preview_BCD16633

There’s a name for music like this. In fact there are quite a few labels that have been used to describe the wretched excess on display here. Some describe the music as maudlin or mawkish. Others call the songs “tear jerkers” or refer to them as schmaltz or kitsch . These are songs guaranteed to make you feel good about your own life, in comparison to the poor people in these lyrics. And what an assortment we have on display here! Sad cases of every description. Drunks. Beggars. Homeless people. Dead soldiers. Orphans. Nobody is safe. Little children are run down by automobiles in these songs. Even the family pet is fair game if there’s a chance the dying pooch will wrestle a tear or two from the listener. Most of the tracks on this collection stem from the 1950s and ’60s, but don’t be fooled. The ‘Shit Happens’ genre started a lot earlier. Just listen to the earliest recorded country music by artists 2 PREVIEW