Country Universe – A Country Music Blog

100 Greatest Men: #55. Roy Clark

Sunday, June 3rd, 2012

100 Greatest Men: The Complete List

Thanks to a long-running syndicated television show, well-rounded entertainer Roy Clark was one of the most familiar country music personalities for more than two decades.

He grew up along the eastern coast of America, born in Virginia and living in both Staten Island, New York and Washington D.C.  Even in his youth, he refused to limit himself, pursuing boxing and baseball as passionately as the banjo.   Still, by age 17 he had performed on the Grand Ole Opry.   His stellar musicianship scored him a spot backing Jimmy Dean, and he made several appearances on Dean’s D.C. television show.

After further stints backing Hank Penny and Wanda Jackson, his solo career took of in the sixties.  Though he was never a consistent hitmaker, he did record two signature songs during this decade: “The Tips of My Fingers” for Capitol in 1963, and “Yesterday, When I Was Young” in 1969.  He was better known for his appearances on variety shows and sitcoms like the Beverly Hillbillies.

His true legendary status came when he signed on as co-host of Hee Haw, the country knock-off of the very popular Laugh In.   The show was a ratings smash when it debuted in 1969, and after switching to syndication in 1971, it would remain a television staple until 1992.   Clark’s combination of musicianship and humor made him an icon for the genre during an era where it still received  limited exposure on television.

The show’s early run raised his profile on the radio as well, and he scored seven top ten hits between 1970 and 1976, including his only #1 single, “Come Live With Me.”   After winning the CMA award for Comedian in 1970, he was named the Entertainer of the Year in 1973.   With the advent of cable television, Clark received further exposure on televised episodes of the Grand Ole Opry, which finally made him a member in 1987.   He also helped establish Branson, Missouri as a mecca for country legends, opening his own theater there in 1983.

Clark was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2009.

Essential Singles:

• Tips of My Fingers, 1963
• Yesterday, When I was Young, 1969
• I Never Picked Cotton, 1970
• Thank God and Greyhound, 1970
• Come Live With Me, 1973
• If I Had to Do it All Over Again, 1976

Essential Albums:

• The Lightning Fingers of Roy Clark, 1962
  
• Yesterday, When I was Young, 1969
• Roy Clark Live!, 1972
• Roy Clark’s Family Album, 1973
• The Entertainer, 1974
• Roy Clark in Concert, 1976

Next: #54. Hank Thompson

Previous: #56. Bobby Bare

Producing the CMAs

Wednesday, August 19th, 2009

This is a guest contribution by regular commenter, Michael Hawkins, who posts as Highwayman3.

The movies have the Oscars, the world of music has the Grammys, and that world subdivided into the country genre has the CM’s—the annual extravaganza that we fans look forward to every year. We see our favorites perform, win awards and lose with smiling gracious faces, or not [insert the inevitable Faith Hill reference here]. Everyone picks their favorites in each category as to who they’d like to win. But what about the show itself, the backdrop for which these prestigious awards are presented?

Recently, there have been posts at both The 9513 and on this site where people have been weighing in on their favorite moments from these awards. It occurred to me that none of those moments have happened in the last few years. The awards have slid into mediocrity, which is a fitting representation of the current state of country music. I understand producing these awards must be tough because you have to be everything to everyone, and acknowledge the traditional country, the Disney country, the old and new alike, and bring in people who don’t belong for the sake of ratings.

What’s wrong with the show?

The awards themselves seem like an after thought, filler in between all the endless performances. The main suspense isn’t who wins, but rather, how many performances the producers can fit in 3 hours. Also, it’s become an award show that is ashamed of its roots, barely mentioning who is inducted into the Hall of Fame. Any artist with the slightest sign of a wrinkle, regardless of their legend status is shunned and hidden in the audience next to seat fillers and radio contest winners. It’s an award show with self esteem issues, not cool enough to stand on its own. You can bet the main attraction used to promote this year’s show will be a non-country performer like Kid Rock, The Eagles of last year, and Jamie Foxx of two years ago.

