Country Hall of Fame Readies New Major Exhibit, “Outlaws & Armadillos: Country’s Roaring ’70s”
Yes, Yes, and Yes!
On Thursday (1-11), the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville announced their newest major exhibit to open on May 25th, 2018. Not just part of the regular rotation of smaller exhibits, the major exhibit creates the cornerstone for the museum’s focus for the next few years, and will include performances, panels, and other events to coincide with the exhibit.
Replacing the current major exhibit, Dylan, Cash, and the Nashville Cats will be Outlaws & Armadillos: Country’s Roaring ’70s, covering not just the Outlaw country movement in the 70’s but also the Austin and the Texas component to the historic and influential country music movement. The exhibit is said to “explore a Golden Age of country music—a rowdy flowering that took place in Texas and Tennessee, and provided classic songs, and unforgettable personalities,” and will include one of the largest assemblages of Outlaw country artifacts, memorabilia, and information to ever be compiled.
“The smooth Nashville sound of the 1950’s and 60’s proved to be commercially viable, and musically notable,” says the introductory video. “But the social upheaval that formed the backdrop of the museum’s outgoing exhibit—Dylan, Cash, and the Nashville Cats—continued in America, and music makers responded. Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Bobby Bare, Chris Gantry, Shel Silverstein, and David Allan Coe were bulls running in Music Row’s China shop, straining always for more creative control.”
Not just about Willie and Waylon, like the Hall of Fame and Museum did with their previous major exhibits on the Hank Williams legacy and the Bakersfield Sound, the exhibit will also focus on many of the unheralded artists and events that led to the formidable impact the Outlaw era had.
“As the shifting ground and new blood began to change the Nashville scene in the 1960’s and 70’s, art and music flourished in the Texas capital of Austin,” says the Hall of Fame. “In Austin, Willie found a music scene rife with freaks, jocks, rednecks, and hippies, all eager to hear his free-flowing brand of country music. Back in Nashville, Waylon Jennings and Bobby Bare fought and won their creative freedom, arresting control of their own sound and style.”
For Outlaw country fans, this is similar to the release of a new Star Wars trilogy, and May 25th can’t get here soon enough. At the moment, the exhibit is set to end on Feb. 14, 2021. More details on the exhibit as they become available.
JUST ANNOUNCED: Outlaws & Armadillos: Country’s Roaring ’70s, the Museum’s new major exhibit, will open May 25th! #Outlaws #cmhof pic.twitter.com/6ILooYDb28
— Country Music HOF (@countrymusichof) January 11, 2018
Trigger
January 11, 2018 @ 10:52 am
I seriously don’t know how to put into words how excited I am for this. This is what I’ve been hoping the Hall of Fame would do for their next major exhibit for years. Obviously this will go a very long way into helping spread and preserve the legacy of some great country music artists, and hopefully the philosophy that led to their success, and the success of country music by proxy. May 28th is tortuously far away.
Eli Locke
January 11, 2018 @ 11:36 am
We’ve been really excited about it for a while, hopefully you can make it up to Nashville to check it out.
Marc
January 11, 2018 @ 6:36 pm
I LOVE the outlaw area of country music and I intend on visiting the cmhof just for this reason. Hell, I live just outside of Nashville so why not? Btw Trigger, never mind the haters and keep doing what you’re doing.
Erik North
January 12, 2018 @ 7:42 am
What I also think this exhibit would seem to do, if something like it hadn’t happened before, is that it kind of bridged the divide that Nashville had with people like Willie and Waylon and their compatriots, who defied convention and The Rules, and defined musical individualism for that time.
And it does still two other things, it seems to me: One, it helped to open up a whole new realm of popularity for country music, and helped make them ambassadors of the form. And secondly, it brought them widespread popularity among fans of rock, who appreciated their commitment to telling their experiences as they were, which is where all good art comes from (IMHO).
Gina
January 11, 2018 @ 11:03 am
So much yes! Finally. I’ll be thrilled to see this.
Texican
January 11, 2018 @ 11:03 am
Any word on how long it’s gonna run? I had planned on visiting in July
Trigger
January 11, 2018 @ 11:06 am
I would guess at least for two years, and if it does well, it could be extended. The Hank Williams exhibit they extended I believe twice because of the interest. I think there will be a lot more folks interested in this as opposed to the Nashville Cats exhibit. No offense to that one, but it felt a little too busy and not really grounded in a resonant theme compared to this, the Hank Williams exhibit, or the Bakersfield exhibit.
