BAKERSFIELD BOUND It's an unlikely subsidiary of Nashville. A bleak and dismal area of California, sunk in the San Joaquin Valley between the Sierra Madre and beautiful Sierra Nevada, the town of Bakersfield sits exposed to the extremes of weather, a waiting spot between Fresno to the north and Los Angeles to the south; it missed the Interstate, as I-5 aims for Bakersfield but ends up passing it by to the west in a straight shot to Sacramento, rather, only State Route 99 passes through Bakersfield, connecting it to the rest of the San Joaquin farming towns, Tulare and Fresno. The Kern River weaves its meandering way through the northern part of town, coming from the peaks of the Sierra Nevada to eventually end up simply petering out, the remnants of Lake Buena Vista (dry) southwest of town, all water circumvented by the great California Aqueduct. It was here that many Dustbowl Oklahomans eventually came in the 30's, and settled. Going through Bakersfield today, it's difficult to believe that Oklahoma was so much more dusty than here that people would want to stop, but perhaps after having crossed the difficult and treacherous Sierra Nevada, the sight of the Sierra Madre ahead simply told a weary people they had come far enough. They brought their music with them. A music comprised of the old Appalachian folk, Oklahoma/Texas swing, and hardcore honky-tonk eventually developed into a sound that was solidly country without compromise, but with its own unique style and flavor. It was a style that eventually made its way back to Nashville and was embraced by a country music-hungry fanbase who had been growing increasingly bored with the highbrow countrypolitan sounds coming out of Nashville. The sound attracted California natives as well as disgruntled Nashville artists, Texans and more Oklahomans, artists who wanted to continue in a country music tradition on their own terms. Such artists as The Brothers Maddox and Rose had found a new, raw sound that was part hillbilly and part something else, something that didn't have a name yet but would eventually turn into rockabilly and eventually rock 'n' roll. That the Brothers and Rose allowed Rose - a woman - to sing most of the leads on such raucous songs left many people downright appalled. But they had a sound that attracted people, and people listened. Others, such as Tommy Collins, Lefty Frizzell, and Buck Owens brought their own style east and plugged in. Electric Telecaster sounds started to fill the country music airwaves. Lefty's influence brought many new youngsters to his sizzling honky-tonk sound, and before long Merle Haggard emerged to head a new wave of tough, sing-what-you-feel and mean what you sing Bakersfield artists. But another sound came out of Bakersfield, as well; the town was a major stop for truck drivers - the truckin' songs of the early sixties brought such singers as Dick Curless, Red Simpson, and even displaced ad-man C.W. McCall (William D. Fries) to give rumbling anthems to the cowboy of the road, from "A Tombstone Every Mile" to the massive crossover appeal of the humorous "Convoy." Rose Maddox wasn't the only woman attracted to the sound. Buck's wife (later Merle's wife, for a time) Bonnie Owens forged her own path, and they made the way for such honky-tonk ladies as Susan Raye, Kathy Robertson, and Jean Shepard. Bakersfield may be a country away from Nashville, but it has never lost
its pure, traditional, roots-based solid sound, even as it moves and
shakes its own path forward without ever looking back (except in proud
tribute). Those who adopt the Bakersfield sound never forget where it
came from, no matter where they come from. They all wander to Buck Owens'
Crystal Palace (the place to go in Bakersfield); from the mid-80's, when
Dwight Yoakam fought his own battle against Nashville and ended up in
California, to today, as young groups from all over the country such as
Red
Meat (San Francisco), Michael Thomason (Modesto), or Dale Watson (Texas)
continue to play music the way Lefty did, the way Merle and Buck still do.
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Kathy Coleman Take Country Back September
2002