The Bakersfield Sound

[BlueFrogs]

So seeing as I'm new to Country music, what exactly is the Bakersfield sound? Sorry to sound like a real but country music still kind of all sounds the same to me.

[Gravity Jim]

When I read the term, "Bakersfield sound" refers to the smooth, popp-y electric country that the California guys were cooking. Little or no fiddle, plenty of Tele snap 'n' twang, New Grass vocal harmonies on the choruses, delivered with a high-precision sheen, pop music with a Nashville drawl. Buck Owens and the Buckaroos were the epitome of Bakersfield, as were country hits like "Heartaches By The Number." Dwight Yoakam, too, to my ear.

Am I right or am I right? Right?

[Rickenjangle]

Might want to add The Derailers to that list. At least to my ear, they sound like that. Dwight Yoakam, definitely.

[Gravity Jim]

Oh, absolutely, Rickenjangle; The Derailers are definitely carryin' a torch for the Buckaroos. I love that stuff, m'self. I fell out the first time I heard Yoakam, and I dig him to pieces.

Because pop music is radically affected by the available tech, I believe the Bakersfield sound was a direct result of the creation of the Telecaster, the Fender Twin and Leo's pedal steels, and it happened in California because that's where Fender was cruising the dance halls giving away guitars.

[BlueFrogs]

Thanks fellas. As luck would have it, I am a Derailers fan (got 2 of their CDs).:) The band that I have been playing with the last month or so plays a little country and asked me to learn 2 Dwight songs (fun stuff!). So I guess I liked The Bakersfield Sound stuff the whole time and didn't even know it!

:)

[Wilko]

Derailers are leaning more toward a Roy Orbison thing, but their first few albums are some serious homage to the Buckaroos. Man, Buck Owens and Don Rich were THE BAKERSFIELD SOUND for so long.

I love that stuff. Oh, for the real roots of Bakersfield sound, listen to Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys.

Don't discount the use of at least one good fiddle.

Dwight's "Guitars Caddilacs, etc." album has some nice Bakersfield stuff.

[TT100]

I'm digging that sound more and more myself. No where to hide with that music. If you can't hang and don't have the chops it's back to the woodshed for you. Lots of killer players in old country.

TT

[Marcondo]

Living in Bakersfield since 1974.

To me the Bakersfield sound is a twin reverb with JBL's 52-42-30-17-13-10 tuned to Eb and a Tele played by Don Rich.

Roy Nichols is also a very important part of the Bakersfield mystique.

[moonpie]

[Wilko]

1000 words from Moonpie !

Most of Dwight's Guitars, Caddilacs, was based on the song "I Guess I'll Just Sit Here and Drink" by that man.

[moonpie]

Merle's the MAN!

[Rickenjangle]

Derailers are leaning more toward a Roy Orbison thing

Y'know who's carryin' a torch for Orbison? Besides the obvious Chris Isaak, of course...it's that Raul Malo from the Mavericks.

The Derailers prove how much can still be done with a couple of teles, a couple of twins, and a good rhythm section.

[Wilko]

Raul's been doing the Roy Orbison thing since their very first (pre major) release.

I first saw/met them on their first couple of tours in small clubs. Great band, and Raul has a killer voice.

[Offshore Angler]

Paisley's "How Many Flowers" on the new CD is obviously a Bakersfeild tribute as well.

[JAM]

Derailers are leaning more toward a Roy Orbison thing, but their first few albums are some serious homage to the Buckaroos. Man, Buck Owens and Don Rich were THE BAKERSFIELD SOUND for so long.

I love that stuff. Oh, for the real roots of Bakersfield sound, listen to Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys.

Don't discount the use of at least one good fiddle.

Dwight's "Guitars Caddilacs, etc." album has some nice Bakersfield stuff.

Here's a pic of Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys with the "twin guitars", Jimmy Wyble (L) and Cameron Hill (R).



