Over the years, I've seen a lot of country bands. To be clear, a band in country terms is distinct from a rock band. In the sixties a country band played "backup" to the star. That said, some bands distinguished themselves ~ The Buckaroos and The Strangers, to name two. I would add the little-known Po' Boys, who backed Bill Anderson, and get zero mention.
By the seventies things began to change. Alabama was self-contained; Randy Owens was the lead singer, but the band in its entirety was the star. In the eighties, NGDB (The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band) were iconic. The Mavericks, in the nineties, distinguished themselves as seminal musicians.
But the best true band I ever saw live was Diamond Rio. It was a small, intimate venue, in a casino many miles from home. Having dinner in the restaurant prior to the concert, I spied Gene Johnson at a table alone, endeavoring to eat his steak and baked potato, when a couple of frenzied female fans accosted him, and I thought, wow, leave the poor man alone. He was gracious, but I would never do that to another human being. It was an eye-opening revelation; thus when my then-husband and I passed by his table on our way out, I deliberately ignored Gene.
At half past eight o'clock, we settled into our third-row seats in the venue and proceeded to be wowed by a phenomenal band. I think there was actually a red velvet curtain as a backdrop.
Marty Roe was a true bluegrass singer who tucked himself into the country genre and embraced the role of showman. Lead guitarist Jimmy Olander exuded perfection and personality. Gene Johnson, despite the heartburn interference, was a master. The band was rounded out by Brian Prout on drums, Dan Truman caressing the keys, and Dana Williams plunking the bass.
There are great artists who are duds at live performance. See: Alan Jackson. I wouldn't even remember the Jackson concert I attended except for a skinny elm tree perched in front of the mic wearing a white cowboy hat.
Diamond Rio was no Alan Jackson.
I love this song:
I'm partial to this one, too:
Barney Fife and a country band? C'mon!
Sadly, I don't know if DR was oblivious, but they never made an official video of this song?
All Rio's songs weren't about the fun.
Yes, George Strait did it, but Diamond Rio did it first:
The nineties can be summed up for me in two words ~ Diamond Rio.
Tom Brumley passed away this week, at the age of 73.
It makes me sad.
Once upon a time, country bands achieved a fame all their own. They even released albums. Merle, of course, had the Strangers, with Norm and Roy and a whole bunch of other supremely talented players. Bill Anderson's Po'Boys released an instrumental album that was a favorite of mine....way back when.
Fans followed big-name artists and their bands, and knew who played lead guitar and who played fiddle........and who played steel guitar.
There were (and are) a lot of great steel guitar players, but take a look at this:
Sorry the video quality is so poor, but this was the best representation of Tom's work I could find on the net.
This is, arguably, the most famous steel guitar solo in the history of country music.
So, Buck is gone, Don Rich is gone, Doyle Holly is gone, and now Tom Brumley is gone.
I once, a long, long time ago, had a chance to see Buck and his Buckaroos in concert. Actually, I saw them twice. When I was eleven, I visited my older sister in Fort Worth, Texas, and Buck and the guys were playing at some used car lot opening (okay, maybe it wasn't that, but it was some kind of store promotion), so we hussled ourselves out to see them.
The second time was an actual concert, and my friend, Alice, and I hung around after the show and collected autographs from all the Buckaroos. I wish I knew what happened to those autographs. But at least I have the memories.
So, rest in peace, Tom Brumley. And thanks for the joy you gave us. Autographs may be lost, but music is forever.
1968 was the first year that the CMA awards were televised; on CBS, I think.
I remember these awards, for their low point in cutting off Bob Wills, as he was starting to make his speech, after being inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. He got to the stage, opened his mouth to speak, and suddenly we were "joining our regularly scheduled news broadcast, already in progress."
Even at my young age, I knew that was just rude. And disrespectful.
I don't care who you are or how young you may be. If you like George Strait, even a little bit (?), you need to know about Bob Wills. Watch this:
So, Bob Wills was disrespected in 1968. Hold on. It gets worse.
SONG OF THE YEAR
Honey - recorded by Bobby Goldsboro, written by Bobby Russell
Okay, it's a difficult choice, but I would have to say that this is my MOST HATED SONG OF ALL TIME.
Shall we count the ways in which this song is PUTRID? Sappy, yes. But more than that. Words really cannot describe. Suffice it to say that I was SO GLAD that Honey hit that tree with her car. Had she not, I would have had to take matters into my own hands. Honey was a bimbo. She deserved to die. I mean, if you can't even drive your car to the market without ramming into a tree, then your existence is some stupid freak of nature, and yet, some clueless poor sap is now SINGING about you and eulogizing your rank stupidity, and we all have to suffer the consequences.
But knowing Bobby Goldsboro, he also loved his bowl of Rice Krispies (remember the story told, ad nauseum, about how he stepped on a Rice Krispie kernel, and hurt his foot? I think he told Merv, Johnny, Joey, and any local-cable access guy who would listen about his stupid Rice Krispie incident, and it didn't even have a punch line!)
