Get out yer boots - it's COUNTRY DAY!!!

These last few weeks have been really fun, so I'm just going to keep the music theme going on Wednesdays until the end of the summer or until I run out of ideas, whichever comes first!

Today is COUNTRY DAY, and the way you are going to participate is by providing me with either three answers or one answer.  If you decide to do three answers it will look like this:

1. Your favorite OLD SCHOOL country artist(s).  This is where you talk about the good old days and how these young whippersnappers ain't got nothin' on REAL country music.  Names like Hank and Cash and Dolly will inevitably come up.  Got it?
2. Your favorite 80's/90's country artist(s).  Many of us got on board with country during this era.  I would totally put myself in this category.  I listened to Johnny Cash and the Oak Ridge Boys with my Granddaddy, but it wasn't until I heard Clint Black for the first time in about '90 that the scales fell from my eyes.  So my country appreciation begins with Clint.  Besides Clint, names like Garth, Alan Jackson, Faith Hill and Alabama will surely arise.
3. Lastly, tell me your favorite CURRENT country artist(s).  You know, somebody who's only been on the scene the last five to ten years or so.  Gretchen Wilson comes to mind, or Montgomery Gentry, or  maybe Sugarland.  You get the drift.

OR you could go the other route.  You see, I am not naive to the fact that many of you might not like country music AT ALL.  You might not get it, or you may get it and just plain loathe it.  I don't want you to be left out of COUNTRY DAY.  All you have to give me is one response.  And it goes like this here:

1. I don't like country music.

That's all!  I have a feeling this might be the most hotly debated segment of our little musical summer...

As for me, I will get back to you.  My answers are going to require some thought and preparation, so I will wait and put them in another post.

But to give you an idea, it will probably include people like Hank, Hank Jr., Hank Jr the Third, Buck Owens, Dwight Yoakam, Clint Black, Travis Tritt, Alan Jackson, etc., etc.

(This is the country-est post to ever be a part of Watercooler Wednesday!)

Comments

[Bari]

1. Conway Twitty, Patsy Cline, Statler Brothers,Johnny Cash, George Jones, Tammy Wynette
2. Marty Stuart (wasn't sure where to put him. He has been around a long time.) Oak Ridge Boys, Alabama, Dwight Yokum, Patti Loveless, Vince Gill, Garth Brooks
3.Blake Shelton ,Gretchen Wilson, Keith Urban

[Ali]

1.Conway Twitty, Hank...I wish I could remember some of the other ones my dad use to sing to me.
2.George Strait...the only artist I have ever camped out over night on cold cement to get tickets for their show. (It also involved CIA and FBI guys with scary guns)
3.Brad Paisley

Oh, and Keith Whitley. And I can't believe Traci didn't mention Kris Kristofferson.

[Lisa Looberoo]

1. John Denver (my parents listened to the Beach Boys, but we lived in Colorado, so JD was kind of required).

2. George Strait, Randy Travis, Garth Brooks (moved to Kansas... country was pretty hard core).

3. Hmmm... Kenny Chesney, Keith Urban... mostly because they smile nice. I'm more of a Coldplay, Travis, Snow Patrol girl now.

[Debbie]

1. Dolly Parton, George Jones, Merle Haggard

2. Dwight Yoakam

3. Dolly Parton

[Corrine aka Mama Gomer]

Oh, and if you asked my son Asher who my favorite country artist is, he'd say Third Day. :rolleyes:

[LeAnn]

1. Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Patsy Cline, Conway Twitty, Charlie Pride, Statler Brothers, Oak Ridge Boys...
2. Alan Jackson, Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, George Strait, Randy Travis, Dwight Yoakam, Travis Tritt, Marty Stuart...but definitely Alabama
3. Little Big Town, Keith Urban, Trace Adkins, George Strait...

[Corrine aka Mama Gomer]

I don't like country music. I started to say more, but it got really long, and I felt guilty for taking up all of Mark's space. So I put the rest of my answer here: http://corrineinreallife.tumblr.com/

[Kelly]

1. Johnny Cash
2. Junior Brown, Foster & Lloyd - then Radney Foster solo, Alan Jackson, Garth Brooks, George Strait
3. Here in Tx we have our own "breed" of country music we like to call Americana and we have the most AMAZING local musicians these days! Some of my favorites are Walt Wilkins, Cross Canadian Ragweed, Reckless Kelly, Pat Green, Cory Morrow...just to name a few *wink*

[Joelle]

1. PATSY CLINE, JOHNNY CASH
2. Garth Brooks
3. Rascal Flatts, Taylor Swift, Keith Urban, Carrie Underwood

[spence]

And one more Mark!!!

if you haven't heard them...you need to seek out Lester "Roadhog"Moran and the Cadillac Cowboys.

it should be in every collection of good country music favorites..you might need a good shot glass for it.

[spence]

I love this game!!

1. Glen Campbell, Charlie Pride(saw both in concert), oak ridge boys, george jones, hank sr., Crystal Gail, Buck Owens,Johnny Cash and bob wills!

