Author Archives: Steve Mays
Country vs. Pop
In one of the episodes of Ken Burns’ series on the history of country music, they trace the shift from country to pop music. I believe it was in the early 50’s. My father, John Mays, would have been at KBOA for several years by then and he had a better feel (and preference) for pop than country so he played that music while other announcers played different types. Rudy Pylant (Mr. Rudy) was known for Old Camp Meetin’ Time which was country gospel and “old time” music. Jimmy Haggett was — during this period — known as the country DJ.
The photo below was the result of a “popularity” contest in which listeners voted with 3-cent postcards.
This must have been an incredibly exciting time to be in radio, even at a small market station like KBOA. Nashville station WSM (home of the Grand Ole Opry) was featured prominently in the Burns documentary Haggett worked there at some point after leaving KBOA.
Country Music | A Film by Ken Burns
After watching the first two episodes (4 hours) of Ken Burns’ new documentary, I’m a little surprised at how much country music history there was before 1948. Many of the photos were reminiscent of the groups that performed at KBOA.
The Weight
I never tire of these. The face of each performer radiates joy.
Universal Driving Gestures
As soon as I started driving my old Land Rover around town I started getting the “thumbs up” gesture from other drivers. Almost always with a smile. This gesture is clearly meant to convey something positive. They like/admire the Rover. Wikipedia has a page on the history of the gesture. I love getting the thumbs up and started wondering why there are not more universally (at least in English speaking countries) recognized gestures between motorists. The only other one I can think of is The Finger. The other end of the approval spectrum, if you will.