Classic Country

I’ve always listened to all different genres of music. I guess I get it from my Mom, who had one of those giant console stereo systems children of the 1970s will no doubt remember, with the huge cabinet speakers. She would jam out and clean the house and she listened to just about everything. I remember rock and country and R& B blaring out of those speakers, along with whatever the Top 40 stations were playing back then.

One of the greatest things about 21st century technology is the virtually unlimited access to music of any type and of any era. I recently got really into the country music of the “Outlaw” era, when Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Charlie Daniels and Hank Williams Jr. were at the top of the charts. I heard all the big hits of that time period when they were new, but there’s a lot of their music that wasn’t really on the radio, so I’m getting to hear Merle Haggard and George Jones songs I’m completely unfamiliar with for the first time.

There’s even an Amazon music station specifically called “Outlaw Country” and it turns out that there are still artists doing this kind of music in 2020. Singers like Whitey Ford and Shooter Jennings (Waylon’s son) are cranking out modern-day songs with that classic sound.

Did you know Willie Nelson is still putting out new music? He and Merle Haggard put out an album just a few years ago, right before ol’ Merle died, and Willie’s even got a duet out featuring Snoop Dogg of all people (I’ll give you three guesses what that song is about).

So, if you get to thinking about the good old days, find yourself some classic country music and drift away on the memories.