Tony Rice Wasn’t Happy About the State of Modern Country. At All.
Bluegrass flatpicking maestro Tony Rice passed away on Christmas Day, 2020 while making coffee, and left a towering legacy behind that is fair to compare right beside the other all-time greats of the discipline when it comes to prestige and importance. From traditional bluegrass, to being one of the original innovators of the subgenre’s more modern newgrass styles, Tony Rice was wickedly influential.
Tony Rice was also quite successful in his career in drawing a crowd to the various projects he was involved in, whether it was early on and his work with J.D. Crow and The New South, to later projects with David Grisman, Jerry Garcia, and Ricky Skaggs. Though it would be rare to hear Tony Rice on mainstream country radio during any era, he found an appreciative audience just fine through his various musical incarnations.
But just like so many modern day true country fans, Tony Rice held a pretty outspoken distaste for what country music had become, and wasn’t afraid to speak about it publicly. Case in point is an interview Rice gave with Listener Magazine‘s Caroline Wright in the summer of 2002.
“I’ve known this for 30 years: John and Jane Doe will buy anything you shove at them over a radio if you shove it at ’em enough. They will buy the worst-sounding bullshit in the world. If it’s the only thing they can find on that dial, they will go buy it,” Tony stated matter-of-factly what asked for his opinion.
In fact, just like many disenfranchised country music fans today, Tony Rice would more rather listen to just about any other form of modern music than mainstream country.
“Probably the music I listen to the least, because I think it’s so mechanized and commercial, is country music, stuff from the last 30 years,” Rice said. “The only thing the record company executives and A&R people want out of the music business is a couple three-story houses and two or three BMWs in the driveway. That is the extent of their involvement: to have those things, rather than to care about the artist and the music.”
At the time however, there was some hope for where things might be headed in country music. After the release of the Coen Brothers film O Brother Where Art Thou, roots music was beginning to enjoy a major resurgence, even in the mainstream. The soundtrack for the film won the all-genre Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 2002, along with Ralph Stanley and Dan Tymiski winning individual Grammys. The soundtrack also won both the CMA and ACM for Album of the Year on the way to being Certified Platinum 8 times over.
“I applaud the return to roots music,” Tony Rice said. “For years, record company executives on all the major labels in Nashville were saying, ‘Well, there’s no way this acoustic string stuff is gonna sell.’ Then comes along somebody like Alison [Krauss], who creates music that is so amazing, so precise, so pretty, that John and Jane Doe will not reject it. I applaud that! It destroys the notion that in order for it to be a success, it has to be mechanized and formulated. There’s still a lot of good music out there that John and Jane Doe will never hear, because the record executives have control, and not the artists. That’s a shame.”
Hear, hear, Tony. His quotes from 2002 illustrate that as much things change, they also stay the same. The battle between commercial country radio and label executives, and the true creators in country music feels like an eternal one, but one that’s worth waging to preserve the legacies of critically-important artists such as Tony Rice.
This story has been updated.
January 12, 2021 @ 10:41 am
Tony Rice was wickedly influential.
Thought you were from TX, not New England. LOL.
January 12, 2021 @ 6:54 pm
Tony was an incredible guitarist, I thank him for his influence
January 13, 2021 @ 6:40 pm
I picked up on that too. I thought it was wicked cool.
January 24, 2021 @ 12:20 am
You know what needs to happen. All the stars who support and perform true country music, the ones with more money than God so they won’t suffer any backlash, need to give a benefit concert saving and supporting country music. Perform all the classics, their own classics, all the way back to the Carter family, Jimmie Rodgers. Nothing past 1995.
Send a loud, firm message that today’s radio ear rape is forgettable trash and unworthy of the country music title.
January 12, 2021 @ 11:00 am
The authentic music is out there but we have to hunt for it. I applaud Trigger & co for standing up for the music and artists. I live in Canada and listen to a radio stn out of Alberta that promotes Alberta & Canadian talent .Some new artists like William Prince, Colter Wall, Kacy & Clayton, Celeigh Cardinal, Corb Lund are great but very seldom or never get airplay on country radio.
January 12, 2021 @ 2:27 pm
Eine Traurige Nachricht erreichte die Musikwelt über Weihnachten mit dem Tod eines Ausnahme Musiker! Eine bleibende Erinnerung war der Besuch von Tony Rice auf dem Gurten in Bern
vor gut 40 Jahren mit diversen Grössen aus der
Blue und Newgrass Szene inkl. Hänsche Weiss Quintett.
