Who is the best of all time?

[WillieCash]

Who do you guys list as best top 10 country singers and/or songwriters of all-time? The list can include poeple that recorded country-inspired music (folk etc...) too

Mine are as follows (in no particular order):

Willie Nelson
Bob Dylan
Johnny Cash
Kris Kristofferson
Townes Van Zandt
Merle Haggard
Loretta Lynn
George Jones
Hank Sr
Jerry Lee Lewis

[ELDUCE]

tom t hall

[Misfit138]

An addition to the list..

Billy Joe Shaver

[ELDUCE]

porter wagoner that guy can write a song

[mjbad]

"Townes Van Zandt is the best songwriter in the whole world and I'll stand on Bob Dylan's coffee table in my cowboy boots and say that." - Steve Earle

"I've met Bob Dylan and his bodyguards, and I don't think Steve could get anywhere near his coffee table." - Townes Van Zandt

Willie, no disrespect, but there's Hank Sr. and Townes, then down the road a ways the rest of the pack.

[WillieCash]

well hell mjbad, you gotta fill up a top ten list somehow:D

How could you not include Dylan, Kris & Willie in your "top of the heap" section though?

[WillieCash]

Oh, and omit Lefty for Hank Sr. I don't know what in the hell I was smokin

[WillieCash]

An addition to the list..

Billy Joe Shaver

Willie Nelson once called him the greatest American Songwriter.

[Misfit138]

"Townes Van Zandt is the best songwriter in the whole world and I'll stand on Bob Dylan's coffee table in my cowboy boots and say that." - Steve Earle

"I've met Bob Dylan and his bodyguards, and I don't think Steve could get anywhere near his coffee table." - Townes Van Zandt

Willie, no disrespect, but there's Hank Sr. and Townes, then down the road a ways the rest of the pack.

Hank Sr. was my next addition.. good call

[mjbad]

OK willie,

Here's the scene:

Mode of transport: 1952 Cadillac Convertible

Driver: Willie Nelson (only one capable)

Navigator, front passenger: Bob Dylan

Backseat: only because thay have to share the jug and bag: Hank, Townes, and Kris...Kris has to change all flat tires...just because (Rhodes scholar thing).

Crazy, The Man In Me, Long Gone Lonesome Blues, If I Needed You, and Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down.............................................. .

"Well, many of the songs, they aren't sad, they're hopeless." --- Townes Van Zandt after being asked why he wrote only sad songs.

[mjbad]

When it comes to showdown in a realistic country music poker game the royal flush would combine the elements of Bill Monroe, Jimmie Rogers, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Lightnin' Hopkins and Woody Guthrie. Which performer(s) at stagecoach blend those elements?

Flatlanders?

Robt. Earl Keane?

Alej Escavedo?

Emmy Lou?

We all know you won't find it on the Main stage or the Mustang stage!

Download JAMES RIVER BLUES by OCMS as soon as possible, you owe to yourselves!!! While your at it....Townes Van Zandt's... MARIE..........and.......REX'S BLUES

keep the peace brothers and sisters...we're all in this together!!!

[TexasBlues]

Okay - I thought I could resist this thread but I can't. Haven't seen one name fly across the "Top Ten" list that I can disagree with and I like the implied "honorable mentions" of Steve Earle and Robert Earl Keene if that's what they were. I might suggest two more on the "proven" list though and suitable competition for the top ten spot: Guy Clark and Waylon Jennings. I suspect this is the angle (Singer/Songwriters that is) that Mr. Wille Cash is inquiring about.

Now, here's another good question: Since some of those folks are dead (last I looked a lot of them were...), who do you think are some of the more recent folks (still walking and talking) that can write a darn good song AND sing it too? I suggest the following handful of folks might be in such a list:

Lyle Lovett (please don't dis me on this... I know I'm on a limb with some folks.. but the man can write a song and can sing too).
James McMurtry
Buddy Miller
Chris Knight

Okay - that's enough limb climbing for one night.

TexasBlues

[TexasBlues]

Now it's eating my brain.... thanks Willie.

