"Even country?!?!" (for you, Dad)

Whenever someone asks me, "What kind of music do you listen to?"... I have always been quick to answer "Everything." The familiar refrain: "Even country music?"
When the word is said, instinctively, I cringe. But then I think.....
"Country music" is a phrase that is (for some reason) associated only with the past 5 years or so. If I were to turn on a country station, I would MAYBE recognize 1 song or artist out of 100. And that is only if the dj is feeling really sentimental about the past or something.
When I think about country, the first thing I think about isn't any of the pseudo-country pop songs of this decade..... the first thing I think about is my father.
My entire childhood, my father played only country music. In the house, in the yard, and especially - in his pickup truck.
The dash board of his truck (any one of his trucks), at any given time was cluttered with tiny balled up receipts, handfuls of loose change, bronze pump gauges, random nuts and bolts, and most likely, a cassette case fading in the sun.
Marty Robbins "Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs" -with a young Marty dressed in all black, drawing his pistol from his side, with large black text on top of a blood red background always stood out to me.
My dad would put on the tape with the windows rolled down and the volume never quite overtook the sound of the whipping wind and passing cars. I knew most of the words somehow. I would sing along to "Big Iron" as I flipped the case over again and again in my young hands.


We would drive 12 hours to Maine once a year to stay in the family hunting cabin. Me, my brothers, and cousins would pile into my mom's blue Suburban and my dad or uncle would pop in Johnny Cash. For 12 hours, we were occupied with his songs. Singing "Ring of Fire", "Boy Named Sue", and "Walk the Line" all the way to the North tip.

As one of my favorite and most vivid memories, I had the extremely rare and amazing chance to see Johnny Cash live with my father.
I was so excited when he told me. I had stolen his tapes from the truck a few weeks before and was able to sing nearly every song beginning to end from "Folsom Prison".
It was my first concert ever. And it was going to be JOHNNY CASH!!!!
We piled into the truck and drove for what seemed like hours to a coliseum. I expected to see loads of guys wearing cowboy hats and boots and pickup trucks parked for miles....
Instead, the place was a ghost town. Not a person or car in site.
We figured we were early so we drove over to a small diner to have something to eat. I had chicken fingers and my dad had a cheese steak with fried onions. We talked about my school and his work. At one point we looked out the window and noticed there were still no cars anywhere.
My dad pulled out the tickets and we realized that my mom had told us the wrong day. We were there one day early.
Cursing under his breath, my dad took me back out to the truck and we drove home listening to a Waylon Jennings tape. I hadn't heard much of Waylon's music to that point but "White Lighting" quickly became one of my favorites.

The next day, we drove back up and this time, it was packed.
We walked in. Just like I had envisioned, loads of cowboys. Real life cowboys (at least in my mind). Flannel shirts, Stetson hats, shining leather boots.
My dad took me over to the merchandise stand and bought me a denim hat with a leather brim that had Johnny's signature stitched into it. It was far too big for my tiny head but I wore it anyway.
We got to our seats just as Johnny was about to take the stage.
The crowd roared as he walked to the center and began playing "Ring of Fire". Just then, something incredible happened....
A giant projection screen lit up behind him and film clips of fire played behind him. I was amazed. But not as amazed as when THE STAGE STARTED TO SPIN!!!!
There he was, Johnny Cash, singing live on a revolving stage while movies played behind him. The images corresponding perfectly with the words of his songs. Trains when he played "Orange Blossom Special", old John Wayne westerns when he sang "Dont Take Your Guns to Town".
My tiny mind was exploding. It was the most amazing thing I had ever seen (and still may be to this day).

So in turn, the answer is "Yes. Yes I do listen to country music."
And even more importantly.... You should too.
Because let's face it, there is nothing more American than old country songs.
And without country music (which is as old as the blues or jazz)....
There would be no Rock and Roll.
And without Rock and Roll.... well.... I dont know where we would be.