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Various - Country & Western Hit Parade 1966 - Dim Lights, Thick Smoke And Hillbilly Music

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1-CD Deluxe album with 72-page booklet, 31 tracks. Total playing time approx. 83 mns. As far... more

Various - Country & Western Hit Parade: 1966 - Dim Lights, Thick Smoke And Hillbilly Music

1-CD Deluxe album with 72-page booklet, 31 tracks. Total playing time approx. 83 mns.

As far back as the mid-1940s, 'Billboard' magazine had polled dee-jays, including country dee-jays, to tabulate the year's top records, labels, artists, and industry guys. On October 19, 1966 the magazine announced its nineteenth annual country winners in one of the Grand Ole Opry's early homes, Nashville's War Memorial auditorium. Minnie Pearl hosted the event and received the 'Man of the Year' award. The show was filmed for television, and parts were aired on Dick Clark's morning TV show, 'Swingin' Country.'

The 'Billboard' awards were held during Country Music Week, an industry event that began in 1950 when someone in the advertising department at the Opry's parent station, WSM, suggested bringing country dee-jays from around the nation to Nashville for a celebration. Fewer than fifty showed up for the first gathering in 1951, but it became the annual Disc Jockey Convention, and soon morphed into Country Music Week. Artists thanked dee-jays and labels pitched new acts. It was an industry schmooze-fest out of sight of the record buying public, and, by the mid-1960s, it was a big event with lots of drinking, eating and whoring.

Today's televised country awards shows, all of them aimed at the industry and the public, had their roots in the mid-1960s. They were the ACMs (the Academy of Country Music awards), the CMAs (Country Music Association awards), and the CMT (Country Music Television awards).

The Country Music Association was formed in Nashville in 1958. In 1967, the CMA eclipsed 'Billboard' by launching its awards show during October's Country Music Week. There Goes My Everything was Song of the Year, Single of the Year, and Album of the Year, and its performer, Jack Greene, was Male Vocalist of the Year. Meanwhile, the Association's Country Music Hall of Fame was expanding. There had been annual inductions since 1961, and the 1966 inductees were Eddy Arnold, Jim Denny, Opry originator George D. Hay, and recording pioneer Uncle Dave Macon. Aged 48, Arnold was the youngest living inductee. Hay, aged 72, had long since fallen out with the Opry, and was living in Virginia Beach. The awards were displayed at the Tennessee State Museum until the Hall of Fame Museum opened at the apex of Music Row on April 1, 1967.

Faron Young's 'Music City News' magazine launched its own awards in 1967, and the show finally made it to television in 1978. The 1967 Song of the Year was There Goes My Everything. In 1988, the MCN awards were taken over by a cable TV operator, The Nashville Network, and when TNN disappeared, the fan-voted awards became known as the Country Music Television (CMT) awards.

But the winner for first country music award show was the Country & Western Music Academy. Launched in Los Angeles in 1963 to challenge country music's Nashville-centrism, the Academy’s first get-together was held the following year at the Red Barrel nightclub in Los Angeles. The host was Tex Williams, and most of the early members were Hollywood cowboys rather than Bakersfield honky tonkers. The first awards show was held on February 28, 1966 at the Hollywood Palladium, making it, by common assent, the first-ever all-country awards show. By then, most of the top California-based performers were on board and the association soon became known as the Academy of Country Music. The show was televised from 1973 and stayed in Los Angeles until 2003 when it moved to Las Vegas.

Two more country music industry awards began around this time. The Nashville Songwriters Association was launched in 1967 by Eddie Miller (Release Me), Buddy Mize (The Shoe Goes On The Other Foot Tonight), and Bill Brock (I'll Just Have A Cup Of Coffee). The NSA immediately began issuing Songwriter of the Year awards for the previous year's best work. Dallas Frazier won for There Goes My Everything. Not to be outdone, BMI launched its Songwriter of the Year award in 1967 (Don Gibson was the first country winner, ironically so as he had almost stopped writing) together with the Robert J. Burton award for the writer and publisher of the previous year's most performed country song (won by Glenn Sutton and Billy Sherrill for Almost Persuaded).

On October 15, 1966, 'Billboard' acknowledged country music's growing popularity by increasing the number of positions on its Hot Country Singles chart from 50 to 75. There were just five positions in 1945—our starting point for this series. 'Billboard' also began a new method of tabulating radio airplay, and this was at a time when airplay figured into chart positioning. One consequence was that hits came and went more quickly. In 1967, twenty records topped the charts compared with eight in 1947. In 1986, a new record topped the country charts literally every week of the year.

As a postscript, it's worth reiterating that charts and award shows celebrate the most successful records, but we don't. This series gives equal prominence to the year's most influential and groundbreaking records, successful or not.

