Living Legends of the Golden Age of Country Music

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A Uniquely American Phenomenon

Many of us became aware that country music began to change about 25 years ago, parting ways with the stars and style that brought it into the mainstream of public appreciation in the 1960s and 70s.  Beginning with a yodeling Jimmy Rogers strumming his guitar back in the 1920s and continuing on to Tanya Tucker in the early 1990s, the Nashville sound held its own as a truly American art form for the better part of the 20th century.  While borrowing from our Irish heritage, much of what makes country music great is that it is a uniquely American phenomenon.  After all, what could be more American than Kitty Wells, Little Jimmy Dickens or Bluegrass music!

We Love the ‘New Country’, Too!

Don’t get me wrong.  We love the country music of today and the many stars who make it so popular.  Many of them are solid patriotic Americans who cherish our Judeo-Christian heritage, like one of our favorite newcomers, Justin Moore.  While we firmly support their contribution to the world of entertainment, we still must recognize that the ‘new country’ is different than the music from the Golden Age of Country Music.  It seems that without the soulful voice backed up by a fiddle and steel guitar, something is lost in the translation.

Living Stars from the Golden Age of Country Music

Thankfully, many of the great performers of the Golden Age of Country Music are still living today.  In fact, you might be surprised to know some of the ones who are still with us.  With the help of our readers, we are compiling a list of these stars to which we will add as more are brought to our attention.  Please help us add to this list by submitting the names of living stars directly as a comment on this posting.  We salute the following Living Stars from the Golden Age of Country Music (golden stars of country music indicated accordingly) and thank them for the years of great entertainment they have provided us.  They are truly part of What Makes US Great! 

Bill Anderson

Lynn Anderson (1947-2015)

Moe Bandy

Bobby Bare

Jim Ed Brown (1934-2015)

Glen Campbell

Roy Clark

John Conlee

Mac Davis

Little Jimmy Dickens (1920-2015)

Mickey Gilley

Jack Greene

Merle Haggard

Tom T. Hall

Emmylou Harris

Jan Howard

Alan Jackson

Wanda Jackson

Sonny James

George Jones (1931-2013)

Claude King (1923-2013)

Kris Kristofferson

Jerry Lee Lewis

Loretta Lynn

Barbara Mandrell

Ronnie Milsap

Melba Montgomery

Anne Murray

Willie Nelson

Marie Osmond

Dolly Parton

Ray Price (1926-2013)

Charley Pride

Jeanne Pruett

Johnny Rodriguez

Kenny Rogers

Earl Scruggs (1924-2012)

Jeannie Seely

Jean Shepard

Ricky Skaggs

Connie Smith

George Strait

Mel Tillis

Randy Travis

Tanya Tucker

Kitty Wells (1919-2012)

Slim Whitman (1924-2013)

Don Williams

Hank Williams, Jr.

Johnnie Wright (1914-2011)

          On a personal note, I have had the good fortune to see a number of the great country music artists in concert, including Ernest Tubb, Tammy Wynette, George Jones, Willie Nelson, Ronnie Milsap, The Judds, Roy Clark, and Buck Owens with Buckaroo greats Don Rich and Doyle Holly. 

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The GOP Presidential Debate

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Poor Wolf Didn’t Have a Chance! 

          Try as he might while strutting around the stage, liberal hack Wolf Blitzer couldn’t get a rise out of any of the Republican presidential candidates during the debate last night sponsored by the Tea Party Express.  From the outset, the candidates, like the good leaders they are, controlled the debate and the conversation.  It was a performance by eight individuals (well six, anyway) that every conservative, every Republican, every Reagan Democrat and every Tea Party Patriot must have been proud.  Excluding Ron Paul who is only included for comic relief and Republican Jon (nie come lately) Huntsman, both of whom would be eliminated if this were a reality TV show, the mainstream candidates were all extremely good at articulating what the majority of Americans are thinking these days.  Here’s my take on how they stacked up. 

