Chris Stapleton: “I Don’t Think Country Music Needs Saving”
A week from this evening, the music industry will be gathering in Los Angeles for the the world’s biggest music event of the year: The Grammy Awards. Unlike many years, fans of true and traditional country music will have someone to root for when it comes to the night’s biggest prize, even if it isn’t the most ideal artist to champion. Chris Stapleton will be doing battle with other titans of music entertainment for Album of the Year. He’s also up for Best Country Album, and his song “Traveller” is up for two country-specific awards. As much success as Chris Stapleton has found after his massive night at the CMA Awards in November, he’s also poised to possibly be the biggest winner on February 15th as well.
It was recently announced that Stapleton would be performing on the Grammy stage in a tribute to B.B. King with Gary Clark Jr. and Bonnie Raitt. Any performance slot on the Grammy Awards is a high premium and honor, but it is a bit disappointing that it appears Stapleton won’t get a chance to perform one of his own songs on the presentation. The argument could be made that Stapleton’s appearance on the CMA’s with Justin Timberlake was one of the biggest awards show performances ever. It definitely launched one of the biggest post-awards sales bumps in history, with Stapleton poised to shortly take over the highest-selling country album in the last nearly two years in a matter of weeks, whether he wins anything at the Grammy Awards or not. Traveller has been holding court at the very top of Billboard’s Country Albums chart ever since November’s CMA’s.
And the think pieces written by country and entertainment pontificators keep on coming, proclaiming Chris Stapleton as a new savior of country music. On January 28th, The Nashville Scene—Nashville’s alternative newsweekly—published its annual critic’s poll for 2015, of which Saving Country Music and dozens of other outlets participated. It’s one of the most in-depth barometers on country music sentiment of its kind. The resounding consensus after querying country music’s critics-at-large was that 2015 was the year of Chris Stapleton, and as part of that crowning, Stapleton participated in a cover story for the magazine, just as Sturgill Simpson had done in 2014 when he walked away as the resounding favorite of critics.
And just like Sturgill Simpson, Stapleton has been quick to distance himself from any mantle or moniker as a country music savior. In fact in his estimation, such a thing is not necessary. “I don’t think country music needs saving from anything,” says Stapleton to The Nashville Scene. “Whether you like modern incarnations of what country radio hits are, or you like what I’m doing, or you like something really off in folk, poetry Americana land, it’s all just music, man. If you like one of them, great, go buy it.”
Sounds simple, right? But the problem with Chris Stapleton’s take on what motivates folks concerned about country music is the same misconceptions most people have: that it’s all about complaining about bad music or tired arguments about what defines country.
“I would rather people stop caring about lines,” Stapleton says. “Nothing gets on my nerves more than somebody else spending all their energy and time talking about something that they don’t like, and trying to convince you [that] you shouldn’t like it, and this thing over here is better. … I don’t like sushi. In fact, I kind of loathe sushi. But I don’t go around trying to convince my wife or any of my friends, ‘Oh, you shouldn’t eat sushi, it’s terrible.’ It’s the dumbest thing ever. It doesn’t make sense to me why we do that with music. We don’t really do that with anything else. … I think it’s OK if somebody likes my music and likes Sam Hunt’s music too. And I think if we’re both selling records, it’s good for everybody. I think it allows other records to get made.”
It allows other records by Chris Stapleton and Sam Hunt to get made, and it’s good for everybody who is already connected to the industry and making money. But the gulf between the have’s and have not’s in country music has never been greater. Chris Stapleton started in the Nashville music industry as a songwriter. As Nate Rau of The Tennessean pointed out in January of 2015 in a piece called “Nashville’s Musical Middle Class Collapses,” the amount of full-time songwriters in Nashville has fallen by a dramatic 80 percent since 2000. This is according to the Nashville Songwriters Association International. This trend is primarily because the ability to write for the country music industry has fallen into the hands of a very few select and connected songwriters networked into a few select circles. That is why you keep seeing the same names of songwriting contributors on so many records, and why many of the songs emanating from Nashville sound the same.
And Chris Stapleton is very much a part of this exclusive songwriting collective.
So it’s no wonder Chris Stapleton sees the glass half full when it comes to the country music industry, and may not think there’s any need to save it, or for a savior to rise up from the ranks of performers. Meanwhile hundreds of skilled songwriters are out on the street. And the same goes for singer/songwriters and many performers. As artists like Chris Stapleton, Luke Bryan, and Sam Hunt dominate the country music landscape from top to bottom in sales, the breadth of artists enjoying commercial success, radio play, and industry support is anemic compared to previous eras. Even artists signed to major labels are more susceptible than ever before to being dropped with their albums sitting on a shelf, or having their creative expressions stymied by label executives or producers.
Chris Stapleton is the dramatic exception, not the rule. He was a successful songwriter and was able to feed his family way before his solo career took off. He was able to make the album he wanted with Traveller, and he was allowed to have that album highlighted on country music’s biggest stage because of the respect of his industry peers. Stapleton did time in vans and cheap hotels touring with the Jompson Brothers and the Steeldrivers previously, but somehow he seems to have forgotten about the struggles true country artists go through every day to make ends meet, while undisciplined, under-qualified, and lesser-talented performers continue to move up in the industry.