E
January 11, 2018 @ 11:37 am
The Nashvillle cats exhibit was extended, due to extreme popularity, but I personally enjoyed the Bakersfield exhibit more.
Trigger
January 11, 2018 @ 2:21 pm
Official press release finally went out. It’s slated to run until Feb. 14, 2021. There will also be a companion book to the exhibit.
Convict charlie
January 11, 2018 @ 11:19 am
They do an excellent job with their exhibits. This is really cool. The museum supposedly has two million pieces of history in their archives.
Makes you wonder how they come up with some of the stuff or ideas. Would think someone donated a piece of the history and it went from there.
If you’re a member they usually send you advance entry into this. It was a little over four years ago we got to go to the Bakersfield sound one. They send out an email a few weeks before and ask if you can make it. Get a free tour for a few hours.
I don’t believe they do it anymore but living in New York they had an out if state membership that was only $40 for the year. Entry was $25 anyways so if you went more than once it paid for itself. Add all of the cool things like this and you can’t go wrong.
Gina
January 11, 2018 @ 11:44 am
They really do. The Loretta Lynn exhibit is so beautiful.
Trigger
January 11, 2018 @ 11:48 am
I’m really surpriseed there’s not more interest and excitement in this. Like you said, their main exhibits are an unparalleled deep dive into history that are very well done, and over the next couple of years, millions will walk exhibits explaining things like the legacy of the Armadillo World Headquarters, and “creative control.”
Fuzzy TwoShirts
January 11, 2018 @ 3:08 pm
I think SCM is a poor representative of the types of people who would be excited for this.
A lot of us here are dyed in the wool Country fans who haven’t embraced the mythical aspect of this era.
Like me.
Lots of people are excited and love the outlaws.
But a venn diagram of people who love the outlaws and people who would frequent a website dedicated to the traditions of Country Music would be two circles that don’t intersect as much.
I prefer a lot of the pre-70s stuff, as do a good deal of the others who comment around here although I think I’m the most outspoken of the bunch.
Trigger
January 11, 2018 @ 4:15 pm
The conclusions of this comment couldn’t be more wrong. I would say the exact opposite of everything you said is true. I don’t mean to be rude, but it just boggles my mind these are the conclusions anyone would come to. And it speaks to an increasing issue I am facing, which is what people either want or expect Saving Country Music to be, and what it has evidenced in a pretty static nature over a 10-year period.
By the way, less than 5% of Saving Country Music readers comment, and the biggest concentration of readers anywhere is on Music Row in Nashville.
Kevin Smith
January 12, 2018 @ 6:49 am
Trigger,
I don’t want to dominate the comments, so all apologies. Your comment here is interesting. SCM does mean different things to different people. I like what you do, it’s fine as is. You turn us on to new voices in the country realm, folks who will never be mainstream. Win for all of us. You also cover the idiocy which is always good for laughs. You also impressively cover live festivals and events that are relavant to the cause. And you write touching tributes to those we lose in the genre.
You do an impressive amount for a one man show. And I thank you. Of course we will have differing takes on things from time to time, thats half the fun. The comments forum is a hoot!
Now personally, if I had time I’d probably start a blog as well, more focused on unearthing overlooked country gems and nuggets from albums of the past. That’s sort of a pastime of mine. So much great music has been made over the decades that’s getting lost. I’m a nostalgic SOB. That, and I love discovering a killer song I’ve never heard , buried on an old LP from 1965, for example. And i know it would probably get about 6 readers! Whatever, it’s my thing.
Occasionally you have spotlighted a classic album in depth, and I love it. So , to me, the phrase saving country music also includes pointing folks to great past exsmples of the music for the purpose of education and inspiration. That’s not a criticism of you, you have your hands full just doing what you do. Anyhow, I’ve rattled on enough and you get my point.
Lord Honky Of Crackersley
January 11, 2018 @ 5:00 pm
Fuzzy,
When I think of the 70’s, I think of the obvious names like Haggard and Jones, but I also think of folks like Moe Bandy, Gene Watson, Mel Street, Gary Stewart, Don Williams, etc.
I couldN’T care less about the Outlaw movement as a movement, although I enjoy Waylon’s voice, and Willie’s way with words.
