No. 329: Goodtime Hour

"Goodtime Hour" by Tom Wills, April 2016

Initially No. 329 was to be a tribute to country legend Merle Haggard, who died April 6. In trolling the internet for suitably raw photos of Hag, however, I came across a still from Glen Campbell's "Goodtime Hour" television show that captured a moment of banter among Haggard, Campbell, Buck Owens and Johnny Cash.

Now, imagine seeing those four guys walk into a bar …
So I figured, "Why not?"

One friend dubbed this image "The Rushmore of Country," which I like, but truthfully such a monument also would include Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson (and probably Patsy Cline, Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn …)

I like Waylon. But I have to work much harder to get into him, and Willie, and even Cash. I just find Buck and Merle and even cornball Glen a lot more tuneful and rocking. And they could really sing, especially Hag (also a prolific composer).
The other two guys are, um, "originals," which is fine — but it takes me longer to dig it.

So for now we have these four titans, three gone and one in failing health.
Torches continue to be passed.

My grandparents, and my Pennsylvania relatives, would like this drawing. It's because of them that I learned, early on, about these entertainers — whether through rummaging through their records or watching "Hee Haw" and the like at my grandparents' place on Saturday nights.
These four men, however, went a long way beyond their sometimes-cornball television guises.

Buck Owens, in particular, rocked and swang.
The Motherbucker!
They have deep catalogs, covering a variety of styles, and their songs tell stories of plain people's loves and losses.
And trains. Gotta love a train.

 This illustration is for sale. It is $200, framed.  Contact willstom01@gmail.com