old folks at home.....the nursing home.
It's sort of disturbing, in a way, to see how all these folks have aged, but hey, they seem to be having a good time, so good for them! Anyway, Roy is in the audience, and Buck (I barely recognize him) is front and center as the ladies of the Opry sing this old chestnut. I didn't know that was Norma Jean, but Jeannie Seely still looks remarkably good! And there's Bill "I'm still winning songwriting awards" Anderson in the audience, along with Little Jimmy Dickens, Johnny Bush, Jim Ed Brown, and a bunch of other people who are apparently a shell of their former selves, because I have no idea who they are, but they must have been somebody at one time.
SONG OF THE YEAR
"Back Home Again" - John Denver
Obviously, this is a (much) later performance of this song, but I actually don't hate it! It's a pretty good one!
So, John definitely had it in him to do good songs. It's just that that "Sunshine" song was such a loser. But this one I like.
COUNTRY MUSIC HALL OF FAME
Minnie Pearl
I think she was a nice lady. And boy, what a legacy. She was probably the first female in country music who made you stand up and take notice. She wasn't going to fade into the woodwork, like a pair of red velvet drapes. She was out there! Yelling, "HOWWWW-DEEEEE!" And I bet if you saw her, you didn't forget her. She was out there, traveling in a wood-paneled station wagon with Hank Williams and Faron Young, with the bass fiddle strapped to the top. She had ultimate confidence.
And her induction was well deserved.
The videos available of Minnie aren't many. But here's one from a George Burns special, that'll give you the essence of Minnie Pearl.
So, there you go. 1975. Where the past met the.......future? Where a legend like Waylon stood on the same stage with a legend like John Denver........two completely incompatible artists. But they came together in a truly strange year for country music.
Friday, October 10, 2008
The CMA Awards - 1974
It was after these awards, I think; or maybe it was following 1975's, that a group of disgruntled country music entertainers got together and formed their own association. I think they called it the "Pissed Off Brigade" or something (no, I'm sure that wasn't what they called it). But it is true, that an alternate association was formed, to counter the "pop-ishness" leanings of the Country Music Association.
Now, maybe it was 1975, because looking at this year's winners' list, I'm not finding too much of what you'd call non-country.
Unless they were po'd because Charlie McCoy and Danny Davis kept winning. "We hate harmonicas!", they whined. "It's like a cat screeching!" "Oh, and enough with the trumpets! Oy! I can hardly hear myself think with that thing blowing!"
"And also, what's with Charlie Rich and his hat? Is he trying to be Frank Sinatra or somebody? We don't need that riff-raff hangin' around the Ryman!"
So, I guess I gave away the Instrumentalist of the Year and Instrumental Group of the Year winners. Oops. And I don't think they really hated Charlie Rich - at least I hope not.
No, what they were upset about, and it's sort of silly in hindsight, was the Female Vocalist of the Year winner.
Yes, I suppose her hit song wasn't technically country - at least not typical 1974 country. Now it would never get played on country radio, because it would be too country.
But it was harmless enough. I don't know what all the fuss was about. I like the song myself.
And, you know, she wasn't exactly depriving another deserving soul of the prize. The other nominees were Loretta Lynn (and I think she got more than her share of awards, don't you?), Anne Murray (oh, a paragon of country music), Dolly Parton (who also carted home a bundle of awards over the years, and who, by the way, made her own foray into pop music later, if you recall), and Tanya Tucker. Well, Tanya was what? Fourteen then? She had plenty of time.
And just for the fact that she didn't wear long Little House on the Prairie dresses, I think Olivia deserved the award!
FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Olivia Newton-John
I don't know who could harbor resentment against Olivia Newton-John. I mean, just look at her, with her Bee Gee shiny white teeth. I'm thinking that Australia had a lot of fluoride in their water. And she had nice hair. I wished my hair was like that in 1974. I've got no problems with Olivia winning the female vocalist award. For cuteness alone, she deserved the prize.
MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Ronnie Milsap
I see no reason why the Pissed Off Brigade would have any problem with Ronnie Milsap. Unless they were prejudiced against the blind. And that would really garner no sympathy for their movement.
There's a couple of really good singers from the country genre who get little recognition, but nevertheless, they're (as I said) really good singers. One of them is Ray Stevens, whom I've written about before. The other is Ronnie Milsap.
Listen to this rendition of a Don Gibson song, "Legend In My Time", and see if you don't agree that Ronnie is a really, really good singer.
Wow! Great ending here! I frankly have always been a Ronnie Milsap fan, and I wish he'd gotten his due, like he deserved. Maybe one day.....
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
A Very Special Love Song - Charlie Rich
Charlie'd been around for a long time before he got any kind of recognition or fame. He didn't just start out with "Behind Closed Doors", you know. He was one of those artists who just kept on keeping on, and hoping that maybe lightening would strike one day.
