Country Music Hall of Fame Inductees

That makes me very, very sad. Here in Western Canada everybody eats up the new "so-called" country, but most still acknowledge Hank. To hear that Nashville - of all places - has forgotten his music despite the photos on the wall is beyond reason.

 

Beautiful.

 

I really doubt it. I'm skeptical many of them have even listened to Merle Haggard or the artists of his generation much. It's just the way it is. Country music has become really divorced from its past, which is particularly ironic given how much country used to honor the past and put so much emphasis on tradition and legacy. It's weird how country and rock have switched in that regard. It used to be that if you got accepted by the country audience you were accepted for life, and your appeal spanned generations. Whereas in rock your career as a hitmaker could be over less than ten years after your first hit (look at Chuck Berry or the Everlys for example). But now it's the complete opposite... we have classic rock records that were made 40-50 years ago that are still being listened to by kids today, while the country audience isn't really interested in anything more than 10-15 years old. But I'm not trying to turn this into a "today's country music and/or today's country audience sucks" tangent. I wouldn't presume to judge, it's just the way it is. But it's weird how it's evolved that way.

 

You've put the present situation in its place rather well. I am fond of saying country music is more "pop" than pop today, meaning that it follows a very strict (and lucrative) formula.

 

Spurred by CEricBanister in post #189, I watched Highwaymen Live featuring Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, and Kris Kristofferson. In an interview snippet, Cash says, "Everybody was saying things like, 'Hank Williams would turn over in his grave if he could see what's happening to country music today.' So Waylon wrote 'Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way.'"

That was in 1975.

Garth Brooks has mentioned KISS as an influence. A few years ago country acts were beside themselves in a rush to cover songs by The Eagles. On Sunday's awards show, Lady Antebellum did a duet with Stevie Nicks on a Fleetwood Mac song. And Keith Urban used power chords like Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick.

No, Hank certainly never did it this way.

I'm not complaining about contemporary country music. My argument is that if the Hall of Fame voters accept these examples as "country," and Brooks has already been elected to the Hall, then surely they can accept Parsons, Hillman, the Flying Burrito Brothers, and other acts that basically began on the rock side of the tracks.

 

Consider the importance of the Carter Family by looking at the inscription in the Country Music Hall of Fame rotunda...

"Can the Circle Be Unbroken (By and By)" by the Carter Family...


The Wikipedia page about the song...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Can_the_Circle_Be_Unbroken_(By_and_By)




An older online photo.

 

It's not quite that dire. I think they don't play it because people don't want to hear it (myself excluded). During my recent stay, I attended a Vince Gill charity concert at The Ryman. Vince mentioned Hank several times and introduced Hank Williams' granddaughter, Holly Williams, at the concert as the latest member of Country Music's First Family.

By the way, I'm not a huge Vince Gill fan but he strikes me as a solid human being with huge respect for the past and a solid eye looking for the future of quality country music. In addition to Vince Gill the following young artists performed: Ashley Monroe, Charlie Worsham, Jenny Gill (Vince's daughter), Holly Williams, Striking Matches, and Amy Grant (not so young).

 

"Wildwood Flower" by the Carter Family, live at the Grand Ole Opry... notice Maybelle's guitar technique...



The song dates back to 1860...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wildwood_Flower

It was a staple in Johnny Cash concerts.

I had never really noticed until now, the music was used in "Wildwood Weed," covered by Jim Stafford...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyY-6oh0Ow8

 

Mother Maybelle popularized the guitar as a lead instrument. Her influence can not be overstated. The "Carter Scratch" she used is not used by anyone today that I know of, but the "Travis Picking Style" (thumb dropping) is basically the inverse of it.

 

Concurrent thread of note...
"Hank Williams The Garden Spot Programs 1950 Omnivore Records"...

http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threa...n-spot-programs-1950-omnivore-records.349127/

And an old thread given new life...
"Anyone have Jimmie Rodgers recommendations"

http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/anyone-have-jimmie-rodgers-recommendations.27552/

 

Great post.

 

Another standard by Mother Maybelle and the Carter Sisters... live...



The song dates from 1899...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keep_On_the_Sunny_Side

 

The Carter Family with a 1936 radio transcription of "No Depression In Heaven"...




From Wikipedia...

Over the years the song has been recorded by artists as diverse as the New Lost City Ramblers and Sheryl Crow. Uncle Tupelo made the song the title cut of their 1990 album, No Depression. Since then, the title has become synonymous with alternative country music. What is now described as the "No Depression movement" is covered by many fan publications including the magazine No Depression (last updated March 2013).


