Merle Haggard

Merle Haggard

   Merle Haggard grew up in Oildale, California, a small town outside of Bakersfield. After his father died, Haggard began to shoplift and other petty crimes. He was sent to juvenile detention centers multiple times. When he was for the fourth time he went to see Lefty Frizzell perform. Frizzell heard Haggard singing along and asked him to sing on stage. The audience loved him and Haggard decided to pursue a career in music. Haggard was well liked in the area and became a local celebrity, but it did not take long before his financial problems got the best of him. He was attempting to rob a local bar when he was arrested. he was sentenced to three years in San Quentin. Here Haggard saw how badly other inmates have screwed up their own lives and he decided to turn his around. 

   Soon after his release, Haggard started to perform again and quickly signed with Tally Records. He did not want to be a part of the honky tonk sound that Nashville was producing, so he joined with Buck Owens and made a Bakersfield sound. During the next couple of years he would release a few singles. It wasn't until 1966 Haggard got his first number one hit, "I'm a Lonesome Fugitive." In 1968, he released  "Okie From Muskogee" which was a political statement against Vietnam War protesters. It along with "Fightin' Side of Me" became patriotic songs in the United States. 

   During the 1970s many of Haggard's songs were covered, most recognizable is Grateful Dead's version of "Mama Tried." Also during this time Haggard had dominated the charts but by the mid 1980s they were taken over by singers like George Strait and Randy Travis. Though he was no longer on the charts he influenced many artists to pursue their careers.

Loretta Lynn

Loretta Lynn

   Loretta Lynn was born in Butcher Holler, Kentucky but moved to Washington with her husband at the age of thirteen. She had her first child soon after. She grew up singing in church but quit when she got married. On her eighteenth birthday her husband, Doolittle, bought her a guitar and Lynn taught herself to play. 

   In 1959 Lynn started to perform in local bars and competed in a televised talent show. The show was seen by a founder of the Canadian company, Zero Records. He arranged some recording time for her in Hollywood. In 1960, she signed with Zero Records and released her first single, "I'm a Honky Tonk Girl." Afterwards she toured around the country and by the time she reached Nashville the song hit fourteen on Billboard's Country and Western charts. This success landed her a second record deal with Decca Records and by the end of the year she was considered one of the most promising country female artist.

   In 1962, Lynn released "Success", her first of many singles to reach top ten. From then on Lynn's success only grew. She was not afraid of controversy or showing her feminist side. Her first number one hit was "You Ain't Woman Enough" which is about a woman trying to take her husband. This also made Loretta Lynn the first female country artist to get a number one hit. The next year she hit number one again with "Don't Come Home a Drinkin'." This was first of many songs to describe her marriage to Doolittle. Lynn's openness to speak of taboo topics attracted people from all over and even people who did not listen to country music. 

Don't Come Home a Drinkin'

   In 1970, "Coal Miner's Daughter", a song about Lynn's life in Butcher Holler, was released. The next year Lynn joined up with Conway Twitty and they became one of the biggest duos ever. They had a long string of number one hits including "Louisana Woman, Mississippi Man." In 1977, Lynn came out with an album that was a tribute to her late friend Patsy Cine. The album was covers of some of Cline's biggest hits that were equally successful for Lynn. Her career continued on and she kept releasing hits until 1993, when she decided to quit recording and focus on touring. She came out with a few more hits through out the years but it would never reach that of her early years.

Dolly Parton

Dolly Parton

   Dolly Parton was one of twelve children in her "dirt poor" family. Music had always been a huge part of her life. She started performing as a young child singing on local radio and television shows. She appeared on the Grand Ol' Opry where Johnny Cash told her to follow her heart and ignore what others told her to do.

   Upon graduating high school Parton moved to Nashville. She started our as a song writer but in 1967 she released her first single "Dumb Blonde". That same year she joined the Porter Wagoner Show. Wagoner also got her a record deal with RCA Victor. She had multiple successful duets with Wagoner but whenever she tried to come out with a solo single she did not have good success. This worried both but in 1970 she covered Jimmie Rodgers' "Mule Skinner Blues". This record kicked off her solo career.

   Through the next two years Parton came out with multiple number one hits. None of these songs reached the magnitude of "Jolene". In the late 1970s, Parton decided to crossover into the pop charts. Her career continued to skyrocket and in the 1980s she started her film career. In the late 1980s, she crossed back over to country but her career never reached the height that it sis in the 1970s. In the 1990s. Parton crossed over to bluegrass and came out with multiple albums before she crossed over again to folk rock. That only lasted for one album before she went back to country. This is where she remains to day in the music world.

