Episode 35: Cosmic American Music: 70s Country Rock
SHOW NOTES
In this episode of For the Record: The 70s, Amy discusses country rock or, as Gram Parsons called it, Cosmic American Music. The 70s were noted for having many sub-genres of rock music and while this particular sub-genre had a loyal following, it was never really a commercial success. Yes, yes…The Eagles. But, the true commercial success for The Eagles came when they they made their transition away from country and toward rock. This episode discusses the suspicion that country artists had about the sincerity of rock singers, as well as the resistance of mainstream radio to play country rock singles. It would be inaccurate to say that country rock died in the 70s because we can hear it mainstream country beginning in the 1990s and, for those artists that stay more true to the country than the rock, we can hear it in Americana. In fact, Americana is probably the closest we have to Parsons’ Cosmic American Music.
PLAYLIST
Garden Party by Rick Nelson (1972)
Sin City by the Flying Burrito Brothers (1969)
Love Hurts by Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris (1973)
Boulder to Birmingham by Emmylou Harris (1975)
Amie by Pure Prairie League (1972/1975)
Lyin Eyes by The Eagles (1975)
Crazy Love by Poco (1979)
SOURCES
Cutler, Hugh. “Poco Sends Sense and Spirits Soaring.” The News Journal. (Wilmington, DE). December 15, 1972.
Daniel Durchholz | Special to the Post-Dispatch. "Country Rock Act Poco Doesn't Get Proper Credit, but Rusty Young Isn't Complaining." STLtoday.com. December 05, 2019. https://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/music/country-rock-act-poco-doesn-t-get-proper-credit-but-rusty-young-isn-t-complaining/article_0d25871f-9e2d-55cf-a040-b511c2e74ef5.html.
Einarson, John. Desperados: The Roots of Country Rock. Cooper Square Press, 2001.
"Gram Parsons – 10 of the Best." The Guardian. July 29, 2015. https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2015/jul/29/gram-parsons-10-of-the-best.
Harris, Art. “Prairie League ‘Discovered’ Again. The Atlanta Constitution. June 14, 1975.
Hall, Claude. “Top Disk Acts to Perform for Radio Forum in S.F.” Billboard. August 9, 1975.
Hilburn, Robert. “The Eagles: Hatched in a Barroom.” Los Angeles Times. April 14, 1974.
Meyer, David M. Twenty Thousand Roads: The Ballad of Gram Parsons and his Cosmic American Music. New York: Random House. 2007.
Moss, Marissa. "Emmylou Harris on Her Greatest Hits: 'I Was Arrogant Enough to Think I Could Survive a Flop'." The Guardian. November 22, 2018. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/nov/22/emmylou-harris-on-her-greatest-hits-i-was-arrogant-enough-to-think-i-could-survive-a-flop.
Nollen, Diana. “Pure Prairie League Brings Classic Midwest Sound to Cedar Rapids Show.”
The Gazette (Cedar Rapids, IA). June 17, 2021 https://www.thegazette.com/things-to-do/pure-prairie-league-bringing-classic-midwest-sound-to-cedar-rapids-show/
Paulson, Dave. "Story Behind the Song: 'Aime'." The Tennessean. December 02, 2016. https://www.tennessean.com/story/entertainment/music/2016/12/02/story-behind-song-aime/94619736/.
PressReader.com - Digital Newspaper & Magazine Subscriptions. https://www.pressreader.com/oman/times-of-oman/20110421/282312496624490.
Proehl, Bob. Flying Burrito Brothers' The Gilded Palace of Sin. United Kingdom: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2008..
"Pure Prairie League Dishes on 'Amie,' Discovering Vince Gill Ahead of Birchmere." WTOP News. August 18, 2021. https://wtop.com/entertainment/2021/08/pure-prairie-league-dishes-on-amie-discovering-vince-gill-ahead-of-birchmere/.
"Rusty Young of Poco Talks Crazy Love." YouTube. November 26, 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFkkfNdQym4.
Songfacts. "Garden Party by Rick Nelson - Songfacts." Song Meanings at Songfacts. https://www.songfacts.com/facts/rick-nelson/garden-party.
Springsteen, Bruce. Born to Run: Bruce Springsteen. Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2017.
Trigger. "Clay Walker Is "Pissed Off" About Rock Artists Playing Country." Saving Country Music. May 18, 2015. https://www.savingcountrymusic.com/clay-walker-is-pissed-off-about-rock-artists-playing-country/.