I forgot to mention Bruce Robison and that was a huge omission from the "still walking and talking" (and/or trying to make a living) list of Singer/Songwriters I've started here... or think I've started. Frankly, I'm new to this forum stuff but I love the topics and now I appear to be drawn in. Maybe this deserves a separate topic from the "Top Ten" of all time thread that Willie started?

Forgive me if I walk outside, have a cigarette, and come back to reply to my own posts... again. Jeez....

TexasBlues

[maduro_1]

Dale is the best of OUR time.
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=43043011

He ain't even near twenty, but he says he's seen plenty of hard times,
'Cause he's been on his bus for five days and in his hotel for five nights.
And his satellite dish is broke and the new band is treatin' him mean. (Yeah, I know.)
And there's still another week to go: he misses that karaoke machine.
Hey, that's country, my ass,
Who do they think we am?
Force-feed us that shit.
Ain't you real tired of it?
Tell 'em, stick it up high,
Where the sun don't shine.
Get pissed, an'get mad,
'cause that's country, my ass.

Now, she's out there too, she's got her own secrets too. (Shhhh, don't tell nobody.)
She can't sing a lick and in a bucket, she couldn't carry her tunes. (Now wait a minute.)
She's pretty as a picture and she sure got a nice set of...wits. (Yeah.)
And she misses her producer slash boyfriend who seduced her, er produced her a hit.

Hey, that's country, my ass,
Who do they think we am?
Force-feed us that shit.
Ain't you real tired of it?
Tell 'em stick it up high,
Where the sun don't shine.
Get pissed, an'get mad,
Tell 'em that's country, my ass.

Now don't get me wrong, to each his own I believe.
But they've took the soul out of what means a whole lot to me.
'Cause I can see Hank and Lefty, they're spinning around in their graves.
And if they were here now, I think y'all know what they'd say. (Don't you?)
(What they'd say?)

Country, my ass,
Who do they think we am?
Force-feed us that shit.
Ain't you real tired of it?
Tell 'em stick it up high,
Where the sun don't shine.
We're pissed, we're mad 'cause that's country, my ass.
We're pissed, we're mad 'cause that's country, my ass

[WillieCash]

"New" (or at least more recent) Guys that could contend for the list in my opinion:

Dale Watson (New?)
Bright Eyes
(Get the "I'm wide awake it's morning" CD or download "Travelin Song")
Beck ("Midnight Vulture" and "Sea Change" CDs)
Hank III
50 Cent Haircut (country-rock)
Dwight
BR549 (right on th cusp)

Joe Firstman is a great songwriter but I'm not too fond of how the music is produced.



Here is one I wrote about country today....I have another called Kiss my Ass but it is a bit raunchy.

West Coast COuntry:

I don’t mean to brag but Nashville told me I don’t sound like modern country
I ain’t showin off, but they say I won’t sell my records to the yuppies
I don’t mean to boast, but I don’t wear no shiny clothes
And I ain’t got no highlights in my hair.
So if I fail for being honest, frankly I don’t care.

Cause this is West Coast Country, and California pride.
Nashville ain’t wrote a country song sing 1985
And I know every word I sing is one less chance I’ll leave alive
But this is West Coast Country
And it ain’t gonna die.

Out here in the west we got outlaws of each color, shape, and size
From the Cholos, to the Bikers to the Gangsters we got family, we got ties
Hell I got some friends that some’d call “faggots” that can hit so hard they’d make your mama cry
The stars and bars are burnin, now it’s time to give that Cali flag a try…

Cause this is West Coast Country, and California pride.
Nashville ain’t wrote a country song sing 1985
And I know every word I sing is one less chance I’ll leave alive
But this is West Coast Country
And it ain’t gonna die.

Well there ain’t no country like West Coast Country and this West Coast Country won’t stop.
One of these days if I keep it on up I’ll do a song with old Kid Rock
Cause I’m haggard as Merle, and Jonesin’ as George
I been patient in my waiting but I won’t wait any more!

Cause this is West Coast Country, and California pride.
Nashville ain’t wrote a country song sing 1985
And I know every word I sing is one less chance I’ll leave alive
But this is West Coast Country
And it ain’t gonna die.

[WillieCash]

Texas,

I'm with you on Lyle Lovett. He is f'n amazing!

