Country & Western Appreciation

[ed2962]

[ed2962]

Google is celebrating Earl Scruggs today

[ed2962]

Earl and Bob Dylan

[ed2962]

Freddy Fender

[ed2962]

Charlie Rich "Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song"

[ed2962]

They B n R got pretty popular for a moment

[From The Shadows]

I'm afraid I can't offer anything but the basics. I've had friends and family that enjoy Country but I admit I'm not that well versed.


I fell in love with Loretta Lynn while I was flipping through channels after school searching for something to watch. I chose "Coal Miners Daughter" the biographical film starring Sissy Spacek and Tommy Lee Jones with Beverly D'Angelo playing Loretta's close friend Patsy Kline.



I got something in my eye. Excuse me.

[From The Shadows]

This was a favorite of my fathers.

[From The Shadows]

Another favorite of my fathers.



This song was used to comical effect on the A-Team TV Series

[seismic-2]

Eddy Arnold (1918 - 2008) had 147 songs to appear on the Billboard country music charts during his 6 decade-long career, second only to George Jones. Arnold was so dominant in the late 1940s that in 1948 he had 5 number one hits, occupying the top spot on the charts for 40 of the 52 weeks. His recording label then was RCA and his manager was "Colonel" Tom Parker, the same combination that would later take Elvis Presley to stardom. In the mid-1950s he switched from pure country to a more pop-flavored "Nashville sound", backed up by Hollywood strings replacing the hillbilly twang, and he continued to turn out major hits, but now on the pop charts. Here is one of his biggest, "Cattle Call".

[From The Shadows]

Johnny Cash - Ring of Fire

[seismic-2]

Porter Wagoner reprising his number 1 hit from 1955, "Satisfied Mind"

[seismic-2]

Here's Porter Wagoner again. In the 1960s and early 1970s he hosted a syndicated TV show which became famous on account of his flashy suits (tailored by Nudie of Hollywood) and on account of his constant duet partner, a newcomer named Dolly Parton. Between Porter's pompadour and Dolly's wigs, they often seemed to be in a contest to see who would have the biggest hair that week. Nevertheless, they made some fine music together, such as this performance of "Holdin' On to Nothing".

[seismic-2]

The Statler Brothers started out in the mid-1950s as a gospel quarter. Ten years later they were discovered by Johnny Cash, who hired them to be his backup singers. Although they went on from touring with Cash to become one of the most successful country music singing groups as a solo act, they also had a wide "cross-over" following and had hits on the pop charts as well. Incidentally, only two members of the quartet were in fact brothers, and none was named "Statler". (They took their name from a brand of tissue paper!) Here's one of their tunes that was both a country and pop fit, "Flowers on the Wall".

[seismic-2]

Here are the Statlers again, in a Johnny Cash tribute, singing about the days when "We Got Paid by Cash"