By BLUEGRASS JOHNSON
Rural Route Music 

BITTERSWEET, Ky. — For those of you tuning in to catch a little news on your favorite country stars, bear with me for a bit. I will get to the country part, I promise.

But first, a little background on a group that became one of my favorites during my teen years. In 1976, I was 16 and just getting my musical feet wet. I had been exposed to country and bluegrass all of my life at that point, but my wonderful mother bought me the Doobie Brothers Album, Takin’ It to the Streets for Christmas that year – and life as I knew it changed, at least from my musical perspective. For those music historians, yes, the 1976 release was not the first for the band, in fact, they were already established as one of the most popular rock groups of that decade by the time this album came out.

What piqued my interest was a change toward a more soulful, rhythm and blues genre that would take this group to the top of the charts while becoming one of the top live acts of the day … and yes, I sat 10 rows back at my first Doobie Brothers’ concert. For me, it was fun music and a very talented group; so diverse in their sound. They kept that original rock background that launched them but blended in this jazzy, soul seasoning that not only appealed to the youngsters of the day but an older crowd, as well. I think this added diversity would set the stage for other acts to follow and fortify the Doobies’ place in music history.

In one form or fashion, the members have remained on the music scene either as solo acts or in revamped versions of the original ensemble ever since.

Now I’m headed toward the country part. Last year the Brothers released an album titled Southbound that brought back many of their biggest hits with a little help from some famous country stars. What resulted was an enjoyable remembrance of those teen days for me and another gem to the Doobie Brothers’ catalog for those of us who had collected everything these guys ever recorded.

Country superstars like Sara Evans, Brad Paisley, Blake Shelton, Vince Gill and the Zac Brown Band, are just some who shared their talents on this release.

I will admit that a few so-called critics out there weren’t so kind to Southbound; but for many country fans and Doobie Brothers followers alike, this was a great album full of great songs performed by great artists. It a word, it was – great.

I learned a couple of things by way of this collection; first, memories are like Christmas gifts from a time gone by, and this album brought back wonderful memories for me. Secondly, bringing different musical genres together is like blending your mashed potatoes and peas; you don’t know how good it is until you try it.

Southbound and the Dobie Brothers get a huge A+ from my gradebook and a big "thank you" from my heart.

Bluegrass Johnson comes from a long line of country music performers and enjoys a passion for the rhythm and melody. From the hills of Kentucky, he will offer his opinions on a variety of new country music each week. Readers with questions or comments may write to Johnson in care of this publication.