The Heart-strings of Country Music

As many of you know, I'm a musician, but beyond that, I'm a music lover. I enjoy playing and listening to all types of music. It's not strange on a playlist of mine to hear Elton John, George Strait, Sugar Ray, Michael W. Smith, Count Basie, and the father of bluegrass, Bill Monroe, all right in a row. However, in my mind, no genre of music has mastered the sound and emotion of "heartbreak" better then country music. I'm talking about the songs you hear about someone's girl/man leaving them, drinking alone at a bar, etc. This isn't to say other bands and artists from other genres haven't had songs that tug at the heart-strings just as much, but as a whole, nothing does it better then country music. Since nothing stirs my emotions quite like music, the following is a list of songs showing how country music songs about this topic have evolved. Included will be videos and audio clips of each song I use as an example, and I'm going to try in as many possible instances to use personal favorites of mine that really get me to feel exactly what the singer is feeling.

"I'm Sorry We Met"- Jimmie Rodgers, 1929
Jimmied Rodgers is regarded by many to be the father of country music. With a title like that, you have to start with him. He's most famous for his many yodeling songs (creatively named "Blue Yodel #1, "Blue Yodel #2...you get the picture), and songs about trains. Many of the early country music records were just recordings of folk songs from Appalachia. Many of these songs can be traced back to Ireland and Scotland. These immigrants brought their music and spread it throught the country and it morphed into Appalachain culture (I told myself not to get into a music history lesson, so I'll stop now). Rodgers' "I'm sorry We Met" is done in the same vein. It's a very simple recording, as most were of the time, with just guitar and vocals, and is perhaps the most well-known heartbreak song that Rodgers ever recorded.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5OIJU_1sn4

"I Can't Help It (If I'm Still In Love With You)- Hank Williams Sr, 1951
I skipped ahead a few years to save time here, but oh well.The great Hank Williams had a ton of songs in the classic, heartbroke, lovesick, country music sound. This song and "There's A Tear In My Beer" are all time classics. If you listen, you can already hear how far the recording quality had come since 1929, but you'll also be able to tell how much improvement there was left to do. Synonomous with Williams' songs was the pedal steer guitar, which is featured in "I Can't Help It". It adds that eerie, lonely quailty to his music, and would become a standard insturment in most country groups ever after.
YouTube: "I Can't Help It (If I'm Still In Love With You)" -Hank Williams

"My Baby's Gone"- The Louvin Brothers, 1960
One of the greatest country/bluegrass duos of all time, the Louvins had great harmonies. Their vocal sound was very similar to what many in bluegrass circles call the "high lonesome sound", originating with Bill Monroe. Charlie Louvin played guitar and sang lead and the lower harmony, and his brother, Ira, played mandolin and sang the higher harmony. While the Louvin's are in the Country Music Hall of Fame, they are not the most well known country act, and this song isn't a well known outside of country music circles, however, it is one of my favorite, heartbroken songs of all time. Recording quality had come along a little further by this time, and you can hear the Louvin's bluegrass influence as well.
YouTube: "My Baby's Gone"- The Louvin Brothers

"Crying Time"- Buck Owens, 1965, and "I Still Miss Someone"- Johnny Cash, 1964
This is another personal favorite of the genre for me. The recording sample I have is with Owens and Susan Raye. Another song with a haunting, but smoother steel guitar, and nice harmony between Owens and Raye. Buck Owens was another artist known for the used of the pedal steel guitar in his band, most notably on "Together Again", but that song doesn't fit the profile here (hence the title).