And none of this broaches the issues of the historic inequality against female performers currently plaguing country radio, stories of artists like Katie Arminger being forced to over-sexualize herself in an attempt to sell her music, the scourge of 360 deals ruining artists’ lives and careers, and other equality issues like the recent exclusion of Green River Ordinance from Billboard‘s Country Albums charts.
Caring about what country music has become goes way beyond complaining about the latest Sam Hunt single, or the eternal arguments about what country music is. The case could be made that country music has never been more cloistered and insular and inbred. And that is what is so exciting about the success of an artist like Chris Stapleton; it opens up the possibility that things might be changing, and opportunities for other artists that are high on talent may finally open up so they can find the attention they need to prosper, and the public can be served the music they deserve in a bereft cultural marketplace.
People don’t complain about Sam Hunt’s music just because they hate it and they want others to be won over by their perspective. It’s because they want folks to know that there’s something better out there; that there’s artists like Chris Stapleton that can deliver something that is more uplifting and inspiring to them. This is not just about taste. This is about materialism vs. inspiration. This is about bigotry vs. respect. This is about listening to music that makes us better people, and music that breeds understanding and mends heartbreak as opposed to portraying life as one endless party.
Chris Stapleton has never been the ideal candidate for a country music savoir, if that’s even a thing country music fans should be on the look for, or covet. As much as it’s part of country music’s mythos, hoping for a savior might be an exercise in setting yourself up to be let down. Chris Stapleton is too connected to the industry to fill that role completely. Perhaps Stapleton doesn’t posses that drive to worry about the world beyond his own perspective, and that’s fine. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t make some great music, and music that is more in line with what country fans should expect from its premier, top-level artists, of which Chris Stapleton is now very much a part of. Forget the radio charts, there’s no artist in country music right now that’s bigger than Chris Stapleton.
And come Grammy night, there may not be an artist any bigger in all of music. And I don’t give a damn if Chris Stapleton thinks that country music needs to be saved or if he fancies himself a savior, I will be rooting him on none the less. Because Chris Stapleton is helping to save country music, whether he wants to be or not.
READ: The Case Against Chris Stapleton As Country Music’s Savior
February 8, 2016 @ 7:52 pm
Chris doesn’t get it.
February 8, 2016 @ 7:58 pm
Exactly!! Great Read and every word the truth!!!
February 8, 2016 @ 8:05 pm
I must confess I actually heard him say similar stuff at the CMA Post-Game Conference, and you’re right whether he likes it or not there’s a sea change coming and he’s basically part of the pack.
That said I still wanna give both him and Gary Allan a serious cursing out for writing “Hangover Tonight” because I actually read the lyrics a few days ago for the very first time and holy fuck the lyrics were just flat out HORRIFYING!!!
February 9, 2016 @ 8:34 am
” That said I still wanna give both him and Gary Allan a serious cursing out for writing “Hangover Tonight” because I actually read the lyrics a few days ago for the very first time and holy fuck the lyrics were just flat out HORRIFYING!!! ”
Indeed . For all of his talent and country music sensibilities , Chris has cranked out some lame lyrics ( Your Man – Josh Turner – could have been written on a bathroom break ) that he’s unapologetically put his name to . I think he needed to do TRAVELER if only to show us he’s much more than lame lyrics with cliche rhymes. BTW , its very interesting how “HORRIFYING” many lyrics appear on the page . They get shoved past people buried in a groove and a wall of Les Pauls and sung by some pretty tight-jeaned bro-boy but man if you actually take the time to read what they are singing you’d wonder what the hell has happened to SONGWRITING as a respectable occupation .
February 8, 2016 @ 8:10 pm
Chris, I wish you could read this but you probably never will. To expand on your sushi analogy, we are tired of being served sushi for years and being told that it’s steak (or any other major meat product). (Traditional country fans) are not running around on a massive campaign to define what is country and what is not to get people to not like or listen to it. We just make awareness that there are differences between genres and whenever you have an entire genre trying to be like another genre, then it’s time for reconciliation and some need for variation and perhaps some artists should move their music elsewhere or perhaps spinoff an entirely new sub genre and let it do its own thing and see how it stands against time.
February 8, 2016 @ 8:28 pm
Now that you mention it, I’m wondering if he actually heard this yet: https://youtu.be/FY8SwIvxj8o
February 10, 2016 @ 5:47 am
I hadn’t seen that yet myself, but I’m gonna use it. Thanks for the ammunition EO
February 10, 2016 @ 9:40 pm
Chris doesn’t know shit from sushi I guess.
February 13, 2016 @ 10:49 pm
I was going to phrase it differently. It’s not that we don’t like sushi, we don’t like when mud cakes are made and served as sushi.
February 8, 2016 @ 8:14 pm
The third paragraph from the bottom is spot on. If people really like Sam Hunt and the others, fine, to each his own, but if people don’t know there’s better music out there for them to like even better, it’s a problem.
February 9, 2016 @ 8:37 am
“The third paragraph from the bottom is spot on. If people really like Sam Hunt and the others, fine, to each his own, but if people don”™t know there”™s better music out there for them to like even better, it”™s a problem.”
