September 30, 2021 Opry Update

Mandy Barnett was invited to become the newest member of the Grand Ole Opry on Tuesday’s Opry show. Her first guest appearance on the Opry was in 1994 and her invitation mentioned that she has played the Opry over 500 times, which is quite a statistic.

She is the fifth new member this year. The last time there were this many new members added in one year was 1967. This replenishment of the membership makes a lot of sense, as many Opry members have passed away or retired in recent years, and a lot of the “big name” artists who became members under previous Opry management rarely show up. Most of the members who have been added the last few years do show up.

I think there are 69 members now. I’m not sure how many are retired or are otherwise inactive, but it’s a decent percentage. The Opry used to be pretty aggressive about terminating the memberships of anyone who didn’t show up regularly, even for health reasons or retirement. That caused a lot of bad feelings, so now, it’s common to see the retired performers still listed among the membership, so the membership total seems high on paper, until you take a closer look at how many are inactive.

The Opry will celebrate its 5,000th Saturday show on October 30th, and Garth Brooks and many other members are on the ticket.

The Opry is a balancing act between honoring traditions and creating new moments, while selling tickets in the present. Preserving something and keeping something alive can be quite different. There are museums full of dead things that are well preserved. Opry membership is supposed to be the core of the show’s living, working cast, rather than just some honorary title. There are “name” stars who might or not show up that often, but when they do show up, they draw people to the Opry and sell tickets. There are also Opry members who aren’t necessarily huge draws on their own, but they show up very reliably. It takes both the big names who pull the fans in and the workhorses who perform week after week to keep the show going.

Some of the recent inductees like Mandy Barnett, Rhonda Vincent, and The Isaacs played the Opry many, many, many times as guests. I’ve seen all of them play the Opry, so I’m glad to see their loyalty rewarded.

Elizabeth Cook is the remaining one who has played the Opry a gazillion times as a guest, but is not yet a member. Many others have more country chart success, but there’s much to be said for rewarding the loyalty of those who have played the show as guests hundreds of times.

September 28, 2021 Network Competition Shows

For good or ill, a considerable percentage of today’s biggest stars have been on televised singing competitions or other reality shows. Here are some current examples:

Matthew Lord of 3 Redneck Tenors is currently on the show Alter Ego. The premise of the show is that the singing contestants are in another room, while an avatar controlled by sensors on the contestant’s body suit “performs” on stage. The 3 Redneck Tenors were in the top ten of America’s Got Talent years ago. Interestingly enough, the Juilliard graduate opera singer is also a CDL licensed trucker.

Jimmie Allen is on the current season (season 30) of Dancing With The Stars. Past contestants include winners Bobby Bones and Kellie Pickler. Other country stars who have been contestants are Billy Ray Cyrus, Lauren Alaina, Sara Evans, Wynonna Judd, Chuck Wicks, and Jana Kramer. Julianne Hough, a professional dancer on the show for several seasons and later a judge, has also enjoyed some success as a country singer. Julianne’s debut country album in 2008 was number one on the country chart and three on the all-genre chart.

The Voice is in its 21st season, and long-time judge Blake Shelton is often a favorite of the country contestants. A few of the Season 21 Voice contestants are fairly well known already. Wendy Moten sings with The Time Jumpers in Nashville, and the 56-year-old released her debut album in 1992 that had a hit on the adult contemporary and pop charts. Wendy Moten has been around a lot longer than Blake Shelton. Kinsey Rose regularly performs in the honky tonks on Broadway. I saw her at Legends Corner, and I also saw her sing a couple songs with The Time Jumpers at 3rd and Lindsley. Carson Peters has been well known to bluegrass fans since he was very young, and he is 17 now. He’s played many times on the Grand Ole Opry since 2014 (when he was 10), often with Ricky Skaggs, and has his own bluegrass band that tours regularly. Carson Peters was on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, when Carson was just nine years old, and he was also on the Little Big Shots competition show. Carson Peters performed on the 2018 CMA awards as part of the Ricky Skaggs tribute.

