Real" Country Music (part 2)

Jimmie Misenheimer · From: Bloomington, Indiana - U. S. A.

Since we've sorta decided that most of us (me included) may not know what for sure what "real" country music is, then let's ponder this. I'm a DIE HARD country fan - but just as much a Glenn Miller, and Benny Goodman fan. I'm a true fan of "Bluegrass", but just as much a fan of good jazz.
Now my question. As a "real" country fan, if you started hearing country music on the radio, (or T.V. for that matter), say a month ago, or a year ago, would you be a country music fan today? Think about this - the question suggests that you have no background listening to country - you have just heard a year of what they are playing today. Frankly I for one probably wouldn't, and I CERTAINLY wouldn't be the avid fan that I am. Sometimes I almost feel like I'm trying to "force" myself to try to enjoy it. I didn't used to have to do that. Maybe I'm getting old and cranky, but some years back this was alot easier to enjoy - now I feel like I'm just going through the motions because as a working musician I feel that I should listen to it. Something's wrong here, what I used to enjoy listening to, now for "work" reasons I feel COMPELLED to listen to...

Jimmie

Jimmie

David Reeves · From: Florida

My opinion and $2.50 will get you a cup of coffee.

I quit listening to the radio when Haggard came out with his 1995 album and it didn't get any 'air-time' here in the Tampa,FL area. I do watch CMT on the last Sunday evening of every month to see if there is anything that I might like. I haven't seen anything there that made me want to go out and buy a CD. I have both of Mr. Cash's newest CD's.

What I like in music.
Arthur Fiedler/Boston Pops, Glen Miller, Buddy Rich; they are all ok in my book.
Most anything from the 50's was reasonably good; the 60's era "Country Music" (there's that term again); I like Freddie Hart, Jim Ed Brown, Cal Smith, Mr. Ray Price, among many others... and I do like some of the BlueGrass; Now here is where thangs started goin' down hill and I am as guilty as many others... the 'Outlaw Movement'.... I like Waylon, Willie, David Allen Coe, (never liked Tompall a whole lot) Billy Joe Shavers, Chris Kristofferson's songwriting (even though he ain't no Harlan Howard),.. Now I'm gonna make a few folks mad but when the outlaws started dressing in faded and torn jeans and wearing tee-shirts the music began to change. Now we had some good music coming out then. Billy Sherrill has produced some great stuff. But the 'class acts' in those days were still Porter Wagoner, Whisperin' Bill, even Buck Owens put out some fairly decent stuff before Nashville seemed to shut him out completely. But I think Mr. Chet Atkins produced some mighty fine music then too.

I know what my idea of 'real country' is, but my testosterone level has dropped sufficiently to refrain me from fightin' about it.

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"Stump" Reeves

Ted Solesky · From: Mineral Wells, Texas, USA

Jimmie, I'm in the same category as you as far as liking the classic country music. And I do like the "Big Band" sound of the 40's and light jazz and some of the new country that have steel in it. Here's an interesting observation. My son-in-law started listening to the new country around 8 yrs ago and really likes it. He doesn't care for anything prior to that. My daughter likes the classic country and some of the new stuff. She was exposed to the classic country in her younger yrs. Last week, my 30 yr old niece had the same remark. We were driving to a store and Merle Haggard came on the radio and was singin "If we're not in love by Monday". My niece didn't care for it she said. I switched the station to a new country station, she dug it. Some of the songs had steel and fiddle and she still liked it.? I think it may be that you sort of have to be exposed to the classic country when you're young to be a fan. I personally think that the old country has a solid melody lines to it. That's why it's so easy to make an instrumental out of those songs. But to really mix this theory around, I worked the Trio club in Mingus about 4 weeks ago and helped out a band that did only the Bush, Price, Faron Wills etc (I really enjoyed it). There were a lot of 21 yr old there dancing and digging it. Again, we can only assume that while they were very young, they were exposed to it.?

