When did country music get hijacked?

[LowRyter]

I think Garth Brooks; Brooks and Dunn along with Taylor Swift and Shania Twain are all equally to blame. Along with the absolute theft of Southern R+R. Hard to listen to the radio at times. Country music in LV???????

but Garth came first.  murderer

[yogidozer]

I like old style country, but you can't blame another musician. If people buy the music, that's the way it goes.

[LowRyter]

Well, this might start a shit storm but this Dead Head has done the best country music I've heard in years.  I will admit that I am not a great country music fan,



"Ki-Yi Bossie"

In a cold church basement one November Friday night
Come along, come along
In a 12 Step meeting under harsh fluorescent light
Now that's bright, hey come on

I know I deserve to be there, but I don't remember why
I was looking for salvation, but nothing caught my eye
My turn to tell my story, and I guess it's worth a try
Come along, come along
Come along, come along

Come a ki-yi bossie, come a bossie, come along
Come a ki-yi bossie, come along
Come a ki-yi bossie, come a bossie, come along
Come along, come along
Come along, come along

Well I guess she had other interests, she had something else to do
You OK, well me too
So tell me watcha gonna, watcha gonna, watcha gonna do
Well OK, boo-hoo

So now the happy hour is raining on my shoes
And it's not all that important which poison that you choose
When you're tuning up to sing the rum and coke and whiskey blue
And that melody comes through, and now you're paying your dues

Come a ki-yi bossie, come a bossie, come along
Come a ki-yi bossie, come along
Come a ki-yi bossie, come a bossie, come along
Come along, come along
Come along, come along

Back before I drove a pickup and I took up buckin bails
Come along, come along
I was looking high and low for meaning, I was into saving whales
Before they're all gone

But the weeds grow high, and that's where it all begins
When I stop to wonder why, that was fertile ground for sin
Just pour some whiskey on it, and watch the fun begin
Come along, come along
What could possibly go wrong

Here pour a little whiskey on that fertile patch of soil
Come along, come along
Sprinkle in a little heartache, watch the ground begin to boil
Now it's coming on strong

As it starts to take its shape, there ain't nothing there to like
You best have quick reactions, it'll rattle, coil and strike
Time to change the scenery, it's time to hit the pike
And OK, I'm gone

They say each of us has meaning , time to bring that all to light (note 1)
Well alright, right on
Come along, come along

Come a ki-yi bossie, come a bossie, come along
Come a ki-yi bossie, come along

[twowheeladdict]

Not a huge fan of country music but I've always gravitated to Hank Williams, Ronnie Milsap, Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, George Jones, Randy Travis, George Strait, Alabama.

Recently I was working in a customers home and she asked me... "Mind if I put on some country music?" I said fine.

After about 1 hour of listening to the "New Country" I unplugged it from the wall! I was working around the receptical and could not help myself.

It's seems like a combination of Swing, Rap and other stuff all mixed together that I can't stand! How many words can the squeeze into a sentence?

What happened to it and when did it get hijacked?

Just means you are old.  I feel the same way about rock music.  Look at who is getting in the rock and roll hall of fame lately. 

i have 16 Gigs of music on a old iPod that stays connected in my truck, and 32 Gigs of music on a thumb drive so I don't listen to radio unless i have to.

[Tim Henry]

If y'all lIked David Allan Coe then Scuzz Twittly is the modern equivalent

[yogidozer]

It's a new era. Traded in the pick up truck for....."getting drunk on a plane"

[oldbike54]

 When the hippies stopped playing country music I stopped listening . Rose of Cimarron and The End is not in Sight are two of the five greatest country songs ever written , you never hear them on the radio . Shucks , when was the last time you heard This Ol' Cowboy ... anywhere .

 Likely the best country musician you haven't ever heard of is Ryan Bingham , because he doesn't live in Nashville .

 Dusty

[Guzzistajohn]

Has there been a country artist since Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys?

