I knew of Roy Clark, of course, since I was a teeny kid. I think I saw him perform on the Jimmy Dean Show (on ABC Television), which was, trust me, the only country music show on national TV in the early nineteen sixties. My mom liked the show, so we watched it. My dad was generally working in the fields until way past dark, so it was just me and my mom. This was long before Jimmy invented sausages. I learned from reading Roy's obituary that he had started out as a member of Jimmy Dean's band, but had been fired for tardiness. Nevertheless, Jimmy still brought him onto his network show as a guest. Who could shun such a natural entertainer?
Roy was a happy guy, or at least he seemed to be. He surely loved being onstage. He was a consummate musician; guitar, of course, but he also picked a mean banjo and strung a bow across the strings of a country fiddle.
Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your outlook) Roy's main claim to fame was starring on Hee Haw. I am amazed that Hee Haw only ran on CBS from 1969 to 1971. It seemed like it was always there. To be clear, there was no way to see country artists on TV in the late sixties except for Hee Haw. So I watched the show and fidgeted through the corn pone skits until the week's featured artist would finally appear. I once went somewhere on vacation with my family and holed up in the motel room to watch Faron Young perform on the show; that's how desperate I was to see some authentic country music.
Roy played his part and played it with gusto. I don't think he viewed the show with as jaundiced an eye as I did. It was entertainment. Sure, it was corny as hell, but he did get to pick a banjo and mug for the camera.
The weird thing about Roy Clark was that he never had many hits. Maybe making hit records wasn't his niche.
To me, his greatest hit will always be his version of a Bill Anderson song, The Tips Of My Fingers:
Here he is performing on the Porter Wagoner Show:
I'd forgotten about this one:
Roy had a novelty hit in 1970, which unfortunately will be remembered more than Tips Of My Fingers:
Roy Clark was a superb musician who buried his talent in eye rolls and an arched brow, probably because he knew how good he was, but thought it'd be bragging to show it.
Just because a guy had his first hit song in 1958 doesn't mean that he's over the hill. Just because he happens to be 74 years old, that doesn't mean that there's still not great songs rattling around up there. Because apparently there are.
Again, I am....well, I was going to say "aghast", but that doesn't really fit, does it? I am...awed...by the prolificacy of the great songwriters.
Bill Anderson has been around for my whole life (obviously), and when I first became aware of him, it was through his syndicated TV show, which my channel always broadcast on Saturday afternoons, which they apparently considered the "dead" time slot, but not for me! I think it was Porter Wagoner's show and then Bill Anderson's show, and probably the Wilburn Brothers' show, or somebody's. I only actually remember Porter's and Bill's.
The show looked something like this:
Let's just say at the outset that Bill (whom I'm sure would be the first to tell you) is not the world's greatest singer.
As a matter of fact, he's really kind of a bad singer. Which is probably why he always did those sappy recitations. Which were awful! In fact, many performers through the years have parodied those recitations, and who can blame them? It's almost too easy.
Here's an example of what I'm talking about:
Be that as it may, I don't think Bill really set out to be a singer anyway. I'm not sure how or why it happened, but somebody somewhere said, "Hey Bill ~ LOVE your voice! Did you ever think about recording?"
And Bill said, "Huh? Is this a joke? That's kind of cruel."
But none of us can sing, really. Unless you're LeAnn Rimes, and you've made yet another crappy cover album (even if it was produced by Vince Gill), in which you've slowed down all the songs that were meant to be up-tempo, just so you could put your "stamp" on them. And you've ruined them; just ruined them.
I digress (Don't I? But I still managed to make my point.)
But back to Bill Anderson.
The year was 1958. That year of Bill's first hit song. And it was a good one. I remember listening to this song (not in 1958!) and thinking, that's a really well-written song. And it didn't hurt that Ray Price was singing it:
Bill, as you know, or maybe don't know, was in essence responsible for Connie Smith's career. I bought Connie's first album, and I think every song on it was written by Bill Anderson (There might have been one or two that weren't, but I'm not going to dig through my closet to find the album to prove myself right or wrong).
