The Curious Case of Granger Smith & Earl Dibbles Jr.
A little under a year ago, Earl Dibbles Jr., the alter ego of Texas country music star Granger Smith, released a song and video called “The Country Boy Song” that had us all in stitches. The way it seemed to parody the current trend of country music laundry list songs and their idiotic obsession with beer, pickup trucks, mud, and chewing tobacco was beyond poignant, and was punctuated by the hilarious video. In the Saving Country Music review I praised how the song and video exposed “the moronic, stereotypical, rehashed, and creatively-vacant world of corporate country’s checklist culture.” Earl Dibbles Jr., and his real life counterpart Granger Smith came across like heroes for true country music.
Then in mid-October of 2012, Granger Smith released the single “We Do It In A Field” from his new album just released today called Dirt Road Driveway, and all of a sudden we had to re-write what we thought about Granger Smith. Here he was seemingly perpetuating the same laundry list filth we thought his counterpart Earl Dibbles Jr. was lampooning.
“We bump down dirt roads in jacked-up trucks…We do it in a field, rock it all night ’till the sun comes up. We got 100 blue cans sitting on ice in the back of my truck. And George Strait blaring in a Chevrolet…”
Yes, that’s three references to trucks before the end of the first chorus.
Though without a doubt Earl Dibbles Jr. is meant to be parody, maybe it was not meant to convey the irony about the state of mainstream country some of us wanted it to.
Today to mark the release of his album Dirt Road Driveway, Granger Smith posing as Earl Dibbles Jr. has released another equally-hilarious video and song to “The Country Boy Song” called “Country Boy Love.” This thing has more pelvic thrusts than a troupe of Paula Abdul backup dancers, and more cleavage than a rock quarry, with buxom girls dry humping farm machinery and other scenes of sexual ribald. Eat your heart out Dustin Lynch and Luke Bryan. But I can’t help but think that if Earl Dibbles isn’t demeaning pop country, then is he demeaning someone else? Or maybe if you try to read anything into the Earl Dibbles Jr. character, then the joke’s on you.
April 16, 2013 @ 3:00 pm
I don’t think he’s trying to make fun of any certain group of people. I think -Earl Dibbles Jr.- is just Granger’s way of showing his comedic side and just being funny in general.
April 16, 2013 @ 3:55 pm
Maybe it’s like the end of Primal Fear……… There never was a Granger Smith.
April 16, 2013 @ 4:06 pm
Conspiracy theories abound these days.
Seriously though, does Granger Smith live in the shadow of Earl Dibbles Jr.? The video for his single “We Do It In A Field” has 100,000 hits, while “The Country Boy Song” has 2.5 million.
April 16, 2013 @ 4:27 pm
This is by far Granger’s most “Pop Country” album, but he gets a wide berth from me given the dues he’s paid and how he gives back. I wish him all the best – as Granger, or as Earl Dibbles Jr. How many “stars” take themselves WAYYYY too seriously.
May 30, 2017 @ 11:23 am
To bad his new single sounds just like a FGL or other trash pop sound
April 16, 2013 @ 3:57 pm
The Earl Dibbles Jr song sounds like a parody if the Granger Smoth song…. Hmm
April 16, 2013 @ 4:00 pm
Don’t read too much into it. Granger has a knack for comedy. If this sells more records for him – all the better. He does like Chevrolets, though. This album makes that clear…
April 16, 2013 @ 4:40 pm
I think he’s just playing both sides and cashing the check. Genius, if you can stomach doing both.
Any word on the upcoming Earl Dibble Jr./Michael Jackson Montgomery split 7″ for Record Store Day?
April 16, 2013 @ 5:13 pm
I have to say that this is my first time hearing and seeing “Country Boy Song” and I loved every fucking second of it. Funny shit.
April 16, 2013 @ 5:29 pm
I have to say that this one doesn’t do it for me. For one, I don’t think the song is nearly as funny. I must have watched The Country Boy Song video about 20 times and I think I laughed every time. Also, The added extra video parts, too. On this one, I just got tired of the over the top T & A and sexual gags after a while.
April 16, 2013 @ 5:50 pm
I think “The Country Boy Song” video was better, and though I still laughed at “Country Boy Love,” two other things that I think factored into me not liking it as much were 1) It’s basically the same gag but different words (even happens at the same place), so the whole Earl Dibbles bit is not as fresh. 2) Knowing that he’s probably just trying to be funny instead of making a statement, it just didn’t seem to have the same impact. You can still be funny and say something.
April 17, 2013 @ 6:27 am
I wondered if The Country Boy Song could be more like affectionate lampooning (e.g., Spinal Tap) rather than a statement directed at the pop country music industry. Still, it was damn funny. This feels more like pandering.
Here’s a video of Granger Smith talking about the song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gt_1Ql2yhPA
The blond woman looked familiar to me, but I couldn’t figure out from where. From youtube comments, I gathered she’s an actress. Also, she’s his wife.
April 16, 2013 @ 9:09 pm
This new one has the same problem as Psy’s new vid (is it legal to compare the two in the same breath?)
They are both uninspired attempts of recreating the original mojo, but try too hard.
Chubby Checker, anyone? How many variations of “Let’s Twist” can you do?
And of course, there’s the one-joke sitcoms that get canceled after a month.
It only works if you are the same doofes in a variety of situations, like Home Improvement, or Everybody Loves Raymond.
Same doof in the same bottle, and lightning rarely strikes twice.
