MickyDolenz said:

artist76 said:

What about Garth Brooks? Wouldn't he be the last country artist to bring glory (i.e., mainstream success) to the genre? I really liked his songs, his voice.

Shania Twain was popular around the same time Garth was, but she seemed more pop to me. How many other country singers had cornrows? Aren't current acts like Lady Antebellum, Rascal Flatts, Carrie Underwood, & Miranda Lambert mainstream? I don't think Taylor Swift is really country, but she's pretty mainstream too.

Garth Brooks broke country and its never recovered. These days all one has to do is wear a cowboy hat to be considered country.

lazycrockett said:

Garth Brooks broke country and its never recovered. These days all one has to do is wear a cowboy hat to be considered country.

Garth wasn't the first to attempt to crossover. Others like Kenny Rogers did that before him and Kenny didn't wear a cowboy hat. Dolly Parton recorded pop and even dance songs with remixes. Garth just put entertainment into his show, when before country singers mostly just stood in one spot. Garth has said that KISS was one of his inspirations.

Mandrell Sisters ~ Medleys from their TV show (1980-82)

Della Mae ~ Empire (2013)

MickyDolenz said:

Carolina Chocolate Drops ~ Leaving Eden {2013}

Love them! Have you heard Leyla McCalla's latest solo joint in honor of Langston Hughes? It's pretty awesome. Here's Leyla doing the first single...

[Edited 8/9/14 20:13pm]

I always thought this was a really charming Beatles cover...

[Edited 8/9/14 20:04pm]

MickyDolenz said:

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The biggest star for Melodyland/Hitsville turned out to be T.G. Sheppard (nee William Browder), who racked up eight country charters for the label, four of which crossed over to the pop charts, and three albums, all of which charted. He was the prototypical "overnight success" who had actually toiled in the business for over ten years when he had his first hit. But when he started, he hit the ground running. His first two singles, "Devil in the Bottle" [Melodyland 6002, 11/74] and "Trying to Beat the Morning Home" [Melodyland 6006, 4/75] both reached #1 country (#54 and #95 pop, respectively). His third hit, "Another Woman" [Melodyland 6016], reached #14 country in late summer 1975, and he followed that with "Motels and Memories" [Melodyland 6028, 12/75], which reached #7 country and #102 pop. Four more hits for the renamed Hitsville label followed: a remake of Neil Diamond's "Solitary Man" [Hitsville 6032, 5/76, #14 country/#100 pop], "Show Me a Man" [Hitsville 6040, 9/76, #8 country], "May I Spend Every New Years With You" [Hitsville 6048, 12/76, #37 country], and "Lovin' On" [Hitsville 6053, 3/77, #20 country]. At that point, Motown was getting ready to close the label, and Sheppard moved to Warner Bros to continue his career, which accumulated over forty country chart records by 1991.

I had a crush on T.G. Sheppard when I was like 8. I recall my mother having this song on constant rotation...

MickyDolenz said:

lazycrockett said:

Garth Brooks broke country and its never recovered. These days all one has to do is wear a cowboy hat to be considered country.

Garth wasn't the first to attempt to crossover. Others like Kenny Rogers did that before him and Kenny didn't wear a cowboy hat. Dolly Parton recorded pop and even dance songs with remixes. Garth just put entertainment into his show, when before country singers mostly just stood in one spot. Garth has said that KISS was one of his inspirations.

Before Mr. Rogers or Ms. Parton... Glen Campbell?

Even so, I do understand lazycrockett's point of view. I liked some of the music Mr. Brooks has recorded but really after him... I too got the feeling a cowboy hat and maybe a southern twang (as in speaking voice) deemed you a country singer. A lot of what I've heard is water down bad music, sadly CW hasn't avoided the same fate as most of the music being pushing out via the conglomerates, crap. (IMHO)

Cool thread, interesting food for thought topic.

p.s. So, is Brooks the Whitney Houston of country? I know... I couldn't help myself.

TD3 said:

p.s. So, is Brooks the Whitney Houston of country? I know... I couldn't help myself.