In 2018, the Outlaw movement is basically what young urban dwelling guys get into, who just discovered Country Music, but are getting burned out on listening to Folsom Prison Blues 50 times per day.
Whiskeytown
January 11, 2018 @ 6:41 pm
When I think of the outlaw movement, Waylon and Willie are a small part of it. The movement was so much bigger than them and Austin proved to be a place that allowed this to happen. So many good songwriters emerged from this time and “outlaw” was a marketing scheme from record labels trying to cash in. I understand the argument of how Outlaw has been played out.
As trigger pointed out, creative control was what these artist were after. This time showcases guys like Jerry Jeff, Doug Sham, BJS, Hondo Crouch, guy clark, townes and so many more. These guys deserve some spotlight and it’s great to see them get it. Yes, they have to share it with something they could care less of, but they are getting it nonetheless.
Jtrpdx
January 11, 2018 @ 10:44 pm
Again, this coming from a guy (Honky) who thinks Midland is the best out there these days. Let that sink in folks, if you ever think taking Honky seriously is a good thing to do.
Whiskeytown
January 12, 2018 @ 10:03 am
For anybody looking for a good documentary about Austin music, check out Sir Doug and the Genuine Texas Cosmic Groove. It was released on Amazon Prime yesterday, been waiting for this for a long time.
hoptowntiger94
January 11, 2018 @ 4:21 pm
Trig … I’m planning on traveling to Nashville to see this exhibit. The last time I was at the hall of fame … 1992.
Kent
January 12, 2018 @ 1:03 am
Oh I’m excited, but I have an damn ocean to cross to get to this exhibits…
Wayfast
January 11, 2018 @ 11:50 am
Never been to the hall of fame, this exhibit is the impetus to change that.
Benny Lee
January 11, 2018 @ 12:03 pm
Awesome. Truly excited for this.
Star Wars is dead to me, but the country music outlaws will live in my heart forever.
Lord Honky Of Crackersley
January 11, 2018 @ 12:06 pm
I’ve never seen a Star Wars movie. I guess I was always too busy being attractive and having a life.
Similarly, I never got overly into Outlaw Country as a movement, because I was too busy being raised on Country Music.
Trigger
January 11, 2018 @ 1:41 pm
You’ve got a life? Couldn’t tell by the way you troll this website and try to throw a wet blanket over everything to bring everyone else down into the pit of misery you’re in.
R2D2
January 11, 2018 @ 1:48 pm
Dilly Dilly!
Lord Honky Of Crackersley
January 11, 2018 @ 2:19 pm
I know, I know. Everyone who disagrees with you is trolling.
MH
January 11, 2018 @ 6:49 pm
Honk,
Why even come here then? Go start your own blog or go jack off to the numerous Ernest Tubb clips available on YouTube.
Lord Honky Of Crackersley
January 11, 2018 @ 7:02 pm
I’m not really attracted to Ernest sexually. I love his music though.
Benny Lee
January 12, 2018 @ 8:21 am
LOL
Maybe it’s a generational thing? I grew up as Star Wars came out. I’ve always been a sucker for a good mythology.
I was raised on good old country music, too. Grandpa used to say the only “outlaw” worth anything was Willie. I disagree, but then I enjoy the music from all the eras of country. He was from the time before Hank, when it was called Country and Western.
If you want to get into a good old fashioned country pissin’ contest, Honky, I have to warn you, I’ve been pissin’ off the front porch since I was old enough to stand.
Benny Lee
January 12, 2018 @ 8:24 am
One correction – I haven’t enjoyed most of radio’s version of “country” since about the mid-90’s. Give me Dwight Yoakam all the way back.
Fuzzy TwoShirts
January 11, 2018 @ 12:29 pm
pffffft! Laaaaaaammmmmeeeeee!
Lame! Lame! money-following pop-culture pandering and pathetic!
The Outlaws??
Seriously!
I hear about them every day, from everyone on this site and any other site and everyone else.
Every time the future of Country Music comes up it always boils back down to Waylon Jennings.
I like Waylon Jennings.
But do you know who else I like?
Vernon Oxford!
Roy Clark!
Joe Carson!
Mel Tillis!
Porter Wagoner
The Smoky Mountain boys!
but can the Hall of Fame put aside this kind of space to talk about anything else?
for some reason apparently not.
Why can’t we see an exhibit about, gee, I dunno,
Songwriters?
