Today “the Bristol Sessions” is a portmanteau phrase in its own right, so much a given to country-music aficionados that it hardly seems necessary to ask questions such as “why were there sessions in Bristol?” or, more relevant to this discussion, “Why were the sessions in Bristol?” They didn’t have to be. In the 1910s … Continue reading Why Bristol?
Classic Country
2 States, 12 Days and 90 Years: It’s Time for a Party
I spent a chunk of last summer toying with the idea of staging a country-music festival this summer to mark the 90th anniversary of the Bristol Sessions, aka the Big Bang of Country Music. Sadly, Country 90 NYC (as it was provisionally called) didn’t come together; we’ll just have to wait for 2027 and Country … Continue reading 2 States, 12 Days and 90 Years: It’s Time for a Party
An Unlikely Queen
As one of the two parents of rock ‘n’ roll (the other is rhythm and blues), country music understandably has had a considerable impact on the younger genre, and it’s no surprise that 10 country artists are enshrined in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Not enshrined there, however, is the country star who … Continue reading An Unlikely Queen
Is It Country? Is It Rock? 20 Ways to Tell
Watch the Grammy awards—it doesn’t matter what year—and you’re watching an exercise in nomenclature. Americans love music, but they also love finding new words to categorize it. Is this song country, folk or Southern rock? Folk-rock, alt country or Americana? Is it neo-folk, country-punk or folkabilly? Why does anybody care? Well, it’s about money, of … Continue reading Is It Country? Is It Rock? 20 Ways to Tell
Jeeves and the Yankee Yodeler
Author’s Note: Today, October 30, marks the 108th birthday of the great Patsy Montana (she died in 1996). The best way to mark the occasion is, of course, to listen to her music—particularly her immortal signature tune, “I Want to Be a Cowboy’s Sweetheart” (1935). Go ahead and do so; I’ll wait here until you … Continue reading Jeeves and the Yankee Yodeler
Go South, Young Man
A few weeks back, a relative of mine wrote to me: “I'm so excited about your new career as a country-western singer.” I wrote back to clarify that I’m a country singer now, not a country-western singer. Earlier this week, when I again found myself explaining this distinction, this time to an old friend, I … Continue reading Go South, Young Man
Music for Grownups
My first blog post, back in February, was titled “What Is Country Music?” That question—or, rather, its kissing cousin, “What is it that you like so much about country music?”—is in my mind again today. It’s been there since July 10, actually, when I had a brief conversation with a young friend, herself a brilliant … Continue reading Music for Grownups
The Man in Back
On the cover of his autobiography, Marshall Grant is hard to pick out. You’d expect him to be the focus of the cover photo, but that’s Johnny Cash. As he so often was in real life, Grant is the guy at far left, almost slipping off the edge of the cover and three-quarters hidden by … Continue reading The Man in Back
The Smartest Guy in the Room
Arguments about the best album ever are for suckers, and that’s even truer of arguments about the best country album ever. Setting aside the obvious fact that “best” is as subjective as a word can get, many of country’s greatest artists spent their entire careers in the pre-album era. When Hank Williams, Jimmie Rodgers and … Continue reading The Smartest Guy in the Room
Getting On Up, Walking the Line and Seeing the Light: The World of Musical Biopics
Tom Hiddleston will be up early on January 17, 2017. So will Ethan Hawke. Don Cheadle too. That’s the day the next Oscar nominations will be announced, and Hiddleston, Hawke and Cheadle will be getting up before dawn to see whether they’ve been nominated as Best Actor for their performances as, respectively, country icon Hank … Continue reading Getting On Up, Walking the Line and Seeing the Light: The World of Musical Biopics
Tennessee Walt 