Big Kenny Donates To Charity To Celebrate His First No. 1

Why the sudden interest in country?

“We think there is a void in country music,” says Randall Grass, Shanachie’s general manager. “Country has become very pop-oriented and very youth-oriented in the last few years. It is one of the great streams of American music along with jazz. We thought there was a great hunger for traditional country music in its essence and not overly formalized.

“We’ve had some stations say that ‘if Ralph Stanley’s on it, we’re not going to play it,’ and that infuriates me because he’s a national American icon, he’s a bluegrass legend. He and his brother Carter, the Stanley Brothers, were the first music that I ever heard, commercially, growing up. And he’s still around making great records, he’s still touring and still singing good as ever.”

Does anyone know why there was resistance to playing something with Ralph Stanley on it?

“He heard our music before he even knew or had seen anything about what Big & Rich was,” he noted. “He took us out on tour with him based on a couple of songs a friend played him. … He immediately took us on tour — and he paid us. And that is unheard of in this town. And then after we went out on tour with him, he took us on another leg of the tour — and he paid us even more.”

His antics might be a little over the top sometimes, but everything I hear, read, and see about Big Kenny paint him as one of the most genuine and caring people in Nashville.

Clark’s emotional investment in his songs was apparent as he recited “The Randall Knife,” a reflection on the death of his father. Though years removed from the loss, he appeared to still be genuinely moved by the feelings that inspired him to write the song. The crowd seemed to sense it, too, and gave Clark the longest ovation of the night.

If you haven’t heard it yet, check out Guy Clark’s “Randall Knife” on the A Tribute to Billy Joe Shaver live album. It’s one of the most emotional performances I’ve heard, it gets my adrenaline flowing every time. Another gut-wrenching performance from the same album is “Waco Moon” from Todd Snider.