Famous Country Singers who grew up in a certain background I.E. coal mines?
Hee Haw?
can we get a Hee Haw exhibit? nothing else meaningfully encompasses several decades of Country Music as well as Hee-Haw.
How about banjo entertainers? Dave Macon was the first star of the Opry!
but apparently we don’t hear enough about Waylon Willie and David Allan Coe.
I’m a bit disappointed because I feel that this era of Country Music is over emphasized and over exposed and other eras like the western swing era and the louvin brothers era go largely overlooked
Convict charlie
January 11, 2018 @ 1:45 pm
You’ve obviously never been. Two of your stuff that is listed have video clips that run in a continuous loop.
Heehaw as well as songwriters. Main songwriter was Harlan Howard. They switch up the place and have a wide variety of different exhibits.
With Peter cooper at the hall of fame it’s even better I would assume. It’s been around three years since I’ve been last.
The Senator
January 11, 2018 @ 2:09 pm
I love a lot of the stuff you mentioned, but why get ticked that someone’s championing Waylon and DAC? It’s not a zero sum game, we can preserve Outlaw culture and music and also use that as a branching point to track back to other branches of the authentic tree of country music. I don’t think the Outlaw era is over emphasized at all, at least there’s an element of good quality country history that gets some appreciation. Take that as a positive, and also champion other great country styles that don’t get the recognition that they well deserve.
Trigger
January 11, 2018 @ 2:29 pm
If you’ve ever been to the Hall of Fame, you know there is an incredible amount of information and artifacts from all of the folks you mention, Fuzzy. The rotating primary exhibit is just that—a temporary focus that zeroes in on a specific era. Frankly, the one thing I’ve felt has been lacking at the Hall of Fame for years is coverage of the Outlaw era compared to its impact on the music, which is why I have been lobbying for this very thing for years.
I can understand how the Outlaw era may not be everyone’s thing, but to act like its somehow a bad thing blows my mind. Maybe they should have the next exhibit on Bro-Country, or the Juice Newton and Eddie Rabbit era. The fact that Billy Gant, Johnny Paycheck, and David Allan Coe will have displays in the Hall of Fame is a big victory for the music, and I’m not looking this gift horse in the mouth.
Fuzzy TwoShirts
January 11, 2018 @ 3:05 pm
I’ve never been, I’ll admit.
I’m a long way away.
But (in my opinion) a lot of the time when the conversation turns to Country Music
it ALWAYS has something to do with either the outlaws or Bakersfield.
Almost as if the beginning and the end of country music took place over a decade and a half.
frankly I think the golden era of Country Music was the end of the fifties and the sixties and what I call the Louvin Brothers Era.
So from my perspective the Outlaw era is sort of taking on almost this exaggerated mythical status and is constantly being heralded as this awesome era in Country Music.
and I do think that this opportunity could go to a different Era, and hyperfocus on something a little different. like the early days of the Opry, or the world of the banjo, or… something.
but to see bakersfield, and then so soon again see the outlaws feels cheapened, at least to me.
because everyone talks about that era.
Vince Gill didn’t do a Louvin Brothers cover album, or a Country Music: the war years 1939-1944 album.
he did a bakersfield album.
and I love it.
but I’m also feeling a bit worn out on bakersfield and the outlaws and would sure like to hear more of the earlier stuff.
Smoky Mountain Boys.
Louvin Brothers
WWII era
The Skillet Lickers.
And I think it would be nice to see some of that get some attention, instead of feeling like the outlaws get all the attention.
Warthog
January 11, 2018 @ 7:24 pm
Yeah, the Outlaws don’t get a whole lot of attention in the Hall of Fame as is. There’s a video that plays one performance each from Waylon, Willie and Jessi Colter, and that’s about it.
Personally, I love the outlaws and their music, but I get where you’re coming from. Great country music existed long before the 70s, and it’s aggravating when people believe otherwise.
Lastly, I got a couple Vernon Oxford CD’s for Christmas. Bad ass. Real shame he isn’t more well-known.