Here's Connie's first big, big hit:
Here's another one, introduced by Bill himself. "Cute and Country" Connie Smith (aww, isn't that sweet?)
One more, a bit more recently performed:
But Bill wasn't just about Connie Smith and Ray Price, and well, himself. No. Do you remember this one? I wanna say 1963, but I'm really just guessing, to be honest. The only hit song that Roy Clark ever really had, and he managed to parlay that into a pretty lengthy career (Thanks again, Bill! Says Roy.)
Yet, Bill moved into the almost-twenty-first century, with songs like this one, recorded by Steve Wariner (I think Steve deserves a post all his own, really.)
And, you know, this one, of course:
And yes, here we go again, with this video that I really dislike, but I really, really like the song:
That's a damn long good career! Bill Anderson is someone who can get up in the morning and honestly say, "I'm going to write a hit song today. Or at least I know I can write a hit song today."
To be honest,and not satirical, Bill Anderson is a songwriter who has been able to adapt to the times.
If you listen to the songs he wrote in the late fifties, early sixties, they were different from the songs he writes now. Not lyrically, so much, although perhaps his lyrics are a bit more frank now than they were back then. That's a sign of the times, no doubt.
There was a formula in those days. It was basically, verse chorus, verse chorus. Simple? Well, not so simple that you or I could write a great one. Deceptively simple, maybe.
Times and tastes change, though. And Bill's writing has changed, too. He co-writes a lot now. Maybe that's what keeps him current. I'm not a fan of co-writing, but if it works, and it makes Bill big bucks, then, hey! I think a lot of those young co-writers can thank their lucky stars that someone of the caliber of Bill Anderson has agreed to write a song with them.
As the saying goes (MY saying, because I have repeated it so much that I've now laid claim to it), either you've got it or you don't.
And I guess, if you had it in 1958, and you still have it more than 50 years later, then you've GOT IT.
You don't have to wonder. Fifty years is the cutoff point for wondering.
I only started writing in 2002, so it would not be until the year 2052 that I would know for sure. I would then be 97-freakin' years old. I ain't living that long. So I guess I'll never know. But I'm pretty sure; I don't got it.
Don't even get me started about the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Has it become irrelevant, or is it just me? It seems like the electors have to choose three names, so they kind of put a bunch of names into a hat and draw three out. No disrespect. Yes, I guess this sounds disrespectful, but my point is, why some of these artists, and not others who are so OBVIOUS?
I don't want to get into the whole Bobby Bare thing again, but c'mon. And he is but one example of deserving artists who are overlooked. Seriously, Charlie McCoy before Bobby Bare?
I know I'm kind of late with this post, but the 2009 announcement was so irrelevant to me, and I frankly had more important topics to cover, that I kept putting it off. Plus, I wasn't sure how to approach this in an interesting way. But let's give it a try.
Roy Clark
While I can appreciate Roy Clark as an artist, I can't say that I'm a fan. No offense to Roy, but I tend to view him as a novelty act. Granted, he did host Hee Haw (an insult to the intelligence of country fans, if there ever was one), and granted, Buck Owens hosted it, too. But at least Buck Owens had a previous track record as an artist.
I'm not saying that Roy never had a good song. He did have this one, thanks to Bill Anderson:
And granted, he was a very good guitarist. Hence, his version of Malaguena, albeit not even close to a country song:
And he had a hit song in 1974, called "Honeymoon Feelin'":
And he was a banjo picker and a fiddler. As evidenced by:
I guess the problem I have with Roy is stuff like this:
Now, some may like it. It's not my cup of tea. But congrats anyway, Roy. Charlie McCoy
Charlie McCoy has a long resume as a studio musician. He played on such seminal albums as Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde On Blonde. He also played harmonica on Roy Orbison's recording of Candy Man. Remember that?
Granted, this video has Roy subbing for Charlie McCoy, but I can't pass up an opportunity to post a Roy Orbison video.
