The Nineteen Fifties in Country Music Were Ripe With Promise

It's not as if I'm so conceited as to think that music was invented in the nineteen sixties.  Sure, that's maybe when my musical education began, but I am vaguely aware that music actually existed before I was born.  Not good music (ha)....I'm being facetious.  I know there was good music in the fifties.  And I have the Ray Price albums to prove it.

But there's most likely a lot about the fifties that I don't know, so, since a person I work with is so enamored of it, I wanted to at least give it a shot.

My retrospective of the '40's was excruciating.  I have much higher hopes for the ten years hence.

1950 found us still HANKering for Hank Williams.  I'm sorry that no music videos exist of Hank.  I, as much as you, hate staring at a static picture while listening to a song.  The person who slapped this up on YouTube maybe could have put a smidgeon of effort into the project; I'm just sayin'.

Nevertheless, here is Why Don't You Love Me Like You Used To Do:

     

An artist I know very little about is Lefty Frizzell.  I do know that he was most likely Merle Haggard's favorite singer, since Merle started out his career sounding just like Lefty, until someone pulled him aside and said, "Uh, you might want to just sing like yourself".  Merle was always adept at impressions, though.  He started off sounding a lot like Lefty; a lot like Wynn Stewart, somewhat like Bob Wills.  

I do not know why Merle Haggard always factors into every music post I make ~ I'm thinking I might as well just shoot for the stars and write a damn book about Merle Haggard.

But, Merle aside, 1951 found Lefty Frizzell hitting the top of the charts with this song:



1952 finally found a woman topping the charts!

Kitty Wells always struck me as being a reluctant star.  It was almost as if she was embarrassed to be up on the stage, when she had clothes to wash and dinner to fix at home.

That's always been the conundrum.  I'm no feminist, but I understand that women, as well as men, can have artistic leanings, and while the men have no compunction about expressing their artistic side, women feel the need to apologize for theirs.  I'm guessing that in 1952, it was almost shameful for someone like Kitty to have a career, although no doubt, her husband Johnnie didn't mind depositing the royalty checks.

Irrespective of Kitty's reluctance, this song sort of started it all for women in country music:



Webb Pierce was huge in the nineteen fifties.  I admit that I don't know why.  He had an odd voice; nasally.  But there is no denying that he was the king of kings in Nashville.  He even had a guitar-shaped swimming pool.  My theory is that he had a lot of dirt on a lot of people; and thus he ruled the Nashville culture with an iron fist.  Songwriters quivered in his doorway and practically pleaded on hands and knees for Webb to record their songs.  He got the pick of the litter; song-wise.  Probably like George Strait; except George can sing.

In 1953, Webb Pierce had a monstrous hit with this song, which anyone with a rudimentary acquaintance with an acoustic guitar can replicate, because the chord progression is so simple, my dog could play it.





Speaking of nasally voices, another big star of the 1950's was Hank Snow.  

I mainly remember Hank Snow because of the song, "I've Been Everywhere", which has a bunch of town names that one has to sing really fast, because, well, it's a fast song.  

As a challenge to myself once, I memorized the lyrics to that song, because I was young, and I didn't have hardly anything clogging up my brain at the time.  It's not as if that knowledge was ever any use to me.  It never came up in a trivia contest or anything.  Nowadays, I can barely remember my own phone number.  

But it wasn't "I've Been Everywhere" that had country fans singing along (as if) in 1954.  It was this song:



You may not think it's a good song, but you should hear Martina McBride sing it. 

Not to belabor this, but I have never been able to figure out if it's "I don't hurt anymore", or "It don't hurt anymore".  Wikipedia says it's "I", but then, why do they sing "it"?  Grammatically, of course, it should be "I", but since when did good grammar factor into country music?

In the year of my birth, 1955, we were once again entertained by Eddy Arnold, who definitely put the "western" in country and western with this song about doggies, which Clint Eastwood and John Wayne informed me were not actual doggies, but rather cows.



There were tons of great songs in 1956, such as Why Baby Why, I Walk the Line, Singin' the Blues; as well as Blue Suede Shoes and Heartbreak Hotel, which were not technically country songs, but rather, rockabilly.   Distinctions used to matter then.

