Hank Williams, Sr. is one of country music's great grandfathers

September 13, 1999
Web posted at: 5:07 p.m. EDT (2107 GMT)

From Bruno del Granado
CNN WorldBeat Correspondent

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (CNN) -- In the first quarter of this century, Tennessee laid claim to many significant milestones in United States music. While Memphis was getting the blues, Nashville was giving birth to country with weekly concerts held at the mother church of country music, The Grand Ole Opry. And 75 years later, music still is the lifeblood of the city.

"When I think about country music, I think about America," says Johnny Gray, music director at WKHX Radio, a country station in Atlanta. "I mean, that's America's music. And you can go back if you want to, and you can trace the roots of country music, and it is truly America.

"Anytime there's been a crisis in America or a crisis in the world," Gray says, "country music becomes very, very popular, because the people of America know that country music is the truth. It's how they feel. It has this magic about getting into people's hearts and minds that no other music has."

MULTIMEDIA

Gene Autry: "Back in the Saddle Again" [75k MPEG-3] or [95k WAV] (From Gene Autry Entertainment) Johnny Cash: "Mr. Lumberjack" [120k MPEG-3] or [165k WAV] (From Sony Music) Patsy Cline: "Crazy" [135k MPEG-3] or [185k WAV] (From Universal) Hank Williams: "There's a Tear in my Beer" [100k MPEG-3] or [135k WAV] (From Universal) Randy Travis: "On the Other Hand" [105k MPEG-3] or [145k WAV] Willie Nelson: "Georgia on My Mind" [145k MPEG-3] or [200k WAV]

One of the pioneering artists of the era was Jimmie Rodgers. He was born in 1897 in Meridian, Mississippi, but had moved to Tennessee by the time his recording career began with the Carter Family in 1927. And that became a milestone marking the trail for generations of country legends to follow.

And "I remember, as a kid, Roy Rogers and Gene Autry," says Gray, "and I remember just a little bit about their music, because I'd go to the movies on Saturdays and, you know, watch their movies.

"At that particular time, of course, what the movies were about was western (stories) and that's how 'country and western' came together, because you had a lot of mix of country songs by, say, Hank Williams Sr., and then you had a lot of mix of the western songs that would come from Gene Autry, Roy Rogers.

"Those guys were true westerners, and they grew up on that western swing-type music and 'Tumblin' Tumbleweeds' and stuff like that," Gray says. "I think the standouts, as far back as I can really remember in country music, are, of course, Hank Williams Sr., and that goes back to the '50s. And he was such a prolific writer and not only a performer and artist, but a great writer. I mean, he was able to write these songs that just went right to the heart of what people were feeling and thinking at that time."

Williams' style was passed down through two generations of Williams boys, but his influence spread to the country-music family as a whole.

"I always thought Hank Williams was a great person to listen to," says singer-songwriter Willie Nelson, "because his messages were simple, to the point, usually just three chords but they hit you right in the bone."

Patsy Cline: The First Lady of country music

The female face of country music belonged first to Patsy Cline. She was among the earliest artists, charting in both pop and country with such massive hits as Nelson's "Crazy." In 1963, a plane crash robbed the world of the 30-year-old honky-tonk sweetheart with an angelic voice. But she'd opened the door for women, and they continued to walk through.

Tammy Wynette, often called the first lady of country music, is one of several women who heeded Patsy's call. Such songs as "Stand by Your Man" and "D- I- V- O- R-C- E" came to crystallize the country-music concept of romantic relationships in everyday life.

The biggest names of today's country music mourned her death last year at age 55.

"She was one of those really unique singers," says Gray, "who had a real unique voice and great, great songs and a great record company that took her from really being nobody and marketed her as she should have been marketed."

Johnny Cash was one of "The Outlaws"

Wynette's singing partner and former husband George Jones established his own reputation as a hell raiser. He may have had more run-ins with the law than hits on the charts, and he fell into the company of a talented gang of fellow artists who became known as "the outlaws."

Fellow outlaws included Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard and Kris Kristofferson, as country music looked for a return to its traditional roots.

"I think the outlaws came in at a great time," says Gray. "I mean, there's an element out there in country music that wants to be really rowdy.

"And they were all buddies, they were all friends. The next thing you know, they have a reputation for drinking and being kind of rowdy and all of a sudden, they get this thing titled 'outlaws,' and they loved it. And the record labels and the marketing people ran with it, said, 'Hey, this is great. They love you that way, so let's keep it that way.' But I don't think it was planned. I think it just happened."

Reba McEntire

Something completely different happened in the late 1970s and early 1980s as country went pop. Dolly Parton's 1980 film "9 to 5" led the crossover to the masses.

Parton inspired Reba McEntire, the daughter of a rodeo rider from Oklahoma, to enter the playing field. McEntire has become the best-selling female country artist of all time.

The key to her success? According to McEntire, "Country music is very popular all over the world because it's relatable music. It's lyrics you can understand and relate to, and great melodies."

McEntire's international appeal has moved 40 million records worldwide. With George Strait and Randy Travis, she's helped bring country music into pop.

Nelson

"Randy Travis really was the guy, I think, that took radio, country radio back to its basic traditional roots of country music," says Gray. "And a lot of people out there will thank Randy Travis forever."

But thanks can be short-lived: Some country legends today find themselves squeezed out of country-radio playlists as a flood of new artists rides a wave of popularity.

As Nelson puts it, "I knew I was in trouble when I heard somebody say, 'I wish they'd play some of them old guys again, like George Strait and Randy Travis.'

"I think," he says, "that it's important to know where you came from, and all these guys who are enjoying huge successes with country music stations should also remember, but maybe they never knew, you know. Maybe they got into it without knowing who Hank Williams was or who Bob Wills was. It's not really their fault."