[oldbike54]

Has there been a country artist since Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys?

 Even Bob wasn't really country , more the prototype for bands like Marshall Tucker . No doubt Bob and his band were amazing , he was one of the greatest band leaders ever , smart too , he would point to a different player during a song to solo for 10 bars , do that repeatedly , next thing they were thru a 2 hour show and Bob hadn't even broken a sweat 

 Dusty

[Dilliw]

I think Garth Brooks; Brooks and Dunn along with Taylor Swift and Shania Twain are all equally to blame. Along with the absolute theft of Southern R+R. Hard to listen to the radio at times. Country music in LV???????

There is some great Southern R&R still around; you just won't hear it on the radio.  Some of the best music is being made now by artist who don't get paid a dime.  It's the business of music that has changed more so than the art of music.  What becomes popular is a function of what sells and given the shrinking distribution channels what sells is more glitz and glamour than musical art. 

I went to Daryl's House Club last night and was reminded by all the picture of the many new artists that I found by watching his show.  Butch Walker is an example.  Also, Spotify is a great tool for finding good music. 

[jwinwi]

Well, this might start a shit storm but this Dead Head has done the best country music I've heard in years.  I will admit that I am not a great country music fan,



"Ki-Yi Bossie"

In a cold church basement one November Friday night
Come along, come along
In a 12 Step meeting under harsh fluorescent light
Now that's bright, hey come on

I know I deserve to be there, but I don't remember why
I was looking for salvation, but nothing caught my eye
My turn to tell my story, and I guess it's worth a try
Come along, come along
Come along, come along

Come a ki-yi bossie, come a bossie, come along
Come a ki-yi bossie, come along
Come a ki-yi bossie, come a bossie, come along
Come along, come along
Come along, come along

Well I guess she had other interests, she had something else to do
You OK, well me too
So tell me watcha gonna, watcha gonna, watcha gonna do
Well OK, boo-hoo

So now the happy hour is raining on my shoes
And it's not all that important which poison that you choose
When you're tuning up to sing the rum and coke and whiskey blue
And that melody comes through, and now you're paying your dues

Come a ki-yi bossie, come a bossie, come along
Come a ki-yi bossie, come along
Come a ki-yi bossie, come a bossie, come along
Come along, come along
Come along, come along

Back before I drove a pickup and I took up buckin bails
Come along, come along
I was looking high and low for meaning, I was into saving whales
Before they're all gone

But the weeds grow high, and that's where it all begins
When I stop to wonder why, that was fertile ground for sin
Just pour some whiskey on it, and watch the fun begin
Come along, come along
What could possibly go wrong

Here pour a little whiskey on that fertile patch of soil
Come along, come along
Sprinkle in a little heartache, watch the ground begin to boil
Now it's coming on strong

As it starts to take its shape, there ain't nothing there to like
You best have quick reactions, it'll rattle, coil and strike
Time to change the scenery, it's time to hit the pike
And OK, I'm gone

They say each of us has meaning , time to bring that all to light (note 1)
Well alright, right on
Come along, come along

Come a ki-yi bossie, come a bossie, come along
Come a ki-yi bossie, come along

The Grateful Dead (with Jerry) will never be equaled but somebody needs to tell Bob Weir he's no Willie Nelson. 
From a HUGE Willie and Real Country fan.

[john fish]

I found this station on the innerwebs for an older fellow at work whose Father was a rather famous fiddle player but can't listen to modern country radio 'cause it 'all sounds the same'.

http://cowpokeradio.com/

It's just older country with an occasional ad for the local feed store.

[kidsmoke]

Respectfully, you couldn't be further from the truth. Radio don't give a damn about music. There are artists that shun Nashville, and the commercialism which must be embraced to have their names bandied about. these boys are dead f***ing serious about the song, the arrangement, the world we live in.  Listen.