Fuzzy TwoShirts
January 12, 2018 @ 8:56 am
I learned about Vernon Oxford and Little Joe Carson from a much maligned former commenter and I’m glad I did because that’s the kind of Country Music I heard as a kid and it’s hard to get much of it anymore. I mean…
I love Waylon, I’ve got displayed box sets, the autobiography, records upon records, I love Willie Nelson,
but when I think “Country Music”
I think Webb Pierce (of whom I have 2 autographed vinyls) and Mack Magaha and Bluegrass Country
and Tommy Collins Porter Wagoner and the Louvin Brothers.
and I think the early sixties just don’t get a fair shake because lots of people talk about bakersfield and the outlaws
Ulysses McCaskill
January 11, 2018 @ 11:15 pm
“So from my perspective the Outlaw era is sort of taking on almost this exaggerated mythical status and is constantly being heralded as this awesome era in Country Music.”
It’s being heralded “as this awesome era in Country Music” because it flat out was an awesome era in country music. It was about people taking control of their music and telling the powers that be to get out of the way. If you want the Louvin Brothers, listen to the Louvin Brothers. Nobody’s forcing you to do anything.
albert
January 12, 2018 @ 8:59 am
“I’m a bit disappointed because I feel that this era of Country Music is over emphasized and over exposed and other eras like the western swing era and the louvin brothers era go largely overlooked”
….good point F2S . As much as I understand the impact of the ‘ Outlaw ” era , I agree that , musically speaking , there’s LOTS of country that has been as impactful starting , as you mention , with the songwriters themselves .
In any case …shedding any kind of light on the REAL DEAL is terrific and soooo important . Somehow I can’t imagine a ” Bro ” era exhibit heralding the Kruise Kids’ tats, Brantley what’s him name’s chain, Bryan’s toothpaste , Hunt’s toupee and the rest but I suppose we should brace ourselves for the worst.
Clyde
January 11, 2018 @ 2:08 pm
Outlaw Country is Wheeler Walker Jr. Everyone else is mainstream.
Clyde
January 11, 2018 @ 2:10 pm
Ok, I’ll throw in Johnny Paycheck.
Lord Honky Of Crackersley
January 11, 2018 @ 2:21 pm
Yep, total Outlaw, because Billy Sherill produced Outlaws.
MH
January 11, 2018 @ 3:10 pm
You’ve never heard Paycheck’s Little Darlin’ output, have you Lord Asshole of Assholery?
Justin S
January 11, 2018 @ 3:19 pm
Dude the little darlin years are the best. The best hard honky tonk ever produced in my opinion.
Lord Honky Of Crackersley
January 11, 2018 @ 4:37 pm
MH,
Totally dude! That stuff was recorded in Austin in 1967, during the PEAK of the Outlaw movement. Aubrey Mayhew and Jack Clement were behind the controls doing blow together.
Kevin Smith
January 11, 2018 @ 4:26 pm
I love the Outlaw era as much as anybody. I think it’s grand. I am irritated that the hipsters are trying to latch onto it and Bakersfield and somehow imply that it’s the “real deal”. Fuzzy, Honky and others, you have a meritworthy point. How about Ernest Tubb, Lefty Frizzell, Acuff, Johnny Horton, Delmore Brothers, Louvins, Marty Robbins. Not to mention Bob Wills. I like all those folks too.Trig mentioned the 80s era, ok, well I like some of that era as well. Moe Bandy, Larry Gatlin, Vern Gosdin, Whitley, Don Williams, Razzy Bailey! Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Oak Ridge Boys, Statler Brothers….and the gals, Patty Loveless, Suzy Boguss, Kathy Mattea etc.
There is so much great music that never or rarely gets even mentioned anymore.Maybe it lacks that tough guy outlaw cool, whatever it’s still great music. So I hear you guys and agree …but Outlaw era for whatever reasons currently holds a mystique that younger folks are discovering. Better that than Luke or Sam or FGL.
Lord Honky Of Crackersley
January 11, 2018 @ 5:11 pm
Yeah Kevin, good comment. I appreciate that you are willing to acknowledge the reason for the trend. Because it is a trend.
I guess that’s what bugs me about it, is that interlopers have made it more relevant than it actually is.
I’m not familiar with Bakersfield becoming trendy. Is that a fact? Are the hipsters now moving on to Wynn Stewart?
Kevin Smith
January 11, 2018 @ 8:09 pm
Well, they seem to like Haggard for sure and Dwight Yoakam for that matter. Doubtful they are into Wynn or Buck though.