C Dixon · From: Duluth, GA USA

Ted wrote,

"My son-in-law started listening to the new country around 8 yrs ago and really likes it. He doesn't care for anything prior to that."

And there lies the proof and the problem.

It proves beyond any shadow of a doubt (IMO) that today's "country music" is NOT country music at all. The problem is that the kids of today abhor true country music. But many of them LOVE what is now called country music.

For a kid of any genre' to say they like to day's "country music", but do NOT like country music prior to the present bunch of stars, proves to me that they have NOT a clue what country music really is.

Sadly all of my children AND grandchildren feel exactly the same. My son can't stand Buck Owens, Ray Price, George Jones and Alan Jackson. But he LOVES Garh Brooks, Shania, Faith, Martina and all the rest of the new breed.

So IF Ray price and George Jones, etc is "country" then Garth and Shania can NOT be country based on the above.

I rest my case,

carl

b0b · From: Cloverdale, CA, USA

Moved to 'Music' section of the Forum.

Donny Hinson · From: Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.

Children (which I classify as anyone under 21), have generally not been listening to music long enough to form any sort of credible opinion as to what is actually good music. I tend to ignore their opinions (as most of our elders ignored ours).

Taste, as any good sommalier will tell you, usually takes a long time to develop.

Johan Jansen · From: Europe

And how about Heather Myles?? www.heathermyles.com

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Click on the pic!

Jimmie Misenheimer · From: Bloomington, Indiana - U. S. A.

You know, in defense of younger people (everybody is younger than me now), I have seen some people go back and "establish roots" much before their time.
I've been with the same outfit for going on 24 years now. Three or four times now we've carried "twin fiddles". These were good fiddle men. One was with Bobby Helms, then Ray Price, one was with Tom T. Hall, and 2 or 3 had been with notable, (or semi-notable) "Bluegrass" bands, testing their hand at country. These guys could (and can) PLAY.
We, at one time wanted to take on a second fiddle. We tried a young boy out - he came up through the string program in high school. He played with a couple of his brothers and some other guys - 2 or 3 years older than he, but all pretty young. This young man at the time didn't know of ANYONE before "Alabama". At the time, he was that young - he hadn't heard of anyone to speak of.
We couldn't use him, due to no roots. No "Faron", no "Paycheck", no "Price". He had never heard of anyone before about 3 weeks before he started playing in his first band.
He asked me a couple of weeks after that, who did I think that he should listen to? He said "Jimmie - I really want to play, and I kinda'like the hot stuff". I said "Listen to Wills - Any of the "Wills Brothers" - and if you do nothing else, LISTEN TO "GIMBLE, and HOLLEY". They're are alot of others, but these guys will get you started on the right track".
I don't know what he did - well, really I DO know what he did - but when we did hire him about three years later, you would swear that he had been playing fiddle for "Bob Wills" since 1940! The stuff he didn't know was the same stuff that I didn't know, and while I'm not an expert on ANYTHING, I've listened to this all of my life. It can be done - if they want to...

Jimmie

Donny Hinson · From: Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.

You're right, Jimmie, there are a few exceptions...young people who develop real taste in varying forms of music, who don't appreciate the polytonal noise that seems to fascinate the majority. These young people are a small minority that I see as "wonderful". Sad part is, most of their peers think they're just "weird".

Like us, I guess.

Jim Bob Sedgwick · From: Clinton, Missouri USA

My opinion only: I am now 61 years young. Even when I was a kid in the late forties, I liked country music, big band, jazz, practically all. Even when RR came out, I liked some of it. My friends just did not care for country music. It is and always has been, like progressive jazz, a music for the minority of people. For the few kids who do like classic, they tend to stay in the closet to avoid being ostracized by their peers. My biggest gripe is that todays music has very little if anything to say, but it repeats this nothing over and over. Of course my parents thought the same thing about the old country. It's whiney, they would say. Sorry folks, I like whiney

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