She's Gone Country - how i got into American Country Music

It all began in 2004, when i read something that mentioned Gary Allen's song Tough Little Boys. On reading the lyrics i thought 'wow, that song's really got a story.'

This was a bit of a shock, as many modern song lyrics are absolute gobbledegook. Crazy, nonsensical lyrics are great when it's I Am the Walrus, goo goo g'joob, not so great when it's 'When I'm drivin' in my car, or I'm standin' at the bar, It don't matter where I are...'

Argh!!!!

Anyway... i downloaded the song, then some more by Gary Allen, then started on the 'if you like Gary Allen you may like' suggestions on... a well-known (fruity) file-sharing program. I discovered Kenny Chesney, Billy Currington, Bucky Covington, Chris Cagle, and even some artists whose surnames don't begin with 'C' (hmm, that's odd). And i was away!

An American probably wouldn't understand how random, and difficult, it is to be a country music fan in the UK. We are simply not exposed to it. It's not on the TV or radio. I do believe there is a bit of a campaign to get CMT on the cable channels, to cater for the audience of a few thousand cowgirls and guys.

We have not heard of many big country stars. We know Dolly Parton, and Patsy Cline, and possibly Garth Brooks. I went to Nashville last year, and an American woman put it very well. She mentioned the above artists and said 'that's country in the UK. That's current.' We are stuck in the 80s, country-wise. People still refer to it as 'Country and Western', for God's sake!

The only other people we know of are those who a Scouser might call, 'plasy' (plastic) country singers. By that i mean singers who, IMHO, are not 'real' country. Shania Twain, Leann Rimes, that kind of thing. Though we haven't actually heard anything from even those two for a while...

So basically, my only real country resource is the internet. I check up on The American Country Countdown regularly and download anything new. That's how i keep up to date.

Recently, however, a friend who had spent time in San Francisco pointed me to 95.7 The Wolf , which not only streams live to the USA, but also THE OUTSIDE WORLD! Woah! I think it's fantastic, i listen morning, noon and night. Except when i listen at night it's noon, and in the morning it's night.. :o)

If anyone knows of any other country stations which stream to places outside the US, please, please point me. I've also tried WSM from Nashville but had a few problems with buffering.

Current plans for future posts are - about my trip to Nashville last summer, reviews of country songs; old and new, and just what is the Tasty Freeze, a PVR, and 'catching channel cat'????




Alan Jackson - She's Gone Country