But back to Charlie. Here's his rendition of the Orange Blossom Special:
How about some 40's music? Here's Charlie with Choo Choo a'Boogie:
I'm a sucker for '40's swing music, so I like this.
So, overall, I'm kind of getting on board with Charlie being inducted. Barbara Mandrell
On the other hand, there's Barbara Mandrell. I feel like I'm in a time warp, viewing and listening to Barbara's music, but there's no doubt that, in the seventies especially, Barbara was THE female country singer. I can't deny that I put Barbara's LP's on my stereo and sang along.
First of all, there's this:
And I've said it before, but it bears repeating. Wasn't Barbara the Barbie Doll come to life? Look at that platinum blonde hairdo. Look at those cool false eyelashes and that white lip gloss. And, you know, The Midnight Oil was a great country song.
As was Standing Room Only:
I can't lie; this is one of my very favorite Barbara Mandrell songs (please ignore the Judy Jetson uniform):
One cannot forget (well, okay, I can't forget) that Barbara formed a duo with the late, great David Houston, and had a hit on one of my favorite cult classic songs, "After Closin' Time" (and I love Barbara's pantsuit):
Remember this old Roy Head classic? Barbara put her own spin on "Treat Him Right":
I'm just going to ignore the clunkers like "Sleepin' Single in a Double Bed" and "Crackers".
But what about this?
So, okay, maybe my initial reaction has changed a bit. I think Charlie McCoy deserves his spot.
There was never any question that Barbara Mandrell deserves hers.
But Roy Clark before Bobby Bare? Nah, I just can't get on board with that.
1973 was a banner year. Not necessarily for country music, but for ME! Yes, I was eighteen in 1973, and I graduated from high school.
I may SEEM like a dork, concentrating so much on country music during my teen years, but let me assure you, I didn't spend 1973 locked away in my room. (I did that from approximately 1967 to 1972.)
But, on the bright side, look at all the useless knowledge I accumulated during those years! I always wondered what I would do with these needless facts, and now here I am today, authoring a blog that no one reads! That's redemption!
But enough about me. Let's just get this out of the way, right off the bat:
INSTRUMENTAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
Danny Davis & The Nashville Brass
INSTRUMENTALIST OF THE YEAR
Charlie McCoy
(I told you that there would be no more videos of these guys, and I'm sticking to that. Again, it's nothing against Danny Davis or Charlie McCoy; it's just that they just kept winning, and I don't know what I'm supposed to do -- post the same videos over and over?)
FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Loretta Lynn
Well, there's just no decent videos of any of Loretta's songs that won her this award in 1973, so using my editorial discretion, I decided to go back to 1968 instead.
VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR
Conway Twitty & Loretta Lynn
No doubt, C & L were on a roll during these years. They'd wrestled the title away from Porter and Dolly, and they were reveling in it. They had a bunch of hit records in a row, and while the following video isn't chronologically correct, I thought I'd just put 'em all out there and we'd watch.
VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
The Statler Brothers
Here we are again, Statlers! I have a sneaking suspicion that this is going to be repeated for years to come, so let's post some videos while the video postin' is good.
This is an example of the songs I was talking about in my earlier post, about how they did that reminiscent stuff, about when they were kids, that I really couldn't relate to. But who am I to judge? I just got done telling you about locking myself away in my room, so watching Saturday morning serials really doesn't seem so odd, now, does it?
So, here's one of those.
SONG OF THE YEAR
Behind Closed Doors - recorded by Charlie Rich; written by Kenny O'Dell
SINGLE OF THE YEAR
Behind Closed Doors - Charlie Rich
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Behind Closed Doors - Charlie Rich
Well, here we go. After all these years, thirty-five, I guess, here we are with a song that stands the test of time; in fact, one of my top twenty country songs of all time, "Behind Closed Doors".
I guess one could say that 1973 was Charlie Rich's year.
Forgetting about Charlie Rich would mean forgetting about the essence of country music, really. Country music has always been a blend of a bunch of stuff -- gospel, pop, twang, bluegrass, the Nashville Sound -- I'm probably leaving out some stuff. But is there no finer example of what country music truly is? That indefinable "something"? Here's one of the best, not only one of the best songs, but one of country music's best interpreters.
