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Post by callipygias on Feb 18, 2011 16:01:11 GMT -5
THIS THREAD IN NO WAY CONDONES TUNING INTO MODERN COUNTRY RADIO With a few exceptions I've always hated it, but when I happened on CMT's 100 Greatest Country Songs countdown a few years ago, seeing people like Ray Charles on it interested me enough to watch, and there was some stuff that blew my dumb cracker mind. I won't listen to a second of modern country, but some of the songs and singers that have stood the test of time are pretty amazing. Two moments from the countdown that really got me I found on YouTube. This first link will take you right to [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPcTzwdWeeA#t=1m33s ]an amazing chorus[/url]. Patty Loveless's little half-step drop on the word "tears" is unforgettable. I can't say I love the song, but I sure love its chorus. This second link will take you right to the part of D-I-V-O-R-C-E that was [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2o9-jmtNoU#t=1m40s ]my favorite thing in the whole countdown[/url], but it's worth listening to the whole song, which I'll put at the bottom of this post. I'd never heard Tammy Wynette's unbelievably unique voice before. Not to my knowledge, anyway. It about explodes out of her tiny self. And when I'm feeling really old timey:
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Post by solgroupie on Feb 18, 2011 20:48:36 GMT -5
nice disclaimer. i whole heartedly support it.
country music has always been a part of my life, even before i started listening to it for several hours a day for a living. love it or hate it, it's a huge part of american heritage. if i am asked if i like country music, i always say no. but there are always exceptions, and i cannot dismiss early country - the artists who probably never thought of themselves as artists - who shaped the genre into something real, something every class could identify with.
my parents were invited to a dinner party shortly after patsy cline's tragic death. the hostess was a very serious fan and became extremely upset with my mom, who after having a few drinks, kept singing i fall to pieces over and over. needless to say, they were probably never invited back. i love patsy. she put everything she had into her songs.
hank williams sr. was another one taken too soon - this is my favorite HWS song. i always felt kind of bad for his son - he had too much to live up to; too many people told him conflicting things - don't copy your dad - try to be more like your dad, etc. i hate most every hank williams jr. song i hear, because he mentions his dad in so many of his lyrics. we KNOW!
this was the country i grew up on.
^i knew all the words to both of those songs by the time i was in second grade. my parents and their friends played them over and over on the weekends. my parents partied with conway after he did a show in knoxville back in the 60's. my mom sat on his lap and called her sister so she could get conway to growl "hello, darlin" in the phone. i have a picture of my mom and conway - i can't tell who had the most impressive hair - my mom or conway.
the statler brothers greatest hits is the only country music cd i own. my parents, my sister and i knew every word to their songs and wore out our 8 tracks of the statlers. this song was played at my aunt's wedding. their version of how great thou art was played at my mother's funeral. i still love the blending harmony of their voices.
the music we play at the country music station i work for today is soooo different. country music had to evolve like every other type of music, but i can't accept the direction it went. they all sound alike to me - i can't tell one band, one artist from another. there are definitely worthy performers today. but few have the same qualities the veterans of country music had.
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Post by Mighty Jack on Feb 19, 2011 6:17:20 GMT -5
I'm not a Country music fan, but there are some talented folk, great songwriters and great voices associated with it.
The one Country artist I love is Johnny Cash. But he always had a little rock and roll in him.
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Post by Phantom Engineer on Feb 19, 2011 12:06:39 GMT -5
Ah yes, country music. In my younger days it was just something to make fun of. And there's still room for that. But I have come to some conditional appreciation. As MJ mentioned Johnny Cash of course. The Sun Studio stuff is great and the later American Recordings are fantastic. But in between he did crank out a lot of overproduced schlock. Realistically not everything he did was gold. But enough was. Also Carl Perkins and Waylon Jennings were cool. And I like a lot of country guitar players even if I don't always like the songs.
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Post by TurkeyVolGuessnMan on Feb 19, 2011 16:40:49 GMT -5
Country music was the only thing I remember my parents listening to when I was a kid in the 70's. I hated that style of music for years after I discovered Kiss, Van Halen, etc. However, every so often, an old country song will pop in my head. Two of the more recent ones to get in my head (for absolutely no reason):
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Post by solgroupie on Feb 19, 2011 19:20:09 GMT -5
it took me some time to find this because i didn't know the name of the artist. but i remember hearing this song many times when i was a kid back in the seventies.
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Post by callipygias on Feb 19, 2011 20:00:01 GMT -5
Man, I really like this one. I must've listened to it half a dozen times already. I grew up hearing about the Statler Brothers, but I never knew even one of their songs, apparently. I found out through that countdown show CMT did that they're the ones who did that crazy "Smoking cigarettes and watching Captain... Kaaaangaroo..." song. I still can't quite believe that. This was #3 on CMT's all-time countdown: It could approach the top ten in just about any genre's countdown, though.
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Post by solgroupie on Feb 19, 2011 20:22:29 GMT -5
that's another great one from the statlers, off their greatest hits album. there isn't a bad song on that. the video is kind of lame, but the song is awesome.
my sister had the y'all come back saloon album by the oak ridge boys back in the 70s and we played that one to death, too. i know they are known mainly for elvira, but this one was my favorite.
i know george jones has had a long and impressive career, but out of all the songs of his i have heard, this more recent one was the one that i like the best.
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Post by solgroupie on Feb 19, 2011 20:27:19 GMT -5
This was #3 on CMT's all-time countdown: It could approach the top ten in just about any genre's countdown, though. very true. his daughter's not bad, either. this is one of my favorites.
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Post by Mighty Jack on Feb 20, 2011 14:52:49 GMT -5
As MJ mentioned Johnny Cash of course. The Sun Studio stuff is great and the later American Recordings are fantastic. But in between he did crank out a lot of overproduced schlock. Realistically not everything he did was gold. But enough was Even Johnny hated that schlocky, over produced material, and fought with studios to eliminate that stuff.
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Post by Crowfan on Feb 20, 2011 15:24:05 GMT -5
I'm basically old school on country music. Love Johnny Cash, my other favorites are Johnny Horton, Kitty Welles, and Patsy Cline. Can't figure out how to post videos, sorry, but there are some on Youtube.
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Post by theroadtodeep13 on Feb 20, 2011 16:06:51 GMT -5
I'm partial to Friends in Low Places by Garth Brooks. He performed that song on Hee-Haw back in 1990.
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Post by callipygias on Feb 20, 2011 17:06:34 GMT -5
She's the only one to make the "Greatest Songs" top ten twice. Not even Hank Sr. matched that. I Fall to Pieces was #7 (or so), and this one was #3, though many probably expected it to be #1. While I respect how good a song Crazy is, it's not the kind I'd usually listen to. Patsy's voice is the only reason I listen to it. Incidentally, Stand By Your Man (Tammy Wynette) was #1. While I was watching I fully expected Patsy Cline's Walking After Midnight to be #1, but if I remember right it didn't even show.
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Post by mummifiedstalin on Feb 21, 2011 8:14:06 GMT -5
Anyone remember Patsy Montana? My wife loves her. I think it started as an ironic thing, but now she's just a straight-up fan.
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Post by solgroupie on Feb 22, 2011 14:39:59 GMT -5
johnny cash and the statler brothers - the statlers do bed of roses, one of their best.
i heard a song at work today that reminded me to mention a band out today that i actually do like - the zac brown band. so far, i've liked everything they've released. they aren't over the top, but more mellow with good harmonies.
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