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Didn't the "Thanks" on the back of Ernest Tubb's guitar come from his song called "Thanks A Lot"? I've been wonderin' and thinkin' about it for awhile now.

Brett Day

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Well Brett, that's a good guess, and I'm sure many might have the same impression. In truth, though, that little trademark (the "Thanks!" on the back of his guitar) was borrowed from none other than Jimmie Rodgers, "The Singing Brakeman", who had such a guitar back in the 1930's. Although his career was cut short by illness that led to his death, he is still referred to by many as the "Father of Country Music". Jimmie's last songs were cut when he was quite ill, and he actually had a cot in the studio so he could rest in between his songs. He was the first superstar in country music, and had true devotion to his music and his fans, but got little money for his songs, and he had little time to enjoy even that. He was, nonetheless, the biggest influence on Tubb, and I don't think ET ever did a P.A. or a Record Shop show where he didn't acknowledge that fact.

As far as the decline of "Corporate Country Music", and the C.M.A., and "Fan-Fair", I care very little. The big wigs of the radio/recording industry are now suffering from their own mistakes, and I have little sympathy for them. They are marketing to a fickle, dwindling demographic, and they have no clue as to why they can't maintain profitability, much less grow it. They're doing everything they can to "produce" another Garth or Shania, not realizing that they were exceptions, and not the rule in entertainer success. There comes a time in every industry when you can no longer come up with that "magic" that will capture the masses, and I think that time has come in the music industry.

My last CD purchases have all been indie CD's; Dugg Collins, Kelly Kenning, Jake Hooker, Justin Trevino, The Insiders, Daryle Singletary, and Rick Sousley (check him out, especially if you like Conway Twitty!), along with numerous steel CD's which I buy online, at shows, and here on the Forum. The overprocessed, formulaic, "cookie-cutter" country music hawked on radio has no appeal to me, and I'm more than happy to support the lesser-known independent artists, rather than to hand my hard-earned money to a bunch of vain, spoiled, corporate-molded phonies who are over-produced, over-rated, overpaid, and over-egoed.

Real "authentic" country music? The kind we used to hear 30-40 years ago? Yeah, I buy it all the time, they're still makin' it!

(Eat your heart out Sony-BMG, Time-Warner, Universal, EMI, MCA, and the rest of you overpaid crooks!)

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Yeah, I buy it all the time, they're still makin' it!

(Eat your heart out Sony-BMG, Time-Warner, Universal, EMI, MCA, and the rest of you overpaid crooks!)

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Good one, Donny! LOL.....

Then came Ricky Skaggs, George Strait, Randy Travis and opened up the traditional country music again. Then by the early 90's everyone was wearing a hat and the traditional country music went pop/rock again. Today, modern country music is about 1 degree away from becoming all rock.

It's almost time that the major label thats left in Nashville (Sony) make a run at another traditional sounding country singer again. Something with Fiddles and Steels guitars.

If I can "get it",
that she is an amazing singer,
all the way from Thailand.