Lorrie Morgan: “Today’s Country Can’t Be Differentiated Between Pop.”
Lorrie Morgan knows a thing or two (or three) about country music. Her father was country singer George Morgan, her son is country singer Jesse Keith Whitley, and along the way she was married to her son’s namesake, as well as Jon Randall, and Sammy Kershaw. From appearing on the Grand Ole Opry at age 13, to being a receptionist at Acuff-Rose music, to selling some six million records during her decades-long solo career, Lorrie Morgan has done it all.
Lorrie’s skins on the wall have also earned her the right to say whatever she wants, and she takes full advantage of that opportunity whenever it’s presented. Last year she took Blake Shelton to task for not meeting his Grand Ole Opry obligations. “People want to say, ‘Hey I’m a member of the Opry,’ and not want to come back. The Opry takes dedication, and it takes love,” she said. Lorrie is one of the few Opry members who regularly makes her performance obligations every year.
On Monday in an interview posted with Florida Today, Lorrie had a few things to say about today’s country music, and specifically about how it’s getting harder and harder to tell the difference between country and pop. In the process she also dropped the nugget that she’s recording a traditional country album with Pam Tillis.
“I really don’t even know what current country music is anymore,” Lorrie Morgan said. “I am as flabbergasted as anyone and have no idea what is country and what is not anymore. I am not a fan of country today. Me and Pam Tillis are going to go into the studio soon and record a traditional country album. Today’s country can’t be differentiated between pop, and you can’t tell them apart. Don’t mistake what I am saying, I love pop music. If you are going to be in the country category and call yourself a country artist, then stick with it.”
Lorrie also talked about her most recent album Letting Go … Slow, and the freedom of not having to worry about pleasing anyone but herself now. “I just always wanted to record those kinds of songs. There are some songs I wanted to record for over 20 years and hadn’t. I also didn’t worry about radio. I just wanted to make a record for my peers and my fans and not have to worry about whether or not radio would play this one or that one. I just wanted to sing songs I loved and I think because of it, I made a better album.”
January 31, 2017 @ 9:33 am
Then don’t call it “country.” Start calling it something else.
I suggest “pop.”
January 31, 2017 @ 9:54 am
We should start by telling all these country fans who buy Luke Bryan and Sam Hunt’s albums that they’re not real country fans and see where that goes.
January 31, 2017 @ 2:16 pm
They are Indigent about it usually,,defending these artists as NEW Country and they are fans so there is no telling them anything..at least that has been my experience….
January 31, 2017 @ 5:28 pm
No, most of them have a few bucks to spare.
February 2, 2017 @ 5:06 pm
I’ve told someone I know that for years.But he’s so wrapped up in this new stuff,he doesn’t know Country from Classical.
January 31, 2017 @ 10:04 am
Researching hot chicken–find Prince’s–watch a Food Network segment–LM is on it! So we go there–who shows up? LM!
So? So, just shows she is the real deal, not some commercialized spokesperson or something.
Looking forward to that project with PT!!
January 31, 2017 @ 10:05 am
I swoony that’s is still one good looking lady, I got a stiffy typing this!
January 31, 2017 @ 3:48 pm
Was that really necessary?! Pretty sure nobody wanted to read that!
January 31, 2017 @ 10:32 am
Lorrie is right , of course …nothing new being said here .
I’ve talked about it before but in the few country clubs/cabarets (” dance halls ” ) still left in the Vancouver area , any of the country acts they book almost have to play retro country cuz that’s the only stuff people can and will dance to . Today’s country is , for the most-part , NOT dance music ( much less even melodic ) . I mean …even POP is still riddled with great dance music ….how does country music not see how important a factor that is to its continued existence on all fronts ? Bluegrass music ( what I consider the REAL country music today ) still uses lots of waltz, shuffles , two-step , 2/4 , and ballad rhythms where ”country’ has forgotten how to engage people on a dance floor . Today’s country sees ‘ social settings ” as stadium-sized masses of people arm-waving and chanting ‘ whoa whoa whoa whoa’ to the umpteenth song that has used that long-since overused sing-along ploy . No dancing grooves whatsoever .
December 23, 2021 @ 5:17 am
George Strait is real country. Listen to some of his music and you will appreciate country music.
January 31, 2017 @ 11:01 am
This is so old news. Like Albert and I were discussing on the Lady A review, Country radio is nothing more than the latest channel for big money labels and producers to push easy listening pop music through. Like I said, there is no difference when compared to the hair metal era. Trigger I bet if you did some research you could find all sorts of producers, managers, label execs and stage/recording musicians from those bands and labels in Nashville today. Some are obvious but I bet those that were young enough switched from rock to country. Its the same music with tailgates and beer thrown into the lyrics. They simply switched platforms.
