Ebay Listing Of The COUNTRY Vinyl Discovered Collection The COUNTRY VINYL Discovered Collection - BRAND NEW RELEASE 3 VINYL ALBUMS Featuring 6 LEGENDS Back To Back on 3 UNIQUE ALBUMS

 

THE COUNTRY VINYL COLLECTION

COUNTRY DISCOVERED

Introduces you to six of the most iconic COUNTRY artists of all time; Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Kenny Rogers, Hank Williams, Patsy Cline and George Jones.

Released on the AA Vinyl Label, each of the six A-Sides features a selection of the artist's most influential music and finest work that helped establish them as true greats.

There are no fillers, only A-Sides with timeless music from these six legendary COUNTRY artists.

With detailed sleeve notes inside there is even more to enjoy besides the warm and rich sound of vinyl. Discover and experience the musical journey of COUNTRY DISCOVERED.

Country music originated in the Southern states of America in the 1920s. It was the music of white, working class, often rural Americans and as such took its influences from folk, western music, and the folk music styles of the country’s many immigrants, most notably Irish and Celtic settlers.

Until the 1950s, country music was a genre in search of a much better title. In the 1930s what we would recognise as country music today was often termed ‘hillbilly music’ but by the end of that decade the term was considered derogatory.

As America entered the fifties it seemed that the term ‘folk’ would be adopted but Pete Seeger, then lead signer with the band the Weavers and a self-confessed folk singer was called to Senator Joe McCarthy’s Senate Hearings in 1952 to account for his apparent communist sympathies record companies couldn’t disassociate themselves from the label fast enough, adopting the term ‘country’.

Since that time, country music has grown and developed as all genres must do if they are to survive and there are numerous sub genres including Honky Tonk Country, Countrypolitan, Outlaw Country, and Country Pop.

Popular in the 1950s, Honky Tonk is a gritty, upbeat sound with a crisp backbeat and a full rhythm section playing a two-beat rhythm. It usually features guitar, fiddle, string bass and steel guitar. This style can be heard in the music of Hank Williams.

In the 1960s, country music took on a lusher, more sumptuous feel influenced by the hugely successful Nashville Sound. Seeking to widen the audience for country music, the smooth sounds of Countrypolitan feature string arrangements, orchestras and choirs delivering backing vocals. Examples of this rich, sophisticated sound can be heard in in the work of Patsy Cline and George Jones.

Tired of the strictures placed on them by increasingly powerful and controlling record labels, by the 1970s a group of country musicians rebelled and Outlaw Country was born. As the seventies dawned, musicians spearheaded by the likes of Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson sought to take back control of their music, their songs, and whom they hired to record with them. This gave rise to music that was more experimental and that blended rock and folk rhythms with country music instrumentation. Lyrics are introspective and/or socially aware in content. Johnny Cash took the Outlaw route with huge success.

By the 1980s, the Outlaw movement gave way to the crossover subgenre of Country Pop. This can be seen as a continuation of the Countrypolitan project to widen the appeal of country music in order to attract new audiences. Country Pop songs are structurally more like standard pop songs with a country flavor. Artists producing music in this category include Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers.

This collection is the ideal starting place to discover your kind of country music.

VINYL ALBUM ONE - TRACK AND ARTIST LISTING

LP 1 Side 1 Johnny Cash Track Artist Title 1 Johnny Cash I Walk The Line 2 Johnny Cash Folsom Prison Blues 3 Johnny Cash Ballad Of A Teenage Queen 4 Johnny Cash Don't Take Your Guns To Town 5 Johnny Cash In The Jailhouse Now 6 Johnny Cash Home Of The Blues 7 Johnny Cash Cry! Cry! Cry! 8 Johnny Cash The Ways Of A Woman In Love LP 1 Side 2 Dolly Parton Track Artist Title 1 Dolly Parton Owens 2 Dolly Parton Miller / Yount / Williams 3 Dolly Parton Miller 4 Dolly Parton Owens / Parton / Owens 5 Dolly Parton Parton 6 Dolly Parton Parton 7 Dolly Parton Trad./ Arr: Parton 8 Dolly Parton Work / Hobson / Reid

Johnny Cash (b: 26 February 1932; d: 12 September 2003)

Born J.R Cash in Arkansas, Johnny Cash’s brand of rebel country music speaks to his background growing up in the rural South during the Great Depression and his lifelong compassion for the poor and downtrodden.

