My musical proclivities are well-known, having been explored in these Friday afternoon pieces for a few weeks now. But few genres of music take me back to my roots more than country music. When I was a teenager, careening around northeast Iowa in a ’66 Ford, my car radio was often tuned to an Oelwein country music station, which gave us a diet of Hank Williams, George Jones, Waylon Jennings, and much more.
For a time my brother worked as superintendent of a huge country-western nightclub in Waterloo called “Big Country,” and the 14-year-old me made a habit of hanging around there with my brother. I could slip backstage and gas with the performers in between bringing them drinks and snacks from the bar; I got to chat with such entertainers as the Grand Ole Opry’s Grandpa Jones, who was a wonderful, polite, grandfatherly figure to Tammy Wynette, who was… less pleasant, although I’m willing to allow that I may have caught her on a bad night.
I lost that job when the local constabulary twigged to the fact that I was 14 and was bringing beers, cocktails, and shots to the performers, but I got to meet a fair number of country artists, and that was pretty groovy. It was in those years that I developed an appreciation for country music, and most especially, the ladies of country music.
So, without further ado and in no particular order, here are five of my favorite beautiful ladies of country music–and my favorites of their tunes.
Miranda Lambert: “New Strings. — This was one of Miss Lambert’s early hits, and it’s a great one. It’s a bright, upbeat song of a Texas girl heading out into the world, spreading her wings with nothing but an old car and an old guitar. But the song rings a note of triumph, with the video showing Miranda in a field singing and playing that old guitar, interspersed with shots of her early successes in the studio and in concert.
Sara Evans: “Perfect”— Sara Evans, like all of the ladies in this piece, fulfills Robert Heinlein’s Principle of Least Action by combining beauty with talent. But in this song, Sara showcases her deep, rich voice with a tune that talks eloquently about how a marriage doesn’t have to be fancy or froo-froo to be great; as she puts it, “real love, real life, doesn’t have to be perfect.” But this song damn near is.
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Faith Hill: “Breathe” –The first time I saw the official video for this song was in Eagle, Colorado, where I was hanging out with a hunting buddy in his house, having just returned from a jaunt up into the Holy Cross Wilderness. We were drinking some beers and watching a country music television station when this came on, and…
Wow.
The only thing I managed to say was “That Tim McGraw is one lucky SOB.” Reba McEntire: “The Night The Lights Went Out in Georgia” –. This song was originally recorded by Vicki Lawrence, who was best known for her stint on “The Carol Burnette Show,” but who was a damn fine singer in her own right. But no ladies of country playlist is complete without some Reba, and this song, a ballad of jealousy, rage, murder, and betrayal, was never done better. Loretta Lynn: “Coal Miner’s Daughter” –OK, I said “in no particular order,” but that’s not completely true. I saved the best for last. Loretta Lynn always was and always will be the First Lady of Country Music, with her origins in a poor, coal-mining community in Appalachia and her rocketing career to the peaks of country music. She always will be known as the best, and she’s best known for the song that so beautifully described her story. Country music draws a lot of influences from everywhere: Traditional Scottish rhythms, gospel music, and much more. Like all music genres, it’s changed a lot over the years. But there are some things that people will always like to see: Beautiful music, sung by beautiful performers.