I rarely tune-in for celebrity award shows these days. That being said, I do make an exception when it comes to Country & Western music because my daddy reared me in the backdrop of C&W greats. I picked up the remote and clicked to CBS for a moment to get a flavor of the 42nd Annual CMA awards show. With Reba in charge, I decided it was worth the try though I fully expected to click on before the first 15 minutes of the show passed. Lo and behold, with the exception of the one, awkward, embarrassing, women-scantily-dressed-dancing-girls performance, the show was fun, funny, uplifting, and honored the land of the free and the home of the brave. Thank you CMA! Thank you CBS! Maybe the latter really does care beyond the celebrity-pretty platitudes touted as CBS Cares. Kudos!
Though they ask for no "credit," I choose to credit the seasoned professionals in C&W music for the turnaround to good of the awards presentation. I believe it began with Alan Jackson and Rascal Flatts. Alan Jackson's song Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning) rocketed him to even greater fame - a household word. He chose to humbly start promoting his gratefulness by urging us to give others in his industry a chance to earn accolades rather then piling more awards on him. WOW! Then followed Rascal Flatts who turned down a best group award in 2002 or 2003, I believe it was their first CMA award after receiving the Horizon Award, to give it to Alabama, a fellow nominee in their farewell year. Rascal Flatts believed their time was yet to come and that Alabama should be acknowledged the winner for a lifetime of consistent excellence. WOW!
As an outsider, I observed those elegant expressions being instrumental to a "bring back" by country music to traditional American values - God, apple pie, and motherhood. The "big players" began noticeably mentoring the up and coming. The up and coming let it be known they were grateful as they were given chances to excel. The pinnacle of the change for me was this year when George Strait came back, participated, and received awards. WOW
WOW = Wonders Over Whining: Whine all you want about the unseemly displays on the television from costume malfunctions to disgusting parenting; my heart tells me and CMA/CBS showed me that there are still heroes, that is, entertainment leaders in this country who have decided their love of who we are as a country and destined to be as a people is worth standing up for and caring about. They are staying the course rather than sitting on their laurels and basking in past glory. The glory road is now and they know it! They have not forgotten who continues to bring them to the party and why. (Would that the US Congress would get that!) My list of super stars is not only the courageous, seasoned C&W artists but also new entries who will, hopefully, choose to stay the course, keep county music with the heart from in the heartland of the decent people we strive to be to each other and to other nations who look to us to be “that shining city on a hill."
Here's my short list of real deal, right now leaders: Reba McEntire, Alan Jackson, Vince Gill, George Strait, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, Martina McBride, Kelly Clarkson (She is bringing class to pop music and shows her connection to values by appearing on CMA.), Carrie Underwood, Rascal Flatts, Brooks and Dunn, Little Big Town, Keith Urban. Thanks, fellow Americans.
I take-it-to-the-streets by mentoring high school advisory groups (www.strengthbankinc.org). I am confident that when I use examples of music to inspire teens, I can again count on the fact that most of C&W lyrics, performers, and inspirations are solid. Those who influence and lead us are not the ones who buttonhole us and yakety-yak, they are the ones who, like the lilies of the field, live out their usefulness and purpose in simple, inspiring glory akin to the stars in Heaven.
I am glad to be on the band wagon with you CMA and CBS! Now for you, reader. How are you taking personal leadership to the streets of this great land?
Sandra Shelton, BA, MEd., CTACC, Fort Worth, Texas, is an engaging international speaker, author, workplace relationship consultant, and nonprofit CEO. StrengthBank® - Communication WorkOuts™ are brilliant in their simplicity and powerful in their effectiveness. They are now being applied to business people who mentor in local high schools during advisory periods. To learn more about StrengthBank® and its author www.strengthbank.com or www.talkgroups-mentors.org
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