European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - October 18, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Wave crt4" they d rather be Rock than country by Robert Palmer new York times Nashville s country music stars Are really wailing the blues these  Are dwindling sales of country records Are plummeting and the fabled Nashville sound which defined country music for decades and made this comfortable tree shaded Tennessee City one of the world s leading recording centers May soon sound As dated As the ukulele. The Nashville sound and the stars that made it Are growing older and have been criticized As not being effective on television. Since the 1950s, Nashville has been churning out records that have come to have an Assembly line sound to some and Rural and Small town americans who grew up listening to the Nashville sound Are getting older and Are no longer in the population group that avidly buys records. Their children listen More to Rock n Roll. Country records Are getting plenty of radio Piny but they All sound Aliko and nobody s buying them said Bobby Bare who broke into country music s major league in 1963 with Detroit City. Bill Carter a Nashville artist manager maintained a lot of the established country stars and record producers Are making records by formula. They re so caught up in conforming to what used to sell and what radio stations will play the new records Don t have any life to them.". Tammy Wynette who recorded 16 no. 1 country hits in a Row in the 1960s, said this thing has definitely affected All of us. The country artists Are going to have to band together and try to turn this thing around. Ii we Don to we re All going to be out of  recant Salai figure paint a grim picture. Stars who Page 14 jo"1 the stars and stripes were Selling from Hall a million to More than a million copies per album in the late 1970s Are Lucky to be Selling half that today. Having a no. 1 country single used to mean Selling around 350,000 records now a country no. 1 Sells an average of 100,000. Ii this trend continues there won t be any More country stars because there won t be any Money in it Wynette said. Among the stars whose record sales have been in Sharp decline Are several of Nashville s most famous voices. Conway Twitty for example has been one of country music s most consistent lop Sellers but he Samoa recent album stalled alter Selling around 150,000 copies. Crystal Gayle s latest album which included two songs that had been in the top live country hits sold Lew than 80,000 copies. Other stars whose record sates have been dropping include Mickey Gilley who gained lame As co owner of Gilley a the Houston Honky Tonk featured in the film Urban Cowboy Barbara mandrel one of country music s most recognizable faces and the outlaw Waylon Jennings. And the list goes on and on. This decline in sales according to record Industry observers is not just a temporary trend but the end of an Era. Nashville s music Industry diversifying into Rock pop. And other idioms remains healthy. But the audience for the Nashville sound Lovesick laments tales of marital strife and other Plain spoken lyrics Sung with a Rural twang and olten accompanied by arrangements More redolent of Las vegas than of Southern Cotton Fields is dwindling growing old along with its favorite stars. Tales Tell of concerts by country music stars where the entire audience was above 50 years of age. The Young audience that should be swelling the ranks of country music fans is looking elsewhere. Most Rural and Small town youngsters now grow up listening to Rock n Roll. Most radio stations now play the same Rock records in Rural areas As Well As towns and elites. And the performers with country roots whose record sales remain healthy Are mostly rockers with a country tinge Hank Williams or. And the four Man band Alabama for example. These artists Appeal to an audience that is growing larger and getting younger. The United Stales As a whole seems to be in tha grip of a new romantic infatuation with the old West and Frontier America a trend that is evident in the recent commercial Success of Western fiction and Hollywood s rediscovery of the Western movie. But Nashville s production line country music is Loo Slick and pop oriented to Appeal to Frontier nostalgia. Among county artists this movement s chief beneficiaries Are what is known As the new traditionalists such As Ricky Skaggs and George Strait performer who Are going Back to the roots of country music for inspiration and. Making simple soulful records without the strings and Jug vocal choruses and other commercial clutter so typical g of today s Nashville sound. 5friday, of