'Not Fade Away'
There's a lady plays her fav'rite records/On the jukebox ev'ry day/All day long she plays the same old songs/And she believes the things that they say/She sings along with all the saddest songs/And she believes the stories are real/She lets the music dictate the way that she feels.
Just to clarify the above: because of things you'd written in the book about Rain Dogs, I'd assumed that you felt that both were great and that Rain Dogs might have the edge based on something you said in the book.
Anyway, here's a recording and pictures of my Nashville reading from last week. Me = not pretty.
I guess I'm trying to figure out what kind of balance you'd have between the Stax and the country. Thanks!
One of Ray Charles most famous albums was of him doing country hits. So lots of southern blacks grew up listening to country music because it was so pervasive. There was also a Billboard chart for jukebox play, which is almost a separate realm. You could have a huge hit on jukeboxes that only got marginal radio play - and there were also lots of regional radio hits.
How did they measure jukebox play? Just survey the jukebox owners?
Just to clarify the above: because of things you'd written in the book about Rain Dogs, I'd assumed that you felt that both were great and that Rain Dogs might have the edge based on something you said in the book.
Exactly so. Rain Dogs is Tom's most perfect album. He takes huge chances in a wide range of styles and nails them all. Whereas in Swordfish there are a couple places where he pulls back a bit from the risk-taking. Though I also note that Swordfish gets extra credit because it was unprecedented - it was flying without a net. With Rain Dogs he already knew that Swordfish had been well received and he was moving in the right direction.
How did they measure jukebox play? Just survey the jukebox owners?
I'm not certain. Might've been some sort of meter in the jukebox that would be checked when the owners came around to collect the change? Probably something to do with royalty rates for the songs? Or maybe they just tracked what singles were being added to jukeboxes instead of actual play. Not sure how it worked.
can y'all point me to a good source for music trends across the American South, circa 1965?
You might want to try Robert Gordon's It Came From Memphis and Peter Guralnick's Sweet Soul Music. Nick Tosches has one book that touches on the 60s, too, but I can't remember which one.
Or maybe they just tracked what singles were being added to jukeboxes instead of actual play.
That's it. They tracked the 45s requested and how often they were replaced. I read an article about it a few years ago in - and this may not be right, but I want to say - the Oxford American.
So lots of southern blacks grew up listening to country music because it was so pervasive.
I remember my next door neighbor growing up, a native of High Point, NC, with stacks of Ray Charles 45s and listening to "I Can't Stop Loving You." I do have the Complete Atlantic Recordings but that only chronicles from '52-'59, IIRC ::pauses to check:: yep--just through '59, although I would guess that even some of those tracks would continue to get airplay depending on popularity.
I'm not worried so much about jukebox-- the section of the MS this references would deal almost exclusively with radio play.
and there were also lots of regional radio hits.
See, this is the kicker- I guess I'ma gonna start Googling for some of the old AM stations out of Biloxi and New Orleans and seeing what directions they lead me.
Damn, but you've gotta love Wikipedia-- I already had the Hot 100, Hec, but hadn't thought to go looking for country music by the year. Thank you so much-- it gives me a lot of places to start, which is exactly what I like.