And that’s all we are saying isn’t it Lisa ? Let’s make sure people KNOW there are options on the menu .
February 9, 2016 @ 7:13 pm
The success of Chris Stapleton really proves that point. To all of the sudden have Chris up at the top of the charts bro-country was recently ruling exclusively gives support to the argument that a lot of fans didn’t know that music of Chris’s quality was around. It wasn’t until after the exposure of the CMAs that the general country audience seemed to flock to him.
February 9, 2016 @ 11:16 pm
I love Sam Hunt and i also love Chris Stapleton. However, I’d rather listen to music like Stapleton and other neo-traditional sounding artists over alot of the ‘new country/pop country’ on the radio.
February 10, 2016 @ 9:30 am
You prefer country rap?
February 10, 2016 @ 4:09 pm
Please show me where I said that?
February 8, 2016 @ 8:40 pm
I’m hoping a Stapleton copycat will eclipse him and put country back on the right path.
February 8, 2016 @ 8:54 pm
Stapleton is right. Country music doesn’t need saving. Country music is alive and well. What needs saving is country radio, Music Row and the idiots who don’t think Green River Ordinance isn’t country.
How can we accelerate the self-destructive path that Music Row and country radio has set themselves upon? I mean, at this point, a full-on industry-wide corporate implosion is what it’s going to take, right?
We’ve had Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell, Kacey Musgraves and now Chris Stapleton win major awards and/or hit the top of the charts, yet no change in country radio or how things are done on Music Row. We don’t need a savior or saviors, we need the grim reaper.
February 8, 2016 @ 9:14 pm
People have been hoping, praying, and predicting a complete implosion of the music industry for years. If it was ever going to happen, it would have happened four or five years ago when EMI was on the brink of implosion and sold. Major industries with a lot at stake learn how to survive. You can’t make money on recorded music anymore so they invented the 360 deal to take money from artists for touring and merch. If anything implodes, it will be American corporate radio, and it will have impacts much farther than country music. At this point it’s an inevitability that Cumulus and iHeartMedia will fold. But I wouldn’t even predict that happening. They’ll probably merge, and figure out how to limp along for another two years on an outmoded business model, and won’t stop until every single radio station on the planet plays the same music from one nationalized mono-genre syndicated show. Bobby Bones will host.
February 9, 2016 @ 9:12 am
Oh, please,no! I hate Iâ¤radio! I hate the coporotcracy that has become country music. It’s a nightmare sitting and listening to songs that all sound the same. Same melody, same beat,same lyrics. Especially when you change the station and it comes on the next station two seconds later! I just bought a Sirius radio, and will definitely enjoy listening to something different. Until I have that set up, I’ll just listen to oldies.
February 10, 2016 @ 9:34 am
The genre has changed just like rock has. Huge difference from Buddy Holly Vs Metallica. But now it seems like that genre is dead cause more and more white people are listening to rap instead.
February 10, 2016 @ 12:03 pm
I would argue there’s far LESS difference between Metallica/Buddy Holly than Merle/Sam Hunt.
February 8, 2016 @ 8:59 pm
I don’t care what his words are, I care about results.
When (not if) he brings home the gold at the Grammy’s he’ll have finished what was started this last November. Luke Bryan could finally be finished as the top star in the genre, and Sam Hunt is inconsequential because unlike Luke Bryan he hasn’t managed to spawn imitators, in fact exactly the opposite: people trying to imitate him have gone up in flames.
February 8, 2016 @ 9:10 pm
Isn’t it easy for him to say this after the success he has had in the past months? If the Sam Hunt’s of the world were in their right genre, then you wouldn’t have traditional country fans trying convince other people about real country music.
February 8, 2016 @ 9:16 pm
I was just posting a sentiment from your article s moment ago. “Music that makes us better people”, I am not asking the chase rice Bryant aldeans to be role models, but I know a lot of people who emulate their songs. Guys who spend all their money on trucks and go drinking every night nearly, and leave their children at home hungry & alone. Young people who live with their parents never worked a day in their life, and have everything provided for them, and just live to party. My town is full of these people, I know them first hand all of the them are trying to live out a luke Bryan song, this is why I try to turn them on to a better brand of music. It could be coincidence that terrible people (they do exist) like to be spoon fed this crap, but I think it is easier than facing responsibilities and life. Waylon’s music changed me as a person, all in all it has a positive message. I don’t see the message in pop country except ” we’re cool, and we do this you should too”. I know its always a rant, but you try to live in my town around all the drugs, bars, fights, bad schools, drugs, negligent parents, and fake country on every radio in every car,truck,and store.
I am done worrying about Stapleton your right country music and country folks need him right now.