Exhibit A, a neighbor of our own Dusty

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtQu2qATIlo

Exhibit B

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pllYesK_b-g

Exhibit C

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5PpIH4HZ_k

Best for last

Exhibit D

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaUCDqWzy1k


 

[Guzzistajohn]

Even Bob wasn't really country , more the prototype for bands like Marshall Tucker . No doubt Bob and his band were amazing , he was one of the greatest band leaders ever , smart too , he would point to a different player during a song to solo for 10 bars , do that repeatedly , next thing they were thru a 2 hour show and Bob hadn't even broken a sweat 

 Dusty

Yea,yea, Western swing I know. It�s just MY favorite.

I like Both kinds of music country AND western.

In reality, it’s all a dirivative of Jazz, without the influence of the people coming through Congo square in New Orleans Jazz,rock, country and blues would likely be a different animal.

[Toecutter]

it didn't... it just doesn't get airplay.

Hank Williams III

Hellbound Glory

Possessed By Paul James

Mandolin Orange

Willy Tea Taylor


There's so much good old country out there, by new  young artists... but you have to look for it.

[LowRyter]

The Grateful Dead (with Jerry) will never be equaled but somebody needs to tell Bob Weir he's no Willie Nelson. 
From a HUGE Willie and Real Country fan.

I guess you didn't like the record and didn't care much for the lyrics posted? 

I think it's a great record but see no comparison to WIllie.  I am a fan of Willie and used to go his picnics when he owned that golf course west of Austin.  I can like both. 

BTW- what was Willie's last record?

[jwinwi]

I guess you didn't like the record and didn't care much for the lyrics posted? 

I think it's a great record but see no comparison to WIllie.  I am a fan of Willie and used to go his picnics when he owned that golf course west of Austin.  I can like both. 

BTW- what was Willie's last record?

Willie's latest is, I believe, 'Last Man Standing'; he made one with his sons recently: 'Willie and the Boys'. IMHO 'Band of Brothers' is really good.
When I heard Ki Yi Bossy I was reminded of Willie's 'Red Headed Stranger' - one guy with his guitar and his voice...

[Shorty]

This is one of my favorite tunes:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtSLMGc4VSA

Don't know if you purists think it's country or not... 

[poorBob]

I was a country music DJ on the air in Charlotte, NC beginning in 1989 and ending in 1998. During that time, I had the privilege of being on-air at one of the original "Outlaw Country" stations, 96.9 WTDR.

From my perspective, you always have a percentage of poseurs and wanna-bes and a percentage of the real deal. The ratio really started to slide toward the poseurs with Billy Ray Cyrus. Watching him hump a mic stand while "singing" the national anthem with a fake tear stuck to his face at the start of the world series really raised my awareness. To be honest, he is a very nice guy and very humble. He's just not terribly talented and is a product of the system as is his daughter.

Country music really jumped the shark with Shania Twain who I referred to on-air as "Def Leppard in cowboy boots" - and that was before I knew she had married Def Leppard's producer.

I still love old country and western music - Willie and Merle and even back to Hank Snow, Marty Robbins and Eddy Arnold. I can listen to a song nowadays and tell if it was produced in Nashville because to my ears, almost everything coming out of Nashville is crap. Getcher country music someplace other than Nashville. Texas gave us Ray Wylie Hubbard who I just saw in Atlanta last Thursday. He's the real deal. As always, there is a percentage of quality country music to be found but it's getting farther apart and further between. I blame Nashville greed-heads in the mid 1990s.

[Toecutter]

He's just not terribly talented and is a product of the system as is his daughter.

Move past the theatrics of his daughter... and she's an *incredibly* talented singer. Go check out her "backyard sessions". Girl can *sing*.

 

He's the real deal. As always, there is a percentage of quality country music to be found but it's getting farther apart and further between

I disagree. It's going strong.. but, as you said... it isn't being played in Nashville, and it's been rebranded. Do a search for "Southern Gothic", and follow it down the rabbit hole... it'll lead you to some really, really good artists and bands.