September 26, 2021 Ad Songs

Advertising is everywhere, even inside songs. Walker Hayes has one of the year’s biggest country hits (which has also crossed over to the pop charts) with an annoying song featured on an Applebee’s commercial. Advertising and music have been intertwined for a long time, but when you turn on any mainstream radio genre now, you’re going to be bombarded with songs in ads and ads in songs. In country, it’s beer this and truck that, and now Walker Hayes singing annoying restaurant jingles.

Advertising has become more and more pervasive in every aspect of life. Yes, I realize that I’m using the free version of WordPress, so they put whatever ads they want on my page that I have no control over.

Here’s an excellent 2015 Mic article: “Pop Music Is More About Advertising Now Than Ever Before – And Nobody Realizes It. “In 2010, 1.8% of the words in lyrics could be considered branding. That might seem small, but it’s nearly double the percentage 25 years earlier. And in 2006, 2 out of every 3 songs in the study included at least one branding reference.”

I wonder what the percentage is now ? That article was about “pop music,” but mainstream country music also sounds like a string of advertisements.

Songs mentioning brands have been around practically forever, so it’s not a new concept, but it is more pervasive now, because everything is more connected. Everything is online, and some creepy little turd somewhere is programming your computers and phones to spy on you to help the big companies target their advertising.

“Under the Anheuser Bush” was commissioned by Anheuser-Busch brewing company in 1903 and was a hit for Billy Murray. Singing cowboy Jimmy Wakely covered this song in 1950.

“Take Me Out To The Ball Game” was first recorded in 1907. Everyone has heard this one. “Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack.”

George Strait released the song “Código” on his 2019 album to promote his tequila brand.

There are many, many country songs mentioning Jack Daniels and other alcohol brands. There are many, many articles about the prevalence of alcohol references in country. 2018 article: Towards Data Science: “Does Country Music Drink More Than Other Genres ? Investigating 5 years of lyrics to find out. In short, they found 40% of country hits from 2013-2017 referenced alcohol, which was more than any other genre.

The Drive : “Your Ears Are Right: Country Music Is Singing Way More About Trucks Now.” The article quotes a 2020 study by Money.co.uk: “A whopping 6.25% of all country songs written since 2000 have referenced trucks, which doesn’t sound like all that much until you realize that just 1% of all country songs that came before then mentioned trucks.”

If you turn on the radio and wonder why everything seems like an advertisement, it’s not just your imagination.

I’ll close today’s post with something fun, my Country Commercials playlist.

September 24, 2021 New This Week

There are new albums this week by Billy Strings, Larry Fleet, Raelynn, Chris Roberts, Claire Wright, Darlinghurst, Tony Kamel, Angus Gill, Taylor McCall, Leigh Nash, and Jackson Melnick. There are also new releases of older recordings from Johnny Cash and Randy Travis, and a deluxe version of Carrie Underwood’s Christmas album with three new songs.

I changed the name of my YouTube channel from “RZ94” to “Robert Stapleton.” When I created my channel back in 2015, there were already several other channels by people with my name and I’m not closely related to the well-known musical artists with my last name, so I picked some random characters. Now that I’m uploading a lot of my own stuff, I decided to go ahead and use my own name. My newest upload is my first quick attempt at overtone singing.

William Golden and The Goldens (his sons) released the first song today from one of their three upcoming albums.

Willie Nelson and Family released the first song this week from an upcoming album.

Lindley Creek released a bluegrass video, so there’s another good one to check out.

Cody Jinks released another song this week from his upcoming country album and one from his upcoming metal album.

The legendary bass player Bob Moore passed away September 22. He played on an astronomical number of Nashville recordings. I wrote a blog post a few weeks ago about people who aren’t yet in the Country Music Hall of Fame, but deserve to be, and he’s one of the people I mentioned.

Ronnie Page passed away on September 19 at age 84. The gospel singer was especially known for his work with the Chuck Wagon Gang and Oak Ridge Quartet, and also sang for a bit with the Blackwoods in the mid nineties.

September 23, 2021 Country Remixes and Remakes, Some History

This week, a Brooks and Dunn song from thirty years ago (“Neon Moon”) is pulling in millions of views thanks to a reggae remix by DJ Noiz, who is based in Australia. Brooks and Dunn mentioned this remix on social media. Mr. Noiz is of Samoan/Tongan heritage, and also posted a remix of Billy Ray Cyrus’ “Achy Breaky Heart.”

