A Country Fortnight

There is some truth to what my grandmother used to say, "Your tastes change every 7 years or so." Although she was referring to food; I have applied it to music as well. As the name of the blog implies Gospel has been a focus of mine for many years. Its influence cannot be understated. 

Other musical forms consistently appeal to me: Classic Rock, Jazz, Classical, R&B, Blues and such. Every so often, let's say about every seven to ten years, I will revisit a genre that had been overlooked and unappreciated by me for a while. Country music was traditionally the music of the deep south until the likes of Garth Brooks, Travis Tritt, Vince Gill and others gave it a more youthful and universal appeal. That is when I got on the bandwagon. A couple of years earlier in 1991 I was a DJ on a new Country station just as the first wave of Young Country artists were about to hit the scene.

The opportunity had poor timing; it wasn't until '93 when I first saw a live country show at Opryland that I added the genre to my repertoire. Unlike many DJ's, I felt that I needed to be a fan of the music I played in order to seem genuine on-air.

Today's aircheck is an example of my first day; known then as Jim O'Neal, spinning the songs about mama, pick-up trucks, and trains.The recording is preceded by my last day with the Southern Gospel format. Have a listen and maybe a laugh at my expense, this Hillbilly gig lasted only two weeks.

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