country-music

"It took Bob Dylan to break the ice between the [country and rock music] camps. [...] While it would be a stretch to call Blonde on Blonde a country-rock record, the fact that Dylan, arguably the most important person in rock at the time, cut an album in the home of country music soon brought an influx of other musicians to Nashville. As Charlie McCoy, the multi-instrumentalist who starred on Blonde told Nashville Scene in 2011, “That's when the floodgates opened.""

"Currently, only 11 acts have been inducted into both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. They are: Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, The Everly Brothers, Hank Williams, Brenda Lee, Sam Phillips, Floyd Cramer, Chet Atkins, Bill Monroe, Jimmy Rogers, and Bob Wills. Only a few of them are pure country acts, while Cash is the only country artist to ever be voted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and not put in under a specialty award."

"As a reaction [to the] slickness [of the Nashville sound], a more traditionalist approach sprung up in Bakersfield, Calif., a town settled largely by Dust Bowl migrants looking for work in the nearby oil fields. Owens and Merle Haggard were the leading stars of the movement, which helped plant Southern California’s roots in country music – something that would pay off handsomely in time."

"The “Nashville sound” – where traditional instruments like pedal steel guitar and violin were phased out in favor of strings and background vocals -- had more in common with mainstream ‘50s vocal pop than Western swing or rockabilly."

"As the story goes, country slept with the blues in Memphis and gave birth to rock n’ roll. After a while, country got tired and went back to Nashville. And while that’s admittedly an oversimplification, a look at the intertwining history of the three genres reveals it to be an apt extended metaphor. Following the split, the blues gave rock a mother’s unconditional love, nurturing it through its difficult stages and always providing a welcome return no matter how far it strayed from home. On the other hand, country and rock have had the type of relationship one would expect of a child and its absentee father. As rock entered its formative years, it rebelled against country’s old-fashioned ways – sometimes openly mocking it – and became more successful in the process. Once it grew up, rock reconnected with country in search of paternal guidance and wisdom. Meanwhile, country hasn’t always been willing to acknowledge its more successful offspring, but on occasion has had to embrace rock for the money. All of which is a bit of a shame, because those moments when they’ve put aside their differences has resulted in some of the most enduring music of the rock era."

"This is the biggest bunch of BULLSHIT I have ever heard. I am gonna do everything in my power to support and promote female singer/songwriters in country music. Always."

"If you want to make ratings in country radio, take females out. The reason is mainstream country radio generates more quarter hours from female listeners at the rate of 70 to 75 percent, and women like male artists. The expectation is we're principally a male format with a smaller female component. I've got about 40 music databases in front of me, and the percentage of females in the one with the most is 19 percent. Trust me, I play great female records, and we've got some right now; they're just not the lettuce in our salad. The lettuce is Luke Bryan and Blake Shelton, Keith Urban and artists like that. The tomatoes of our salad are the females."

"Labels felt it was too hard to break a woman at radio so they weren’t signing them, and radio says the labels aren’t giving them the artists. When I signed Miranda [Lambert to Sony in the early 2000s], it was never ‘Uh-oh, she’s a female.’ That only started in the last 10 years. I [recall] taking an artist around, and a record label exec said, ‘I’m not signing any females’ — not even ‘I’m not signing your female.’ I mean, that was spoken."

"It’s the first time [the show’s] been hosted by a couple of tomatoes!"

"I wrote the song “Fight Like a Girl” about Tomatogate. (Radio consultant) Keith Hill said, men are the lettuce of the country salad, women are the tomatoes. You put a couple on top, but any more than (19) percent is too much. That’s literally almost a direct quote. Me and my two really good friends got pissed off and wrote a song, which I think is the best way to handle being pissed off."

"Don't worry babe. I see an opportunity here. (A) big ole vagina-shaped opportunity."