January 12, 2021 @ 11:39 am
So shortsighted.
“New Country” serves a very useful purpose.
For instance, if a person needs to lose weight, all that person has to do is to spend only a couple minutes each day listening to Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Taylor Swift and others of that ilk. Doing so will cause anyone with an appreciation of authentic country music to become extremely nauseated and unable to tolerate any food for days, thus leading to significant weight loss.
January 12, 2021 @ 7:27 pm
I actually quite enjoy some of Tim McGraw’s and Faith Hill’s music, especially their 90s output.
January 12, 2021 @ 11:50 am
Why exactly is “progressive country music” so inherently offensive? It is a good question.
Tony’s thoughts on outsiders being overly concerned with commercialization at the expense of the music is certainly valid. Fortunately, guys like Cody, and Tyler, and Sturgill are doing a great job of taking that power back. However, I sort of think that labeling money as the primary problem causes the passive fan a great deal of confusion. Only the most dedicated of country music fans will understand why we think independent artists should be making more while those trading creative control for label advances in are causing damage.
Instead, I think the aversion to having rappers or 808s in country songs is better explained by articulating that a reverence for history, appreciation for mountain/ranching culture, and a reverence for past country music heroes is a fundamental component of defining the genre.
Since the Carters, outsiders have been capitalizing on the music and I don’t think many would fault them for birthing country music by taking that drive. More important was their intention in attempting to preserve the traditional music they grew up hearing and playing. Even the very first country songs were already intended to preserve history and mountain culture. It could be argued that real country music has always been the anchor dragging behind the boat as the bulk of the energy comes from the motor as it strives for forward progress.
In my estimation, the single simplest explanation for why rap verses and 808s are so offensive in country music is because a reverence for the history of country music is a fundamental and mandatory component of the genre. Just as “prog. Rock” and “post punk” (or even plain old rock n roll) include “progress” as a fundamental component of their definition, country is fundamentally concerned with preserving a culture and an “old” way of life. If prog rock is akin to studying science and requires forward thinking to be at its best, country music is akin to studying history and must be preserved.
Unfortunately, at the moment, our society is having a difficult time restraining itself from attempting to erase actual textbook history so, asking the same society to understand why country music is an act of preservation, rather than of progress, is a tall order. While in reality it is preserving the music and ideals of disenfranchised recalcitrant mountain folks, it’s so much easier to label it the music of the racist alt. right whom are only concerned with holding others down.
Personally, I think there’s room for everyone. I just think that the genre of music that reveres traditional culture, historical instrumentation, and values is entirely distinct from the genre whose goal is to move forward. The blues ain’t rock n roll and rock n roll ain’t the blues. Both can and should exist but, rock n roll should not be allowed to stomp out it’s roots.
Just my 2 cents.
RIP Tony Rice. He’s truly a legend worthy of reverence.
January 12, 2021 @ 2:55 pm
The word “progressive” is meaningless when it comes to music.
Tony Rice was *influential* because he took flatpicking to a higher technical standard and was a little more adventurous in accepting certain kinds of chord changes, especially in his breaks. He described himself in the end as an advocate for the “essence” of bluegrass, not its change into something else. Bluegrass had everything it needed already: it just took Tony Rice, Bela Fleck, Sam Bush, and some others to show best how it could be done.
Is David Rawlings musically “progressive”? Not really. He and Gillian Welch play old-fashioned music with a sensibility that accepts some dissonant notes other artists in their area avoided. Is that “progress”? No, in fact, it’s technically decorative. The structures, harmonies, and rhythms are all pretty traditional. And by now, including rock rhythms is traditional as well, which makes the music by Sturgill and all the rest of the young guys pretty traditional. Amping things up and playing with univibe and delay doesn’t mean your music has “progressed.”
Plus, there’s the unfortunate political connotation of the word. In a free country, it’s fine if someone wants to call him or herself a “political progressive.” People are free to call themselves whatever they want these days. Personally, my preferred pronoun is “His Majesty,” but you’re free to call me Corncaster, Corn-Man, Corny, Cornereeno, etc.
But “progressive” music? Only if you can convince us that quartal harmony is an improvement on Bach. I think McCoy Tyner would think you’d be daft to try, but whatever.
