One of the great debates in a multitude of topics lately has been “What would the Mount Rushmore of [insert topic here] be?” So, naturally some of us who seem to have formed a little bit of a community of country music purists on Twitter thought it would be fun to choose our Mount Rushmore of Country Music. Now, we could’ve simply chosen our four favorite artists of all-time and had said that’s that, but the term “Mount Rushmore” has come to signify the greatest or most influential in a field so we set out to truly pick who we considered to be the most influential or the greatest artists in the history of country music. These are our choices: Julian Spivey – The Word Hank Williams There are dozens of legendary figures in the history of country music that one could argue belong on a Mount Rushmore of Country Music, but the only one who I believe to be an absolute must is Hank Williams. If your Country Music Mount Rushmore doesn’t include Hank Williams, it’s invalid. Yes, the genre existed before Hank Williams and if you want to put Jimmie Rodgers, Bob Wills or pack the entire Carter Family on your Mount Rushmore that’s fine by me, but Hank must be there too. Williams took the form and melded it with blues thanks to his mentor Rufus Payne, an old black bluesman, and brought a more poetic songwriting to the genre that truly helped it boom into the second half of the 1900s. Hank influenced everybody who came after him (at least up to a certain point maybe 10-20 years ago) and didn’t just have an impact on the future of country music, but also rock & roll where he influenced Elvis Presley and the Rolling Stones among others. Johnny Cash I think the second most influential artist in the great history of country music after Hank Williams is, without a doubt, Johnny Cash. And, I believe that Cash has been the artist to bring more fans into the genre than any other – I know he did so with me. Johnny Cash is just as much Rock & Roll, especially in attitude and swagger, as he was country music and he was able to bridge the gap between the two genres. Especially in the ‘90s when Rick Rubin helped Cash rekindle his career it wouldn’t be unusual to see fans of all ages and styles at a Cash show – you might have Nirvana fans mingling alongside people who’d loved Cash since the Sun Records days of 40 years before. There’s also never been a country star as understanding and accepting of the down-trodden as Cash was, and that means a helluva lot to me. Merle Haggard Known as the “Poet of the Common Man” I’m not sure there’s ever been a greater songwriter in the history of country music than Merle Haggard, especially when it came to the hard times. Haggard knew hard times, having spent actual time in San Quentin Prison (where he saw Johnny Cash perform and drew inspiration), so when he sings songs like “Mama Tried” and “Sing Me Back Home” he’s not just making up fiction. When Haggard sang it, you could believe it and you could feel it and that goes a long way in developing a lasting relationship with a performer. In 2014, when current country music stars in collaboration with CMT selected the 40 most influential performers of all-time it was Haggard who topped the list. Willie Nelson Williams, Cash and Haggard are no-brainers for me when constructing a Country Music Mount Rushmore. But, when it comes to the fourth and final selection I’ll admit that there’s maybe as many as five artists who I could say belong. The choice for me ultimately comes down to Willie Nelson or Waylon Jennings – two artists who collaborated so often throughout their careers and led the Outlaw Movement that completely changed country music in the ‘70s. Ultimately, I went with Nelson because I felt like his impact, especially as he’s the one country music stalwart still out there entertaining people and changing lives with his music today, is likely more important to the growth – both past and future – for the country music genre. Not only has he had a career featuring some of the most well-known and greatest songs in country history – “Always on My Mind,” “On the Road Again,” “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain,” etc. – but, he also wrote some of the greatest country songs of all-time for other artists like “Crazy” for Patsy Cline and “Hello Walls” for Faron Young. He’s the greatest living artist in country music. Nathan Kanuch – Shore2Shore Country Hank Williams The easiest choice on the list. There would be no modern country music without Hank. He took country music to new frontiers and became perhaps the genre’s first ever superstar. Williams also embodied the genre’s traditions and themes in a near perfect way. He traveled down the lost highway from the day he was born, destined to live the words he was singing. Known as the “Hillbilly Shakespeare,” Hank was an incredible songwriter. He could write and sing the simplest of words yet make them so vivid and poignant. Hank sang about ramblin’, the American South, and painful heartbreak - and he lived it all before meeting his tragic end way too soon. George Jones There’s no arguing that George Jones is the greatest singer in country music’s storied history. But I’d go even farther. George is the greatest singer to ever walk the planet. George’s voice was an instrument in and of itself; it basically mimicked the lonesome, wailing sound of a steel guitar. Yet Jones wasn’t just a great singer. Everything he sang was believable and authentic. I’ve said many times that two things will always get you through any heartbreak - whiskey and some of the Possum’s songs. No one sang about heartache better. Jones has always been there for me. “The Grand Tour,” “If Drinkin’ Don’t Kill Me,” “Still Doin’ Time,” “The Door,” and, of course, “He Stopped Loving Her Today.” Those are all classic, lonesome songs. We were blessed that George made it through all his demons. Somehow. He stared down hell many, many times to give us years and years of classic country music. Waylon Jennings Outlaw country has begun to be chastised and degraded by those hipster outlets (you all know who). But outlaw country is one of the greatest things to ever happen to the genre. And Waylon Jennings defined and, still does define, outlaw country. He’s my personal favorite country artist of all-time. The artist who I see as revolutionizing country music for the better. Waylon simultaneously returned country music to its roots while firmly leading the genre into the future by fighting for the freedom of the artist. Waylon’s guitar playing