"Kentucky Rain" charted much better on the pop Hot 100 (No. 16) than on the country chart (No. 33). Not much glory for Rabbitt in that. That's like saying Mac Davis' claim to country fame was writing "In the Ghetto" for Elvis when that song topped out at No. 60 country while going top 5 in both Hot 100 and easy listening. Not sure about you, but I was a teen and listening to pop and, occasionally, country radio in the late '60s/early '70s. Elvis just wasn't getting much country airplay back then.
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Beyonce Country Project
- Thread starter TheBigA
- Start date
I understand that. Elvis didn't give him country credibility. It gave him sales credibility with record labels.
This was the late 70s when Olivia Newton John was a country star. Also it was the heyday of WHN in NYC. So who better to play on a NYC country station than a guy from West Orange. The DJs there loved him.
Actually, "Kentucky Rain" was a hit 10 years earlier.
Eddie was OK with Little Rock and Memphis country stations during his hit-making years, too. Maybe a few ultra-traditional mom-and-pops in the backwoods would be suspicious of a Yankee trying to make country music, but I heard plenty of Rabbitt on stations like KSSN and WMC back then.
Did you attend or listen in to that? There sure seems to be a lot of hand wringing by radio programmers who can't decide what to do with something unusual like this. It's funny how lost they are without their research spreadsheets.
Meanwhile, the song seems to be popping up in a lot of Instagram reels / social media videos. People must like it or they wouldn't use it. I've heard it so much I don't even give much thought to the genre anymore, it has already become a familiar part of pop culture. It's catchy like Dolly Parton's 9 to 5 with a similar melody structure.
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There were two people quoted in the article. Who was wringing their hands? As we've discussed in this thread, the song is getting airplay, but the country listeners don't appear as enthusiastic as fans of other genres. Especially in rural areas.
The country programmers are riding the crest of a wave and don't want to risk driving off listeners. The pop programmers see any new Beyonce product as a big shot in the arm for their formats and don't care if she's putting a country spin on her new song, just as long as she's not going full Tammy Wynette or Emmylou Harris, which would never play on CHR.
A long time ago (in the early 1970's) the Carpenters (a really big time soft rock group) had a hit (Top of the World) which was about Nashville sounding Country as you could get at the time I was't following National County charts at the time but It got major airplay around Nashville and South Mississippi County radio stations. I don't think (a hope) it's not racial. Darius Rucker is accepted. Of course he made a commitment to the music. If she wants to go country more power to her. If she starts recording country songs and tours with a major country act she has the vocal talent to make a go of it.
I could see a few country music directors in a competitive market wondering were the download sales to "country" folks or Her huge current fan base. Testing could save a few music programmers jobs.
I could see a few country music directors in a competitive market wondering were the download sales to "country" folks or Her huge current fan base. Testing could save a few music programmers jobs.
It was originally recorded by Lynn Anderson (I Never Promised You a Rose Garden). The song was written by Richard Carpenter & John Bettis. John wrote songs for Conway Twitty, Barbara Mandrell, and Ronnie Milsap. Bettis spent a lot of time in Nashville. The steel guitar you hear on the Carpenter's song is by Buddy Emmons. They flew him from Nashville to LA to record his part at A&M studios.
The Carpenters recorded one hit that was aimed squarely at country radio, and that was "Sweet Sweet Smile" in 1977, a No. 8 country hit that couldn't crack the top 40 on the Hot 100. The song was written by Juice Newton and frequent songwriting partner Otha Young, who were no strangers to country and pop success.
Just heard "Texas Hold 'Em" up here in the rural Upper Valley of VT/NH this afternoon, at the end of an uptempo four-song set that had Chris Stapleton's "White Horse," Kelsea Ballerini's "Peter Pan" and Brooks and Dunn's "Play Something Country" as its first three. It didn't sound out of place in that company, certainly better than it would have in the set that followed the ad break, which began with Parker McCollum's "Burn It Down" and Trace Adkins' "Then They Do."
True, this is weekend exposure. We'll see if it graduates to the drive-time playlists or if it will be added by the market's two other hit-country stations.
True, this is weekend exposure. We'll see if it graduates to the drive-time playlists or if it will be added by the market's two other hit-country stations.
More thoughts on the Beyonce country project:
radioink.com
Country Radio and the 'Queen Bey' - Radio Ink
Over the past few weeks, country radio has experienced an interesting crossover phenomenon with the most unlikely of participants – Beyonce.
radioink.com
People are already leaving terrestrial radio.
It's not as much that they are leaving but that they are spending less time with radio and more time with new media options. According to an NAB study released a few months ago, and supported by Nielsen data, about 89% of all people use radio weekly.
That is down from 94% 24 years ago, but if you look at the attrition rate, it is less than 0.25% a year.
The real issue is the loss of time spent listening, not the use of radio.
Interesting opinion, but laden with a bit too much progressive thinking about race, gender and the like.More thoughts on the Beyonce country project:
Country Radio and the 'Queen Bey' - Radio Ink
Over the past few weeks, country radio has experienced an interesting crossover phenomenon with the most unlikely of participants – Beyonce.
The various cultural, ethnic and racial groups have significant differences in tastes in food and clothing and many other categories as well as music. In this case, the real issue is whether Blacks or Hispanics or Asians are being refused opportunities to record and release country songs. And beyond that, does the average country listener like the accent, tone and inflection of such artists enough that they make them favorites.
It's the old statement: You can't legislate taste. And you can't mandate it, either.
Keep in mind the leadership in the country music industry (labels, touring, songwriting, trade associations, etc) all share that progressive thinking about empowering anyone who wants to make country music, regardless of race, gender, ethnicity. Where they often hit roadblocks is at radio and with a portion of the public.
The fact that Sony greenlit this Beyonce project, and that Sony Nashville was on board to promote it to radio is all you need to know. She was given every opportunity to create the project she wanted to make, and the label took it and is promoting it as a multi-genre song to 10 formats. It's a hit everywhere but at country radio, where it's getting played, but they appear to be waiting for the research. When it comes, I predict it will be filled with comments that have nothing to do with the quality of the music.
So basically, Country music isn't racist, but it appeals to racists.
Nielsen just sees numbers, not ideologies.
You could say the same thing about rock, or classical music, or Celtic folk. They all have more appeal to whites than to people of color. There's hardly any crossover appreciation, unlike what we've seen with blues, R&B and hip-hop. Some theorize that this is so because whites are the historical oppressors and Blacks the historical oppressed -- the same argument that holds that it's impossible for Black people to be racist. I'll leave that to the academics to mull, but I'll just stick to what I see, and that's that all kinds of white people enjoy country music, but there's nothing preventing anyone else from listening to it.
Some early call-out research on Beyonce:
www.insideradio.com
Integr8 USA: Beyoncé's 'Texas Hold 'Em' Holds Tight At Pop And Country.
For Beyoncé's “Texas Hold 'Em,” the game is just getting started on Integr8 USA's Pop and Country callout charts. While “Hold 'Em” is this week's “1 To Watch” at Country,
Cold Coffee
Banned
Leadbelly was a black musician who composed many songs that became big hits for many country artists
And, the banjo was an instrument that came from Africa.
Country music got a reputation in the mid 20th century as being the music of white rednecks.
However many are now finding it has deep roots in the black community.
And, the banjo was an instrument that came from Africa.
Country music got a reputation in the mid 20th century as being the music of white rednecks.
However many are now finding it has deep roots in the black community.