Episode 3 of Pop Music, U.S.A.

Episode 3 of Pop Music, U.S.A. focuses on country music from the end of WWII to what was then the present, 1974. The tens of thousands of students Dad taught over a 40-year career would recognize much of what’s on display in this episode, for more so than many of the previous productions, “Country Music II” features a classroom setting and the kind of presentation Dad would have given to the 600-or-so students sitting in the monstrous Wilson Auditorium every trimester in the early 70s. dad-as-jcNot that there’s not some entertainment. No, we get an opening montage with Dad channeling Johnny Cash, complete with wig and hoisted-high guitar. And we get some great pics of the early country and rockabilly artists from the 50s, and we hear clips of Patti Page’s “Tennessee Waltz,” Hank Williams’ “Cold, Cold Heart,” and Eddy Arnold’s “Bouquet of Roses.” And live-in-the-studio guests Glenn Canyon and the Americanyons serve up Kris Kristofferson’s “For the Good Times” alongside an original from the Canyon canon. But most of what transpires in these 30 minutes feels as it felt when I took Dad’s class back when I attended the University of Cincinnati, including an interesting look at the development of BMI as a competing force with which ASCAP ended up having to reckon and five 1974-era prescient predictions about the future of country music, all of which, to one extent or another, have come true in the near-50 years since. Please enjoy “Country Music II.”
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About Warren Anderson

Emmaus Road Worshipers is written by Dr. Warren Anderson, Director of the Demoss Center for Worship in the Performing Arts at Judson University (Elgin, Ill.), where he also directs the Judson University Choir. A Judson alumnus, he has served his alma mater in a number of capacities over the past 30+ years, especially the chapel ministry, which he led for 22 years. From 1982-2016, Dr. Anderson served six different churches--American Baptist (X2), Converge, Evangelical Free Church of America, Roman Catholic, and United Methodist--as a "weekend warrior" worship musician/pastor. He is a former member of the editorial board of Worship Leader magazine. The views expressed in this blog are not necessarily the views of Judson University.
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1 Response to Episode 3 of Pop Music, U.S.A.

  1. David Bunker's avatar David Bunker says:

    Now this is s story. Wig and all. Say what? So cool. This is channeling at its best.

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