Classic Country

I touched on the genre of classic country in my Valentine's Day post with a few choice cuts by Johnny Paycheck.

I was listening to RadioIO Classic Country today, and while I could list quite a few, today I will focus on Merle Haggard and Marty Robbins.

Marty Robbins was probably the most versatile country performer of his generation.  In his career, he experiemented with not only country, but rockabilly, pop, and even traditional Hawaiian music.  Of course, his biggest hit, "El Paso", was from his 1959 concept album "Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs".  The cover showed Robbins in a costume and pose reminiscent of Richard Boone as "Paladin" in "Have Gun Will Travel":

Here is Marty's 1961 hit, "Don't Worry".


Merle Haggard grew up in Bakersfield California with parents who moved there from Oklahoma, perhaps something of an inspiration for his best known song, "Okie From Muskogee".  Something else that helped Merle's feeling for honest to God country was the time he spent in Folsom Prison for robbery.  Later, after becoming a start in his own right, Merle Haggard met Johnny Cash.  Merle told Johnny, "I really enjoyed your show in Folsom Prison.  It helped me become a country singer".  Johnny replied, "I don't remember you being in that show Merle".  Merle replied, "I wasn't in the show, I was in the audience!". 

Here is Merle singing, "I Take A Lot Of Pride In What I Am"


This is a real treat. This is a clip of Marty Robbins and Merle Haggard together, live in front of an audience. Merle dons Marty's jacket and does a dead on impression of Robbins.