Archive for January, 2025

Diane’s Country Music Newsletter — 22 January 2025

Wednesday, January 22nd, 2025

BOOK REVIEW – IN-LAW COUNTRY

Geoffrey Himes looked back at the history of modern country music to define a movement that took place between 1968 and 1985, beginning in Los Angeles and moving to Nashville. Its musicians wanted to change and update traditional country music through songwriting and performances that resonated with young baby boomers. Himes describes this period and its history in his book In-Law Country.

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Diane’s Country Music Newsletter — 8 January 2025

Wednesday, January 8th, 2025

IN THE SPOTLIGHT – RONNIE MCDOWELL

When Ronnie McDowell called me last week for our phone interview (thanks to Debbie Grisham for setting it up), we began the conversation by talking about our Navy days. We both graduated from high school in 1968. I headed off to college and he enlisted in the Navy to avoid being sent to Vietnam. “When I got out of bootcamp in San Diego,” he told me, “I got a big ol’ manila envelope, and it said, ‘Vietnam,’ and I said, ‘Nooooo.'” He was flown to Saigon in October and then out to the aircraft carrier USS Hancock, which cruised back and forth in the Tonkin Gulf while launching aircraft strikes against North Vietnam. Ronnie was assigned to the deck division.

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