Spotlight Artist: Aaron Tippin

Born in Pensacola, Florida, on July 3, 1958, Aaron Tippin grew up in the small town of Traveler’s Rest, South Carolina, in the shadow of the mountains. He began playing guitar aged 10, and sang in the church choir, but his boyhood ambition was to be a commercial pilot like his father, and he earned his licence aged just 15. But his love of country music grew, and he began playing rhythm guitar in local country and bluegrass bands. When the gas crisis if the 1970s meant his dreams of a flying career had to be put on hold, he turned the whole of his attention to music. He honed his skills playing the honky tonks and writing songs alongside a series of day jobs.

He moved to Nashville when he was a contestant on TNN’s You Can Be A Star in 1986, but this was no overnight success. The next few years were a struggle, but he managed to get a publishing deal, started getting cuts as a writer (including one by Charley Pride). When the neotraditional revival was encouraging all the major labels to seek out more traditional-sounding singers, a demo tape Aaron had submitted to RCA with the aim of getting his songs recorded by other artists caught the attention of the label executives, who were struck with the raw hillbilly stylings.

He burst onto the scene with his breakthrough hit, ‘You’ve Got To Stand For Something’ in 1990. The song’s message persuaded Bob Hope to invite his to entertain US troops serving in the First Gulf War, and he has toured US bases extensively ever since.

A string of hits followed in the 90s, with Aaron’s piercing voice setting him apart from his peers. His music typifies blue-collar country, with favorite themes including the hardworking blue-collar American, patriotism and self-reliance, as well as more conventional songs about love and loss. He has written almost all of his own material.

His career began to wind down in the later 90s, with a brief resurgence in the period after 9/11 when his patriotic material fit the mood of the times.

His latest venture is a joint tour with fellow 90s stars Joe Diffie and Sammy Kershaw, and the trio are releasing an album together at the end of this month.

We will be taking a look back over Tippin’s career throughout May.

Week ending 4/20/13: #1 singles this week in country music history

1953 (Sales): Kaw-Liga – Hank Williams (MGM)

1953 (Jukebox): Kaw-Liga – Hank Williams (MGM)

1953 (Disc Jockeys): Kaw-Liga – Hank Williams (MGM)

1963: Still – Bill Anderson (Decca)

1973: A Shoulder To Cry On — Charley Pride (RCA)

1983: Dixieland Delight — Alabama (RCA)

1993: The Heart Won’t Lie — Reba McEntire & Vince Gill (MCA)

2003: Have You Forgotten? — Darryl Worley (DreamWorks)

2013: Cruise – Florida Georgia Line (Republic Nashville)

2013 (Airplay): I Drive Your Truck — Lee Brice (Curb)

Classic Rewind: Alan Jackson, Brad Paisley, Ricky Skaggs, Vince Gill, Charley Pride, Bill Anderson and more – ‘I’ll Fly Away’

Classic Rewind: Charley Pride – ‘Kaw-Liga’

Charley Pride had a big hit in 1969 with this Hank Williams cover:

Country Heritage: Gail Davies

During the late winter & early spring of 1979, listeners of country radio were treated to the unusual strains of “Someone Is Looking For Someone Like You”. Amidst the clutter of the last vestiges of the Outlaw Movement, the dying gasps of the Nashville Sound and the nascent Urban Cowboy movement, this lilting and beautiful melody was unlike anything else being played. Released on the independent Lifesong label, the song suffered from spotty distribution (which turned into no distribution at all when Lifesong’s distribution deal fell apart) yet made it to #11 on Billboard’s Country Chart. For Gail Davies, this song turned out to be her career breakthrough, leading to a record deal with Warner Brothers.

Gail Davies (originally Patricia Gail Dickerson) was born into a musical family in Broken Bow, Oklahoma, on June 5, 1948. Her father, Tex Dickerson, was a country singer who occasionally appeared on the Louisiana Hayride. When Davies was five, her parents divorced and her mother took her and her two brothers to the Seattle area. At some point, her mother remarried and she and her brothers were adopted by their stepfather, Darby Davies, and took his surname. One of her brothers was Ron Davies, a renown songwriter and performer, who wrote songs that were recorded by such luminaries as David Bowie, Three Dog Night, Joe Cocker, Dave Edmunds, Jerry Jeff Walker and The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.

After graduating from high school in 1966, Davies moved to Los Angeles where she was briefly married to a jazz musician. After her divorce, she found work as a session singer at A&M studios. While at A&M she was befriended by songwriter Joni Mitchell and A&M recording engineer Henry Lewy who introduced her to the production end of the business, where she was able to sit in on a number of noteworthy recording sessions, including a John Lennon session that was being produced by Phil Spector.

