Last night the Country Music Association gave out awards to artists and producers during the CMAs. I normally find these awards shows maddening, because they usually have as much to do with country music as MTV now has to do with, well, music. The debates over what is â??pureâ? country music are always with us, but this is why the genre matters to me.
Probably my earliest memories are being in the living room with my parents and grandparents listening to an eight track with a compilation of the best of the Grand Ole Opry. That eight track stayed with me all through elementary school, high school and college. I kept my love of country music low-key when I left Mississippi, but at one point, when I was sitting in Washington, D.C. as George Jones sang through my earbuds (unbeknownst to those around me), I just gave in and decided to own it.
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