February 8, 2016 @ 11:33 pm
Jake W. I agree with you completely. The same stuff happens in my home town. I think its funny how people think that they can have parties in corn fields in the summer, its good when their diesel truck’s engine is knocking, and they can treat women like shit. They just take everything that was once good in country music and twist it into something ugly and perverse. I get tired of seeing all these assholes wearing camo hats and cowboy boots acting like they are “the shit.” There is actually a big congregation of them that get together for an event called Yankee Lake Truck Night just across the Pa/OH border, and I will tell you its not pretty. It is the complete epitome of Bro-Country. Its kind of funny to go there and laugh at everyone, until you realize that all those people can reproduce. I think that really what has saved me as a younger individual from getting into that crowd is the fact that I like to look at things on a deeper level. If you cannot listen to the song, just as an example, “Choices” by George Jones, and not at least stop to think about your life, then there is a problem. Music to me is supposed to take you to real life places and help you deal with real life problems; not fantasy places where the beer always flowing, the “bitches” all have their legs wide open, and you will never be hung over. That’s why I love real country music, and I think that with the lack of it on the radio, society has definitely been negatively impacted. With that said I am happy with Stapleton’s success as well, despite his unwillingness to speak out against the music industry. I am not sure if I expected him to speak out anyways, and turn against the machine that has made him successful. I think a real “Country Music Savior” will build themselves from the ground up, and live and breath real traditional country. With that said Cody Jinks and Whitey Morgan come to mind for sure.
February 8, 2016 @ 9:57 pm
Trig, do you think the “I don’t want to be country musics savior” leaves the door open for these artist do you do whatever music they want without any accountability? If Chris or Sturgill were to put out a bro country song they can always say “I never said I was Music savior.” I look forward to the day somebody owns the “country savior” moniker. Thanks.
February 8, 2016 @ 10:38 pm
He is an established songwriter with six number-one songs[4] including the five-week number-one “Never Wanted Nothing More” recorded by Kenny Chesney, “Love’s Gonna Make It Alright” recorded by George Strait, and “Come Back Song” recorded by Darius Rucker.[5] As a songwriter, over 150 of Stapleton’s songs have appeared on albums by such artists as Adele, Luke Bryan, Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley and Dierks Bentley.[6] He has co-written with notable artists like Vince Gill, Peter Frampton and Sheryl Crow.[7] got that right out of Wikipedia pretty damn impressive. Talk about diverse he just loves music seems to me anyway.
February 9, 2016 @ 8:43 am
“Love”™s Gonna Make It Alright” recorded by George Strait, and “Come Back Song” recorded by Darius Rucker.”
…..Two of the WORST song lyrics ever forced upon radio and listeners . Absolute lost-for-an-idea crap when there are so many GREAT GREAT lyrics by GREAT writers that never see ANY attention whatsoever. THIS ‘ emperor’s new lyrics’ approach to writing for the ” machine” is what undermines ANY credibility Music Row may think its garnered .
February 8, 2016 @ 11:01 pm
I’m a fan of Chris Stapleton’s music. I think it’s his personality type to try to stand up for friends and fellow musicians making whatever kind of music they’re trying to make. I suppose many musicians think of each other as their “team,” and the rest of us as the “audience,” whereas a lot of us in the audience think in terms of a “good team” consisting of the artists we like and ourselves, the fans of those artists. It’s sort of like SEC football fans hating the other teams with a passion, but often the players and coaches of the rival programs feel a stronger connection to their friends who are “rival” players and coaches than to any of the fans.
That said, while I certainly respect the opinions of the musicians, I read critic sites such as this because I also respect the opinions of music fans and critics who do try to separate the wheat from the chaff. I learn about new music places like this, and my tastes aren’t always in line with mainstream offerings. For instance, the “music” offered at the halftime of the recent Super Bowl must appeal to a lot of people somewhere, or it wouldn’t be afforded such an audience. I thought it was putrid.
Finally, I give the Grammy voters some credit. I think, by any reasonable standard, that 3 of the 5 country album nominees (Stapleton, Monroe, Musgraves) are decidedly “neotraditional” in style. No matter whether the artists themselves were necessarily trying to make any sort of statement when recording the music, the voters did make a statement. The amount of radio play for all of these “neotraditional” albums was minimal, so clearly there is some disconnect between the style of music that radio considers worthy country music and the style of music that CMA and Grammy voters consider worthy country music. To put it another way, critics refused to accept the bait they were offered by radio as acceptable sushi.
February 8, 2016 @ 11:30 pm
I have a lot of respect for Chris Stapleton since November. I am a big fan of his and cd was excellent! Sam Hunt needs to make a country cd.
February 10, 2016 @ 9:38 am
Sam Hunt needs to move to the pop / rap stations.
February 9, 2016 @ 12:29 am
I know this probably isn’t a popular opinion, but I don’t think Stapleton will save country music because his music is barely country. His sound is more blues rock with some country sounds mixed in. His voice is more rock than country as well. Not to mention, for a song writer, the best songs on the album are the covers.
Personally, I prefer the Jompson Brothers to his solo work. That’s my opinion anyway.
February 9, 2016 @ 7:06 am
Jeez, and I thought I was the only one that felt this way! But then, up until this article, he was stroking everyone in all the right places and the guy could do no wrong around here.
February 9, 2016 @ 8:46 am
…..” Not to mention, for a song writer, the best songs on the album are the covers.”
Excellent point , Scott . Overall , Traveler is a solid more- than- listenable record with some great moments …more than most . But Chris has yet to write a ” Jamey Johnson ” kinda solo record.
February 9, 2016 @ 9:05 am
Yeah i agree, he’s overrated! And barely country! Especially the second half of his album, it’s pretty bad!