Reba McEntire

Reba McEntire

   Reba McEntire was raised around country music. Her mother had plans of going out and becoming a country star, but chose the simple life of a school teacher. Mrs. McEntire taught her children to harmonize with each other. The three younger children, Reba included, joined together to make the band the Singing McEntires. They would travel around and sing at rodeos that their father competed at. They recorded "The Ballad of John McEntire" on an indie label. Once they got older they split up and went their separate ways.

   After Reba graduated college, she was singing the national anthem at a rodeo in Oklahoma City. She was discovered  by Red Steagall who was also performing that night. He offered her an opportunity to go to Nashville and become a country artist. In 1975, she came out with two albums and multiple singles but they did not have much success. Many critics thought she had more potential that the record company was giving her. They were making her into a cookie cutter country pop star. In 1984, she moved to MCA Records. Here Reba stood up to the original producer of her album saying that she did not want to be country pop anymore. She was so dissatisfied with the label's sound she went to the president of the label. He told her to pick her sound. Her next album came out and produced two number one hits. Critics fell in love with her, saying was "the first women country singer since Kitty Wells." 

   That year she won the CMA award for Female Vocalist of the Year. Through out the 1980s she came out with multiple albums with her traditional country sound but for her Whoever's in New England album she changed her sound to be more mainstream. The album her her first Grammy. In the same year she won the highest award at the CMA's, Entertainer of the Year. A few months later What Am I Gonna Do About You but the album did not have the same success. In 1987, she came out with her twelfth studio album, Last One to Know. The next album, Reba, got bad reviews but hit number one on Billboard Country Charts and held two number one hits. Reba began to come out with pop music and started being predictable according mo many critics. 

   In 1991, tragedy struck Reba and her band. A plane carrying eight members of her band crashed into a mountain because of poor visibility. Later that year, she came out with For My Broken Heart and dedicated it to the lost band members. Throughout the 1990s Reba continued to come out with chart topping singles and albums including "Does He Love You?", a duet with her backup singer, Linda Davis. In 2001, Reba came out with her third greatest hits album. It included the song "I'm a Survivor" which was the theme song to her television series, Reba. Her career continues to grow and is an icon in the country music world.

Johnny Cash

Johnny Cash

    Johnny Cash is most known for his influence in country music but he has sang many other genres. He has sang rockabilly, rock and roll, blues, folk, and gospel. Being able to crossover so many genres has given Cash the opportunity to be inducted in to the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the Gospel Music Hall of Fame.

    Cash grew up singing with his family in the cotton fields. He started singing gospel and his mother helped teach him how to play guitar. He sang gospel music on the local radio. In 1950, he put his career on hole and enlisted in the Air Force. While serving he worked as a Morse code intercept operator for Soviet Army transmission. He was the first person to pick up the news of the death of Joseph Stalin through radio transmission. In 1954, Cash was honorably discharged and returned to Texas, where he originally met his first wife. They were married shortly after his return, then they moved to Memphis.

   Cash auditioned at Sun Records studio singing gospel music. He was told by Sam Phillips to "go home and sin, then come back with a song I can sell." He returned quickly with more rockabilly sound. He recorded "Hey Porter" in 1955 at Sun. A year later he was working in the studio at the same time as Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis, when Elvis Presley walked in for a visit. The four men started a jam session. During the session Phillips left the tapes going and later released the recordings under the name Million Dollar Quartet.

   His next big hit was "Folsom Prison Blues." Cash soon left Sun Records and moved to Columbia Records. His first song released through this company was "Don't Take Your Guns to Town" became one of his biggest hits. In the 1960s he toured with the Carter Family which included his future wife, June Carter. 

   In the late 1950s, he began doing drugs and drinking heavily. For a short time he lived with Waylon Jennings who was also addicted to amphetamines. Cash used drugs to keep awake for concerts. Many people he worked with saw the signs of his drug addiction but ignored them. A mixture of the drugs and him cheating lead to his divorce with his first wife in the mid 1960s. As his career grew his drug addiction got worse.

