A History of Country Vol. 12: 1969-71
It was the age of the country songwriter, with people such as Harlan Howard (Heartaches By The Number), Hank Cochran (I Fall To Pieces), Roger Miller (Billy Bayou), Willie Nelson (Crazy), Mel Tillis (Detroit City), Tom T Hall (Harper Valley PTA) and the Bryants (Love Hurts) creating many classics. Some of them would become stars in their own right. None maybe more so than Kris Kristofferson, a man whose early biography reads like a far-fetched penny novel. Many of the songs he is known for were first recorded by others, sometimes several times. With the arguable exception of Me And Bobby McGee, Kristofferson eclipsed them all. One need just compare the Kristofferson version of For The Good Time with the song”s first incarnation as Ray Price”s hit.
Kristofferson had a rock attitude which didn”t always go down well with the country establishment. The establishment of the genre that helped give birth to rock & roll seemed to prefer distancing itself from the long-haired hedonism of rock. But rock wanted a bit of country.
In the 1960s, The Beatles would cover Buck Owens, Dylan record a couple of pure country albums, and The Byrds (in the incarnation featuring Parsons, Roger McGuinn and bluegrass veteran Chris Hillman) would help inaugurate what would become known as country rock “” The Grateful Dead, Poco, The Eagles et al “” with their LP of country covers, 1968″s Sweetheart of the Rodeo. The Byrds even performed at the Grand Ole Opry, but the response was hostile, inspiring the acerbic Drug Store Truck Drivin” Man. Some country acts will have dug that. In 1972, the strands came together when the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band recorded their Will The Circle Be Unbroken album which featured legends from the repository of country music such as Roy Acuff, Maybelle Carter, Merle Travis, Doc Watson, Jimmy Martin and Earl Scruggs.
With civil rights and social integration defining American politics for much of the 1960s and early “70s, large portions of the country scene (but by no means all) flew the Confederate flag. Most disgusting were the pure racist records of Louisiana”s Johnny Rebel (the coward declined to make known his name), whom the Internet sometimes confuses with the much more likable, and tragic, Johnny Horton. Tammy Wynette, George Morgan and Grandpa Jones were among the country stars who endorsed Alabama”s segregationist governor George Wallace.
The fissure ran deeper with the Vietnam War. On the one hand, Mel Tillis in his Ruby Don”t Take Your Love To Town sang about that “crazy Asian war” (even if that line referred to the Korean war), and Willie Nelson, not yet famous, weighed in with Jimmy”s Road, but the pro-war sentiment was more voluble. Apart from Haggard”s Okie From Muskogee, Marty Robbins called anti-war protesters communists, Stonewall Jackson and Ernest Tubb made their flag-waving views known as well. And bluegrass legend Lester Flatt, always more conservative than Earl Scruggs, complained about men with long hair, whom he could not distinguish from women.
TRACKLISTING
1. Bonnie Owens – My Hi-Fi To Cry By
2. Conway Twitty – Hello Darlin’
3. Porter Wagoner – The Carroll County Accident
4. Marty Robbins – Hello Daily News
5. Elvis Presley – I’m Movin’ On
6. Bob Dylan – Country Pie
7. Poco – Pickin’ Up The Pieces
8. The Byrds – Hickory Wind
9. Johnny Darrell – Why You Been Gone So Long
10. Tom T. Hall – That’s How I Got To Memphis
11. Johnny Cash – Cocaine Blues
12. Jim & Jesse – When I Stop Dreaming
13. George Jones – A Good Year For The Roses
14. Ray Price – For The Good Times
15. Kris Kristofferson – To Beat The Devil
16. R. Dean Taylor – Indiana Wants Me
17. Kenny Rogers and The First Edition – Shine On Ruby Mountain
18. The Statler Brothers – Bed of Rose’s
19. Loretta Lynn – Coal Miner’s Daughter
20. Dolly Parton – Coat Of Many Colors
21. John Prine – Donald And Lydia
22. Country – Man From Alabama
23. New Riders Of The Purple Sage – Glendale Train
24. Johnny Paycheck – She’s All I Got
25. Charley Pride – Kiss An Angel Good Morning
26. Sandy Posey – Bring Him Home Safely To Me
27. Lester Flatt – I Can’t Tell The Boys From The Girls
(includes front and back covers. PW here)
GET IT: https://rapidgator.net/file/972a6eacfe3bf487484578bb2b28c5dc/Cntry69-71.rar.html
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I’ve said it for every post in this series, but thank you once again. I really enjoy it and you deserve recognition for your work. You’re still creating great covers for this set. I also appreciate that this set also covers a smaller time-frame than the previous three. I think three years provides the opportunity for more good songs.
Thanks for this great series, Dude. Of course eveyone has it’s favourites which should have been added. Bobbie Gentry’s ‘Fancy’ would have been a no-brainer for me, for instance.
A large thank you.
Every comment of appreciation is greatly appreciated. I’m not sure how the rest of the series will pan out. As of the latter part of the 1970s till the middle of the past decade country was on a decline. I’ll d what I’ve been doing so far: fill up the glass till it overflows a little, and then stop the tap. I suspect the tap will run a little longer in future editions.
Thanks for these fascinating insights into an often-derided musical form. R. Dean Taylor – a ‘country’ musician on Motown? I’m going for a lie-down, to let that one sink in!
Thanks, another great parcel of songs and a very pertinent write-up. Your words take me back to then. Fantastic!
A great collection of REAL country music. Thankyou for continuing to preach the gospel of great country songs. More power to you and your wonderful music blog. A Scots fan of country music thanks you.
Ps – LOVE the cover!
Another great job. Glad to see Charlie Pride in the mix. He doesn’t get enough recognition.
Thanks Dude, On that track 22, i’d sure be interisted in any more info you might have on that, allmusic does note that it exists, other than that i can find nothing about it at all, & btw Bed Of Rose’s is not the 1970 Mercury recording, I think it was recorded in 1989 at Capitol Music Hall, Wheeling, VW its a different arrangement as well as being shorter than the 1970 recording, Cheers
This is simply a tremendous series. Thanks very much.
Rick, here’s where I found the Country album: http://www.raremp3.co.uk/2011/03/country-country-1971.html
THANKS
This series has been an absolutely highlight of the year. I can’t wait to see more of it. Please, keep them coming! Decline or no decline, I can’t wait to see and hear it.