Introducing the Badass Music Hall of Fame

A few days ago, Matt Reasor and I were talking on the phone and we began discussing the sort of funky-country-rock-soul thing that was prevalent in the '60s and early '70s. The "Ode to Billie Joe"/"Cedartown, Georgia" thing.

That conversation led me to think about all of the artists of that era who made a career in that particular subgenre and were just as quickly forgotten about when both rock and country moved onto other things.

Then last night, after two six packs, I had a brilliant idea. Why not start an unofficial Bad Ass Music Hall of Fame to acknowledge the unknown, overlooked, under-appreciated, and forgotten artists who had a massive impact on the music we all love.

This isn't your ordinary Hall of Fame. We're not looking for tourists, just acknowledging great music. And we're also much more democratic. If you would like to see somebody inducted, leave a comment and they're officially nominated. There is no set voting guidelines as of yet, but I'm sure me and some of my rowdy friends can work that out. And I'm sure they would all agree with this initial list of five inductees.

Joe South

Georgia-born singer-songwriter Joe South pretty much defines this entire subgenre. He began his career in the late '50s penning songs for rockabilly icon Gene Vincent and did guitar work for the likes of Aretha Franklin and Bob Dylan, but he really hit his stride in 1965 when he wrote and produced Billy Joe Royal's hit single "Down in the Boondocks," a clear forerunner to the heavily country-influenced southern soul rock that was to emerge later in the decade.

Among his other composition's to become hits for other artists were "Hush" (Deep Purple) and "I Never Promised You a Rose Garden" (Lynn Anderson), but his real legacy lies in his solo work. His best-known songs, such as "Games People Play," "Don't It Make You Wanna Go Home," and "Walk a Mile In My Shoes" addressed hot-button issues of the day with a straightforward, common sense approach, a strong grasp of ethics and morals, and none of the political pandering of some of the heavier rock acts of the time.

Unfortunately for us, Mr. South has done very little recording since the mid-'70s, but the music he released before that makes him a pefect inductee into the Bad Ass Music Hall of Fame.

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Charlie Rich

Charlie Rich is best remembered as the singer of "Behind Closed Doors" and "The Most Beautiful Girl," two country smash hits in the mid-'70s. What is forgotten is his other successes and struggles prior to that. In short, Charlie began as a session pianist at Sun Records and his early singles were released on Phillips International, Sam Phillips' other label.

Yet it would be incorrect to label Rich as a rockabilly act at this time, just as it would be incorrect to call him a country artist in the '70s. He was country, rock, pop, jazz, R&B, and soul throughout his entire career and the only real change that happened was in marketing and what the suits decided to release as singles.

His tenures at Groove, Smash, and Hi Records in the mid-'60s may represent his best work. In addition to minor hits such as "Big Boss Man" and "Mohair Sam," he also released a string of 45s on these labels that are highly valued and collected by soul enthusiasts.

Then in 1967 he was signed to Epic Records who began marketing him as a country singer and gave him the two aforementioned hits. And although Charlie was never a straightforward country singer in the Hank Williams or Porter Wagoner mode, he always had a strong country influence in his music and a deep love of country music. And, in perhaps his best moment, he decided that John Denver didn't fit his definition of country. At the 1975 CMA Awards, when announcing the Entertainer of the Year Award he infamously burned the envelope with a cigarette lighter before announcing Denver as the winner.

After that, his career in country music amounted to little more than a few modest hits. He retired from the music business in the '80s, but came back in 1992 with the brilliant Pictures and Paintings album, which was released just three years before his death.

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Billy Swan

If Billy Swan's biggest achievements were just producing "Polk Salad Annie" and being name-dropped by Kris Kristofferson, he would still deserve to be mentioned here. But there is much, much more to the story of this Missouri-born artist.

By the time he had his first and only hit in 1974, Swan had already written songs for Waylon, Clyde McPhatter, and Conway Twitty, worked at Graceland, was the road manager for Mel Tillis, toured with Kinky Friedman and Billy Joe Shaver, produced Tony Joe White, and played bass in Kris Kristofferson's band, a role he continued to play for years.

After being signed as a solo artist to Monument, Swan released the phenomenal "I Can Help," a slice of soulful rockabilly that went to #1 on both the Hot 100 and the country charts. Subsequent commrcial success eluded him, but he has continued to record and collaborate with many respected artists.

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Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show

Forget about "When You're In Love With a Beautiful Woman," "Sexy Eyes," and all of Dr. Hook's soft rock hits from the late '70s that you may know. Instead picture possibly the greatest bar band of all time with Shel Silverstein as their primary songwriter.

Although consisting mainly of Southerners, the band recruited New Jersey native Dennis Locorriere as their lead vocalist and made a name for themselves in the Jersey bar scene. Somehow a movie director came into the possession of one of the band's demo tapes and this somehow led them to hooking up with Shel Silverstein, who wrote the majority of the songs on Dr. Hook's two first, and strongest, albums.

Hit records like "Sylvia's Mother" and "The Cover of Rolling Stone" gave the band national and international exposure, but the band's rough image and lifestyle didn't exactly go over well with audiences who were used to the Partridge Family. But seeing the clip below is seeing one of the greatest live rock bands of all time.

Unfortunately, after the first three albums, the band's music went downhill rapidly as they tried to fit in with the soft rock trends of the day, but check out Sloppy Seconds as it represents some of the purest rock and roll ever made.

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Jerry Reed

As a country music fan, I'm personally offended that Mr. Reed is not yet an inductee into that other Hall of Fame in Music City. But their loss is our gain and I'm proud to announce Jerry Reed as the final inductee of this initial class of the Bad Ass Music Hall of Fame.

Although he's best remembered today for his role in Smokey and the Bandit and the fact that "Amos Moses" was used in some video game, his greatest achievements are almost never mentioned.

He began his recording career in 1956, making country and rockabilly for Capitol Records, but soon began focusing on songwriting after moving to Nashville in the early '60s. His next true success as a recording artist came in 1967, when he released "Guitar Man," which Elvis Presley covered with Reed on guitar and later used as the opening for his legendary '68 Comeback Special.

His singles continued to reach the charts consistently, with "Amos Moses" and "When You're Hot, You're Hot" both reaching the top 10 on the pop charts. At the same time he was releasing a series of instrumental albums with Chet Atkins that would make him revered among guitar players.

In the late '70s, he began to focus more and more on acting, but made a comeback in 1982 when "She Got the Goldmine (I Got the Shaft)" hit the top of the charts. In 1998, he teamed up with Waylon Jennings, Bobby Bare, and and Mel Tillis to form the group Old Dogs. He self released five more albums after this before succumbing to emphysema in 2008.

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