Out in the Mountains

Country in the Pink:

Red, Hot and Country and Out In The Country

An 0ITM review by Rev. Miki Thomas

Although most country music is
decidedly hetero, gays and lesbians still
listen to it. Who doesn’t get all romantic
hearing Patsy Cline’s version of “Crazy”
while watching Desert Hearts? Who
doesn’t get a few laughs off Lyle
Lovett’s deadpan reading of “Stand By
Your Man”? I’m sure that some of you
out there also sneak in a few listens to
Burlington’s WOKO. That’s okay; you
aren’t alone. There are many country
stars who have a large gay and lesbian

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following such as Mary Chapin
Carpenter, Emmylou Harris, Lyle Lovett,
Patsy Cline, and Anne Murray while
Kathy Mattea, Garth Brooks, Dolly
Parton, Loretta Lynn, Brenda Lee, and
Tammy Wynette have all publicly
acknowledged and affirmed their gay and
lesbian fans.

However, that does not mean that the
Nashville establishment is particularly
gay and lesbian friendly. It is still a
hotbed of conservatism. Look how it
treated k.d. lang. It is this establishment
that Kathy Mattea has to work against
while trying to bring AIDS education to
the forefront in the world of country
music. She is usually one of few country
stars wearing red ribbons at country
music functions and she is always quick
to bring up AIDS issues during
interviews. She also spearheaded the
making of Red, Hot and Country, the
latest entry in the series of fundraising
albums for the Red Hot Organization
whereby proceeds from the sale of the
album go to different AIDS
organizations.

She rounded up a number of artists that
can be divided into several categories:
living legends (Dolly Parton, Carl
Perkins, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Doc
Watson, Earl Scruggs, Duane Eddy),
contemporary stars (Brooks and Dunn,
Mary Chapin Carpenter, Marty Stuart,
Nancy Griffith, Patty Loveless, Mark
Chestnut), best kept secrets (Jimmie Dale
Gilmore, Alison Krauss), and
questionable talent (Billy Ray Cyrus).
According to the liner notes, each artist
chose a particular song or genre that
influenced his/her work, which explains
the presence of Crosby, Stills, and Nash
and Jackson Browne on the album.
Hence, the album covers gospel, folk,
rockabilly, and of course, old time
country. Perhaps true to the purpose of
this album, each song tends to focus on

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some sense of loss, of what was and of
what might have been.

There are several standout cuts on the
album. Mary Chapin Carpenter’s “Willie
Short” gives what might be the whole
premise of the album, that “living we are
all different, but dying we are all the
same.” Nancy Griffith, with a little help
from Jimmy Webb of “Up, Up and
Away” fame, is stunning in the stark cut
“If These Old Walls Could Speak”,
backed only by a few strings and a piano.
Johnny Cash does a reverent reading of
Bob Dylan’s “Forever Young”, sounding
like a father giving advice to his children.
Marty Stuart eschews his guitar to sing a
cappella with Jerry and Tammy Sullivan
on a couple of hymns, “Up Above My
Head/Blind Bartimus”. Not all the songs
on the album are bleak. Dolly Parton is
her cheery but tough self on “You Gotta
Be My Baby” and Radney Foster sings
some “white man blues” with “Close Up
the Honky T0nks”.

Even if Red, Hot and Country were not
as good as it is, it is still a major
achievement given the sometimes
intolerant climate of Nashville. Kathy
Mattea has done much to bring AIDS
awareness to a community that believes
that it doesn’t affect them and for that she
should be profusely thanked.

****-*

Good country music does exist outside
the country establishment in Nashville.
Country music that doesn’t quite fit the
Nashville mold usually winds up on
independent labels and unless one gets
Mountain Lake Public Radio’s WCFE
and listens in on the country show every
Saturday afternoon or is in the know
about local musicians and labels, one
wouldn’t know much music exists. There
are the rare few who do break out of the
independents such as Nancy Griffith and
Dwight Yoakam, but unfortunately, that

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