Vinyl Spins - Sweetheart of the Rodeo

Sweetheart of the Rodeo by The Byrds and released in 1968 was the first time I really listened to anything that might be called country music.

I was just never exposed to country music in our house or in the neighborhood. Everything I heard growing up in Philadelphia was rock 'n' roll, doo-wop, soul and then the British Invasion. There was probably occasionally a country crossover hit song on the radio station my mother listened to but I never heard a country album throughout the sixties. 

There were some times when the family spent an afternoon out in the country with one of the men my father worked with. We would have an outside lunch at his house and there would be country music on his stereo but it was just background noise and only made an impression because I thought there was a lot of Hawaiian guitar sounds which is what I thought of country music.

Things would all change when I got in the Navy. After several weeks of boot camp we were allowed to have a radio play for an hour an evening in our barracks. The company voted on which radio station to play and I was totally shocked that the country station won by such an overwhelming majority. It seemed like all the white guys were from the rural south and me and a few black guys were the only people there from cities. Rock and roll never had a chance and soul music wasn't even considered. I saw a lot of racism in the Navy but that is another story to be told.

Back to the Byrds. This album was a revelation and I did listen to some more of what might be called cosmic country music at the time and suddenly after this album there was a lot of it. I also heard some country and bluegrass at the Philadelphia Folk Festival in the late 60's but that was more by accident. I was there for the folk music and the scene and there was some crossover. 

I learned to appreciate country music while I was in the Navy. I was sort of forced to listen to a lot of George Jones, Loretta Lynn, Tammy Wynette, Charlie Pride and many others. I also heard much more bluegrass. I was surprised how many guys were into that music. 

After I got out of the Navy I spent more time exploring country and bluegrass music. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's Will The Circle Be Unbroken was another groundbreaking album for me and an earlier post Vinyl Spins - Country & Bluegrass. Overall, it was Sweetheart of the Rodeo that opened my ears.