Things moved rapidly for Davies, and by 1974 she was touring with the legendary Roger Miller and made her national television debut as his duet partner in 1974 singing on the Merv Griffin Show. During this period, she began writing songs and signed with EMI Publishing in 1975. Her first major success as a songwriter came when Ava Barber, a regular cast member of television’s Lawrence Welk Show, had a hit single with “Bucket to the South,” which reached #14 in 1978 on the Billboard Country Chart. This led to a contract with CBS/Lifesong Records in 1978 and the release of her first album simply entitled Gail Davies.

Week ending 3/2/13: #1 singles this week in country music history

1953 (Sales): Kaw-Liga – Hank Williams (MGM)

1953 (Jukebox): Kaw-Liga – Hank Williams (MGM)

1953 (Disc Jockeys): No Help Wanted — The Carlisles (Mercury)

1963: Don’t Let Me Cross Me Over — Carl Butler & Pearl (Columbia)

1973: Rated X — Loretta Lynn (Decca)

1983: Why Baby Why — Charley Pride (RCA)

1993: What Part of No — Lorrie Morgan (BNA)

2003: The Baby — Blake Shelton (Warner Bros.)

2013: Wanted – Hunter Hayes (Atlantic)

2013 (Airplay): Better Dig Two — The Band Perry (Republic Nashville)

Favorite Songs of the 1980s: Part 5

The 1980s got off to a poor start with the early 1980s producing some of the lamest country music ever recorded, as the Urban Cowboy movie wrecked havoc on the genre. Fortunately, there was still good country music being released. The first flowering of the late 1980s “New Traditionalist” movement arrived in 1981 with the first hits of Ricky Skaggs and George Strait, but they remained outliers until 1986 as far as good new artists were concerned. The latter part of the decade, however, produced some truly excellent country music with the 1986 arrival of Randy Travis and company.

Here are some more songs that I liked and remember. See if you recall any of these records.

“When You Leave That Way You Can Never Go Back” – Sam Neely
This 1983 song reached #77 for a talented performer who spent many years playing the clubs and honky-tonks of Corpus Christi. The song, the reflection of a condemned inmate’s life, looks back at all the bridges he burned beyond repair. The song also was recorded by Bill Anderson and Confederate Railroad.

“Dream Lover” – Rick Nelson
Epic reissued Rick’s 1979 cover of a Bobby Darin classic after Rick’s death in a New Years Eve 1985 air crash. It only reached #88 but it gives me a chance to mention one of the fine rock ‘n roll / country singers one last time.

“Save Me” – Louise Mandrell
Louise never quite emerged from her big sister’s shadow but this #6 single from 1983 shows that a lack of talent wasn’t the problem.

“Wabash Cannonball” – Willie Nelson with Hank (Leon Russell) Wilson
This song is at least as famous as any other song I’ve mentioned in any of my articles. Although the song is often attributed to A.P. Carter, it really is much older than that. Willie and Hank took this to #91 in 1984.

“American Trilogy”– Mickey Newberry
Mickey issued a new version of his classic 1971 pop hit in 1988. While it only reached #93, it was good to hear it again on the radio. Glory, Glory Hallelujah forever.

“The Sweetest Thing (I’ve Ever Known)“– Judy Kay ‘Juice’ Newton
This #1 hit from 1982 was Juice’s biggest hit. As great as this recording is, the song sounds even better when she performs it acoustically.

“Dance Little Jean” – The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Perhaps my favorite recording by NGDB, it only reached #9 in 1983 but I still hear the song performed today by various and sundry acts, not all of whom are country. The song was the group’s first top ten country hit there would be sixteen in all), although they had pop chart hits dating back to the 1960s.

“Let’s Go All The Way ” – Norma Jean and Claude Gray
A pair of veteran performers teamed up to release this 1982 hit which charted at #68. The song was Norma Jean’s first chart hit back in 1964. This was her last chart hit; in fact, she hadn’t charted since 1971 when this record was released on the Granny White label.

“Elvira” – The Oak Ridge Boys
Although not their biggest chart hit, this cover of a Dallas Frazier-penned song from the 1960s , was easily their biggest selling song, reaching #1 in 1981 while hitting #5 on Billboard’s pop charts. Has anyone really forgotten the chorus?