No, Garth is Lionel Richie and Shania is Whitney. Brooks & Dunn, Alan Jackson, & Billy Ray Cyrus were popular around that time too. Tammy Wynette did that song with KLF, Justified And Ancient. Then The Dixie Chicks a little later, until they were banned from some country stations. I think Urban Cowboy is when country really started to crossover big to the mainstream, at least for a brief period. Like I mentioned in a thread about disco, John Travolta was the face of both.

MickyDolenz said:

TD3 said:

p.s. So, is Brooks the Whitney Houston of country? I know... I couldn't help myself.

No, Garth is Lionel Richie and Shania is Whitney. Brooks & Dunn, Alan Jackson, & Billy Ray Cyrus were popular around that time too. Tammy Wynette did that song with KLF, Justified And Ancient. Then The Dixie Chicks a little later, until they were banned from some country stations. I think Urban Cowboy is when country really started to crossover big to the mainstream, at least for a brief period. Like I mentioned in a thread about disco, John Travolta was the face of both.

See, that's so wrong.

As much as I like Mr. Travolta work, he early stuff especially. I would go that far with you latter comment. I always though Hee Haw was the catalyst for putting Country music on the map. Thing is, people were listening to CW music all time rural (of course), urban and everywhere in between. Its always the pins heads who form an opinion that only a certain percentage of people are listening to whatever. Hee Haw came on at 6:00pm on Sundays in Chicago. Iit came on before the series called, the F.B.I. There was nothing to watch during that time slot so, we'd watch the H.H. I saw and heard some of the best guitar playing (beside the blues on the Chicago South and Chicago west side) in my life.

TD3 said:

See, that's so wrong.

As much as I like Mr. Travolta work, he early stuff especially. I would go that far with you latter comment. I always though Hee Haw was the catalyst for putting Country music on the map. Thing is, people were listening to CW music all time rural (of course), urban and everywhere in between. Its always the pins heads who form an opinion that only a certain percentage of people are listening to whatever. Hee Haw came on at 6:00pm on Sundays in Chicago. Iit came on before the series called, the F.B.I. There was nothing to watch during that time slot so, we'd watch the H.H. I saw and heard some of the best guitar playing (beside the blues on the Chicago South and Chicago west side) in my life.

Country people, if not the music itself, has always had some mainstream popularity, going all the way back to Ma & Pa Kettle and later the Beverly Hillbillies and the cartoon characters Foghorn Leghorn, Deputy Dawg, and Huckleberry Hound. Singing cowboys like Gene Autry, Tex Ritter, and Roy Rogers were also popular. But in the beginning, country was kinda looked down on, it was originally called 'hillbilly music'. Victor Records (now RCA) had different colored labels, red was for "high class" records like opera and classical, and black was for other popular music like 'hillbilly' and 'race' records. Red label was sold at a higher price than black label. The singing cowboy films were generally considered 'b-movies' and made cheaply by the studios. The popularity of westerns influenced country music fashion. The "Nudie suits" worn by Opry singers like Porter Wagoner came from the singing cowboys.

Stringbean ~ Chewing Gum {1962}

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Buck Owens was wearing his overalls backwards before the members of Kris Kross were born.

1966

1957

DeFord Bailey ~ Pan American Blues {1928}

lazycrockett said:

MickyDolenz said:

Shania Twain was popular around the same time Garth was, but she seemed more pop to me. How many other country singers had cornrows? Aren't current acts like Lady Antebellum, Rascal Flatts, Carrie Underwood, & Miranda Lambert mainstream? I don't think Taylor Swift is really country, but she's pretty mainstream too.

Garth Brooks broke country and its never recovered. These days all one has to do is wear a cowboy hat to be considered country.

No one wears cowboy hats any more, except for Jason Aldean.

I hate Country Bro music. Country had a short revival about six years ago, when it basically became what rock used to be in the '70's. Non-cowboys like Eric Church wrote some clever songs, and real cowboys like Brad Paisley tore shit up on guitar.

Then Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan hit the scene. Now, ever damn song is "Hey girl. git in my truck. Yore hot hot cut-off blue jeans turn me on. Let the smoke roll out the winders as we head down that old red dirt road to the secret spot nobody knows. I'll play my old gitar while my old bird dog runs down that old trail. Hey girl, did I mention yore cut off blue jean shorts really turn me on? Oh yeah - we need us some Jack to drink with our smoke."

