The Paper 07-08-21

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July 08, 2021

Volume 51 - No. 27

“It Ain’t Country” By Sean Dietrich

The radio played George Jones at the barbecue joint where I ate lunch. I was eating Saint Louis ribs. Overhead, George Jones sang “He Stopped Loving Her Today.” Whenever George sings the opening lyrics to this tune, a chill dances up my spinal column and I get sentimental. The Paper - 760.747.7119

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Immediately, I remember sitting in my father’s truck cab, wearing my Little League uniform, listening to the staticky AM station. I glanced around the barbecue joint to make sure I wasn't being watched during my musical moment. Then I dabbed my chin with a napkin and helped George remember the words.

I write a lot about old country music, and I’m sure the subject gets tiresome. But I do this for an important and well-planned reason: Because I don’t have to do any actual research.

But also, because if you and I don’t keep these timeless melodies alive, who will? As a boy, my family drove

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great distances to support the cause of Minnie Pearl and Roy Acuff. We paid good money to watch Roy tear up his appletree fiddle and crack jokes alongside Sarah Cannon. Ernest Tubb was still making appearances at the Opry when I was a babe. And I don’t want to let all that go. The idiocy they’re cranking out on the radio today simply cannot compare to the country


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