There are some songs that when the last phrase is written and the period is dotted at the end, they immediately become timeless and genre-less due to how expertly they encapsulate a human experience.
Earlier this week, the loss of not just one, but two of Strait’s most loyal and long-serving compadres on the same day created a double dose of tragedy no music community should ever have to endure.
The fear when efforts were undertaken to strike anything that in any way could be construed however indirectly as being sympathetic to the Confederacy out of the public record was the slippery slope presented that may ultimately result in important pieces of art being mischaracterized and ultimately cancelled under false pretenses.
Adult contemporary country trio Lady Antebellum will no longer be known by the name they’ve toured and recorded music under for some 14 years. Announced on Thursday (6-11), they have decided to shorten their name simply to “Lady A.” What it means, and how it should be regarded.
Last week, Riley Green’s song “Bury Me in Dixie” disappeared from streaming services and other music outlets unannounced. Very similar to the situation involving Confederate Railroad, the backlash from the removal of the song has received significantly more attention than any outrage that preceded it.
Though Young was considered mostly a background member of the Outlaw movement for many years, his appearance on the legendary Outlaw documentary Heartworn Highways helped awaken the world to his talent. Though he still remained mostly known through the songs he wrote that others performed, Young had a strong solo career and released a total of 14 albums.
This is not the first time hysteria has jeopardized Southern institutions. In the late 60’s, the song “Dixie” was strongly-identified with slavery and other unsavory elements of the Confederate cause. A robust effort to ban the song was undertaken, and it was generally rebuked in many sectors of American culture. But Mickey Newbury decided to take a stand….
The Civil Ware happened, and the South lost. Atrocities occurred on both sides of the battlefield. Atlanta was burned to the ground, and simply from an economic standpoint, one can make the case the South has still yet to recover from the defeat. But it happened, and how are we to learn from the lessons of The Civil War, especially the South’s misnomers on equality, if we eradicate any notions of the Confederacy’s existence?
The Country Music Hall of Fame has just announced that on April 16th, 2011, they will honor Hank Williams in a special presentation called “I Saw The Light, Songwriters Salute Hank.” I Saw the Light, which is presented in conjunction with the Museum’s exhibition Family Tradition: The Williams Family Legacy…will feature Rodney Crowell, Ashley Monroe, the Secret Sisters and Steve Young. During the program, which will be hosted…
What set me off was the introduction. And when I say “set me off,” I mean it hit my ears like an unprovoked insult. With a couple of uninformed, arrogant, and belittling sentences, the awesome legacies of dozens of New York-based folk artists were reduced to a trifle in such an irresponsible manner, I could palpably feel the anger pulsing through my veins and I lost a night’s worth of sleep…