Your Opinion: “They Were Good Until They Got Sober”
On New Year’s Day in 1953, country music’s first superstar Hank Williams died of what could be considered an early-era overdose–heart failure due to a lethal combination of morphine and alcohol. He was the first superstar musician to die in this manner, issuing in an era that would see the deaths of Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Elvis, and many many more.
Tonight (10-27) at 8 PM Central, Roger Alan Wade will be interviewed on Outlaw Radio Chicago, which can be heard right here on SCM LIVE. He will be promoting his new album Deguello Motel, which is about Roger coming clean after 30 years of substance abuse. Roger says he doesn’t want to be preachy about it, and in no way does his new album or his rhetoric around it come across that way. However it has got me thinking about sobriety, and just how it interfaces with so much of the country music we listen to.
Country has always been heavy with drinking and addiction themes, just as often centered around the destructive nature of these behaviors as the good time nature. A surprisingly large amount of the songsters that we listen to are sober guys: Roger, Wayne “The Train” Hancock, Bob Wayne, Joe Buck, Justin Townes Earle (if the latest rehab stint stuck) even Lonesome Wyatt of Those Poor Bastards is sober.
Still we can listen to these guys sing drinking songs, and believe every word, or listen to songs about getting sober, even if we’re not, and enjoy the music regardless. The themes of addiction are universal, and so are the themes of recovery.
It seems like everywhere I’ve been looking lately, sobriety, recovery, and relapse have been an underlying storyline. It came up with Justin Townes Earle’s new album Harlem River Blues, possibly the first album he did NOT sober. I was accused of crossing a line by making that accusation in my review of the album, and two days later he was arrested after a rampage likely involving substances of some sort. I quoted the old saying then: “They were good till they got sober,” to highlight how the opposite can be true as well.
Then Roger’s album comes out with Deguello Motel, possibly his finest work to date, making you re-think that old maxim even more. Some artists may feel they must work wired because of the possible stigma of what getting clean might do to their music. Roger talked about this on Blue Ribbon Radio:
I’d just written so long when I was sideways going 90 man, and it was just a little bit daunting to do it honest. It’s been the most rewarding thing ever. My cousin Johnny Knoxville kept telling me you know it wasn’t the whiskey and the drugs writing them songs before. It took me a while to buy into that, and I’m so proud he stuck with me, and we drug this album out of it.
Every person handles drugs and alcohol differently. One person’s ultimate demon can be another’s useful escape to keep their sanity and productivity. One thing I am confident of is that the saying “They were good till they got sober,” seems so misguided now. We never got a chance to see if it was true with Hank Williams. Seeing Roger Alan Wade’s transformation, it makes you wonder what we might have missed.
What do you think?
October 27, 2010 @ 12:17 pm
Add Derek Dunn and James Hunnicut to the sober list as well.
October 27, 2010 @ 1:28 pm
Thankfully, I’m not much of a drinker, but I have dealt with the beast. I think it’s shaped some of our best songwriters that you mention. I think their success has something to do with they are able to channel that addictive energy into the music and when it’s that pure, it’s the best there is.
On the flip side is Metallica. Their early stuff is historical. Once they got sober, they became addicted to their own drama. I feel like they’ve lost it along the way and I don’t know if they’ll get it back or if that’s even a good idea.
October 27, 2010 @ 2:25 pm
Metallica is addicted to money.
November 1, 2010 @ 8:39 am
Word.
October 27, 2010 @ 1:55 pm
First, I really don’t care if an artist is sober or not, I just want him to give his best on the occasions that consider me, the fan. So, make sure that your cd is pretty damn good, go on the road and give it to your audience in the best possible way. Satisfy the fans. Maybe that gives enough satisfaction in return, maybe you want something extra, do what you like. Just do your job.
But I’ve also seen a few shows by known artists ruined by booze or dope, so I prefer the sober kind. At least when they walk onstage.
I also think that when your mind is not focused on an addiction, there’s more room for creativity. I mean, look at all the directions in Steve Earle’s carreer since he got sober. If it’s like father like son, Justin will be in and out of rehab and maybe prison, till the moment he’s got the right motivation to get sober. And then he should be making some pretty damn good records.
October 27, 2010 @ 2:30 pm
On the outside I don’t care if an artist is sober or not either. To me, it is all about the music. When their sobriety or drinking/drug problems start effecting their music, good or bad, is when it is something I become interested in. In a lot of ways I think its none of our business what artists habits are or what they do in their personal life . . . until they make it out business, whether its a drunken rampage, or putting out a spectacular album based on those personal habits, or in Roger’s case, overcoming them.