An American icon, Cash’s contribution to country music cannot be overstated. He started out recording in 1955 with Luther Perkins and Marshall Grant (check) for Sun in Memphis.

This sampler of Cash’s work includes the seminal track, I Walk The Line, a song included in the Record Industry of America’s Songs of the Century roll of honour. You will also find here greats like Fulsom Prison Blues and Don’t Take Your Guns To Town.

Known as The Man in Black, Cash was famous for wearing the colour head to toe. The reason for his choice of stage attire was, he said, to wear the colour of mourning until social and political inequalities are vanquished.

From his poverty stricken background to his addiction to drugs and alcohol, Cash’s rich, gravelly voice seems to not only embody all his life’s trials and struggles but also the times he lived through. This is a voice that has a story to tell.

Cash has influenced artists across genres, including Steve Earle, Moby, Sheryl Crow, Mick Jagger, Elvis Costello, Bono, and Bob Dylan.

Singer/songwriter, Cowboy Jack Clement said of Cash: “There’s two kinds of people on earth. Those that love Johnny Cash, and those that will.”

 

Dolly Parton (b: 19 January 1946)

Dolly Rebecca Parton grew up dirt poor as one of 12 children in the mountains of Tennessee but has forged a staggeringly successful career as the queen of country music, and as a businesswoman and philanthropist.

She contributed to the family coffers as a child performer and was hugely influenced by pioneering country singer, Kitty Wells, Parton’s repertoire includes country, bluegrass, folk and pop.

Describing herself as a simple country girl, Parton’s affinity with the music of her roots is most evident in her country classics. Her first single, Puppy Love, is included here. Parton wrote the song aged 11 and recorded it in 1959 at age 13.  Also included is a cover of her idol Kitty Well’s classic, It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels. You can also find here two great examples of her sentimental country songs, Little Blossom and Letter To Heaven.

Still performing at the top of her game and with a crossover appeal most artists would kill for, Parton headlined the Glastonbury Festival in 2014 and is the recipient of the US Library of Congress’ Living Legend Medal.

Godmother of Miley Cyrus, she has influenced the newest crop of female artists, including Alison Krauss, LeAnn Rimes, Shania Twain, and Katy Perry.

VINYL ALBUM TWO - TRACK AND ARTIST LISTING

LP 2 Side 1 Kenny Rogers Track Artist Title 1 Kenny Rogers Ruby, Don't Take Your Love To Town 2 Kenny Rogers Me And Bobby McGee 3 Kenny Rogers Reuben James 4 Kenny Rogers Shine On Ruby Mountain 5 Kenny Rogers Calico Silver 6 Kenny Rogers For The Good Times 7 Kenny Rogers She Even Woke Me Up To Say Goodbye 8 Kenny Rogers Conditions (Just Dropped In) LP 2 Side 2 Hank Williams Track Artist Title 1 Hank Williams Hey, Good Lookin' 2 Hank Williams Jambalaya (On The Bayou) 3 Hank Williams Half As Much 4 Hank Williams Your Cheatin' Heart 5 Hank Williams Cold, Cold Heart 6 Hank Williams (I Heard That) Lonesome Whistle 7 Hank Williams Lovesick Blues 8 Hank Williams I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry

 

George Jones (b: 12 September 1931; d: 26 April 2013)

Often voted by country music makers as their favourite country singer, and described by the New York Times as “the finest most riveting singer in country music”, Texas-born George Glenn Jones possessed one of the most interpretative voices to be found in the genre.

Jones’ secret was to imagine a feeling or experience he’d had in his own life that resonated most closely with that of the character or situation in a song. This kind of ‘method-singing’ gave his delivery a poignancy and intensity that few other singers of any musical style could match.

His tempestuous marriages – most famously to Tammy Wynette – and love of the liquor were the stuff of legend. His alcoholism impacted every area of his life at the height of his fame; no more so than in his career where his constant drinking and failing to turn up for performances led to the nickname, ‘No Show Jones’.

