TCBCast 288: Elvis and Country Music, Part 3: The "Country Boy" Embraces the Nashville Sound of the 1960s

Garrett Cash rejoins Justin for Part 3 of the epic Elvis and Country Music saga as they start by breaking down the Nashville Sound, the members of the Nashville A-Team and the state of country music in the early 60s as the establishment puts up artificial barriers in an attempt to shun Elvis Presley and his irreversible influence.

Then, Elvis arrives home from the military and we find him both fully embracing, and influencing, the evolution of the Nashville Sound through the early 1960s. There's a brief sidebar in the mid-60s to discuss the folk movement, what Bob Dylan's producer had to do with Elvis movie songs, and Elvis' place in the evolution of the genre of country-rock. 1966 then marks the arrival of country producer Felton Jarvis to Elvis' RCA sessions before delving into the "quiet comeback" era as Elvis goes hard into traditional country both at home, in the studio and in his movies in the lead-up to the 1968 Comeback. 

This episode close just before hitting American Sound, as Garrett & Justin decide they want to do that material the justice it deserves, but not before setting everyone up to better appreciate what Elvis and Chips were going for by exploring the links between country and soul music. This episode sets out to try to do some impossible tasks in a limited amount of recording time available, making it perhaps one of the most information-dense episodes of TCBCast yet. 

You can find more of Garrett on "The Beat! With Garrett Cash" on SoundCloud at: https://soundcloud.com/garrett-cash-635212819

As well as on the Let It Roll Podcast miniseries "Holy Roll" at: https://letitrollpodcast.substack.com/p/let-it-roll-with-garrett-cash 

In late October 2023 we will be releasing a YouTube and Spotify playlist with as many songs featured on this series as possible. Stay tuned to our social media pages for details. This series would not be possible without the support of TCBCast Patreon backers, thank you to all of our patrons!

This is not remotely comprehensive or in any order whatsoever but among some of the key resources that we found useful for this 3rd episode are:

Ken Burns’ Country Music - Documentary, Book & Soundtrack

Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley by Peter Guralnick

Looking Back to See: A Country Music Memoir by Maxine Brown

John Gilliland's Pop Chronicles & The Pop Chronicles Interviews via University of North Texas: https://digital.library.unt.edu/explore/collections/JGPC/

Cocaine and Rhinestones: "The Nashville A-Team" by Tyler Mahan Coe: https://cocaineandrhinestones.com/nashville-a-team 

Goldmine Magazine: "Dylan producer Bob Johnston recalls lifetime of musical memories" by Patrick Prince: https://www.goldminemag.com/features/dylan-producer-bob-johnston-recalls-lifetime-of-musical-memories 

Creating Country Music: Fabricating Authenticity by Richard Peterson

Writing for the King by Ken Sharp

Elvis Presley: A Life in Music by Ernst Jorgensen

Holler: "Solomon Burke: The Country Star?" By Marcus K. Dowling: https://holler.country/feature/solomon-burke-the-country-star

The Nashville Sound by Paul Hemphill

How Nashville Became Music City, USA by Michael Kosser