October 27, 2010 @ 1:56 pm
I think when an artist falls off after getting sober, it’s more of a confidence thing, then the drugs and alcohol. When you’ve always done something one way, and now you don’t have that anymore, it can get inside your head.
October 27, 2010 @ 2:32 pm
Good point. Another thing to account for is most artists will get sober as they age, and though age does not effect some artist’s creativity or drive, more times than not it does. I’m glad to see that neither age nor sobriety effected RAW badly, it has improved him.
November 1, 2010 @ 9:03 am
I think this is a great point. Drugs and alcohol serve as points of departure or tools for changing consciousness, right? So if we need them to put us in a creative frame of mind, when they are gone it is hard to access that place. Perhaps for some, once sober, they just can’t get there again. But for others (Bob Wayne case in point), they produce great shit AFTER they put the bottle aside. In a way, I think this goes to show that it isn’t the substance, but rather the access to the mental faculties or the frame of mind that produces good shit…
Baseball players do this thing with magic. George Gmelch wrote an article I have my students read about this phenomenon. They have magical socks or eat special chicken dinners before they play. These rituals serve to remove the pressures of success. If a player fails that day, he can blame the socks not being just right…because it is all chance anyway. Perhaps boozing is like this, if you are stoned, you don’t have to accept the success or failure of your work…the drug gets the credit or the blame.
Just a thought.
October 27, 2010 @ 3:13 pm
No mention of Townes yet and what may have been? Weird.
I really don’t care much about whether or not an artist is sober. But here’s a favorite quote of mine from Mr. Sobriety himself, Richard Pryor:
Being sober, and being off drugs, too, it’s a strange feeling. And I get real scared when I’m out here sometimes. I get real nervous about it. I wanna fuckin’ run! You know, I look out there, I say, “SHIT! IT’S SCARY!” And I say, “Fuck it. Go through it. Just feel the experience. Just fuck it.” ‘Cause if I had some drugs and shit now, I wouldn’t give a fuck. But then I’d come off stage, I still wouldn’t give a fuck. Then, by the time you’re fifty, after a lot of not giving a fuck, you miss part of your life. They’ll say, What happened to your life? “I didn’t give a fuck.”
October 27, 2010 @ 10:57 pm
I only care if they make me care.
Townes is a whole other can of worms.
October 27, 2010 @ 8:49 pm
James Hetfield is the only one who is sober in Metallica. Nearly all bands hit their creative peak by, if not before their fifth album. That being said, I enjoy their latest… They would rank well down the list of greedy bands in my book. They don’t re-release all their albums like so many acts do nowadays. Ozzy has repackaged his entire catalogue multiple times. That to me is a true sign of greed. Metallica could have, and they’d have profited big-time.
“They Were Good Until They Got Sober”…
It’s almost like “the chicken or the egg” argument. I think it all depends on the artist. Without question great songs have come out of addiction. Just look @ the legacy that Layne Staley left… In general, I would say that it’s an individual’s hardships that lead them to drug/alcohol abuse and it’s those same hardships that result in great music.
October 27, 2010 @ 10:56 pm
Honestly I’m no Metallica expert, my greed comment mostly has to do with their no recording and anti-bootleg / album sharing policies. Not saying this is always the case, but many times the re-releases and repackagings are done by labels, and the artists have little say so. Maybe Metallica does have a say so and has fought against it and that’s good for them if they have.
And you’re right, a lot of this depends on the artist, and I guess maybe that is my point, that a blanket statement about artists that get sober is unfair, and may condone self-destructive behavior that doesn’t necessarily result in better music.
October 27, 2010 @ 11:54 pm
Yeah! To ALL the above! Some artists are inspired by the effects of their own addiction and are creatively aware of its effects and some artists are consumed by their addiction and hope like hell to hit another “lucky”… moment. I speak from experience with addictions (to this and that) and I can say some of my most creative work was done under the influence of (this or that). The artist that is more in tune with them selves and find that “sober” moment when they realize they don’t need the high to reach their ability moves on to sobriety. The artist that uses their high for recreation not vindication or validation is one happy sombish…and I envy the hell outta them for knowing that peace. Rock On Roger Alan Wade, Wayne Hancock, Bob Wayne and all the others who know when to say when! GREAT POST Triggerman!