   Cash won his first Grammy in 1967 with the song "Jackson," a duet with June. A year later under the influence of drugs and alcohol Cash attempted to kill himself. Shortly after some friends moved in with him to help him over his addiction. Later that year he asked June to marry him and they wed a week later. He wasn't completely sober until 1970 but stayed sober for several years. In 1977 he started using again and was addicted by 1983 but he entered himself into rehab. This would not be his first fall but in 1992 he went into rehab for the last time.

   During this time Cash continued to come out with new hits and continued touring. In 2003, he was recording an album and in April June passed but told Cash to continue recording. Four short months later and sixty recordings later Johnny Cash died. Some believe his health got worse because of a broken heart.

   His last music video, "Hurt" wasn't completed at the time of his death but his daughter helped finish it. It became the number one country music video of all time.

Official Video Johnny Cash "Hurt"

George Jones

George Jones

     George Jones was first influenced by country music when his parents bought a radio when he was seven years old. At the age of nine he was given his first guitar and he started playing the streets of his hometown for money. He left home to play on the radio when he was fourteen. When he was old enough he enlisted in the Marines and shortly after his discharge his music career started to grow.

    In 1954, he got his first recording contract. Jones started out singing rockabilly and upbeat good time songs. These songs revealed his lifestyle early in his career. He was known for his alcoholism. During his second marriage, his wife, Shirley Corley, hid all the keys to the cars they owned and left. Jones was angry that he could not find them when he wanted to go into town for booze. Eventually he caught glimpse of one key she did not hide. It was in the ignition of their riding lawn mower. He drove eight miles to the closest liquor store on the lawn mower.

   During the 1970s, Jones' manager gave him cocaine before a show because he was too tired to perform. Cocaine mixed with alcohol lead to Jones being admitted into Alabama Psychiatric Hospital by the end of the decade. Also during this time Jones became broke and had to borrow money from Waylon Jennings and Johnny Cash.

   During the 1980s, Jones sound changed from party songs to broken hearted love songs. It was at this point that his life started to change for the better. He went from being "No Shoe" Jones to being one of the most reliable artists. He would occasionally fall off the wagon and start drinking again but after a car accident in the late 1990s, Jones sobered up for good.

   Back in 1985. Jones came out with the song "Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes." The singer wonders id future artists could ever be as great as the ones in the past. Unknown to him, Jones would fill those shoes.

The official music video for "Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes"

King George Strait

George Strait

   George Strait was born and raised in Texas. He got his start as a musician when he was in high school by playing in a rock and roll band. Since he never really listened to music on the radio he was most influenced by live performances. After high school Strait married his high school sweetheart and joined the army. While stationed in Hawaii, he started to play with the army sponsored band. A few years later he was honorably discharged and went to Southwest Texas University where he earned a degree in agriculture. While working on his degree Strait joined a band that was looking for a new vocalist. He quickly became the lead and renamed the band Ace in the Hole. They played all over Texas. During this time Strait also managed his family's cattle ranch. 

   Strait became friends with bar owner Eru Woolsey. Woolsey had worked with MCA Records and talked people in Nashville into coming to Texas and listen to Ace in the Hole. Strait signed with MCA Records in February 1981. Later that year Strait came out with his first album and his second followed very quickly in 1982. On his second album was the song "Amarillo By Morning" which is considered one of the greatest country songs of all time. 

Amarillo By Morning - 1996 Houston Live Stock Show and Rodeo.

     In 1983, he made is first performance at the Houston Live Stock Show and Rodeo. Throughout his career Strait made more the twenty performances at the rodeo. In the 1980s Strait came out with seventeen number one hits in a row. In 1985, he won his first award for Top Male Vocalist of the Year. 

   In 1986, Strait's daughter was killed in a car accident at the age of twelve. Tragic as that is, it did not keep the man from continuing his career. The following year he released his Ocean Front Property album. It was the first ever country music album to debut at number one by any artist. In 1989 and 1990, Strait received the reward for CMA Entertainer of the Year. He continued to release multiple umber on hits through the 1990s and 2000s. Strait's music career has continued to grow and today he is known as the King of Country Music.

Hank Williams

Hank Williams

Hank Williams was born Hiram but decided to unofficially change his name to Hank because he thought it was better fitted for is dream career of being a country musician. He was living in Georgiana, Alabama when he met Rufus “Tee-Tot” Payne, and African American street performer. Payne gave Williams many guitar lessons for meals made by Williams’ mother. Payne’s style was blues, but this did not change Williams’ wanting to be a country star. Eventually the Williams family moved to Montgomery and Hank lost contact with Payne. Later on Williams gave sole credit to Payne for being his teacher.

