The 7th Episode in the series was unique in that 30 more minutes were added to give Ken Burns and his team the time to delve into a decade of the music, explain the important influence of Texas songwriters and the emergence of the Outlaw movement in the early and mid 70’s, all while keeping up with the goings on in popular country in Nashville.
Of course Tompall is where the attention usually dwells when bringing up the three siblings from Spalding, Nebraska. But youngest brother Jim, who died of a heart attack on April 6th at the age of 81, and Chuck Glaser, who died Monday, June 10th at the age of 83, also contributed heavily to country music as songwriters and performers.
There were many performing artists, side players, roadies and managers that played a major part in the country music insurgency in the 70’s that came to be known as “Outlaw,” but only one can rightfully claim they coined the phrase, or saw the revolution happen from its early incarnation to its Platinum-selling peak.
The country music Outlaw movement didn’t happen overnight either. It took years and years of gnawing away at the obtrusive oligarchy that had set up shop on Music Row to get to the point where many of the genre’s most prominent stars could call their own shots, and the music could finally open up to new ideas and fresh faces.
When the compilation album Wanted! The Outlaws was released in 1976, it became country music’s first million-selling record and made huge stars of Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson. Jessi Colter was already a big star because of her big #1 hit “I’m Not Lisa”. But why did Tompall Glaser never find the big success his fellow Outlaws did?
Tompall Glaser, who passed away in August, is considered one of the original country music Outlaws, and was one of the most influential men in Nashville in the mid 70’s both as an artist and studio owner. But little is known about this man that brought Music Row to its knees and helped usher in a new era of creative control and sonic innovation for country music. That’s all about to change.
For those of you who couldn’t bear the thought of waiting another year+ for new music from country music rising star Sturgill Simpson, the music fairy has just left you a sweet little nugget under your country music pillow. Sturgill has just released two new songs through Bandcamp, affectionately titled “Bastard Children.”
The year was 1974, and a two-story stucco office building / studio located two blocks from Nashville’s infamous Music Row at 916 19th Avenue South got christened “Hillbilly Central” by a New York-based music writer. Hillbilly Central was the brain child of Tompall Glaser, a member of the Glaser Brothers, who took the the money he earned from some success in the country music business to revolutionize it.
The fight for the purity of country music is almost as old as the genre itself. The conflict between pop and traditionalism, and the fight for creative control for artists runs like a thread throughout country music’s history, defining it as much as the twang of a Telecaster, or the moan of a steel guitar. Here are some of the most iconic images of country music revolution, and the stories behind them.
Today is the 4th of July: the birthday of The United States. It is also arguably the birthday of the Outlaw movement in country music. Nailing down an exact date when the Outlaw movement started depends on who you talk to, but a popular one is when Willie Nelson’s legendary 4th of July Picnics started […]
Since it is a slow lazy Saturday, I thought I would geek out on a little country music history. There are lots of names for the different styles of country music: Bluegrass, Progressive, Pop, Alt., Roots, & Outlaw to name a few. Dale Watson, who was featured in a new article this week likes to […]