2. George Strait, Clint Black, Michael Martin Murphy(yes!!!! bring me some Wildfire!!!) Randy Travis, Dwight Yaokam, Willie, Highway Men, and who could ever forget...Restless Heart!!!

3. today? Keith Urban...seriously...the boy can lay it down.

[MrsJason]

1)I absolutely adore The Statlers. (I'll impress you sometime with my snapshot of me sitting on Lew DeWitt's lap. I was 5.) Conway Twitty, Loretta, Buck...

2)Clint Black, Randy Travis, Hal Ketchum, and of course, Dwight

3)Keith Urban covered ROMEO'S TUNE which I thought that was cool. Sugarland's new single is catchy.

[chuck harris]

first off, my dad made sure i was raised on both kinds of music...country AND western

1. Bob Wills (a distant relative of mine), Ernest Tubbs, Marty Robbins, Hank Sr. and Jr., Glen Campbell, Charlie Rich, Conway Twitty, Loretta Lynn, Barbara Mandrell, George Jones, Tammy Wynette
Charlie Daniels, Willie Nelson,
2. Alabama, George Strait, Randy Travis, Reba, Garth, Diamond Rio, Shenandoah, Sawyer Brown, John Anderson, Dwight Yoakum, Vince Gill, Alan Jackson, Hal Ketchum, Clay Walker, Rick Trevino, Michael James
3. Rascall Flatts, BRAD PAISLEY, Keith Urban, Taylor Swift, Pat Green, Toby Keith, Cross Canadian Ragweed, the Groobies, Cooter Graw

and wow, i don't think that i like country music. i certainly don't listen to it much, but i completely respect and enjoy every artist on this list.

[stephanie]

Sorry for posting twice....
Steve Wariner

[Matt]

1. Hank, Sr., Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash

2. George Strait, Alabama, Ricky Skaggs, Collin Raye, Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, Randy Travis, Mark Chesnut, Ty Herndon, Sawyer Brown, Sammy Kershaw, Reba McEntire, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill (I prefer their older songs)

3. Gary Allan, Keith Urban, Brad Paisley, Sugarland (new single is a little annoying), Kenny Chesney, Leann Rimes, Dierks Bently, George Strait, Luke Bryan (went to Georgia Southern)

[Tom Soto]

Sorry, No Country for L.A. Men.

[Tim]

Two Words: Brad Paisely

[Tammie]

1. Hank Sr., Patsy Cline, George Jones, Tammy Wynette. Put the last two together and you get chaos in their personal life and pure musical magic.

2. Alabama, Alan Jackson, George Strait.

3. Truthfully, I haven't liked much of the newer stuff — although my youth group kids subjected me to repeated playings of Taylor Swift's "Should've Said No" on a 19-hour trip to Mississippi. I can say that I don't hate the song, but it's kind of grown on me.

[jason(jabob)]

1. Buck Owens, Charlie Rich
2. Dwight Yoakam, Steve Earle
3. Maybe Brad Paisley, The Wreckers album was great.

[stephanie]

When I was growing up, there were basically only country stations so I love it.
1. Willie Nelson, johnny Cash and I really liked George Jones.
2. I loved it all. Alabama, George Strait, Garth Brooks, Mark Chesnutt, Travis Tritt...oh DIAMOND RIO, huge fan of theirs.
3. Now, I guess Toby Keith or Rascal Flatts

[Wendy]

1. My parents only listened to country and I hated it. Now I don't. I love to listen to Hank, George Jones, Willie Nelson, Tanya Tucker, Charlie Pride, Ray Stevens (and all the Hee Haw crew).

2. I debated where to put these two (in #1 or 2). George Strait and Reba McEntire ARE country....period. I will listen to them until I die. In fact I have seen George Strait at least 13 times and my husband threatened to call him and tell George I was "cheating" on him after I had seen Third Day more times than George :).

3. I don't listen to much country now because I don't like most of them but my 2 favorites would be Rascal Flatts and Sugarland.

And Kid Rock is NOT country (sorry just had to get that on my chest).

[Jean DeChant]

1: Don't like Country but grew up with Hank Williams Sr.
2: Liked it even less
3: Don't like country!

[Daniel Ross]

1.) CASH
2.) Garth Brooks, Marty Stuart
3.) Brad Paisley, Keith Urban (though i still dig Marty Stuart the most of anyone)

[Joel Stapleton]

1. Oak Ridge Boys - Who hasn't done Richard Sterban's "oombapamowmow"
2. Alabama - I now live about 30 minutes from Fort Payne, HQ to Alabama...still.
3. Brad Paisley - I just think we could get along as boys...and, "Letter to Me" is a great song.

[Jason]

1. Conway Twitty (remember Twitty City???), J. Cash, Loretta L.
2. Alabama (for a week or two), Dwight Yoakam, Randy Travis
3. I don't like country music. I get it. Loathe it.