"I think it got a lot of attention focused on something that frankly the audience probably knows nothing about, which is the fact that there are gatekeepers at radio and people that consult and decide what gets played,” McBride said. “I don’t think people were really aware of that. … I don’t know if it’s helped or not helped, but we do have some more females getting some airplay on the radio than there was a year ago."

"Whether or not a song gets airplay should be based on how good the SONG is…not whether it’s sung by a male or female. It’s kind of like comparing tall artists to short artists, blondes to brunettes, bald guys to guys with hair….what does it matter?"

"Elvis changed the country music scene quite a bit; he almost put country music out of business."

"Country music is three chords and the truth."

"By the mid-1960s, advertisers no longer thought of country radio stations as only being listened to by country folk. During the 1950s, it looked as though country would not survive the popularity of rock and Top 40 formatting, but the introduction of the "Nashville Sound" - typified by the now-classic recordings of Patsy Cline, - proved that crossover hit making was possible. By the mid-1970s, country had its place in radio, with more than 1,000 stations playing country format. Country had become suburban-it had given a voice to adult problems, such as infidelity, boss hating, and the like, whereas pop music seemed stuck in teenaged concerns. Country radio listeners were therefore older, and were nearly always white. By the 1990s, one survey determined that country stations were number one in 57 of the top 100 radio markets in the United States."

"American country music … was and is … the soul music of white people."

"Unlike hip-hop, many country artists have dominated within their genre without ever becoming pop-culture fixtures."

"He was up in Wyoming, And drew a bull no man could ride. He promised her he'd turn out, Well it turned out that he lied. And their dreams that they'd been livin', In the California sand, Died right there beside him in Cheyenne."

"It's midnight Cinderella time that you should know, There's gonna be some changes in the way this story goes. It's midnight Cinderella but don't you worry none, 'Cause I'm Peter Peter the Pumpkin Eater And the party's just begun."

"She's anything but typical; She's so unpredictable. Oh but even at her worst it ain't that bad. She's as real as real can be And she's every fantasy. Lord she's every lover that I've ever had. And she's every lover that I've never had."

"In another's eyes I'm afraid that I can't see This picture perfect portrait that they paint of me. They don't realize and I pray they never do, 'Cause every time I look I'm seein' you In another's eyes."

"And what they don't see, Is what is killing me. It's blessing and a curse That love is blind."

"For that river of red could be the death of me. God, give me strength and keep reminding me That blood is thicker than water. Oh, but love is thicker than blood.And if blood is thicker than water, Then what are we fighting for? We're all sons and daughters Of something that means so much more."

"On a prayer, In a song, I hear your voice, And it keeps me hanging on. Oh, raining down, against the wind, I'm reaching out, 'Till we reach the circle's end. When you come back to me again."

"[Brooks] is the blueprint for the modern country star. There is no Kenny Chesney, Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean or Tim McGraw without Garth Brooks, who brought country music to stadiums. Brooks has sold more records than just about anyone and is most responsible for the genre’s mainstream boom."

"After seven years of marriage, He wanted out. Now after seven months of freedom, It's clear that there's no doubt.She's gonna make it, And he never will. He's at the foot of the mountain, And she's over that hill. He's sinkin' at sea, And her sails are filled. She's gonna make it, And he never will."

"Not counting you I've never had a heartache. Not counting you I never have been blue. There's no exceptions to the rule; I've never been nobody's fool. I've never lost at love not counting you."

"If tomorrow never comes, Will she know how much I loved her? Did I try in every way to show her every day That she's my only one? And if my time on earth were through, And she must face the world without me, Is the love I gave her in the past Gonna be enough to last? If tomorrow never comes."

"And the white line's getting longer and the saddle's getting cold. I'm much too young to feel this damn old. All my cards are on the table with no ace left in the hole, I'm much too young to feel this damn old."

"The thunder rolls, And the lightnin' strikes. Another love grows cold On a sleepless night. As the storm blows on Out of control, Deep in her heart The thunder rolls."