Article properties: Various - Country & Western Hit Parade: 1966 - Dim Lights, Thick Smoke And Hillbilly Music

Various - Country & Western Hit Parade - 1966 - Dim Lights, Thick Smoke And Hillbilly Music CD 1
01 Distant Drums Reeves, Jim
02 The Streets Of Baltimore Bare, Bobby
03 The Shoe Goes On The Other Foot Tonight Robbins, Marty
04 Don't Touch Me Seely, Jeannie
05 Stateside Tillis, Mel
06 Almost Persuaded Houston, David
07 I Get The Fever Anderson, Bill
08 You Ain't Woman Enough Lynn, Loretta
09 Husbands And Wives Miller, Roger
10 Swinging Doors Haggard, Merle
11 Funny, Familiar Forgotten Feelings Gibson, Don
12 Waitin' In Your Welfare Line Owens, Buck
13 Sweet Thang Stuckey, Nat
14 There Goes My Everything Greene, Jack
15 Elvira Frazier, Dallas
16 The Bottle Let Me Down Haggard, Merle
17 I've Been A Long Time Leavin' (But I'll Be A Long Time Gone) Miller, Roger
18 Misty Blue Burgess, Wilma
19 Unmitigated Gall Young, Faron
20 I Want To Go With You Arnold, Eddy
21 The One On The Right Is On The Left Cash, Johnny
22 (Pardon Me) I've Got Someone To Kill Paycheck, Johnny
23 Touch My Heart Price, Ray
24 I'd Just Be Fool Enough Browns, The
25 The Fugitive (aka I'm A Lonesome Fugitive) Haggard, Merle
26 Skid Row Joe Wagoner, Porter
27 Apartment #9 Wynette, Tammy
28 Open Up Your Heart Owens, Buck
29 Anita You're Dreaming Jennings, Waylon
30 Don't Come Home A Drinkin' (With Lovin' On Your Mind) Lynn, Loretta
31 Distant Drums (undubbed) Reeves, Jim
Dim Lights, Thick Smoke And Hillbilly Music Country & Western Hit Parade... more
"Various - Country & Western Hit Parade"

Dim Lights, Thick Smoke And Hillbilly Music

Country & Western Hit Parade

“Collecting an anarchic mix of sex and sentimentality, earnest paeans to family and fanciful tales of drinking and cheating, DIM LIGHTS… affords a fascinating glimpse into black-and-white ‘50s polemics… Established stars, inspired wannabes proffer an intoxicating brew of dancefloor honky tonk, hillbilly boogie, bluegrass, western swing, incipient rockabilly, goofball novelty, and sentimental country-pop.” (UNCUT magazine)

 

The reviews are in and everyone from Australia to Los Angeles to London is raving about Bear Family’s definitive year-by-year country series. Starting in 1945, DIM LIGHTS, THICK SMOKE, AND HILLBILLY MUSIC (COUNTRY & WESTERN HIT PARADE) tells the real story of country music record-by-record. The hits are here, but so are groundbreaking records that went nowhere at the time. This is the true and uncensored history of country music. Everything you need to hear, year-by-year. Stars like Hank Williams, Bob Wills, Eddy Arnold, Ray Price, and Hank Snow are here, but so are beerhall legends like Eddie Noack and Sonny Burns, and roots music mavens like Charlie Feathers and the Stanley Brothers, as well as overlooked giants like Carl Belew and Floyd Tillman. You’ll also hear the incredible original versions of songs like Duelin’ Banjos, Release Me, Lonely Street, and many more!  Every CD is full to the brim with great music, and they’re all individually packaged in hardcover 72-page books by Colin Escott that tell the story of every song as well as the broader music history of the time. Fabulous photos, original record labels, and period advertisements round out the packages.

Bear Family began its journey into year-by-year anthologies with its groundbreaking and award-winning BLOWIN’ THE FUSE/SWEET SOUL MUSIC series that tells the story of R&B from 1945-1970. Look for the series to continue into the Funk era. And look for a year-by-year Rock ‘n’ Roll anthology coming soon.

# After the volumes covering 1945-1955 were released, the word was out. This series is definitive, fabulously packaged, and faultlessly remastered! Everything you'd expect from Bear Family…and more!

# Jack Clement, who produced Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Waylon Jennings, Don Williams, and many others, said, "This is the best country series of all time. No doubt. No question." Robert Hilburn in the 'Los Angeles Times'said, "An invaluable album project…enables fans to step back in time and listen to the radio just like Elvis Presley, Ray Charles, and Bob Dylan did."

# Now the story continues from 1956 until 1960. Every CD is generously full. Every booklet is extensive and chocked full of rare photos and illustrations, as well as complete stories behind the songs!

