Welcome to my blog! I'm excited to publish my book of essays, which has been a work in progress for too many years to count. I began blogging in 2007 as a means to promote my husband's and my band, Red River. While we weren't songwriting neophytes, I was definitely ignorant to the ways of marketing. Back then people actually read blogs, so I thought, why not? It turned out that nobody found my blog; thus I branched out into writing about the music I loved -- country. Suddenly I garnered some followers. It mushroomed from there. I used my blog to talk about everything -- my work life, my growing up, family, whatever happened to be on my mind on a given day. But the posts that resonated most with readers were my musings on music. I'm a stern musical taskmistress. I have my opinions and what better place to vent them than on a blog where I could spill my guts without repercussions?
It seemed a shame to let all those (many, many) posts evaporate into the ether, so I recently began culling them. To my surprise, I liked a lot of them! And nobody is harder on me than me. As a writer, not only of songs but also prose, I pondered whether my reflections might have some worth in the big wide cyber universe. And BOOM! was born.
I will use this space to continue my meditations on music. So, check back! I still have a lot to say.
And if you're in the mood for some gentle novellas and even a complete novel or two, please check out my fiction site, April Tompkins.
Thank you for stopping by. I'd love to hear from you.
The Genesis Of My Book Title
I've
never published a collection of essays before and thus I had no idea
what to call mine. I even consulted Bing's AI chat for ideas, but
frankly, all its suggestions were soporific. Then one day I suddenly
recalled all the times I'd seen "Okay, boomer" in online comments, and I
thought, hey, you know, we're not all feeble, drooling dimwits. We
should embrace our boomer-ism. Flaunt it. Boomers are smart --
life-smart. We're definitely able to connect the dots, because we
witnessed the very first dot. Especially when it comes to music. We were
there for the birth of The Beatles, for heaven's sake. We watched music
morph and dip and soar. We were vinyl before we even knew vinyl was
cool.
We're not ready to snuggle into our rocking chairs...not yet (although I do enjoy a good rocking chair).
So, BOOM! There you go!
Wonder If Anyone Ever Said This....
Somebody was once
looking at some photos I had taken, and said, "Wow, you must have a really
good camera!"
Kind of like writing a good song, and someone says, "Wow, you must have a
really good guitar!"
The Best Music Of Today Is The Music Of Yesterday
If you don't know who Ray Price is, you should. If you don't know who Vince Gill is, come on. And legendary steel guitarist Paul Franklin has played on recordings by...well, everybody (and not just country artists).
So let's talk about the new album, "Sweet Memories: The Music of Ray Price and The Cherokee Cowboys". This isn't a tribute album; not really. I don't dislike tribute albums, but they tend to include a diverse group of artists performing a legend's best-known hits. The plus is that these remakes feature updated sound; the minus is that if one really wants to hear the best version of a particular track, why not just click on (or "play", if you are one of those old-fashioned LP/CD collectors) the original?
What co-producers Gill and Franklin did was choose some of Ray Price's lesser-known songs, and in that way they sound like fresh music while remaining stone country. I am a Ray Price aficionado, and thus I recognized seven of the eleven tracks, but why quibble? The general consensus is that these will be new to most listeners, and they surely will be. My familiarity did not detract from my sheer enjoyment of this album, and if you know me, I am not a patient listener. However, I've streamed this album twice in a row, and am about to do it a third time. That's rare. Props to the producers for this -- this album flows. The overall sound is consistent and Gill's voice is no worse for wear after all these decades. On Spotify I keep clicking the little 💓 next to additional tracks, because I keep finding more that I think, "Wow, I really like this!"
Paul Franklin's steel playing is so outstanding, he could make any song sound great, even a crappy one penned by an amateur like me (I wonder if he could stop by?) His runs are original -- it would be hard to confuse his playing with any of the other greats.
Regarding the album tracks, of the eleven there's really only one I am not fond of, and I'm rather curious about it, because it is completely off-brand with either Ray Price's earlier recordings or his later more schmaltzy hits. That said, ten out of eleven great songs? Lord!
As an aside, some of the writers of these hits are probably folks you've never heard of, such as Hank Cochran, Mel Tillis, Marty Robbins, Willie Nelson, Bobby Bare, and Ray himself. Apparently back then, writers could actually pen a song all by themselves! Unheard of!
My favorites? Walkin' Slow (And Thinkin' 'Bout Her), The Same Two Lips, Sweet Memories, Your Old Love Letters, Healing Hands Of Time...oh, why even start? Just listen. You'll be clicking those hearts, too.
