One thing that I have noticed about my writing over the past years is that I am less afraid to say what I think about things. I guess that is a good thing, but the down side of that is that it can kinda rub some the wrong way....and this one will....but it's how I feel. Though, if anybody from Mercury Records reads this, they just might have a smile on their face.
As someone who writes about the music business, people ask me sometimes what I think about Country Music nowadays. You know what? I think it's in pretty good shape. It's definitely diverse...and that's a good thing. Sure, there is some stuff out there that isn't that great, but not everything that was released in 1967 was great either. I consider myself a fan of all things and styles Country. My favorite singers are Kenny Rogers and Buck Owens, which are very different sides of the format. So, I'm not going to gripe about how "Country Ain't Country" any more. The cross-over sounds bring a lot of fans and attention to the format, and make for some exciting music.
What I don't like....is the growing trend to record songs about how "Country" one is.or isn't....(I want to clarify real quick....Easton Corbin is the exception to my ears as of late...He's the real deal!).....Then, there's Johnny Cash. I have many of the Man In Black's CD's, but what is the number one way to show that you are a Bad Ass in Country Music these days? You got it, name check Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, or George Jones! It gets old to me.
This became apparent to me on Friday night while watching Hank Williams, Jr. in concert at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena. Overall, it was a great night. Hank put on one of the best shows I have seen him do. The Grascals were great, as well. One of the acts there was Eric Church. Eric has recorded some fine material during his career. I think that "Lightning" and "Two Pink Lines" are two of the most different songs to come out of Nashville the past few years.....but if listening to Johnny Cash or pledging allegiance to the Hag makes you a "bad boy,' then I'm a wild child...The song has been sung, Nashville. It's time for new lyrics....
That leads me to....Jamey Johnson. Many of you are familiar with him. He wrote "Give It Away" for George Strait a couple of years back, and also released THAT LONESOME SONG, which belongs on a list with STORMS OF LIFE and HONKY TONK HEROES. Simply put, the guy is a $%%^^&^ genius! (I'm not going to write the word, as I do have my standards, but you get the idea!)......It's not marketing. He's not a pretty boy singing about trucks and the rebel yell....He writes and singes from the heart. As WSM's Eddie Stubbs might say, "It's real life." He writes about some things that I wouldn't do, sure....but my gosh...he's amazing. Nashville rarely sees a song like "In Color," and his new album is chock full of songs that sound as good. And...to prove he's "Country,' he doesn't come out on stage with his cap backwards with neatly starched jeans, smiling while singing about his tobacco cup and Johnny & June....he sings about "Mowin' Down The Roses" of his ex, or wishing "Mental Revenge" on his ex-lover, a often-forgotten Waylon Jennings hit written by that bad ass himself, Mel Tillis.....There are no smiles anywhere or "yee haws" anywhere, folks....he means it when he sings about not exactly wishing blue skies and sunshine for an ex-lover, and to further prove that he's "Country," he wrote the latest single from the Oak Ridge Boys, and just like Johnson...it doesn't get any more "bad ass" than that! He is simply incredible, and trust me, when his album comes out...you'll know about it....I'll be beating the drum as loudly as I can.
Jamey Johnson.....Remember him.....He's the modern day Hank Williams....Big statement....but I mean it...If you want to know more, go to the store right now and buy THAT LONESOME SONG....and by the way, Bocephus did name-check Johnny and June, as well sing about spitting Beech Nut in a murderers' eye.....but when they're your godparents, well....enough said....and just like Johnson, Bocephus didn't smile either when it came to avenging the death of a friend in "A Country Boy Can Survive."
I know the tone that I write with here is a little different, and I will be the first to say that sometimes fluff sounds great with the window down.....but Jamey Johnson is one of those singers that only comes along every once in a while!.....And if that ain't country.....well....listen to David Allen Coe for the last line!....
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
MARTY STUART IS VERY COOL!
Growing up, watching television was something that was a huge part of my life. Back in the day of three television networks (Yes, Virginia, there was a time!), I was pretty much familiar with each of the programming on ABC, CBS, and NBC....even if I didn't watch it.
That was then, and this is now. Aside from House, The Mentalist, and occasionally the excellent Men Of A Certain Age, there's not a lot that I watch on TV anymore. Time is of the essence, and most days there's not a lot of it.
There are a few guilty pleasures that I have from the tube. Most of them come from the cable network RFD-TV. Whether it be classic country shows like Porter Wagoner or Pop Goes The Country, much of the network's programming takes me back to my youth. That being said, there is one of the network's shows that I have on DVR every week that I just have to watch----The Marty Stuart Show.