So I’m singin’, Elvira, Elvira
My heart’s on fire, Elvira
Giddy up, oom poppa, omm poppa, mow mow
Giddy up, oom poppa, omm poppa, mow mow, heigh-ho Silver, away!

I didn’t think so …

“Oh Darlin’” – The O’Kanes (Kieran Kane and Jamie O’Hara)
This coupling of a couple of singer-songwriters who had not had solo success, resulted in a half dozen top ten records that had a fairly acoustic sound and feel that sounded like nothing else currently being played on the radio. This song reached #10 in 1986. Their next single “Can’t Stop My Heart From Loving You” would reach #1.

Week ending 12/8/12: #1 singles this week in country music history

1952: Back Street Affair — Webb Pierce (Decca)

1962: Mama Sang a Song — Bill Anderson (Decca)

1972: She’s Too Good To Be True — Charley Pride (RCA)

1982: You and I — Eddie Rabbitt with Crystal Gayle (Elektra)

1992: I Cross My Heart — George Strait (MCA)

2002: These Days — Rascal Flatts (Lyric Street)

2012: We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together — Taylor Swift (Big Machine)

2012 (Airplay): The One That Got Away — Jake Owen (RCA)

Week ending 12/1/12: #1 singles this week in country music history

1952: Jambalaya (On The Bayou) — Hank Williams (MGM)

1962: Mama Sang a Song — Bill Anderson (Decca)

1972: She’s Too Good To Be True — Charley Pride (RCA)

1982: It Ain’t Easy Bein’ Easy — Janie Fricke (Columbia)

1992: I’m In A Hurry (And Don’t Know Why) — Alabama (RCA)

2002: These Days — Rascal Flatts (Lyric Street)

2012: We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together — Taylor Swift (Big Machine)

2012 (Airplay): Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye — Luke Bryan (Capitol)

Week ending 11/24/12: #1 singles this week in country music history

1952: Jambalaya (On The Bayou) — Hank Williams (MGM)

1962: Mama Sang a Song — Bill Anderson (Decca)

1972: She’s Too Good To Be True — Charley Pride (RCA)

1982: War Is Hell (On The Homefront Too) — T.G. Sheppard (Warner Bros./Curb)

1992: I’m In A Hurry (And Don’t Know Why) — Alabama (RCA)

2002: Somebody Like You — Keith Urban (Capitol)

2012: We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together — Taylor Swift (Big Machine)

2012 (Airplay): Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye — Luke Bryan (Capitol)

Week ending 11/17/12: #1 albums this week in country music history

1967: Eddy Arnold – Turn The World Around (RCA)

1972: Charley Pride – A Sunshiny Day (RCA Victor)

1977: Elvis Presley – Elvis In Concert (RCA)

1982: Willie Nelson – Always On My Mind (Columbia)

1987: Randy Travis – Always & Forever (Warner Brothers)

1992: Garth Brooks – The Chase (Capitol)

1997: LeAnn Rimes – You Light Up My Life: Inspirational Songs (Curb)

2002: Rascal Flatts – Melt (Lyric Street)

2007: The Eagles – Long Road Out Of Eden (Lost Highway)

2012: Taylor Swift – Red (Big Machine)

Week ending 11/10/12: #1 singles this week in country music history

1952: Jambalaya (On The Bayou) — Hank Williams (MGM)

1962: I’ve Been Everywhere — Hank Snow (RCA)

1972: It’s Not Love (But It’s Not Bad) — Merle Haggard (Capitol)

1982: You’re So Good When You’re Bad — Charley Pride (RCA)

1992: No One Else on Earth — Wynonna (MCA/Curb)

2002: Somebody Like You — Keith Urban (Capitol)

2012: We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together — Taylor Swift (Big Machine)

2012 (Airplay): Hard To Love — Lee Brice (Curb)

Week ending 11/10/12: #1 albums this week in country music history

1967: Eddy Arnold – Turn The World Around (RCA)

1972: Charley Pride – A Sunshiny Day (RCA Victor)

1977: Elvis Presley – Moody Blue (RCA)

1982: Willie Nelson – Always On My Mind (Columbia)

1987: George Strait – Greatest Hits Volume 2 (MCA Nashville)

1992: Garth Brooks – The Chase (Capitol)

1997: LeAnn Rimes – You Light Up My Life: Inspirational Songs (Curb)

2002: Faith Hill – Cry (Warner Brothers)

2007: Carrie Underwood – Carnival Ride (Arista/19)

2012: Taylor Swift – Red (Big Machine)

Week ending 11/3/12: #1 albums this week in country music history

1967: Buck Owens and His Buckaroos – Your Tender Loving Care (Capitol)