I, however, feel that it's high time we feature some Ray Price.  My mom wasn't a real savvy music connoisseur, but she loved Ray Price.  She, in fact, had a giant crush on him; while my dad just appreciated his music.  I, too, appreciate Ray Price's music; especially from the time before he went all countrypolitan on us; when he just sang stone country songs.

Like this one:



1957 was another banner year for country music.  Again, like 1956, there are loads of hits from which to choose; like A White Sport Coat,  Gone ("since you've gone..."), My Shoes Keep Walkin' Back to You.

But I've chosen this song, which could perhaps also be called rockabilly, but to me, is more of a rock 'n roll/country hybrid.

Why did I choose this one?  Silly ~ I always have to get a book plug in somewhere.  I wrote a bit about this song in my book, Rich Farmers; but even more than that, I have placed this song on my list of the 20 Best Country Songs of All Time; and that's a tough list to crack.

Here are the Everly Brothers:



I feel kind of (not really) bad featuring Ray Price again, but I can't let this song go unposted.  In 1958, Ray had a monster hit with a song written by Bill Anderson (the young'ns will recognize Bill by the song, "Whiskey Lullaby")

It was a tough choice, though.  1958 was swimming with great songs:  Great Balls of Fire (yes, technically, rockabilly again, but dang!  That song will get you up off your chair and dancing!  Alone With You (Faron Young ~ love Faron Young); All I Have to Do is Dream

Pick Me Up on Your Way Down by Charlie Walker (again, give a listen to Martina, if you think this song isn't quite your style.)  

This is such a great song, though; I could not, in good conscience, ignore it.

Once again, Ray Price:



By 1959, the winds of change were blowing.  Soon, Buck Owens and his Buckaroos would light a fire with a telecaster; Tammy Wynette would tear our hearts out with a crying steel and a voice like a wrenching sob.  Loretta would get all feisty about the man who did her wrong.

Kris would have one more beer for dessert.  Bobby (and Mel) would go to sleep in Detroit City.  Tom T. would gossip about the PTA.  Lynn would refuse to promise us a rose garden.

Merle.

Yet, before the decade turned, a four-minute, thirty-eight second song would tell us a tale about a young man who fell in love with a girl named Felina; and about one little kiss.

Here is Marty Robbins:




While the 1940's were essentially a bust for me, country music-wise; the fifties were ripe with promise.  Granted, I never heard these songs (or don't remember hearing them) until a few years down the road; but I can thank artists like Martina for bringing some of them back.  And I can thank my "best of" albums for introducing the songs to me a couple (or ten) years later.

The nineteen fifties in country music were not throwaway years.  Nay, they were classic years; if  for no other artists than Ray Price, Marty Robbins, and the Everly Brothers.

Oh, but the winds of change; they were a'blowin'.......

  

Old...I Mean, Old Music

A guy at work posted a classified ad, looking for old 45's; specifically country singles from the 1940's through the 1960's.  I contacted him, because I have a trunk of old singles, for which I have no use.  I told him, though, that the oldest singles I have are most likely from the seventies.

He responded with an odd (to me) statement:  The 1940's through the 1960's were the best times for country music.  Really?  This guy is younger than me!  I can get on board with the sixties.  After all, that was my time ~ you know, Merle Haggard, Tammy Wynette, Loretta, to some extent.  But that's as far back as I go.  I didn't even know they made 45 rpm records in the nineteen forties!

It got me to thinking ~ was there actually good country music in the nineteen forties?  Yes, I am familiar with Hank Williams; thank you.  I mean, besides Hank.

Wikipedia to the rescue!

Off the bat, I will admit to having a sonic bias.  While I detest the current trend of recording songs "hot"; I also do not like "tinny".  I'm sure Hank and the boys sounded great at the barn dance, but, had the technology been available at the time, it would have jazzed things up a bit.

(Also, I do not understand how they made do, mostly, without drums.  Apparently, the Opry, at the time, banned them; because I guess they were the devil's handiwork or something.  Ahhh, times were different....)

