Country Mike Blog

Their shoes

Mike Sudhalter  |  October 23, 2007

"Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes?"

It's a question every aspiring country artist should ask themselves. When George Jones recorded this song, it was asking who's going to fill the shoes of legends like Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson and others.

Now, the question is who will fill the shoes of people like Alan Jackson and George Strait. I think Brad Paisley and Josh Turner are capable of carrying the torch for traditional country sounds.

I'd never seen the "Shoes" video before, but it's pretty symbolic. Country isn't the same as it used to be. And we have gas stations that are seldom visited because new roads have been built.

Can you imagine a country star today signing a guitar for a gas station owner, let alone conversing with him? Probably not today, but maybe back in the 50's or 60's.

Change is sometimes a mixed blessing. It's great that we have new technology and better, more efficient highways, but sometimes you lose some of that personal touch.

I think new country singers will emerge to fill the shoes of the legends, but they'll always do it a little bit differently. And that's how it should be.