February 9, 2016 @ 12:39 am
I don’t love the line: “It”™s because they want folks to know that there”™s something better out there”. Neither you nor I can deem any music to be “better” for somebody else other than ourselves. Same goes for what’s inspiring to a particular listener (or even artist). I may be splitting hairs here though because I understand most of your point (I think).
The solution for both what Stapleton is getting at and for fans who want something more in their music is to have diversity in the mainstream. I agree there’s too many party songs and songs driven by drum loops on the radio/Spotify playlists/award shows. But that doesn’t mean that branch of country music has to be eliminated completely. I still enjoy bro-country artists and some other stuff that you may hate when its the right setting and in moderation. I’ll take Luke Bryan song* 10 out of 10 times over Jason Isbell at a football tailgate, but unfortunately I’m only at football tailgates a few Saturdays a year and need more than just that.
But, like you said, without something more organic to balance it out, too many listeners won’t know that there is something different out there (maybe better/maybe not). This allows other, deserving artists, to reach new potentials, and exposes very different music to people who would not have heard it.
*Except Home Alone Tonight. That song is unbearable no matter where you are.
February 9, 2016 @ 8:52 am
” But that doesn”™t mean that branch of country music has to be eliminated completely.”
It’s not ” country music ” or even a ” branch ” of country music just because radio has called it that. There’s is nothing country about it in theme , lyric craft , instrumentation or vocal performance . THAT’S the issue …not the music itself , so much . If you like that kind of music …fine . My kids liked Sesame Street music ….Great …its for kids , written and performed for young kids .It isn’t played on country radio and called a ” branch of country music “. Real country IS , WAS and SHOULD CONTINUE TO BE music with some tradition musically and substance …it should move us emotionally and yes …even spiritually . Sam Hunt does neither . It is NOT country music so lets just get it OFF country radio and allow REAL country writers , players and performers to deliver the goods again .Sam Hunt should be on pop radio with the Taylor Swifts and the Biebers and POP ‘ artists ” …NOT REAL COUNTRY RADIO .
February 10, 2016 @ 12:05 am
Look, All I’m saying is that I think that pop-country can (and should) coexist with artists that offer more depth and craft like Stapleton and Isbell. That doesn’t mean I think pop-country is all that great now. I think artists like Bryan, Aldean and Shelton should be releasing more meaningful songs, such as their music in the 2000s and even some of their album cuts today.
Not every radio song needs to be especially moving or emotional. The problem is, right now, there are almost no songs with real substance. There can and should be a balance.
February 9, 2016 @ 10:06 am
Tom,
That line naked does look like it all breaks down to taste. But you have to continue through the rest of the paragraph:
“This is not just about taste. This is about materialism vs. inspiration. This is about bigotry vs. respect. This is about listening to music that makes us better people, and music that breeds understanding and mends heartbreak as opposed to portraying life as one endless party.”
Like others have said, part of this has to do with simply informing consumers that they have a choice. Many don’t know this. If they know of their choices and still choose Sam Hunt, then that’s their prerogative. But right now they’re walking into a restaurant and being told Sushi is all that’s on the menu when there’s an entire world of options out there for them.
February 9, 2016 @ 10:13 am
Couldn’t agree more with that.
February 9, 2016 @ 10:58 am
If I’m at a tailgate, I’m listening to 90s gangster rap or cheesy pop (Teenage Dirtbag, etc.) , not Bro Country.
February 9, 2016 @ 2:59 am
Some of u r pretty funny….
February 9, 2016 @ 8:47 am
I’ve seen you be pretty funny too Robby…
February 9, 2016 @ 8:51 am
In addition to being a fan of all of Chris Stapleton’s music, I’m also a fan of Robby Turner’s. I heard the first couple songs from Loretta Lynn’s new album, and there you are.
Sorry to ramble off topic, but while I have all the singers from Paintsville on my mind, that reminds me that I haven’t seen anyone mention Crystal Gayle’s album. Her recent comments might be worthy fodder here:
http://laughlinentertainer.com/?p=3638
“There are so many writers out there that are really good ”¦.writers who write great songs but no one will record them, because they”™re after the beat. It”™s like this “bro movement,” or whatever it is. I don”™t really know what it is. They”™re selling I guess, but I don”™t know if people will remember them later.”
February 9, 2016 @ 3:36 am
“And come Grammy night, there may not be an artist any bigger in all of music.”
You really do love exaggerating that guy’s success. You acts as if his album is selling on Adele levels.
February 9, 2016 @ 8:57 am
Speaking of shit lyrics , have a look at Adele’s ” Hello ” on the page . WOW !!!! . A lyrical JOKE
. The best thing she ever recorded was Stapleton’s Steel Driver song .’
February 9, 2016 @ 10:08 am
In a comparative nature, Chris Stapleton is the Adele of country music. If he wins, who’s to say he couldn’t be at Adele’s level in a few years?
February 9, 2016 @ 6:19 am
The only songs I listen to from Stapleton are “Traveller”, “Nobody To Blame”, and “Outlaw State Of Mind”. His other songs are below par. To call him a savior of any kind is a little much, considering how the guy has three good songs.