Winners in this order: 

Mitt Romney

Newt Gingrich

Rick Santorum

Michele Bachmann

Herman Cain

Rick Perry 

And a distant: 

Jon Huntsman 

And not even registering: 

Ron Paul 

          Shame on Ron Paul for intimating on his website on the tenth anniversary of 9/11 that America was to blame for the attacks on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon and in the fields of Pennsylvania!  Paul is finished as a credible candidate (as if he ever was one) and should quietly remove himself from the public arena.  Please don’t waste our time by including him in any future debates.  How humiliating for his son, Senator Rand Paul!

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Remembering 9/11…the Tenth Anniversary

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9/11…The Tenth Anniversary         

          This September 11, like every September 11 we will all be reliving the horror of the brutal attacks on American soil by militant Islamic terrorists.  And as we do every year, each of us will recall where we were and what we were doing at the time we heard the tragic news on that fateful day ten years ago.  Let us also recall the nearly 3,000 human beings who lost their lives that day and the families they left behind.  It is with great awe and tremendous appreciation that we remember the brave ‘first responders’ who gave their own lives to help others.  The contrast between these great souls and the animals who attacked us could not be more striking.  And let us not forget that more people were killed on 9/11 than during the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. 

          The attacks on the World Trade Center twin towers and on the Pentagon and in the fields of Pennsylvania were an overt act of war.  Ten years later we are still at war with a brutal enemy who wants to bring sharia law to your town.  This enemy thinks nothing of sending innocent children to do their bidding and then blowing them up…or stoning women to death and chopping off heads, hands and feet in the name of allah.  Let us not be afraid to call them what they are.  Let’s say it again…militant Islamic terrorists!  We must redouble our efforts to destroy them and we must be prepared for a long fight.  What ever it takes, we will root them out where ever they are. 

          We are grateful for President George W. Bush, our strong, steady leader who fearlessly set in motion the wheels that have brought the enemy to its knees.  We are also grateful for our other great leaders like Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, and Attorneys General John Ashcroft and Alberto Gonzales, whose policies have kept us safe in the ensuing decade and still remain in place today.  And finally, we thank all the wonderful men and women in uniform who have answered the call to serve their country and who are making the world a better place for everyone.  May God bless each one of them and keep them safe until they all come home.

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Celebrating Our First Anniversary

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 Celebrating Our First Anniversary       

          Since publishing our first article one year ago this week, What Makes US Great has slowly and steadily built up a loyal readership from all over the world.  It has been gratifying to learn how many of us cherish the constitution and the principles that our great country was founded upon and to know the tremendous number of us who share the same belief in capitalism, a strong military, traditional family values, and the Judeo-Christian ethic.  It has also been an inspiration to see how many people around the globe are interested in learning more about what makes the United States the great country that it is and who aspire to the same high standards as conservative Americans. 

          This past year we’ve touched on important issues such as the national debt, the budget deficit, union bullies, and burdensome government regulations.  At the same time we have showcased some of What Makes US Great, including Living Legends from the Golden Age of Hollywood, Richard Nixon and our military heroes, past and present.  In an effort to engage students and young readers, we have featured the Word of the Week, highlighting a useful English word used in one of our articles.  The Word of the Week has become one of our most popular categories, attracting viewers from around the world.  In the coming year we will have many new topics to discuss, in particular the 2012 elections, which many believe will be the most important in the history of our nation. 

          In addition to continuing the quality content that we have provided in the past, our goal for the coming year will be to increase the engagement of our readers through forums and polls.  We would like to encourage you to offer your own views and suggestions in the ‘Comments’ section provided after each article or to contact us directly by email.  As the past year progressed the number of visitors to What Makes US Great has exceeded some important milestones that a successful blog must attain.  We want to thank each of you for your loyal support and encourage you to continue visiting our site.  It is a real pleasure to connect with folks from around the world who share our love for the United States of America!  May God bless you and your family.

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