was top-notch. He quit his $1500/a day cocaine cold turkey in the early 1980s. He flew to a Johnny Cash show just to play bass for the Man in Black when he promised Johnny that he would find him a bass player. The list goes on and on. He was ornery to the last, refusing to show up to his induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame. One last chance to get one over on the establishment that fought him for so many years. Buck Owens There would be no Bakersfield Sound without Buck Owens. Revolutionary. Icon. Legend. No words do Buck justice. His harmonies with Don Rich were magic. His songwriting was simple, relatable and poignant. And not many people know it, but it was Buck who taught Don Rich that twangy guitar sound. While Nashville was focusing on either lush arrangements or trying to capture a rockabilly sound in the late 1950s and early 1960s, Buck was experimenting with an entirely different sound. It would come to define Buck and later The Hag. It was the Bakersfield Sound. And it would prove an early ancestor to the outlaw movement in terms of a strategy to combat mainstream Nashville. Megan Bledsoe – Country Exclusive Hank Williams Though my least favorite of the four I chose, Hank Williams belongs on any Mount Rushmore of Country Music without question. The country genre would not exist without him, and although not the first to sing country music, he was the first to be a country star. Few in country, or in music in general, have made the impact Hank Williams did in such a short time. All of country music rests on his shoulders, and we'll be hard-pressed to find a modern artist to whom people are still listening to 70 years from now the way people still listen to Hank today. Willie Nelson Willie Nelson is a pillar of country music, immortal and unchanging, still touring and churning out music year after year and showing no signs of slowing down. And it's all still quality. From Redheaded Stranger, arguably the greatest country album of all time, to Stardust, which charted for 10 years, right up to his latest album at 85-years old, Willie just keeps drawing from an endless well of wisdom. He has become one of the most recognizable and beloved artists in the genre, and his influence and legacy cannot be overstated. Merle Haggard Merle Haggard was the living, breathing definition of country music. He sang about the real struggles of the American people, and you listened because he lived it. There are more poetic and thoughtful songwriters than Haggard, but perhaps none as relatable and compelling. He embodied the American dream, from being in prison to one of the greatest artists of all-time in any genre. There will never be another who has quite the same spirit or defines country music and culture so well just by their life. George Strait Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard helped define the outlaw movement, a break with commercialism. George Strait did that in his own way, bringing a more traditional sound in the ‘80s but doing it from the inside. He has been one of the greatest ambassadors for country music, never compromising his sound or his principles, staying on one label for nearly 40 years and speaking to generations. Obviously, 60 No. 1's is ridiculous, but that's only part of the reason he's earned his place here - it's more about the fact that he has managed to unite the traditional and modern fans in an era where everything is so polarizing. Grant Ludmer – Critically Country George Strait Though country radio success doesn't mean what it used to, George Strait managed to notch 60 No. 1 hits across his four decades long career. A model of consistent, traditional country music, George Strait without a doubt is the King of country music. Loretta Lynn Loretta Lynn is responsible for some of the greatest classic country music songs of all time including 24 No. 1 songs and 45 million albums sold over a six decade long career. Lynn is the Queen of country music. Merle Haggard Some will try and replicate the outlaw that was Merle Haggard in their music, but none will come close to the authenticity that comes from a life lived this far on the edges. Haggard was a trailblazer in the genre and one of country music's original outlaws. Hank Williams As with the other three artists on my Mount Rushmore of Country Music, Hank Williams is on this list because of the impact and lasting influence he had on the genre. Despite his career lasting only seven years, he recorded some of country music's most classic songs and gave a blueprint for what country music is at its best. Conclusion: So, there you have it … our Mount Rushmores of Country Music. We all agreed that Hank Williams is an absolute must to have on a Mount Rushmore of Country Music, as he was the only unanimous choice between all four of us. Merle Haggard appeared on three of our four Mount Rushmores of Country Music. If we were to have a consensus for the “official” Mount Rushmore of Country Music the last two slots would go to Willie Nelson and George Strait, who both appeared on two of our four lists. The most surprising aspect of the four of us doing these Mount Rushmore of Country Music lists, for me – Julian Spivey – was the fact that some truly all-timers within this great genre like Johnny Cash, George Jones, Waylon Jennings and Loretta Lynn (the only female performer to appear on any of our Mount Rushmores of Country Music) only appeared on one list each. I guess, that just goes to show you exactly how many legendary figures there have been throughout the history of this great genre of music. Let us know in the comments who would make your Mount Rushmore of Country Music!!
6 Comments
Zack
8/22/2018 02:05:22 pm
Good piece. My personal one would have probably been as follows:
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Julian Spivey
8/22/2018 09:37:39 pm
Certainly good choices.
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Crash Jones
3/25/2020 01:06:38 pm
How in the world do you have a Mount Rushmore of country music without George Jones? If you ask the legends of country music who would be on their Rushmore, they would all say Jones!
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Wyatt Whitley
4/20/2020 08:50:51 am
I think you’ve got to go farther back for a Mt Rushmore. Mine would be:
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Rick Cornwell
12/26/2022 09:42:02 pm
Where the hell is Garth Brooks? He should be on everyone's list!!!
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