Music wasn't foremost in my mind in 1977. My son was born in November of 1976, so I was busy. I had known nothing about babies, but the old adage is actually true -- babies are resilient, despite their parents' ignorance. Unless, of course, you can actually kill them with love (you can't).
I had quit working -- which is sort of amusing. As if one can just quit and magically be able to sustain their family. It would be more accurate to say that I took a break. Considering that we were pitiably poor, taking a break was either a selfless act of motherly love or a dimwitted blunder. Honestly, though, how many material goods does one need? Most every newly-married couple I knew lived in a mobile home (it was the seventies -- thanks to Jimmy Carter, nobody could afford anything). It's funny how people love to throw around the term "trailer trash", but much like commenters on news sites who are instant experts on health insurance, people in general are ignorant. My house was nice. It was new, for one thing. I guess people are put off by the "shape" of mobile homes. Inside, however, it's a regular home. Morons. I had actual appliances and everything -- a washer and dryer; not a washboard. I will grant you that heating and air conditioning costs were astronomical. That was thanks to the paper-thin walls. But it was a mobile home. If I'd wanted good insulation, I guess we could have rented an apartment -- if we could find one. Apartments in the seventies in my town were practically unheard of. Some homeowners had little apartments on the upper floors of their houses. There were a couple of squat brick buildings that were "apartment houses". They were generally situated in the less-than-desirable areas of town. And they were meant for singles; not for families. The working girls, the State employees who hadn't yet found a husband.
I bought baby clothes at Woolworth's. I was a big Woolworth's consumer. We had a TV and a stereo and a stroller. The drawback of living in a mobile home park was the habitat -- long, long streets that went on forever. And yea, there were undesirable people I encountered while pushing my baby in his stroller down that interminable street. The park was a conglomeration of regular working people, those on their third divorce and their fourth batch of kids, upwardly mobile couples who held their nose and padded their savings accounts until they could afford to get the hell out, groups of party-bros sharing the rent. Yet, in 1977 there was a pastoral horse pasture across the street from my home. A white picket fence and lazy mares sidling up for a snack. That didn't last long -- progress and more lots to develop -- but it was there for a while -- and my baby boy and I saw it.
Music hovered between background minutiae and rare gems. Country music was in flux in 1977 -- the Outlaws and the In-Laws. Sixties holdovers, urban cowboys, and new jewels. I was nearing the end of the line with country music, yet I wouldn't give up on it completely until 1984. I hated most of it, but I kept holding out hope that something magical would happen.
This is what I remember:
Apparently Waylon and Willie saw no need to do a live version of this song. This was the best video I could find, and all in all, it's not bad:
After a time, I grew tired of Crystal Gayle and her hair. I mean, how many times can one watch a girl flipping her four-foot-long tresses? It was odd and led to many questions, such as, how much did she pay for plumber visits? And how much must the plumbers hate getting that call? "Oh, it's Long Hair again. You wanna take this one, Bob?" Nevertheless, this was a nice song the first fifty times I heard it.
George and Tammy got back together briefly in 1977, because they knew a good thing when they heard it. And when we heard it. It's so nice to hear Tammy again. There are two female singers who knew, really knew, how to sing country -- Patsy Cline and Tammy Wynette. It's that indefinable, know-it-when-you-hear-it quality. Tammy had it:
Surprisingly, or unsurprisingly, many of the hits I remember from 1977 are unavailable on YouTube, so I will forego "The Wurlitzer Prize" Instead, let's take a look at a track that was truly country, and sustained my puny faith in country music. Unfortunately, no performance from 1977 can be found (and Emmylou had long black hair then -- not as long as Crystal Gayle's -- just sayin').
If one was to tick off the top singles from 1977, there would be these two. One is catchy -- really really catchy. The other is stuck in time. I'll let you be the judge:
But you know me. I'm a sucker for real country. This song, to me, will always represent 1977. My baby boy won't remember it, but I do:
If one is to remember the good times, music provides that nudge. When I hear these songs, I'm back in my mobile home kitchen with its frilly curtains, the FM radio blaring out of my faux-walnut console stereo, my baby nodding off in his play swing in the living room as I watch him from my perch in front of the avocado GE range. I was but a child then, playing at being a grownup.
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.
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.
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.