Fascinating is a great word to describe this piece and its subject. I'm decidedly not a fan of Wagoner or much of that era of Nashville music, with my tastes leaning much more toward the Outlaw Country era and its harder sound that followed. That said, the musicians at Studio A were top notch, and their work with Elvis in the early 1960s showed their talent in ways that I felt were suppressed by artists like Waggoner and Chet Atkins, especially.
What you've done here is point out beautifully some of the extremes/contraditions in Waggoner's catalog. Many of these murder ballads gave (and still give) me the creeps as a kid, but they were effective nonetheless. Thanks for writing this. It's very well done, as always.
Great piece. I'm not very familiar with Porter Waggoner but I'm reminded of The Louvin Brothers rendition of "Knoxville Girl," another chilling murder ballad sung in beautiful, lilting harmony.
I'm guessing you are already familiar with it, but for others reading this, if you're interested in some deep dives into 'creepy' country music stories - and some not so creepy too - I highly recommend Tyler Mahan Coe's excellent podcast "Cocaine & Rhinestones."
He hasn't done an episode on Porter, yet, but I expect he'll get to it in time.
Thank you, Hugh. I've probably heard 'Knoxville Girl' at some point but will need to re-listed. I know 'Satan is Real' by the Louvin Brothers very well and feel that it is also similar to some of Wagoner's heavier morality tales.
Get the Little David label compilations. Sometimes they show up in cheapie compilations. Paycheck is the genuine David Allen Coe with better pipes & songs.
Another great post, Robert. Sure was a lot of cheating and killing going on in Wagoner’s Nashville. But as usual, you’ve done a great job putting this music and this sound in perspective. And as usual, I learned plenty that was completely new to me.
Thanks for this great post. I've listened to a bit of solo Porter Wagoner over the years but, like other people have mentioned, I'm more familiar with the Porter & Dolly tracks. I really enjoyed your take on these tracks, which make me want to check out more of the material. I love the fiddle on those Cold Hard Facts songs, especially the title track where it adds a whole other narrative level to what's going on.
Thanks also for the kind link to my Sinatra piece.
Thank you, Richard - appreciate your comment. I like the Wagoner duet records with Dolly (the ones I have heard) but the solo stuff I highlighted is simply unforgettable.
I got into Porter Wagoner shortly before he passed away, when he released Wagonmaster, a great album. It's not from the late 60s, but "The Rubber Room" from What Ain't to Be, Might Just Happen (released in 1972)--with its use of echo vocals and given its subject matter--is one of the creepiest songs I've ever heard.
Porter Wagoner’s syndicated TV show was broadcast on Saturday evening in the DC market when I was a teenager in the late ‘60s. The attraction for me was to see the latest Nudie suit and to hear and see Dolly. Never listened to Porter sing all that much, but the duets with Dolly were great!
A fascinating subject, and writing that highlights the strange emotional territory of the song (for example the reference to, "a threat sung in four-part harmony that offers the woman a choice: his hand in marriage or burial in the Ohio.")
I hadn't heard these songs before (I've mostly heard Porter Wagoner in the context of Dolly Parton), and the article provides a good point of entry.
It's still quite strange. A comment that I've made before is that it's easy to think of songs (particularly popular song) as effortlessly communicative -- that the music and words convey emotion and meaning without requiring interpretation. But, that's not true; like any art (or communication) it depends on having some shared context, and understanding of the references for the choices the artist makes, and a sense of where a song is making familiar moves and where it enters stranger territory.
This article makes clear that it can be quite disorienting when we're honestly not sure what is intended.
There does seem to me for the Porter Wagoner recordings I have highlighted an attempt to stress their disturbing nature, particularly in how the music and lyrics are mismatched. There's definitely something devious in, for example, using female background singers as dreamily as they are used on 'Julie,' for example, considering its subject matter (a man marrying a woman of 17 and thinking he could control her) and how it ends. You can dance to the song and even swoon a bit to how pretty it is. It's unbelievably nervy.
Absolutely, that's why I liked the post so much -- it is genuinely strange, and it makes you wonder how he and his audience thought about that tension, and I appreciate that you don't exactly offer a theory, you just point out that there's clearly something notable going on with his performance.
It's not precisely parallel, but one song I always wonder about is the Ralph Stanley version of, "I Am The Man, Thomas." Which is religious is subject matter but the performance feels very Rock and Roll to me -- not only the energy of the performance but the pleasure it takes in the ego of the whole thing, and I don't know what that communicated to his audience: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVWK7m_9Xqw
Fascinating is a great word to describe this piece and its subject. I'm decidedly not a fan of Wagoner or much of that era of Nashville music, with my tastes leaning much more toward the Outlaw Country era and its harder sound that followed. That said, the musicians at Studio A were top notch, and their work with Elvis in the early 1960s showed their talent in ways that I felt were suppressed by artists like Waggoner and Chet Atkins, especially.
What you've done here is point out beautifully some of the extremes/contraditions in Waggoner's catalog. Many of these murder ballads gave (and still give) me the creeps as a kid, but they were effective nonetheless. Thanks for writing this. It's very well done, as always.