As for the other song, we couldn't have a list without the "Man in Black", the great Johnny Cash. He's arguably the most well known country music artist ever, and even today in the years after his death he remains extremley popular. While "I still Miss Someone" isn't even close to his most well known song, it's my favorite of his that fits this profile. I first heard this songs by the great bluegrass duo "Flatt & Scruggs", but Cash does it just a little better. There was something about the way he sang that you could really feel what he was feeling. In both songs you can tell quailty had come along way, just from 1960.
YouTube: Buck Owens & Susan Raye, "Crying Time"
"I Still Miss Someone"- Johnny Cash

"Today I Started Loving You Again"- Merle Haggard, 1968
My second favorite country music artist of all time has a very simple version of this song, and his vocals really make you feel the pain of whoever the poor old boy is whose girl left him. This version is a music video, that I believe came from the old TV show "Hee-Haw". I own the original recording, but this version will work just fine too.
YouTube: "Today I Started Loving You Again"-Merle Haggard

"Whiskey River"- Willie Nelson, 1973
A different sound from the slow, sad, hauting type songs that I have listed previously, but this song deserves to be on the list. It's a drinking song, and one of the best examples of a song about someone's love troubles that's still upbeat, like you're trying to take your mind of it it, instead of sulk. While there were songs in a similar vein before this, there were many more after it. Nelson, along with some other artists of the same period (Cash, Waylon Jennings, Hank Williams Jr) really changed country music, and formed the "outlaw" genre. This is a good example.
YouTube: "Whiskey River"- Willie Nelson

"Fool Hearted Memory"-George Strait, 1982
Skipping ahead nine years, we find ourselves listening to the "king" of country, George Strait. He's my favorite country artist of all time, so of course I would include him. While this song isn't my favorite Strait song, it is very good, and it embodies heartbreak and alcohol, two things which have been heavy lyric topics in country music. The ablum this song came off, "Strait From The Heart" also includes "You'll Always Be The Fire I Can't Put Out" which is a personal recommendation of mine, and another song that will rustle your emotions (it's definitley hit close to home for me in the past).
YouTube: "Fool Hearted Memory"- George Strait

"When I Call Your Name"- Vince Gill, 1989
Vince Gill had a voice that could almost make you cry no matter how happy the song, so when he did a sad one, it could really get to you. This song is, in my opinion, the best one he did of that type. Patty Loveless sings the harmony.
YouTube: "When I Call Your Name"-Vince Gill

"Neon Moon"- Brooks & Dunn, 1991
When they hit the scene, they were the first extremely populour duet in country music in quite some time, and they would go on to have a remarkable run that ended just recently. "Neon Moon" is a very typical song from country music in the early 90's, and you can hear the stylistic changes even from just a nine year period. The 1980's saw a reversion to the more classic country style with artists like George Strait, Ricky Skaggs, Randy Travis, etc. By the 90's, country music was beginning to evolve again and guys and gals like B&D, Garth Brooks, Tim McGraw, Patty Loveless and the timeless Strait would be at the center. Take a listen to what I think is the best lovesick song of that entire decade.
YouTube: "Neon Moon"-Brooks & Dunn

"Brokenheartsville"- Joe Nichols, 2002
We fast forward the clock eleven years, and we find country music has devloped into a very electric guitar, driving rock style of music. This song by Arkansan, Joe Nichols, brings the listener the feel of country music in the early 2000's but it also keeps elements timeless to country music, such as our friend the pedal steel guitar, and the sad vocal. One can definitely feel the sadness and anger felt by the poor soul in the song. Another one of my personal favorites, and it's what used to be Brent Foster's life story (just kiddin' buddy...sorta).
YouTube: "Brokenheartsville"- Joe Nichols

"Whiskey Lullaby"- Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss, 2003
I really liked this song when it came out and I still do. The saga of the couple of this song could almost have a movie made about it (I'm bad with pop culture so if one's already been made, disregard that last part), and the music and vocals are just as sad, lonely and haunting. Having Alison Krauss be his duet partner was one of the best decisions Paisley ever made on a song. Krauss is a very underated singer, and an extremley talented fiddle player and band leader in her own right.
YouTube: "Whiskey Lullaby"-Brad Paisley & Alison Krauss

With that, I'm going to stop. If you read all of this and listened to even part of every song, you deserve some sort of prize or medal. You all know what kind of style country music is being played with now. At times, the genre becomes blurred with pop, and rock and such. However, country will always be able to tug at our heart with tales of broken relationships, and love gone wrong. Throw in a fiddle and a steel guitar, country will always keep a distinct identity. There are many songs that could've made this list; songs that were more popular, more well known, and perhaps even more sad and lonely sounding, but I tried to include personal favorites of mine in here as well. However, here's a list of a few more favorites that could've easily made the list (not listed in chronological order).

