Showing posts with label Jack Greene. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jack Greene. Show all posts

Sunday, January 23, 2022

Dallas Frazier

 
 
The first time I saw Dallas Frazier's name was in the liner notes of Connie Smith's "The Best Of Connie Smith" album in 1967.

Thereafter, his name kept popping up, like on this one:

Before long his name was everywhere. As one who was coming to country music as a neophyte, I paid attention to "important" names. It seemed this Dallas Frazier guy was important.



 

So, I met Dallas Frazier via Connie Smith.

Frazier started out as a prodigy vocalist, at age fourteen, then went on to write novelty songs like Alley Oop, recorded by the Hollywood Argyles in 1957. It wasn't until he moved to Nashville that his songwriting career took off -- and boy, did it. Different songwriters dominated the country scene depending upon the era. In the late fifties/early sixties it was Hank Cochran and Harlan Howard. By the mid-sixties/early seventies Dallas Frazier assumed the mantle.

A few examples:


 

(rendered by the songwriter himself)
 

 
 
Naturally, this is the song that is Dallas Frazier's claim to fame:
 
(Oh, you like it; admit it.)

I readily admit I don't know every single song Dallas Frazier ever wrote. But this one is probably my favorite:

(sorry, no decent live performance to be found)

In 1976 Dallas Frazier retired from the music business and became an ordained minister, which is sublimely cool. As poetic as his written words were, I bet he gave a helluva sermon.

Dallas Frazier passed away on January 14, 2022, and the country angels cried. I'm sure he saved some souls along the way, whether through his preaching or via my preferred way ~ a crisp, succinct musical message.

RIP, Dallas Frazier.

Saturday, March 24, 2018

Transitions ~ 1969 In Music


I "graduated" from junior high in May, 1969 and transitioned to Mandan Senior High that September. I was grown-up! Shoot, I was fourteen going on fifteen! On my way to freshman renown!

Richard Nixon had become president. I'd pissed off my dad by tacking my eighth grade history project (a campaign placard) up on the wall right outside the kitchen door ~ "This Time Vote Like The Whole World Depends On It ~ Nixon/Agnew". Dad was reliably perturbed and baffled. I think he literally scratched his head as he alighted the stoop. My work was done!

That summer odd things happened. Teddy Kennedy killed a girl and the Manson Family killed a bunch of people in gruesome ways. Woodstock happened and most people didn't give a shit. My best friend Alice and I went to the Mandan Theater and saw "Butch Cassidy" and "True Grit". We learned that Glen Campbell was a terrible actor and that Paul Newman still had the bluest eyes under the sun.

Oh yea, there was some kind of "moon landing" that summer. Unfortunately, it was a Sunday night, which was really bad scheduling. Plus the optics weren't good. It was hard to make out what exactly was going on. I did park myself in front of our console TV, and I think my dad was there, too. Maybe Dad was more impressed than I. I didn't grasp the enormity of the event, but I was fourteen. I was more excited anticipating the next "World of Beauty" kit that would land in my mailbox.

(I hope it has white lipstick!)

I'd abandoned rock and roll. But old habits died hard. I still had one foot in AM radio, but mostly, thanks to the influence of my new best friend, I became immersed in country music. 

I was still aware of certain '69 hits, like this:




And this song, over and over:

 

This was catchy:




I liked this one because I watched Hawaii Five-O every Thursday night at nine p.m. on CBS television (Book 'em. Danno):




But frankly, the number one song of the year was one my seven-year-old sister really liked, because it was a cartoon. This is where pop music was in '69, as much as one wants to wax nostalgic over "Get Back" and "Lay Lady Lay":


On the home front, life had settled into a routine. Dad was sober "sometimes";  Mom was a harpy, mostly. I retreated to the room I now shared with my adolescent sister and spun records on my (still) battery-operated turntable. 

TV was supreme. After all, that's where I basked in Hawaii Five-O and Medical Center, and that's where I found the Johnny Cash Show on ABC TV. 

1969 was Johnny's year. He was insidious. Johnny, with his black waistcoat and his Carters and Statlers and his Carl Perkins and Tennessee Three climbed inside one's brain matter and made himself at home.




But, try as he might, Johnny could never supersede the artist of the sixties, or basically of ever; Merle:




Glen Campbell had his Goodtime Hour on CBS. It was a summer replacement for that subversive Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. I was so oblivious I didn't know the Smothers Brothers were incendiary. We tended to overlook the political screeds, because they appeared nightly on the network news, and focused instead on the comedy. 

Glen Campbell, on the other hand, was an artist I despised. Fortuitously, I later came to my senses ~ but it wasn't entirely my fault. Glen played the hayseed role so well, he was one of the prime reasons I disavowed any familiarity with country music anytime I was pinned down about my musical tastes.

"Hi! I'm Glen Campbell!" he piped up through the cornfield. If it hadn't been for John Hartford, I would have clicked my TV dial to whatever medical drama was playing out on NBC. 

