Steel on country radio

David L. Donald · Post by **David L. Donald** » 13 Jul 2004 10:24 am

No I just returned after a week in the Boston area.
Not where you might think country music is king, b

But I heard so much more steel than most forumites lead me to believe. At least every 3rd song had a nice steel break, and often every other song..

Also a bit less electric and more acoustic than last septembers listening.

Maybe it ain't like the old days when steel was every where all the time,
but much more than I was expecting, and all interesting and innovatively done.

Go figure

Ron Page · Post by **Ron Page** » 13 Jul 2004 11:35 am

It's been awhile since I tried to tune in to the local country stations here. I can't imagine they'd be any different than in Boston. So perhaps things are taking a turn back in our direction, but I have my doubts. Everytime I'm optimistic enough to bother tuning in I'm more disappointed than before.

The absence of steel is the major reason, but almost equally it's also the lack of clean country lead -- Tele's--and the ever present distorted rock leads.

If we remain overly biased against so-called country radio, it's a well-deserved rap that it will take years for the industry/market to overcome, should they in some strange way so desire.

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HagFan

Theresa Galbraith · Post by **Theresa Galbraith** » 14 Jul 2004 2:56 am

David,
I read negative comments everyday on here.
So many are missing out on alot of great steel playing.
I'm glad you gave country radio a listen. Proof is in listening.

Theresa

David L. Donald · Post by **David L. Donald** » 14 Jul 2004 5:55 am

I also played rock for years, so I don't dislike the rockier sound, but I do like the trad sound.
So anything inbetween sits fine with me.

Some of the greats of the past 20 years aren't getting airplay, but still some good tunes well produced out there.

One thing I heard was Jimmy Buffet doing a GREAT version of Hey Good Looking Island style, with some fine slide work.
I pulled in to buy the CD the moment I heard it... and it ain't released yet DRAT!!!

Hank would have loved it IMHO and I know it made me think of late Hank Show too.

Tim Whitlock · Post by **Tim Whitlock** » 14 Jul 2004 6:08 am

Not sure what station you were listening to. They may have some pretty good real country stations in Boston, as well as those run by the corporate giants. Maybe you tuned in to a good one. They still exist here and there.

At any rate, I expect with the decining sales of "new country", the Nashville hegemony may begin to take notice of us true country music fans that they have betrayed and abandoned. We may begin to hear more steel and fiddle showing up in the songs, but this merely represents yet another cynical attempt to manipulate the numbers, nothing more. If you change the special sauce on a hamburger you still have a hamburger. But hey, "billions served" is the goal, so open wide for the next generation of McMusic! Like Theresa says "Proof is in listening".

Bill Llewellyn · Post by **Bill Llewellyn** » 14 Jul 2004 6:56 am

David, you don't have to come all the way to the States to check up on the state of country radio (though you're welcome anytime!)....a lot of stations (conglomerate affiliates as well as independent) can be heard online. An indie country station local to San Jose is KRTY. There are lottsa others, too.

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Bill, steelin' since '99 | Steel page | My music | Steelers' birthdays | Over 50?[This message was edited by Bill Llewellyn on 14 July 2004 at 07:57 AM.]

David L. Donald · Post by **David L. Donald** » 14 Jul 2004 7:21 am

I think it was CAT Country... what ever that means,

Maybe out of Providence Ri. I was near Cape Cod.

Pleanty of Fiddles and steel to my ears.
No Ray Price, Hank Snow or Merle, and that's a shame.
No Willie for that matter. Woes be those that have passed 60 years and are still creative...

I looked at the top 100 songs of all time and olny knew 41 or them...jeez
and dating women in their 30's.

And they didn't have K.D. Lang's Down To My Last Cigarette...

I guess it's just come down to
Big Hat No Cattle

Saw a pic of Marttina McBride... she looked like David Bowie !!!
I thought what's Bowie doing on country station??[This message was edited by David L. Donald on 14 July 2004 at 08:34 AM.]

Tom Olson · Post by **Tom Olson** » 14 Jul 2004 7:28 am

It might be that some of the larger metro areas (like Boston) are able to support independent radio stations, unlike a lot of smaller towns in which either the stations have been bought up by large "broadcasting" companies, or which because they are so small have been forced by reasons of economics to stop doing their own programming and subscribe to syndicated national programming. In either situation, the play list is determined by something other than what the local populace wants to hear.

On the other hand, independent stations can basically play whatever they want.

Doyle Weigold · Post by **Doyle Weigold** » 16 Jul 2004 3:25 pm

A couple of weeks ago a freind of mine asked me to stop over for a coffe on a Sat. morning. He wanted me to listen to a station out of Marion Ind. I don't know if any of you remember George Riddle or not. He fronted for George Jones back a few years. His brother Walt Riddle is a DJ on this station. 99.3. He tells something about the artist and song like the old times and it is the real Country Music. We ended up going to Marion for a jam sesion, that same day that they were talking about on the air. Had a ball. Ir seemed like twenty five years ago

Theresa Galbraith · Post by **Theresa Galbraith** » 17 Jul 2004 2:29 am

Gee James,
The stations around here are WSM 95.5 a.m & f.m.
103 KDF & 98 f.m another is 95 WGGC
I switch stations alot to stay current.
Theresa

Doyle Weigold · Post by **Doyle Weigold** » 18 Jul 2004 8:52 am

I know this subject has been tossed around a lot. I've got to agree that we aren't hearing nearly as much steel as we did in the past. Of course I came from an era when Jimmy Day, Buddy Emmons, Jimmy Crawford, Curly Chalker, etc. were inventing and creating new licks, riffs, chords, etc. which I think is missing today. No disrespect for the steel men on the new country music, but what little steel you do hear on radio IMHO isn't anything new, but music that these people created years ago. My 2 cents worth

James Lutz · Post by **James Lutz** » 18 Jul 2004 9:10 am

Well, it wasn't that long ago the Vince had "Look at Us" out, was it? I guess it was over 10 years already. Time flies...

I do agree with you however, about innovation slowing up, with a few exceptions. Paul's two step drop, that's fairly new. It seems to me that for the last few years or so the normal has been to have a steel, but not sound too 'steel-like'. Just play a riff or a guitar lick type of thing. It is a waste of a beautiful instrument, but the labels are afraid of being too country in country music. Don't want to run off those young kids with all that disposable income.

Jim

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Minds work like parachutes. It's best when they're open.