European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 18, 1977, Darmstadt, Hesse Wednesday May 18, 1977 the stars and stripes Page 19 sounding off for the Nashville tradition by Dan Warfield Sis entertainment editor he Acuff Rose publishing company was Nashville s first and is still the biggest involved today in every aspect of country music. It is along with ism radio s grand Ole opry one of the orig Inal building blocks of music by Fred Rose and Roy Acuff the company is now in the hands of Fred Rose s son Wesley. He was at London s Wembley festival of country music this year obviously enjoying the International acceptance of coun try music. Rose has seen country music grow into a huge Industry since he joined his father s business More than 30 years ago. When he started country music was beneath the notice of big time Showbiz people. Today there has been an explosion in the numbers of country fans and country radio stations partly due to the efforts of Wesley Rose. I started in the business in ims said Rose. We were the Only publisher in Nashville. In fact there was t anything called music City at the time we were it. I immediately found there was a lot of bigotry in the music business. The radio stations did t play they called it that hillbilly stuff you know. I went and got Many pop artists to do these songs Rosemary Clooney Ray Charles and All of this. This got the listeners used to listening to these kinds of songs and they did t know they were listening to country songs and neither did the disc jockeys. After they realized it All of a sudden it became very popular and very in to come to Nashville and get some country songs because they knew it would sell. We be gone a step further now it started As Early As red Foley who did a number called Chattanooga shoe Shine boy which became number one in All areas. Then to make it even stronger came Don Gibson on the scene with some records that crossed Over of lonesome me sea of Heartbreak. Then i had the Everly Brothers who i produced and managed. Their re cords were All Cut As country sessions. They Cut those. With just five instruments one of which was a pedal steel guitar but apparently the Public All Over loved it and they become number one in Rock rhythm and blues country. And they were playing the grand Ole opry at that the meaning of the term country music has been muddled in the process of invading the pop markets the invasion has become a two Way Street. The Issue in Nashville today is the presence in country music charts and playlists of artists who Don t represent the old guard concept of is it just the sour grapes complaining of people who can t change with the times As Many have charged Rose says there is a real threat to the survival of a Musi Cal form popular with millions of americans that coun try music is More than a Type of recording it is a Way of life that the outsiders reject. Pop music is not what it was originally intended to be. It s the most popular Selling record. It could be a speech if somebody made a speech and people bought it and i became big it became the number one pop. Pop is not a music it s a mixture of is a music rhythm and blues is a music. Classical is u music jazz is a can t pretend that certain things Are country Ben they re not. They re Lang a lot of pop artists who have Cut some country songs and calling them country artists. They re not. Right at the present time you have Tom Jones you have Engelbert Humperdinck you Nave Olivia modern living Newton John they re great artists. But they will not play country programs they will not go on coun try stations to interview and so Forth. They re not. Meant to they just happened to Cut this kind of record and the radio stations played it which was wrong. They should have been played on the pop Sta but does t that help sell country music to what were previously pop Only markets no. They just expand the songs. They Hurt the legitimate country artist because if you re Gonna play 30 country records and 15 of them Are pop records that Means Only is country artists Are played and that Means the listener who tuned in to that station which says it s a country station has been defrauded. If i tuned in to hear classical music and i hear barbra Streisand i would say i be got he wrong station at some Point i d just quit tuning in to the station. If the fans quit tuning in it hurts country music. All of a sudden that station in t important in the Market anymore. Radio is very very important. It s the most important medium for country music for any music. In the record business it s the most important Way of an artist becoming popular. If a pop artist really wants it to happen what he has to have is that number one pop country crossover everything. If he wants to be big in the country Field All be needs is a number one country record. We have an artist now called Moe Bandy he s had three or four number one records. He does t need any pop play. He s pleasing that audience that tunes in. And that audience is listening and that s what they like and they resent it when you play Frank Sinatra instead of Moe they want hear Frank Sinatra there s another Sta Tion that la play in t some of this the result of his own efforts to sell country songs to pop artists country music publishing is a different scene. Acuff Rose is the biggest country music publisher. We do take Many country songs that have been big country hits and place them with pop artists to spread them out. The reve nue goes to the country songwriter and it also helps to spread that sound no matter who is singing it. Music Man Wesley Rose you can t pretend that certain things Are country when they re but you still cannot Tell the Public this is a country artist because you re lying at that Point. You can say this is a country song done pop. In the Case of Ray Charles who did i can t Stop Loving you written by country songwriter Don Gibson if what was happening today was happening then he d probably have the number one country you know How the audience would like saying this is the number one country record it s Ray Charles it d be ridiculous. You re not Gonna kid the Public. They re the ones that pick the hits. We in the business try to please them. But our problem is getting by the radio getting by the Trade charts because they re in a different part of the business and they re not accepting their responsibility of printing what s honest they should Only print on the country charts the country artists. The top country records should be by the top country artists. The top pop records should be the biggest top 100records that Are Selling regardless of who or what they of the Early successes of Acuff Rose was Singer songwriter Hank Williams one of the real greats of country music. A lot of people have said that Williams was an egotistical Buffoon who was drunk More than sober. The True Story of How we met i Lank my father was living at the time. We were up at radio station ism at lunchtime playing table Tennis and this Skinny kid came walking in with his wife and said he had some songs he wanted us to listen to. So we went in the studio and listened. Now he never did say he was Gonna be the greatest songwriter. He just wanted a break. And he was not the person that publicity seems to try to make people bad he was not bad. He was the kind of a Man that everybody enjoyed being around. After we had Mca Rucoi Dolivia Newton John pop or country a few of his songs out we decided to record him my father produced him. Now when he was offered this recording contract he did say Wes i love singin so Well i m Gonna be the number one country artist and he had Pride and his honesty. He did t say it on ego or anything that was his ambition. It was like a Young child deciding to be could somebody do that today walk into Acuff Rose with some songs and get a hearing today there s a belter Opportunity. We were the Only publishing company outside of new York and los an Geles. There were Many straight songwriters from the South and Texas who could t do anything with their songs. When we started All of a sudden they had an outlet but unfortunately we were the Only ones. We either had to like what they were doing or they were Back Home again. Today in Nashville there Are numerous publishing companies. And even if our company was still the Only one i was the Only one that listened to songs in those Days so i picked out the ones i liked. Today i have eight people that do it. So he s got eight times the chances of getting us to publish his songs he did in the old what Are the Prospect for someone with Talent who decides to head for music City and try for the big time in country music is it a realistic ambition i think it s a realistic ambition because you Don t give up number one. And number two is All they have to have is the Opportunity to get the Public to decide if they can gel a record ing contract with a Label that really believes they re that Good and does a Good Job of promoting them. The Public will decide whether they have that Opportunity. But you Don t give up that easily. I be seen a lot of artists take 10 years to become big. They be got to do it live it love it. You just can t do it As a Hobby or to make a Quick Buck. That s wrong. It s not an easy profession. There s a lot of