Every Saturday night at 7pm central, Stuart hosts a trip back in time. The show, a modern-day Wagoner, is simply a delight from start to finish. Just like Wagoner had one of the best bands at the time in the Wagonmasters, I don't know if there is a better back-up band than the Fabulous Superlatives. They have such an incredible chemistry together. Then, there's emcee Eddie Stubbs, one of the best radio personalites anywhere, banjo player Leroy Troy. One might wonder if Troy is for real, or carrying on a bit. I used to think the same about Mike Snider. However, as Leroy was once a guest on the Mule Skinner Bluegrass Show, a show that Marcia Campbell used to host on a station I once worked for...let me tell you, he is real..very much so. Then, you have the legendary Connie Smith, who is still one of the best female vocalists you will ever hear. Dolly Parton, herself an expert on the matter, once said there were three great female vocalists....Streisand, Ronstadt, and Connie Smith. The rest, she admitted, were all pretenders....She still sounds exactly like she did in the late 60s, cutting those classics for RCA.
Then, you have Smith's husband, Marty Stuart. What can you say about the way that he has represented Country Music over the years? He is an ambassador for the old, and also a representative of the new....which is a pretty incredible balance to make. He does it effortlessly. One of my favorite parts of the show is the Gospel segment. Marty and the Superlatives perform many a song with a soul feel to it, some of them coming from the Soul's Chapel CD, one of his best-ever efforts. It's an education, but yet it's also entertainment. I'm kind of reminded what Bill Cosby once said week during the intro to Fat Albert & The Cosby Kids. "This is Bill Cosby coming at you with music and fun, and if you're not careful...you just might learn something before we done." I know that cross-referencing Stuart and Cosby might be a little strange to some, but I think you get the idea. So, I urge you...watch it this weekend. You'll be entertained!
And one more thing, after all these years, Marty Stuart still has the best hair in Country Music....and as someone a few years younger who doesn't have it anymore, that makes him cool....very much so!
That was then, and this is now. Aside from House, The Mentalist, and occasionally the excellent Men Of A Certain Age, there's not a lot that I watch on TV anymore. Time is of the essence, and most days there's not a lot of it.
There are a few guilty pleasures that I have from the tube. Most of them come from the cable network RFD-TV. Whether it be classic country shows like Porter Wagoner or Pop Goes The Country, much of the network's programming takes me back to my youth. That being said, there is one of the network's shows that I have on DVR every week that I just have to watch----The Marty Stuart Show.
Every Saturday night at 7pm central, Stuart hosts a trip back in time. The show, a modern-day Wagoner, is simply a delight from start to finish. Just like Wagoner had one of the best bands at the time in the Wagonmasters, I don't know if there is a better back-up band than the Fabulous Superlatives. They have such an incredible chemistry together. Then, there's emcee Eddie Stubbs, one of the best radio personalites anywhere, banjo player Leroy Troy. One might wonder if Troy is for real, or carrying on a bit. I used to think the same about Mike Snider. However, as Leroy was once a guest on the Mule Skinner Bluegrass Show, a show that Marcia Campbell used to host on a station I once worked for...let me tell you, he is real..very much so. Then, you have the legendary Connie Smith, who is still one of the best female vocalists you will ever hear. Dolly Parton, herself an expert on the matter, once said there were three great female vocalists....Streisand, Ronstadt, and Connie Smith. The rest, she admitted, were all pretenders....She still sounds exactly like she did in the late 60s, cutting those classics for RCA.
Then, you have Smith's husband, Marty Stuart. What can you say about the way that he has represented Country Music over the years? He is an ambassador for the old, and also a representative of the new....which is a pretty incredible balance to make. He does it effortlessly. One of my favorite parts of the show is the Gospel segment. Marty and the Superlatives perform many a song with a soul feel to it, some of them coming from the Soul's Chapel CD, one of his best-ever efforts. It's an education, but yet it's also entertainment. I'm kind of reminded what Bill Cosby once said week during the intro to Fat Albert & The Cosby Kids. "This is Bill Cosby coming at you with music and fun, and if you're not careful...you just might learn something before we done." I know that cross-referencing Stuart and Cosby might be a little strange to some, but I think you get the idea. So, I urge you...watch it this weekend. You'll be entertained!
And one more thing, after all these years, Marty Stuart still has the best hair in Country Music....and as someone a few years younger who doesn't have it anymore, that makes him cool....very much so!