It didn't help that Glen insisted on recording Jimmy Webb songs, although this one, in retrospect, is not bad:


My musical tastes ran more towards:


As a (bogus) CMA member, I voted for this next song as Single of the Year. Freddy Weller had once been a member of Paul Revere and the Raiders, whose posters from Tiger Beat I had tacked to my bedroom wall. I didn't actually like Paul Revere and the Raiders, but I thought Mark Lindsay was cute, with his ponytail. 

This Joe South song didn't win, despite my best efforts. 


Nobody (but me) remembers Jack Greene, but he had the number one song and Single of the Year in 1967, with "There Goes My Everything". 

In 1969 he had an even better song (as Ricky Van Shelton can attest). 



Porter Wagoner actually had a career without Dolly Parton, believe it or not. Alice and I sat cross-legged in her living room and played this LP (and made up our own lyrics to the song (that are NSFW):


Transitions, yes. Confusion, yes. 

Music was my lifeline. And I was just trying to get by.

Friday, March 15, 2013

There Goes My Everything


The first year the Country Music Association rewarded anyone was 1967.  The CMA's would not be televised until the following year, but Jack Greene could boast that he was the first ever recipient of Male Vocalist of the Year.  He also won in the Single of the Year and Album of the Year categories.  And Dallas Frazier won song of the year, by penning Jack's big hit, "There Goes My Everything". 

Jack began his career as a drummer with Ernest Tubb's Texas Troubadours, but by 1966, he had a Decca Records contract, and the hits began.

Granted, it was more than 45 years ago when Jack Greene began topping the charts, but just because things aren't new doesn't mean that they are inconsequential. The penultimate lounge lizard, Engelbert Humperdinck, covered "There Goes My Everything", and glommed onto Jack's country music success with the song; creating a crossover hit that the blue-haired ladies swooned over.  But Jack did it first, and he did it right; the way Dallas Frazier intended.

Jack formed a duo with classic songwriter Jeannie Seely in the 1970's.  I bought their singles.  Their voices fit together just right.

In his later years, his chart success long behind him, Jack Greene continued performing on the Grand Ol' Opry.  Seems that some people still remembered. 

Jack had more hits besides "There Goes My Everything".  There was also "All The Time".  The man knew how to spot a hit song.

One song, though, while not garnering any rewards, will be the song that I, and probably most classic country fans will remember (later covered by Ricky Van Shelton, although a cover is never quite as good as the original):

 Statue of a Fool (written by Jan Crutchfield)



I read that Jack had Alzheimer's Disease.  Anybody who knows me knows that AD is something very personal to me ~ I lost my dad to Alzheimer's. 

I liked Jack Greene.  Jack Greene was country music when country music was perhaps a bit more innocent; and not jaded.  A Jack Greene song reminds me of a cold winter's eve, bundled up with a blanket in my room, listening to WSM crackle on my AM radio; Ralph Emery's warm voice introducing the song. 

Jack's passing makes me a bit misty.

RIP, Jack Greene.  Thank you for Statue of a Fool.





Tuesday, September 23, 2008

The First CMA Awards - 1967

Interestingly, while the Country Music Association itself was formed in 1958, for some reason, they didn't give out any awards until 1967. That seems like kind of a ripoff to those artists who had great songs prior to 1967. I guess they lost out, and their only hope was to live to be old enough to get inducted into the Hall of Fame. (Although I'm pretty sure that probably didn't exactly cross their minds at the time.)

One thing I applaud the earlier awards for, is their relatively small number of categories! Only ten! You know how I feel about how this whole thing has gotten entirely out of hand. But, back in 1967, they kind of kept things in perspective (although they did have a Comedian of the Year category, which, not surprisingly has fallen by the wayside. Unless you count Jessica Simpson.)

While I can't find a list of nominees for 1967, I do have the list of winners.

The 1967 CMA awards were not televised. So, I guess they met in some Shriner's hall or something, and had some drinks and basically watched Jack Greene run up to the podium every ten minutes, as you will see from the winners' list below.

SINGLE OF THE YEAR
There Goes My Everything, Jack Greene

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
There Goes My Everything, Jack Greene

SONG OF THE YEAR
There Goes My Everything - recorded by Jack Greene, written by Dallas Frazier

MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Jack Greene

Well, then, let's hear it! And before we get to the video, I would just like to mention - remember Dallas Frazier? A great writer. I could do a whole video blog post of just Dallas Frazier songs.



A few years may have passed, but Jack can still do it well! Jack was originally a member of Ernest Tubb's Texas Troubadours. He was ET's drummer before going out on his own.

My favorite Jack Greene recording is "Statue Of A Fool". Check it out when you have the chance.

One award that Jack didn't win in 1967 was:

FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Loretta Lynn

Tammy hadn't really hit yet at the time these awards were presented. And prior to Tammy, at least in the sixties, Loretta was the gal. Good old Buffalo Lynn, as I call her, because I got her autograph at Panther Hall sometime around 1964, and I swear she signed it "Buffalo Lynn". It's not my fault she has terrible handwriting.

Since the awards were presented in 1967, I'm thinking that they were honoring work from the previous year, so here's Loretta with a MAJOR hit from 1966:



Wow - that was fun! I really love watching videos like this from the sixties. I'll just ignore the fact that she was performing on that sexist Doyle (or Teddy?) Wilburn's show, but didn't she look young and cute?

