Country Music: Where To Begin?

So the other day in the Hot Air comments of the inaugural Friday Country Music Video post, Kensington said he liked some country but didn't really know where to start. I said I'd put something up at JYB. And since then I've felt like crud because that's like a treatise, not a blog post--at least, for me to do it the way I want to. And why do it if I can't do it the way I want to? It's my blog after all. Well, it's still sort of Bryan's actually, I guess. But I found myself with no desire to do a halfway job on that topic, but without the time or energy to actually do anything but a halfway job.

So, here's a half-assed answer:

If you're coming to country music from pop music, you'll want to start with Johnny Cash and Dwight Yoakam. Cash you've probably heard of; Dwight's got a kind of a Mexican Rockabilly West Virginia Coal Miner thing going on that you'll like. (Incidentally, he played the creepy stepfather in Sling Blade.) Just fool around on iTunes or whatever you use and you'll hear them. You'll also find some interesting duets of people they've collaborated with, and whose songs they've covered, and that will give you a starting point.

My other advice is don't get into the Bluegrass stuff just yet; that's an acquired taste that (in my case, anyway) comes later. It's kind of like thinking you might like to try some fancy cheese, and so hey, you go and bite off a mouthful of warm, fetid Livarot. It's kind of like that, except that Bluegrass music doesn't smell like a podiatrist's biohazard dumpster on a late August afternoon. (UPDATE: Anwyn suggests Nickel Creek as accessible bluegrass. I'd also add in the Seldom Scene, who are bluegrass but don't have that high-and-lonesome sound.)

I'll update this post a couple of times tonight as ideas hit, and if I can bestir myself from my anomie and give a rip. You're welcome.

UPDATE: Sorry if I seem grumpy. Family trouble.

UPDATE 2: I remember a chat with Patterico a while back in which he pointed out that modern rock music and especially ballads tend to push male singers' voices up into a higher range than is natural for some men to sing in. I hadn't thought about that but it makes sense. Country has few such restrictions, although on the other hand I think Billy Joe Royal had some sort of industrial accident to be able to sing as high as he does.

If you'd like to hear some natural baritones do their thing, country music is for you. You might want to check out a few by Randy Travis ("It's Just a Matter Of Time" is my favorite of his) and newcomer Josh Turner ("Long Black Train"). Jim Reeves and Eddy Arnold are more like old-time crooners, with voices like mellow wood smoke. George Strait's voice isn't deep, but like Kix Brooks' of Brooks and Dunn, it's in a pleasantly normal range. The late Don Walser, though he could yodel up high, usually belted it out in a pleasant baritone as well.

UPDATE 3: You like technical pickin' wizardry? You ought to check out Junior brown (on guitar/steel guitar) and Cindy Cashdollar (Steel guitar). Roy Clark was also amazing on the guitar; don't let his corny appearances on HeeHaw put you off. He and fellow Hee Haw emcee Buck Owens were top-notch talent. Finally, if you follow guitars, you probably know of Chet Atkins, who was an inspiration to Eddie Van Halen. He's good.

UPDATE 4: You like harmony? Vocal harmony is not in fashion these days, but in the country archives you can hear it stretching way back. The Sons of the Pioneers were great early practitioners, but the problem is that much of their output was designed for old Westerns and is very cowboy- and old west-centric, which I love but YMMV. (UPDATE--in the comments, Michael Bates recommends Riders in the Sky as less warbly than the SoP.)

So if the SoP aren't your bag, but you like harmony, try the Statler Brothers, and also the Oak Ridge Boys...

UPDATE 5 (Tuesday Morning): Female vocalists? There are plenty of good ones. Alison Krauss has already emerged in the comments. Emmylou Harris is outstanding. And of course Patsy Cline is a legend, like Johnny Cash. One that might surprise you is Dolly Parton--you might think of her as all brass and bust but her voice is very sweet and especially if you bother sorting through some of her older stuff like "Jolene", you'll find some gems.

Lately I've become a Bobbie Gentry fan as well--now that is a memorable voice. A lot of her lyrics come off like pretentious seventies Folk (Fauxlk?) bilge, but she sounds sooooo good singing them...