Monday, April 12, 2010
FAREWELL TO DIXIE
Over the past few weeks, we have lost some dynamic talents in the world of television. Peter Graves. Robert Culp, just to name two. However, I have to admit to being a little surprised to be greeted Sunday morning with the obituary for Dixie Carter, who passed away Saturday due to complications with cancer at the age of 70.
As a child, I remember passing through her hometown of McLemoresville on our way to see relatives in West Tennessee, and asking my parents and grandmother "Who is Dixie Carter," as we would pass by the city limit sign that proudly proclaimed the town as her home. As the 80s passed, I would soon find out.
Her first role that I remember was on CBS's short-lived 1982-83 sitcom Filthy Rich. A comedic send-up of Dallas, it featured Carter and Delta Burke as feuding members of the same family. The show didn't last, unfortunately, but proved to set her up a few years later for a role on the Harry Thomason & Linda Bloodworth-Thomason sitcom Designing Women. On the show, she portrayed Julia Sugarbaker, a Southern belle who was definitely no shrinking violet. She was a brass tack, as the old saying goes, and the chemistry between her and Burke that was already in place was joined by that of Jean Smart and Annie Potts, and the show had a long run. The producers, who were Arkansas natives, were one of the first to make a TV show set in the south that portrayed the locals as having some sense. That's not a knock on the rural sitcoms of the 60s such as The Beverly Hillbillies, but I would put Julia Sugarbaker and company up against the likes of Murphy Brown anyday. The show also benefitted from the addition of her husband, Hal Holbrook, to the cast. The man defines the word genius, and the chemistry these two had together was in evidence, as well.
After the show went off the air in 1993, she continued to act, starring in many series, including the underrated 1999-2002 series Family Law. All along, that southern charm was there. Next to Designing Women, my favorite Carter role came as herself...in a commercial, as strange as that might sound. A few years back, she starred in a series of commercials for AT&T. Holbrook might have been in one of them, but what I remember is the one she did with her father. I believe they filmed it in McLemoresville, where he had owned a grocery store for many years. It wasn't particularly emotional in any way, but it was refreshing to see that in spite of Hollywood success, some people never changed.
Tennessee has been fortunate to have had some great representation in the world of show business. Perhaps Dolly Parton and Elvis Presley are the two best-known people on that list.....but there are others that have represented the Volunteer State with class...and Dixie Carter was one of them.
As a child, I remember passing through her hometown of McLemoresville on our way to see relatives in West Tennessee, and asking my parents and grandmother "Who is Dixie Carter," as we would pass by the city limit sign that proudly proclaimed the town as her home. As the 80s passed, I would soon find out.
Her first role that I remember was on CBS's short-lived 1982-83 sitcom Filthy Rich. A comedic send-up of Dallas, it featured Carter and Delta Burke as feuding members of the same family. The show didn't last, unfortunately, but proved to set her up a few years later for a role on the Harry Thomason & Linda Bloodworth-Thomason sitcom Designing Women. On the show, she portrayed Julia Sugarbaker, a Southern belle who was definitely no shrinking violet. She was a brass tack, as the old saying goes, and the chemistry between her and Burke that was already in place was joined by that of Jean Smart and Annie Potts, and the show had a long run. The producers, who were Arkansas natives, were one of the first to make a TV show set in the south that portrayed the locals as having some sense. That's not a knock on the rural sitcoms of the 60s such as The Beverly Hillbillies, but I would put Julia Sugarbaker and company up against the likes of Murphy Brown anyday. The show also benefitted from the addition of her husband, Hal Holbrook, to the cast. The man defines the word genius, and the chemistry these two had together was in evidence, as well.
After the show went off the air in 1993, she continued to act, starring in many series, including the underrated 1999-2002 series Family Law. All along, that southern charm was there. Next to Designing Women, my favorite Carter role came as herself...in a commercial, as strange as that might sound. A few years back, she starred in a series of commercials for AT&T. Holbrook might have been in one of them, but what I remember is the one she did with her father. I believe they filmed it in McLemoresville, where he had owned a grocery store for many years. It wasn't particularly emotional in any way, but it was refreshing to see that in spite of Hollywood success, some people never changed.
Tennessee has been fortunate to have had some great representation in the world of show business. Perhaps Dolly Parton and Elvis Presley are the two best-known people on that list.....but there are others that have represented the Volunteer State with class...and Dixie Carter was one of them.
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