You can take a black guy to Nashville from right out of the cotton fields with bib overalls, and they will call him R&B. You can take a white guy in a pin-stripe suit who’s never seen a cotton field, and they will call him country. ~ O. B. McClinton
I used to strongly dislike Conway Twitty (even his name, and especially that hair), even Country music as a whole. But the older I have become, the more I have grown to respect the genre. Today, whenever I see a Conway Twitty clip on YouTube, or a segment on TV (...like on "Family Guy", lol), I actually find that there was a lot to like about the guys music.
My current opinion of him is that he was a talented singer & musician, who wrote some really moving & meaningful songs.
May he be resting peacefully.
"There's Nothing That The Proper Attitude Won't Render Funkable!"
I seriously love this version he sings to Loretta Lynn below
That's not what he told her here
You can take a black guy to Nashville from right out of the cotton fields with bib overalls, and they will call him R&B. You can take a white guy in a pin-stripe suit who’s never seen a cotton field, and they will call him country. ~ O. B. McClinton
I used to strongly dislike Conway Twitty (even his name, and especially that hair), even Country music as a whole. But the older I have become, the more I have grown to respect the genre. Today, whenever I see a Conway Twitty clip on YouTube, or a segment on TV (...like on "Family Guy", lol), I actually find that there was a lot to like about the guys music.
My current opinion of him is that he was a talented singer & musician, who wrote some really moving & meaningful songs.
May he be resting peacefully.
I've always liked country music, probably because I used to watch music variety shows like The Grand Ole Opry, Dolly Parton Show, Hee Haw, and Barbara Mandrell & The Mandrell Sisters. I also liked programs such as Beverly Hillbillies, Andy Griffith, Deputy Dawg, BJ & The Bear, Dukes Of Hazzard, Sheriff Lobo, etc. which tended to feature country/bluegrass music. I think my all time favorite movie is Smokey And The Bandit. I don't really listen to current country music though.
You can take a black guy to Nashville from right out of the cotton fields with bib overalls, and they will call him R&B. You can take a white guy in a pin-stripe suit who’s never seen a cotton field, and they will call him country. ~ O. B. McClinton
I used to strongly dislike Conway Twitty (even his name, and especially that hair), even Country music as a whole. But the older I have become, the more I have grown to respect the genre. Today, whenever I see a Conway Twitty clip on YouTube, or a segment on TV (...like on "Family Guy", lol), I actually find that there was a lot to like about the guys music.
My current opinion of him is that he was a talented singer & musician, who wrote some really moving & meaningful songs.
May he be resting peacefully.
I've always liked country music, probably because I used to watch music variety shows like The Grand Ole Opry, Dolly Parton Show, Hee Haw, and Barbara Mandrell & The Mandrell Sisters. I also liked programs such as Beverly Hillbillies, Andy Griffith, Deputy Dawg, BJ & The Bear, Dukes Of Hazzard, Sheriff Lobo, etc. which tended to feature country/bluegrass music. I think my all time favorite movie is Smokey And The Bandit. I don't really listen to current country music though.
I used to watch & enjoy most of those shows as well; especially Hee Haw, The Beverly Hillbillies, and Andy Griffith. But what happened with me was that I wound up spending several years in the South (North Carolina) from my very early teens, and learned to associate Country music with everything that I hated about the South (not least of which was the blatent racism). In fact, I lived in a town that was very close in proximity, and nature, to the one that Mayberry (on the Andy Griffith Show) was modeled after. It was not a good experience for a Black teen from NYC who was all into Parliament/Funkadelic, lol. Even after moving back to more progressive areas of the US, the mere sound of a country accent would still make my skin crawl. Even now, every time I hear Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour speak, I could just beat him with a bat for no good reason, lol.
As an adult, of course, you learn to accept that there's good and bad in all people (regardless of where they're from, or how they speak). Although, it wasn't until I was many miles, and many years, away from the South, that I was able to better appreciate Country music (and the region) for what it was. These days, I have heard songs by Country music artists, including Conway Twitty, that have damned-nearly brought a tear to my eye.
"There's Nothing That The Proper Attitude Won't Render Funkable!"
I used to watch & enjoy most of those shows as well; especially Hee Haw, The Beverly Hillbillies, and Andy Griffith. But what happened with me was that I wound up spending several years in the South (North Carolina) from my very early teens, and learned to associate Country music with everything that I hated about the South (not least of which was the blatent racism). In fact, I lived in a town that was very close in proximity, and nature, to the one that Mayberry (on the Andy Griffith Show) was modeled after. It was not a good experience for a Black teen from NYC who was all into Parliament/Funkadelic, lol. Even after moving back to more progressive areas of the US, the mere sound of a country accent would still make my skin crawl. Even now, every time I hear Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour speak, I could just beat him with a bat for no good reason, lol.
