7/19/20

"I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool" by Barbara Mandrell

   I was listening to the Opry, when all of my friends were diggin’ Rock ‘n Roll and Rhythm & Blues…

    Hello friends! Tonight, the Dial transmits a signal to you direct from Nashville, Tennessee, from almost four decades hence. A song that playfully comments on the then-contemporary “urban cowboy” trend, while asserting that the singer was always country, even when the genre wasn’t necessarily the “hip thing” to like. Southern Belles and Proper Gentlemen alike… put your hands together for Miss Barbara Mandrell, and “I Was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool”.


    Written by Kye Fleming and Dennis Morgan, “I Was Country…” finds Barbara positioning herself as one of the torchbearers of classic country in terms of music and style, at a time when country was crossing over to the pop charts in a big way. She states “now look at everybody trying to be what I was then”, and later follows that with “what you see ain’t nuthin’ new”. This makes reference to the influence that the country music scene held on pop culture in the late '70s and early ‘80s, and counters that by saying Barbara had always been true country the whole time, and she’s not simply jumping on the bandwagon.

    The lead single from 1981’s Barbara Mandrell Live album, and a #1 smash hit on the US Country singles charts, the tune surprisingly never crossed over to the Hot 100, which may have suited Barbara and her songwriters just fine, given the song’s context. She only reached the pop top 40 once, with her 1979 cover of Luther Ingram’s “(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don’t Want to Be Right”, which landed at US #31 on the pop charts.

    Funny thing about the Barbara Mandrell Live album. True to it’s name, it is a collection of live recordings of many of her prior hits, with one exception… that being today’s spotlighted track. Yep, even though you hear the roar of the audience throughout, and especially when the guest artist joins in (more on this in a moment), those enthusiastic fans are actually just a replayed loop of applause and cheering, mixed into a standard studio recording of the song. AH HA! Studio trickery! (This is rather apparent when you notice the same loud and borderline obnoxious “WHOO-HOOO” popping up several times during the song.)

    So who is that guest artist I mentioned? None other than Mr. George Jones, a legend with over fifty top 10 country hits beginning in 1955, including thirteen chart toppers, among them the heart-wrenching "He Stopped Loving Her Today" from 1980. Jones for whatever reason, is not credited on Mandrell's record, despite being identified by name in the lyrics themselves. I assume this was because of the “old standby” problem of competing record labels, (Mandrell was on MCA, and Jones was on Epic), but if the labels had issues with crediting George on the record label, then why was he approved to sing on the track in the first place? I can’t rationalize any good reason why this shouldn’t have been billed as a duet between the two icons. Seems it would have only benefited them both.

    Growing up in the early '80s, my family and I used to watch the variety show Barbara Mandrell and the Mandrell Sisters on NBC, and I enjoyed their songs and cute comedy bits, plus I had a bit of a crush on youngest sister Irlene. (Irlene... call me?) However, the only sketch I recall anything about now was one in which Barbara was shown playing a Pac-Man arcade game on stage – it was not a mockup cabinet or prop, but the authentic machine. Being an arcade fanatic, it makes sense why I would recall that detail all these years later. Really wish I could find that clip to see it again.

    “I Was Country…” also reminds me of my grandma, who owned a huge 70’s woodgrain Zenith console record player with 8 track and AM/FM radio. I LOVED this enormous and beautiful piece of furniture that always had great tunes pouring forth from its speakers. As near as I can recall, the bulk of my grandma’s vinyl records were contemporary (‘70s and early ‘80s) country. Barbara was definitely in the mix, as was Alabama, Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton, Ronnie Milsap, Eddie Rabbit, Crystal Gayle, Charlie Pride, Mickey Gilley, and Tanya Tucker. Along with some easy listening like 101 Strings Orchestra, and some 50’s vocal groups like The Platters thrown in. I'm certain that my often referenced love of country music from this era was not just informed by the songs that crossed over to top 40, but was equally entrenched in my grandma's vinyl collection.

    On a side note, and I don’t typically reference parody tunes, but in 2003 Cletus T. Judd (the “Weird Al” of country music) recorded a tune called “I Was Country When Country Wasn’t Pop”. Goofing on the late '90s and early 2000s trend of country artists incorporating more pop and r&b styles in their music in order to appeal to a larger pop market, it contains lyrics like “Now it’s more like Britney Spears than it is Loretta Lynn…” It’s worth a chuckle, and worth a listen. (Cletus even got George Jones to revisit his lines from the original song!)

    One final thought… inspired by a lyric in Barbara’s hit, I recently tried the Southern tradition of peanuts in my Coke a few months ago. Ultimately, I wasn’t impressed. It wasn’t bad, I just didn’t see what the big deal was. I probably would have felt differently if I had grown up doing so. However, I remain impressed by Barbara’s song, with it’s sweet, yet assertive lyrics stating that she has remained true to herself and her craft, while so many others chase trends.

    So check it out below and let me know – what are some of your favorite country tunes that you never hear on the radio anymore? Do YOU put peanuts in YOUR Coke? Post me a message and let’s chat! And as always, thanks for checking out Kyle’s Radio Dial, where the more you listen... the more you remember!





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