What can be done?

Well, the first order of business would be for the Sommet Center to take out a one day restraining order from Miley Cyrus on November 11, 2009, or better yet, the whole Cyrus family, Billy Ray, Noah, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. Yes, she’ll bring in ratings, but we’ve gotten along fine without her for 40 plus years.

The CMA’s need to take a cue from  the Grammy awards, or even the American Idol finale. There are so many surprises, legends, moving moments, coming at you, left right and center, you don’t know what’s coming next, all you know is you’re in for the ride, you’re loving every second and you’re talking about it the next day. Last year, the biggest surprise was Shania Twain presenting Entertainer of the Year, which she has done at least 3 times before, and to those who keep up on country news, it was hardly a surprise at all.

What can possibly be done to make the night more entertaining?

How about taking a cue from this yearis Academy Awards and only announce a handful of performers, leaving the rest a mystery? Don’t tell us who and what everyone’s performing, which leaves more room for surprises. Also, like the Oscars, don’t announce who is presenting, and before each award have a mini-montage of past winners. Then at the end, the curtain opens and a surprise past winner comes out and shares insights on their winning experience. Instead of the otherwise cheesy dialogue or weird presenter pairings, it would make more sense if they just brought out Trisha Yearwood for Female Vocalist, Vince for Male, The Judds for Duo, Alabama forGroup, and hand it off to the winner like an Olympic torch or rite of passage. This way of thinking would work out great for the Entertainer of the Year category, in bringing out past winners, Roy Clark, and Barbara Mandrell, who also happen to be this year’s Hall of Fame inductees.

Speaking of the Hall of Fame, I would prefer it if it went back to how it used to be with a taped bio and artists performing a medley of hits. But even that is too much to ask. If they are going to cut it out entirely, the least they could do is show 3 separate 30-60 second bios of each of the inductees at different times as they are going to commercial and have them wave from the audience. Or, from the paragraph above, show a taped piece just before Barbara and Roy present Entertainer.

The most boring parts of the show are seeing full performances from all the mundane hits of the past year. Was it necessary for Darius Rucker to perform “Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It” last year when he wasn’t nominated? Yes, it’s necessary for the biggest hits to be performed, but does every top 5 hit of the past year have to be sung? Instead, encourage them to sing unique songs, like Alan Jackson in 2005 performing, “Wonderful Tonight”, songs you’ll actually remember more than 5 minutes after they are performed. Another idea, which the Grammys have down pat, is pairing people up. Think of the Al Green, Keith Urban, Justin Timberlake and Boys 2 Men grouping of earlier this year. For the CMA’s, this would be a perfect year to acknowledge the 20th anniversary of the hat act boom of 89. Why not bring out Alan Jackson, Clint Black, Garth Brooks, and Travis Tritt for a small medley?

Instead of each of the new artist nominees performing their full songs – do we really want to see Julianne Hough performing a full version of her song this year? -  it would be great if they stole from the ACM’s all-star opener this year, and did the same thing with the 5 nominees. Lady Antebellum can be the ring leader like Brooks & Dunn were at the ACMs, and they all can perform a small portion of their hits. To wrap it up, Lady Antebellum can present the award. This will allow more time for the Collaboration and Video of the year awards to be back on the telecast.

If you ran the CMAs, thinking creatively but realistically, which special moments would you create that could go down in history and make country’s biggest night more fun to watch? How would you make George Strait’s performance less predictable? And how would you measure that Miley restraining order? In inches, feet, yards, or miles?

Hall of Fame, By the Numbers

Monday, March 16th, 2009

My good friend and favorite sports blogger Charles Geier, of The Widening Geier fame, has long used statistics-based reasoning when making the case for the best in sports, whether for the current season or throughout the history of a given sport.

He recently launched an in-depth site called Sports Statistics – By the Numbers, which details the crucial importance of statistics, and of course, it got me thinking about country music.