February 9, 2016 @ 4:44 pm
To each their own. I loved the album, mostly Daddy Doesn’t Pray Anymore and the first three songs, but I admit that the middle of the album is not memorable, and actually quite weak in spots. I think it’s too much to call him a savior (albeit I am guilty of that). His rise up so quickly just shows that at the very least the public and radio aren’t on the same page, and that radio needs to catch up.
February 9, 2016 @ 6:29 am
The guys at work listen to the pop country shit and there’s nothing I can do about. This is one of many reasons it needs saving. But you can’t convince people with a bad taste or a different outlook of anything. Just need sites like this to write about all the good music that IS being made. Then we the pop fans come to read an article about their shitty heroes – the articles I never read – they might stumble onto something good.
February 9, 2016 @ 6:47 am
I read Stapleton’s comments in one of the articles that was linked to the top of this page last week and I could not disagree with them more. My take was the same as yours, Trigger — that he is too entrenched in the status quo and now that he’s begun to have some success as a solo recording artist, he’s not willing to rock the boat. His point about letting people like what they like and not trying to convince them to forsake it it lieu of something “better” is well taken, but he is failing to acknowledge that this entire genre — or at least the mainstream radio component of it — has been hijacked, and it’s getting harder and harder to find that “something better”.
February 9, 2016 @ 7:52 am
I can’t totally blame him for how he is thinking, even if I am not totally on board with it. I mean the first thing is he is probably legitimate friends with a lot of those guys, even if there music is like night and day. He is not going to throw them under the bus and try to hurt their careers in any way. A lot of artists seem to take the very simplistic view of “if you don’t like it, then just don’t buy it” and on the surface that makes perfect sense, however as you point out there is more to it. Like you also said things are good for him right now, he has become hugely successful under the current system, so he might think that if he can do it others can also. He has been there for quite a while and making a good living, so he might think it would really be taking a cheap shot to talk about how bad things are, especially when a lot of those people are close to him. Almost back to when we talked on here about good people who sing bad songs and bad people who sing good songs. Many of those people singing bad songs are probably great guys and very close with him, so he doesn’t even want to go in the direction of talking negative about them or their music.
February 9, 2016 @ 10:13 am
I don’t expect any artist to come out and complain about his fellow label mates and songwriting buddies. That does him no good personally or professionally, and that’s what I’m here for 🙂 . But to say that “nothing gets on his nerves more” than people showing concern about what’s going on in country music is an entirely different thing. That’s going to bat for the other team.
But again, I don’t care. I think his music helps the cause. Actions speak louder.
February 9, 2016 @ 5:17 pm
Just the same, though, I think of how Stapleton’s take contrasts with Aaron Watson and how he outright acknowledged how he thought Sam Hunt’s album was the most un-country thing he’d ever heard, and how similar Stapleton’s take is to Eric Church saying that there were “no more genres.”
I’m trying, Trigger. I really am. But Stapleton sure as hell isn’t making it easy with his remarks about how people need to “stop caring about lines.” He’s entitled to his opinion, but the term “country music” means something to a lot of people, and he seems to be flippantly dismissing that.
February 10, 2016 @ 9:49 pm
I know I keep repeating this quote but it is apropos….from Rolling Stone….when presented with “Merle Haggard has said he”™s sick of hearing about tractors, beer and the beach in country music. It seems like your album is proof we”™re moving on from bro-country.” Stapleton replied “Well, country music has always had tractors, beer and beaches. Hank Jr. and Buck Owens sang about that stuff. I get tired of people trying to dog out the radio for not playing this or that. There are lots of people who like what they play ”“ otherwise, they wouldn”™t play it.” Nice beard, but his lack of concern for the status quo in country music is lame.
February 9, 2016 @ 8:34 am
“We don”™t really do that with anything else. ” What’s he talking about people do that with EVERYTHING else. Movies, books, beer, wine, whiskey, food, restaurants, sports, sports teams, and the list goes on.
February 9, 2016 @ 10:14 am
Politics, religion. Yes, we live in the most culturally divided and polarized time in culture since The Civil War and the Civil Rights movement. People love to hate on people that are not like them.
February 10, 2016 @ 12:07 pm
620,000 people died in the civil war. Churches, homes, businesses blown up. People lynched, drug behind trucks. Falsely inprisoned citizens. Yeah whether or not I like what’s on the radio, or your politics, or if you’re baptist that’s comparable.
February 10, 2016 @ 12:13 pm
“SINCE” The Civil War. Nobody is saying it’s comparable.
February 10, 2016 @ 1:05 pm
So you mean Vietnam, the LA riots, the Miami riots, Ferguson etc.
February 10, 2016 @ 1:50 pm
I’m not talking about wars and calamitous events, I’m talking about a mindset. In the 80’s, the American culture was much more united. Go look at an electoral college map from Regan’s second election. In the 90’s everyone was so sedated and happy, apathy was the issue. Today we’re divided more in the way we perceive each other since the 70’s. In my opinion.
February 13, 2016 @ 11:21 pm
I think “since” the civil war is accurate. Even during the 60s the divisions were mostly on college campuses and the media, not suburbia.
I remember asking my dad, who was fairly politically active and aware and liberal, if it seemed like the world was falling apart in the 60s, with the deaths of JFK, RFK, and MLK. He looked at me surprised and said “No.” Then looked at me as if to say “Why would I?”
