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JULY IB, 2008 FLAGPOU.COM 23
/T'Wr%he louvin Brothers' 1960 gospel
S masterpiece, Satan Is Real, ts almost
B as famous for its eccentric cover art
JH as it is for the close-hewn harmo
nies enstuouded therein. With a 12-foot-tall
model of the Devil looming ominously ove r
the Louvin Brothers—who are fittingly dressed
in their Sunday best —the symbolism ot the
scene >s the antithesis of subtle. But for
Charlie louvin, who along with h’s brother ira
recorded some of the most sublime gospel and
country music of ali time, the Christian mes
sage was an important one to display.
"If you believe in God, you have to believe
in the Devil, too," says Charles louvin. now 81
and the sole surviving Louvin brother. "So, we
made what we called the Booger Man. then,
we set the scene in a rock quarry with car tires
and a little bit of kerosene. We gave the devil
a pitchfork. I know that's not the way you see
him today. You might see the Devil today on
the beach in a bikini."
Charlie and Ira louvin, ne Loudermilk, were
born near Sand Mountain in rural Alabama, far
removed from swimsuit-modeling Beel/ebubs
Although their family was poor, both Charlie
and Ira were encouraged to play music. The
duo f’t right into thp predominant artistic
mold of that era, the "brother act" phenom
enon of the 19 30s, which included The Monroe
Brothers, The Blue Sky Boys and The Delmore
B r others. Brother acts were known for their
particularly close harmonies and homegrown
country accompaniment, often consisting
only of a guitar and a mandolin. Although the
competition was steep. The louvin Brothers
distinguished themselves very quickly.
"We won a contrast in Chattanooga,
Tennessee, and if you'd won three Saturday
nights in a row, you'd get a 18 minute-long
radio show on the local radio station," he
says. "We kind of caught on from there. It's
much harder to get into the business today
than it was then."
like most groups of their ilk, the Louvins
rattled off a string of hits before feelinq the
sting of rock and roll. Although, as any musi
cologist would tell you the early rock sound
owed a lot to gospel.
"Elvis Presley opened for.ira and [me] >n
19SS." remembers louvn "! heard him doing
what ended up being called rock and ioil. Of
course, what he did in 19SS would be called
new country' today, but he was a good kid,
sincere He loved country music, and he loved
gospel music, also, and beyond that he loved
his mother Anyone that loves his mother and
•espects her deserves credit for everything."
Even though gospe 1 music ceased to rule
the airwaves, its influence — and particularly
the influence of The louv»n Brothers is still
■i palpable force in the record industry.
In ’908 l*’e Byrd 1 . •»' the behest of Gram
)rdin^ to
MUSIC
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upstairs 10pm: October Frequency /
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| 5 7 19 Thunderchief / Magic For Jesus /
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upstairs 10pm: Latin Night w/
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Life." On a subsequent solo release, Parsons
recorded "Cash on the Barrel Head," by The
Louvin Brothers. They aiso penned Emmylou
Harris’ hit, "If I Could Only Win Your Love.”
"Billy Bob Thornton just recorded 'Knoxville
Girl,'" says Louvin. "I'm anxious to get by a
record store and see what he did to it."
In 2007. Louvin released a self-titled disc
featuring performances by Elvis Costello, Will
Oldham Jeff Tweedy and others. According
to Louvin, producer Mark Nevers recruited
much of the young talent on the record, while
Louvin recruited fellow country stalwarts such
as George Jones and Tom T. Halt.
"I didn't know who all [Nevers] had added
to the project until I got a finished copy of
the record." says Louvin. "Most of them were
in then earlier years, and they were big Louvin
Brothers fans, and they were happy to come
by and lend their talent to the record."
Louvin notes that his audiences are getting
younger. This is probably due in some part to
his recent collaborations, and it doesn't hurt
that louvin has toured with some of today's
most popular acts as well.
"I've toured with Cheap Trick, Cake and The
Detroit Cobras." says Louvin. "And I did about
23 aays with Lucinda Williams." However,
when asked whether classic country music is
resurgent, Louvin bristles.
"I don't really think country music has
gont anywhere," he says. "A lot of people
have recorded rock music and called it coun
try, and the disc jockeys are going right along
with it and confusing the American public to
the point that most country fans just don't
like what's happening on the radio today so
they're going back to their CDs and playing
what they want to hear. It has hurt the radio
stations, but they brought it on themselves."
Even in this age of instant nostalgia, where
the word "legend" is tossed around far too fr?
quently. and MTV is quick to declare the previ
ous week the "Best Ever," Charlie Louvin is a
legend in the truest sense of the word.
"We have a lot of so-called legends in this
business," says Louvin. "But most are legends
in then own mind, not in their own time. A
ieqend is somebody who believes in what he's
doing and does it to the best of his ability.
I'm proud I've been able to do country music
for my entire career. If I live another 40 years
I'll still be smging country music. I might be
singing it free, but I'll still be singing."
Devil be damned.
John Seay
/ \
WHO The Bearfoot Hookers (acoustic),
Charlie Louvin
WHERE The Melting Point
WHEN Friday, July 18
HOW MUCH $17
V . )
■Mft