From Left: Jerry Douglas, Alison Krauss, Brad Paisley
On Tuesday, July 21, Brad Paisley, Alison Krauss and Charley Pride played to a very special audience. As part of the White House Summer Music series, the country music luminaries were in charge of serenading the First Lady and President Barack Obama. “I know folks think I’m a city boy, but I do appreciate listening to country music,” President Obama said as he introduced the concert. And what followed was a series of emotional performances from some of country’s biggest icons.
The evening was especially meaningful for Charley Pride, who remains one of the few black performers to find success in the country music format. But it was Brad Paisley who shed a tear after performing his song "Welcome to the Future," which includes a verse on America electing its first black president.
“The dream of a songwriter is to write some account of a current event like that, and then deliver it for the person that’s responsible for the current event,” Paisley said.
It has been said that if you want to tap into the collective mind of red-state rural America, all you have to do is tune in to a country radio station, where songs such as "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue," "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)," "The Bumper of My S.U.V." and, more recently, "Shuttin' Detroit Down" are staples of the format. According to traditional thinking, nothing taps into the struggles of God-fearing, family-loving, hardworking blue-collar men and women like country music.
But the 2008 election offered some surprises. Toby Keith revealed that he was a Democrat and that he believes Barack Obama was the strongest candidate the Democrats put forward since Bill Clinton. Merle Haggard -- the original "Okie from Muskogee" -- was a Hillary Clinton supporter and even penned a campaign song for her. And Tim McGraw expressed his aspirations to run for governor of Tennessee as a Democrat.
Still, it comes as a shock that on Brad Paisley's new album, American Saturday Night, the multiple Grammy winner and three-time ACM Male Vocalist of the Year winner would overtly celebrate that a black Democrat has become the 44th President of the United States.
In an interview with the Chicago Tribune, Paisley said, "There was an amazing shift in public emotion [on election] night. It was breathtaking. I felt like in country music, we're the first ones to write about some kind of conflict, or war, and yet we shy away from these other topics like equal rights."
He goes on to finish, "A lot of people were saying, 'I don't know if it's time, if the country's ready.' And then all of sudden, I guess we were ready. Welcome to the future."
“The dream of a songwriter is to write some account of a current event like that, and then deliver it for the person that’s responsible for the current event,” Paisley said.
It has been said that if you want to tap into the collective mind of red-state rural America, all you have to do is tune in to a country radio station, where songs such as "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue," "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)," "The Bumper of My S.U.V." and, more recently, "Shuttin' Detroit Down" are staples of the format. According to traditional thinking, nothing taps into the struggles of God-fearing, family-loving, hardworking blue-collar men and women like country music.
But the 2008 election offered some surprises. Toby Keith revealed that he was a Democrat and that he believes Barack Obama was the strongest candidate the Democrats put forward since Bill Clinton. Merle Haggard -- the original "Okie from Muskogee" -- was a Hillary Clinton supporter and even penned a campaign song for her. And Tim McGraw expressed his aspirations to run for governor of Tennessee as a Democrat.
Still, it comes as a shock that on Brad Paisley's new album, American Saturday Night, the multiple Grammy winner and three-time ACM Male Vocalist of the Year winner would overtly celebrate that a black Democrat has become the 44th President of the United States.
In an interview with the Chicago Tribune, Paisley said, "There was an amazing shift in public emotion [on election] night. It was breathtaking. I felt like in country music, we're the first ones to write about some kind of conflict, or war, and yet we shy away from these other topics like equal rights."
He goes on to finish, "A lot of people were saying, 'I don't know if it's time, if the country's ready.' And then all of sudden, I guess we were ready. Welcome to the future."
- Portions of Album Content Provided by All Music Guide © 2008 All Media Guide, LLC.
Imagine that, white people having to "get ready" for a "black" president. No, you/we (USA) were desperate for a nobly decent president who seeks to serve all people and not exclusively "white" interest. 'Getting ready' is appreciated by blacks alas nonetheless. But, what does that do for our self-esteem and acceptance that you have to tidder todder with our hues as a criterion...?
A BIG CAT OBAMA! VERY BEAUTIFUL!
I LOVE OBAMA COUNTRY AND FIRST LADY!
A BIG INTELLIGENT CAT ,OBAMA.I LOVE AND RESPECT HIM,LOVE YOU AMERICA DEMOCRATIS.
very nice .obama is one.
America is neither for whites nor for blacks but for whoever wants to be American. She started like that and she will end like that. Only Red Indians would ask that question: "Are we ready for a king other than from our own race?" So, it doesn't matter at what era, a President from whichever race comes to power, America was always ready for such. We were just waiting for the future and indeed "Welcome to the Future."