-"He Stopped Loving Her Today"-George Jones
-"Living For the Night"- George Strait
-"Trying To Get Over You"-Vince Gill
-"I Can Still Make Cheynne"- George Strait
-" I Don't Love You Anymore"- Travis Tritt
-" Digging Up Bones"-Randy Travis
-" Hello Darling"- Conway Twitty
-"By The Time I Get To Phoenix"-Glen Campbell

I'm too tired to think of anymore. That's all for now.

A Weekend of Football

It started with Arkansas QB Ryan Mallet hitting WR Greg Childs for a 40-yard touchdown with 15 seconds left in the game giving the Hogs a 31-24 road win over Georgia. It ended with the Kansas City Chiefs getting just enough inches for a first down on fourth down and letting them run out the clock for their first 2-0 start since 2005. Those are the two events on each side of a great football weekend. In the middle were some other great things…things like Notre Dame losing in overtime when Michigan State faked a field goal and threw a touchdown pass (I really don’t like Notre Dame), and Arizona holding off a furious fourth quarter rally by the Iowa Hawkeyes to preserve their win (I really don’t like Iowa)*. Of course the best was T.J. Moe bailing out Mizzou with a 68-yard touchdown allowing the Tigers to sneak past San Diego State, 27-24.  Heck, if you go back to Friday, the Beakers lost to Southern Mississippi 31-17, and it’s always great win those hated Jayhawks get beat. Let’s just hope weekends like this are very frequent in this year’s football season.

            * I was just glad Iowa was finally exposed. This was a team that slid their way to the Orange Bowl last year dodging bullet after bullet, and for a second on Saturday night it looked like they were going to do it again. In some cases it’s better to be lucky then good, and finally Iowa’s luck ran out against Arizona. Here’s hoping they struggle to a lower tier finish in the Big 10 making their prudish fans whine and cry (Oh wait,…they do that anyway) and hope for basketball season. But wait! The Hawkeyes basketball team sucks too. Remember…Steve Alford saw the writing on the wall and got the heck out of there. I would love to see that school go into an athletic tailspin that lasts for a few years. Unfortunately, the Big 10 is still probably just sucky enough for this years Iowa football team to finish in the top 4 of that league and once again the overrated Kirk Ferentz will be regarded as a statewide hero. If you think this hatred is strange and over-the-top, you should see when I get going about kU.

Now, even though that first paragraph was full of good things to say, there are still some major questions facing the Tigers and the Chiefs. Let’s start with Mizzou. One could argue that the Tigers were looking past the Aztecs, but I find that hard to believe since the next game on Mizzou’s schedule is the Miami (Ohio) Redhawks. Not exactly a stellar team that would warrant looking past an opponent. It could be that San Diego State is just better than everyone thought, and perhaps the Tigers aren’t quite as good as their ranking of 24^th in the coaches poll would suggest (which if we’re going to be honest with each other as Tiger fans, this team doesn’t deserve to be ranked at this point).  There were a lot of dropped balls by the wide-outs and of course a couple of awful interceptions thrown by Blaine Gabbert. It was also disturbing the defense seemed to go to sleep at various points in the game and gave up to long TD’s on the ground. Maybe the team just wasn’t as focused as they should be going into this game and we’re content that since they were “Mizzou” that they would roll the Aztecs, and if that’s the case, it rests at the feet of the coaching staff. Whatever the issues, they need to get them sorted out over the next two weeks, because after that Big XII play begins, and if they play like that on a consistent basis (which I don’t think they will) they won’t win many more game this year.