Nevertheless, let's travel back about seventy (!) years and see what was hot in country when my mom and dad got married.

This video is apparently a mash-up of news footage and random Hank mutterings and/or singings (sort of like when Hank, Jr. did the Tear in My Beer video).  I am assuming that there is little actual film documentation of Hank, Sr. performing.  Shame.

1949: 





Wikipedia is rapidly teaching me that there were but a handful of big country stars in the 1940's.  One of them was obviously Eddy Arnold, because he seems to pop up all over the '40's record scene.

My dad was a big fan of "Make the World Go Away", but that song was recorded in the sixties.

This is 1948:



In 1947, Merle Travis had a hit record with Steel Guitar Rag.  Astonishingly (to me) this song actually has lyrics!  The only version of Steel Guitar Rag that I knew was an instrumental.  It really was an old standby for any guy (and later for Barbara Mandrell) who could play the steel guitar.  My friend Alice's band's steel guitar player did this number for a statewide competition and won first prize for instrumentalist.

This video is not the Merle Travis version, but it is from the 1940's.  In all honesty, it was the only song title I recognized from the list for 1947.  This is Leon McAuliffe and the Cimmaron Boys, YouTube tells me:



1946 seems to be the year of Bob Wills.  Now, I wouldn't really know anything about Bob Wills (and his Texas Playboys) if it wasn't for Merle Haggard and Asleep at the Wheel introducing them to me.  But make no mistake; this guy and his band were huge in the forties, especially in Texas; which to Texans is the be-all and end-all of the world.  Just ask them.

In this video, we apparently find Bob and the boys setting up to play a concert in the county jail.  I do not know why ~ perhaps they didn't have money for bail, so they had to work it off.  I'm just conjecturing.  The ways of the world in 1946 are foreign to me.



Interestingly, a big, big hit in 1945 was a song called, Smoke on the Water.  I'm guessing it was a different song from the Deep Purple hit, but I would be flabbergasted if it had a guitar intro as memorable.  Nevertheless, I don't know that song, so I have to pick one that I've actually heard of.

In the 1940's, too, covering other artists' records ran rampant.  My Wikipedia list shows hits of the same name by two, and sometimes three different artists.  Which leads me to ask, were songwriters not yet invented?  You know, songwriting isn't rocket science.  Seems like pretty much anyone could have done it; had they put their mind to it.  

This song was written by Woody Guthrie, and became a hit for his cousin, Jack.  But I remember the Hank Thompson version (also a big star in the nineteen forties), so I'll go with that one:

 

Cindy Walker wrote tons (by which I mean about 400) top hits.  So, Ah Ha!  There was a songwriter in the 1940's!  But just one.  I only learned a bit about Cindy Walker through an album of her songs that Willie Nelson later recorded.  It's good that guys like Willie and Merle educate people like me; or we'd be musical imbeciles.  

Cindy had a top hit in 1944 with this song:




1943 found a man named Jimmie Davis topping the charts with a song that we all, unfortunately, had to stand up on risers in the second grade and sing, as an ensemble.  (Thanks, Jimmie!)

Jimmie Davis later became the governor of Louisiana, solely because Louisiana voters really liked sunshine.  No, I'm sure there were other reasons.



Let me say, off the bat, that 1942 was a very patriotic year, judging by the list of hit records.  I like patriotic.  Too bad we lost that somewhere.  Titles like "Goodbye Mama, I'm Off to Yokohama", "I'm a Prisoner of War", "Mussolini's Letter to Hitler" (bet that was a bouncy tune), "Remember Pearl Harbor", "There's a Star Spangled Banner Waving Somewhere", etc.; dominated the charts.

I'm not going to feature any of those songs.  Because Texans TOTALLY RULE! ~ I wanted to showcase this song by Gene Autry.  I do know that Gene Autry was a Hollywood cowboy.  His horse was named Champion (I looked up), but the only famous Hollywood horse I am familiar with (besides Mr. Ed) is Trigger, because I once saw some black and white episodes of Roy Rogers' TV show, featuring his wife with a man's name, Dale Evans.  (I really wasn't into TV westerns at all as a kid).   



