Name the Artist - Alt-Country Edition Quiz

Answer: Emmylou Harris

"Red Dirt Girl" is the song, also the name of Emmylou Harris's 19th studio album. It's about a girl named Lillian who was handed nothing but lemons throughout her 27-years of life. Her beloved brother was killed in the Vietnam war, her parents were cruel, she got married because she was pregnant and it didn't work out well.

The album won a Grammy for the best Contemporary Folk Album in 2001. Though not particularly known as a songwriter, she wrote or co-wrote 11 of the 12 songs on the album.

She moved from Alabama to New York City to be a folk singer. Being exposed to some different ideas, she was one of the first to get into the country rock genre in the early 1970s and is considered by some to be the godmother of alt-country. Besides country songs she has some Bruce Springsteen and Chuck Berry songs in her repertoire.

Answer: Robert Earl Keen, Jr.

The story in the song "The Road Goes on Forever" is about Sherry, a waitress in a bar "who had a reputation as a girl who'd been around" and Sonny, a small-time drug dealer, who decided to throw their lots in together. You might be able to guess the outcome.

Keen, a lifelong Texan, had an early interest in music, teaching himself how to play guitar. Some of his musical influences came from the British band Cream and from Willie Nelson, Flatt and Scruggs and Bill Withers. He attended Texas A&M University where his roommate was Lyle Lovett. After playing for well over 30 years he retired in 2022. He decided that didn't suit him so he started touring again in 2024.

Answer: Flying Burrito Brothers

The Flying Burrito Brothers song "Sin City" isn't about Las Vegas but rather, Los Angeles. It was composed by Chris Hillman and Gram Parsons, two former members of the seminal folk rock band The Byrds. They were disillusioned with the Los Angeles lifestyle and the actions of The Byrds' manager, Larry Spector. The lyrics snippet used in this question referred to a 31st floor condominium owned by Spector which had a gold painted door.

Hillman and Parsons were joined by two other musicians to form the group. Their first album, "The Gilded Palace of Sin" set the standard for what would come to be known as country rock, though at first very few rock radio stations, and even fewer country music stations, wanted anything to do with it. Years later it would be recognized as groundbreaking. Parsons would have an influence on Emmylou Harris and Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones.

Answer: Lucinda Williams

Lucinda Williams' song "Righteously" is a guitar-driven rock song about a woman telling her lover to stop trying to be macho and just be himself; he has nothing to prove with her. This is a straightforward song, no hidden meaning.

If there was ever a candidate for inclusion in an "alternate" form of any musical genre it would be Lucinda Williams. Her style has always been her own and she won't change it. She started writing songs and poems at age six or so and could play guitar before she left high school, from which she didn't graduate. She played in bars and clubs without much notice until she was offered a chance to record an album by Folkways Records, a record label that was never about the money but giving artists and songs a chance to be recorded for posterity. That was the break she needed and slowly she gained an audience. Over the years she has acquired many Grammy nominations and awards.

Answer: The Bottle Rockets

"1000 Dollar Car" by the Bottle Rockets is a cautionary tale about getting a "real deal" on an automobile. Though it and the album it was on, "The Brooklyn Side", came out in 1994, it still rings true. As one verse makes plain, you'll likely sink another thousand dollars into it to make it drivable and you'll have "a 2,000 dollar - thousand dollar car."

The group formed in Missouri in 1992. Their songs were funny, or satirical, or had social commentary. Their style has been sometimes compared to Woody Guthrie and Neil Young. They had one big hit single; "Radar Gun" from the "The Brooklyn Side" album which reached number 27 on Billboard's rock chart.

In 2021, after being on the road and touring for 29 years, frontman Brian Henneman announced that he was tired of being away from home, so he and the band retired.

Answer: Uncle Tupelo

The song "No Depression" by Uncle Tupelo was written by A.P. Carter, the man who, with his family, is credited with organizing country and hillbilly music into their own classification. The song was originally titled "No Depression (in Heaven)" and was written in 1936 during the Great Depression. It promised chosen people they would go to Heaven and be free from the trials, tribulations and problems the Depression was causing.

Uncle Tupelo was very influential in gaining attention for alt-country music. From Belleville, Illinois, many of their songs are about working class people. The title of this song, and the album of the same name, became a tagline for the genre. They formed in 1987 and split up in 1994; their popularity came after they separated. Two of the members formed the group Sun Volt and the other three formed the group Wilco.

Answer: Iris DeMent

Iris DeMent's "Let the Mystery Be" is a song that urges listeners not to worry about the future but just take life one day at a time. Some people don't think there will be an afterlife, others believe in reincarnation, so stop worrying; what will happen will happen.

Iris DeMent was born in Arkansas in 1961, the youngest of 14 children, and embraced her mother's love of music. Her musical influences growing up were folk, country and gospel. The first song to fortify her desire to be a songwriter was "Our Town", written spontaneously while driving through a failing Midwestern town in 1986. It was used during the final episode of the TV series "Northern Exposure" in 1995. Besides recording her own songs she has recorded duets with several of the performers mentioned in this quiz.

Answer: Old 97's

The 2010 song "Champaign, Illinois" by Old 97's takes a different look at an afterlife scenario than Iris Dement's unconcerned attitude and declares that a partially sinful life will land someone not in purgatory but in Champaign, Illinois. No, the band isn't from there.

The Old 97's were formed in Dallas, Texas in 1992. One of the best-known bands of the alt-country movement in the 1990s they have since moved on to more of a pop music style but their leader, Rhett Miller, frequently refers to their style as "loud folk." Their songs have been used in many movies and TV shows. The group's name is reference to the song "Wreck of the Old 97".

Answer: Steve Earle

Steve Earle was so impressed reading the book "Killer Angels" by Michael Shaara, a historical novel about the Battle of Gettysburg in the American Civil War, that he wrote a song about it. "Dixieland" tells the story of a fictional soldier in the Union Army who fought in the pivotal clash on Little Round Top hill.

A musician who really doesn't like being pigeonholed as a country artist, Steve Earle is another artist who is hard to classify. He grew up in Texas, then moved to Nashville at age 19, hoping to be discovered - not an untypical story. He was and over the years has released over 20 albums and received three Grammy Awards. Many of his songs are political or of an activist nature. Over a dozen artists have covered his songs.

Answer: John Prine

"Knockin' on Your Screen Door" by John Prine is a nostalgic look at life by someone who has had ups and downs; perhaps more downs than ups but taking it all in stride. Typical of a John Prine song it has amusing and sad moments.

John Prine sounds like he could have been from the American South but he was born and raised in Illinois. His parents were from Kentucky, though, and the family often went back there during summers. He began his musical career in Chicago and stayed there for several years. Many of his songs touched on things from his past in an offbeat way: Paradise, Kentucky (about his parents' hometown), being a mail carrier in Chicago and being a soldier. He died of complications from COVID-19 in 2020. There is finally a hall of fame for singer/songwriters like him: the Folk Americana Roots Hall of Fame in Boston, Massachusetts opened in 2019; he was inducted posthumously in 2023.