Remixes are more often associated with other styles of music, but country remixes have been around a pretty long time. Let’s take Brooks and Dunn as a prominent example. Their 1993 album included a “club mix” version of their 1991 hit “Boot Scootin’ Boogie.” There was also a remix version of “My Maria” that was played on radio, but as far as I know, that remix was never “officially” released to the public.

Alan Jackson’s 2008 #1 hit “Good Time” directly references Brooks and Dunn and “Boot Scootin’ Boogie,” and it was such a big hit for Alan that he named his Nashville bar “Good Time.” The radio version of “Good Time” was 3:36 and the “regular” album version was 5:06, but there was also a “dance mix” that was 4:46. There was something called the “summer fun too hot to fish mix,” but I don’t know if that is another name for the “dance mix” or yet another version ? “Good Time” is unusual in that it had a vocoder entrance.

In 2019, Brooks and Dunn released the album “Reboot,” versions of their older hits with modern stars. It’s worth noting that the “Reboot” version of “Neon Moon” featured Kacey Musgraves and vocoder.

The earliest country “official remix” or “official dance mix” I can recall is Dolly Parton’s two-song “disco mix” vinyl in 1978.

Remakes have been around much longer than the sort of “remixes” that are familiar today. For instance, Vernon Dalhart often recorded songs in the mid 1920s multiple times. Look at “Prisoner’s Song” in 1924. He recorded versions as a “mountaineer song” accompanied by viola and guitar, but he also recorded versions with orchestral backing by the International Novelty Orchestra, and a couple years later, he also recorded a version with the Imperial Dance Orchestra. Yeah, ol’ Vernon made a “dance version” of his somber country hit in the 1920s, because he’s that freaking cool. A few of the covers of “Prisoner’s Song” in other languages included musicians who played on Vernon’s records.

What about overdubbing ? That goes back to the 1920s, too. The opera legend Enrico Caruso passed away in 1921. Electrical recording began in 1925, and in 1927, records were released featuring an electrically recorded orchestra backing the late Caruso’s acoustically recorded vocals.

You might recall the “Three Hanks” album in 1996. Hank Sr passed away in 1953.

Elvis Presley records often featured instruments dubbed in after the fact, and there was the massive international hit remix “A Little Less Conversation” in 2002, credited to “Elvis x JXL.” The remix used Elvis’ vocals from 1968.

Johnny Cash passed away in 2003, and Johnny Cash Remixed was released in 2009. It is considered part of his official discography. The album features hip hop remixes of Johnny Cash songs using Johnny’s vocals from the late fifties.

If you want to hear something really unusual, check out James Tenney’s 1961 “Collage #1 (Blue Suede).” This example of “musique concrète” (early version of sampling) renders Elvis’ “Blue Suede Shoes” into a strange bunch of noise.

Patti Page used overdubbed/multitracked vocals in 1947, so that’s been around a long time.

Buchanan and Goodman made “break-in records” in 1956. These records used samples from various other records. I have a playlist for Country Break-Ins, Samples, etc. I included the Happiness Boys’ 1928 record “Twisting the Dials.” It didn’t actually sample other records, but the basic idea was the same as in the much-later break-in records. The comedians pretended to “turn the dial” to different radio stations.

I’ll also throw in an honorable mention of “puzzle records” from over a century ago. “Conundrum” from 1912 is one example. There were four songs on the record, but which song you got depended on where you placed the needle. The earliest puzzle record I found on YouTube is Fortune Telling from 1901 !

What about sped-up voices ? Alvin and the Chipmunks began in 1958 (and their 1981 country album “Urban Chipmunk” was a gold record). Pinky and Perky began in 1957. Looney Tunes characters such as Daffy Duck and Porky Pig were voiced by Mel Blanc starting in 1937 and sped up a bit. Daffy is a sped up version of Sylvester. Tweety Bird was also Mel Blanc sped up.

Reba McEntire has a triple album coming October 8 called “Revived, Remixed, Revisited.”

September 21, 2021 Island Country Update

I had a large YouTube playlist called “Island Country Vibe,” which covered a whole lot of territory, so I split that list into two 75-song lists: Island Country Vibe – Pacific and Island Country Vibe – Gulf, Atlantic, and Caribbean.

