Cocaine & Rhinestones: The History of Country Music - podcast cover

Cocaine & Rhinestones: The History of Country Music

Tyler Mahan Coe•cocaineandrhinestones.com
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Episodes

CR032/PH18 - Glenn

The end of one story is just the beginning of another.

Feb 15, 2022•1 hr 37 min•Season 2Ep. 18

CR031/PH17 - Choices: George Jones' Last Run

At least this whole story has a happy ending, right? Of course, whether or not that's true depends a lot on your personal definitions of both "happy ending" and "whole story" but, either way, today we reach the final chapter of George Jones' life. Don't worry, it'll all be over soon.

Feb 01, 2022•2 hr 45 min•Season 2Ep. 17

CR029/PH15 - Hell Stays Open All Night Long: George Jones, Phase III

Oh, you're back to hear more things that will chill you to the bone? Then we can talk about what George Jones' life was like in the period leading up to and through the biggest hit of his career. If you've ever wondered what it's like to be afraid of a demonic duck or try murdering your best friend to test the existence of God, well, these are questions only George Jones can answer but just asking them makes for one jaw-dropping and heartbreaking story.

Jan 04, 2022•1 hr 47 min•Season 2Ep. 15

CR027/PH13 - Billy Sherrill's Nashville Sound

What if the first serious opinions that millions of rock music fans formed about country music were based on a few massive errors which then got passed down to future generations? How long do you think it would take for society to build a fundamentally flawed history of an entire genre on top of such a foundation? Fifty years? Well, that's exactly what happened. Billy Sherrill's name means nothing to many country music fans. Some recognize it from the album credits of a few of their favorite cou...

Dec 07, 2021•2 hr 47 min•Season 2Ep. 13

CR026/PH12 - Loved It Away: Tammy Wynette, On Her Own

Following her breakup with George Jones, many people had many questions for Tammy Wynette. Well, they had questions for George, too, but he was a little harder to get in touch with, trying to drink himself onto a separate plane of reality from his conscious mind and all. So the questions went to Tammy. And she had answers. Then more answers. And more... And more. It's never been easy for ladies in country music. Here's how it became for The First Lady.

Nov 23, 2021•1 hr 36 min•Season 2Ep. 12

CR025/PH11 - Being Together: The George Jones & Tammy Wynette Story

Though they were married to each other for little more than five years, the legacies of George Jones and Tammy Wynette are forever inseparable. This is partly due to their unprecedented success with creating music "based on the true story" of a romance between two artists, to such a degree that decades later there are still millions of fans who believe George and Tammy never stopped being in love with each other. If it's difficult to say where the line is between art and artist, public and priva...

Nov 09, 2021•1 hr 51 min•Season 2Ep. 11

CR024/PH10 - Stand by Your Man: The Anti-Feminist Manifesto

Tammy Wynette's "Stand by Your Man" is one of the most well-known recordings in the English language. It was also a plastic explosive detonated at a sea change moment in United States politics and culture. Look around. We're still picking up the pieces.

Oct 26, 2021•1 hr 56 min•Season 2Ep. 10

CR023/PH09 - Loneliness Surrounds: Virginia Wynette Pugh

Country music is full of rags-to-riches stories, like the one about how Virginia Wynette Pugh became Tammy Wynette. In a way, it's true. Even after becoming the most successful woman country singer at that point in history, the life she lived was hard and painful. But if you want to know what actually happened in that life then she's the last person you should ask.

Aug 10, 2021•1 hr 44 min•Season 2Ep. 9

CR022/PH08 - Dallas Frazier: Can't Get There From Here

Some of the best songs you've ever heard were written by Dallas Frazier. Don't recognize the name? Don't worry. You'll remember it forever after this episode, especially those of you who love Charley Pride, Elvis Presley, Merle Haggard, Connie Smith, Charlie Rich, George Jones, The Oak Ridge Boys, Emmylou Harris, Gene Watson, Tanya Tucker, Bobby Bare, Stoney Edwards, The Beach Boys, Tom Jones, Kenny Rogers, Willie Nelson... You get the point. Here's the story.

Jul 27, 2021•2 hr 1 min•Season 2Ep. 8

CR021/PH07 - Pappy Daily, Gene Pitney and How George Jones Came to Be on Musicor

This whole story began with a pinball machine and jukebox mogul in Texas jumping over to the independent record business of the 1950s. When he hitched his wagon to a Singing Marine who became the Greatest Country Singer Ever, it served Pappy Daily well through the following decade. Then, out of nowhere, the ride suddenly ended. "What went wrong?" is the obvious question to ask, here, but it's not the right one. We need to talk about who went wrong. The answer nearly everyone's accepted for going...

Jul 13, 2021•2 hr 16 min•Season 2Ep. 7

CR020/PH06 - All to Pieces: George Jones, Phase II

In the early 1960s, George Jones had a huge hit record featuring such a phenomenal vocal performance it instantly turned him into a living legend. He didn't handle it well.

Jun 29, 2021•1 hr 42 min•Season 2Ep. 6

CR019/PH05 - Wandering Soul: George Jones, Starday Recording Artist

There are some personalities who would embrace being called The Greatest Country Singer Ever or, at least, settle into the role once it became clear the brand was eternal. George Jones did not have one of those personalities. The fame and fortune generated by his talent made him want to run away, so he spent decades running... toward something even worse than what he was trying to escape. Was there ever a chance of this story playing out any differently? Probably not, no. But what in the hell ev...

Jun 15, 2021•1 hr 30 min•Season 2Ep. 5

CR018/PH04 - White Lightning

In North Carolina, way back in the hills, there's a centuries-old tradition of cooking illegal liquor. Whether you feel that's right or wrong, good or bad, may be determined by any number of factors but the objective truth is moonshine whiskey greatly impacted the course of United States culture on several occasions. Ever wonder why so many people will never trust the government or politicians? Press play. Ever wonder if the "moonshine" you can now buy in liquor stores is really moonshine? Press...

Jun 01, 2021•1 hr 41 min•Season 2Ep. 4

CR017/PH03 - The Nashville A Team

Now that we've established Owen Bradley as the single most important producer in the history of Nashville, let's take it further and acknowledge he's one of the most important figures in the history of all recorded music, even if for no other reason than assembling the first group of musicians to become known as the Nashville A-Team. Were we to erase their work from existence, every book about pop, rock or country music in the second half of the 20th century would need to be entirely rewritten. ...

May 18, 2021•2 hr 20 min•Season 2Ep. 3

CR016/PH02 – Owen Bradley's Nashville Sound

What if the first serious books about country music contained a few massive errors which were then repeated by nearly everyone who's since used those books as a source? How long do you think it would take for society to build a fundamentally flawed history of an entire genre on top of such a foundation? Fifty years? Well, that's exactly what happened... Owen Bradley's name means nothing to many country music fans. Some recognize it from the album credits of a few of their favorite country artist...

May 04, 2021•2 hr 18 min•Season 2Ep. 2

CR015/PH01 - Starday Records: The Anti-Nashville Sound

The story of a little independent record label in Texas becoming "a force" in the Nashville country music industry brings an outsider's perspective to the anatomy of a machine. Going from backwoods honky tonks and roadhouse jukeboxes to stretch limos and private planes takes a lot of crooked deals and shameless hustle. When confronted by a powerful enemy, you'll do whatever it takes to survive the rock and roll. When the whole world acquires a taste for your strain of Kentucky bluegrass, you'll ...

Apr 20, 2021•2 hr 13 min•Season 2Ep. 1

BONUS: Cocaine & Rhinestones Season 1 Q&A

You might think, "How could anyone finish a season of a podcast like Cocaine & Rhinestones and have questions? That guy saturates every episode with details like he's getting paid by the fact." There's always more to know. Like, how does one even go about making a podcast on such a huge subject as the history of country music? Whose "fault" is pop country, really? Is this Merle Haggard song communist? Is that Merle Haggard song racist? There had to be more men banned from country radio, righ...

Feb 06, 2018•1 hr 22 min•Season 1Ep. 15

CR014 - Ralph Mooney: The Sound of Country Music

The legendary pedal steel guitarist, Ralph Mooney, deserves the reputation he earned on his instrument. However, he deserves a lot more than that. This episode of the podcast backtracks to Bakersfield for a deeper examination of its "sound," a closer look at some people responsible for it and the story of a man whose story isn't told nearly often enough. It would be unacceptable to end the first season of a podcast on the history of country music without dedicating an episode to Ralph Mooney. Af...

Jan 23, 2018•1 hr 26 min•Season 1Ep. 14

CR013 - Rusty & Doug Kershaw: The Cajun Way

Rusty & Doug come from a long tradition of surviving against the odds, against a world that would just as soon see you dead as see you succeed. Starting from nothing but a houseboat in Louisiana, they fought their way through an unscrupulous industry, through honky tonk stages screened off with chicken wire, onto the biggest stages in the business, in order to create some of the greatest music ever made. Then, they battled themselves, their past and their addictions. This episode is recommen...

Jan 16, 2018•2 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 13

CR012 - Wynonna

Some people think we have all these "authenticity tests" in country music. We don't. But, even if we did, Wynonna would pass them. From somehow surviving a childhood full of several types of abuse to a years-long reign over country music radio with her mother in The Judds, this path was not easy to travel and the end of it is only the beginning of another, much more treacherous road. This episode is recommended for fans of: Harlan Howard, Merle Haggard, Charley Pride, Asleep at the Wheel, Ashley...

Jan 09, 2018•1 hr 57 min•Season 1Ep. 12

CR011 - Don Rich & Buck Owens, Part 2: Together Again

Words often fail to express the connection that can exist between two people. In the friendship of Don Rich and Buck Owens, our notions of reality itself may prove inadequate. With spacetime as our stage, we trip backwards for more tour shenanigans, supernatural mysteries and, as always, great music. Our narrative pays special attention to the Carnegie Hall Concert album, what Hee Haw did for country music on television and innovations that Don Rich and Buck Owens brought to country music. But d...

Jan 02, 2018•2 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 11

CR010 - Buck Owens & Don Rich, Part 1: Open Up Your Heart

Whatever else is true about Buck Owens (and some of it certainly is), he brought hard country music to the world in a time when we desperately needed someone to do that. Sticking to that honky tonk sound from Bakersfield made him a very famous man. Shrewd business practices made him a very rich man. Both of these things made him more than a few enemies. However, all you need to take on the whole world is one true friend and Buck Owens had that friend in Don Rich, his guitarist and right-hand man...

Dec 26, 2017•1 hr 32 min•Season 1Ep. 10

CR009 - Harper Valley PTA, Part 3: Tom T. Hall

Behind any story worth telling, you'll always find another story. Maybe if we can get behind some of Tom T. Hall's best stories, we'll find the story about who he is and how he's able to do what he can do with the English language. Probably not but, worst case scenario, it will be an incredibly entertaining waste of time. Beginning with a condensed history of country music radio, we follow Tom T. from his early days as a young DJ into a seemingly effortless realization of his destiny to become o...

Dec 19, 2017•1 hr 33 min•Season 1Ep. 9

CR008 - Harper Valley PTA, Part 2: Jeannie C. Riley

Jeannie C. Riley's debut single sold over a million copies within ten days of being released but she never wanted to record the song. In the late '60s, Jeannie C. Riley became country music's most blatant sex symbol to date but she never wanted to wear those clothes. Small town girl with big dreams goes to the city and lets it break her in order to make her. Total cliche, right? Sure. Except Jeannie's choice to bury the story in lie after lie turns it into a mystery tale of obscured identity, in...

Dec 12, 2017•1 hr 15 min•Season 1Ep. 8

CR007 - Harper Valley PTA, Part 1: Shelby S. Singleton

You think all it takes to make a hit record is to find a good song and get a good performance of it? That's cute. Have a seat and let an old-school record man show you how it's done. This is Shelby Singleton. When it took driving a trunk full of records around the country to make them into hits, that's what he did. Then he became a producer. Then he became a VP at Mercury Records. Then he founded an independent musical empire in Nashville and really got to work making new enemies. This episode i...

Dec 05, 2017•1 hr 11 min•Season 1Ep. 7

CR006 - The Louvin Brothers: Running Wild

The way Charlie and Ira Louvin could sing together is downright otherworldly. There's even a special term we had to invent for family (it's always/only family) who can sing this way: blood harmony. This episode delves in to exactly what blood harmony is and how the magic of it can't save you from beating the living hell out of each other at every opportunity. Here is the story of two dirt-poor brothers who fought for fifteen years to achieve their lifelong dream and what happened after that. (Hi...

Nov 28, 2017•1 hr 38 min•Season 1Ep. 6
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