Thank you, Glenn, for the very kind words.
Great piece. I'm not very familiar with Porter Waggoner but I'm reminded of The Louvin Brothers rendition of "Knoxville Girl," another chilling murder ballad sung in beautiful, lilting harmony.
I'm guessing you are already familiar with it, but for others reading this, if you're interested in some deep dives into 'creepy' country music stories - and some not so creepy too - I highly recommend Tyler Mahan Coe's excellent podcast "Cocaine & Rhinestones."
He hasn't done an episode on Porter, yet, but I expect he'll get to it in time.
https://cocaineandrhinestones.com/
Thank you, Hugh. I've probably heard 'Knoxville Girl' at some point but will need to re-listed. I know 'Satan is Real' by the Louvin Brothers very well and feel that it is also similar to some of Wagoner's heavier morality tales.
Similar revenge murder plots abound in Johnny Paycheck’s 60’s recordings: Pardon me, I’ve got someone to kill, etc.
I wish I knew Paycheck's pre-Outlaw recordings better.
Get the Little David label compilations. Sometimes they show up in cheapie compilations. Paycheck is the genuine David Allen Coe with better pipes & songs.
Another great post, Robert. Sure was a lot of cheating and killing going on in Wagoner’s Nashville. But as usual, you’ve done a great job putting this music and this sound in perspective. And as usual, I learned plenty that was completely new to me.
Thanks, Andrew!
Thanks for this great post. I've listened to a bit of solo Porter Wagoner over the years but, like other people have mentioned, I'm more familiar with the Porter & Dolly tracks. I really enjoyed your take on these tracks, which make me want to check out more of the material. I love the fiddle on those Cold Hard Facts songs, especially the title track where it adds a whole other narrative level to what's going on.
Thanks also for the kind link to my Sinatra piece.
Thank you, Richard - appreciate your comment. I like the Wagoner duet records with Dolly (the ones I have heard) but the solo stuff I highlighted is simply unforgettable.
This was a great read. I had no idea and will be investing. Thanks.
Thank you, Daniel - enjoy investigating the music.
Wonderful essay. I really should put in some more time with his albums from that era.
Thanks so much - your kinds words are deeply appreciated.
I got into Porter Wagoner shortly before he passed away, when he released Wagonmaster, a great album. It's not from the late 60s, but "The Rubber Room" from What Ain't to Be, Might Just Happen (released in 1972)--with its use of echo vocals and given its subject matter--is one of the creepiest songs I've ever heard.
'The Rubber Room' is another wild and strange Wagoner track.
Porter Wagoner’s syndicated TV show was broadcast on Saturday evening in the DC market when I was a teenager in the late ‘60s. The attraction for me was to see the latest Nudie suit and to hear and see Dolly. Never listened to Porter sing all that much, but the duets with Dolly were great!
The albums I have heard of Wagoner with Dolly are great!
This is such a great post.
A fascinating subject, and writing that highlights the strange emotional territory of the song (for example the reference to, "a threat sung in four-part harmony that offers the woman a choice: his hand in marriage or burial in the Ohio.")
I hadn't heard these songs before (I've mostly heard Porter Wagoner in the context of Dolly Parton), and the article provides a good point of entry.
It's still quite strange. A comment that I've made before is that it's easy to think of songs (particularly popular song) as effortlessly communicative -- that the music and words convey emotion and meaning without requiring interpretation. But, that's not true; like any art (or communication) it depends on having some shared context, and understanding of the references for the choices the artist makes, and a sense of where a song is making familiar moves and where it enters stranger territory.
This article makes clear that it can be quite disorienting when we're honestly not sure what is intended.
There does seem to me for the Porter Wagoner recordings I have highlighted an attempt to stress their disturbing nature, particularly in how the music and lyrics are mismatched. There's definitely something devious in, for example, using female background singers as dreamily as they are used on 'Julie,' for example, considering its subject matter (a man marrying a woman of 17 and thinking he could control her) and how it ends. You can dance to the song and even swoon a bit to how pretty it is. It's unbelievably nervy.
Absolutely, that's why I liked the post so much -- it is genuinely strange, and it makes you wonder how he and his audience thought about that tension, and I appreciate that you don't exactly offer a theory, you just point out that there's clearly something notable going on with his performance.
It's not precisely parallel, but one song I always wonder about is the Ralph Stanley version of, "I Am The Man, Thomas." Which is religious is subject matter but the performance feels very Rock and Roll to me -- not only the energy of the performance but the pleasure it takes in the ego of the whole thing, and I don't know what that communicated to his audience: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVWK7m_9Xqw
I'll have to check that recording out - thank you for sharing it!
It's fun -- very hot bluegrass playing.
I should probably listen to the whole album (I just heard that track on a collection) it sounds very good, and serious: https://nodepression.com/album-reviews/ralph-stanley-the-clinch-mountain-boys-cry-from-the-cross/
This was a very interesting read. Thank you!
Thanks for reading and the kind words.