Porter Wagoner – “Committed To Parkview”

Matt C | June 16th, 2007 Email Share

Porter WagonerWouldn’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.

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Listen: Porter Wagoner – “Committed to Parkview”

Watch: Porter Wagoner – “Committed to Parkview”

Read the Album Review: Porter Wagoner – Wagonmaster

  1. Brody Vercher
    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.

  2. Jim Malec
    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.

  3. Xtina
    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?

  4. Xtina
    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.

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