January 12, 2021 @ 5:05 pm
I think you might think you’re disagreeing with me? Do you think I’m calling Tony Rice “progressive?” In fairness, I see how he could be perceived as such because he certainly “made progress” in bluegrass flat picking. However, I specifically referenced rap verses and 808s and you think I’m talking about Tony and Sturgill?
I think its unfortunate you jump straight to the political connotation, as exactly 0% of my comment is political. I can appreciate your “genres are restrictive” attitude but, just because “people are free to call themselves whatever they want,” doesn’t mean they ARE what they claim to be. It also doesn’t mean I’m required to accept their baseless categorization of themselves as accurate. Are you arguing “Old Town Road” is the same thing as Gillian Welch? If so, then yeah, we disagree. However, because 100% of the artists you named clearly show a level of respect for their predecessors and the heritage of this music, I think you might have missed my point ( and I do fully concede I may well have not presented it clearly as it is always just my 2 cents without much time or effort). That said, I am quite confident in the distinction between Rawlings, Welch, Rice, (and even Sturgill,) and say, a Lil Nas X, Sam Hunt, and several others whom claim “country” (not bluegrass) as their genre (which also appears to be the genre Tony was discussing in the article above) but, have no respect for anyone you named above (including Bach 🙂 )
I think we might be stretching the definition of a pronoun some but, I might call you “lacking in reading cornprehension!” Just ribbing but, unless you’re going to double down and add Lil Nas X to your Bach discussion, I think we might agree here!?
If Sam Hunt wants to csall himself “Country” (or even Bluegrass) that is fine by me but, he isn’t and never will be either. If you allow that to happen without objecting and lump Tony Rice with Lil Nas X as “bluegrass” then, it damages Tony Rice, not Lil Nas X. Tony Rice was playing traditional bluegrass guitar better than his predecessors, he wasn’t making a mockery of “country” by adding synths and claiming “Old Town Road” is the same thing as “So Lonesome I could Cry.” The point is, the line in the sand with Country, in my opinion, is when you are so progressive you no longer respect where it came from. That is the difference between Gillian Welch and Sam Hunt. You are free to disagree with my opinion but, it ain’t changing nothing. If actual country/mountain people don’t accept it as country, it just ain’t country my friend!
January 12, 2021 @ 6:29 pm
Hi AndewEsq, no worries. You asked why it’s offensive, and I listed some possible reasons. I distrust anyone who claims to know the direction of human history, hence my animus. People like that usually like things like force. Nothing personal intended. We evidently agree.
January 12, 2021 @ 7:22 pm
I think so. You cited an impressive group of fine musicians so, I’m leaning towards we’d get along fine. I’m actually really trying to sort it out for myself. Why am I inherently okay with Waylon’s phaser but disgusted by a rap verse about growing up on the farm? I don’t even actively dislike rap or rappers but, I sure don’t like rap posing as country. I’d never claim to be a country music scholar and I’m certainly no history buff but, best I can tell, the distinction for me lies in the artist’s apparent perspective on the past. Waylon added phaser but, constantly showed reverence for the guys he grew up on. I haven’t always loved everything Sturgill has ever done but, he’s clearly “country” and I’d never even consider arguing otherwise no matter how many “non-country” albums he did. Without even discussing his contribution to the music, respected by John Prine, good enough for everybody else, enough said. So if Waylon’s phaser and Strugill’s rock album clearly don’t effect their status as “real country” artists, what makes the worst offenders different? I reckon its because they go so far away from the tradition it comes across as “I got nothing to do with these dumb rednecks and screw Hank Williams, but I’m gonna cash this country check.” It’s not that it can’t evolve (and progress so it was a poor word to use) but, it sorta does have to acknowledge where it came from to be real for me.
Anyways, good conversation. If only they could all be on this level. If I ever am formally elected country music dictator like I hope, I’ll make sure you’re credentialed sir!
January 12, 2021 @ 9:09 pm
For the last 30 country music is for the masses that really don’t know music. All they know is the hype they hear. Bluegrass music is for musicians.
January 13, 2021 @ 8:24 am
I would take a slight quibble with your description of the study of history – it’s not about learning the past by wrote, but engaging with it to develop new ideas and inform future decisions.