[Misfit138]

Regarding some of the newer artists I have to add Wayne Hancock.. Some one you guys might want to look into as well is JB Beverley and the Wayward Drifters.. I was gonna add Waylon to the other list but someone already did.. He was just amazing.. Watched the Nashville Rebel DVD again last night and it gets better evry time I see it.

[TexasBlues]

Hah! Went back outside for that last cigarette last night and darned if Dale Watson didn't pop into my head! But I wasn't gonna come back a third time...

I own every Dwight CD there is and we cover lots of his material in the band. Yes, he can write and he sure can sing purty. Big fan of BR549 (different iterations of the band and different sounds because of it) but I don't think I would have included them in the great songwriter category (Check our playlist....)

I struggle with Hank III... maybe I'm just getting too old. (I struggle with Quentin Tarentino too and, oh yeah, Eddie Murphy's "Raw."). I liked his first couple of CD's but I understand Hank III didn't 'cause the label made him play straight.

[WillieCash]

Yeah BR549 isn't really up there as songwriters, just a new band I really enjoy. JB Beverly is great too.

I struggled with Hank III at first because I thought it was a bit too tradtional for me (if you can believe that) at first but it really grew on me.

I don't mind the "raunchiness" because I used to listen to a lot of Hip-hop and nothing any country guy (with the exception of DACs X-rated stuff) compares with things I used to hear on a normal basis.

Plus I have a singalong song called whose first lines are:
"You can Kiss my Ass, and you can Eat my Sh*t
The radio we used to know and love has gone and made me sick"

So it's hard for me to cast stones!

Hope I can afford the tix to come out, I will surely come over and throw back some (evan williams) sodie-pops and play a bit with ya.

[Misfit138]

A fine picker and songwriter to add here is Jerry Reed.. One of my favorites..

[TexasBlues]

Willie - see my post in response to "West Coast Country" on the Singer/Songwriter thread.

And yeah Misfit, Jerry Reed IS good.

[mjbad]

Texas,

I'm with you on Lyle Lovett. He is f'n amazing!

Lyle is quite solid. He is also an accomplished wrangler in his own right. He graces the cover of a most recent issue of the American Quarter Horse Journal. Couple that with a former cover of Esquire, Lyle indeed is quite the renaissance man.

RIP: Buddy Holly

[mjbad]

Frontman for the Riptones:

Jeb Bonansinga on vocals and guitar; Jeb writes most of the Riptones material and with a truck drivin' backwoods country gentleman swagger lays out a mixture of Ricky Nelson, Johnny Cash and Jimmie Vaughn. His songs represent the every man tale of lost love, including important subjects like girls, BBQ, and motorcycles.

[Misfit138]

Cool article here... looks he is fighting against Pop Country a bit too.. Good stuff

[WillieCash]

Cool article here... looks he is fighting against Pop Country a bit too.. Good stuff

Which article do you mean?

[Misfit138]

Which article do you mean?


Wonder why it didnt show up.. sorry about that

http://edition.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Music/01/25/celeb.qa.george.jones.ap/index.html

[BUNZY18]

MARK CHESNUTT!!!!!!!!!!!!

[wagonwheelfestival]

Let's start this one up again! lol, I'd have to say George Strait or Don Williams for my votes for best of all time! George probably more though!

[witchylde13]

I'll jump in on this one! The best of all time for me is Garth Brooks!! Love that man!

[Hankdog]

It's gotta be Hank Williams or E.T.

[Hankdog]

Who put the Dale Watson attachment on here? That guy's awesome and I'm really looking forward to see him next year.

[wagonwheelfestival]

True true, good ones... How bout the man in black... damn, theres so many... haha

[Hankdog]

True true, good ones... How bout the man in black... damn, theres so many... haha
No one bridged the gap between rock and country better than Johnny Cash. And only Cash had the balls to play concerts in prisons starting in the late
50's. Buck Owens and Don Rich kicked ass together. Too bad so many of these guys are dead or nearly dead.

[Rose]

I loved Roy Clark. He made me want to play the banjo.

[witchylde13]

No one bridged the gap between rock and country better than Johnny Cash. And only Cash had the balls to play concerts in prisons starting in the late
50's. Buck Owens and Don Rich kicked ass together. Too bad so many of these guys are dead or nearly dead.

