RIP John Anderson
John Anderson was one of the handful of Country artists who brought New Traditionalism onto the mainstream Country charts in the early 80's. George Strait and Ricky Skaggs are often mentioned with him as those that broke through. These acts went against the dominant Country Pop sound that was defined as the Urban Cowboy era. By the mid-80's other neo-trad artists like Randy Travis, Keith Whitley, Reba McEntire, Dwight Yoakam were following their lead.
Of the three names I mentioned earlier (Skaggs, Strait), Anderson was the most aligned with the Honky-tonk Golden Age of the 50's and 60's. His voice, style and the type of songs he sang were more suited for fans of Lefty Frizzell, George Jones, Merle Haggard and others from that era.
His breakthrough came in 1980 and his first album, but it was his second album, John Anderson 2, that was the classic that set him up for the rest of the decade. All his Warner Brothers albums through the mid-80's are great. His first greatest hits album from 1984 belongs on any music fans shelf.
The closest he came to a crossover Pop hit was 1983's "Swingin", a song he co-wrote which stopped at #43. It turned out to be his signature song and a gold record. But a pure Country voice like Anderson's wasn't made for the Pop charts. "Swingin" introduced me to Anderson and a lot of others in a big way in 1983.
After he left WB in the late 80's the quality dipped a bit, but in 1992 he signed with RCA and made a superb comeback with Seminole Wind. His second run on the charts would last until the late 90's. The albums became sporadic in the 2000's, but they were still full of quality material. His last album came out in 2020 and it turned out to be a very good send off.
Anderson was finally inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2024. A new generation of singers like Blake Shelton, Luke Combs and Sturgill Simpson cited him as an influence. In 2022 he even got the tribute album treatment. Despite the late career accolades, I always felt Anderson was underrated compared to other Country artists from his peak era. Still, he was a superb singer and songwriter (he's in the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame) whose records continue to shine on Classic Country radio.
posted by Tom Lane at 7:50 AM