For example, I’d say that someone like Rhiannon Giddens takes a historian’s approach to the country genre, while Colter Wall is more of a preservationist.
January 13, 2021 @ 11:21 am
Sure. Either way. It isn’t my intention to ensure every country artist has a PHD in the history of country music before writing a song. I actually really like this new punk movement of traditional music whereby the artists almost certainly did not grow up loving old time music. Nevertheless, I do think they do their version in a manner that shows respect for those who did it first.
It is more of a true/false question exploring a possible explanation as to why “real” country music fans reject songs like “Old Town Road” or whatever (forgive me for not having many examples of bad country radio songs, I’ve just got no use for country radio). The hypothetical I’m considering is, why can Billy Strings play modal bluegrass or why can Sierra Ferrell have a septum piercing, or why can Waylon hit the phaser and still be accepted as “country” or “country adjacent” while Sam Hunt and Lil Nas X add 808s and it most certainly is no longer country? Seems to me, we ought to have a real answer to that question other than “I know country when I see it.”
I merely mean to propose that the answer could be related to the artist’s treatment of the past. Billy Strings, Sierra Ferrell, and Waylon all seem to have a deep rooted respect for the previous generations of artists and appear to be genuine fans so, while they add their own personal touch to their music, it appears to be done with a reverence and respect for those that came before.
Maybe the reason we reject Lil Nas X and Sam Hunt (the only two guys I know, not intentionally picking on them) is because, it doesn’t feel like they grew up on, or hold a genuine appreciation for, country/bluegrass/old time music? I suspect Lil’ Nas X didn’t grow up on Hank Williams so, maybe, he’s rejected as “not country” because he hasn’t “earned” the right to add 808s and rap verses to the music by showing he appreciates the foundation he is modifying?
I wouldn’t say the prerequisite is some complicated exam, I just think the distinction could be explained by asking “did this artist write this song with a reasonable level of respect for those who came before?” I don’t know that I’m totally onboard with that explanation but, it seems to be more solid than what we usually kick around.
January 13, 2021 @ 9:19 pm
“Seems to me, we ought to have a real answer to that question other than ‘I know country when I see it.'”
Ok, here’s a minimal definition. Music X = melody + harmony + rhythm. If you change one slightly, you may still have Music X. Change one significantly, and there’s less of a chance. Change two? No more Music X.
Waylon introduced a new beat. The phaser was decorative. Still country. Sierra’s cow ring has nothing to do with music per se. Still old-time. Billy, like Tony Rice, still colors inside the lines. Still bluegrass.
Lil Nas X? In all areas, that song is like modern hill country blues, not country music.
January 14, 2021 @ 11:45 am
Idk man. I think that is the most direct approach but, (although I’m proud to admit I’ve still never heard it), I’m pretty sure old town road is still has a melody, harmony, and rhythm. If you specifically mean a “country” melody, harmony, and rhythm, we’re back to the same issue of what makes those components country? Of course, I’ll also happily admit that I’m not one who thinks a non-country artist can just go record a country album, imho, a country artist can record a non-country album but, just because a non-country artist records something that sounds “country” doesn’t mean it is country.
I didn’t really intend to start such a large discussion but, while I don’t really know the answer, my gut still says its an attitude towards the past and a lifestyle that draws the line in the sand.
For example, throughout everyone’s criticism of Sturgill back when he was making folks (myself included) mad, no one alleged he wasn’t “country.” Everyone agreed that he made a non-country album but, he can make whatever music he wants and he remains unquestionably country. I’d still suggest that the reason is the way he came up and his reverence for the music of the past. He’s clearly not the stereotypical “everything red, white, and blue is perfect” guy and at times he appears super critical of the attitudes of the folks that brought him up. Nevertheless, all but the most rigid and angry of his opposition gladly label him as the real deal as they criticize his every move.
Plenty of radio guys always wear cowboy hats and write songs about tractors, farms, and quite literally how country they are and are considered jokes. It would seem to me that one thing a lot of those folks have in common is their influences appear to be primarily based in other genres and the came up with other lifestyles.