Island Country Vibe – Pacific has a lot of Hawaiian country. The Hawaiian steel guitar inspired all sorts of amplified instruments, many of which are of interest to country music. Texan George Beauchamp wanted to make the lap steel louder and was involved with the development of both the resonator guitar and the electric guitar. The “frying pan” is the ancestor of both the electric guitar that is the defining instrument of rock music and the steel guitar that is most associated with country music. Beauchamp’s not in either the rock or country hall of fame, despite the fact that his inventions had vastly more impact than the majority of the people who are in those halls of fame.

The other major Hawaiian instrument, the ukulele, showed up some in country music in the twenties and beyond, but for whatever reason, the uke didn’t carry forward in country music as much as some other instruments. You still see it from time to time. My Pacific list covers more than just Hawaiian themes. I also have bits from all sorts of other Pacific Islands.

I have separate playlists for New Zealand Country Music and Solomon Islands. Music from these scenes doesn’t get covered on most American country music sites, so if you’re looking for some music that you don’t hear everywhere else, check these out. I also have lists for Taiwan Country Music and Japan.

Island Country Vibe – Gulf, Atlantic, and Caribbean covers a lot of ground, too. There are some different things going on here. There’s music from the islands, but there’s also “beach music” from the southern US.

The music of the islands covers a number of styles, because the different islands developed different styles. Important reggae pioneers like Bob Marley and Toots and the Maytals are represented on the list. It’s worth noting that reggae has spread far and wide, including the Pacific. There have been “country reggae” albums produced by Larry Gatlin, Jeffrey Steele, and others.

Jamaican dancehall music is represented on my list by such artists as King Yellowman and Lady Saw. You’ll also find bits of ska, soca and calypso on my list.

The other major component of this list is country music (mostly from the southeast) about the beach and/or the islands. Mitchell Torok had a #1 country hit in 1953 with “Caribbean,” which has been covered by Willie Nelson and others. I included Rex Allen’s version of “Sloop John B” from 1951. The Beach Boys version from the mid sixties is the best known, but it’s derived from an old Bahamian folk song. Johnny Cash had a vacation home in Jamaica, so he sang about the Caribbean, too.

Of course, the king of beach music is Jimmy Buffett. Some call his style “gulf and western” or “trop rock,” but whatever you call it, Jimmy Buffett’s style of music has had a large influence on modern country music. One can make a case that his style could be classified either as a genre of its own or a subgenre of country, if country music had distinct subgenera like rock does. Listen to Jimmy Buffett’s early records and his country background is clear. For example, listen to “Brand New Country Star” from his 1974 album “Living and Dying in 3/4 Time.” Many of his albums have charted in country, even though most of his songs aren’t on country radio.

Jimmy Buffett’s influence on country music shows through prominently in the music of major country artists like Kenny Chesney, Alan Jackson, and Zac Brown. Alan Jackson is already in the country hall of fame, and Kenny Chesney surely will be at some point. Yes, Chesney’s music is lightweight and a fair percentage sounds like a light version of Buffett, but Chesney has the sixth most Billboard country number ones in history with 31 and he’s tied for eighth most country top ten hits with 58.

I have separate playlists for the assorted Latin American dance styles that influenced country music in the fifties: Country Mambo , Country Rhumba , Country Tango , and Country Samba and Bossa Nova.

Technically, the northern European islands are in the Atlantic, but I didn’t include them in my “Island Country Vibe” series. I do have playlists for Iceland and Faroe Islands.

September 20, 2021 Country, Rock and Metal

I’ve spent some time lately expanding my country rock playlists. I’ve joked before that there’s so much country/rock crossover now that you might as well call it “crock,” but in truth, there has been a lot of back and forth between country and rock since rock’s beginning. My Rockin’ Country Roots playlist covers from the beginning through the sixties and a very little bit of the seventies. I also have some specialty lists for Country Fuzz , Talking Steel Guitar/Talk Box , Country Twists , Country Go-Go , and Hillbilly Surf. A lot of the entries on these lists are from the sixties and combine elements of country and rock. My Scopitone playlist is also from the sixties, but is all-genre. If you’re looking for the 1960s precursor to 1980s music videos, this is a good list to check out.

