The saying, "That ain't country" is nothing new. It's been going on the entire time I've been in country radio, and continues today.  Sometimes it's right on the money, and then there are times it's up for debate. For the next few weeks, I'll feature artists that got a fair amount of play on country radio at one time, and we can decide if in fact they were or were not.  Keep in mind when these artists were getting play on country radio, country was not the massive popular format it is today.  Sometimes -  in fact we always -  needed real star power, and these artists did supply it and gave us a bit more street cred -  especially with young fans that we had a very tough time attracting then.  I played all these artists on various stations on the air.

Of course they are long gone from country radio as we are now the big dogs on the block with plenty of star power. But keep in mind these fringe acts were incredibly influential to our future stars and that is absolute fact.  After a few weeks we can decide, were they or weren't they? - Country!

Jimmy Buffett

He is still massively popular on the music scene, he packs concert venues and people from all kinds of music love him.  Here's a guy that is kind of format-less when you think about it. He has some mild hit songs, (only 1 number 1) and a much loved lifestyle and that's good enough. In the day, I played Maragaritaville on many stations, Come Monday  too, and he even released a few songs off a totally dedicated country album in mid the 1980's.   During Urban Cowboy those mentioned songs did blend in well and didn't sound out of place.  Since then Buffett has recorded with many country stars in duets and had success there, of course everyone loves, It's Five O'clock Somewhere with Alan Jackson.  In the end, he's a tough call, hey he's - Jimmy Buffett!

The Eagles

I played the Eagles on many stations in my career, and we did get a lot of mileage out of them.  When you think about it, Desperado, Take It Easy, Peaceful Easy Feeling, Lyin' Eyes, Tequila Sunrise, Best Of My Love, and New Kid In Town, are far more "country" sounding than much of the music played today.  But then there's Take It To The Limit, Heartache Tonight, Hotel California, and Life In The Fast Lane, and we are back at square one.  But with that said, Vince Gill has joined the Eagles from their invitation, so they get the connection, and he's as country as it gets.  Also, the Eagles are incredibly popular with most who call themselves "country fans," so it's a good marriage. In the 1990's there was an Eagles Tribute album recorded by Nashville's biggest stars of the time, and it was very popular spawning a few hits.  In the end, they are another tough call.  But they are the Eagles, just about the most popular band of any kind anyone has ever seen.

 John Denver

Take Me Home Country Roads was a big hit on the pop charts and was played on country stations, so there's no real big controversy there. Then it gets a bit dicey. Thank God I'm A Country Boy was a HUGE award winning Country hit, but much of Denver's stuff was not geared country.  I played a ton of John Denver for years. Rocky Mountain High, we played it, not sure how loved it was. Annie's Song is loved by everyone on the planet so no damage there, and Back Home Again was a number one. As time went on he geared his singles more country than earlier.  He also had a big song with Some Days Are Diamonds and I loved that song, and it did well country.  But in the end, he looked country to a degree, and on the surface seemed like a natural, but much of what he sang about went around us. Another tough call, but without any question a few gigantic country songs that were played for years.