I know this is really nitpicky, but was she actually playing that guitar? Cuz, first of all, I think that song was in the key of A, and for the key of A, that's the weirdest finger position I've ever seen, and I don't see a capo on her guitar. PLUS, she keeps taking her fingers off the frets. I don't know how you can play a chord if you're constantly letting go of the guitar. So, I thnk the guitar was a prop. But that's okay. You wouldn't see too many "girl" singers nowadays even pretending to play guitar.

VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
The Stonemans

Now, I know my country music history, but I admit, I don't know anything about this group, really. But, in perusing YouTube, I did find some videos, and my impression is, first of all, they are bluegrass; not country. But that's okay. Country music embraces bluegrass, after all. You know, with Bill Monroe, and more recently, Marty Stuart.

Secondly, I guess they kind of tried to fill that "novelty" niche, because if you watch this, it's kinda weird. You got the one girl who's, shall we say, overly enthusiastic. Then you've got the other one who maintains the "stone face" throughout the entire number.

So, not my cup of tea, really. But, I think this was a transition period, and this group was one of the last remnants of the older stuff. Plus, I guess the only other "group" around at that time was the Statler Brothers, and they got their share of statuettes later, believe me.

And these guys were good musicians:



INSTRUMENTALIST OF THE YEAR
Chet Atkins

What can be said about Chet Atkins that hasn't already been said? He is most certainly a legend. Chet was in charge at RCA around this time, so how could they afford to not give him this award? (just kidding)

Chet's gotten a lot of flack about creating the "Nashville Sound", and how that ruined country music, but I think there's both good and bad to be said about that. Country music had to survive, number one. So, he did what he needed to do. And so he put strings behind Jim Reeves. Didn't hurt Jim's career now, did it? I read that Willie Nelson just couldn't work with Chet, because of the syrupy strings, but okay, it wasn't right for Willie, but it worked for others.

So, I don't know. I don't care for the Anita Kerr Singers horning in on every country record, either, but that stuff still sounds way better than the stuff they're putting out today.

Anyway, don't forget that Chet was first and foremost a musician. Here he is on the Johnny Cash Show:



INSTRUMENTAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
The Buckaroos

They don't have this award anymore. Cuz it's all about ME. ME, in the spotlight. The band is just incidental. They're interchangeable. Rock and roll still embraces the concept of a BAND. Country music used to. A lot of stars' bands used to put out albums of their own. I can cite The Strangers, for one. The Po' Boys are another. And these albums were GOOD.

Of course, it's hard to top the Buckaroos. When the band was in its prime, it featured, of course, Don Rich, and also Tom Brumley on steel, Doyle Holly on bass, Willie Cantu on drums. And they won GRAMMYS. Not to mention, they had really pretty "outfits" (or "costumes" or "uniforms" or whatever the male species calls its ensembles).

Here's the Buckaroos at their best:



The fiddle was not Don's original instrument. And I hear that's a HARD instrument to learn.

Don was taken before his time, in 1974. Buck never got over it.

COMEDIAN OF THE YEAR
Don Bowman

Okay, I got nothin' here. I remember Ben Colder (been colder here), but I just don't remember Don Bowman.

And YouTube is of little help. Here's one, but it's not a video, per se. Just some pictures and graphics and the original recording.

And humor is relative. But here's Don Bowman:



ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
Eddy Arnold

Of course, entertainer of the year is the most coveted CMA award.

Watching this video, one sees the ease with which Eddy performed. As you know, Eddy passed away this year. A lot of his songs were more "country pop" than country, but he opened the doors for country music beyond the Nashville city limits.

This one is short, but it's Eddy's most famous song:



COUNTRY MUSIC HALL OF FAME

Red Foley

Red Foley was really before my time. (I'm not as old as the hills, you know.) But I do know this song, obviously. The video quality is poor, but this was the best I could find of:

PEACE IN THE VALLEY


J.L. (Joe) Frank

I understand that Mr. Frank was a country music promoter in the early days. He promoted Eddy Arnold, Minnie Pearl, Roy Acuff, and Gene Autry, among others. I guess he was pretty brave, promoting those "hillbillies". We may not know these guys, but they paved the way.

Jim Reeves

I'll just say it. I am not a Jim Reeves fan. That doesn't negate the impact he made on country music in the early sixties. He had a niche. He was the tuxedoed guy who did the (thanks, Chet) Nashville sound recordings. He had some good songs. This just doesn't happen to be one of them (although it's his biggest hit):



And c'mon kids that were in the American Bandstand audience - what's with the screaming? You know, your parents listened to Jim Reeves. Have some teenager cred, will you? You're supposed to rebel.

Now, this one I like:



You know, the guy is long gone, so who am I to criticize? But it just seems to me that he was sort of going through the motions. Like this was his "schtick". But he was wildly successful, so....I'm just saying, he's no Bobby Bare.

So, there you have it. 1967. The first CMA awards.

We'll try to capsulize some other years as we go along.

After all, this is country music month. Oh, I guess it's not. This is still September. October used to be country music month, but now it's November. Man, it's hard to keep up with all these changes! I guess I have some time, then.