And I guess it was sort of like lightening, because one year he was on top of the world, and then one day, people were asking, "Whatever happened to Charlie Rich?" Fame or popularity is a weird thing. I think that Charlie was supremely talented, but he only had a couple of years on top, really, and then we never really heard from him again, unless we were paying close attention.
So, 1973 - 1974 were Charlie's years. Here's a major hit from (I'm guessing) the album of the year:
VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR
Conway Twitty & Loretta Lynn
Okay, here's a video for which I apologize, because it's got a bunch of that Hee Haw "comedy" before we actually get to the song. But in watching this, I realized that I'd totally forgotten about this song, and it's pretty good! In fact, it's way better than a lot of the duets that C & L were famous for. My memory being jogged, I realize now that this was the lead-off track to Conway and Loretta's first album. I'd sort of gotten tired (or "tarred") of posting C & L videos, but I just kinda really like this one!
VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
The Statler Brothers
Yes, the brothers win once again! I'm hoping (selfishly) that they don't keep winning, because I'm running out of video choices.
As I've said before, I like the Statler Brothers. They maybe did some stuff sometimes that wasn't my cup of tea, but they more than redeemed themselves over the many, many years that they were on the country music scene.
So, here's one of their nostalgic songs (again) that most likely kept them running up to the podium year after year.
Wow, one of these guys actually graduated in 1957! And I thought I was old! I guess age is relative.
SINGLE OF THE YEAR
Country Bumpkin - Cal Smith
SONG OF THE YEAR
Country Bumpkin - recorded by Cal Smith; written by Don Wayne
I've searched and I've searched, but unfortunately, there are no videos to be found of Cal singing this hit song from 1974. I was almost going to skip 1974, since I couldn't find a video of the song/single of the year winner. But then I thought, no. That's not really fair. So, I'll give you a link to the song (no video, however).
But if you want to know how the song went, it was basically: A guy walks into a bar and orders a beer from the barmaid, who proceeds to cut him down relentlessly, calling him a hillbilly and worse. So he marries her! The end.
I don't mean to be flip about this song. It's just that I heard it so dang many times in 1974, I don't care if I ever hear it again. But it was a good song. And the only song that I know of that rhymed "bumpkin" with "pumpkin".
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
Charlie Rich
Charlie won the big prize! Yay for Charlie! This was Charlie's heyday. Never to come again. So let's just enjoy Charlie performing live here:
So, if you think the Pissed Off Brigade was pissed off in 1974, just wait 'til 1975......
But before we say goodbye to 1974, let's take a look at the Hall of Fame inductees.....
Owen Bradley
Legendary producer Owen Bradley, famous for Bradley's Barn, and famous, of course, for producing Patsy Cline's records, among many others, including Brenda Lee, Conway, and Loretta. Bradley had his own team of hand-picked session players, and he developed a sound that became legendary.
Here's a glimpse of Owen in this fun video featuring KD Lang, Brenda Lee, Loretta Lynn, and Miss Kitty Wells.
Pee Wee King
Here's a really old video of Pee Wee singing the song he wrote, Tennessee Waltz, which later became the state song of Tennessee. That's a pretty good accomplishment! And a very pretty song.
Now, maybe it was 1975, because looking at this year's winners' list, I'm not finding too much of what you'd call non-country.
Unless they were po'd because Charlie McCoy and Danny Davis kept winning. "We hate harmonicas!", they whined. "It's like a cat screeching!" "Oh, and enough with the trumpets! Oy! I can hardly hear myself think with that thing blowing!"
"And also, what's with Charlie Rich and his hat? Is he trying to be Frank Sinatra or somebody? We don't need that riff-raff hangin' around the Ryman!"
So, I guess I gave away the Instrumentalist of the Year and Instrumental Group of the Year winners. Oops. And I don't think they really hated Charlie Rich - at least I hope not.
No, what they were upset about, and it's sort of silly in hindsight, was the Female Vocalist of the Year winner.
Yes, I suppose her hit song wasn't technically country - at least not typical 1974 country. Now it would never get played on country radio, because it would be too country.
But it was harmless enough. I don't know what all the fuss was about. I like the song myself.
And, you know, she wasn't exactly depriving another deserving soul of the prize. The other nominees were Loretta Lynn (and I think she got more than her share of awards, don't you?), Anne Murray (oh, a paragon of country music), Dolly Parton (who also carted home a bundle of awards over the years, and who, by the way, made her own foray into pop music later, if you recall), and Tanya Tucker. Well, Tanya was what? Fourteen then? She had plenty of time.
And just for the fact that she didn't wear long Little House on the Prairie dresses, I think Olivia deserved the award!
FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Olivia Newton-John
I don't know who could harbor resentment against Olivia Newton-John. I mean, just look at her, with her Bee Gee shiny white teeth. I'm thinking that Australia had a lot of fluoride in their water. And she had nice hair. I wished my hair was like that in 1974. I've got no problems with Olivia winning the female vocalist award. For cuteness alone, she deserved the prize.
MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Ronnie Milsap
I see no reason why the Pissed Off Brigade would have any problem with Ronnie Milsap. Unless they were prejudiced against the blind. And that would really garner no sympathy for their movement.
There's a couple of really good singers from the country genre who get little recognition, but nevertheless, they're (as I said) really good singers. One of them is Ray Stevens, whom I've written about before. The other is Ronnie Milsap.
Listen to this rendition of a Don Gibson song, "Legend In My Time", and see if you don't agree that Ronnie is a really, really good singer.
Wow! Great ending here! I frankly have always been a Ronnie Milsap fan, and I wish he'd gotten his due, like he deserved. Maybe one day.....
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
A Very Special Love Song - Charlie Rich
Charlie'd been around for a long time before he got any kind of recognition or fame. He didn't just start out with "Behind Closed Doors", you know. He was one of those artists who just kept on keeping on, and hoping that maybe lightening would strike one day.
And I guess it was sort of like lightening, because one year he was on top of the world, and then one day, people were asking, "Whatever happened to Charlie Rich?" Fame or popularity is a weird thing. I think that Charlie was supremely talented, but he only had a couple of years on top, really, and then we never really heard from him again, unless we were paying close attention.
So, 1973 - 1974 were Charlie's years. Here's a major hit from (I'm guessing) the album of the year:
VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR
Conway Twitty & Loretta Lynn
Okay, here's a video for which I apologize, because it's got a bunch of that Hee Haw "comedy" before we actually get to the song. But in watching this, I realized that I'd totally forgotten about this song, and it's pretty good! In fact, it's way better than a lot of the duets that C & L were famous for. My memory being jogged, I realize now that this was the lead-off track to Conway and Loretta's first album. I'd sort of gotten tired (or "tarred") of posting C & L videos, but I just kinda really like this one!
VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
The Statler Brothers
Yes, the brothers win once again! I'm hoping (selfishly) that they don't keep winning, because I'm running out of video choices.
As I've said before, I like the Statler Brothers. They maybe did some stuff sometimes that wasn't my cup of tea, but they more than redeemed themselves over the many, many years that they were on the country music scene.
So, here's one of their nostalgic songs (again) that most likely kept them running up to the podium year after year.
Wow, one of these guys actually graduated in 1957! And I thought I was old! I guess age is relative.
SINGLE OF THE YEAR
Country Bumpkin - Cal Smith
SONG OF THE YEAR
Country Bumpkin - recorded by Cal Smith; written by Don Wayne
I've searched and I've searched, but unfortunately, there are no videos to be found of Cal singing this hit song from 1974. I was almost going to skip 1974, since I couldn't find a video of the song/single of the year winner. But then I thought, no. That's not really fair. So, I'll give you a link to the song (no video, however).
But if you want to know how the song went, it was basically: A guy walks into a bar and orders a beer from the barmaid, who proceeds to cut him down relentlessly, calling him a hillbilly and worse. So he marries her! The end.
I don't mean to be flip about this song. It's just that I heard it so dang many times in 1974, I don't care if I ever hear it again. But it was a good song. And the only song that I know of that rhymed "bumpkin" with "pumpkin".
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
Charlie Rich
Charlie won the big prize! Yay for Charlie! This was Charlie's heyday. Never to come again. So let's just enjoy Charlie performing live here:
So, if you think the Pissed Off Brigade was pissed off in 1974, just wait 'til 1975......
But before we say goodbye to 1974, let's take a look at the Hall of Fame inductees.....
Owen Bradley
Legendary producer Owen Bradley, famous for Bradley's Barn, and famous, of course, for producing Patsy Cline's records, among many others, including Brenda Lee, Conway, and Loretta. Bradley had his own team of hand-picked session players, and he developed a sound that became legendary.
Here's a glimpse of Owen in this fun video featuring KD Lang, Brenda Lee, Loretta Lynn, and Miss Kitty Wells.
Pee Wee King
Here's a really old video of Pee Wee singing the song he wrote, Tennessee Waltz, which later became the state song of Tennessee. That's a pretty good accomplishment! And a very pretty song.
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Today's You Tube Musical Selections
Here's an eclectic mix of songs I like:
(Click on the artist's link to view the videos. Click on the images to purchase these fine products):
Paul Simon
The Statler Brothers
Ronnie Milsap
Tom Jones
(Click on the artist's link to view the videos. Click on the images to purchase these fine products):
Paul Simon
The Statler Brothers
Ronnie Milsap
Tom Jones
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