Centre of the Known Universe
2003-08-09 05:01:30 UTC
Hi everybody,
I'm new to amcc - this is my first post, in fact - but I've been lurking for
a few weeks and reading posts. I have to say I'm in awe of your collective
knowledge of the history of country music, and how great the exchange of
information and opinions is here. Whether any of you can help me with my
request, I just wanted to say how much I've enjoyed reading your posts. But
enough buttering up - I better ask my question. <g>
A couple of years ago I compiled a collection cd's for rock and roll - one
for each year between 1965 and 1999. It took me almost a year to complete
but I found, once I got into it, that I really enjoyed the process I had to
go through in researching it and now I've got 35 fantastic cd's that I was
able to tailor to my own taste and enjoy on a daily basis. I'd always been a
bit of a chart freak and had several books (and my own memory - I'm 38 btw)
for reference as well. If anybody would like a list of the songs I finally
put on the cd's, I'll be more than glad to share it with them. I did try to
stick with a top 40 format, rather than go for classic album tracks, and I
tried to avoid stacking any one year or years with the current fads - ie:
disco, punk, new wave - though I did try to include hits that were really
representative of their particular era - basically I wanted the whole
collection to sound as balanced as possible and true to what was on AM radio
at any particular place in time. I think I accomplished that and the cd's
have been on my stereo, in turn, ever since.
What I'm trying to do now is compile something similar for country music -
and I'm looking to do it for the years 1960 to 1980. Unfortunately, I'm
afraid I don't have the luxery of my own memory (I've only really begun to
listen to country music in the past couple of years), or reference books in
this endevour - and I really have just begun in the past couple of weeks
with this. What I'm working with is just the All Music Guide web site (I
haven't been able to find any other sites that offer as much historical
information about country music, but even there it is limited) and the Top
100 Country Songs Of All Time that CMT put out a few weeks ago. Actually, it
was reading about that list in another group that sort of started me on this
project. And I guess when I said I wasn't going from memory, that's not
quite right. My oldest sister Lloydia - who died in 1995 - used to be a
semi-professional country singer in Montreal in the 60's and 70's - and I
remember the songs she and my sisters used to sing at family get togethers.
So that has helped me search for a lot of great songs by female country
artists. One that I've just discovered this week has been Jean Shepard and
I'm crazy about the few songs I've been able to find by her. It's the exact
sound I remember as a child, hearing at family reunions and it evokes a lot
of very happy memories.
Anyway, I'm hoping - in my round about way - to get some help from you all
with suggestions for songs/artists that I really should be looking into for
the years 1960 to 1980. I know that's a hugely broad question, but having
had my fill of Google, it seems impossible to find actual charts for country
music for those years - even year-end charts - which is something I never
had trouble finding for Rock and Roll. I'm already really enjoying the
research I've started - there's nothing quite like the joy of hearing a
great song that you've never heard before - or one that pings a long lost
memory and you go "Oh yeah! GREAT SONG!" I know music is a totally
subjective thing - which is why I'd like to hear as many opinions and
recollections as I can - sometimes learning the story behind a song can
really enrich the listening experience.
So, that's my huge big request. I hope I don't seem like some know-nothing
blowing in to get other people to do my work for me - lol, but I guess in a
sense that's exactly what I'm doing - but I would like to stick around as
well, just to lurk and maybe offer an insane opinion myself now and then.
<g>
Thanks!
LCM
I'm new to amcc - this is my first post, in fact - but I've been lurking for
a few weeks and reading posts. I have to say I'm in awe of your collective
knowledge of the history of country music, and how great the exchange of
information and opinions is here. Whether any of you can help me with my
request, I just wanted to say how much I've enjoyed reading your posts. But
enough buttering up - I better ask my question. <g>
A couple of years ago I compiled a collection cd's for rock and roll - one
for each year between 1965 and 1999. It took me almost a year to complete
but I found, once I got into it, that I really enjoyed the process I had to
go through in researching it and now I've got 35 fantastic cd's that I was
able to tailor to my own taste and enjoy on a daily basis. I'd always been a
bit of a chart freak and had several books (and my own memory - I'm 38 btw)
for reference as well. If anybody would like a list of the songs I finally
put on the cd's, I'll be more than glad to share it with them. I did try to
stick with a top 40 format, rather than go for classic album tracks, and I
tried to avoid stacking any one year or years with the current fads - ie:
disco, punk, new wave - though I did try to include hits that were really
representative of their particular era - basically I wanted the whole
collection to sound as balanced as possible and true to what was on AM radio
at any particular place in time. I think I accomplished that and the cd's
have been on my stereo, in turn, ever since.
What I'm trying to do now is compile something similar for country music -
and I'm looking to do it for the years 1960 to 1980. Unfortunately, I'm
afraid I don't have the luxery of my own memory (I've only really begun to
listen to country music in the past couple of years), or reference books in
this endevour - and I really have just begun in the past couple of weeks
with this. What I'm working with is just the All Music Guide web site (I
haven't been able to find any other sites that offer as much historical
information about country music, but even there it is limited) and the Top
100 Country Songs Of All Time that CMT put out a few weeks ago. Actually, it
was reading about that list in another group that sort of started me on this
project. And I guess when I said I wasn't going from memory, that's not
quite right. My oldest sister Lloydia - who died in 1995 - used to be a
semi-professional country singer in Montreal in the 60's and 70's - and I
remember the songs she and my sisters used to sing at family get togethers.
So that has helped me search for a lot of great songs by female country
artists. One that I've just discovered this week has been Jean Shepard and
I'm crazy about the few songs I've been able to find by her. It's the exact
sound I remember as a child, hearing at family reunions and it evokes a lot
of very happy memories.
Anyway, I'm hoping - in my round about way - to get some help from you all
with suggestions for songs/artists that I really should be looking into for
the years 1960 to 1980. I know that's a hugely broad question, but having
had my fill of Google, it seems impossible to find actual charts for country
music for those years - even year-end charts - which is something I never
had trouble finding for Rock and Roll. I'm already really enjoying the
research I've started - there's nothing quite like the joy of hearing a
great song that you've never heard before - or one that pings a long lost
memory and you go "Oh yeah! GREAT SONG!" I know music is a totally
subjective thing - which is why I'd like to hear as many opinions and
recollections as I can - sometimes learning the story behind a song can
really enrich the listening experience.
So, that's my huge big request. I hope I don't seem like some know-nothing
blowing in to get other people to do my work for me - lol, but I guess in a
sense that's exactly what I'm doing - but I would like to stick around as
well, just to lurk and maybe offer an insane opinion myself now and then.
<g>
Thanks!
LCM