And that piano riff hooked me right off the bat. If anyone deserved these awards in 1973, it was Charlie Rich.
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
Roy Clark
I guess it was the Hee Haw phenomenon (ha! if you can call Hee Haw a "phenomenon"!) The other nominees for entertainer of the year in 1973 were Merle Haggard, Tom T. Hall, Loretta Lynn, and Charley Pride. Which of these names stand out today? I'm thinking not Roy Clark. But hey! Maybe he put on a good show - I don't know.
Of course, the CMA's are not been to be looked at for historical relevancy. They are a snapshot in time. Sometimes they got it right (from a historical aspect); most times they got it wrong. Hindsight is 20/20.
So, here's a look at Roy Clark (a performance from Hee Haw, of course). And he certainly seems like a jovial fellow, so I guess, congratulations, Roy.
COUNTRY MUSIC HALL OF FAME
Chet Atkins
Much has been written about Chet Atkins and his career as both a performer and a producer. So, I'm not going to get into all that now. I thought maybe we'd just enjoy Chet picking the Wildwood Flower.
COUNTRY MUSIC HALL OF FAME
Patsy Cline
Well, there will never be another like her. It's such a shame that her life was cut short so prematurely. I think she'd still be making and selling records today, albeit on an indie label, of course. And she'd be laughing about the histrionics of today's female country singers. She didn't need to do any vocal gymnastics, because she had a pure, natural talent. To me, she will always be the queen of country music.
The 1970 CMA awards, I believe, marked a turning point in country music.
Why? Well, I got nothin' against Johnny Cash, and he's held up by many as the ultimate bright shiny symbol of country music, but let's face it, he's no Merle Haggard.
Let's just start this thing off right, shall we? With the:
SINGLE OF THE YEAR
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Merle Haggard - Okie From Muscogee
Now, it took me almost 40 years to realize that this song was meant to be ironic. Maybe it was the delivery. He certainly presented it with a straight face. How were we supposed to know? I wasn't totally on board with the sentiments that Merle expressed here, although, speaking of irony, I am more on board with them now. Even though he, apparently, had the last laugh.
And, you know, I don't even really give a damn if he was making fun of us, or if he meant what he said at the time.
Yes, I know (now) that Merle is more a liberal than a conservative. But, you know, one can overlook the shortcomings of loved ones, and I love Merle Haggard.
You see, Merle and I go back a long time. Of course, Merle doesn't know this, and he probably wouldn't care. But, aside from Buck Owens, who was of another time, a time of my parents, Merle is the one person who made me love country music. The one who's allowed me to stick with it; to acknowledge that maybe all music doesn't suck. The one who has shown me that one can write about stuff that means something, and prevailing winds be damned, we're gonna write it anyway, because it's honest.
So, if Merle was just playing with us, and making us think one way, when he was leaning the opposite way, well, it's the one transgression in music that I will forgive. Cuz all I have to do is click on "Silver Wings" or "Sing Me Back Home", and all that political stuff goes out the window.
I guess it's the way that some people feel about Dylan. Merle is my Dylan. Merle is country music's Dylan.
MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Merle Haggard
Along with "Okie From Muscogee", Merle had some major hits leading up to the 1970 award season, including "Workin' Man Blues" and "Mama's Hungry Eyes", both recorded in 1969. Alas, couldn't find 'em on YouTube. So, let's go with this one, recorded in 1968, which is a sentimental favorite of mine.
You gotta feel bad for Merle, stuck on the fake front porch, in front of the lace-curtained window, singing about how he got life without parole. Now, I don't know what prison this is, but it's pretty nice! Each inmate has their own little cottage! If this is prison, sign me up! I don't know what they're bitchin' about. "Mama" probably drops by every week or so, to cook up some fried chicken and mashed potatoes. That's better than I eat! Better than my bowl of corn flakes and dry toast.
So, we've actually learned something here. Prison's not so bad. Thanks, Merle.
