The American Spectator

(Read today’s none-Country Western Reader Mail in the separate document here.)

p> BOTH COUNTRY AND WESTERN br> Re: Clinton W. Taylor’s America’s Hit-Kickers : /p>

Taylor is a man of many talents. What a treasure trove of country western a lot of the country doesn’t know exists. I’ll be looking them up. While my own knowledge of contemporary CW is limited, I always admired Bob Wills, as much for his business suit and hat as his musical skill. Most of the CW ladies today sound like screech owls in distress to me, particularly the one that lets “freedom ring” at about 750 decibels. Besides, it seems to me a country western singing girl ought to look a little country and sound a little country. Like Loretta Lynn and Patsy Cline.

I wonder how songs like “Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition,” “Comin’ In On a Wing and a Prayer” or “White Cliffs of Dover” would be, if written in support of our current war? The Wing and a Prayer one would incite war protesters to demand better aircraft wings so our military wouldn’t have to pray. But what morale boosters the Andrews Sisters must have been with “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” and “Apple Blossom Time”! Neither could we have a BWBugle Boy today. “He was the top man at his craft, but then his number came up and he was caught in the draft…” There were hundreds of good war songs and the sillier the better. There was one that went:

p> em>Eager Beaver’s got him a twelve hour leave, hoya hoya br> Lookin’ like Christmas, happy as New Year’s Eve —” /em> br> [starts out optimistic but it winds up] br>