Also, "old school" country... gets lumped in with "folk" now, and in most cases, they're pretty much indistinguisable from each other.

It's out there. Just gotta look for it. And it's 100% worth it.


Ever listen to Sturgill Simpson?

[kidsmoke]

I disagree. It's going strong.. but, as you said... it isn't being played in Nashville, and it's been rebranded.
It's out there. Just gotta look for it. And it's 100% worth it.

Ever listen to Sturgill Simpson?

 :1:

I linked to Sturgill in my primer, above

[LowRyter]

I was a country music DJ on the air in Charlotte, NC beginning in 1989 and ending in 1998. During that time, I had the privilege of being on-air at one of the original "Outlaw Country" stations, 96.9 WTDR.

From my perspective, you always have a percentage of poseurs and wanna-bes and a percentage of the real deal. The ratio really started to slide toward the poseurs with Billy Ray Cyrus. Watching him hump a mic stand while "singing" the national anthem with a fake tear stuck to his face at the start of the world series really raised my awareness. To be honest, he is a very nice guy and very humble. He's just not terribly talented and is a product of the system as is his daughter.

Country music really jumped the shark with Shania Twain who I referred to on-air as "Def Leppard in cowboy boots" - and that was before I knew she had married Def Leppard's producer.

I still love old country and western music - Willie and Merle and even back to Hank Snow, Marty Robbins and Eddy Arnold. I can listen to a song nowadays and tell if it was produced in Nashville because to my ears, almost everything coming out of Nashville is crap. Getcher country music someplace other than Nashville. Texas gave us Ray Wylie Hubbard who I just saw in Atlanta last Thursday. He's the real deal. As always, there is a percentage of quality country music to be found but it's getting farther apart and further between. I blame Nashville greed-heads in the mid 1990s.

Ray Wylie Hubbard and the Cowboy Twinkies, a blast from the past.  He used play allover Texas and Okla.  His bandmate, Terry Buffalo Ware, lives here in Norman. 

It's up against the wall "Redneck Mother", just kicking (kissing) hippies asses and raising hell. 

And I remember driving down I-35 in Waco and seeing "The Freeway Church of Christ".

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

Right after the Carter Family and Jimmy Rodgers... 

[Joliet Jim]

Chris LeDoux changed it for the better.

[wymple]

Closest I can get. Most of the newer stuff is a cross between country and rap, also known as crap. 90% of it is sorry-ass ballads that you won't remember long.

https://youtu.be/4zAThXFOy2c

[Vince in Milwaukee]

I'm more of a rock & roll kind of person, but do enjoy some of the older country on occasion.  Now, here's the rub for me.  I live right between Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Chicago, Illinois.  Wouldn't you think there would be at least one station, out of two major cities, that played the old stuff?  Sorry, no dice.  It's all this new stuff that I just can't get in to. 

[yogidozer]

I get a lot of us like older stuff, but the truth is, if there were enough of an audience, there would be a station for older country music/
Listeners =  ads, ads make money.

[Ncdan]

Chris LeDoux changed it for the better.

I really liked Chris Jim so I'll tell you a little known fact about him. He had a problem carrying a tune. When he recorded songs they would have to, BEND, the sound on some words to keep them on key. He also was credited for getting Garth Brooks started.

[LowRyter]

Closest I can get. Most of the newer stuff is a cross between country and rap, also known as crap. 90% of it is sorry-ass ballads that you won't remember long.

https://youtu.be/4zAThXFOy2c

I picked up the Stapleton album recently.  Country singer doing blues.   I like it but it's not country. 

By contrast the Weir deal is really fresh to me and authentic. 

Also got the Jason Isbell.  That one fails for me because of the Nashville manufactured rhythm section and production.

[twowings]

*yawn* Labels are simplistic pandering...if you like the music, support it...if you don't, move on...easy, no?