SONG OF THE YEAR
Sunday Morning Coming Down - recorded by Johnny Cash, written by Kris Kristofferson
I like this version a lot. Kris'll be the first to admit that he's not the world's best singer, but he was in pretty good form here. He even handled the harmony parts quite nicely. It's always a treat, I think, to hear the writer sing his own songs, plus this version has a little more "get up and go" than the original recording. I think the original kind of dragged a bit, in comparison.
I wonder if Kris is still writing songs. Of course, he'd have to release them himself, considering that they don't have bridges and all the bells and whistles (which is basically, what you hear on recordings lately - a bunch of bells, a bunch of whistles). And, you know, his songs just wouldn't cut it nowadays. Too simple. They say too much. And they're not "ME-centric". I hate to break it to Kris, but that's the way the old ball bounces.
FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Tammy Wynette (again)
Obviously, from perusing the pages upon pages of videos that fans have posted of Tammy, she is held in very high esteem. One note, though.....she did record other songs besides "Stand By Your Man". I mean, c'mon. I wonder if Tammy's up in heaven, wondering, "Is this the only song they remember me for? You know, I did have others. I think I'll just go back down there and set the record straight."
So, I couldn't find embeddable videos of any songs that helped Tammy win this award (again) in 1970, such as "Singing My Song" or "I'll See Him Through". So, since I've posted a bunch of Tammy videos already, I'm going to go with a recording from 1966, "Your Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad" (If you keep winning, Tammy, I'm afraid I'm going to run out of choices.)
VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR
Porter Wagoner & Dolly Parton
1970 was the first year that the CMA decided that two people do not make a "group", and therefore, they created the vocal duo category. A spin-off, shall we say. Porter & Dolly were previously the vocal "group" of the year, so now, in 1970, they have been downsized.
This single was released in 1969, so again, this probably put them over the top for the 1970 awards season:
Nice performance, on the old Porter Wagoner Show, or, as his guitar strap indicates, the "Goner" Show. I wonder if anyone looked back at the tape later and said, "Hey Porter, you might want to adjust that strap. Do you really want people referring to you as a 'goner'?"Ido also wish that Porter & Dolly had coordinated their outfits better beforehand.Porter's green and yellow kind of clash with Dolly's powder blue. But that's sort of nitpicky, I guess.
VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
Tompall & The Glaser Brothers I don't blame you if you don't remember these guys. They definitely had their time, and that time was the early seventies. But they actually were around a lot earlier than that; apparently starting in the 1950's. As brothers do, these three guys had great harmonies. I don't think they had a lot of chart success, however. I do remember a recording they did of the Bob Wills song, "Faded Love", and I liked their version. "Tompall" is an unusual name, though, don't you think? I wonder if his parents quibbled over what to name their firstborn. "Tom!", Daddy said. "No, I like Paul!", Mama retorted. It was only after a 19-hour labor that Mom & Dad finally came to a consensus. And thus, "Tompall" came into the world.
Tompall, you may recall, was featured on the hit "Outlaws" album, along with Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings. The fact is, none of the three even knew that this album had been created. The producer slapped a bunch of tunes on an album and released it as "Wanted: The Outlaws". I bet Tompall didn't even know that he was an outlaw. But he reaped the benefits of the album's unexpected success.
Here's the only representation I could find of the group, and this is not a 1970 performance, but rather from 1985. And sadly, there's a fake Jim Glaser singing here, and I'm sure there's a logical explanation for this, but I have no idea what that might be.
INSTRUMENTALIST OF THE YEAR
Jerry Reed
Here's a "guitar duet", you might say, featuring Chet Atkins and Jerry Reed. I guess Chet is passing the torch (or the guitar pick), since Chet had owned this award in years prior.
I think they were both really good musicians. I say "I think", because what do I know? It all sounds really good to me, but I'm certainly no guitar connoisseur. I can barely hold a pick without dropping it inside the guitar hole (is that the technical term?) and then I have to hold the guitar upside-down and shake it to get the pick out, because I only own one pick.
