Reply #29: Who is this "Zappa" guy? Doesn't sound very Country.

[Bridget Burke]

Actually, you've got a great list.

I'd add a few by George Jones. Emmylou Harris used to open her shows with his "Ragged but Right." "She Thinks I Still Care" can't be beat. And "He Stopped Loving Her Today" is one of two numbers that kept me sitting in my parked car even though I'd reached my destination--because I didn't want to turn off the radio. (The other is Sviatoslav Richter's solo piano "Pictures at an Exhibition.")

Buck Owens & his Buckaroos were totally hot until Don Cherry died. I'd recommend "The Race is On" as a fine example of their West Coast energy.

And I love stone Honky Tonk. Lefty Frizzel singing "I Love You A Thousand Ways." Floyd Tillman's "I Love You So Much It Hurts." And Ernest Tubb always makes me want to "Waltz Across Texas."

Of course, Honky Tonk came from Western Swing. How about "San Antonio Rose" by the Great Bob Wills? Don't even get me started on Bluegrass & Old Timey.

If people want to remain deaf to so much great music, that's their problem.

(Joe Ely's playing in my neighborhood, late this December!)