Welcome to a new feature on the Front Porch called "Now & Then". Each week I will post the current Top-5 country songs and select a week from the past. Then I will compare the two lists to show the difference between today's Country and Real Country Music.
Here are this week's top-5 Country Music singles, as compiled by Billboard Magazine:
#5 - "My Kinda Party", by Jason Aldean
#4 - "Why Wait", by Rascal Flatts
#3 - "As She's Walking Away", by Zac Brown Band featuring Alan Jackson
#2 - "Anything Like Me", by Brad Paisley
#1 - "If I Die Young", by The Band Perry
And now, here are the top-5 Country Music singles from the same week in 1990:
#5 - "Put Yourself In My Shoes", by Clint Black
#4 - "Come Next Monday", by K.T. Oslin
#3 - "Crazy In Love", by Conway Twitty
#2 - "Chasin' That Neon Rainbow", by Alan Jackson
#1 - "I've Come To Expect It From You", by George Strait
What a difference a couple of decades makes. The 1990 list had one living legend (Conway Twitty), one newcomer (Alan Jackson), and three established artists. Unfortunately, Conway Twitty passed away in 1993, and K.T. Oslin disappeared from the charts altogether. Today, Clint Black is still out there, but gets little notice. George Strait and Alan Jackson are still household names in Country Music, although Alan's star is fading, and George may be the next one to be eclipsed by the new crop of so-called stars.
The current #1 song is from The Band Perry. It is their first #1 song and it appears to be more of the same from Nashville. There's nothing original to this song and the singer's voice is a little hard to take. Same thing goes for Rascal Flatts, who have been inflicted on us for ten years. Jason Aldean is not bad, but will probably fade away with time, as will Zac Brown. Theirs is a great song though, and Alan's appearance makes it even better. Bravo to ZBB for paying respect to one of today's legends. What's there to say about Brad Paisley. He's pretty good. But too many of his songs sound the same, with the same guitar work. The industry has been desperately trying to turn Paisley into Country's poster boy. He's not as good as Nashville thinks he is, and his appeal to the younger crown is fading. Brad should become a country legend, but will probably go the way of a Clint Black, rather than a George Strait or Alan Jackson.
Now you can compare today's country to the music from 20 years ago and draw your own conclusion. Take a listen to the songs by Rascal Flatts (current) and Alan Jackson (1990) and see what you think.
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