Oh man, I loved Johnny Cash. I grew up listening to his music. So much talent....

[Hankdog]

Oh man, I loved Johnny Cash. I grew up listening to his music. So much talent....

There aren't too many people out there that can write a two chord song and have it be a hit.

[witchylde13]

Ain't that the truth!!

[wagonwheelfestival]

Jerry Reed was personally one of my favorites, it's sad that he's passed. He was great... I'll never forget him and Fred the Dog in Smokey and the Bandit! If anyone hasn't heard it, listen to Jerry's song "Lord, Mr. Ford" Great Great Song!!!

[Hankdog]

Jerry Reed was personally one of my favorites, it's sad that he's passed. He was great... I'll never forget him and Fred the Dog in Smokey and the Bandit! If anyone hasn't heard it, listen to Jerry's song "Lord, Mr. Ford" Great Great Song!!!

They don't make 'em like that anymore. That was good music stripped to it's core; not over produced and bland.

[WillieCash]

I'm just amazed that this thread has taken the path of Lazarus and risen from the dead!

[cmick2121]

But without the new artists that have drawn a bigger following of country music and educating these people to what is great music, not just the sad I shot my dog and drink reputation that country music that so many people have set in there minds

[Rose]

But without the new artists that have drawn a bigger following of country music and educating these people to what is great music, not just the sad I shot my dog and drink reputation that country music that so many people have set in there minds



there might be one or two threads that speak of drinking on here :rolleyes:

No threads that I know of talking about shooting your dog....chasing the dog maybe (darn, that goes back to the drinking thread) :D

[wagonwheelfestival]

I'm just amazed that this thread has taken the path of Lazarus and risen from the dead!

haha, Nice... Sometimes miracles happen... lol

[Hankdog]

haha, Nice... Sometimes miracles happen... lol

It's a great conversation piece.

[wagonwheelfestival]

Yes, speaking of Jerry Reed, how about Eastbound and Down... Makes me want to get out and buy a trans am and a big rig and do a road trip, haha

[Kymery]

Yes, speaking of Jerry Reed, how about Eastbound and Down... Makes me want to get out and buy a trans am and a big rig and do a road trip, haha

With an ape at your side? Great visual

[cmick2121]

Wow, now thats good old school. I always loved the smokey and the bandit movies!

[wagonwheelfestival]

Hey Kymery, go look at the Wagon Wheel Site www.wagonwheelfestival.com ... the home page. Look where that picture of the field is, we animated some things in there... a bunch of the lineup. Looks cool!

[Kymery]

Hey Kymery, go look at the Wagon Wheel Site www.wagonwheelfestival.com ... the home page. Look where that picture of the field is, we animated some things in there... a bunch of the lineup. Looks cool!

Awesome!! nice job! Ok..no need for that heli ride for pics with that job!

Oh, and now I clearly see my front row seat!! hehehe

[Kymery]

Wow, now thats good old school. I always loved the smokey and the bandit movies!

Time to go to the video store!!

[wagonwheelfestival]

Yes, I might need to go buy Smokey and the Bandit tonight!

[Rose]

With an ape at your side? Great visual

wasnt that a dog (if I remember right...fred?) as a sidekick in the smokey movies?

[Hankdog]

wasnt that a dog (if I remember right...fred?) as a sidekick in the smokey movies?

I think the monkey was in a Clint Eastwood flick. That seemed to a popular buddy movie theme. Wasn't there a TV show with a trucker and a chimp. BJ & the Bear?

[wagonwheelfestival]

Yep, it was Fred the Dog! "Come here Fred!!!" haha

[witchylde13]

I think the monkey was in a Clint Eastwood flick. That seemed to a popular buddy movie theme. Wasn't there a TV show with a trucker and a chimp. BJ & the Bear?

Yep, I remember BJ and the Bear, I loved that show! For the longest I wanted a chimp for a pet. hahaha

[Hankdog]

Yep, I remember BJ and the Bear, I loved that show! For the longest I wanted a chimp for a pet. hahaha

Who hasn't wanted a primate as a pet? Then you find out that they fling poo and that's the end of that.