Trigger
January 11, 2018 @ 7:14 pm
Ernest Tubb, Lefty Frizzell, Roy Acuff, The Louvin Brothers, Marty Robbins, Bob Wills, and dozens more are permanent, inducted members into the Country Music Hall of Fame, with permanent displays in the museum that will be there forever and eternity. If you go to the Hall of Fame, the first thing you experience is walking past reams of displays and memorabilia of country music legends that unfurl like a timeline from the very beginning of the genre, with each permanent member specifically highlighted. Furthermore, often Hall of Fame inductees get expanded exhibits in a rotating order, similar to the major exhibit. For example, right now Loretta Lynn has a big exhibit as a cornerstone of the Hall of Fame. Most, if not all of the performers you named, include some non inductees, have all been singled out in the past for their own dedicated exhibits. They have also been featured—as well as the era they existed in—in other major exhibits that have happened in the past, and many will be featured once again in major exhibits in the future.
It just happens to be right now, the Outlaw era has been chosen, which means that artist who may never get an opportunity to be featured or inducted into the Hall of Fame, including Johnny Paycheck, David Allan Coe, Billy Joe Shaver, Tompall Glaser, Chris Gantry, Shel Silverstein, Jerry Jeff Walker, Steve Fromholz, Steve Young, and onward and upward will finally get their opportunity to have a spotlight shined on them in the biggest shrine of country music history.
The idea that The Outlaws are getting highlighted right now in lieu of others is just to fundamentally misunderstand how the Hall of Fame works, the daunting expanse of the campus and it’s incredible archives, and the spirit and charge with which the Hall of Fame and Museum operates.
Amanda Rose
January 11, 2018 @ 8:24 pm
Jim Reeves, Webb Pierce and Earl Scruggs are literally some of the first people in the video so I presume this exhibition will situate the 70s in a context not pretend country music started then which seems to be some people’s worry.
I share your excitement. This definitely makes me more determined to get to Americanafest this year so I can drop into the HoF.
Bigfoot is Real (now that’s country!)
January 11, 2018 @ 6:50 pm
Looking forward to this exhibit. I picked up David Allan Coe’s “Once Upon a Rhyme” and Steve Young’s “7 Bridge’s Road” recently and was just wowed by great those albums are. Sooooo much incredible music from that era.
Stork
January 15, 2018 @ 3:55 pm
You need to pick up “Rock Salt and Nails” by Steve young. Wonderful record
Ulysses McCaskill
January 11, 2018 @ 6:58 pm
Honky thinks everyone who likes Waylon and Willie and the other outlaws are urban-dwelling millennial hipsters. Well I happen to be an urban-dwelling millennial, though not a hipster by any measure, and while I enjoy Waylon/Willie/Cash and the like, I also enjoy most folks he’s mentioned and a number of other more “traditional” artists. Marty Robbins, Merle Haggard, Buck Owens, Lefty Frizzell, Ernest Tubb, George Jones, etc, etc. Need I go on?
Honky, how about you cut the horse shit and quit labeling everyone who enjoys “outlaw country” as a hipster who is somehow less qualified to speak on country music than you are. Get a life brother.
Gina
January 11, 2018 @ 10:45 pm
Seriously, man. Is it me or do we have more ornery people these days. Anyways, I was raised on Outlaw country by my mom’s side of the family. They were the farthest thing from hipsters you will ever see.
albert
January 12, 2018 @ 9:10 am
Gina …I don’t think we have more ornery people …I think we have people who are more ornery ….progressively more exasperated , frustrated , disappointed and flat out angry at what radio and music row has done to a great music artform .
” We’re mad as hell and we’re not gonna take it ” to cite an overused quote which seems to apply to the state of radio ( and a good many other issues including your president , if what we hear on Canadian news is even half true ) in these dire times . Yeah ….I think people have indeed gotten more upset and ornery and with good reason .
Gina
January 12, 2018 @ 10:26 am
I actually meant uncivil. We can treat each other with respect on this board. It’s basic manners.
Kevin Smith
January 11, 2018 @ 8:13 pm
Thx Trig. I’m ok with the exhibit. It’s a good thing. And if it brings in some younger folks, maybe they will see the other exhibits and discover for example that Willie was influenced by Lefty Frizzell and Hank and Bob.
Someguy
January 11, 2018 @ 10:23 pm
Honky and Fuzzy were hipsters before it was cool.
The Outlaws are getting play because of the obvious historical paralells between their time and today that this website exists to champion. Creative freedom and genuine songwriting pushing back against a excessively trendy, radio-friendly Nashville.