 The same year that his family moved to Montgomery, Hank Williams participated in a talent shoe which he won singing “WPA Blues”, his first original song. From then on he would play and sing in front of radio studios whenever he was not in school.  This caught WSFA producer’s attention. They asked him on occasion to sing on air and many listeners would call in wanting to her more from Williams, this lead the radio company to hire him on full time. The money he earned from the show to start his own band he called the Drifting Cowboys. The band traveled around southern Alabama until Williams dropped out of school. This allowed them to travel as far as Florida panhandle and western Georgia. During their breaks he would return home and host his radio show.

During his touring, he began his drinking problem. This lead to many problems with trying to get new band members after the draft and he was fired from his radio show. He was even warned by one of his idols, Roy Acuff, about the dangers of drinking. After he was fired, he moved to Mobile, Alabama where he worked at a shipyard and performed in bars for the soldiers. Then in 1943, he met Audrey Sheppard who later became his wife. She encouraged Williams to return to Montgomery and start a new band with her. In 1945, he started performing at the radio station again. He continued to write songs and his wife would perform duets with him. It was not until September of 1946 that he got a record deal with Sterling records.  His recording with them got Williams recognized by MGM records who he signed with in 1947.  This made his career skyrocket.  In 1949, Williams made his debut on The Grand Ole Opry where he became the first artist to receive six encores. That same year Audrey gave birth to Hank Williams JR, who would later became another country music icon.

His career continued to grow and in 1951, he was in a hunting accident which caused many back problems and his alcoholism to get worse. He also became addicted painkillers. This lead to him being fired from the Grand Ole Opry and the divorce of him and Audrey.  In 1952, he started having heart problems, which lead to his death in December.

Roy Acuff

Roy Acuff

        For this week’s Country Music Great I have chosen Roy Acuff. Acuff originally did not want to become an entertainer. He was going to try out for a Major League baseball team but never made it because he had sunstroke while on a fishing trip. During recovery, he decided that baseball was out of the question. That is when he decided to learn to play the fiddle and to sing. He started out being an assistant on a medicine man show. There he traveled around but never got his big break until he started to perform the old gospel song "The Great Speckled Bird." After many performances of this song, Acuff was asked to record the song with ARC, who distributes records nationally. During this recording session, he also recorded one of his most famous songs, the "Wabash Cannonball."

This made his career take off. The Grand Ole Opry asked him to perform in 1938 and he did such a wonderful job that they asked him to be on their list of full-time performers. He stayed on at the Opry for many years. In 1942, he started his own music publishing company with another songwriter, Fred Rose. During the 1950s, he focused on touring and did not come out with any big hits but in 1962, he was the first living person to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Afterwards he continued to tour but by the end of the 1960s, he decided to quit touring and just work at the Grand Ole Opry.  There he stayed until the 1980s, when he decided to quit because his health was getting the better of him. He did though buy a house near the Grand Ole Opry so that he could still see his friends and the fans. Then in 1992 he died from heart failure, leaving behind a huge legacy. 

Gene Autry

Gene Autry

       Country music has had many great musicians that should never be forgotten. One of the first ones is Gene Autry, the first singing cowboy movie star.  Gene Autry got his big break in music in October of 1929. For most artists this would have been a terrible time to break out into the industry because of the stock market crash that began The Great Depression. He made it through because he started out doing replicas of Jimmy Rodger’s songs. These records were successful because he sold them for about 20 cents apiece while Rodgers sold the same song for 75 cents apiece. There had even been a few times when Autry’s records would come out before Rodgers. 

       It was not until 1935 that he came into his first big role. From then on, he became one of the biggest names in westerns and hillbilly music, known today as country music. He remained the “King of Cowboys” until he decided to fight for is country and was shipped off. During this time Roy Rogars’ career took off. Once Autry came back to the US Rogars had took the title from him but this did not keep Autry from continuing his career as an entertainer. Autry also did a few weekly radio shows. His most famous one was Melody Ranch. The theme song to this show was one of Autry’s biggest hits was “Back in the Saddle Again”. 

    Gene Autry continued his career for many years until 1964 when he chose to retire. During his career, he made many achievements. One of the most amazing one is that he is the only entertainer who has five stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for radio, recording, motion pictures, television, and live performances. He lived a long and successful life until he died of lymphoma in 1998 at the age of 91.