Anyways, as a bigger picture, as nasty and unproductive as a lot of the stone throwing has become lately, I just think it would be good for the community that favors Tyler, Cody, and Sturgill over Lil’ Nas X, Sam Hunt, and Jason Aldean to have some sort of justification for being so nasty. I do think it comes from a noble place but, man, the more I’ve looked at it, the more a understand why even our own artists tell us we’re stupid sometimes. Back when I got upset with Sturgill’s “attitude,” I had this built in presumption that people who like songs like “cover me up” or “cast no stones” would be fairly principled and positive. Over time, I’ve found that not to be the case and I just find that to be disappointing.
Most of this comment is not a response to you btw. At the end of the day, it is art and art is subjective. I can and should mean different things to different people. Ideally, I’d just prefer my fellow country music fan be better and more supportive than the average political parties and “exclusive” club. More aspirational wishful thinking than anything. I think its fine to just like what we like until it gets into personal attacks and truly low blows. Then I think we should be doing better.
January 14, 2021 @ 3:45 am
I gotcha – the Carolina Chocolate Drops’ “Hit ‘Em Up Style” is a hell of a lot more country than “Old Town Road” or “Dirt Road Anthem.”
January 14, 2021 @ 11:12 am
I certainly agree with this.
January 12, 2021 @ 12:38 pm
I think about how I feel as an active country/roots music fan about commercial country music. And then I try to imagine how a artistic giant like Tony Rice must have felt.
January 12, 2021 @ 12:48 pm
Sometimes i think, “awe it ain’t that bad.” and then someone posts about Walker Hayes “Face on my Money” and I listen to THAT for the first time…
I would also like to confess that i had not specifically known of Tony Rice before he passed (heard him on recordings, just didn’t know who it was) and I listened to JD Crowe and the New South on repeat for 10 straight days after someone here mentioned it here.
January 12, 2021 @ 2:29 pm
Glad you were able to get some thoughts down about this interview. I especially like how he talks about people like Alison Krauss whose talents are too great to ignore and the people will recognize it when they hear it.
January 12, 2021 @ 2:57 pm
Flat-picking is in good hands with Molly Tuttle and Billy Strings. I hope this came as a consolation to a major flat-picker like Mr. Rice.
January 12, 2021 @ 3:15 pm
Great piece Trig but I beg to differ. Alison was a star before “Oh Brother”. I know because I bookEd many many dates representing her from 1995 to well beyond that period.
January 12, 2021 @ 6:04 pm
Hey Wylie,
I didn’t mean to imply that Alison Krauss was not a star before. She certainly received interest from her role in the “O Brother Where Art Thou” soundtrack, and since the release of it did cause a big resurgence of interest in roots music in the mainstream right around the time of this interview with Tony Rice was posted, I believe this is what he was referring to. But yes, Alison was a star before then, and I have changed some of the wording in the article to remove any confusion or concern.
January 12, 2021 @ 4:35 pm
It seems this is a sentiment shared by most (actual) country music fans….?
January 12, 2021 @ 5:02 pm
One question comes to mind with bro country; Are you sure Hank done it this way?
January 12, 2021 @ 5:09 pm
Alison Krauss was a star long before O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU. It was released in 2000. She was already a big star in bluegrass when, in 1995, she won four CMA Awards, including Female Vocalist ,Single for “When You Say Nothing At All” (a top 5 hit), and Vocal Event of the Year with Shenandoah for “Somewhere In The Vicinity Of The Heart” (a top 10 hit). Had a couple of Grammys by ’95, too.
January 12, 2021 @ 6:59 pm
I work in a loud woodshop. There are about 6 people in there. I’m the only musician in the bunch. We have a bluetooth system that we take turns playing dj with that blasts music over the constant whine of saws, routers, and dust collectors. So, the point here is this: we all claim to love music and we have had ample time to digest and appreciate eachother’s music….no one in there in 4 years of me basically forcing all of this great wonderful bluegrass and jazz down their throats has ever, ever, ever said “hey man, that sounds really cool.” Not once. Ever. In four years. I have played every bluegrass superman, and every jazz master you could ever name over and over and these friends of mine just kind of look at me like I am an asshole. I don’t know why this is. We will never know the answer. People as a whole just don’t get it. That’s why it doesn’t sell. It’s also why I work in a cabinet shop and not a music studio. I can say without any doubt, no offense to the late great Tony Rice, that it’s not because those guys haven’t had the music “shoved down their throats” or whatever. I have been shoving and shoving and shoving this great music for literally 30 years and most people never like it. Sucks to be surrounded by idiots. But it is what it is.
