Walking in the Valley A weekly column for those who live and walk in Silicon Valley by Barbara Dahlgren

How Many Country and Western Singers Does It Take to Change a Light Bulb?* Column for the weeks of September 16-30, 2005

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Seeing the previews recently for the newly to be released movie, Walk the Line, about Johnny and June Carter-Cash’s lives got me to thinking about Country Music. I love just about all kinds of music but coming from the Ozarks gives me a pretty heavy background in Country Music.

Although many Appalachians had been recording fiddle tunes for years, the actual birth of Country Music as we know it is traced back to 1927 when two country artists signed a recording contract for Victor Records. The first artist, Jimmie Rodgers, had a super twangy sound which reminded me of nails scratching a chalk board. (Do not confuse him with the Jimmie Rodgers who did The Battle of New Orleans or Honeycomb; he came much later). Rodgers, considered the “Father of Country Music,” was the first to be elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in the late 60s.

The other artist signed was the Carter Family, consisting of A.P. Carter and two shy country girls – his wife Sara and sister-in-law Maybelle (married to A.P.’s brother, E.J.; these people were so poor they couldn’t afford names). They recorded together until 1942, after which Maybelle Carter, called the "Queen of Country Music," continued the tradition and her career with her three daughters Anita, Helen, and June who later married Johnny Cash. They were called Mother Maybelle and the Carter Sisters.

The Carter Family was considered the most influential group in Country Music history. They switched the emphasis from hillbilly instrumentals to vocals. Their pure, simple harmony affected bluegrass, folk and rock musicians like Woody Guthrie, Bill Monroe, the Kingston Trio, Doc Watson, Bob Dylan and Emmylou Harris, to name just a few. For 1 5 years they recorded over 300 ballads, traditional tunes, country songs, and gospel hymns like "Wabash Cannonball," "Will the Circle Be Unbroken," "Keep on the Sunny Side," and "Wildwood Flower."

I soooooooo remember the “Wildwood Flower!” My uncle lived with us for a short time after he retired from the Navy and was learning to play the guitar. He played “Wildwood Flower” so much I thought I would croak. He played it fast. He played it slow. He played it, played it, played it. Then he went on to compose some songs of his own. Some of them I thought were rather goofy but I’ve heard some pretty corny ones since then, which has made me wonder if I couldn’t have made it as a country song writer myself. You know the old joke: What happens when you play a country song backwards? Answer: The guy sobers up, the dog comes home,
and he gets his job back.

Let’s take a little quiz. Choose which of the following is NOT an actual Country and Western Song.

1. How Can I Miss You If You Won’t Go Away
2. Get Your Biscuits in the Oven and Your Buns in the Bed
3. I Don’t Know Whether to Kill Myself or Go Bowling
4. I Keep Forgetting That I Forgot About You
5. Here’s a Quarter Call Someone Who Cares
6. I’d Rather Have a Bottle in Front of Me than a Frontal Lobotomy
7. I’ve Been Flushed from the Bathroom of Your Heart
8. If Love Were Oil, I’d be a Quart Low
9. If I Can’t Be Your Number One, Then Number Two on You
10. If You Don’t Leave Me Alone, I’ll Go Find Someone Else Who Will
11. The Only Ring You Gave Me Was the One Around the Tub
12. She Made Toothpicks Out of the Timber of My Heart
13. Velcro Arms, Teflon Heart
14. They May Put Me in Prison but They Can’t Stop My Face from Breaking Out
15. You’re the Reason My Kids are so Ugly
16. I Spent My Last Ten Dollars on Birth Control and Beer
17. I Still Miss You Baby But My Aim’s Getting Better
18. Drop Kick Me Jesus Through the Goal Posts of Life
19. I’m Just a Bug on the Windshield of Life
20. My Wife Ran Off With My Best Friend and I Sure Do Miss Him

Actually it was a trick question. They are all Country Music song titles. But hey, we shouldn’t put Country Music down. All genres of music have some interesting titles, not to mention lyrics. I’m still trying to figure out why someone left the cake out in the rain in MacArthur Park .

Now you might want to sing the Travis Tritt hit to me, Here’s a Quarter Call Someone Who Cares, but Country Music, whether we like it or not, is our heritage. It will be interesting to see how Hollywood portrays Country Music royalty like Johnny and June Carter-Cash. Johnny’s f ifty-year career garnered all kinds of awards and landed him in the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame (he wrote over 1500 songs), Country Music Hall of Fame, and Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame.

Johnny had a hard life. He was addicted to amphetamines and barbiturates, arrested on drug charges, trashed motel rooms, drove recklessly, and even busted the lights out of the stage of the Grand Ole Opry. When career wise he was at the top of his form, his life was a mess. Then he met June and credits her for helping him clean up his act and leading him to God.

Yes, Johnny and June were Christians. After drinking of what Johnny called “the living waters” (Jesus Christ), he helped with the Billy Graham crusades. In fact the Grahams and Cashes became close friends, sometimes vacationing together. Johnny had even been known to pray and give an altar call or two during his own concerts. And the Country Music fans loved them both. I hope the movie does them and the Christian aspects of their lives justice.

*Q: How many country & western singers does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Three. One to change the bulb and two to sing about the old one.

Be sure to visit this page often to read the next edition of Walking in the Valley. You can write to the author at bdahlgren@wcgsouthbay.org.