Jimmy Wyble is one awesome guitar player.

[Gravity Jim]

I love Bob Wills, but I can't hear the connection between his big-band swing and the Buckaroos. More like Asleep At The Wheel... is that Bakersfield?

[Mikey]

I have to agree with Jim here. Bob Wills is Texas swing and Asleep At The Wheel picks up where Bob left off. There may have been a hint of Bakersfield in some of his songs but Gene Autry and Roy were closer to that 40s stuff. Lefty Frizzel, Merle, and Buck & Don defined the Baskerfield sound and Dwight and The Derailers are trying to keep it alive and fresh. Too bad Tony Villenueva decided to retire from the Derailers. They were just getting some good notice. They're still playing but I fear the feelin's gone. We'll have to wait and see I guess.
BTW, I have 4 Derailer disks.

[JAM]

I wouldn't know the "Bakersfield Sound" if it bit me in the ass! But I do know that Ray Benson (Asleep at the Wheel) is a big Bob Wills fan (and Jimmy Wyble fan). But Jimmy's a jazz player, for the audition for Bob Wills him and Cameron Hill played Charlie Christian's "Flying Home".

[Wilko]

"...Wills's musical legacy, however, endured. His style influenced performers Buck Owens and Merle Haggard and helped to spawn a style of music now known as the Bakersfield Sound (Bakersfield was one of Wills's regular stops in his heyday). A 1970 tribute album by Merle Haggard directed a wider audience to Wills's music, as did the appearance of younger "revival" bands like Asleep at the Wheel and the growing popularity of longtime Wills disciple and fan Willie Nelson..."

[TT100]

Teles, Twins and a tight rhythm section? Guess I'll be buying a couple of Derailers CDs.

Thanks for broadening my horizons.

TT

[BradKM]

I caught the Tony-less Derailers about 18 months ago. Yes, he was missed, but the band is still rock solid and was very well received by the audience. This was at a bluegrass/roots festival setting where they were one of the few electric bands, and I'm pretty sure that no one there came with the Derailers at the top of their "must see" list.

I know his departure is a big deal to long time fans, but I'll share a thought that may piss some of you guys off. I think they're now a more marketable band without him. This is strictly marketing, and strictly visual. Tony looked a good 10-15 years older than the other guys in the band. I'm guessing the rest of them aren't over 35...he looked like he could easily be in his 50s. Now that he's gone, they're a much easier sell to the new country audience. If they weren't super talented and sounded like absolute crap, they'd probably be huge stars already. ;)

[Wilko]

The derailers almbums that I have are completely must haves.

Teletubby,
Run out right now and get yourself a copy of "Reverb Deluxe" the cover art alone is worth the price of admission.(but only if you like seeing a silver sparkle vintage tele up close and personal.
Then get a copy of "Jackpot".

Damn reincarnation of Don Rich.

[doc540]

Jim Lauderdale's been paying homage to the Bakersfield sound for quite a while now.

In fact, one of his first hits, "Where the Sidewalk Ends", was recorded by none other than King George the Strait while "King of Broken Hearts" was released by Mark Chesnut.

My read on the Bob Wills influence on the Bakerfield sound is the tight, clean, unison and harmony parts. Since Wills was first and foremost a dance band, everything which came out of Bakersfield was danceable with great steel and guitar parts behind recoginizable melodies with harmonies.

Think about the connections between, say, "Take Me Back To Tulsa" by Bob Wills and Haggard's "Stay Here and Drink" or Buck Owens', "Tiger By the Tail" from 1965.

Don't forget that before he became identified with the Bakersfield sound, Buck was a hotshot session guitarist coping western swing licks.

When Nashville was lushing up country with strings and legions of background singers, Buck stripped it down the the essentials of what was, in effect, a hot western swing band. Thus, country was "reborn"
as the Bakersfield Sound.

[BradKM]

And don't forget that Merle recorded an entire album of Bob Wills covers!