October 28, 2010 @ 1:38 am
i love this site, actually its the only site that i ever check out besides my myspace or facebook as i dont have a lot of time these days…. before i got sober i only played metal……after i got sober i was afraid to pick up my guitar….literally afraid….and i just looked at it for months…..then i picked it up and wrote the song “devils son” and was like WTF!!! i suck now!! funny thing is that song basicly was a self fulfilling prophecy of the next 9 years of my life…..within 4 years of writing that song i rolled into nashville on Hank 3’s tour bus for the first time……and with me on that bus was a bunch of bad ass mother fuckers that really took me in and helped develop the whole damn thing…and all of this was completely sober.(at least i was 😉 ) sometimes people give me shit if i wont do a line or take a shot of heroin with them anymore….it doesnt bother me….i used to think doing drugs was hardcore…….try living life without anything to stop the voices….now that really is hardcore.
October 28, 2010 @ 8:19 am
You just made me smile, Bob Wayne. Addiction is one mean ole nasty bitch. I hate her.
🙂
October 28, 2010 @ 8:49 am
Great point Bob.
Can’t say I’ve ever had to struggle with any drug or alcohol addictions, but seeing the toll and struggle of people trying to get over them, I don’t look down my nose at the people who fight those demons every day, I look up to them. The strength it takes to overcome that stuff is overwhelming for most, and it is inspiring to see when it is accomplished.
October 28, 2010 @ 5:23 pm
Well said Bob Wayne. Nice show in Missoula the other week man, keep up the good work!
October 30, 2010 @ 12:04 am
“…i rolled into nashville on Hank 3”²s tour bus for the first time”¦” …completely sober”,That!…in it self is a helluvan accomplishment! kudos BOB! LOOKIN’ FORWARD TO SEEIN’ YA IN CIRCLEVILLE, OHIO THIS YEAR!
November 1, 2010 @ 8:52 am
Bravo, Bob. If I’ve learned anything in my 40-long years of life it is that we all have one life to live and we had better live that life in the best way we can. The only person that can ensure that we do this is one’s own self. Addiction is a bizarre thing. We all have bodies that can be addicted but not everyone hits that point. I think each of us faces obstacles that stand in the way of us becoming what we need to be. These come in many forms and mediums and the whole point of life, to me, is figuring out how to get through the maze without getting lost or killed. At the end, it’s my hope we all emerge wiser.
I guess I care about the art but I care about people more. If someone makes some ass-kicking music when under the influence, great. If they get sober and it makes their life better…even greater. I think it’s bullshit to say that someone needs to be wasted to make good music. Do you think it’s really the whiskey or the weed strumming the guitar? If so, what pathetic beings we are that can’t command control of our own bodies, no?
I say have balls and take control of your own world. If that means being sober – awesome. I’m sure that anyone who takes that challenge will produce amazing art…where there’s sincerity and authenticity prompted by self-honesty, how can you end up with anything else?
October 28, 2010 @ 5:28 am
Are you sure its the addiction? I mean, with Elvis, Janis, Jimi, Kurt and Hank (as well as others) they weren’t able to get clean before they passed. So you don’t know. For others, it’s their struggle in life. Substance ruins lives more than it enhances. Take the individual, and see, they were blessed with talent and if they are on a road with destruction then that is another story.
I’m not sure that talent and drugs go hand in hand. Moreso, it’s a predispostion to mask something else and to go deeper inside the pain of living. Now, who is great without the enhancements? That’s a story for you, Triggerman.
October 28, 2010 @ 7:48 am
I’d have to agree with Denise’s line of thinking… I’d expand the old adage towards ALL with an artistic bent as far as “walking that fine line between creativity and insanity” … the drugs help clarify that line in many instances (although they can also, and often do, get crazy to come a’ callin’ — ie their creative peak in many instances or just an early, often messy death)… that fine line is there regardless, but the drink and drugs are just an easy (initially at least) outlet or perceived catalyst …. see luminaries in all creative fields such as Hemingway, Dylan Thomas, John Belushi, Gram Parsons, Billie Holiday, Chet Baker, … it has more to do with the individual –who is creative with OR without the drugs, but has to be able to tap into/control that creativity before it (or the catalyst of drink and drugs) takes them over the line …
October 28, 2010 @ 8:56 am
Without question, drug-induced states-of-mind have given way to great music that either would not have been made or would have not have been made as well in a sober state. What percentage of the music does that account for? Who knows. But it also meant the early end for many folks that could have had decades more time to create music if not for a quick end.
