Since time eternal, Country music has been associated with the American South and it's Gospel tradition. The first big Country group, The Carter Family, sung many songs about God. Hank Williams too wrote and recorded a good number of 'Country-Gospel' songs such as I Saw The Light, Calling You, Lost On The River, The Battle Of Armageddon and lots more.
Right through it's history, from Hank and Roy Acuff in the 40's and 50's right up till the present day, the Grand Ole Opry has also held Gospel music at it's heart. Early 2008 saw the release of How Great Thou Art : Gospel Favorites From The Grand Ole Opry, with contemporary artists covering such track as The Old Rugged Cross, Give Me Jesus and of course Carrie Underwood's famous take on the title track.
With faith in Jesus Christ being such a long established part of Country music in America, one would think that international fans would respect the faith, and it's part in their favourite genre, even if they themselves do not believe.
Sadly, I have found that many British Country fans do not have this respect. Indeed they are vehemently opposed to this aspect of the music. In Country clubs the length and breadth of Britain, as well as at concerts of respected artists (for example a recent visit by Marty Stuart, and of course Willie Nelson always includes a Country Gospel medley in his shows) songs such as I Saw The Light are met with with much mirth and merriment by far too many "fans".
Many expressed extreme displeasure with Marty's visits to various churches and cathedrals and mocked his Gospel medley near the end of his UK shows, and I have seen people actually reduced to literally ROFL when seeing people stand up and really get into Willie's Gospel medley.
Quite why these people feel the need to mock Country artists - and their fans - for their faith is somewhat beyond me. And it goes far beyond mocking people. They actually complain that God or Jesus are included and mentioned by artists, not just at concerts but in interviews, award acceptance speeches...they seem to be part of the "freedom of speech, but not for all" movement.
On the whole through personal experience both on the live music scene and online, I have found that these people are thankfully a minority.
What I find disturbing though is that the ones doing all this are mostly older men, who really should know better. There are also deeper psychological problems in their relations with women involved, but that's for another post in the future!
The question I pose is this : Why be a fan of a genre of music, when you know that something you don't like is going to be included in every album, every concert, every interview an artist gives? Why can't you show the respect for others that you demand others give you?
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