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BBHQ Boomer Essays: |
| Our Boomer-In-Charge here at BBHQ, Hershel Chicowitz, writes frequently about current events... from a boomer perspective. He is sometimes funny, sometimes provocative, sometimes a little of each. We hope you get a kick out of our Boomer Essays. |
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If I am nothing else, I am consistent. I am a huge fan of the music of
the boomer years: the late 50s, 60s, and early 70s. But this week, I
confess to having just a little cowpoke blood running through my veins.
(A highly unpleasant thought, is it not?) It took me a long time to figure out why country (or country/western) music is so popular. Certainly it has nothing to do with the voices of the singers, or the song titles, or the subject matter. There must be something else to it. Now, I have nothing against those of you who ride in the saddle of cornpone - to each his own. I just did not understand how it became so popular so quickly.
 When I was a kid, country music songs dealt primarily with chewin' tabaccy, your woman walking out on you, and getting drunk and passing out in the gutter. The country music singers were real cowpokes; you know, Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, Charlie Pride, Roy Acuff, Chet Atkins, Ernest Tubb, Minnie Pearl, that ol' pea-picker himself - Tennesee Ernie Ford, Buck Owens and his Buckaroos, and Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs. (Now, if there was ever a perfect name for a country/western group, it is Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs.) But the market for songs about chewin' tabaccy was kinda' small at the time. Admittedly, getting drunk and passing out in the gutter was gaining in popularity among boomers, but it had not yet reached the level that a lot of people wanted to listen to songs about it. We boomers had our limits. But something happened in the mid to late 70s. All of the sudden, country/western music was everywhere. And today... why heck, Garth Brooks is the biggest thing in show business! Oh, wait. Is he still around? Garth who? Shows you what I know, huh? Anyway, I have it figured out. In the early 70s, what we call rock and roll music was the thing... THE thing. The acid rockers were pulling it to its limits, the Beatles nearly destroyed it ("Happiness is a Warm Gun"), and Paul Simon was committing songwriting suicide ("Me and Julio down by the School Yard"). But rock was still king. Then came MTV. MTV killed rock and roll. Yep; before MTV, rock music was written to be heard. After MTV, it was written to be seen. And that was the end of it. It was the end of rock and roll as we knew it. There was no music in MTV rock music. And Lord knows, it had no words (of any value). I think it was the words that we missed the most. Good rock music has to say something.
So what were 76 million music-loving boomers to do? Well, I pulled out the 45s and the tapes and invented "oldies." (If Al Gore invented the Internet, then I can say I invented oldies.) But many boomers turned to country/western music. And the artists responded. The coal miner's daughter was terrific; she even dragged along her kid sister. Dolly Parton put forth her best assets. And then came the Charlie Daniels Band:
The songs had words... and the words got to you. And then, one night I was watching the Boston Pops on PBS. (Imagine that, huh?) After some light, show music, conductor John Williams introduced Crystal Gayle, who floated on stage, wearing a white, sequined dress, dark hair flowing gently down to her ankles, and sang, "When I Dream":
There ya' go..... match that against ANYTHING called rock music today. Slam dunk, huh? And that was it.... there I was, reduced to a puddle of warm slobber, staining the living room carpet. I'd become countrified. To an extent. My music collection now includes bunches of Crystal Gayle stuff, all of Charlie Daniels' music, a couple of Homer & Jethro songs - just for laughs, a taste of Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs... but no Garth Brooks. (He is soooo yesterday, isn't he?) I went only so far. There are no cowboy boots in my closet, no three-pound, silver belt buckles, and no ten-gallon hats. (No two-gallon ones, either.) Accordingly, I have gathered a list of country/western songs that will NOT be included in my collection. Unless you've got cow chips in your carport, you may wish to pass on these songs, too:
I Fell in a Pile of You and Got Love all over Me (Really; I swear, I could not make that up.)
At the Gas Station of Love, I Got the Self-Service Pump
And my personal anti-favorite:
A little country goes a long way in my corral. Crystal Gayle, I'm a-waitin' for ya', honey. But ya' better hurry quick, 'cause the fire in my loins is burnin' kinda' low.
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Exploring My Roots: A Chicowitz History
Membership details here.
Terrific boomer memorabilia!!
Remember this?
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If you like what we're doing here at BBHQ, please help us by buying stuff through our link to Amazon.com:
| The BBHQ Album of the Month is "Old Friends Live on Stage (Deluxe Edition) (2 CD/1 DVD)," by Simon & Garfunkel. If you were fortunate enough to see them in concert last year, I do not have to sell you. The concert was terrific! This album collection includes 55 songs, plus their new recording, "Citizen of the Planet," and one of the songs sung by the Everly Brothers during the concert. The DVD was recorded during their concert in Madison Square Garden in 2003. For any S&G fan, this is a must have! But then, you knew that already, didn't you? |
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The BBHQ Book of the Month is
"Vinyl Highway," by
Dee Dee Phelps. You remember her as Dee Dee, of Dick and Dee Dee.
Together, they took a decade long ride on the rock and roll roller
coaster. It was a heck of a ride! Dick Clark, Quincy Jones, the Beach
Boys, Glenn Campbell, Dionne Warwick, Bobby Vinton... Dick and Dee Dee
rubbed shoulders with all of them. This is her "behind the scenes" story.
It's pretty cool.
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