January 31, 2017 @ 12:16 pm
I know the statement she’s making isn’t new to the world, but I also don’t think it can be said enough by people like her. She’s been associated with country music in various ways her whole life. Her words hold a lot of weight, and she doesn’t mince them.
January 31, 2017 @ 12:52 pm
Lorrie Morgan is partly to blame too for today’s country. She killed off a legend in the making! Lol jk
January 31, 2017 @ 12:54 pm
Barbara mandrel was a pop and country singer, she deserves respect huh? Not that I am taking the other side, but I am seeing clear enough now that I know that 75% of my favorite country singers would turn pop star given the chance. Money and fame is a strong temptation to resist. Lorrie Morgan could easily be called a pop star at certain points in her career. But maybe we’re talking about two different kinds of pop star, a sub genre of pop star. Dan Seals was about as country as you could be in his generation, still he was a pop star.
January 31, 2017 @ 1:17 pm
The problem isn’t so much that country artists veer off into pop territory now and then, it’s that the whole genre has moved that way. And every song seems to have the same arrangement, tempo, production, etc. There was a lot more diversity 25-30 years ago. You could hear Ronnie Milsap, Crystal Gayle and Barbara Mandrell on the radio alongside Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard and George Jones.
February 2, 2017 @ 8:22 am
I remember as a kid back in the 70’s that people were complaining that those artists weren’t “country” either.
March 22, 2018 @ 3:29 pm
THANK YOU! My point exactly!
February 6, 2017 @ 5:41 pm
It’s like with Dolly who was very much a pop star. Crystal was one. I’d say maybe Lorrie was one too. Most of the time I’ve been focusing on her country songs though. Maybe it’s because I was so young but the pop-country of that time didn’t seem nearly as offensive as the pop-country (or now I guess it’s just pop) of today. In most cases, the soul was still there. The artists were moving into the pop field but they still sang with honesty. Perhaps I’m wrong. It just seems like today, it’s all about the money. I can’t stand listening to it.
January 31, 2017 @ 1:46 pm
The differences, though, between the likes of Barbara Mandrell, Lee Greenwood, Ronnie Milsap, and even the liked of Eddy Arnold and Jim Reeves before them, compared to today’s music are that 1. The songs they performed, for the most part, were still country, plus generally more intelligently written, as well. 2. Even though much of their work was in the country-pop vein, they still could and would do music with a stronger country sound. I’m not sure most of today’s acts could. In fact, it’s a stretch to call most of today’s artists, singers. 3. To further expound upon what Razor X mentioned, everything didn’t sound the same, like it does now. The sameness of today’s so-called country is incredible. You can play 3-4 songs back-to-back without realizing the song has changed to the next one. Every other generation has had a level of diversity to it. But not today. All the labels and radio people care about are filling the playlists with Justin Beiber wannabes, to get the teenage crowd. And the funny thing is, it seems to me an increasing number of the younger demographics are even tiring of the bro-country garbage, wanting something more real. I will say this. I host a weekly classic country music radio show, online and over the air; and while I have a significant number of listeners in the expected demographics of being over 40, you’d be surprised how many younger listeners; teens, twentysomethings, hipsters, etc. are listening to my show, and wanting to hear Conway , Loretta, Waylon, etc.
January 31, 2017 @ 2:23 pm
Nothing against Lorrie..but when someone who is far from a household name,except by those of us who know who she is.makes statements like this,which ARE true,it doesn’t really make a bit of difference from anybody else saying it… And Just for the Record,,Maybe Lorrie WOULD have been a lot more popular if she stopped giving a rat’s ass about radio airplay YEARS AGO !
January 31, 2017 @ 3:30 pm
She’s listening to the wrong country.
January 31, 2017 @ 5:54 pm
I’ve said it any number of times that this is something the country music industry has been dealing with in one form or another really since the mid-1950s and the birth of rock and roll, when country music and black R&B were mixed together in a raucous concoction. This did threaten country music’s very existence at that time, but the genre has been able to survive, evolve, and thrive since then. Sometimes it has done so in ways that, at the time, were very controversial, like with the folk music explosion of the 1960s and the rise of country-rock at the end of that decade (which led to the Eagles and, for the womenfolk, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris), but which showed how country music could be both progressive AND traditional at the same time.