[Rose]

I actually lived that Smokie & the bandit movie. When we moved from California to Georgia when I was a teenager we took coors beer beyond the texas boarder and it was against the law back then. LOL

[witchylde13]

Who hasn't wanted a primate as a pet? Then you find out that they fling poo and that's the end of that.

My aunt, bless her heart, took in a baby raccoon, for about a day. That raccoon literally tore her house apart!!

[Hankdog]

My aunt, bless her heart, took in a baby raccoon, for about a day. That raccoon literally tore her house apart!!

I've heard they're just as destructive. And mean little bastards on top of that.

[witchylde13]

I've heard they're just as destructive. And mean little bastards on top of that.

Yep, they are, my aunt found out the hard way!!

[WillieCash]

What happened to kick-ass trucker and travelin' movies?

"Any Which Way But Loose" kicks "Mystic River's" ass all up and down the block!

"Left turn Clyde...."

[horsephotographer]

See this group always gets side tracked easily it is just part of natural conversation...:cool:
Guess monkeys ,dogs and bandits are all built in somewhere in a country greatest song of all time....lol:D

[wagonwheelfestival]

Exactly, nothin wrong with getting sidetracked,... This isn't a dictatorship... we say what we want... lol

[Hankdog]

Exactly, nothin wrong with getting sidetracked,... This isn't a dictatorship... we say what we want... lol

I absolutely concur. But to bring this full circle, is who's the best of all time the same as who's the most influential of all time?

[WillieCash]

I think it would be a pretty good fistfight for first place among Willie Nelson, Hank Williams Sr. and Bob Dylan.

[Hankdog]

I think it would be a pretty good fistfight for first place among Willie Nelson, Hank Williams Sr. and Bob Dylan.

That's a hell of a trio. I tend to think that with out Hank Sr. you wouldn't have Elvis, Johnny Cash, Willie etc.

[wagonwheelfestival]

I think it would be a pretty good fistfight for first place among Willie Nelson, Hank Williams Sr. and Bob Dylan.

Alright, I was with you on the Willie and Hank thing, Bob Dylan is good, but Willie and Hank are leaps and bounds over that... This conversation is like talkin politics though, If you dig it, then they are the best... haha... To each their own. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy Bob Dylan... I think Cash comes right to the top of my list and Merle Haggard, wow, there are soooo many!

[wagonwheelfestival]

That's a hell of a trio. I tend to think that with out Hank Sr. you wouldn't have Elvis, Johnny Cash, Willie etc.

I agree hole heartedly..!!!

[Hankdog]

The Hag needs to make an appearance at the Stagecoach before he takes the proverbial dirt nap.

[cmick2121]

Im 34 and never listened to country music until I fell in love with Alabama's music and then it was Garth. I think everyone listed before are legends but the artists I just mentioned brought out a whole new audience to the mix and they started listening to the older artists which they would have never listened to in the past. Jeez, holy run,lol.

[WillieCash]

Alright, I was with you on the Willie and Hank thing, Bob Dylan is good, but Willie and Hank are leaps and bounds over that... This conversation is like talkin politics though, If you dig it, then they are the best... haha... To each their own. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy Bob Dylan... I think Cash comes right to the top of my list and Merle Haggard, wow, there are soooo many!

I agree, there is no definitive answer. I include Dylan in there because I think he more or less single-handedly took the folk scene into what we know now as modern rock n' roll. I included him as more of a "game changer" than the other two. Plus Johnny Cash loved him, and that's good enough for me any day.

Bob also scores extra points in that he hasn't done much besides follow his own creative vision throughout his life for better or worse and hasn't given two squirts of spit if his fans followed him or not. I think that might be the most "punk-rock" move of all time.

I love Merle's songwriting and singing, but I don't think there would have been a Merle without a Buck Owens. Then again, there wouldn't have been a Buck Owens without a Hank Sr. Then again, there wouldn't have been a Hank Sr. without a Rufus Payne, the line goes on and on and I think people tend to grab on to whichever era spoke the most to them.

