h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

This might either be excruciating or quite pleasant; I don't know enough about your musical tastes.

For one of my many theatrical adventures, I am producing the sound cues for a play set in Alabama, and the director has requested that we create a country music station.

Now, I want this to be pretty authentic, but I don't want to be prejudiced by an archetypal English view of what country music actually is, and equally I don't want to delve too far into obscure unrecognisable music from small not-very-good recording studios in the heart of the Deep South.

So, is there any chance you could tune into your local country station for a few hours and jot down some of the tunes that are vaguely mainstream accessible? Nothing after 1990-ish, though.

If it's too ghastly a concept, I shall have to go with a whole bunch of Dolly, but that seems very dull.

B

I just wrote up a real nice playlist for you in Pliny and lost it on preview, so if it shows up later, I apologize for duplicating.

I lived in Birmingham from 1985 until 1997, and I seem to recall a lot of sensational country music from 1987-1990 that went very mainstream in the US and very big in Alabama.

Artists included Brooks and Dunn, Alan Jackson, Garth Brooks, Clint Black, k.d.lang, and of course, Alabama.

FM radio always mixed old with new, so there had to be Tammy Wynette, Loretta Lynn, Johnny Cash, George Jones, Dolly (of course) and anything ever performed by Patsy Cline.

You didn't say what kind of mood you want to convey in your production, and it could stay country and be anything from tear-it-up drinking music to drown-yourself misery, frequently all on the same album.

If you'll give me a hint, I'll be happy to suggest a playlist for you that will be authentic and suit your production.

Awesome.

If we go for a range of moods, it will give me more licence to pick and choose. So I'm happy to start with a broad scope and pick what suits the play.

B

No need for me to suffer - I can do this on the knowledge I picked up while working at Cheapo and a little research. I'd say Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Hank Williams, Hank Williams Jnr, Emmylou Harris, Patsy Cline, George Strait, Jim Reeves, Ray Price, George Jones, Tammy Wynette, Dolly, Merle Haggard, Joe Ely, Bill Monroe and The Bluegrass Boys, Johnny Paycheck, Conway Twitty, Charlie Pride, Johnny Horton, Boxcar Willie, Butch Hancock, Bob Wills, Ferlin Husky, Stonewall Jackson, Roy Acuff, Webb Pierce, Kitty Wells, Marty Robbins, Patsy Montana, The Carter Family, Loretta Lynn, Tex Ritter, Reba McEntire (yes, that Reba from the film Tremors) Flatt and Scruggs, Grandpa Jones, Loretta Lynn, Barbara Mandrell, The Del McCoury Band, Ernest Tubb, Porter Wagoner and Faron Young are all pretty much essential.

I know that's a long list, and it could easily be longer, but you probably don't need all of them. If you choose some names you recognise and some you don't you'll get a good mix that doesn't sound like a British person's interpretation of country.

They're all on YouTube although you sometimes have to dig deep to find a version of a song that isn't a live performance.

Here's a useful link I just found that might help http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_country_performers_by_era

Good stuff guys.

I'll start pulling together a playlist and matching it to the show.

Basically, I want to fill about 45 minutes of house music, some cued tracks on the radio and three scene changes, so there'll be cause to use quite a lot.

B

This is not comprehensive, by any means. I just sat down and thought about what I remembered from 25(!) years ago getting heavy play on the radio and on jukeboxes in bars. Here are 35 to get you started:

Workday Music (Very Heavy Radio Play)
The Judds- “Grandpa, tell me about the good ole days”, “Mama, he's crazy”, “Why not me?”
Alabama - “Close Enough to Perfect”, “Mountain Music”, “Feels So Right”, “Love in the First Degree”
k.d. Lang - “Full Moon Full of Love”, “Big Boned Gal”

Happy Hour Music
Wet Willie -“Weekend”
Tammy Wynette -“Stand by Your Man”
Alan Jackson - “Chasin that Neon Rainbow”, “Gone Country”
Pure Prairie League -“Amie”
Brooks and Dunn -“Neon Moon”
Reba McEntire -“Fancy”
The Judds - “Rockin with the Rhythm of the Rain”
Dwight Yoakam - “Guitars and Cadillacs”
Randy Newman - “Birmingham”

Line Dancing Music
Brooks and Dunn - “Boot Scootin' Boogie”
Vince Gill - “Turn Me Loose”
Mary Chapin Carpenter - “Down at the Twist and Shout”
Travis Tritt - “Trouble”(1992)
Joe Diffie - “Prop Me Up Beside the Jukebox (if I die)”
Alan Jackson - “Don't Rock the Jukebox”

Crying in Your (12th) Beer
Alan Jackson - “She's got the Rhythm and I've got the Blues”, “Here in the Real World”, “Midnight in Montgomery”
George Strait - “Famous Last Words of a Fool”,“Love Without End, Amen”
George Jones - “He Stopped Loving Her Today”
Tammy Wynette - “D-I-V-O-R-C-E”, “I Don't Wanna Play House”
Patsy Cline - “Walking After Midnight”
Alabama - “My Home's in Alabama”, “Old Flame”
Garth Brooks - “The Thunder Rolls”

This is not comprehensive, by any means. I just sat down and thought about what I remembered from 25(!) years ago getting heavy play on the radio and on jukeboxes in bars. Here are 35 to get you started:

Workday Music (Very Heavy Radio Play)
The Judds- “Grandpa, tell me about the good ole days”, “Mama, he's crazy”, “Why not me?”
Alabama - “Close Enough to Perfect”, “Mountain Music”, “Feels So Right”, “Love in the First Degree”
k.d. Lang - “Full Moon Full of Love”, “Big Boned Gal”

