Last Saturday evening at Schlafly's, friends of mine who used to come regularly to hear me play solo asked how I got so "country" over the last few years. I can't say I had a snappy answer for them, so I got thinking about it a little...

Other rare animals, The Electric Mayhem

I believe I've mentioned in other missives that my family was a rare animal back in the 60s -- my Mom worked outside the home. That is, we were a two income family, smack dab in the middle of the suburbs, out of necessity. As a result, I spent early mornings and after school at a neighbor's house while I was in elementary school.

The Meyers lived diagonally behind us and across from Woodland Elementary. They had a son, Scott, who was three years younger than me. From the time I was in kindergarten until I was through 5th grade, I would get woken up at 6AM, dropped off at the Meyer's house, and then walk across the street to school a couple of hours later. I spent my summers at the Meyers' as well.

The Meyers, just like my parents, came from southeast Missouri. They still had close family living down there and they're musical tastes tended towards country music. Mary Anne, the missus, used to have the radio set to country all day long. It wasn't unusual for me to hear Merle Haggard, Loretta Lynn, Tammy Wynette, or Ray Price on any given day.

My brother, on the other hand, was listening to the Beatles, Buffalo Springfield, the Byrds, and Arlo Guthrie. Meanwhile, Mom and Dad we're listening to Ray Charles' "Modern Sounds in Country & Western" and Glen Campbell's "Wichita Lineman." While most of these couldn't be considered mainstream country music, there were elements of country in all of these artists.

As I got a little older, I was able to stay at home alone during the summers. I took a weekly bike ride to the library, a solid 5-6 miles away. I rode with an empty backpack except for a couple of towels. I'd spend a couple of hours looking through the record racks and borrow the limit of albums. After I checked out, I carefully packed those albums in my backpack and fitted the towels around them for the ride home.

For a week, I'd listen to and absorb whatever I borrowed. I heard anything from classical music to R&B to country to obscure rock. I devoured the liner notes and made personal notes about songwriters, studio musicians, producers, and what labels seemed to be most to my expanding musical taste. I expressly remember discovering the Grateful Dead, Old and in the Way, Ry Cooder, Fairport Convention, Poco, Phil Ochs, and Bob Dylan (sadly missing from my brother's collection of albums). This personal education was amazingly important to my developing taste and influenced me greatly as a songwriter.

That probably accounts for the environmental impact upon my psyche, but Dad told me a story 20-or-so years ago that speaks a little to the genetic pre-disposition too... I barely remember my paternal grandfather at all. Everett Clayton Simmons died when I was only seven years old.

During the late 1920s and early 1930s, Everett worked as a Baptist pastor in the near south side of St. Louis. But Grandpa loved his country music too, played some guitar, and is said to have had an expressive voice and engaging presentation. He especially had a way with Jimmie Rodgers-style train songs and so-called breakdowns. Within his neighborhood, he had a reputation as a quality performer at impromptu gatherings and parties.

A friend of his told him that KMOX was holding a contest to host a live country music show on the radio. Grandpa gathered a few of his musical friends, practiced a bit, and headed down for the contest. I'll spare you the various details, but Grandpa won! Then, they told him the show would air five days a week and one of the days would be Sunday afternoon. In an amazing turn of events, Grandpa turned them down because he was concerned about what accepting the job would mean to his "flock" at church. KMOX offered the job to Roy Queen, the runner up. Roy (look halfway down the page) was on the air for decades...

So, I guess I come by my country music tendencies from a variety of ways. They seem honest, deep, and true to me despite being a child of the rock and roll era, so I hope that shows when I play.

Note: Are You Ready for the Country is a song from Neil Young's classic album, Harvest. Covered by Waylon Jennings too, this is a fine song that makes me smile regardless who is singing it.