once and for all

Once and for All: Who Launched Country Rock?

Posted by al

Jan 172012

In the recent Laura Nyro thread Townsman alexmagic made some hyperbolic statements regarding Mike Nesmith. (Seriously, Mike Nesmith “is the most indefensible omission from the Hall of Fame?” I think I could successfully defend his exclusion from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as easily as I could defend his exclusion from the Baseball Hall of Fame.) However, he touched on one point that I think the uni-mind that is Rock Town Hall should explore, to whit, the thought that Mike Nesmith is “often given credit for launching the ‘country rock’ genre.”

There seem to be a lot of candidates for that. There are The Byrds, whose Notorious Byrd Brothers showed a bit of country and was released in January 1968, or the more often cited Sweetheart of the Rodeo, released in August, 1968. The latter made it all the way to #77 on Billboard and featured a number by another candidate for country rock launcher, Bob Dylan’s “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere.”

And there’s Graham Parsons & the International Submarine Band, whose Safe At Home came out in 1968. Wikipedia says their b-side cover of Buck Owens’ “Truck Drivin’ Man,” released in April 1966, is “now largely considered the first country rock recording.” It starts at 2:11 of the following clip:

Regionals, Expansion Conference: Rock’s Greatest Backing Band Tournament Continues!

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Jan 102012

Play has resumed in our tournament to determine—once and for all—rock’s greatest backing band ever.

The first two rounds have been completed. The attached grid shows where we stand as the Regionals round is played out: backingband-tournament-64_REGIONALS

Feel free to think ahead to coming Regional battles as you begin work on the present conference match up. Meanwhile, tournament play for the Expansion Conference has begun. Four backing bands remain: The TCB Band vs The Family Stone and The JBs vs The Buckaroos.

Expansion Conference Regionals

Because the selections from this point forward are so crucial to future generations’ understanding of rock history, play will follow a different course of action in this round. Before any voting can take place, Townspeople are encouraged to post comments and YouTube clips of the backing bands you support in this round. You may begin launching your campaigns now. After a day or two of lobbying and counter-lobbying the polls for this conference’s regional round will open. We don’t want any rash votes on Day 1 that you may regret on Day 3 of discussion. Dig?

UPDATED WITH POLLS (open through 11:59 pm on January 15, 2012)!

Regionals, Expansion Conference: The TCB Band vs The Family Stone

The Family Stone (79%, 19 Votes)
The TCB Band (21%, 5 Votes)

Total Voters: 24

Loading ...

Regionals, Expansion Conference: The JBs vs The Buckaroos

The JBs (76%, 25 Votes)
The Buckaroos (24%, 8 Votes)

Total Voters: 33

Loading ...

Regionals, Legacy Conference: Rock’s Greatest Backing Band Tournament Continues!

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Jan 052012

It is time to resume play in our tournament to determine—once and for all—rock’s greatest backing band ever.

The first two rounds have been completed. The attached grid shows where we stand as we enter the Regionals: REGIONALS 12/23/11

Feel free to think ahead to coming Regional battles as you begin work on the present conference match up. Meanwhile, tournament play resumes with the Legacy Conference. Four backing bands remain: The Crickets vs The Tennessee Two and The Texas Playboys vs The Famous Flames.

Because the selections from this point forward are so crucial to future generations’ understanding of rock history, play will follow a different course of action in this round. Before any voting can take place, Townspeople are encouraged to post comments and YouTube clips of the backing bands you support in this round. You may begin launching your campaigns now. After a few days of lobbying and counter-lobbying the poll for this conference’s regional round will open. We don’t want any rash votes on Day 1 that you may regret on Day 3 of discussion. Dig?

VOTING IS NOW OPEN THROUGH Monday, January 9 @ 11:59 pm.

Regionals, Legacy Conference: The Crickets vs The Tennessee Two

The Crickets (88%, 15 Votes)
The Tennessee Two (12%, 2 Votes)

Total Voters: 17

Loading ...

Regionals, Legacy Conference: The Texas Playboys vs The Famous Flames

The Texas Playboys (52%, 14 Votes)
The Famous Flames (48%, 13 Votes)

Total Voters: 27

Loading ...

Rock’s Greatest Backing Band Tournament Prepares for Regionals

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Dec 232011

Next week, after the holiday break has had a chance to settle in and Townspeople have begun fulfilling social commitments we will resume play in our tournament to determine—once and for all—rock’s greatest backing band ever.

The first two rounds have been completed. The attached grid shows where we stand as we prepare to enter the Regionals: REGIONALS 12/23/11

Because the selections from this point forward are so crucial to future generations’ understanding of rock history, play will follow a different course of action in this round. Before any voting can take place, Townspeople will be encouraged to post YouTube clips of the backing bands you support in the coming round. You may begin launching your campaigns now, in this thread, or await the posting of the individual brackets. Then, after a few days of lobbying and counter-lobbying the polls will open. Dig?

Round 2, Expansion Conference: Rock’s Greatest Backing Band Tournament Continues!

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Dec 192011

Round 2 of the Expansion Conference

Four matches will determine the fate of the 8 teams surviving Round 1 of Expansion Conference tournament play. As in the opening round of play, please use this space to argue for your favorite backing band in each contest, using any or all of the following criteria, including criteria not listed here:

Ability to support the bandleader’s musical agenda/vision
Additional musical contribution to the bandleader’s sound/vision
Look and other supporting “rock superhero powers”
Catchiness of backing band’s name

Round 2 of Expansion Conference play runs through Wednesday, December 21 at 5:59 pm. You may log your vote on each contestant in the Round 2 games through the polls on the following page.

Round 2, Classic Conference: Rock’s Greatest Backing Band Tournament Continues!

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Dec 192011

Round 2 of Classic Conference

Four matches will determine the fate of the 8 teams surviving Round 1 of Classic Conference tournament play. As in the opening round of play, please use this space to argue for your favorite backing band in each contest, using any or all of the following criteria, including criteria not listed here:

Ability to support the bandleader’s musical agenda/vision
Additional musical contribution to the bandleader’s sound/vision
Look and other supporting “rock superhero powers”
Catchiness of backing band’s name

Round 2 of Classic Conference play runs through Wednesday, December 21 at 11:59 am. You may log your vote on each contestant in the Round 2 games through the polls on the following page.

Round 2, Rebel Conference: Rock’s Greatest Backing Band Tournament Continues!

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Dec 162011

Rebel Conference Round 2

Four matches will determine the fate of the 8 teams surviving Round 1 of Rebel Conference tournament play. As in the opening round of play, please use this space to argue for your favorite backing band in each contest, using any or all of the following criteria, including criteria not listed here:

Ability to support the bandleader’s musical agenda/vision
Additional musical contribution to the bandleader’s sound/vision
Look and other supporting “rock superhero powers”
Catchiness of backing band’s name

Round 2 of Rebel Conference play runs through Monday, December 19 at 11:59 am. You may log your vote on each contestant in the Round 2 games through the polls on the following page.

Older Entries Newer Entries