Happy Hour Music
Wet Willie -“Weekend”
Tammy Wynette -“Stand by Your Man”
Alan Jackson - “Chasin that Neon Rainbow”, “Gone Country”
Pure Prairie League -“Amie”
Brooks and Dunn -“Neon Moon”
Reba McEntire -“Fancy”
The Judds - “Rockin with the Rhythm of the Rain”
Dwight Yoakam - “Guitars and Cadillacs”
Randy Newman - “Birmingham”

Line Dancing Music
Brooks and Dunn - “Boot Scootin' Boogie”
Vince Gill - “Turn Me Loose”
Mary Chapin Carpenter - “Down at the Twist and Shout”
Travis Tritt - “Trouble”(1992)
Joe Diffie - “Prop Me Up Beside the Jukebox (if I die)”
Alan Jackson - “Don't Rock the Jukebox”

Crying in Your (12th) Beer
Alan Jackson - “She's got the Rhythm and I've got the Blues”, “Here in the Real World”, “Midnight in Montgomery”
George Strait - “Famous Last Words of a Fool”,“Love Without End, Amen”
George Jones - “He Stopped Loving Her Today”
Tammy Wynette - “D-I-V-O-R-C-E”, “I Don't Wanna Play House”
Patsy Cline - “Walking After Midnight”
Alabama - “My Home's in Alabama”, “Old Flame”
Garth Brooks - “The Thunder Rolls”

This is not comprehensive, by any means. I just sat down and thought about what I remembered from 25(!) years ago getting heavy play on the radio and on jukeboxes in bars. Here are 35 (in two separate posts) to get you started:

Workday Music (Very Heavy Radio Play)
The Judds- “Grandpa, tell me about the good ole days”, “Mama, he's crazy”, “Why not me?”
Alabama - “Close Enough to Perfect”, “Mountain Music”, “Feels So Right”, “Love in the First Degree”
k.d. Lang - “Full Moon Full of Love”, “Big Boned Gal”

Happy Hour Music
Wet Willie -“Weekend”
Tammy Wynette -“Stand by Your Man”
Alan Jackson - “Chasin that Neon Rainbow”, “Gone Country”
Pure Prairie League -“Amie”
Brooks and Dunn -“Neon Moon”
Reba McEntire -“Fancy”
The Judds - “Rockin with the Rhythm of the Rain”
Dwight Yoakam - “Guitars and Cadillacs”
Randy Newman - “Birmingham”

Part 2 -

Line Dancing Music
Brooks and Dunn - “Boot Scootin' Boogie”
Vince Gill - “Turn Me Loose”
Mary Chapin Carpenter - “Down at the Twist and Shout”
Travis Tritt - “Trouble”(1992)
Joe Diffie - “Prop Me Up Beside the Jukebox (if I die)”
Alan Jackson - “Don't Rock the Jukebox”

Crying in Your (12th) Beer
Alan Jackson - “She's got the Rhythm and I've got the Blues”, “Here in the Real World”, “Midnight in Montgomery”
George Strait - “Famous Last Words of a Fool”,“Love Without End, Amen”
George Jones - “He Stopped Loving Her Today”
Tammy Wynette - “D-I-V-O-R-C-E”, “I Don't Wanna Play House”
Patsy Cline - “Walking After Midnight”
Alabama - “My Home's in Alabama”, “Old Flame”
Garth Brooks - “The Thunder Rolls”

Well, that wasn't very good.

It wouldn't accept the first list, so I tried Guide ML, and it wouldn't take that, so I broke it in two.

Now you have three of the same.

Sorry!

Suggestions from a Southerner who has played country music on a North Carolina radio station, admittedly in the early 90s. These classic songs were much requested:

The Eagles: Take It Easy, Lyin' Eyes, Hotel California
John Anderson: Swingin' (They asked for it every day, it is pronounced 'swangin''.)
Ray Stevens: I Saw Elvis in a UFO, or Mississippi Squirrel Revival
George Jones: The King is Gone (If you haven't heard it, prepare to be wowed. It is a moving experience...)
Tammy Wynette: D-I-V-O-R-C-E
Dolly Parton: Jolene, In My Tennessee Mountain Home
Loretta Lynn: Coal Miner's Daughter
Lynyrd Skynyrd: Sweet Home Alabama
Oak Ridge Boys: Elvira
Nanci Griffith: Once in a Very Blue Moon, Listen to the Radio
Lee Greenwood: God Bless the USA (Horrible, but ever-popular.)
David Allen Coe: You Never Even Called Me By My Name
Kenny Rogers: Planet Texas

Now, this is merely a personal favourite:

Kinky Friedman: They Ain't Makin' Jews Like Jesus Any More

I guarantee authenticity here.

A lot more memories in that list, Dmitri.

Yep.

Oh, I almost forgot:

Merle Haggard: Mama Tried.

You can't go wrong singing, 'I turned twenty-one in prison, doing life without parole...'

Some of those are deffo not pre-1990, guys.

True. But by "not definitive" I also meant "may not adhere strictly to specs."

I know we had a lot of fun with them in Alabama, though.

Sorry, I read 'nothing after 1990-ish' as 'early 90s'. All the stuff on my list was played on a non-profit radio station about 1990-91.

If you want a classic list of stuff they played on the radio in the 60s, I can do you one. Car-trip torture from my childhood...

Cor...who'd have thought it was so easy to unearth country music fans.

Thanks, guys. I am currently set about downloading everything on this thread by ENTIRELY LEGAL means, and I shall report back.

B