So maybe I am a little late jumping on his bandwagon(if there is one) but I recently bought his straight to hell cd on Itunes and I cant stop listening to it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEY8ARSGHTU&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6B-X6EEiHE

Hank III is a growing legend in the grand tradition. He channels Hank the First in an uncanny way. I hope he has a long career.

I stumbled into a Hank III show at Dantes last summer, I think it was.

I was pretty floored.

was at the {as we refer to him}Hank Jr.Jr, show at dantes nice show

Guess I'm showing my age here or at least my musical tastes, but Jr. Jr. doesn't do anything for me.

I don't mind radicals and entertainers who walk to a different beat but this was waaaay past my taste level.

when Minnie Pearl first met Hank the third, she thought she was seeing a ghost of his grandad

Yes I read that on Wikipedia too Mc74.

Chris, I like him, but I totally understand what you mean about Hank III being an acquired taste. I am grateful that he refused to be a lapdog for the Nashville establishment. There may be some hope for country music yet.

There is certainly a place for Hank III and he is currently cutting his teeth to make the noise he needs too.

But like any rebel they are a dichotomy. They dislike the establishment but need them at the same time. It’s a tough road because the very people that might be willing to stick their necks out for the guy, he just may bite their hand.

You are right Chris. Hank III is a crude, rude and nasty human being, but really, he is no worse than his Grandpa. He certainly would not get away with saying those things if he weren't Hank III.

I feel a short holler from a soapbox coming on, so bear with me.

These days it is really hard to be a country fan. Good American music simply never makes the airwaves. I am over simplifying, but the big battle since the 1970s has been between the traditionalists and the turd polishers. Of course one need only listen for a few minutes to hear who is winning.

While Johnny Cash is remembered as a vital American artist in death, he was one of many legends frosted out by the establishment for his politics and lifestyle. Though hardly a radical, Roger Miller is another. Roger gave his all, admitted to smoking a little pot and watched his whole career disappear.

Merle Haggard, Graham Parsons, Willie Nelson, John Prine, Doug Dillard, Kris Kristofferson, Steve Earle and Townes Van Zandt have never been fully accepted by the community, even though their influence is widely felt and their bodies of work are astounding. Sure, there is the aspect of counterculture, but the political often comes into play.

The new country is just bad pop. Even inside the established Nashville scene, a fellow like Ricky Skaggs is looked at as an exception rather than the rule. Why should one of the last fellers who still knows how to pick be the exception? It really is a sad and sorry state. Or is it? Just because the commercial country stinks to high heck doesn't mean there is not a whole other thriving world of traditional American music. Thank heavens for No Depression.

Sure, I would much rather see an Iris DeMent, or a Junior Brown or a Jeff Tweedy tune on the top of the country charts, but for now, I am happy that they are heard and appreciated outside of the mainstream.

WOW!!!!!!!!!!Cash,Junior Brown ,Tweedy,The Great Steve Earle,Prine,GRAM Parsons,dilliard and Dement hell throw in Lucinda Williams ,Jay Farrar,maybe Jason and the nashville scorchers and we have a afternoon on the Ipod at my house!!!.Tom Petty said in the great documentary "running down a dream" that todays country music is "just bad pop music with a fiddle"

Throw in Buddy and Julie Miller, Stacy Earle, Tift Merritt, Charlie Robison, Kelly Willis, and Robert Earl Keen, and we've got ourselves a great roster!

OH! And this guy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyxEO9dqi44

Warner did you see the piece the Oregonians Peter ames carlin did on Hayes last week????????/