What about more modern rock, though ? I considered making separate lists for assorted types of rock and metal, but decided to lump it all together in a huge playlist: Country Metal and Rock. There’s every type of rock interacting with every type of country. This list has grown to over 300 songs, and there are both lots of huge names and lots of lesser-knowns. For instance, the Samhain Saints covered “White Lightning” a couple months ago. They credited it as a George Jones cover, but George Jones’ version was actually a cover of the song’s author, The Big Bopper. So, it’s a modern indie metal band covering a country legend whose first number one country hit was itself a cover of a 1958 rock and roller.

Nearly a who’s who of both rock and country is on the list somewhere.

Granted, not everyone is a fan of crossovers. The Larry Cordle song “Murder On Music Row” specifically mentions that in modern country, “drums and rock ‘n roll guitars are mixed up in your face.” Then again, Larry Cordle made a bluegrass cover of Van Halen’s “Ice Cream Man.” It’s sort of like Loretta Lynn saying that “country music is dead,” even though Loretta’s own late career resurgence is because of Jack White. I like both Cordle and Loretta, but I don’t think there’s been any point in time when country music was ever “pure” in the sense of being completely distinct from all other forms of music. That’s why I put it all there on my lists: good, bad, and ugly. Let’s tell the whole story.

September 18, 2021 Recent Finds

Here are some of my recent YouTube finds:

Mickey Newbury playing an Omnichord in 1983. I have a playlist for Suzuki Omnichord and QChord, but there aren’t many videos of well-known country artists playing these instruments.

I posted my calculator cover of Turkey In The Straw a few days ago.

Bentley Ball, first to record Old Bangum in 1920. This has apparently been up for a year, but it has very few views and I just found it. This is the earliest recording of “Bangum and the Boar,” a well known folk song that has been covered by many.

Ryan Upchurch uploaded a video for Midnight In Montgomery last night. He went to Hank Williams’ grave in Montgomery at midnight to film the video.

The Petersens posted a cover of Tulsa Time yesterday. The family band regularly performs in Branson and has over 587 thousand YouTube subscribers.

Southern Raised posted a cover of Ghost Riders In The Sky last week. They’re another Branson family bluegrass band. They’ve done a couple of Beethoven covers, so that’s something a bit different.

Hillbilly to Bluegrass posted a cover of The Storms Are On The Ocean yesterday . This is a bluegrass/old-time/roots duo in Italy.

The Hillbilly Moonshiners Bluegrass Band is based The Netherlands. They often cover non-bluegrass songs. Yesterday, they posted a cover of “Africa” by Toto.

The Merkins make Halloween music all year. Here’s Leatherface covering Kenny Chesney. Leatherface has also covered Garth Brooks, Billy Ray Cyrus, and Tim McGraw. If you’re looking for a good laugh, check these out.

Tyler Butler-Figueroa, Violinist was a finalist on America’s Got Talent a couple of years ago when he was 11. He has mostly covered pop songs up to this point, but this week, he posted a bit of bluegrass fiddle. He has also covered “Tennessee Whiskey” on electric violin.

Benjamin Abraham posted an original last month, “Baroque Mountain Man,” described as “baroque bluegrass.” This fits my playlist Going For Baroque, Country Style.

September 16, 2021 New Music This Week

There’s a good variety of new albums this week, and there are tons of younger artists. This is a very busy week !

Carly Pearce has been in the spotlight a whole lot lately as one of the Grand Ole Opry’s newest members. Her new album “29” is the full album version of the “29” EP that is nominated for a CMA award. This is her first full album since becoming an Opry member.

Scotty McCreery’s country albums usually hit #1. His first album (after winning American Idol) hit #1 in 2011, then his Christmas album peaked at #2, his 2013 album hit #1, and his 2018 album hit #1. Will his country album #1 streak continue ? Is it my imagination or is there not as much hype/promo as one would expect this time around ? I guess we’ll see how it shakes out. It seems like McCreery has been around forever, but he’s just 27.

Charley Crockett has built a sizable fan base in recent years. He worked his way up from playing all sorts of small venues and now, he plays festivals and Austin City Limits. He has put out a lot of albums in the last few years, so he’s keeping his foot on the gas.