In this selection of Jones’ music are three of the star’s Billboard number one hit singles including his 1959 debut White Lightnin’, Tender Years and She Thinks I Still Care.

Though Jones died in 2013 his songs and his legacy live on and he has influenced artists beyond country music, including Robert Plant, Elvis Costello, Gram Parsons, and Leonard Cohen.

Kenny Rogers (b: 21 August 1938)

Born in Texas, Kenneth Donald Rogers started his career in teen rock and roll in the 1950s, before joining The First Edition, a jazz/country/folk/psychedelic rock outfit. He recorded with them up until his solo career in 1976.

In this collection of early material can be found gems like Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love To Town, Calico Silver, and an inspired version of Me and Bobby McGee.

There are some surprising facts about this country music legend. In 1968, he discovered Don Henley and helped him develop his career and in spite of owning the rights to Henley’s music up to that point Rogers gave it all back for free and with love when David Geffen came calling to sign the fledgling Eagles.

Rogers is a huge megastar in Jamaica and his music has been brought to a new generation of fans through his work with Wyclef Jean, and his 2013 headlining appearance at the Glastonbury Festival.

 

VINYL ALBUM THREE - TRACK AND ARTIST LISTING

LP 3 Side 1 Patsy Cline Track Artist Title 1 Patsy Cline Crazy 2 Patsy Cline I Fall To Pieces 3 Patsy Cline Walkin' After Midnight 4 Patsy Cline Heartaches 5 Patsy Cline She's Got You 6 Patsy Cline When I Get Thru With You 7 Patsy Cline Imagine That 8 Patsy Cline A Poor Man's Roses (Or A Rich Man's Gold) LP 3 Side 2 George Jones Track Artist Title 1 George Jones White Lightning 2 George Jones Tender Years 3 George Jones Heartaches By The Number 4 George Jones Beggar To A King 5 George Jones She Thinks I Still Care 6 George Jones Who Shot Sam 7 George Jones There'll Be No Teardrops Tonight 8 George Jones Heartbreak Hotel

 

Hank Williams (b: 17 September 1923; died 1 January 1953

Hiram King Williams was born in Alabama and was inspired by gospel and traditional folk ballads. He was taught to play guitar by street bluesman Rufus Payne, known as ‘Teetot’.

The pain he suffered from late-diagnosed spina bifida occulta led to dependence on prescription painkillers and alcohol that took a toll on his career. He joined the company of the Grand Old Opry but Williams was unceremoniously fired due to his drinking and persistent absence. The Grand Old Opry liked to cultivate a wholesome image and Williams’ behavior had become anything but wholesome.

His contribution to country music is formidable given he died at the age of 29 having recorded 66 songs over a six year period, 37 of which were hits.

Songs like Your Cheatin’ Heart, Cold, Cold, Heart, and I’m So Lonesome I Could Die, are considered country classics, and his songs have been covered by many artists cutting across musical genres, including The The, Johnny Cash, Dinah Washington and Nora Jones.

Country music singer Radney Foster suggested that Hank William’s influence goes beyond country music. He says, “It’s quite simple. No hank Williams, no rock and roll.”

 

Patsy Cline (b: 8 September 1932; d: 5 March 1963)

Born Virginia Patterson Hensley in Virginia, became the first female solo artist to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1960. It is usual for artists to be invited. Cline was the first ever artist to ask.

‘The Cline’ as she liked to be known, was a force to be reckoned with in business, insisting she be paid upfront before gigs (‘No dough, no show’ was her mantra). She was also supportive of other female artists and encouraged Loretta Lynn, Dottie West, and Brenda Lee in their careers.

She was also the first female country star to headline her own shows and to appear at the top of tour billings above the male stars.

While primarily a country artist, she successfully crossed over into pop, and her hits included such classics as Crazy, Sweet Dreams, and I Fall To Pieces – all included in this selection. I Fall To Pieces is particularly notable in that it is included in the Record Industry of America’s Songs of the Century list.

Generous to a fault, even when she didn’t have the means, Cline also carried with her a sense of her own impending death. And she was proved right. After a brush with death in a car crash in 1961, Cline was killed in a plane crash in 1963.