"'Cause I've got friends in low places Where the whiskey drowns And the beer chases my blues away. And I'll be okay. I'm not big on social graces; Think I'll slip on down to the oasis. Oh, I've got friends in low places."

"Sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers. Remember when you're talkin' to the man upstairs, That just because he doesn't answer doesn't mean he don't care. Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers."

"Well it's bulls and blood, It's dust and mud, It's the roar of a Sunday crowd. It's the white in his knuckles, The gold in the buckle, He'll win the next go 'round. It's boots and chaps, It's cowboy hats, It's spurs and latigo. It's the ropes and the reins, And the joy and the pain, And they call the thing rodeo."

"'Cause what she's doin' now is tearin' me apart, Fillin' up my mind and emptyin' my heart. I can hear her call each time the cold wind blows, And I wonder if she knows...what she's doin' now."

"Mama was a looker, Lord, how she shined. Papa was a good'n, But the jealous kind. Papa loved Mama; Mama loved men. Mama's in the graveyard; Papa's in the pen."

"You know a dream is like a river, Ever changin' as it flows. And a dreamer's just a vessel That must follow where it goes. Trying to learn from what's behind you, And never knowing what's in store Makes each day a constant battle Just to stay between the shores...andI will sail my vessel 'Til the river runs dry. Like a bird upon the wind, These waters are my sky. I'll never reach my destination If I never try. So I will sail my vessel 'Til the river runs dry."

"When the last child cries for a crust of bread; When the last man dies for just words that he said; When there's shelter over the poorest head, We shall be free.When the last thing we notice is the color of skin, And the first thing we look for is the beauty within, When the skies and the oceans are clean again, Then we shall be free."

"Somewhere other than the night She needs to hear I love you. Somewhere other than the night She needs to know you care. She wants to know she's needed, She needs to be held tight Somewhere other than the night."

"She had a need to feel the thunder, To chase the lightning from the sky, To watch a storm with all its wonder Written in her lover's eyes. She had to ride the heat of passion Like a comet burning bright, Rushing headlong in the wind Now where only dreams have been, Burning both ends of the night."

"Standing outside the fire; Standing outside the fire. Life is not tried, it is merely survived If you're standing outside the fire."

"Ain't going down 'til the sun comes up; Ain't givin' in 'til they get enough. Going 'round the world in a pickup truck, Ain't goin' down 'til the sun comes up."

"Moonlight on canvas, midnight and wine, Two shadows starting to softly combine. The picture they're painting Is one of the heart; And to those who have seen it, It's a true work of art.Oh, the red strokes, Passions uncaged; Thundering moments of tenderness rage. Oh, the red strokes, Tempered and strong (Fearlessly drawn), Burning the night like the dawn."

"He asked her twice to come along; They said good-bye at the break of dawn. 'Cause you can't hold back the wind, If it's meant to be again, Then someday he'll find his way back to her arms."

"We'll put aside a little time to fix a flat or 2, my tires and tubes are doing fine but the air is showing through"

"No matter how I struggle and strive, I'll never get out of this world alive."

"You wore out a brand new trunk, packin' and unpackin your junk."

"[The country singer] sings more sincere than most entertainers, because the hillbilly was raised tougher than most entertainers. The people who has been raised something like the way the hillbilly has, knows what he is singing about and appreciates it. For what he is singing, is the hopes, and prayers, and dreams and experiences of what some call the "common people." I call them the "best people," because they are the ones that the world is made up most of. They're really the ones who make things tick, wherever they are in this country, or in other country."

"A good song is a good song, and if I'm lucky enough to write it, well....! I get more kick out of writing than I do singing. I reckon I've written a thousand songs and had over 300 published."

"I became aware that in Hank's recorded songs were the archetype rules of poetic songwriting. The architectural forms are like marble pillars and they had to be there. Even his words - all of the syllables are divided up so they make perfect mathematical sense. You can learn a lot about the structure of songwriting by listening to his records."