So now, Bobby's mourning the loss of his Rice Krispies, which, sadly had more intelligence in their individual kernels than HONEY had in her vast wasteland of a brain pan.
Moving on (while monitoring my blood pressure), let's look at the:
SINGLE OF THE YEAR
Harper Valley PTA - Jeannie C. Riley
This song was written by Tom T. Hall, so basically any connection to this song has to be limited to someone with a middle initial prominently displayed.
I don't have any quibbles with this song, except for the fact that it was played over and over and over....and over.
This style of song would never make it nowadays. It really is all verses. There's no chorus. Certainly there's no bridge. Tom was lucky that he was writing at a time when one didn't need to conform to a standard pattern of songwriting. He would just be poor and working at a 7-11, moaning about the fact that nobody will listen to his songs. Join the club, Tom.
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison - Johnny Cash
Again, not to come off as being a chronic bitcher, but how many damn times do we need to hear this song? Yea, I know. Key of E. I played it, too. Didn't you? Didn't everyone?
Again, do you think in your wildest dreams that a song like this would make it nowadays? Ha! (as Johnny would say). You'd be patted on the head and sent off on your way back to your factory job, shame nipping at your heels. You'd join old Tom T. Hall, working at the 7-11 and bitching about how A&R guys have no taste; no taste at all, in music.
FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Tammy Wynette
Whew! Something I can get behind, finally! What can I say about Tammy Wynette? I am just in awe of her talent. I miss Tammy. We'll not see the likes of Tammy again, well, probably never. Like Patsy, someone like Tammy comes along once in, what, 50 years?
Here's the song that probably won her the award in 1968:
MALE VOCALISTOF THE YEAR
Glen Campbell
This single was released in 1967, so it probably played a major role in Glen winning the male vocalist award in 1968. It was written by John Hartford.
I like this one. I know that Glen tended to record Jimmy Webb songs, and I like some of those. But this is just a nice, folky kind of song (that has a lot of verses, if you study it) and it has a banjo! And didn't Glen use this as his theme song for his show on CBS? So, I guess he liked it, too.
VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton
Okay, I wouldn't technically call Porter and Dolly a "group", but there wasn't a "duo" category back then, so there you go.
Porter and Dolly went on to win this award countless times, deservedly so. Their major competition, at least for awhile, was Conway and Loretta, so I think there might have been some knock-down, drag-out fights in the alley of the Ryman Auditorium, over who was the better duo. But alas, Conway didn't want to muss up his oily slicked-back "coiff", so Porter won.
Here's a 1967 song, that probably garnered this duo their first (of many) awards:
COMEDIAN OF THE YEAR
Ben Colder
Okay, it's maybe an acquired taste. Maybe you had to be there. But I frankly find Ben Colder (Sheb Wooley) funny. "Ben Colder here". She said, "It ain't been no colder here than anyplace else".
What Ben (Sheb) did was take-off's on popular songs, in a drunken, debauched kind of way. So here's "Almost Persuaded # 2 1/2":
The INSTRUMENTALIST OF THE YEAR and INSTRUMENTAL GROUP OF THE YEAR repeated from 1967: Chet Atkins and The Buckaroos. Take a look back at my previous post to see a sampling of their wonderful performances.
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
Glen Campbell
Yes, Glen was at his peak in 1968. I like Glen better now than I did back then. It was, to be honest, a stretch to call what he was doing "country". Jimmy Webb is a wildly successful songwriter, and I love his song, "Galveston". I just don't really like this one. But it put Glen in the catbird seat, and made him entertainer of the year for 1968.
Are we having fun yet? I am. I like this retrospective of the CMA awards, year by year.
And if 1968 sucked, and you know it did, just hold on. It starts to get better, as the years go by.
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.
This is, I think, number four in a continuing series of (in my opinion) the twenty best country songs of all time.
This song was (allegedly) written by Buck Owens, and was recorded by Buck Owens and the Buckaroos on Capitol Records in 1964. This song was actually the "B" side of "My Heart Skips A Beat". "Together Again" went to number one on June 6, 1964. The song has been recorded approximately 2,532,159 times (okay, I don't know how many times, but it's a lot).
I like this video, because it shows the Buckaroos, who were an integral part of Buck's popularity. Don Rich (naturally), Tom Brumley, Doyle Holly.
This seems like the appropriate time to note the passing of Ken Nelson, Capitol Records producer, who launched the career of Buck Owens, and who also discovered Merle Haggard.
Ken also produced "The Wild Side Of Life" for Hank Thompson in 1952. He recorded hits for Wynn Stewart, Ferlin Husky, Jean Shepard, among many others.
I remember the album, "Live At Carnegie Hall" by Buck & The Buckaroos (you should buy this one; trust me). Buck gives a shout out to Ken Nelson on the recording.
Ken Nelson was 96 years old, so he lived a long and, thankfully for country fans, a very productive life.
Here is the link to the LA Times article about Ken Nelson:
