Well, hell, what chance did Bocephus have? He's written some pretty good tunes. He's not the man his Daddy was, but then who is? I am also a fan of older country (Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, Hank Snow,Patsy Cline, Louvin Bros, Earl Monroe), but there are a lot of newer artists I admire, including Steve Earl and Dwight Yoakam. I also am a fan of the many artists who modified Country music (for better or worse) into the New Country it has become- Gram Parsons and Emmy Lou Harris, the Clarence White-era Byrds, The Flying Burritos, Poco, etc.Unfortunately, most of the grit of early country has been polished out by the Big Nashville Producers and record labels. But anyway, I believe Hank was the greatest Tunesmith of them all, with Haggard just a skosh behind him.

LEJ