So, take it from me, these guys are WAY better guitar players than me. God rest your soul, Jerry Reed.......and Chet.
INSTRUMENTAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
Danny Davis and the Nashville Brass
As you know from my previous post, there are no videos available for Danny and his Brass, but I liked them, and there were a bunch of guys in this group, so they had to split the earnings several ways, which kept them relatively poor over the years, except for Danny, I'm sure, who got a bigger share of the pot.
COMEDIAN OF THE YEAR
Roy Clark
Thankfully, 1970 was the last year that this award was given out. And really, by then (after only four years), they were scraping to come up with a winner (not to mention five nominees).
I just don't think of Roy Clark as a "comedian". Great guitar player, yes. Decent "Hee Haw" co-host, okay. Had a nice recording called, "The Tips Of My Fingers", agreed. But I don't really know how he qualifies as a comedian.
But, you know, I could just be missing something. I know he made a lot of weird facial contortions when he was performing, so maybe that's it.
I was just thinking - what if you won an award for comedian of the year, and you were never trying to be funny? How embarrassing that would be! "What do you mean, comedian of the year?" And you'd slink up to the podium and say something serious, and everybody would be rolling in the aisles. I think ol' Roy probably just rolled with it....and that's how his career as a comedian began......
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
Merle Haggard
No surprise here, after the year that Merle had. And, fyi, I saw Merle Haggard in concert back in 1968, and yes, he deserved to be named Entertainer of the Year for 1970, and for a whole bunch of other years.
Strangely (ha!), Merle only had that one year in which he grabbed a whole bunch of awards. You'd think his career stopped in 1970 or something. Nothing could be further from the truth. But all things are cyclical, I guess. So, the CMA moved on to someone else.
And he didn't even get into the hall of fame until 1994. I don't know if there's a waiting period or what. They could have just slapped him in there in 1970, but I guess they wanted to give others a chance.
This is a nice video performance. Merle didn't actually release this single until 1970, but I've done a bunch of Merle videos, so I had to change things up a bit. So, even though he won the entertainer of the year award technically prior to releasing this song, I'm sure the CMA voters knew that he was going to come up with another great one, so they were ahead of the curve, let's say.
HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES
The Carter Family
There were a couple of true pioneers inducted into the hall of fame in 1970, the Carter Family, certainly fitting that bill. Hard to think that this is where country music originated, since it's nothing like this anymore (obviously), but without Ralph Peer traveling around the country to document the original American music of the day in 1927, maybe there would be no country music at all.
The original group consisted of A.P., Sara, and Maybelle. I can't find any early videos of the original Carter Family, but here is one with Maybelle and daughters Helen and Anita. (Note that June is not included here. Truth be told, June was by far the worst singer in the family, but that's really neither here nor there.)
Bill Monroe
Bill Monroe was the father of bluegrass music. I don't know exactly how that works. How do you invent a new genre of music? There's not too much precedence for that. Could that happen now? I really don't think so. What could be different enough from the established forms of music to be considered something new? So, that's quite an accomplishment. That'd be something to put on your resume: "I invented a new style of music". "Hey, you're hired then!"
Admittedly, before I knew anything about Bill Monroe, other than his name, I imagined his singing voice to sound quite different from how it actually sounded. I was taken aback by his high tenor. Now, of course, it seems natural. But one generally doesn't expect a guy to sing like that.
So, 1970 was a watershed year for country music.
I don't know exactly how it was a watershed year, but I like using the word "watershed".
Oh, wait. I know. It's when electric guitar-dominated music came to the fore. Because prior to 1970, it was that "string" thing that good old Chet advocated. And so, in 1970, country music got real.
If only that were to last. Country fans had to suffer through a bunch of crummy stuff in years to come, before the music "swung back" to what it was supposed to be. That was just before it finally took the fatal plunge into Crap Land.
So, it's nice to look back, isn't it?
You may be asking, how long can I keep going with this year-by-year recap? I don't know yet. I haven't gotten disillusioned yet, although I know that disillusionment is on the horizon. The seventies are upon us, and the seventies were brutal.