# In addition to the hits, the series contains rarities that went on to influence country music…and all music…in the years ahead, like Wanda Jackson's original version of Silver Threads And Golden Needles, Carl Belew's original Lonely Street, and Chet Atkins' influential Walk, Don't Run.

# This series is designed to introduce new listeners to the very best that country music has to offer… while keeping longtime fans entertained. Every volume is a fabulous time capsule.

 

Here's the story

For many years, we'd received requests to do a truly definitive country series, but it wasn't until the success of our year-by-year R&B/Soul series, 'Blowin' The Fuse' (now 'Sweet Soul Music' and soon to be continued into the Funk era) that we decided we needed to do something comparable for country music. The first volumes of 'Dim Lights, Thick Smoke And Hillbilly Music' took us from 1945-1955, and now the story continues into the era of the Nashville Sound.

The series has been compiled with today's fans in mind. Sure, the big hits are there, but so are the classic performances that weren't necessarily hits at the time, but became influential in the years ahead. Every volume has incredibly detailed behind-the-scenes stories, fabulously rare photos, and an ongoing history of country music set against the backdrop of the broader American music business. The booklets alone are 72 pages! Definitive? You bet!

Superlatives are often overused, but we feel that this series is part of our mission to bring this incredible music to new fans ... as well as entertaining older fans. We pick up the story in 1956....just as country music was coming to terms with the upset of rock 'n' roll!

And, keeping in the spirit of the releases, some of the artists' listings are as they originally appeared - like Jim Edward and Maxine Brown and Bonnie, Wayne Raney - Raney Family (Wayne, Wanda and Zyndall) and Marty Robbins with Ray Conniff -  while the cd in each set is stored in a reproduction of a 45 rpm record label bag appropriate to that year.

Country music author and historian Colin Escott is responsible for these remarkable releases, an obvious labour of love that has taken considerable research effort, offering a valuable insight into the development of country music over the years. Many of country music's foremost entertainers are included alongside others who may have only earned a place in the footnotes of country music history, but all present a variety of voices and differing musical styles that have virtually disappeared, over half a century later, in contemporary country music's conveyor belt output. The songs were also different back then: sometimes relating to current events, they also regularly centred upon themes like boozin', honky-tonking and slippin' around, now generally considered non-pc in these over sensitive times.

Country & Western Hitparade - CD-Album-Series by Bear Family

Read more at: https://www.bear-family.com/bear-family/country-series/country-und-western-hitparade/
Copyright © Bear Family Records

 

 

Review 6
Read, write and discuss reviews... more
Customer evaluation for "1966 - Dim Lights, Thick Smoke And Hillbilly Music"
13 Mar 2014

An essential collection and well worth investing in the whole series to see and hear how country music progressed from 1945 throught to 1970.
Maverick 1-2/2014 Alan Cackett

13 Mar 2014

Ein passendes Schlusswort einer tollen Serie!
R & R Musikmagazin 6/13 H.-G. Hartwig

13 Mar 2014

Nur Richard Weize und sein Team trauen sich an eine so monumentale Aufgabe heran. Egal ob konservativ oder innovativ: Es ist viel fabelhafte Musik auf diesen CDs.
Rookie 11/13 Jörn Schlüter

13 Mar 2014

Dringende Kaufempfehlung für die gesamte Reine!
Dynamite 1/14

13 Mar 2014

Ohne Übertreibung darf man feststellen: Besser geht’s nicht!
Good Times 6/2013 Ulrich Schwartz

13 Mar 2014

These CDs are both essential and things of beauty. Everybody should own them. All of them.
Country Music People 11/13 Duncan Warwick

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Tracklist
Various - Country & Western Hit Parade - 1966 - Dim Lights, Thick Smoke And Hillbilly Music CD 1
01 Distant Drums
02 The Streets Of Baltimore
03 The Shoe Goes On The Other Foot Tonight
04 Don't Touch Me
05 Stateside
06 Almost Persuaded
07 I Get The Fever
08 You Ain't Woman Enough
09 Husbands And Wives
10 Swinging Doors
11 Funny, Familiar Forgotten Feelings
12 Waitin' In Your Welfare Line
13 Sweet Thang
14 There Goes My Everything
15 Elvira
16 The Bottle Let Me Down
17 I've Been A Long Time Leavin' (But I'll Be A Long Time Gone)
18 Misty Blue
19 Unmitigated Gall
20 I Want To Go With You
21 The One On The Right Is On The Left
22 (Pardon Me) I've Got Someone To Kill
23 Touch My Heart
24 I'd Just Be Fool Enough
25 The Fugitive (aka I'm A Lonesome Fugitive)
26 Skid Row Joe
27 Apartment #9
28 Open Up Your Heart
29 Anita You're Dreaming
30 Don't Come Home A Drinkin' (With Lovin' On Your Mind)
31 Distant Drums (undubbed)