I guess he was too busy keeping a job, mortgage and raising kids. I think Wash DC, was so much farther away back then.
Ha! And he built a garage without a permit, he, uncle and some neighbors. And I’ve spent 10 months and $10000 just getting permits to convert a garage! I guess govt at all levels is worse!
February 9, 2016 @ 8:38 am
I kind of agree with Stapleton, country music doesn’t need saving. Look at all the fantastic artists that are available for us to listen to. Along with Chris, you have Sturgill Simpson, you have Jason Isbell. There are many other Texas country/red dirt bands too. Turnpike Troubadours, Cody Jinks, Aaron Watson. Let the artists like Sam Hunt and Rascal Flatts have radio, because in all honesty we don’t need it. There are tons of ways to listen to good quality country music.
February 9, 2016 @ 9:04 am
Country radio is what it is.
The readers of this site, do not represent the people radio is catering too.
That is the reality and we need to deal with it.
There are people out there that love and live for candy country.
February 9, 2016 @ 9:28 am
” At this point it”™s an inevitability that Cumulus and iHeartMedia will fold.”
yikes. That’s quite a statement. how much do they owe? and who’s gonna take the hit?
Radio, print newspapers, and tv are all getting smaller in Canada, laying people off regularly. some stations going barebones and paying minimum wage to on air staff.
as you said, for those doing well, change is unwanted.
I’m all right Jack keep your hands off of my stack
February 9, 2016 @ 9:35 am
I’m not sure that Sam Hunt fans would say his music belongs in that tight window of just being an endless party. I think thats one of the things that makes him sustainable compared to other artists who will potentially be weathered away.
February 9, 2016 @ 9:44 am
Chris isn’t about to bite the hand that feeds him. Don’t forget he has gotten many a cute from Luke, Thomas Rhett, Chesney, etc. He isn’t stupid but he has to truly know that the other stuff is crap or he wouldn’t be making the records he makes.
February 9, 2016 @ 9:59 am
Stapleton knows who butters his bread, and its not fans of “real” Country. Regardless of my personal feeling about him, I also still believe “Traveler” is an IMMENSELY overrated album. Sure it’s a infinitely better than anything else in the Mainstream but its not half as good as most of Hank IIIs early stuff, most of the HELLBOUND Glory stuff, Jayke Orvis, WILLIAM Elliott WHITMORE, Turnpike Troubadours, Stevie Tombstone, Rachel BROOKE, etc etc etc. That’s why I’m like Fuck Chris Stapleton. If he leads to some more Underground artists to get exposure great but he’s no saviour. Which honestly as good as some of Sturgill’s stuff has been, Sunday Valley was also better so I don’t think anyone’s gonna save anything.
February 9, 2016 @ 10:18 am
Sigh.
Hidden in his commentary is the implication that if one doesn’t like what’s on the radio, one should go listen to something else. Which is true, but just the same it’d be nice to be able to turn on country radio and actually hear country music. I am reminded of the old gun nut question:
“Why don’t you traditional country music fans go off and start your own genre?”
“We did. Who the hell let you in?”
February 9, 2016 @ 3:12 pm
^^^^
This!!
February 9, 2016 @ 11:19 am
I can see where Stapleton is coming from. Let people like what they like, and eventually album and tour sales will determine who survives. But I think the main reason for blogs like these are that the only thing people can agree to when it comes to country music is that most of the country music on the radio has gotten really bad. Most here seem to prefer Americana or retro (Traditional) country. I myself prefer Texas Country or bands that sound like country, but aren’t afraid to seek new levels of sound without compromising the past like Jamey Johnson or Cody Jinks.
This all reminds me of when I was growing up as a kid and the popular music of the time was Hard Rock/Metal. Radio took the sound of Van Halen and Poison and determined all bands should sound like them if they want radio play. All the bands began wearing makeup and sounding the same. Even old geezer bands tried to get in. In the end, people became bored, new anti-hair bands came along and broke through with a more traditional hard rock sound, and the music of the era is now referred to as a joke (Hair Rock). Hard Rock/Metal has survived to some part, with so many genres it’s hard to keep track. Not much of any of it is played on the radio.
Country will survive. But at what level and how many different types is still up in the air. I wonder if Country will befall the same fate as Metal?
February 9, 2016 @ 12:06 pm
It is never my intention to persuade people to not like music that they enjoy. The first rule of art appreciation is that if you like it, that’s all that matters. However it is also my intention to let listeners know they have a choice, and healthier options, including artists like Chris Stapleton. But that idea is collateral damage in Chris Stapleton’s comments.
February 9, 2016 @ 11:29 am
hes telling you to buy sam hunt’s record because he co-wrote all those songs…lol
February 10, 2016 @ 11:25 am
There are people telling you not to buy it also because that’s how they make their money. So buy what you like. Instead of blowing up your TV like Prine said, blow up your radio, and find Jesus on your own.
February 9, 2016 @ 12:15 pm
I wasn’t implying that you were dissuading people from liking certain music, only that the only real agreement among those who listen to alternative country is that radio country sucks. Thus that is the reason why there is more talk about that than the music we like, which varies greatly. If that makes sense.