A sample:
Stream the entire album here.
And just in case you're interested in hearing the original legend (and you should be), here's Mister Ray Price himself:
"Sweet Memories" is going to be awfully hard (okay, impossible) to beat as my 2023 country album of the year.
The Best Of...Today (AKA, All Hope Is Not Lost)
Well, who's this guy? And where's he been while all of us were hungering for actual country music?
I wouldn't have even known Jake Worthington existed if I wasn't a regular reader of Saving Country Music (thank you, Trigger). It seems that Jake got his "break" appearing on one of those awful reality competition shows, The Voice. But that was ten years ago, and he didn't even win. (I guess the days of true talent, like Carrie Underwood, winning singing competitions died in 2005.) Granted, according to the one YouTube video I sampled from his appearance on that show, he clearly didn't have "the look" of a star, but he still had the voice. What he obviously needed was a bit of seasoning and some really good songs.
Well, here it is, all wrapped up in an astounding package:
"State You Left Me In" is such a great song, I had to look up the writer(s). And what do you know? Jake co-wrote the song, along with Roger Springer and Timothy Baker (I won't bore you with my pet peeve regarding the number of writers it takes to pen a song today).
So, he can write, and his voice is Mark Chesnutt-timeless.
I pray that this guy makes some waves on country radio, but I'm just cynical enough to avoid holding my breath. Regardless, Jake Worthington will have a career, and a nice one.
He deserves it.
The "New" Beatles Song
The first time I heard "Now And Then", I was confused. I'd read that with the help of AI, John Lennon's voice had been isolated and enhanced. Thus, when the song began playing I wondered why Paul was singing lead on this Lennon-penned song. Of course it wasn't Paul, but John singing in a higher register than what we've become used to, rather than Paul's Wings voice. Maybe that's why the two always melded so well -- they could inadvertently mirror each other.
My
second thought was, well, that's not a very good song. John wrote it
during his solo years, which were hit and miss. (Who knows what his solo
career could have become?) Had he proferred it during the waning
Beatles days, would it have even been recorded? Perhaps. (When George
heard it, he proclaimed that it was "fucking rubbish".
Third, I thought, well, that's definitely George's guitar. Certain musicians' solos are instantly recognizable. Mark Knopfler comes to mind. Eric Clapton as well. You know them when you hear them. Hearing George was melancholy, yet comforting.
So, to sum up:
1. That's not John (it is)
2. The song isn't great
3. I miss George
Then I watched the video, and I suddenly liked the song more. Video, when executed well, so much enhances a recording, and after all, this is The Beatles.
To complete the circle, the recording was produced by Giles Martin, George Martin's son, and the inclusion of a string section is classic Martin (senior).
And the truth is, the song has grown on me. So, if this is truly the "last" Beatles song, I'm okay with it.
2024 Country Music Hall of Fame Inductees
Rarely does the Country Music Hall of Fame announcement pass by without my comment. I've been a bit distracted by other projects, but that doesn't mean I didn't notice. Truly, though, last week's announcement was neither surprising nor particularly interesting.
As you no doubt know, three individuals (or duos, groups) are inducted into the HOF each year, based on the following categories:
Modern Era ~ an artist is eligible twenty years after they first achieved national prominence.
Veteran Era ~ an artist is eligible forty years after they first achieved national prominence.
The third is a rotating category, consisting of either a recording and/or touring musician, a songwriter, or a "non-performer" (generally a music executive). Since a songwriter was inducted in 2023 (Bob McDill), this year was a musician's turn.
The problems with these arcane rules are obvious. First of all, the "electors" are completely anonymous. This naturally leads to suspicion about campaigning. And campaigning absolutely happens. It's widely known that Keith Whitley was chosen a few years back because his widow, Lorrie Morgan, campaigned hard for him to be elected.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame does things differently. It creates a list of nominees based on "historians'" recommendations. Again, we don't know who these people are and what exactly qualifies them as historians. Shoot, I could be a historian ~ you don't know that I'm not. Then the winners are voted on by "an international body of some 500 rock experts". However, fans are now also able to vote for up to seven artists from this list. This comprises the "fans' ballot", although it's unknown how much weight those votes are given.
Generally, anywhere from six to a dozen artists are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame each year, compared to three (one a non-artist) for the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Three. Know how much of a backlog this creates?