1972: Charley Pride – A Sunshiny Day (RCA Victor)

1977: Elvis Presley – Moody Blue (RCA)

1982: Willie Nelson – Always On My Mind (Columbia)

1987: Randy Travis – Always & Forever (Warner Brothers)

1992: Garth Brooks – The Chase (Capitol)

1997: LeAnn Rimes – You Light Up My Life: Inspirational Songs (Curb)

2002: Faith Hill – Cry (Warner Brothers)

2007: Rascal Flatts – Still Feels Good (Lyric Street)

2012: Little Big Town – Tornado (Capitol)

Country Heritage: David Houston

A person surveying the country music scene at the beginning of 1973 could be forgiven for thinking that David Houston was en route to a career that would culminate in eventual induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame. His most recent single, “Good Things,” would reach #1 on Cashbox and complete a decade in which 13 of his singles topped one or more of the Billboard, Cashbox and/or Record World country charts. His 1966 hit, “Almost Persuaded,” was the biggest country hit of the decade (1966-75) and another 17 singles cracked the top 20 during that span. Eight of his songs cracked Billboard’s pop charts.

Instead, Houston’s career would come to a screeching halt with only two more top 20 singles to follow.

Charles David Houston (December 9, 1935 – November 30, 1993) was born and died in Bossier City, Louisiana. Between those dates, he compiled a career worthy of his antecedents who include former Revolutionary War hero (and Virginia governor) “Lighthorse” Harry Lee, General Robert E. Lee and Texas hero Sam Houston. His godfather, 1920s pop singer Gene Austin (“My Blue Heaven”), co-owned an auto dealership with Houston’s father and took an active role in encouraging David’s musical career. Like Gene Austin, Houston was very much at home with pop music. Eventually, he came to the attention of Slim Whitman, who recorded his first session in 1955 and got him placed on Imperial Records. A spot on the Louisiana Hayride soon followed.

The contract with Imperial didn’t lead anywhere, nor did subsequent recording contracts with RCA and Atlanta-based National Recording Corporation. Finally, in 1963, Tillman Franks, former manager of Johnny Horton and Claude King, pitched a song to Houston and got him on the Epic label. The song, “Mountain of Love” (not the same song that Johnny Rivers and Charley Pride recorded), rose to #2 on Billboard. After a couple of minor hits, Billy Sherrill took over Epic’s Nashville operations and provided Houston with a song he penned (with Glen Sutton) titled “Livin’ in a House Full of Love,” which hit #3 in late 1965.

In 1966, Sherrill had Houston record a waltz that he and Glen Sutton had written as a possible B-side. The song, a tale of a married man struggling (and succeeding) in fighting off temptation, became an A-side and a sensation. “Almost Persuaded” jumped to #1 that August and spent nine weeks at the top of Billboard’s country chart and reached #24 on the pop chart (no record since 1966 has topped the country charts for as long a period). Aided by the piano signatures of Hargus ‘Pig’ Robbins, “Almost Persuaded” garnered two Grammys for Houston (Best Country & Western Recording and Best Country & Western Performance, Male) in 1967. The CMA Awards did not start until the next year so his biggest record went unrecognized by the CMA.

“Almost Persuaded” launched a string of hits that lasted through 1973 and created the template that Sherrill used on his future recordings with Tammy Wynette, George Jones and numerous other artists. Sometimes referred to as “country cocktails,” the Sherrill arrangements would come to dominate country music until the outlaw movement came to the fore in the mid ’70s. Such David Houston solo hits as “With One Exception” and “You Mean the World to Me” (1967); “Have a Little Faith” and “Already It’s Heaven” (1968); “Baby, Baby (I Know You’re a Lady)” (1970); and the 1967 duet of “My Elusive Dreams” with the then-largely unknown Tammy Wynette served to demonstrate how well the arrangements could work in the hands of an expressive singer. Along the way, Houston also provided Barbara Mandrell with her first major hit in “After Closing Time” (#6 in 1970).

