Real country radio

I grew up a child of baby boomers, and that meant a lot of the music I listened to as a child was stuff like the Beatles, Elvis, the Everly Brothers and even Herman's Hermits. During my teens, I was into Prince, the Beastie Boys, Run-DMC, Keith Sweat and Cameo. It wasn't until college that I finally turned on to country music.

That was about the time Garth Brooks, Clint Black, Travis Tritt and Alan Jackson were beginning to get airplay. I loved Black's "Killin' Time," Brooks' "Much Too Young," Tritt's "Country Club" and Jackson's "Here in the Real World." But soon everybody was into country music, and country began to turn pop-ish and bland. It got to the point where I couldn't listen to mainstream, our-hands-are-tied corporate country radio anymore.

Meanwhile, with the help of digital radio, I began to go back in time and discover REAL country music. Merle Haggard. Hank Snow. Hank Williams. Johnny Cash. Johnny Paycheck. Waylon Jennings. I got the chance to see Haggard in concert at the ol' Silver Moon honky tonk outside Buena Vista. I've interviewed Charlie Daniels, a super nice, down-to-earth guy. I always wanted to interview Hank Jr. The closest I've gotten is to talk to old manager Merle Kilgore, who yelled at me for no reason: "Hank ain't doin' no interviews!" OK.

Problem is, you're rarely going to hear those old guys on corporate-controlled radio stations, whose push to bland-down radio is exactly what's driving interest in digital and satellite radio. I do like a few modern acts. I love Sugarland, mainly because I saw lead singer Jennifer Nettles pay her dues at such places at The Uptown Tap in downtown Columbus, and because she's not ashamed to have a little twang in her voice. I like Brad Paisley's "Alcohol," Craig Morgan's "Redneck Yacht Club," and Kenny Chesney's "Beer in Mexico."

Maybe that's why when I go to Eufaula, as I regularly do during the summer and you can read about in this coming Sunday's column, I always turn the radio dial to 95.5, WTVY out of Dothan, and leave it there. You can barely pick it up in Columbus. But if you go to their Web site, you can click a link and listen to them on the Internet.

Why would you want to? Because you may hear some bland new act like Rascal Flatts, but it might be followed by Haggard's "Mama Tried." Then forward for some Sugarland. Then back a little for early George Strait, maybe "The Fireman." Then way back to "Miller's Cave" by Hank Snow. Then some good recent Tritt stuff like "Modern-Day Bonnie and Clyde." In short, they get it. Their hands obviously aren't tied. Their DJ's sound like real human beings and not overly polished. They sound happy, too -- perhaps because they don't have to listen to Faith Hill, Rascal Flatts and Shania Twain all day.

Now if someone will just take Sunny 100's "all-80s weekend" one step further and make an "all-80s all the time" or even "all 70s and 80s all the time," I'll be happy. Somebody had to have the crazy idea to launch the first oldies station playing 50s and 60s music. Now they're all over the place. Yeah, the 70s and 80s probably are the new oldies, but what do you expect? I'm 36. Bring on the oldies ... and retirement!