Musical Snobbery at it’s finest

Happy 42nd birthday to Martina McBride…..

Country music holds an odd appeal to me. Growing up in a home where my dad’s country music was Hank Williams Sr. flavored, I smile to hear much of what is played on top 40 (country) sounds suspiciously like 70’s pop/rock with a fiddle or steel guitar thrown in. Is it country? There are purists who would say no. However, there were also artists like Ray Price and Bob Willis in the 40’s and 50’s, and Waylon, Willie and the whole Austin scene in later years who were putting out a form of country that pushed the idea of what, “country” was all about. Just like in any genre, there are purists who say that the way the music was in an earlier day was the “real” music. Anything that does not conform to that standard wasn’t actually the real thing.

Why does this involve Ms. McBride? Well, directly it doesn’t, but country, like ALL music (except maybe classical) are formed and shaped by the artists who make it. Many (or most) of what is heard on country music radio today ARE influenced by 70’s pop/rock. Just like I was, their homes were filled with George Jones, Loretta Lynn, and Kiss and Fleetwood Mac. I tell my partner that the vibe I get when listening to Martina (even when singing “pure” country songs) is Linda Ronstadt. Ms. McBride herself cites Pat Benatar as an influence. That is NOT a bad thing.

My personal taste among country singers (and songs) is wildly inconsistent. Almost all of them have several songs that I like, but as a whole stay away from. From early on, her choice of material, coupled with a very powerful voice (and again in a Linda Ronstadt, rather then a Celine Dion) attracted my ear. And yeah it IS very pop influenced, but like many of my generation, musically we are shaped and formed by our influences. Given all of that, I have to admit that she is one of my favorite country singers.

The above clip was a single off of her Wild Angels CD. It had been written by Mary Ann Kennedy, Pam Rose, and Pat Bunch. There are several versions of the song out. Baillie and the Boys in 1989, and Kennedy Rose in 1994. Martina’s version reach #4 in 1995, with Michelle Wright scored #4 in Canada with her version the same year.