Music statistics are difficult to use in the same way, if only because chart success is but one measure of an artist’s impact. However, with country music being such a commercial genre, it’s interesting to see how the most successful chart acts have fared among Country Music Hall of Fame inductees.

Looking through Joel Whitburn’s Hot Country Songs 1944-2008 and Hot Country Albums 1964-2007, it’s immediately clear that the charts are important. All of the top ten country singles artists are in the Hall of Fame, as are eight of the top ten country albums artists.

But what about those not in the Hall of Fame who are ranked high in either measure? Should they be next in line, or should they still wait? What follows are the top ten singles artists and album artists that have yet to be inducted or announced as inductees of the Hall of Fame. Their rank overall is included after their name.

Top Country Singles Artists Not in the Hall of Fame

1. Reba McEntire (Overall Rank: #11)
2. Hank Williams, Jr. (#15)
3. Alan Jackson (#18)
4. Garth Brooks (#23)
5. Ronnie Milsap (#26)
6. Kenny Rogers (#27)
7. Tim McGraw (#29)
8. Brooks & Dunn (#33)
9. Tanya Tucker (#34)
10. Don Williams (#37)

Top Country Albums Artists Not in the Hall of Fame

1. Hank Williams, Jr. (Overall Rank: #5)
2. Kenny Rogers (#10)
3. Garth Brooks (#12)
4. Reba McEntire (#13)
5. Alan Jackson (#18)
6. Randy Travis (#19)
7. Tim McGraw (#22)
8. Anne Murray (#23)
9. Toby Keith (#24)
10. Ronnie Milsap (#27)

This year’s artist inductees to the Hall of Fame are Barbara Mandrell and Roy Clark. Mandrell ranks #55 on the singles list and #64 on the albums list. Clark comes in at #118 on the singles list and #63 on the albums list. Both artists, however, were very successful on television, so they also reveal how limiting such lists can be.

Thoughts?

Country Music Hall of Fame Names Three New Members

Wednesday, February 4th, 2009

Roy Clark, Barbara Mandrell and legendary session musician Charlie McCoy are the newest inductees into the Country Music Hall of Fame, as announced this morning in a press conference at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville.  

Roy Clark, one of country music’s greatest ambassadors, served as the co-host of the popular syndicated show, Hee Haw and regularly appeared on Johnny Carson’s The Tonight Show and numerous other television programs.  The 1973 CMA Entertainer of the Year and a 1987 Grand Ole Opry inductee, Clark’s hits include “I Never Picked Cotton,” “Tips of My Fingers” and “Yesterday When I Was Young.” In 1983, he opened the first theatre in Branson, Mo., firmly establishing the Midwest town as an entertainment mecca.

Barbara Mandrell also starred on the small screen with her early-80s variety show Barbara Mandrell and the Mandrell Sisters, a showcase for her glitzy, glamorous performing style.  A two-time CMA female vocalist of the year, Mandrell was only the third female artist to win the CMA’s Entertainer of the Year award (1980). Her hits include “Sleeping Single in a Double Bed,” “I Was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool” and “(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don’t Want To Be Right.”

A member of Nashville’s “A Team” of studio musicians, Grammy-winning Charlie McCoy is Music City’s most-recorded harmonica player, with credits including Tom T. Hall’s “Old Dogs, Children and Watermelon Wine,” Simon and Garfunkel’s “The Boxer,” George Jones’ “He Stopped Loving Her Today” and Mandrell’s “I Was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool.” He served as a musical producer on Hee Haw and a studio musician for Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash.

Grammy Flashback: Best Male Country Vocal Performance

Monday, January 19th, 2009

Updated for 2009

While the Grammys have honored country music from the very first ceremony in 1959, they did not begin honoring by gender until 1965, when the country categories were expanded along with the other genre categories. This year, the 45th trophy for Best Male Country Vocal Performance will be awarded.