I have a feeling George Strait wants to punch these guys right in their pussies. I know I sure do.

Conway Twitty ~ Tight Fittin' Jeans {1981}

Vicki Vann video bio

Texas Tornados ~ Who Were You Thinking Of {1990}

Merle Haggard Part of Buddy Holly Country Tribute Album, “Remember Me”

Bob Paxman | Published: Aug 27, 2014

Merle Haggard, David Frizzell and other country greats gathered at the downtown Hilton in Nashville, Tuesday afternon (Aug. 26), for the announcement of a special album saluting the legendary Buddy Holly. The project, The Buddy Holly Country Tribute: Remember Me, features Merle, David, Jimmy Fortune of The Statler Brothers, T. Graham Brown, Helen Cornelius and Sonny Curtis, one of the original members of Buddy’s band, The Crickets. The album is slated to hit stores and online retailers Sept. 7, which would have been Buddy’s 78th birthday.

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David Frizzell spearheaded the project and chose the artists. “I am a big Buddy Holly fan,” David recalled. “This was a very special project to put together.”

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David added that Buddy was a particular influence on his brother Lefty Frizzell, a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame.

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Merle remembered hearing Buddy’s music in the late 1950s. “He was one of the people you paid attention to,” Merle said. “He was a big star.”

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What especially attracted Merle was that Buddy wrote most of his own material. “It made a difference to me when the artist wrote the song,” Merle noted.

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Merle contributes “Remember Me” and the classic “That’ll Be the Day” to the tribute album.

Buddy Holly was considered one of the innovators of early rock ’n’ roll with such songs as “Maybe Baby,” “It’s So Easy” and “True Love Ways.” His music influenced The Beatles, who recorded a cover of Buddy’s “Words of Love,” and British band The Hollies (who took their name from Buddy). Country artists like Vince Gill and Gary Allan also cite Buddy as an influence. Buddy was killed in a plane crash on Feb. 3, 1959, an event imortalized in Don McLean’s anthem “American Pie.”

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“His songs stand the test of time,” said Jimmy Fortune at the album announcement. “I’m just honored to be a part of this.”

This tune is sweet:

lazycrockett said:

MickyDolenz said:

Shania Twain was popular around the same time Garth was, but she seemed more pop to me. How many other country singers had cornrows? Aren't current acts like Lady Antebellum, Rascal Flatts, Carrie Underwood, & Miranda Lambert mainstream? I don't think Taylor Swift is really country, but she's pretty mainstream too.

Garth Brooks broke country and its never recovered. These days all one has to do is wear a cowboy hat to be considered country.

No. Why is country the only genre of music that gets shit for growing and changing?

Garth brought his own influences into the game and it was ultra successful because he's an artist. But country was trying to reach pop audiences since the mid to late 60's when rock really started selling like gangbusters. Don Williams sounds positively down home today but at the time he was considered pop-country.

Hank Sr, Johnny Cash, Hank Jr, waylon, etc were all pop-country to a degree.

guitarslinger44 said:

Garth brought his own influences into the game and it was ultra successful because he's an artist. But country was trying to reach pop audiences since the mid to late 60's when rock really started selling like gangbusters. Don Williams sounds positively down home today but at the time he was considered pop-country.

Hank Sr, Johnny Cash, Hank Jr, waylon, etc were all pop-country to a degree.

Acts like Eddie Rabbitt and Barbara Mandrell also had some pop base, R&Bish in Ronnie Milsap's case and maybe Charlie Rich & Charlie Daniels Band too. Southern Rock is a mixture of rock, country, bluegrass, soul, jazz, and R&B. Wynonna Judd's solo music was kinda more like Bonnie Raitt like than traditional country. Some of the country singers from the 1940's and 1950's had the Bing Crosby crooner pop singing style and bluegrass was country with some jazz mixed with it. Some country fans are into zydeco (aka "swamp music") and My Toot Toot by Rockin' Sydney was a hit on the country charts. You could also say country rock influenced some of today's popular country acts. More recently there's 'hick hop' like Cowboy Troy. Troy has kind of a square dance announcer cadence. There's also been country and bluegrass tribute albums to Van Halen, The Beatles, Motley Crue, Ozzy Osbourne, The Eagles, & Black Sabbath.