As for why goddamned melinials such as myself enjoy the era particularly, it coincides with a major shift in American culture. Country music, along with every other genre, became more sonically expansive due to the experimentation of the 60s-70s, so it resonates more with modern ears.
Ulysses McCaskill
January 11, 2018 @ 11:18 pm
Honky is still a hipster in his own way. His excessive anti-hipsterism witch hunt makes him more of one than anyone else here.
ScottG
January 12, 2018 @ 8:03 am
I was going to say the same thing about the pararellel. If younger “hipsters” want to latch on to a time when there was a large and successful movement against mainstream commercial garbage(in a time when our mainstream is commercial garbage), there are certainly worse things to latch on to. The idea that only a certain kind of person should be able to like a certain kind of music is beyond silly and even boring by now. I also think it’s funny that there is all this hate about the exhibit without an understanding of how the museum works, which Trigger I think has well explained. It is pent up frustration, bottled up and looking for an excuse to go on a tirade, IMO.
I’ve been meaning to make a trip to Nashville for many reasons(mostly to visit the amazing guitar stores), and will add this to the list, and not just for the “hipster” exhibit. Thx for this news Trigger.
eckiezZ
January 12, 2018 @ 12:04 am
might be time to finally visit nashville and see what all the fuss is about
Charlie
January 12, 2018 @ 5:23 am
“I was hipster, when hipster wasn’t cooooool”
Wait. Hipsters were never cool. Never mind.
I went to a museum on a field trip at school once. I went to the CMHoF once. Oh–I went to the Patton museum once as a goof. Point being museums suck, but this looks like a great exhibit for those that think they don’t. If I’d known it was coming I’d have waited and gone when it was open, because that Nashville Cats display was underwhelming at best.
tdub
January 12, 2018 @ 8:17 am
Good Stuff Trig! My favorite era and gotta love the comment section. I am now going to sample Lil’ Darlins, Once Upon a Rhyme, and 7 bridges roads albums. Your site is such a great bridge for finding new music.
Convict charlie
January 12, 2018 @ 9:28 am
Few further comments to indulge the importance of the outlaws and the era. They were the first platinum selling album in country music. It made everyone truly take notice of the movement at the time. There was some singles before that go platinum in the genre but not country music.
Fuzzy the other reason the Bakersfield sound was so important is it’s the reason that the acm awards were started. The people from the west were not getting the recognition they felt they deserved so they started their own awards show. It certainly isn’t in that direction currently.
That area was also one of the five original cities of country music. Along with Atlanta, Chicago, and Austin. Nashville ended up being where we are today but any of them could’ve been the home of country music.
There’s certain underlying stories that just don’t get covered as the reasons why things happen.
Lord Honky Of Crackersley
January 12, 2018 @ 9:52 am
I’ve been reading through the comments. Unfortunately I don’t have the time or energy to respond to all the inaccurate assumptions and assertions about who or what I am and what I believe. So I’ll try to clear this up for everybody.
I don’t dislike the music of the Outlaw movement. But it is being artificially propped up into being more significant than it actually was, by younger, urban people, who are a combination of hipsters and non-hipsters, who are mostly disenfranchised with most modern music, and are desperate to find something “edgy” and “cool” and “alternative” to listen to. The first Country Music they heard was Johnny Cash, now they’ve discovered Waylon and Willie.
People Gen X and older, who were raised on Country Music, understand that the Outlaw movement was just more Country Music among lots of other Country Music, all of which was good or great.
The idea that this movement was some sort of improvement to Country Music in general, is absurd.
The notion that I’m a hipster or a troll is cute. I mean it’s a really nice try at dismissing views that you don’t like, or that are different than yours.
ScottG
January 12, 2018 @ 12:12 pm
Do you by any chance see the irony in complaining about people being dismissive of views, when in the sentence above that very sentence, you call an idea that people might have “absurd?”
Lord Honky Of Crackersley
January 12, 2018 @ 12:21 pm
My view is that it’s absurd. I don’t call people trolls for disagreeing with me.
Bo Fiddley
January 13, 2018 @ 8:05 am
“I’ve never seen a Star Wars movie. I guess I was always too busy being attractive and having a life.”
That’s clearly trolling. And that’s coming from someone who has never seen a Star Wars film either.
Lord Honky Of Crackersley
January 13, 2018 @ 8:54 am
Bull. I’m serious. I’ve never seen a Star Wars, and best I can tell, those are my reasons why.
