Being something of a country music novice, I’m grateful to Derrick Bostrom for posting a series of well-chosen country collections on his weblog. The latest one is called Disco Goes the Country, covering the crossover period of the mid ’70s when Nashville was trading in authenticity for pop hooks. The songs aren’t terribly disco sounding, but they do have entertaining “kick” and they can even be touching at times. The collection might be the best one yet, in fact.

Actually the songs on that comp are strikingly similar to a new obsession of mine — watching repeats of Pop Goes the Country on the RFD-TV network. I vaguely remember this show when it was originally broadcast; now it’s a hoot watching gnomish Ralph Emery introducing all these sometimes great, sometimes creaky performers. One week they’d have Marty Robbins or Loretta Lynn, the next week they’d have Geri Reichel (fake Jan from The Brady Bunch Variety Hour) or some anonymous blue-jeaned belter that nobody’s ever heard of. I love the music and the tacky disco-like sets. Don’t forget that the show was produced by Showbiz Entertainment, a subsidiary of Holiday Inns, Inc.!