February 9, 2016 @ 12:31 pm
If country music was some how saved what would Trigger do? I don’t know these people on the radio because I don’t listen to it. Used to be I could come here and find music. Man I fuckin loved this site told everyone about it. Now I can’t enjoy a lot of the post because I have no clue who they’re talking about.
I do find it funny that folks are outraged at Chris Stapleton now that his dirty lil secret is out. He never tried as far as I can tell to ever hide who he is. Chris, Sturgill, Jason none are looking to be boxed in to a catagory.
Never been more divided since the Civil War or the civil rights movement. Really I don’t know anyone shot, lynched, beaten, or denied freedom because of their music. I know that wasn’t your whole point but to bring that into discussion. Really?
February 9, 2016 @ 1:40 pm
After seeing whitey morgan and chatting with him a bit after the show, that’s my guy, he’s really into doing it the eight way the old fashioned way the outlaw way if he gains some more momentum he could be our true savior of the music
February 9, 2016 @ 5:52 pm
I’ve been reading articles on this site since May and this one is definitely my favorite. Trigger, you put everything I was thinking into words. I also agree with other commenters that Stapleton’s album is overrated. (Whew! Feels good to say). I agree with so many things in this article and what other commenters have said. This article makes me feel sane. Now, back to my red dirt streaming.
February 9, 2016 @ 6:11 pm
I like Stapleton, but of course he would say this. He has the best of both worlds. His album is a righteous success and the songs he writes are trendy hits and covered by multiple singers. Nothing to save when you are the darling. It is no different than the popular kids in my high school telling the teachers that everything is fine and people get along when the reality is a giant contrast.
February 10, 2016 @ 1:47 am
I’m glad someone with high enough profile finally said it. Too bad it won’t make this whole tired handwringing/whining that things aren’t like they used to be go away. History’s written by the winners and you poor saps still haven’t realized you lost 20+ years ago.
The fact that you guys are putting all your chips on a dying medium that’s never been about catering to fringe elements is laughable. If you’re hoping radio is key to what makes country “real” (whatever that means) in 2016, then you all deserve each other. But go ahead, keep talking among yourselves without ever presenting a viable solution to what you see as the problem at hand – you know, besides “this guy sucks” and “that ain’t country”. Should you ever pull it together enough to make a case that’s marketable and fiscally sound, find someone besides a news aggregator with an opinion to present it.
February 10, 2016 @ 8:49 am
Someone didn’t read the article.
February 10, 2016 @ 12:02 pm
First off, don’t be using my name. I don’t want folks thinking I’m a dumb ass. Secondly, it’s more about good or bad music and how the corporate music business has sucked the artistic merit out of the genre. Current country radio music is a fucking joke to people that work in other genres but they all like the real shit that our genre once produced because it’s undeniably great. Songwriters on Music Row are being made to crank out the same song on a daily basis because the only way publishers and writers can make any real money now is to write a single and unfortunately morons like Bobby Bones, that doesn’t even have much of an education on country music, dictates what that one song is. Basically, nineties rock or R&B music with some hip hop phrasing and standard lyrics about shit that seems country. If people love that, then great but we have a right to be pissed that there’s no room left for artists and songs that don’t fit that mold. We will keep talking to ourselves and why don’t you go hang out on Bobby Bones website or some forum for guys that love to ride around blaring Jason Aldean out of there jacked up pick up. You might be surprised at who comments on here under assumed names. There are a lot of people on Music Row that hate whats going on but have to play along to make a living. In fact, I’d say most on Music Row wouldn’t dare listen to the crap for their own entertainment that they are selling to everyone else. But on the Row it’s the Emperor’s New Clothes.
February 10, 2016 @ 1:41 pm
I wonder if Stapleton would be happy if he went to a restaurant and ordered steak and instead someone served him sushi and told him it was steak. And then when he said, “No. This is sushi.” if they told him, “No, it’s just a different type of steak and it’s just as good as those other steaks.” Then they will tell him how for cows to survive they needed to become more like fish but they are still cows even though they look just like fish. Also on top of this, they make it very difficult to acquire normal steaks and he must go to special supermarkets just to find a steak for him to cook himself.
February 10, 2016 @ 3:59 pm
In response to the last paragraph: HELL YEAH!
February 11, 2016 @ 8:07 pm
I like Cody Webb myself. Simple country music. Music that makes you happy you’re IN the country. So many good singers out there that should be heard. I try ro find them ,so I don’t listen to the radio!
February 12, 2016 @ 12:37 am
I agree with Stapleton. People hating on modern country are stupid.
February 23, 2016 @ 10:00 pm
The author of his article just sounds whiney and arrogant. I love old country stuff, and think the new county stuff is a joke, but it’s just party music, man. Let people have their fun. The holier than thou BS of those outside the mainstream of country is tired and obnoxious.
August 4, 2018 @ 11:03 am
His comment about people trying to convince other people to not like an artist or style of music is spot on. It accomplishes nothing. Try to expose others to music you do like and artists you think are deserving of more attention. That approach is good for everyone, from the artist to the fans. Bashing on someone for what they like is just self serving and antagonistic.