Teea Goans is on the Grand Ole Opry lineup tomorrow to celebrate her new album. Her first album and first Opry appearance was in 2010, but although she is highly regarded by country traditionalists, she has yet to have much commercial success. This is her first album to write original songs.

Country Faith Bluegrass is an all-star bluegrass gospel album featuring a mix of old and new recordings. Dolly Parton stars in one of the new recordings.

Balsam Range, Sideline, and Barefoot Movement are well-known bluegrass bands, and each has a new album. Swamptooth is releasing their debut bluegrass album. If you’re a bluegrass fan, you have a lot of new music to check out this week.

Jelly Roll is best known for country rap, but the Nashville native’s new album features his singing, rather than rapping. I don’t know how much “country” to expect, if any, but he has a huge fan base and he sold out the Ryman Auditorium for tomorrow’s album launch. His Ryman show will stream live on his channel.

Ray Scott is on the Opry lineup Saturday with his new album. He has performed on the Opry dozens of times.

Laine Hardy won American Idol in 2019, and this will be the debut album for the 21 year old. He has released a few songs, and before he was on Idol, he released a three-song EP in 2018.

Caleb Lee Hutchinson was a runner-up on American Idol in 2018, and the 22-year-old is releasing his debut EP.

2Cellos isn’t country at all, but there aren’t many blogs about Croatian cello duos, so I’ll give their new album a mention.

There are also new albums from Jameson Rodgers, Ray Fulcher, Jessica Lynn, Shelby Lee Lowe, Patrick Droney, The Ranchwriters, Gregory Ackerman, Jackson Michelson, Evan Bartels, Bren Holmes, Bruce T Carroll, Sam Cary, The Delevantes, A Tale of Two, The Northern Belle, Alexa Rose, CJ Garton, Patrick Anthony, Natalie Henry, Kirby Brown, John McCutcheon, Caitlin Jemma, Johnny Gates, DD Verni and the Cadillac Band, Gordie Tentrees, and Lachlan Bryan and The Wildes.

Travis Tritt recently made a guest appearance at a show by the hair metal band Steel Panther, and there are phone videos of them singing together on YouTube.

September 14, 2021 RIP Don Maddox and Jude Northcutt

Don Maddox passed away Sunday at 98. The Maddox Brothers and Rose made records as a group from 1946-1956, but had performed live since the late thirties, and there are radio transcriptions from 1940 and 1945, but Don had not yet joined the group. Billed as “America’s Most Colorful Hillbilly Band,” Maddox Brothers and Rose were an influential group with a fun and distinctive style, but lacked much chart success. Rose Maddox went on to a lengthy successful solo career for the next four decades and had fourteen chart singles, and a Grammy nomination for her final album in 1996. Henry Maddox played mandolin in her band through 1960, and Cal Maddox played guitar in her band through the sixties. Don Maddox made numerous appearances late in life, including the Marty Stuart Show and assorted festivals. Here’s a clip of Don Maddox in 2005. There are many YouTube clips of Don Maddox in the 2010s. Here’s Maddox Brothers and Rose at the Grand Ole Opry in 1949. Rose became an Opry member in 1956, but that lasted only a few months. Don Maddox kept the family name in the spotlight for the last decade plus, and Maddox Brothers and Rose were featured very prominently in the 2019 PBS country documentary.

Jude Northcutt passed away Sunday at age 89. He was best known in Oklahoma City for his decades long music and business collaborations (such as a furniture store) with Jody Taylor (who passed away in 2009) as Jude n Jody. Jude n Jody did record a little (one of their records from the sixties is on YouTube), but they were better known for their television show that lasted 28 years, from 1954-1982. According to KFOR, there are two-inch video reels of the shows. Here’s hoping they’re eventually digitized, so that everyone can enjoy them and learn more about 28 years of Oklahoma City country music history. The Oklahoman interviewed Jude Northcutt in 2015. Jude was Conway Twitty’s neighbor in the seventies. Jody Taylor married Norma Jean in 1967, and the marriage is why she left the Porter Wagoner Show and moved to Oklahoma. After some time, she also left the Grand Ole Opry because it was expensive and inconvenient to travel so often from Oklahoma to Nashville. Jody Taylor and Norma Jean later divorced. Norma Jean is now around Brady, Texas and makes appearances at Heart of Texas events.