The Country Music Awards (CMA) show may have started out with the usual fanfare and fashion, but it is quite different from the MTV awards, the Oscars or any other big television events which commemorate the past year’s artists.
What was uniquely different in the CMA show was how many times God was mentioned in the songs. From wedding day preachers’ sermons, to prayers in times of adversity, most of the show’s performers had God in their lyrics. Carrie Underwood, who was given two awards this year, was awarded top new female artist in 2006 for a song with the unequivocal lyrics “Jesus take the wheel.” Anyone following her career will not be surprised that indeed, she does seem to have a guide.
There is no country music in Britain, or in France, and even successful Canadian country music singers relocate to Nashville to make their mark and get their baptism. The other styles of music – pop, jazz, classical and even the blues – can be created by any musician at any location. There are great jazz groups all over Europe and Canada, for example, and the British have their blues tradition of the 1950s and 1960s. But country music literally does speak of the country – specific settings, and places within the United States – which makes it difficult to reproduce in other locations. Faith Hill sings about “Mississippi Girl”, and even the Little Big Town’s “The Boondocks” is about a particular, American place. Yet, paradoxically, despite its geographical restrictions, country music is loved the whole world over. The down home sincerity of the lyrics universally touches many people’s lives.
It is this authentic love for country that has led so many singers to incorporate God into their songs. Perhaps it is the lowly beginnings of so many (especially the original artists), and their direct contact with the land itself that led them to know of God’s mighty hand. Dolly Parton grew up in a sharecropper’s family of twelve dirt poor, as she tells it. Johnny Cash worked in his family’s cotton fields. And Reba McEntire’s family had a dairy farm. Some had coal-miners for parents, others just grew up in working class families. More and more of the newer crop are sophisticated and affluent, but, their songs and styles still don’t deviate much from the traditions. The country part of country music is grounding them to the names of the places they heard in those classic songs, and some of them even live there.
Country musicians’ allegiances aren’t just a regional aberration. When in 2002 the Dixie Chicks criticized the American president and a specific region dear to the hearts of country musicians, and in a foreign land to make matters cowardly, the whole country music community banded together and refused to listen to or to buy their music. Yet, tellingly, the non-country music audience gave them three Grammys the year after the incident. The lead singer’s retort in 2006 further alienated the group from the core principles of country music: “This land is our land? Why?... I don't see why people care about patriotism” said Natalie Maines. Country music isn’t just about regions, as the country music community demonstrated, but a united land. And if one doesn’t love the specific region, one cannot love the whole.
It is no surprise that the Dixie Chicks were nominated this year for Vocal Group of the Year. They are part of the family after all. Dolly Parton and Reba McEntire, as doyennes of the genre, demonstrate their sense of community and continuity by supporting and work with the younger stars, often taking a back seat. Reba McEntire sang a duet with the young country musician LeAnn Rimes at these CMA awards, and she has even crossed the country music lines by joining other young singers with duets. How different from the vainglorious Madonna, whose behavior during that infamous MTV music awards performance I believe is responsible for the Britney antics we see today. Madonna’s intent was about intimidation and power, whereas the country music stars understand that nurturing and maturity make better mentors.
There are many flaws in country music, including over-commercialization and mimicking the lifestyles of pop celebrities. But the sense of place and continuity is surely a product of their faith. They believe that there is something stronger out there than just their songs. And their ties with the country itself gives them a mature and responsible attitude, which in turn gives them the strength to go on, monitoring the newer crop, and praying for their leaders.