The battle of Nashville

Wed, 20 Feb 2002 21:00:00 +0000

If Shania Twain had danced on Hank Williams' grave in spike heels and bustier, it would not have sparked a firestorm like the one that hit the Country Music Foundation when it fired Ronnie Pugh last fall. Most country music fans -- let alone nonfans -- have never heard of Pugh. But to pop-culture scholars, entertainment writers and editorial fact-checkers, the affable, low-key Texan was pretty much the guy who knew everything.

The CMF is the not-for-profit organization that owns and operates the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tenn., which, besides being a tourist magnet, also houses the world's largest collection of country recordings and reference material. With Pugh gone, scholars fear there is no one left to steer them intelligently through this labyrinth of vital information. The foundation has yet to prove otherwise.

Pugh had been at the foundation 22 years, doing basic library work and assisting in special projects, when, on Sept. 7, CMF director Kyle Young summarily dismissed him. It was a bloody day all around. Also sent packing were Chris Dickinson, the much-admired editor of the Journal of Country Music, and three lower-level staffers. Young told Pugh and Dickinson he was doing away with the special projects department for which they worked.

Waylon Jennings 1937-2002

Thu, 14 Feb 2002 09:00:00 +0000

Waylon Jennings, who died on Wednesday at his home in Chandler, Ariz., was the first musician to bring real attitude to country music. By the time he came along in the mid-1960s, country had already had its share of lovable and not-so-lovable rogues -- from Hank Williams to Johnny Cash -- but Jennings institutionalized the unapologetic swagger and overtones of menace that would later take root in the likes of Hank Williams Jr., Dwight Yoakam, Steve Earle, Travis Tritt and Toby Keith.

Jennings, who was suffering from diabetes and had recently had a foot amputated, was 64. A native of Littlefield, Texas, Jennings teamed up musically with his friend Buddy Holly in 1955. He played in Holly's band from 1958 until the rising young rock star was killed in a plane crash the following year. Jennings was booked to be on the plane but gave up his seat at the last minute to J.D. Richardson, the Big Bopper.

After stints as a D.J. and club singer, Jennings signed to RCA Records' country division in 1965. He scored several hits during the next 10 years, among them "(That's What You Get) For Lovin' Me," "Only Daddy That'll Walk the Line," "I'm a Ramblin' Man" and "Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way."

Salon.com > Edward Morris

The battle of Nashville

Waylon Jennings 1937-2002