Classic Rewind: Charley Pride – ‘Crystal Chandeliers’

Week ending 10/27/12: #1 albums this week in country music history

1967: Bobbie Gentry – Ode To Biliie Joe (Capitol)

1972: Charley Pride – A Sunshiny Day (RCA Victor)

1977: Elvis Presley – Moody Blue (RCA)

1982: Willie Nelson – Always On My Mind (Columbia)

1987: Randy Travis – Always & Forever (Warner Brothers)

1992: Garth Brooks – The Chase (Capitol)

1997: LeAnn Rimes – You Light Up My Life: Inspirational Songs (Curb)

2002: Elvis Presley- 30 #1 Hits (RCA)

2007: Rascal Flatts- Still Feels Good (Lyric Street)

2012: Little Big Town – Tornado (Capitol)

Week ending 10/20/12: #1 albums this week in country music history

1967: Bobbie Gentry – Ode To Biliie Joe (Capitol)

1972: Charley Pride – A Sunshiny Day (RCA Victor)

1977: Elvis Presley – Moody Blue (RCA)

1982: Willie Nelson – Always On My Mind (Columbia)

1987: Randy Travis – Always & Forever (Warner Brothers)

1992: Garth Brooks – The Chase (Capitol)

1997: LeAnn Rimes – You Light Up My Life: Inspirational Songs (Curb)

2002: Elvis Presley- 30 #1 Hits (RCA)

2007: Rascal Flatts- Still Feels Good (Lyric Street)

2012: Little Big Town – Tornado (Capitol)

Week ending 10/13/12: #1 albums this week in country music history

1967: Bobbie Gentry – Ode To Biliie Joe (Capitol)

1972: Charley Pride – A Sunshiny Day (RCA Victor)

1977: Elvis Presley – Moody Blue (RCA)

1982: Willie Nelson – Always On My Mind (Columbia)

1987: Randy Travis – Always & Forever (Warner Brothers)

1992: Garth Brooks – The Chase (Capitol)

1997: LeAnn Rimes – You Light Up My Life: Inspirational Songs (Curb)

2002: Elvis Presley- 30 #1 Hits (RCA)

2007: Rascal Flatts- Still Feels Good (Lyric Street)

2012: Little Big Town – Tornado (Capitol)

Country Heritage: Dave Dudley

In the summer of 1987, my wife Kay and I were vacationing in Germany and Austria. As is always the case, I would check out the local record stores in the various towns that we visited, and in doing so I was surprised to see the large number of Dave Dudley cassettes and CDs that were available for sale – ten or twelve albums, all with songs performed in English and mostly songs about truck drivers.

I have always loved the music of Dave Dudley, a mid-level American country music star of the 1960s and early 1970s, best known for his huge 1961 hit “Six Days On The Road.” Dudley had a unique, deep rumbling voice, once described as the sound of “too much coffee and too many cigarettes at truck stops at three in the morning.” In other words, perfect for the songs he sang.

I found it interesting that so much of his material was available in Germany and, to a lesser extent, Austria, particularly since all of his classic Mercury recordings were long off the American market, leaving only a few albums of inferior re-makes available for purchase. My inquiries revealed that a German country music band, Truck Stop, had scored a major hit in 1978 with a song titled “Ich möcht’ so gern Dave Dudley hör’n” that had sparked interest in Dave Dudley, an artist of whom no one in Germany had any knowledge. In fact, it launched a career revival for Dudley who performed occasionally in Germany and other parts of Europe for the next decade or so.

Born David Darwin Pedruska on May 3, 1928, in Spencer, WI, Dave Dudley was raised in Stevens Point, WI, and like many country artists of earlier generations (Charley Pride, Jim Reeves, Roy Acuff), aspired to a career in major league baseball. He played semi-pro baseball until an arm injury forced an end to his baseball career in 1950. After picking up his guitar, Dudley performed and became a country music disc jockey working at stations in Idaho and the upper midwest. Dudley also formed the Dave Dudley Trio in 1953, and worked dates in the vicinity of his current employment. The band eventually broke up after achieving little success.
In 1960, Dudley, by now working in Minneapolis, formed another group, the Country Gentlemen. The group built up a solid local following. In December, 1960 a bad break ultimately turned into good luck when Dudley was struck by a car while loading equipment following a performance in Minneapolis. In 1963, he used the insurance proceeds to start his own record label, Golden Wing. Prior to that, beginning in 1955, he had recorded singles for King, Starday, NRC, Vee and Jubilee, and scored some regional successes.

Lightning finally struck for Dudley in 1963, when his friend Jimmy C. Newman gave him a song written by Earl Greene and Earl ‘Peanut’ Montgomery (Melba Montgomery’s brother). The song was titled “Six Days On The Road.” While initially skeptical about the song, Dudley issued it on Golden Wing and watched it soar to #2 for two weeks on Billboard’s Country Charts (it also charted on the pop charts). The success of “Six Days on the Road” helped him land a recording contract with Mercury Records, where he released his first single for the label, “Last Day in the Mines,” before the end of 1963.