Tennessee WordSmith: RACE, CLASS, REGION AND CULTURE IN AMERICAN POPULAR MUSIC. Part 6: The 1970s

Outlaw Country

§ Willie Nelson

· “Whiskey River” 1972

· “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain” 1975

§ Waylon Jennings

· “Are You Ready for the Country” 1976

· “Don’t You Think This Outlaw Bit’s Done Got out of Hand” 1978 ["They got me for possession of something that was gone, long gone"... this is a reference to an incident in Nashville in 1977, in which Jennings flushed his cocaine down the toilet while the police were entering with a warrant.]

§ Waylon AND Willie

· “Mamas, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys” 1978

· “Write Your Own Songs” 1982 [this song is the perfect summary of outlaw country]

§ Hank Williams, Jr.

· “Family Tradition” 1979

· “Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound” 1979

§ Jerry Jeff Walker & Ray Wylie Hubbard

· “Up Against the Wall, Redneck Mother” 1973 [“Just kickin’ hippies’ asses and raisin’ hell.”]

§ Guy Clark

· “Like Desperados Waiting for a Train” 1975

Southern Rock

§ Creedence Clearwater Revival

· “Fortunate Son” 1969

· “Willie and the Poor Boys” 1969

§ Janis Joplin

· “Me and Bobby McGee” 1971 [written by Kris Kristoffersen]

§ Allman Brothers Band

· “Ramblin’ Man” 1972

§ ZZ Top

· “La Grange” 1973 [song about a famous Texas brothel]

§ Lynyrd Skynrd

· “The Ballad of Curtis Loew” 1974

· “Sweet Home Alabama” 1974

o Compare to: Neil Young, “Southern Man” 1970 [“I hope Neil Young will remember, a Southern Man don’t need him around anyhow]

§ The Marshal Tucker Band

· “Can’t You See” 1973

· “Heard It in a Love Song” 1977

§ The Doobie Brothers

· “Black Water” 1974

§ Molly Hatchett

· “Flirtin’ with Disaster” 1979

The Rednecks and the Hippies

§ Charlie Daniels

· “Long Haired Country Boy” 1975

· “The South’s Gonna Do It Again” 1975 [musically, this time]

§ David Allen Coe

· “Long Haired Redneck” 1976 [“the hippies are hoping they get out of here alive”]

Breaker! Breaker! [CB Radio craze of the mid-70s]

§ C. W. McCall, “Convoy” 1975 [theme to a movie starring Kris Kristoffersen]

§ Jerry Reed, “East Bound and Down” 1977 [theme to the movie Smokey & the Bandit]

Very, Very Problematic Country/Southern Rock Songs

· David Allen Coe, “If That Ain’t Country” 1977 [casual use of the n-word]

· Merle Haggard, “I’m a White Boy” 1977

· Ramjam, “Black Betty” 1977

Light Country-Rock

§ The Eagles

· “Take It Easy” 1972

· “Peaceful Easy Feeling” 1972

§ Linda Ronstadt

· “Blue Bayou” 1977

Working Class Anthems

§ Merle Haggard, “If We Make It through December” 1974

§ Johnny Paycheck, “Take This Job and Shove It” 1978

§ Rose Royce, “Car Wash” 1976

Black Protest

§ Marvin Gaye

· “What’s Going On” 1971

· “Mercy Mercy Me” 1971

· “Inner City Blues” 1971

§ The Isley Brothers

· “Fight the Power” 1975 [“I try to play my music, they say my music’s too loud / I try talking about it, I’ve got to be run around / I tried to roll with the punches and I got knocked on the ground / by all this bullshit going down… we’ve got to fight the powers that be.”]

Funk to Disco

§ Isaac Hayes, “Shaft” 1971

§ Curtis Mayfield, “SuperFly” 1972

§ The Hues Corporation, “Rock the Boat” 1974

§ Parliament, “Give Up the Funk” 1975

§ Wild Cherry, “Play That Funky Music” 1976 [white boys.]

§ KC & the Sunshine Band, “I’m Your Boogie Man” 1977

· Compare Prince, “Rock Hard in a Funky Place” 1994

Rap Hits the Radio

§ Rap / hip hop developed in the 1970s in New York City block parties

§ The Sugarhill Gang, “Rapper’s Delight” 1979

§ Kurtis Blow, “The Breaks” 1980