Patsy Montana, I've read, was considered the first female country singer.  In reading her Wikipedia page, I learned that she grew up near Hope, Arkansas (I think there was some guy who also grew up there ~ can't put my finger on his name, though).  She went out to Hollywood and worked with those famous pseudo-cowboys, Gene Autry and Pat Buttram; and also with Red Foley (another huge country star of the forties).

I like this song from 1941.  Yodeling really is a lost art, isn't it?  Remember those TV commercials with Slim Whitman, hawking his album of yodeling songs?  



He yodeled every song!  And yet, he sold more records than the Beatles and Elvis combined!  (they said).  When you think about it, though, it's quite a feat to turn every song into a yodel.  I would love to hear his yodeling version of something like Norwegian Wood or Jailhouse Rock (speaking of the Beatles and Elvis combined).

Yes, I have digressed.  Sorry.

But back to Patsy Montana, Suzy Bogguss also did a great version of this song on one of her albums.   



1940 found the charts being topped by that good ol' country boy, Bing Crosby (?)   Here was another guy who bugged the hell out of me.  He was always walking around with his stupid pipe and his stupid golf club; wearing his stupid Scottish hat.  My sum total of knowledge regarding Bing Crosby:  He played a priest in some movie; he had some kind of vocal tic that made him pronounce "B" words as ba-ba-ba.  Or maybe that was SCTV.  I get my history mixed up sometimes.  

Regardless, he, like singers who came after him, such as Pat Boone, liked to appropriate other artists' songs and turn them into bland cocktail-party hits.

The most famous version, though, of Tumbling Tumbleweeds was recorded by the Sons of the Pioneers, who were also apparently featured in TV westerns; understandable since Roy Rogers was a prominent member of the group.



For someone like me, who loves to blog about music, this was certainly the most excruciating exercise I have ever done.

I don't want to offend anyone who may still be alive from that time period, but aside from Hank Williams and maybe Bob Wills, the music was....let's just say, "not good".

I would imagine that people like my mom and dad probably preferred listening to the Glenn Miller Orchestra, but I may just be projecting my own tastes onto them.  I have a sneaking suspicion, though, that if I have good taste in music, I must have gotten it from them.

Too, there was no differentiation in music back then.  Much like the early sixties, one heard ~ maybe not on the radio, but let's say, on the juke box ~ both b-b-b-Bing Crosby and Hank Thompson.  And people accepted what they liked, and discarded what they didn't.

In a future post, I will explore the nineteen fifties in country music.  You and I both know that the fifties will be better.

But that guy who told me the '40's totally rocked?  I guess we'll just agree to disagree on that.








 














 

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.

Eddy Arnold

I didn't mean to overlook the passing of Eddy Arnold. It's just that I was on vacation, and then other stuff came up, but that's no excuse, really.

Aside from Kitty Wells, I think Eddy was the last of the country music pioneers.

Here's a song that Eddy recorded in 1945:

CATTLE CALL


This is a very sweet performance by Eddy, from 1996. It's kind of an infectious tune, don't you think? I remember, my friend and I never knew the exact words to the song, so we just made up our own. If I remember correctly, they were something stupid like this;

The coyotes are howling
And I'm here a'scowling
Way out where the doggies roam

Obviously, that wasn't quite correct.

Here's another hit from Eddy:

ANYTIME


How about this for an old video?

I'LL HOLD YOU IN MY HEART


This is arguably Eddy's second most famous song. I couldn't find a video of Eddy performing it, but I think Willie makes a good stand-in.

YOU DON'T KNOW ME


My all-time favorite Eddy Arnold song is this one. This was one of my dad's favorite songs, and therefore, one of mine.

MAKE THE WORLD GO AWAY


For you young'ns in the crowd, here's the song (or part of it) performed by Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley:



What binds us to certain artists, I think, is the memories attached to their songs. I remember my dad singing, "Make The World Go Away" around the house when I was just a kid.

So, when I think of the passing of Eddy, I think about my dad, and how much he loved that song.

So, Eddy, maybe you and my dad can get a jam session going now, and have some fun doing that number. That'd be something to see.