DR country foray

[mindful1]

Just read that a country station turned down Beyonce fan requests to play her new country tunes and I thought of Diana's Last time, Sorry Doesn't Always and my fave, the flawless rendition of Behind Closed Doors. Wondering do you think there was a reluctance to accept Diana into the c and w genre?

[RanRan79]

I think "Sorry" was the more country song. "Last Time" has some country elements but I think it was too pop to really be country. I've never thought of "Behind Closed Doors" [[I agree a flawless cut) as country. Ultimately I believe country radio was never going to take Diana seriously no matter how much of a country direction she went in. Her gift has never been bound by genres, but the general public rarely let an artist do too much outside of what they are most known for.

In addition to that, I can't say "Sorry" is all that great of a song. I love country music, and you'd expect that I would be particularly wowed by pairing Diana with it, but I hardly ever listen to it, and when I do, I'm often left with a "meh" feeling. It's not bad at all, but it doesn't do much for me, so I can believe it didn't do much for the country music fans of the day. On the flipside, "Fairytale" by the Pointers was "embraced" as much as it was because I think everything about it sounds like pure country. And it's just a doggone good song.

[Ollie9]

Not forgetting “Country John” which i think Diana does a great job on.
There was quite a bit of controversy when Olivia Newton John was named country artist of the year in 74, beating established country artists to the award.
I doubt Diana would have been readily accepted by the country community unless entirely devoting herself to that genre of music for the rest of her career as opposed to a one time project.

[sup_fan]

yeah there's no way a station manager was going to bother acquiring diana's Sorry 45 and then giving that spins on the air. promo copies of it would never have even been sent to that station.

[jobeterob]

I don’t know any Beyonce songs but I heard the country one and it is good

[sansradio]

I don’t know any Beyonce songs but I heard the country one and it is good

She released two country singles simultaneously. Did you hear the uptempo one ["Texas Hold 'Em"] or the ballad ["16 Carriages"]?

[gman]

C&W is still a very dedicated and narrow market...Pop/Soul artists stand a better chance of getting airplay and a hit on the stations that already play their music....considering the volume of Nashville styled singles released over the years by Pop/Soul artists from the start of the RnR era to present....very few have ever crossed over to the C&W radio play / charts.
I love country soul...Candi Staton, Millie Jackson, Ray Charles, Brook Benton...got 'em all...Supremes sing Country-Western and Pop [[that dash def. should have been in there!) is in my top 5 Supremes LP's...Sorry Doesn't Always Make it Right is one of my fav DR solo's...I am a big 60's / 70's early 80's C&W fan.

[sup_fan]

C&W is still a very dedicated and narrow market...Pop/Soul artists stand a better chance of getting airplay and a hit on the stations that already play their music....considering the volume of Nashville styled singles released over the years by Pop/Soul artists from the start of the RnR era to present....very few have ever crossed over to the C&W radio play / charts.
I love country soul...Candi Staton, Millie Jackson, Ray Charles, Brook Benton...got 'em all...Supremes sing Country-Western and Pop [[that dash def. should have been in there!) is in my top 5 Supremes LP's...Sorry Doesn't Always Make it Right is one of my fav DR solo's...I am a big 60's / 70's early 80's C&W fan.

i did a Country Soul lp playlist for MRATV. was sort of imagining a reworking of Riding High to be a bit more cohesive. and i actually called the playlist "Country Soul" lol

Honey chile
Sweet Darlin'
I Tried
We've got Honey Love
I'm in Love and i Know it
Forget me Not

I promise to wait my love
without you
I'm glad you belong to me
Love bug
A little bit of heaven
I can't dance to that music

I think "A Little Bit of Heaven" is an amazing tune that was wasted in the vaults! what a lovely song and Martha sounds amazing. much strong [[although probably little short on run time) that many tracks on RH, Sugar or Natural Resources.

Now i'm not really seeing these tunes as "country" like Grand Ole Opry or something like that. more like "black country folk" style.

[daviddh]

Comes down to a good song.
Last time I saw him was cute
Sorry it doesn't,...took a while for me to warm up to it..it's good ..
Behind closed doors nope ,not for me...

[sup_fan]

Comes down to a good song.
Last time I saw him was cute
Sorry it doesn't,...took a while for me to warm up to it..it's good ..
Behind closed doors nope ,not for me...

Last Time is sort of another variation on The Happening. it's not really a novelty song [[like Witch Doctor from the Chipmunks). but it also isn't a masterpiece.

it's a fun, highly enjoyable tune that it lighthearted and infectious.

Sorry definitely is a more "serious" or substantial tune just done in a C&W style. it could have certainly been done in a different style or approach. i think the chosen style isn't exactly magic. if they were trying to build off of the dixieland, down home feel of LTISH, i think they missed the point of that song. like The Happening, it should have been viewed a bit more as a one-off. but maybe they felt they wanted to explore it more and see where it might go

i do think Sorry should have at least charted! it is definitely a more appropriate tune for a single than Sleepin' but maybe that was part of the problem. after the bomb of Sleepin, they should have selected more of a sure fire hit. Sorry isn't that.

[gman]

Dottie West had a pretty big country hit with Last Time I Saw Him...she reached #8 on the C&W chart in early '74.

[Ollie9]

I find Diana’s single version of “Sorry Doesn't Always Make It Right” to be rather lush. It charted reasonably well here in the UK while receiving decent airplay.
Glady’s Knight released a more soulful version, but i still prefer Diana’s.
Not so fond of the diluted remix on Ross 78, where the country twang is more evident.

[captainjames]

I have heard Beyonce's new country songs and I wonder if it was turned down because of the X rated words that are in the songs. Just guessing.

[sansradio]

I have heard Beyonce's new country songs and I wonder if it was turned down because of the X rated words that are in the songs. Just guessing.

No. There are clean versions. It's nothing more than good old-fashioned gatekeeping and bigotry rearing their heads.

[captainjames]

No. There are clean versions. It's nothing more than good old-fashioned gatekeeping and bigotry rearing their heads.

Ok thanks for the input, I had only heard the one version but it has a nice groove. Once again I don't depend on the awards or stations to decide what I like or watch.