Porter Wagoner – “Committed To Parkview”
Wouldn’t it be great to see Porter Wagoner’s name on the singles chart again? This song could do for Porter’s legacy what “Hurt” did for Johnny Cash’s if Wagoner shared Cash’s outlaw reputation, the song was originally recorded by an industrial rock band and it was cut from an album produced by a heavy metal non-conformist instead of a country-bluegrass icon. Country fans will have to settle for a hauntingly strong recording that may not impact at radio but should prove to a new generation that Porter Wagoner is more than a Rhinestoned Opry regular.
“Committed to Parkview,” written by Cash for Wagoner 25 years ago, is a remarkably incisive song by itself that is rendered all the more powerful by Wagoner’s and Cash’s mutual experiences in the mental facility. I’m not usually a fan of artists who try to channel Johnny Cash, as, thanks largely to the success of American Recordings, he is much too easy a target for artists that otherwise are mostly ignorant of traditional country music. However, no one can impeach Porter Wagoner’s credentials, and, while this song is not representative of the rest of the material on Wagonmaster, it is a smart release that gives Porter his best chance at securing his legacy with the genre’s younger listeners.
![]()
Listen: Porter Wagoner – “Committed to Parkview”
Watch: Porter Wagoner – “Committed to Parkview”
Read the Album Review: Porter Wagoner – Wagonmaster
Popular Stuff
Sponsor
Tagged In This Article
Current Discussion
- Matt: I'm glad you chose to review this as opposed to the new Joe Nichols album. Instead of complaining about bad ...
- Terry Ridont: I think its cool. Thats what I like about indy rock artists, everything isn't the same high budget packaging and ...
- Stormy: Jon: The problem is that the progressive country music is now being called Americana. And why is it ...
- Razor X: Maybe his brother did talk him into it but what’s to say he hasn’t ‘always loved’ and ‘wanted’ to ...
- Brian: Josh Kelley will be fine. At the very least it means Katherine Heigl may show up on country award shows regularly. ...
- Razor X: Change may be inevitable but we aren't required to support it and if enough people boycott it, it doesn't last ...
- Jon: "You can’t stop “progress”… We can if we try hard enough. Um, no. Not that I think "progress" is a good ...
- Joe: When she moved from Mercury to BNA, I think we were all just allowed to think there'd be some grand ...
- sam sam: Well, Suzie, maybe if I saw his live show I'd love him. But I'm not interested in attending concerts. Radio ...
- JOHN: Personally Sherrie s voice is as pure as it gets to me. Just listened to her demo songs after reading ...

Is Dave Haywood going solo? This and many other of country music's most pressing questions answered in the September edition of The 9513's world famous Mailbag!
Caroline Herring likes to sing songs about life in the South. No, not exactly like Justin Moore and Jason Aldean...
The 9513's resident historian Paul W. Dennis sits down for a chat with country music legend Gene Watson.
As much as we love girl singers, we love songs about girl singers even more. Here's just a few of the many tribute songs out there.
Step away from the river and up to a jukebox, because heartbreak is only temporary, but a good song about drowning yourself—like a diamond—lasts forever.
What do you think about music labels "testing the waters" with a single before providing access to an artist's entire album?
What country artist, young or old, would you recommend as a must-listen artist to a newcomer on his/her journey through country music, and what would your essential song picks be?


4 Comments
RSS for comments on this post | Trackback URI for this post
June 17, 2007 at 9:08 pm Permalink
I think the songs sounds pretty good on The Highwaymen album, but Porter Wagoner completely owns his version. Just listening to him sing it sounds somewhat haunting and then when I watched the video he looks so frail and almost ghost-like.
June 19, 2007 at 6:47 am Permalink
My main problem with this song is that I don’t think it translates well to those who are not already big fans of Wagoner. Whereas “Hurt” reminded the younger generation that Cash was a badass, and spoke to them in contemporary language, this song sounds like (oh boy, am I gonna catch it for this comment…) an old man telling a story that I’m not sure most people really care about.
June 20, 2007 at 4:49 pm Permalink
Ha ha, an old man telling a story. Let’s raise hands now, every one of us whose been in rehab, or locked up? C’mon now…. Yes, Jim? What was that, we couldn’t relate?
June 20, 2007 at 4:55 pm Permalink
I’ve got a confession to make. Porter Wagoner had a weekly show, I think it was called the “Porter Wagoner Hour”, and I was a shit and always changed the channel. I had to get much older in order to appreciate him, and I feel bad about that. One day I watched “Hee Haw” – I forced myself not to change the channel, and I heard Roy Clark and Buck Owen do a version of “Ruby” that brought tears to my eyes. Absolutely lovely. I liked Bob Willis and the Texas Playboys and Hank Snow and those older performers long before I came to like these guys, and I realize I missed something good because of my cultural bias. Sure beats Shania Twain with her little pop ditties and S&M outfits.
Leave a Comment