April 17, 2013 @ 7:35 am
I was really disappointed by “we do it in a field” because I thought more of Granger. The “Country Boy” tunes are still funny by were robbed of their satiric edge by his other work.
April 17, 2013 @ 9:30 am
Pure marketing here IMO. The Earl Dribbles Jr. stuff is working so Granger takes his knack for comedy and uses it to move product and sell tickets pure and simple. The Earl Dribbles stuff is funny. He gives back and is a solid citizen of the Texas music community. I wish him all the luck in the world. Hey Ray Stevens has had quite the career with country comedy and parody.The actual serious side of Granger Smith’s music may be influenced by the success of the Earl Dribbles Jr alter ego, only time will tell. Like you said Trig, reading things into all this may mean the jokes on us.
April 17, 2013 @ 9:44 am
the good thing about a review is it reflects the taste of the reviewer and it informs readers on what other people think of somebody else’s record. however, it is no way a review should dictates a person’s choice of listening habit. i call myself an independent listener because while i read reviews, it does not influenced on my listening pleasure. i listen purely based on what i like and what i can relate to at the moment. that’s why i can listen to Hank III, Shooter, Jayke Orvis, Josh Rouse, Luke Bryan, Lady Antebellum, Hunter Hayes, and Ernest Tubb without a hint of irony and sarcasm (well, except for those songs about trucks and tailgates by Bryan and Aldean, i can’t relate to those. But their other songs, especially those love songs, i can dig fine). Same thing with rock music, it doesn’t matter if it’s Death Cab For Cutie, Kurt Vile, Thee Vicars, or Bon Jovi. They all live happily in my CD collection and itunes together.
So yeah, while i don’t particularly can’t relate to the new Granger lyrics, doesn’t mean he’s suddenly bad in my book. He writes and choose some good love songs too.
April 17, 2013 @ 11:09 am
While I’m not a huge fan of Granger Smiths music, its fine for standard top 40 mainstream country. Not horrible but not great either. Although I do find his alter Ego Earl Dibble Jr. hilarious. I think this new video may not be as great as his first one, but a great follow up. To me this is pure comedy bashing towards Luke Bryan with all the hip thrusting and tractor humping…lol.
April 18, 2013 @ 2:03 pm
Not as funny as the first song (“Of course it goes all the way around”). I only wish Unknown Hinson could have cashed the checks this guy does because he was a true genius.
April 19, 2013 @ 2:29 pm
I was pondering the same points you make here, Triggerman, in this probably unseen (save for your approving it) comment on your original EDJ post:
“J Bird April 2, 2013 at 11:54 am
So”¦ Here we are nine and a half months later. Does anyone else who has followed the evolution and rise to fame of Earl Dibbles feel as if Granger Smith has sold out and is pandering to the lowest common denominator just the same as the corporate Nashville types?
Someone please tell me I”™m way off base. “
April 19, 2013 @ 2:42 pm
You, Chris Lewis (commented above, and also sent me a message a while back), and many others have pointed this out for sure. I’m admittedly a late bloomer on the subject. I heard “We Do It In A Field” in October and wanted to write about it, but this was right about the time Billboard changed their chart rules, and I was so swept up with that issue I never got around to it. The release of his album and a new Earl Dibbles video seemed like a good occasion to bring up the subject again.
January 9, 2014 @ 12:43 am
OK so I think you all have really good guesses on the difference of EDJ and Granger Smith but if you would let me I would like to set things straight, I am actually acquainted with Mr. Smith and I can tell you first hand he isn’t trying to be funny or trying to be a comedian or demean mainstream country and it isn’t just a big publicity stunt either….Earl Dibbles Jr. is Granger Smith it is as simple as that. Granger is a well mannered gentleman-like fella but every guy has a wild and crazy side, that is Earl. I am assuming I am the only one here that has actually sat down and talked to the man, I had breakfast and lunch with him a time or two and have gone to a few parties with him in my town when he came to visit in July of 2013, the dude is pure hometown country, he is everything Earl is and also Granger, he is nuts and he is very respectful, Granger’s music is about honest country living and small sleepy town life is and Earls music is about the wild side of the town when the sun goes down and its time to party, he is from Texas, don’t try and over think it.
February 5, 2014 @ 4:37 pm
I feel like you’re looking too far into this. He’s just being funny, and I actually enjoy the songs mentioned. You’re kind of like the middle school English teacher who gets a million meanings from the text that the author never actually intended and then tries to impose those unintended meanings on everyone else. Some of what you refer to as checklist country is good. Some of it’s bad, but you get that with any genre. Just calm down and enjoy the music, people are always going to make country and there will always be good and bad. Just listen to what you enjoy, that’s what country is really about.
February 27, 2014 @ 12:41 pm
My boyfriend loves earl bibbles Jr. so much!!!! It took me a long time to realize that him and Granger were the same guy..
July 11, 2014 @ 10:37 pm
Anybody saying negative things about this Earl Dibbles Jr feller….oughta have their asses kicked……he oughta just go around like that and back this way….put a dip in and yee yee…..kick their uptight city boy asses right there on the spot. This man is the equivalent of the reincarnation of Elvis. Yee Yee Earl….you keep it real….spit.
September 28, 2014 @ 10:54 am
Up here in the great white north country boys do dip drive around in jacked up trucks and drink beer all day. Its not a parody to us, its life.
October 29, 2014 @ 8:14 am
What’s wrong with Earl!!! I know and call a lot of people friends who are like Earl. Nothing wrong with that. I could be an Earl also. Nothing wrong with that