Tahnk you for the tickets, by the way. I sent you a PM with my address. I'm sure they will sell a good deal of raffle tickets. Again, if there's anything you are doing I can help you out with, let me know. I have been reading up on the WWF event and other JC events and I would like to get involved.

[WillieCash]

The Hag needs to make an appearance at the Stagecoach before he takes the proverbial dirt nap.

I'd love to see Merle live.

My dream SC or WWF lineup would include:

Willie Nelson
Merle Haggard
Dwight Yoakum
Kris Kristofferson
Alejandro Escovedo
Steve Earle
Emmylou Harris
Loretta Lynn (with appearance by Jack White)
Cowboy Junkies
50 Cent haircut
and of course Willie Cash and the Cashiers

[Hankdog]

I agree, there is no definitive answer. I include Dylan in there because I think he more or less single-handedly took the folk scene into what we know now as modern rock n' roll. I included him as more of a "game changer" than the other two. Plus Johnny Cash loved him, and that's good enough for me any day.

Bob also scores extra points in that he hasn't done much besides follow his own creative vision throughout his life for better or worse and hasn't given two squirts of spit if his fans followed him or not. I think that might be the most "punk-rock" move of all time.

I love Merle's songwriting and singing, but I don't think there would have been a Merle without a Buck Owens. Then again, there wouldn't have been a Buck Owens without a Hank Sr. Then again, there wouldn't have been a Hank Sr. without a Rufus Payne, the line goes on and on and I think people tend to grab on to whichever era spoke the most to them.

Tahnk you for the tickets, by the way. I sent you a PM with my address. I'm sure they will sell a good deal of raffle tickets. Again, if there's anything you are doing I can help you out with, let me know. I have been reading up on the WWF event and other JC events and I would like to get involved.

Coudn't agree more with your comments about Dylan and Buck is one of the greatest and we Californians can claim him as our own. Don Rich had some of the greatest riffs.

[Kymery]

I'd love to see Merle live.

My dream SC or WWF lineup would include:

Willie Nelson
Merle Haggard
Dwight Yoakum
Kris Kristofferson
Alejandro Escovedo
Steve Earle
Emmylou Harris
Loretta Lynn (with appearance by Jack White)
Cowboy Junkies
50 Cent haircut
and of course Willie Cash and the Cashiers

I have always said they need this type of side stage!!

[Kymery]

Coudn't agree more with your comments about Dylan and Buck is one of the greatest and we Californians canclaim him as our own. Don Rich had some of the greatest riffs.

I just visted Buck Owens Crystal Palace to see Western Underground..Chris LeDoux's band...awesome place!! Gotta love the caddy on the wall behind the bar! Check these pics out.

[wagonwheelfestival]

I just visted Buck Owens Crystal Palace to see Western Underground..Chris LeDoux's band...awesome place!! Gotta love the caddy on the wall behind the bar! Check these pics out.

Wow, great pics, thanks for posting those! That car is .... Well its one hell of a car, haha

[Hankdog]

I'd love to see Merle live.

My dream SC or WWF lineup would include:

Willie Nelson
Merle Haggard
Dwight Yoakum
Kris Kristofferson
Alejandro Escovedo
Steve Earle
Emmylou Harris
Loretta Lynn (with appearance by Jack White)
Cowboy Junkies
50 Cent haircut
and of course Willie Cash and the Cashiers

That's a killer line up. I was fortunate enough to see Haggard several years ago at 4th & B. The guy still rocks for an old dude.

[Kymery]

Wow, great pics, thanks for posting those! That car is .... Well its one hell of a car, haha

There was a sign on it that said buck won it from elvis..but that he cheated in a poker game!

[Hankdog]

I have always said they need this type of side stage!!

That'a damn near the Palomino Stage from 2007.

[Kymery]

That'a damn near the Palomino Stage from 2007.

Yepp 07 was a good year! They should bottle that one!;)

[Hankdog]

2007 will be tough to top but 2009 is shaping up to be almost as good. At least better than '08 was.

[Rose]

07 was a who's who of country music. Unbeatable lineup for sure and it's now in the history books.

[Hankdog]

07 was a who's who of country music. Unbeatable lineup for sure and it's now in the history books.

It'll be interesting to watch and see who else gets added as we get closer to April.