As an adult, of course, you learn to accept that there's good and bad in all people (regardless of where they're from, or how they speak). Although, it wasn't until I was many miles, and many years, away from the South, that I was able to better appreciate Country music (and the region) for what it was. These days, I have heard songs by Country music artists, including Conway Twitty, that have damned-nearly brought a tear to my eye.
I've never understood the thinking that the only people who listen to country are hillbillies, "trailer trash", and rednecks. There was a older black lady I used to work with who was crazy about George Strait and always talked about him and played his music. She would go to rodeos and wear her cowboy hat. At King Records, the house band played on both country and R&B records.
You can take a black guy to Nashville from right out of the cotton fields with bib overalls, and they will call him R&B. You can take a white guy in a pin-stripe suit who’s never seen a cotton field, and they will call him country. ~ O. B. McClinton
I used to watch & enjoy most of those shows as well; especially Hee Haw, The Beverly Hillbillies, and Andy Griffith. But what happened with me was that I wound up spending several years in the South (North Carolina) from my very early teens, and learned to associate Country music with everything that I hated about the South (not least of which was the blatent racism). In fact, I lived in a town that was very close in proximity, and nature, to the one that Mayberry (on the Andy Griffith Show) was modeled after. It was not a good experience for a Black teen from NYC who was all into Parliament/Funkadelic, lol. Even after moving back to more progressive areas of the US, the mere sound of a country accent would still make my skin crawl. Even now, every time I hear Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour speak, I could just beat him with a bat for no good reason, lol.
As an adult, of course, you learn to accept that there's good and bad in all people (regardless of where they're from, or how they speak). Although, it wasn't until I was many miles, and many years, away from the South, that I was able to better appreciate Country music (and the region) for what it was. These days, I have heard songs by Country music artists, including Conway Twitty, that have damned-nearly brought a tear to my eye.
I've never understood the thinking that the only people who listen to country are hillbillies, "trailer trash", and rednecks. There was a older black lady I used to work with who was crazy about George Strait and always talked about him and played his music. She would go to rodeos and wear her cowboy hat. At King Records, the house band played on both country and R&B records.
Back in the day, I had a very dear brother in law named Bobby (RIP), a Black brother from Alabama, who was in his early 20's at the time, who was a HUGE Johnny Cash fan. He had most of his albums, and always referred to him as "The Man in Black". Needless to say, Bobby was in no way "trailor trash", nor a redneck (...but he was COUNTRY AS HELL, lol... and I loved him dearly). Bobby was also a huge fan of Wilson Pickett.
"There's Nothing That The Proper Attitude Won't Render Funkable!"
I've never understood the thinking that the only people who listen to country are hillbillies, "trailer trash", and rednecks. There was a older black lady I used to work with who was crazy about George Strait and always talked about him and played his music. She would go to rodeos and wear her cowboy hat. At King Records, the house band played on both country and R&B records.
Back in the day, I had a very dear brother in law named Bobby (RIP), a Black brother from Alabama, who was in his early 20's at the time, who was a HUGE Johnny Cash fan. He had most of his albums, and always referred to him as "The Man in Black". Needless to say, Bobby was in no way "trailor trash", nor a redneck (...but he was COUNTRY AS HELL, lol... and I loved him dearly). Bobby was also a huge fan of Wilson Pickett.
In the beginning, "rock n' roll" was partly influenced by "country & western" in addition to blues/R&B, so technically using a term like "country rock" is redundant.
You can take a black guy to Nashville from right out of the cotton fields with bib overalls, and they will call him R&B. You can take a white guy in a pin-stripe suit who’s never seen a cotton field, and they will call him country. ~ O. B. McClinton
Back in the day, I had a very dear brother in law named Bobby (RIP), a Black brother from Alabama, who was in his early 20's at the time, who was a HUGE Johnny Cash fan. He had most of his albums, and always referred to him as "The Man in Black". Needless to say, Bobby was in no way "trailor trash", nor a redneck (...but he was COUNTRY AS HELL, lol... and I loved him dearly). Bobby was also a huge fan of Wilson Pickett.
In the beginning, "rock n' roll" was partly influenced by "country & western" in addition to blues/R&B, so technically using a term like "country rock" is redundant.
...as was a lot of the "rock" on AM radio in the 70's.
"There's Nothing That The Proper Attitude Won't Render Funkable!"