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| Your blog host took this photo of Sherwin, Pam and the group at the county fair in Montevideo, 1997. What a fun time! |
Isn't it amazing how some musicians can be prepared to perform so many songs? I mean, to even know the lyrics to so many songs amazes me. Do you need help sometimes with the National Anthem? The National Anthem is a problem to sing because of the wide vocal range that is needed. You had better get started on the right notes, the lowest notes you can handle. Otherwise you'll be in trouble.
Prolific entertainer Sherwin Linton is prepared to play any of about 5,000 songs. As with the "pros" in any field, I guess you just have to learn to handle it.
Country-western? Well there's a good share of that, but Linton gets into rock 'n' roll and has been known to do a Beatles song or two. I once heard him perform George Harrison's "Got My Mind Set on You." It's a testament to his versatility. And Sherwin loves "Rockabilly."
He has played lots of "small rooms" through the years. It's a place where listeners can feel intimacy with the performers. Lots to be said for that. For most of his career, unfortunately, Linton had the misfortune of playing rooms where cigarette smoke was pervasive. It was the way of the world in our former culture. Many people no doubt did not like this. But smokers got deference because, well, society felt it should be so. There must have been a subtle push to eradicate it.
The push grew to where lawmakers responded. That's the way our government works, albeit in fits and starts usually. We hope Linton and his musicians did not pick up long-term health issues because of the former atmosphere. I remember sitting at the Old No. 1 in Morris and seeing the smoke hang in the air as Linton performed.
"The air is blue," some people would comment, though I've never associated the blue color.
We all associated the smell with it. And yet we put up with it for so long. And we countenanced heavy consumers of alcohol. Maybe it was a legacy of the World War II generation.
Maybe the vices were a means for war vets to overcome symptoms of PTSD. Or maybe our overall society felt those gallant vets should have slack cut for them, for just enjoying themselves. Exhibit 'A' was major Shriners conventions of the mid-20th Century. Ray Stevens had a music release inspired by this. Any mention of this prompts laughter. Behavior that can be termed a vice or peccadillo ought not be considered funny, ever.
The old template for Shriners conventions is extinct, right? The Shriners can go on with their very laudable work helping society. They have always done such things, just like their cousins the veterans service organizations like the American Legion. The Legion once had the same image of alcohol-drenched fun-seeking. Entertainers could do well with these groups, playing conventions and other such things.
Linton over his very long career has done the whole gamut, surely. Younger people today consider Linton a very pleasing regional entertainer who can add spirit to a county fair at one of those side stages. People my age hear the name "Sherwin Linton" and remember him as a guy who was on the cusp of very real Nashville stardom. He gained a foothold for a time but it seemed fleeting. Naturally the music business can be brutal.
If you're approaching music as a business, accept the brickbats with the bouquets. It's like being a pro athlete: the feedback is immediate and blunt. You're tagged out on the basepaths, the ump signals "out," a whole lot of people see it and you jog back to the dugout. Athletes and musicians probably develop a distinct perspective on life because of this lack of subtlety.
In the workplace, you might be reprimanded by a note left on your desk by a superior who is too cowardly to look you in the eye. Sports and music get you an appraisal that will be "in your face," a thrill if you "top the charts," a bummer if your song is a "dud."
Pete Best got fired as drummer for the Beatles. He gained permanent infamy for that. Of course he should not have let it bother him. How many people could claim to be a former member of the Beatles? Best had to be on the defensive quite a bit. But his time "in the arena" as musician eventually got rewarded! This was when the Beatles' "Anthology" came out with old tunes that had Best playing.
So let's say it's a volatile world and for the Beatles, a nonstop fishbowl world. How many of us would really want to partake in this?
Linton is known for having a particular song get commercial traction. "Cotton King" was/is his signature song. He came to be called "The Cotton King." What? A guy from South Dakota? Well, why not? The song reflected a rural atmosphere that might be felt anywhere in the U.S. The South Dakota State Fair includes "Cotton King Avenue" in Linton's honor.
Linton and I once mused about how the Minnesota governor referred to South Dakota as "50th in everything."
The song "Cotton King" was released way back in 1967. Radio took to it. The Midwest was enlivened by it. I tried looking up how the song did on the Billboard country chart but could not find this.
Long-time followers of Linton speculate on how he seemed to fall from his once-high perch. We needn't define success that way of course. Linton and his wife Pam have a rich background of entertaining fans in a wholesome way. Theirs has been a music life. Sherwin has been a trooper with sound health. We should all be so fortunate.
We can't avoid the topic of how Linton slipped from his once-rarefied perch. Maybe he didn't really want it? It's a theory. Some might say he relied on his impersonation of Johnny Cash too much. In professional music it's essential to establish your own identity. So important is this, look what Hank Williams Jr. decided long ago. He dazzled his way to the top with a completely fresh persona.
What might have been
A pivotal point for Linton was when he had a missed opportunity. He recorded "Cotton King," the song by Wayne Carson Thompson, in October of 1966. He was in Nashville. Where else? He was joined by some top musicians. The guitar/dobro player offered him a song but time was limited that day. That, plus Linton considered the lyrics a little complicated, so it was put aside. It would be considered for the following spring.
Linton was slated to return to the studio. But before he did, another musician had picked up the song. And what was the song? "Gentle on my Mind." Glen Campbell built his fame with it. The song won four Grammy awards in 1968.
Linton and his group played the Brown County Fair, Aberdeen SD, when "Cotton King" marked its 50th anniversary in 2017. I attended the Brown County Fair once and found it wonderful. I wonder if it has the same trademark now as then: a re-constructed "wild west" main street with an instructor speaking on gunfighting techniques! You don't forget that. I mentioned this fair in a conversation with concessionaire Jerry Jesness and he instantly pointed out the gunfighting demo!
The fairs in Aberdeen and Fargo are just right for me: not too big, not too small.
Linton can surely write songs himself. Yours truly strives with this also. But I surely cannot memorize song lyrics the way Linton does. What a gift!
Wayne Carson Thompson also wrote the songs "Always on My Mind" and "The Letter." Linton said he was surprised by the success of "Cotton King." Well, artists are supposed to talk like that about their successes. Mark Lindsay thought "Indian Reservation" might be a dud, or so he said! But you just never know about such things. Reading the public? Its tastes? It's daunting. But never boring.
To be sure, Linton's life has been the opposite of boring. What if Linton had recorded "Gentle On My Mind?" Intriguing question.
One thing for sure: Linton had the charisma to be a top Nashville star. His smile and personality were winning. But the standards for achieving such stardom are exacting in the extreme, also subject to serendipity. Maybe a little politics too. I mean, is the Pope Catholic?
Maybe Linton is fortunate to have been spared the fishbowl life of a top star. Just like the original drummer of the Beatles. Sherwin and Pam project ideal happiness and artistic fulfillment. What else matters?
Sherwin and the group will be at our Stevens County Fair on August 15, Sunday!
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
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