A Tale of Two Countrys

As a new year speeds through its first week, Country music, no stranger to cliché, is headed for a showdown.

The CBS/city of Nashville PR machine showcased one brand of Country music on New Year’s Eve: the bar crawl Country where the TV audio, in too many cases, made the acts sound like a bar band at the Ramada Inn in Phenix City, Alabama.

An attendance of 200,000 souls sealed the claim as the nation’s largest public NYE gathering. (Vegas might dispute that claim, but Nashville was on five hours of network TV on CBS.)

Apple would never put out an inferior product on any level from the box to the software. Should televised Country be any different? Just asking. Maybe the bar is at TikTok standards now, and 8k quality is reserved for televised football.

With the world staring down an easily spread airborne virus that’s wearing out medical people anywhere you look, NYC backed down in attendance. Nashville’s “Big Bash” pressed on.

Hardly a mask in sight during the Nashville celebration. Well OK, if that’s the image the city PR wants then that’s what they got.

The other side of the coin staring back as we begin 2022 is diversity in the music. Did you see any of the hateful op-eds and year-end reviews basically calling Country radio racists gate keepers holding back non whites and women, with no defense from the accused because they can’t? Get defensive and you look more guilty in some eyes.

The two biggest acts right now are Morgan Wallen and Luke Combs (both invisible on NYE). They have huge tours ahead, Covid willing. Is what they do Country music, or is it the music we saw on CBS New Year’s Eve? Or is the answer both? Has Country become Jazz, so diverse who is to say what exactly is Jazz or Country in 2022?

It is a “Ball of Confusion” (thanks, Motown). Yes, Motown had a white act or two. Remember Rare Earth? But they were to this day known for the soul of Marvin, Gaye, Smokey Robinson, The Four Tops and The Temptations. Will Country’s legacy be Dolly/Kenny/Johnny/Patsy/Hank, or the New Country rap-influenced folks?

We have a tale of two Countrys. Will the fans decide what they want, or will the gatekeepers tell the fans what they will like? The CMA is studying how Country music can reach Latino audiences. That has been tried, with few to no takers.

It’s a huge possible audience, so do you start recording songs in Spanish? That’s also been tried. Texas Country has the best chance, and the results aren’t spectacular.

There should always be a color-blind eye when listening to music. Who cares what color, race or sex they are? It’s about the song, the music. Does Country music try harder to be color-blind?100% yes! It’s still the same old story: find the right song for the right artist and, yes, stop just singing about trucks and beer. Sing about love. Everyone gets that!

After decades of ignoring Country music, now all of a sudden people who laughed at it and ignored it have decided to give advice to it; the NYC-based bosses telling the rest what Country music should look and sound like. That’s not going to fly with the base.

James Brown asked me once if I would introduce him to Roy Acuff. Long story, but I did. The King of Soul was singing “Wabash Cannonball” in Mr. Roy’s dressing room, and I have pictures. It was a great moment. Michael Jackson’s mother loved Floyd Cramer, and hired him to play at her house. I could go on. Music people love music of all kinds. Music is blind.

So put up the right people singing the right songs and everyone will go to bat for them, like they did for Elvis and his love of R&B. To happen naturally, if there are people stopping because of color they need to be exposed, but stop this painting with a huge, broad brush.