January 12, 2021 @ 11:56 pm
I like John Doe, especially the album he did with the Sadies, and the Knitters albums. I bet Tony didn’t listen to them from start to finish. He and Willie’s bass player Kevin Smith seem to collaborating on some cool stuff these days too. 😉
RIP Tony, you were amazing, and left thousands of pickers trying to be half as good as you were.
January 13, 2021 @ 1:04 am
I can attest that “John and Jane Doe” have been hungering for real country music all along. When I was playing in bar bands back in the 1970’s and 80’s, the whole scene was basically rock bands wearing cowboy hats. However, when I started fiddling any old hoedown tune, the entire mood changed. The crowd went wild! These tunes got the biggest applause of the night. This happened anywhere and everywhere, from coast to coast. It never failed! A bartender at a big club told me that the bunch at her bar, far away from the stage, would pretty much ignore the night’s music. But she said when the fiddle started playing, all conversation stopped and attention was directed toward the stage. After my tune was over, all the yammering started again.
It wasn’t that I was God’s Gift To The Fiddle, it’s just that people, then and now, want authentic countrified music. “Murder On Music Row” pretty much sums up the last few decades of commercial “country” music. Whatta shame!
January 13, 2021 @ 8:28 am
Yes.
Unfortunately, I had to be in Massachusetts a few years ago. I was in a burned out old mill town with one bar. Obviously the jukebox was playing horrible, pounding hip hop and house music, even though the clientele was mostly middle aged drunks and younger blue collar workers. Anyhow, we commandeered the jukebox and played a bunch of Coe, Haggard, Waylon, etc. Of course, everyone who had been staring down at their feet was surprised. Many got up and danced and a bunch told me about how their dad, granddad, etc. “listened to that song.” Country music is American music. Even the coldest Yankees can’t help but tap their feet if exposed to it.
January 13, 2021 @ 11:33 am
I like Tony Rice. I like him a great deal. I love bluegrass. I’m also a musician. A lot of the music I enjoy is a direct result of the fact I play an instrument. Non-musicians don’t always care to hear music like Tony Rice. It’s just a bunch of noodling to them. You could play it for them for hours on end and it’s not going to make everyone a fan…and that doesn’t make the naysayer any less cultured than you. At all. You think your taste is better than theirs. It’s not. Different strokes for different folks. Tony didn’t like modern country. I don’t doubt that. I also don’t doubt that some of that distaste had to do with him thinking, “I’m a master of my craft and these no talent clowns who wouldn’t know a G run from hole in the ground are getting all the applause”. I would feel the same way. It’s just like how we struggle to understand people who don’t agree with us politically or religiously. It’s hard to understand how someone can’t see, hear or feel what we feel. I do not listen to modern country much and I do not enjoy it. I listen to the same stuff that you all do. I feel that I just don’t care as much about what others choose to listen to. There’s plenty of current “legit” acts that I honestly think aren’t all that great…but like I said earlier..to each his own. Saying that exposure ultimately leads to people acquiring better taste is like saying everyone exposed to fine caviar will like it. While it’s true that exposure may lead some to a wow what else am I missing moment, it typically leads to a development of expanded taste rather than a complete transformation. I think that’s all we can hope for. Let’s not judge others for their tastes. Relax, have fun and enjoy what you like. That’s part of who you are. Some folks like Old Dominion. Cool.
January 14, 2021 @ 1:23 am
i agree, for people like us ( music maniacs) it’s very hard to understand how can all the others “not get it”. I think it’s a matter of deepness, to the majority music is just a background.
January 14, 2021 @ 10:58 am
He was an incredible talent but never mainstream. He was right about some of the acts then and might be even more right now! Back in 2002 there was some great music as there is now. Back in 2002, I seem to recall more variety and quality in the charts than now. There will always be bad and good.
January 14, 2021 @ 4:46 pm
tony didnt like the top forty country from the thirty years prior to 2002?
Didnt George Jones, Keith Whitley, and quite a few others have some tunes on the radio during that period?
seems a bit odd to me.
Maybe I misunderstand the quote. or entire article needed.
(typos due to ipad keyboard)
January 18, 2021 @ 12:04 pm
What it all boils down to is no different than what Duke Ellington said; “There are 2 types of music – good music and the other kind.” Tony Rice obviously falls under good music, and most of what pop country radio plays is the other kind.