Country Music (!?!)

[Allhallowsday]

The greatest of them all, HANK WILLIAMS, live on TV doing one of his classics.  This is worth it despite JUNE CARTER's corny intro and ANITA CARTER's unfortunately abrasive opening, as HANK without a word communicates to her how to sing his song on live TV (he was so f**king naturally great):  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJXfIoDrAZ0  

God he was so GREAT!!!

[The Burgomaster]

Okay . . . tell me some of Hank Williams' songs don't make you damn near cry.  He was one of the best ever at writing lyrics about sorrowful, lonesome people and no one sings his songs nearly as good as he did.  One of my favorites is MANSION ON THE HILL.

[Flick James]

I like many of the classic country artists already named. For me, it doesn't get much better than Marty Robbins and Roy Orbison. True, Orbison is arguably associated with early rock and roll moreso than country, but the country association is undeniable. Both Roy and Marty were particularly gifted with telling the story behind the emotion and not just the emotion itself.

[Allhallowsday]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVkrq2zG_c0  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvW6_-TP5cs 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hn3JB51NH_M

[Mofo Rising]

I like many of the classic country artists already named. For me, it doesn't get much better than Marty Robbins and Roy Orbison. True, Orbison is arguably associated with early rock and roll moreso than country, but the country association is undeniable. Both Roy and Marty were particularly gifted with telling the story behind the emotion and not just the emotion itself.

Orbison is the man who stripped the idea from me that I had any singing talent whatsoever. If you're like me, you enjoy singing along to the music you listen to. If you don't listen to yourself recorded, you might even think you're pretty good. But then you listen to someone like Roy Orbison and realize, there is no way I could ever sound that good.

Don't get me wrong, I still sing along to songs (and play Rock Band), but I won't sound like that.

[Flick James]

I like many of the classic country artists already named. For me, it doesn't get much better than Marty Robbins and Roy Orbison. True, Orbison is arguably associated with early rock and roll moreso than country, but the country association is undeniable. Both Roy and Marty were particularly gifted with telling the story behind the emotion and not just the emotion itself.

Orbison is the man who stripped the idea from me that I had any singing talent whatsoever. If you're like me, you enjoy singing along to the music you listen to. If you don't listen to yourself recorded, you might even think you're pretty good. But then you listen to someone like Roy Orbison and realize, there is no way I could ever sound that good.

Don't get me wrong, I still sing along to songs (and play Rock Band), but I won't sound like that.

Roy Orbison is one of the only singers I DON'T try to sing along to, and I do have some singing ability.

[Rev. Powell]

Okay . . . tell me some of Hank Williams' songs don't make you damn near cry.

Some of Hank Williams songs don't make me damn near cry.  "Hey Good Lookin'" is an example of a Hank Williams song that doesn't make me damn near cry. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95aP0OWx4jY

On the other hand, there's "Alone and Foresaken."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJHgeYSi9yY

[tracy]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVkrq2zG_c0  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvW6_-TP5cs 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hn3JB51NH_M

El Paso....my very favorite Marty Robbins song. 

[RCMerchant]

I really enjoy Jimmie Rodgers- waaaay back old school hillbilly music!
(Not to be confused with the rockabilly singer from the 50's and 60's-though I enjoy his stuff too.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEIBmGZxAhg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSq8mnDH_1o&feature=related

He died in 1933-at the age of 36.

[Flick James]

I really enjoy Jimmie Rodgers- waaaay back old school hillbilly music!
(Not to be confused with the rockabilly singer from the 50's and 60's-though I enjoy his stuff too.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEIBmGZxAhg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSq8mnDH_1o&feature=related

He died in 1933-at the age of 36.

Jimmie Rodgers is the real deal. He was the inspiration for Clint Eastwood's character in Honkytonk Man.

[Nakuyabi]

I wouldn't say all country music has to be classic to be good. We do have a lot of over-produced stuff these days, and most of it probably won't last, but the reason we don't hear about bad songs from the classic days of country is because they aren't remembered, not because nobody was singing badly back then. Some of the stuff being produced nowadays is very good too, despite many songs in the genre these days being over-produced and homogenized. In twenty years or so, when we've had time to forget the crap, some of today's songs will be classics too. Here's one I suspect we'll remember fondly eventually:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-oKxpQrRY4

That's not to say I don't appreciate the classics, though. Here's one of my favorite old "pox on you" country songs:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nr2_DBRcQrY

[Allhallowsday]

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAUTfkk2zp0

[RCMerchant]

I got two words: WANDA JACKSON.
Go man go!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u018bt6iQAM&feature=related

Sing it with me,yall!
And that sweetie went this way-Dam! I love her.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzJ3hiqsi0U&feature=related

[Allhallowsday]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBqEewHY18Q&feature=fvst  

Here's the great MERLE TRAVIS doing it live:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hS2ShTD3_8E  

TEX WILLIAMS had the first big hit with "Smoke! Smoke! Smoke that cigarette" :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbKQklwNScA

PHIL HARRIS had the biggest hit on the Pop charts I'd guess: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VloC9WnnhaQ

[tracy]

I liked the country-style songs Michael Nesmith did while in the Monkees...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kk3btFwivtE