Playlist of the Week
Last night I was watching Biography's Dolly Parton episode on cable, and I came across the song "The Grass is Blue", and immediately fell in love with it. Before and after work, I decided to edit my Country Music playlist. Last year I was inspired to create this playlist after watching what I think was 10 hours of Ken Burns' excellent documentary Country Music. I have to admit Ken Burns did a great job at convincing me to give the genre a chance. I am not going to lie, there still is a lot of garbage in country music (I see you Jason Aldean and Carrie Underwood) but it takes a lot of digging and avoiding the obvious dreck to find the good stuff. A lot of the music I heard is amazing especially going back as far as The Carter Family. That is some really great working class music however I am starting to hear some great music in recent years from Tanya Tucker (her latest album is fantastic!), The Highwomen (Brandi Carlile's supergroup with Amanda Shires, Maren Morris, and Natalie Hemby), Yola, and my new favorite artist Mickey Guyton.
Side note: Over the weekend I read the article from the LA Times Is Country Music Ready for Mickey Guyton? And to answer the question literally, yes country music is ready, if not then too bad. Mickey needs to be heard. I listened to Mickey's songs on Spotify and I loved what I had heard. I truly hope to see more women (and men) like Mickey, Yola, and Darius Rucker (from Hootie and The Blowfish) in country music. Lets not forget it was blues musician Rufus Payne (aka Tee Tot) who taught Hank Williams to play the guitar. Rufus had a huge influence on Hank, let alone Black people having an influence on country music as a whole, just read this article African American Influence on Country Music Can't Be Understated or Overstated. Now that it is the 21st century, I hope to see a more diverse scene for country music by allowing artists like Mickey and Yola into its space and thrive there.
Songs to Check Out:
"I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" By Hank Williams
"The Grass is Blue" by Dolly Parton
"Cold Cold Earth" by Allison Moorer
"Cheap Whiskey" by Martina McBride
"Ride Out in the Country" by Yola
"What Are You Gonna to Tell Her?" by Mickey Guyton
Side note: Over the weekend I read the article from the LA Times Is Country Music Ready for Mickey Guyton? And to answer the question literally, yes country music is ready, if not then too bad. Mickey needs to be heard. I listened to Mickey's songs on Spotify and I loved what I had heard. I truly hope to see more women (and men) like Mickey, Yola, and Darius Rucker (from Hootie and The Blowfish) in country music. Lets not forget it was blues musician Rufus Payne (aka Tee Tot) who taught Hank Williams to play the guitar. Rufus had a huge influence on Hank, let alone Black people having an influence on country music as a whole, just read this article African American Influence on Country Music Can't Be Understated or Overstated. Now that it is the 21st century, I hope to see a more diverse scene for country music by allowing artists like Mickey and Yola into its space and thrive there.
Songs to Check Out:
"I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" By Hank Williams
"The Grass is Blue" by Dolly Parton
"Cold Cold Earth" by Allison Moorer
"Cheap Whiskey" by Martina McBride
"Ride Out in the Country" by Yola
"What Are You Gonna to Tell Her?" by Mickey Guyton
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