When Country Was King – Before Nashville was Nashville, Southern California was Country’s Epicenter

The Los Angeles Times Magazine published this feature in their June 2011 issue. I got to speak to some great musicians who played when LA was ground zero for country music.

A fact that’s been nearly lost to music history in general, and to Southern Californians in particular, is that from the 1940s right through 1960, our part of the state was well known for country music. We had our own unvarnished sound before Buck Owens and Bakersfield rose to prominence in the early 1960s. Merle Travis and Wynn Stewart may be our most famous exports, but be sure to check out Skeets McDonald, Molly Bee, Cliff Crofford and Billy Mize—and they’re just the tip of the iceberg…

To read the rest link here:

http://www.latimesmagazine.com/2011/06/when-country-was-king.html