It’s funny what simple, accidental things can trigger a thought (or a blog post). I was sitting in the living room and heard a song being played on my wife’s computer in the next room. The song was “How Great Thou Art” by Alan Jackson and I couldn’t make out the words but recognized the melody instantly. This triggered the… Read more »
Do you love country music? Or do you prefer what Nashville is trying to palm off on us these days? Remember when a country song told a story – or had feelings? Does it seem that modern country is mostly songs about getting laid? Remember when country singers could sing and nobody had heard about auto-tune? Do you miss hearing… Read more »
I’ve given up on watching CMT. For those who don’t get CMT on your cable (oh fortunate people!) the initials USED to stand for Country Music Television. They don’t mention that fact any more for a good reason… there’s little or no country on the network these days. What we get is so called “new country”. How can you tell… Read more »
Somebody once asked me, “Do you think real country music will ever be a big craze again?” My honest reply was, “Lord I hope not!” I know that sounds opposite to what I’m supposed to think, but let me explain…. We survived (barely) that whole Urban Cowboy thing years ago but it was a near thing. If you’re old enough… Read more »
About the time I got into my mid to late 20s, I met up with a fellow named John. John was into country music in a big (but amateur) way and we started singing and playing guitars together. He sounded a little like Buck Owens and I found I could harmonize with him easily. We went to a few jam… Read more »
I know I promised the next episode in our continuing adventure would cover my time in Easy Toe, but I have to interject a note or two about a couple of bands that came before the mighty Toe. “Sam” was a band I played with for a good long while around 1970 or thereabouts. We chose the name after laughing… Read more »
Just a note about the last post to update about the Turbulents… Jack became a vet and owns his own animal hospital, Greg went on to become a Rhodes scholar and a professor of anthropology. I spent 50 years playing country music in low bars. I still have to wonder where they went wrong. Anyway, after the Turbulents I bummed… Read more »
My first instrument (the first I actually played at least) was the accordion. Back in those dim, dark days of the fifties parents were told, “It’s a heckuva instrument – a band all by itself” and so my folks bought me an accordion and signed me up for lessons. My first paying gig (and several more after that) were on… Read more »