Hosting a Country Fuzz Extravaganza on WORT's Back to the Country radio program

Well, I sent out a flurry of Facebook posts, tweets, instagram DMs, snapchats, tiktok videos, and the like, but am now realizing, I failed to even mention it on my own blog. Today I hosted a country music radio program. But not just any radio program, I was invited to be a temporary part of the Back to the Country team on WORT 89.9 fm. Country music scholar Bill C. Malone, of Country Music USA and Ken Burns's Country Music documentary fame (among other great projects), created this legendary radio show 23 years ago in Madison and has faithfully hosted it every week until his departure from Wisconsin last month. After he and Bobbie went back to the Texas country, a team was created to keep his legendary country music show going. I was asked to be part of that team and host a show every 2nd Wednesday of the month until a permanent host is found.

To that end, I spent three hours today playing my very favorite Country Fuzz 45s and LPs from 9am-12pm. What is Country Fuzz, you ask? It's distorted, loud, fuzzy guitars played in traditional 1960s classic country recordings (ie "Don't Worry" by Marty Robbins, the first ever recording of guitar fuzz). "But I missed the show!" you say. Well, the good news is that the show was archived and will be available via the WORT website (wortfm.org) for the next two weeks. Then it's gone forever. Like, poof! If you want to hear it, just go to the WORT website, click Archives, and then look for the Back to the Country show that aired 8-12-20. And in case you're finding this post more than two weeks off in the future, here's a brief description of what I played and why. It's a good list, even if it lacks my enthusiastic and witty asides in between each tune.

Playlist Title: Back to the Country

DJ Name: Nate Gibson

Playlist Start Date: Aug 12, 2020

Playlist Start Time: 9:00 AM

Playlist End Time: 12:00 PM

Show Description: Country Fuzz w/ Host Nate Gibson: Traditional country music is a bit of an oxymoron, as even within the "tradition" there has been a ton of innovation⎼pedal steel guitars, drums, new picking styles, etc. One of the greatest innovations in traditional country music is the development of the fuzz guitar. The result of a faulty mixing board, Grady Martin recorded the first country fuzz guitar on Marty Robbins' hit tune "Don't Worry" in 1960. A year later he recorded an instrumental with the same effect, "The Fuzz," and the following year engineer Glenn Snoddy sold the sound effect to Gibson Guitar Corp. who made the first mass-produced fuzz guitar pedal. Bands like the Ventures, Davie Allen, the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, and others made the sound famous, but country musicians held on to the fuzz throughout the '60s and into the early '70s. For more than a decade I've been collecting fuzz country records and today I'll be sharing three hours of the very best from my collection of rare fuzz country 45s and LPs.

Marty Robbins "Don't Worry" from 4-41922 on Columbia

Grady Martin "The Fuzz" from 45-31211 on Decca

Gibson Guitar Corp. "Maestro Fuzz-Tone Demonstration" from ZCTV-82437 on Gibson

Carl Butler "Wonder Drug" from Don't Let Me Cross Over on Columbia

Jean Shepard "My Momma Didn't Raise No Fools" from 5822 on Capitol

Webb Pierce "Good Lord Giveth and Uncle Sam Taketh Away" from PL-131 on Plantation

Loretta Lynn "It'll Be Open Season on You" from Coal Miner's Daughter on Decca

Kay Adams "Little Pink Mack" from Wheels and Tears on Tower

The Buckaroos feat. Don Rich "Anywhere, U.S.A." from 2420 on Capitol

Merle Haggard "Running Kind" from 4525 on Capitol

Buck Owens and the Buckaroos "Who's Gonna Mow Your Grass" from 2377 on Capitol

Wanda Jackson "This Gun Don't Care" from 5712 on Capitol

Billy Gray "Rotten Love" from LH-565 on Longhorn

Jimmie Rodgers "The Rhumba Boogie" from 45-16407 on Dot

Waylon Jennings "Six Strings Away" from 47-9642 on RCA Victor

Pete Drake "Oriental Twist" from SEP 210 on Starday

Jerry Reed "Twist-A-Roo" from 4-42533 on Columbia

Buddy Emmons "Witches Brew" from E-1001 on Emmons

Ron Smith "Sidewinder" from NV-5088 on Nashville

Charlie Louvin "Cash on the Barrel Head" from I'll Always Remember on Capitol

Merle Kilgore "Lover's Hell" from 71918 on Mercury Records

Charlie Walker ""T" for Texas" from PL-168 on Plantation

Hank Locklin "Hot Pepper Doll" from 47-9646 on RCA Victor

The Willis Brothers "Soft Shoulders, Dangerous Curves" from Thunder on the Road on Starday

Cowboy Copas "Sold the Farm" from 45-595 on Starday

Frankie Miller "Mean Old Greyhound Bus" from 45-691 on Starday

Betty Amos with Judy & Jean "The Cat and the Rat" from 45-756 on Starday

Johnny Nace "Make A Date With Me" from NV-5114 on Nashville

Margie Lee "Honky Tonk Blues" from NV-5281 on Nashville

Jimmy Gee "Yes, My Baby Wants Me" from NV-5052 on Nashville

Tommy Belger "Bikini Time" from NV-5282 on Nashville

Jim Kandy "I Forgot To Love Her" from NV-5093 on Nashville

Cowboy Copas "Black Cloud" from Star of the Grand Ole Opry on Starday

George Riddle "What Have I Gotta Do" from 755 on Starday

Clyde Moody "Nobody's Business" from 653 on Starday

The Willis Brothers "Ruby Ann" from Thunder On the Road on Starday

Tommy Hill "Frankie and Johnny" from The Swingin' Sound of Modern Country Music with Percussion on Starday

Red Sovine "Hitch Hiking Girl" from Thunder on the Road on Starday

Moon Mullican "Fools Like Me" from Mr. Piano Man on Starday

Sanford Clark "It's Nothin' To Me" from 1987 on Ramco

Johnny Dollar "Windburn" from 45-16961 on Dot

Hank Malcolm "Yellow Bellied Sap Sucker" from 770 on Starday

Don Hayes "Big River" from TS-69-890 on Triple Crown

Lloyd Arnold "Memphis" from My Bucket's Got A Hole In It on K-Ark

Darrell McCall "Got My Baby On My Mind" from 40154 on Philips

Claude Gray "Stone Heart" from Songs of Broken Love Affairs on Mercury

Sanford Clark "The Fool '66" from 1972 on Ramco

Nate Gibson "The Spook" from Nate Gibson & the Stars of Starday on Bear Family Records

Curtis Leach "Wheelin' and Dealin'" from LH-568 on Longhorn

Bob Morris "Queen Bee" from 338 on Tower

David Lamar "Service Station Man" from 1001 on Marlin

Ronnie Milsap "A Thousand Miles from Nowhere" from SCE-12127 on Scepter

Buddy Lane "River Rat" from 001 on Western News

Kay Adams "Big Mac" from Wheels and Tears on Tower

Bobby Zehm "Sitar Pickin' Man" from 1270 on Great

Dean Manuel "Lonesome Feeling" from Town and Country Piano on Starday

Buddy Merrill "Gentle On My Mind" from 25 Great All Time Hits on Accent