In a continuation of our Grammy Flashback series, here is a rundown of the Best Country Vocal Performance, Male category. It was first awarded in 1965, and included singles competing with albums until the Best Country Album category was added in 1995. When an album is nominated, it is in italics, and a single track is in quotation marks.

As usual, we start with a look at this year’s nominees and work our way back. Be sure to vote in My Kind of Country’s Best Male Country Vocal Performance poll and let your preference for this year’s race be known!

2009

• Trace Adkins, “You’re Gonna Miss This”
• Jamey Johnson, “In Color”
• James Otto, “Just Got Started Lovin’ You”
• Brad Paisley, “Letter to Me”
• George Strait, “Troubadour”

As with the album race, this year’s contenders for Best Male Country Vocal Performance are a combination of unrecognized veterans and promising newcomers. In fact, none of this year’s nominees have won in this category, and only one of them – Brad Paisley – has a Grammy at all.

First, the veterans. Paisley has numerous ACM and CMA victories to his credit, including two each for Male Vocalist.  Although he’s been nominated for this award twice before, this is the first time he’s contended with a cut that can’t be dismissed as a novelty number. The touching self-penned “Letter to Me” is his best shot yet at taking this home.

Trace Adkins has been at this a bit longer than Paisley, but this is his first Grammy nomination. His crossover exposure from Celebrity Apprentice might help him out here, along with the fact that the song was considered strong enough by voters to earn a nomination of its own.

But the real veteran to watch out for is George Strait. After being nominated only twice for this category in the first 25 years of his career, voters have now given him three consecutive nominations. This is one of four nods he’s earned for the 2009 ceremony, and “Troubadour” is essentially the story of his epic career distilled into a radio-length song. It would be the perfect way to honor the man and his music in one fell swoop.

However, there’s a newcomer that might be a Grammy favorite already.  We just haven’t found out yet. Not James Otto, of course, who is nominated for his charming romantic romp “Just Got Started Lovin’ You”, but rather, Jamey Johnson. The recent Nashville Scene critics’ poll further confirmed the depth of his support among tastemakers, and his nominations for Best Country Song and Best Country Album indicate that he’s very much on the academy’s radar. It helps that he has the most substantial track of the five, and it’s the obvious choice for traditionalists, who have little reason to split their votes in this category. If voters aren’t considering legacy when making their selections, he has a great shot at this.

2008

• Dierks Bentley, “Long Trip Alone”
• Alan Jackson, “A Woman’s Love”
• Tim McGraw, “If You’re Reading This”
• George Strait, “Give it Away”
• Keith Urban, “Stupid Boy”

The often offbeat Grammy voters have been surprisingly mainstream in this category for the past three years, a trend best exemplified by this lineup, which was the first in more than a decade to feature only top ten radio hits. Tim McGraw and Keith Urban were the only two who had won this before, and it was Urban who emerged victorious. ”Stupid Boy” was a highlight of his fourth studio album, and this was the only major award that the impressive collection would win.

2007

• Dierks Bentley, “Every Mile a Memory”
• Vince Gill, “The Reason Why”
• George Strait, “The Seashores of Old Mexico”
• Josh Turner, “Would You Go With Me”
• Keith Urban, “Once in a Lifetime”

Vince Gill returned to win in this category for a ninth time with “The Reason Why.” Not only is he, by far, the most honored artist in this category, his wins here account for nine of the nineteen Grammys currently on his mantle.

2006

• George Jones, “Funny How Time Slips Away”
• Toby Keith, “As Good As I Once Was”
• Delbert McClinton, “Midnight Communion”
• Willie Nelson, “Good Ol’ Boys”
• Brad Paisley, “Alcohol”
• Keith Urban, “You’ll Think of Me”

Urban’s biggest and probably best hit launched his second album to triple platinum and established him as a crossover artist. He gave a killer performance of the song on the show. Toby Keith was a first-time nominee here, and while he publicly groused that the Grammys put too little emphasis on commercial success in picking their nominations, he lost to the only track that was a bigger hit than his own.

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