The CMHOF claims that this keeps the process "exclusive". Oh, it does. It excludes an artist who has died (and there have been many) from celebrating their eventual induction. It's shameful. Jerry Lee Lewis was lucky, I guess. He was finally inducted at the age of eighty-eight and died only a few months later. I'm dubious that any of the rock and roll inductees refused their award because it wasn't "exclusive". Yet, despite numerous calls for the process to be revised, the cabal remains recalcitrant. It seems that they are the ones who want to remain exclusive.
All that said, my quibble with the 2024 inductees is not with who was elected, but with who wasn't.
Modern Era
An artist is not eligible for election within one year of his or her death. As it happened, Toby Keith was voted in before his untimely death in February. No one can say he's not deserving. He scored a total of twenty number one hits and several top tens. Pretty good career.
Though his music mostly wasn't to my taste, millions upon millions of fans loved him. And, as I wrote before, he was by all accounts a good man.
Which other artists were eligible? Dwight Yoakam, Clint Black, Travis Tritt, Shania Twain, Martina McBride, Tracy Lawrence, Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw, Lorrie Morgan, Steve Wariner, Trisha Yearwood, among many others.
Clearly, the one overlooked (again) is Dwight Yoakam. I don't know any artists that the others on the list may have influenced, but there is no denying that Dwight influenced a bunch. He is uniquely Dwight. The open secret about the HOF, however, is that it is very Nashville-centric. It's a wonder that Merle Haggard and Buck Owens got in. My prediction is that Yoakam will never be elected, unless the process is radically changed. The cabal simply doesn't want him.
Veteran Era
I like John Anderson; love a couple of his hits. When he was still being played on radio, no one had to hear a song and wonder, "Who's singing that?" Anderson's voice is unmistakable. That said, he only had five number ones. It wasn't so much the quantity, but their ubiquitousness. Who in God's name hasn't heard "Swingin'"? I bought exactly one John Anderson album, just as I purchased one Toby Keith album. That shouldn't be confused with dislike.
The veteran era category is the one most backlogged ~ criminally backlogged. Many, many deserving artists will never be inducted. This era encompasses decades, from the nineteen forties and forward. And let's face it; artists get forgotten.
The list is far too long to enumerate, but here are a few of the eligible artists:
Johnny Paycheck, Johnny Horton, Eddie Rabbitt, Larry Gatlin and The Gatlin Brothers, Lynn Anderson, Gene Watson, Rosanne Cash, Johnny Rodriguez, Gary Stewart, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.
As I said, artists (and apparently history) can be forgotten. From the late sixties to the mid-seventies, there were three female artists who dominated country: Tammy Wynette, Loretta Lynn, and Lynn Anderson. Look it up. I don't know why Lynn has been overlooked (not saying it's because she began her career in California. Not not saying it's because of this.) Nevertheless, it's tragic that the HOF has swatted her away.
Like Dwight, I don't believe that Lynn Anderson will ever be elected. I can't put my finger on exactly why. I was semi-kidding about the California bit. It certainly can't be that toward the end of her chart-making days, she had veered into pop-country. Plenty of other artists with similar repertoires have made it in. Perhaps if some current star scores a hit with a remake of Rose Garden, similar to how Luke Combs resuscitated Tracy Chapman's legacy, the HOF deciders' memories would be jogged.
Recording/Touring Musician, Songwriter, Non-Performer
(They really need to come up with a better moniker.)
When
I hear the name James Burton, I think, "Oh, the Elvis guy." Sure, he
was a member of Rick(y) Nelson's, Emmylou Harris's, and John Denver's
bands, but other than Emmylou, the others aren't (weren't) exactly
bastions of country music.
Hmm, who's that fat off-key singer behind him?
I like this one better:
Again, what will it take to get Don Rich into the hall of fame? As Saving Country Music wrote: "There was arguably never a side player more important to a superstar than Don Rich was to Buck Owens."
Face it, Buck Owens wasn't exactly a powerhouse. He had goofy mannerisms and he claimed credit for songs he didn't write. Still, he was huge, and in large part that was due to Don Rich. Not only a virtuoso guitarist, but an accomplished fiddler, and a harmony singer beyond measure. Does the cabal hold Rich's home base of Bakersfield against him? Hmmm...
Another musician will not be eligible until 2027. I hate to say it, but the inductee won't be Don Rich.
I
suppose these announcements hold some modicum of interest. I do at
least know who the artists are, as opposed to today. But seriously, hall
of fame, you guys need to get your act together.