“I was the fattest baby in Clark County, Arkansas. They put me in the paper. It was like a prize turnip.”
- Billy Bob Thornton
It dawned on me that with the exception of five years, I've spent all of my life in a state that borders Arkansas. I guess I feel a little kinship. I've spent quite a bit of time in the Natural State, even if a lot of it's been just driving through. I can offer good advice on decent bathroom stops as well as ones to give a wide berth.
As I've mentioned before, my first knowledge of Arkansas was from listening, in my early teens, to the underground radio station, KAAY out of Little Rock. Late at night you could pick up its signal and hear Clyde Clifford on his show, Beeker Street, play the latest and coolest counterculture tunes. Little Rock and Arkansas seemed like an exotic place, a world away from my tiny farmhouse bedroom in Northeast Missouri. As it turned out, it is quite exotic. The state boasts the largest diamond ever discovered in the U.S. as well as the place where the cheese-filled hot dog was invented. Beat that.
Some of my favorite personalties hail from the state: Charles Portis, author of True Grit, Norwood, Dog of the South and others. He was quite a fascinating guy. Billy Bob Thornton. He wrote, directed and starred in Slingblade. Nothing he's done since can touch it. It may be in my top five movies of all time. Isaac Parker, the “Hanging Judge", from Fort Smith. Between 1875 and 1896, he sentenced 160 men to the gallows. Too bad he's not still around. #20, St. Louis Cardinal legend, Lou Brock, hero of my youth. That's a few of them.
Music-wise, the state has gifted the world with some serious luminaries. How's this for a trio: Johnny Cash, Glen Campbell and Al Green. Also, Charlie Rich, Iris DeMent, Blaze Foley, Jim Dickinson and Lefty Frizzell. There's something in the water, perhaps. In Northeast Arkansas, Mountain View is the Folk Music Capital of the World. It's folk and bluegrass jam-central all year long. That's right there near the White River. It was one of John Prine's favorite fishing spots.
When you think of fine and distinguished American artwork, your mind doesn't immediately go to Arkansas. That's my guess, anyway. But Crystal Bridges in Bentonville is home to one of the nation's premier art museums. Alice Walton, daughter of Sam, has put some of those Walmart billions to work creating a remarkable place for the public's enjoyment. Even if you're not into that sort of thing, it's a great place to grab a bite to eat and marvel at the campus. We went to see a special exhibit, the photography of Annie Leibovitz. That's pretty rock and roll.
Okay, here are my Arkansas musical selections:
Best Band: Hands down, Black Oak Arkansas. They were hugely influential for me and my running buddies in our early teen years. How to describe them? Hungover sawmill workers or moonshine runners from deep in the timber that had stumbled onto some electric guitars. That might be a start. The exception being their front man, Jim Dandy, as he was known, who looked and acted like David Lee Roth's slightly deranged and randier older brother. Glaring out from their album photos, Black Oak looked a touch dangerous and menacing. Their music was a ragged fusion of rock with a dash of hillbilly thrown in. None of that makes them sound like world-beaters, but let me tell you, for about a three year period they were hotter than the sun. We loved them, me and my crowd. I saw them at the Pershing Arena in my hometown when I was around 14 or 15. Jim Dandy, spandex clad, blond hair flowing, completely commanded the stage. He was a human sparkler. He was charisma X 1000. In 1974 they had their only hit, a cover of an old LaVerne Baker tune called Jim Dandy (To the Rescue) that went to #25. Frankly, I thought it was clownish and not representative of what made them, them. It was downhill after that. Novelty tunes tend to tarnish the cool factor. Can you imagine Led Zeppelin releasing a version of Monster Mash? One last thing. Bob Dylan's singing voice famously repels many, many people. “He can't sing” is the majority opinion. Well, Dylan sounds like Johnny Mathis compared to Jim Dandy. Jim's singing voice could be compared to gravel being run through a wood chipper. I think that was part of his charm. Fun fact: In his teens, Billy Bob Thornton was a roadie for Black Oak.
Best Solo Artist: This is a hard choice since every viable candidate for me left the state before their careers were made. I will go with those who were physically born in Arkansas. I'm sure to not pick Johnny Cash is an abomination in some folks' opinion. How could he not be your choice? The fact is, as much as I appreciate the person, the legend, the icon, and the myth that is the Man in Black, I've never been a broad listener of his music. Sure, all his big classic songs that are part of the fabric of America, they're great. But to buy a Johnny Cash record is something I've never done. I will have to choose Glen Campbell as the best and most influential for me. During my youth, he was all over TV and the radio, singing those sublime Jimmy Webb songs that he made famous, By the Time I Get to Phoenix, Wichita Lineman, Galveston. He could tear up a guitar, too - points in his favor. When I was about ten, we had one of his albums at home that Dad must have bought. I'd put it on our big Magnavox TV/turntable console and listen to all the songs over and over. I could tell you their order right now. He seemed like just a good old, aw-shucks country boy from Delight, Arkansas, to my family and that made him alright with us. Later in his career, as most know, he went off the rails in a big way. He eventually, with the help of a good woman, corrected course and got it together before succumbing to Alzheimer's. Campbell wasn't a song writer at all. He was an interpreter of other people's songs. Usually, that would be points off for me, but on balance his talent as a musician tips the scale.
Wildcard: There's a young guy named Jesse Welles from Northwest Arkansas out there making a name for himself. He's a unique cat. He must write a song or two a day. I'll include one below and you can check him out further if you like. For my real pick, I have to go with Iris DeMent. I don't know of a more unique voice in American music. It's steeped in an old-timey Gospel/Pentecostal sound like something you might have heard coming out of a church window during the Civil War. It's not for everyone but it captivated me when I first heard her. That was sometime back in the early 90s when I ran across her song, Let the Mystery Be. Later that decade she teamed up with John Prine in their duet of his song In Spite of Ourselves and that enshrined her in my personal music hall of fame. You might know that John Rzeznik of the Goo Goo Dolls named their hit song Iris after her. Fun fact.
Other Arkansas faves?