Lord Honky Of Crackersley
January 12, 2018 @ 12:30 pm
And Scott, for additional clarification to my clarification, a lot of younger folks act like Country Music just sucked in 1970, similar to how it sucks today, and then the “Outlaws” saved the day. The problem with that absurd logic, aside from the fact that the Nashville Sound was good pop-Country music, played by talented people, is that hard Country was still being played on mainstream radio back then.
They liken today’s Americana / Indie “heroes”, to a modern “Outlaw” movement. The problem is, today’s “Country” really does suck, and these Indie folks ain’t outlaws, nor are very many of them very good.
Agree or not, do you understand my point now?
Lord Honky Of Crackersley
January 12, 2018 @ 12:34 pm
You yourself refer to Country Music in the 70’s as “mainstream commercial garbage”, which simply proves my point, all of my points actually.
ScottG
January 12, 2018 @ 2:28 pm
Wow, 3 posts out of you and you didn’t answer the question. We could debate your other points all day (and I don’t fully disagree everything you are saying). However I was just wondering, as stated originally, if you saw the irony in complaining about people being dismissive, when in your previous sentence you were being just that. That’s all. Your multiple responses to that simple question are enlightening though.
Lord Honky Of Crackersley
January 12, 2018 @ 2:55 pm
Scott,
I answered you, but forgot to hit reply. See below.
Lord Honky Of Crackersley
January 12, 2018 @ 2:49 pm
No. There’s no irony in it. I thought I answered you indirectly. I don’t dismiss people individually, by calling them trolls. I dismiss ideas, not individuals.
DJ
January 12, 2018 @ 3:54 pm
Ideas can manifest themselves in ways unimaginable. Imagine if our founders had been dismissive of all men being created equal with certain unalienable rights.
Lord Honky Of Crackersley
January 12, 2018 @ 5:17 pm
That’s a terrible imagination.
ScottG
January 12, 2018 @ 3:40 pm
Yet you wrote: “I mean it’s a really nice try at dismissing views that you don’t like, or that are different than yours.” Views being the operative word. Views and ideas are pretty synonymous in that context. But whatever, you don’t see the irony in that. Case closed, you “directly” answered the question. Thx
Lord Honky Of Crackersley
January 12, 2018 @ 5:19 pm
You’re right. I should’ve said “people you disagree with”.
DJ
January 12, 2018 @ 4:17 pm
The first song I can remember is Don’t Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes…. early 50’s, though I do recall an uncle who played in a ‘hill billy’ band in honky tonks I don’t remember any of the music, but, shortly there after I got into RnR, Chuck Berry and Elvis, Buddy Holly, Bill Haley and the Comets. In the early 60’s I liked The Beatles and Motown, The Diamonds “Little Darlin”. We listened to KOMA out of OKC (the only station we could get at night). Then I joined the Navy and ‘discovered’ Country music. Being in Ca and being from Texas I was obliged to like Country music just to be different. My first purchase was Ernest Tubb and Loretta Lynn duet. Then Merle Haggard.
The first song I learned to play and sing was Stonewall Jackson’s “Don’t Be Angry With Me Darlin”….. I had buddies in the Navy who said they didn’t like the Hank Williams style Country…. but, I did and I liked Don Gibson and Ray Charles….. none of those had the impact, on me personally, that Willie and Waylon did. I still like the ‘others’, but those 2 are head and shoulders above all the others. Am I a “hipster”? LOL. My hair is white, longer than Willie’s (not as long as DAC- yet) and I can’t stand SS or Isbell, never mind most of the ‘others’ of today. I do like Jinks and Jamie Johnson. I like character in voice and words and music. Not many offer that, especially “hipsters” and bro-country (including the girls and the popular guys).
I wish I could get to the HoF just for the nostalgia.
Biscuit
January 13, 2018 @ 10:00 pm
I am excited for this exhibit and have enjoyed my visits to the HoF previously. I am sure it will be well done and worth seeing.
Truth be told, what is the real Star Wars-like premiere (to use Trig’s comparison) for me will be when Marty Stuart opens his museum/collection in Mississippi in the future. Would live to know how that project is coming along.
Marvell Productions
April 28, 2018 @ 11:01 pm
The Trendsetting Outlaw duo and tribute to that great era, See video…
https://youtu.be/flGcmnUVRgY