Home
The Golden Age of American Popular Music: The Country Hits
The Golden Age of American Popular Music: The Country Hits in Bloomington, MN
Current price: $13.99
Loading Inventory...
Size: OS
This interesting compilation assembles 28 country hits that also crossed over to the pop charts between 1953 and 1963 -- albeit usually charting far lower on the pop side and stopping well short of the Top 40. It should be clarified at the outset that despite the somewhat similar titles and concept, this is an entirely different CD than another anthology on the
Ace
label,
The Golden Age of American Rock 'n' Roll: Special Country Edition
. That disc had plenty of country hits that were really big pop hits (a la
Marty Robbins
'
"El Paso"
), some of which are still played on oldies radio.
The Golden Age of American Popular Music: The Country Hits
, in contrast, has very few such items, with exceptions here and there like
Patsy Cline
's
"She's Got You"
and
Johnny Cash
"Don't Take Your Guns to Town."
What this collection does do is give you a pretty good cross section of country music as it moved away from hillbilly roots to more commercial, poppier, and more slickly produced sounds, though these particular cuts hardly sound slick per se. Many of country's greatest, and certainly most popular, singers of the era are represented, including
Cline
,
Cash
Robbins
Jim Reeves
Ray Price
Bobby Bare
Lefty Frizzell
Roy Clark
Hank Snow
Eddy Arnold
Floyd Cramer
, and
Faron Young
. To the pop and rock fan, however, there aren't as many songs that will stand out as there are on
; even the quite thorough liner notes admit that "most of the inclusions here are of a gentler nature than those on its sister CD." But there are some actual classics on the track list, including
Johnny Horton
"Honky Tonk Man"
;
Don Gibson
"I Can't Stop Loving You,"
later covered for a huge pop hit by
Ray Charles
; and
Ferlin Husky
"Wings of a Dove."
There are also some items worth hearing for their sheer offbeatness, such as
Skeeter Davis
"My Last Date (With You),"
a sort of vocal version/answer song to
's huge hit
"Last Date,"
Cramer
's own Top Ten pop instrumental cover of
Bob Wills
"San Antonio Rose."
~ Richie Unterberger
Ace
label,
The Golden Age of American Rock 'n' Roll: Special Country Edition
. That disc had plenty of country hits that were really big pop hits (a la
Marty Robbins
'
"El Paso"
), some of which are still played on oldies radio.
The Golden Age of American Popular Music: The Country Hits
, in contrast, has very few such items, with exceptions here and there like
Patsy Cline
's
"She's Got You"
and
Johnny Cash
"Don't Take Your Guns to Town."
What this collection does do is give you a pretty good cross section of country music as it moved away from hillbilly roots to more commercial, poppier, and more slickly produced sounds, though these particular cuts hardly sound slick per se. Many of country's greatest, and certainly most popular, singers of the era are represented, including
Cline
,
Cash
Robbins
Jim Reeves
Ray Price
Bobby Bare
Lefty Frizzell
Roy Clark
Hank Snow
Eddy Arnold
Floyd Cramer
, and
Faron Young
. To the pop and rock fan, however, there aren't as many songs that will stand out as there are on
; even the quite thorough liner notes admit that "most of the inclusions here are of a gentler nature than those on its sister CD." But there are some actual classics on the track list, including
Johnny Horton
"Honky Tonk Man"
;
Don Gibson
"I Can't Stop Loving You,"
later covered for a huge pop hit by
Ray Charles
; and
Ferlin Husky
"Wings of a Dove."
There are also some items worth hearing for their sheer offbeatness, such as
Skeeter Davis
"My Last Date (With You),"
a sort of vocal version/answer song to
's huge hit
"Last Date,"
Cramer
's own Top Ten pop instrumental cover of
Bob Wills
"San Antonio Rose."
~ Richie Unterberger
Shop Similar Products