October 28, 2010 @ 7:15 am
I haven’t had a drink in 5 1/2 years (after being an alkie for over 20 years), gave up the other stuff long before that, my brother literally drank himself to death when he was 50 years old. I’ve known many musicians here in Austin who ruined any chance they had to be successful because of booze and drug use before they even made the climb. As for the artists who were successful despite substance abuse, would they have been so without it, we’ll never know. As George Kennan wrote, “History does not disclose its alternatives”.
October 28, 2010 @ 8:57 am
That is a good quote.
October 28, 2010 @ 10:10 am
I heard Eric Sevareid use that quote from George Kennan on a documentary series back in the 1970’s called “Between The Wars”, for some reason it has stuck in my mind ever since.
October 28, 2010 @ 5:26 pm
For some reason I keep thinking of Waylon as I read this thread. Maybe it’s because I just finished his auto-biography. I can’t lie, I enjoy Waylon’s music before he cleaned up more than after. But having read his story, it was DESTROYING his life. I love Waylon’s music, and I respect him as an artist and human being. For him NOT to clean up and get his life back on track would not have been fair. To the music and the man. Great great respect to all the artists (and regular folks) who have got the demon off their back.
October 28, 2010 @ 7:49 pm
Sorry all… Couldn’t resist.. 😉
October 28, 2010 @ 7:49 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Skn0Uhpx5jo
October 28, 2010 @ 9:52 pm
FAN FUKIN TASTIC! Glad ya couldn’t resist!! Thank you for sharing a great song… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqA_xpOZcOU&feature=fvw
October 28, 2010 @ 10:13 pm
but on another note…Is it really being happy with ” the Glory & the Fame”?, or is it …trying to escape from the accomplishments you’ve gained? What I am trying to say is, ie: You have a talent for music or art and all of the sudden shit loads of people appreciate your talent, so instead of doing your comfortable 10 – 15 shows a year you now need to do 50 – 75- 150 shows a year! Suddenly what you enjoyed doing has turned into, ahhhhk!…A JOB? A SCHEDULE?…I GOTTA BE WHERE ? WHEN??? Food for thought.
October 29, 2010 @ 5:59 am
That is food for thought Ojaioan. The pressures of fame would cause most anyone to turn to a little something something. Of course, us little people have the same pressures, just in different forms, without someone yelling out our name, pulling on our shirtsleeve, requesting this, requesting that, you want it now? you want it when? Most people though do not get to do what they love AND earn a living from it. So the general concensus is, quit yer bellyachin’ and suck it up! Not alot of sympathy from most folks, you know?
October 29, 2010 @ 6:51 am
Todd Snider’s version of this song is excellent too..
October 30, 2010 @ 12:16 am
Like the hell outta this song! Thanks for another version! Fred Eaglesmith kicks ass! I appreciate the links,… Here’s another http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kul_5M7Z4I8&feature=related
October 29, 2010 @ 9:16 am
rehab is for quitters
October 29, 2010 @ 9:18 am
haha Pete…
hope things are good man, its been years…
October 31, 2010 @ 8:01 am
Jeremy?? got a website or something?
What’s your last name and where did we hang?
October 31, 2010 @ 8:18 am
Jeremy is the bass player/manager for Whitey Morgan & The 78’s.
October 31, 2010 @ 8:25 am
Pete, we played in Nashville with Richie and all them years ago…good time…Douglas Corner I think was the place
November 1, 2010 @ 1:14 pm
ok, ditto Jeremy, the “Spirit Of The Outlaws” showcase @ douglas corner in nashville..yeah man, that was a blast! good times and memories, hope we can meet up again on the road one day.
November 1, 2010 @ 1:31 pm
Ok so wait a second, Jeremy you were part of all that Spirit of The Outlaws stuff with Brigitte London? I knew Pete was, but I had no idea. Small world.
October 29, 2010 @ 9:17 am
I’m a drunk. Totally.
Earlier in my career as a musician, I had a tendency to get drunk before a show–and was sometimes not as good as I should’ve been. Nowadays, not so much. I’ll have a drink or two before we hit the stage–cos I’m way to hyper and it helps me relax.
I believe we have to put on a good show–and I think for the most part, we keep it under control until the show is over.
When the show is over, though, that’s my time–and I like to drink, so I will.