As for the Chiefs, I won’t spend too much time on them, because after the last few seasons I’m just content with a 2-0 record. The defense has been playing well, and in the second half of Sunday’s game against Cleveland QB Matt Cassel even looked, well, like a quarterback. This team has a ton of upside, even if they have one of the more anonymous receiving corps in the NFL. The Chiefs are going to be a tough out each game this season.

Side Notes

The St. Louis Rams once again played a competitive game against the Oakland Raiders but mental mistakes and horrible penalties eventually doomed them. Once more there were a few positives to take away from the game, but as my buddy Matt Hayes said Saturday  (I’m paraphrasing here): Eventually you have to start turning those positives into success. Or something along those lines.

#1 Alabama comes to Fayetteville this weekend to face #10 Arkansas. I'm pumped about that one.

My friday night football pick up team (Mabes/Barrow) is now 2-0 this year. Gotta love pick-up football.

Is it annoying to anyone else that TBS has once against changed their daytime programming order and format? Why mess with a good thing (looking at you NCAA tournament committee and those of you NFL officials who want an 18 game schedule).

Kansas City Optimism

How ‘bout them Chiefs? Well, I’m not sure we know much about them, but we do know one thing: this team will be much more competitive then the last few. The Chiefs knocked off the Chargers 21-14 last night in a rabid, renovated Arrowhead Stadium that harkened back to the 1990’s and “Marty-ball”. There was a heavy dose of Jamaal Charles, and former Jet, Thomas Jones. This was, of course, due in large part to the downpours of rain for much of the game, and trying to protect a 21-7 second half lead. However, one can’t take too much from a game where the fans are fired up, the team is playing off the crowd, the conditions are horrible, and they’re running the football seemingly every play. Can Matt Cassell be a more efficient quarterback in dry conditions this year then he was last year? Can anyone on the team catch the ball consistently? One thing we do know is that this year’s draft class looks extremely good. Dexter McCluster was explosive, highlighted by a team record 94-yard punt return for a TD in the second quarter. CB Javier Arenas looked explosive on special teams as well, and looked good playing in the KC secondary. Eric Berry didn’t have his name called a whole lot, which isn’t always a bad thing for a safety, but he did make some plays and has the potential to be one of the games best. Finally, rookie TE Tony Moeaki out of Iowa caught 3 balls for 21 yards, including a touchdown. I guess what I’m trying to say is, it’s tough to gauge how good a team’s going to be, based on a game like last night. I want to be optimistic, and start hyping this team to win the AFC West and head to the playoffs. While I think the playoffs aren’t out of the realm of possibility, I’m going to be cautiously optimistic about this team. I want to see Matt Cassell be efficient. I want to see Dwyane Bowe not drop as many passes. I want to see consistency on defense (hello, Tyson Jackson). But the Chiefs are 1-0, and right now, that’s all you can ask.

Other Random Thoughts on Sports

The Missouri Tigers football team has quietly slipped into the coaches’ top 25, at #25. I’m not convinced the team has done anything to earn this ranking, but we’ll find out in October if this team deserves to be ranked. Mizzou is coming off a 50-6 victory of FCS school McNeese State last Saturday night in a game that wasn’t competitive from the kick-off, and now takes on San Diego State this coming Saturday. The Aztecs are 6^th in the country in total offense and should provide somewhat of a test for the Mizzou defense.

Keeping with the Mizzou athletics theme, the hoops team released their 2010-2011 schedule yesterday, and there are some exciting games to look forward too, as well as plenty of chances to catch the team on national TV. The home non-conference schedule is highlighted by a game with Vanderbilt on December 8th, and you can bet the team will be looking to get revenge on the Commodores for last year’s loss in Nashville. A road game with Oregon could be tough, but the Ducks have been down the last couple years, and of course the game with Illinois is in St. Louis again this year, and that ones always fun. I’m most looking forward the game on November 30 in Kansas City against the Georgetown Hoyas. It’s a good chance to catch Mizzou in action against a quality team from the big east that could very well be tourney bound.

The St. Louis Cardinals….well…maybe next year.