President Obama on country music, via David Goldstein:
“Now, I know folks think I’m a ‘city boy,’ but I do appreciate listening to country music because like all Americans, I appreciate the broad and indelible impact that country has had on our nation. It’s touched countless lives, it’s influenced all genres of music, it’s helped us make the American people more hopeful, it’s captured our restlessness and resilience, and told so much of our story in the process.
“After all, that’s what country music is all about — storytelling. It’s about folks telling their life story the best way they know how — stories of love and longing, hope and heartbreak, pride and pain. Stories that help us celebrate the good times and get over the bad times. Stories that are quintessentially American. After all, name me any other country that would have produced a Hank Williams or a Willie Nelson.
“And like all great art, a great country song also has a commitment to truth — to telling the truth like it is, without pulling any punches. And generations of performers have honored that commitment. Harlan Howard proclaimed country music “three chords and the truth.