Alot of the reason I think music and drugs tie in together is that the feeling you get from a crowd singing a song you wrote and/or recorded—there isn’t a better rush in the world. When you see them having a blast, just because you’re up there–that’s the biggest high on the planet, and if I could bottle that and sell that feeling–I’d be a damn rich man–but everyone would overdose. It’s that good.
After you’ve felt something that good, well, the world just ain’t the same, and you want to feel it all the time(at least I do)–so, alot of musicians turn to other stimulates to get some sorta high.
That, and we have a lot of down time—seriously, sitting in a hotel right now–with nothing to do but lunch until soundcheck in Dallas in 7 hours(we’re in Denton, so we don’t even have a drive to make today)…once again, alot of musicians turn to drugs to find something to do with that time too.
At least, those are my experiences.
Cheers, and my hopes go out to anybody who needs to get off of something.
October 30, 2010 @ 12:45 am
COOL dose of reality brother! Nice to hear another perspective.
October 30, 2010 @ 2:45 pm
SRV turned out a hell of an album sober. A couple I believe before he passed.
October 30, 2010 @ 7:14 pm
SRV ??
October 31, 2010 @ 9:02 am
Stevie Ray Vaughan.
Family Style! Even though his roots were deep in blues his Texan style made him more real country than not.
October 30, 2010 @ 7:02 pm
I’d say it has more to do with the individual than the sobriety of said individual. Most of Megadeth’s ’80s material was made while Dave Mustaine and other band members were under the influence of various substances and it was pretty good; the band’s 1990 album Rust In Peace was the first it recorded sober and is widely considered the band’s best. It sorta went downhill a bit through the ’90s up until Megadeth disbanded in ’02, but the albums the band’s recorded since it re-formed in 2004 have been pretty good, from what I’ve heard of them. I have Endgame, the latest album, and I definitely agree with those who say it’s the band’s best since RIP.
I don’t have a clue as to what happened to Metallica after the black album, but I think Death Magnetic is the best thing they’ve put out since then.
November 2, 2010 @ 2:16 pm
Saw an interview with Merle and George Jones once, and Jeremy hit on it above.
They talked about people that aren’t on the “road” don’t realize how boring it can get.
Songwriters use the word “lonely” cause it makes a good song, but it is primarily boring downtime.
Plus, every show you do, I would imagine an artist wants to put on the best show for those fans that might be seeing him/her for the first time, and frankly, the artist might need some help to feel like putting on that “best show” performance.
Actors, singers, athletes, entertainers…. they are just like the rest of us but really cool jobs. It is still a job, it is still work, it gets to you.
Can you imagine having to sing the same song over and over and over and over and over…. with the same enthusiasum every time! Pass me a drink please, and pill.
I don’t think it is just musicians though, I think it is anyone that runs the road for a while. I know when worked on the road for a few years, when I was in different towns large or small, you go out and have a drink and mix with the locals vs. sitting in your hotel room.
Are better decisions made when sober… yes. Is there more “creativity” cause your willing to take a risk not sober… probably.
April 22, 2011 @ 6:10 pm
On the topic of Justin Townes Earle becoming worse while he’s under the influence as opposed to when he’s sober is very evident in the following videos of the same song, filmed roughly a year apart.
The song “Boy Keep Movin'” is a song that is as of yet unreleased, and in the first video which was recorded at SXSW 2009 he plays it flawlessly with a lot of energy:
http://youtu.be/-sA_61qqRgg
Then in February 2010 he plays the same song at Amoeba Hollywood:
http://youtu.be/hS6vSZuhpDY
Take notice of the differences in his delivery and how he seems to be almost uncomfortable. He keeps adding the words “momma” and “babe” at the end of each verse. Of course in 2009 he was sober and in 2010, as we all know and you mentioned in another article, he was not.
May 13, 2011 @ 10:34 am
Hey I’m a little late coming into the discussion but I’ve got a few things to add. I don’t think its the drinking or getting high that gives musicians that edge, I think it’s whatever was causing that pain in the first place.
I’ve done a tour in Iraq and one in Afghanistan and I took my demons home with me. My (ex)fiance couldn’t take both dealing with both me and my demons so she left me. Before she left I was drinking a ton to deal with my pain. After she left I figured if I kept going down that path I’d wind up dead or close to it so I quit. I picked back up my guitar after years of neglecting it and started playing music again. I’m not great but there’s something about singing sad old country songs that makes you feel better than booze ever can. They should call this website countrymusicsaving.com because this shit sure saved me a time or two.