Given all this history, I think Lorrie, while wanting artists to maintain the traditions of country, and rightly so, misses the fact that it is not all that easy or possible NOT to be influenced by non-country forms anymore. Lorrie herself was part of the Eagles’ tribute album COMMON THREADS back in 1993, pretty much showing that country music wasn’t the only thing she listened to. If her point is that if you call yourself “country” you should certainly KNOW something concrete about the genre and its history, however, I have to agree with her. And while today we have folks like Chris Stapleton, Margo Price, and others who have a deep appreciation for the traditions of country music while being influenced by other forms, we still have far too many others (paramount among them the Bromeisters) that DON’T. This reality, in my opinion, still poses a real threat to the genre; and the only people who can reverse that are fans and musicians with an appreciation for both traditional and progressive musical values.
January 31, 2017 @ 7:52 pm
Looking forward to her and Pam’s traditional country album. Please don’t write killer authentic traditional country songs and use modern production, processors and auto tune.
February 1, 2017 @ 4:10 am
Hey all
Yeah sometimes that fine line between music genres gets a little blurry ( specially after a few rums ha ha )
But hey who really cares , as long as we enjoy right ??
I been lookin& listening some music from down under in Australia lately . They sure have some talented artists down their . A couple that I really liked were Travis Collins & also talented young female artist named Ashleigh Dallas . I actually purchased her latest album Lighthouse off iTunes . I think it won’t be too long before a few other Aussies follow in Keith Urbans foot steps .
February 1, 2017 @ 5:10 pm
Lorrie Morgan is a name that SHOULD be well recognized by country fans. The move into the Pop category sometimes comes as a normal progression because of the notoriety of the performer, and more than one legitimate country star made the cross over just because of who was listening. If you enjoy a particular act, do you really CARE how it is referred to. Relax and enjoy…that should be the hope of both the performers AND the fans.
February 1, 2017 @ 5:17 pm
Martina McBride set a pretty high bar with her traditional album a few years back.
February 6, 2017 @ 5:51 pm
I must admit I never warmed to Timeless. Martina is a great singer, I have all her albums, but in my humble opinion she didn’t really add anything new to any of the songs. On the other hand the album made people seek out the original recordings and give them a listen; great!
I much prefer Carlene Carter’s Carter Girl from 2014, or even LeAnn Rimes’ Lady and Gentlemen from 2011.
February 1, 2017 @ 8:31 pm
We don’t listen to any new country music, cause it ain’t country
February 2, 2017 @ 10:40 am
I always liked how Tom T Hall put it, “I love music when its good’, whatever kind of music it is. But on this story, I agree with Lorrie, I cant take much of todays country either. For many years I was glued to country radio, and was a dj also.
October 28, 2017 @ 6:18 pm
When the pop stars were invited to take part in the country awards shows… it opened the door to a new situation in country music… When you look at the young people today who are on the streets during some of those shows… it is all party… My hubby was country singer… now that was country… I’d like to see people try to dance the country 2-step to the new country!!! Ha… that would be joke!
March 22, 2018 @ 3:26 pm
I realize I’m a bit late to the party with my comment but good grief, are we still bashing current country music? I’m so damn sick and tired hearing people – especially country music artists who at one time could have been considered pop artists themselves – complain about current country music. Who gives a shit? If you don’t like it turn off the radio. If you don’t like country artists around you? Then don’t pay attention to them. Who the hell cares? Everything involves, some things quicker than others. I’m sure back in the day Roy Acuff, Hank Williams and Patsy Cline all thought that Lorrie Morgan was a present day Katy Perry. (And no I don’t know if they were alive or if they had a chance to hear her). I am proud to say I love Florida Georgia Line, Luke Bryan, Carrie Underwood and the Brothers Osborne…and many others of course. Stop being such a snob, get off your high horse and quit bitching. Get a hobby….
April 30, 2018 @ 4:39 am
When do you stop being country and gets pop? Where do you draw the line? People have differen’t opions that’s for sure. Pop already invaded country in the 60s with this Nashvillesound. It’s been a slow process that’s been going on for years.
October 19, 2022 @ 6:16 pm
When singer’s are rapping in their songs, it’s not country and they aren’t country artists. We have a Country Thunder venue in our town and all they bring in are these new singers who either rap or every song sounds the same. Country music peaked with the stars of the 90’s and it’s been on a downhill landslide since. Thank God for Willy’s Roadhouse!
July 16, 2023 @ 6:45 am
I like good music I don’t like bad music no matter what kind of music it is by the way I love Lorrie’s first 7 studio albums I liked her 8th one didn’t love it