A live version by Sheryl Crow and Levon Helm and Friends, recorded 17 September 2008 at the Ryman Auditorium, and included on Ramble At the Ryman, winner of the 2012 Grammy for Best Americana Album...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zY68zn6nNDA

 

The official website for the Carter Family Fold, the original family property now a site for old time music and bluegrass festivals. A.P.'s store has been turned into a museum.

http://www.carterfamilyfold.org/p0001.html

There is also a Carter Fold Facebook page.

Unless I'm mistaken, the Carter Fold is the last place Johnny Cash played to a live audience. And even though he was born in Arkansas and lived near Nashville, this was home, his audience. It was June's birthplace as well as one birthplace of his music.

 

With some Western in the Hall with Bob Wills, now some Bluegrass with Bill Monroe...

"Uncle Pen"... live...

 

Not too many artists can claim to invent an entire genre single-handedly. Bill Monroe can.

 

This is a well-articulated good observation that, given a tweak or edit, needs to be placed in a suitable rock thread, given a larger readership on this forum.

Related: Peggy Guggenheim, who founded her own art museum on the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy, writes in the conclusion of her autobiography, Confessions of an Art Addict, "A field must lie fallow every now and then." She is talking about art. That was in 1960. In a way it applies to current rock music and to country music. With rock music, the scene is less active, certainly less popular, and arguably less creative than in years past. And like rock, country in its own way is searching around for different influences to help it change or evolve. Both genres seem fallow at present. I suggest that both go back to their roots and traditions, not necessarily to copy them, but to listen, to better understand then and now. Of course the circumstances that allowed for the creation of traditional country music have changed. The quality of life has improved. In a way, current country music reflects what is country nowadays.

 

Indeed. I used to have the attitude that the music played on today's country stations was not "real country" because it lacked the stylistic traits of classic country and bore more resemblance to 70s and 80s pop rock. But then someone pointed out to me that if this is the music that is listened to by a majority of truck drivers, farmers, and people in general in rural areas, doesn't that make it "country" by default, regardless of what stylistic qualities it has? Who am I to say what is "real" country over the viewpoint of those who have formed the traditional country music audience for generations? Country music has changed because the audience has changed, and in the grand scheme of things my opinion doesn't matter.

 

Yes, he recorded it for his Orange Blossom Special album in 1966, too.

Another great tribute is his recording with Maybelle of "Pick The Wildwood Flower."

 

I'm learning so much from you, George. I'm glad we started this thread.

 

I suppose that's a good way of looking at it. We all have our tastes. Hell, there are some die-hard roots fans that feel even the "Nashville Sound" is too avant-garde to be considered Country Music. The author of the Hank Williams Discography (www.hankwilliamsdiscography.com) states right in his introductory remarks: "The Mother’s Best recordings of course are not overdubbed and paint a picture of Country Music as it was before it was ruined by the so called ‘Nashville Sound’."

Seems a little overly emotional in tone for a fact-based discography, but who am I to judge? Personal preference can help fuel passion. Perhaps if the gentleman didn't feel that way, he may not have been so motivated to create the discography of Williams.

 

That's the funny thing about the Nashville Sound - some say it ruined country music and other say it saved it. There is probably enough historical evidence on both sides of the argument to support whichever way you feel.

Of course the most famous story is when a reporter asked Chet Atkins, often credited as one of the main architects of the Sound, what the Nashville Sound was and he responded with a smile and jingled the change in his pocket.

 

I respect Atkins as a talented artist and A&R man, but I don't agree with his reply. Owen Bradley, his competitor and the other architect of the Sound, has stated in many interviews especially about Cline's sessions that "we were slowly letting the strings creep in. We didn't really know where we were going with it or what we were doing (stylistically), but they sounded nice and it seemed to suit Patsy's voice."

At first, Bradley was actually quite worried about it. Decca made him Country A&R after Paul Cohen left the label in 1959. Bradley had intended to use violins sooner on Cline's sessions, but he was worried the New York office would say, "what are you sending us these Kay Starr records for? You're the country department. If you're going to make Pop records, get your a$$ up here [to New York] or else you're fired." Bradley's assistant, Harry Silverstein, proved instrumental in that he had great rapport with the New York office and since they sent him to Nashville to essentially keep an eye on what Bradley was doing, he was able to convince Decca that Bradley's new sound would continue to sell records both Pop and Country.

 

Exhibit at Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum