James Akenson
No doubt some Aussies are a bit skeptical of United States foreign policy. Some blokes and blokettes might be leery of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). and other intelligence operations of the U.S. Pentagon. President Trump doesn’t care much for the work of the U.S. intelligence agencies since he, like Johnny Carson’s Carnack, is all knowing and all seeing. Forget about experts.
But…this is International Country Music (ICM) and we want to keep it country. We’re not here to dabble in secret intrigue, meeting agents in far-of-corners of the world, supplying weapons to the approved dictators or rebels, electronic eaves dropping, and a variety of dirty tricks So what’s this got to do with Country Music in general and Country Music artist Lila McCann, in particular you say? Plenty!
This CUA piece wanders and connects threads of trivia in varied corners my mind. You might say it’s going to be a tapestry of sorts that just might be fun in these trying COVID-19 times. We might slyly say it will be fun on the Bayeaux. Better yet, we could sing Hank Williams that son of a gun we’ll have big fun on the BAYOU.
This Country Music tapestry will be woven together with a variety of threads wandering, meandering through my mind. Kind of like the Mississippi River wanders and meanders receiving water from its tributaries going all the way from Minnesota to Louisiana. The Mississippi River dominates much of the U.S. It’s worthy of Jimmie Rodgers’ and Charley Pride’s homage much less the theme in loads of other songs and literature.
The wandering and meandering weaving of tapestry threads will relate to Country Music, intelligence agencies like the CIA, and Lila MCCann down-the-pike. The wandering and meandering threads of this Bayeux Bayou tapestry also bring to mind road songs like Sam Hunt’s Body Like a Back Road and Rascal Flatts God Bless the Broken Road.
God bless the broken road that lead me straight to you makes a powerful statement. It’s true of so many things in all of our lives. I found some fascinating Broken Road connections that surprised me as my limited brain cobbled this all together. Come to think of it, The Road is a theme throughout Country Music and literature. Willie Nelson wants to be On The Road Again so it must be good stuff!
In fact, I’ve used God Bless The Broken Road lyrics various times in teaching, in writing, and in honoring fellow Country Music Scholars. One event involved Wayne Daniel, author of the definitive history of Country Music in Atlanta, Georgia Pickin On Peachtree. Daniel gave me a chance to use God Bless The Broken Road in his honor. Years ago when he retired Daniel donated his Country Music research collection to the Special Collections division of the Georgia State University.
He asked me to make comments at the official reception and ceremony. I crafted my comments about my life’s unexpected twists and turns related to Country Music and to my relationship with Wayne Daniel. God Bless The Broken Road provided the unifying thread of many events in my life that lead me right to friendship with Daniel and with Country Music.
That is exactly the nature of thinking we can do about the link between Country Music artist Lila McCann and something really bizarre. What could be more bizarre than Tesla auto guru Elon Musk and his partner Grimes naming of their new baby boy? Want to name your son John, Jeremy, Tex, Geoff, Slim, or Harry. That’s fine, but It’s B-O-R-I-N-G.
Let’s go with Grimes and Musk and name their son X AE A-12. What’s that you say. Yes! X AE-A12. Want to register that on the birth certificate? How do you pronounce it? Seems as if Musk and Grimes can’t completely agree on the pronunciation. Vanity Fair magazine says:
Mom says the “Æ” is pronounced “A.I.” but dad says it is “Ash.” What’s weirdest is how both parents say the A-12 part was selected because it represents the precursor of their favorite aircraft, the SR-71, but there has been no explanation for why they didn’t just go ahead then and call the boy SR-71. This is, perhaps, the true mark of genius.
It seems that the different views of the parents created some tension judged by a somewhat snarky exchange through social media. Grimes posted about the name, but had a typo that Musk corrected. Didn’t sit well with Grimes !”Grimes shot back at the Tesla founder, who pointed out a typo in her explanation of their son’s name.
“I am recovering from surgery and barely alive so may my typos b forgiven but, damnit,”
The typo had to do with Grimes writing SR-17 instead of SR 71.
Now we’re getting close to Country Music artist Lila McCann. But first…does this just sound like a time we should first mention Shel Silverstein and Johnny Cash? I think so! A Boy Named Sue is a classic everyone should know. After all, it’s Johnny Cash and a song about a father who name his boy Sue.
Down-the-line I think it’s possible that X AE A-12 Musk just might want to change his name to Bill or George!….anything but X AE A12! Come to think of it….this is all too over-the-top. That means someone is going to write and record A Boy Named Sue parody that uses X AE A12. Trust me on this…it won’t be long before there will be parodies on youtube.
Now, boiz and gurlz, let’s get down to the business at hand…Lila McCann. She’s from the state of Washington on the West Coast, but she’s now lives in Nashville. Lila McCann recently made a ritual visit to visit Philip Gibbons in Cookeville, Tennessee at 94.7 The Country Giant. Country Music artists have to do such visits to build, or rebuild, their careers.
Lila McCann burst onto the Country Music scene in 1997 as a sixteen year old with Down Came a Blackbird. There’s the unusual connection in my brain. I immediately thought of Lila McCann when Elon Musk and Grimes named their son.
They like the A-12 spy aircraft used by U.S. intelligence agencies and know of it’s successor the faster, more capable SR-71. Both are known by the name Blackbird. The CIA wouldn’t want to lose an A-12 or the SR-71. Down Came a Blackbird in the world of U.S. espionage could be embarrassing and damage U.S. standing in world affairs. It happened with the U-2 spy plane.
In 1960 Francis Gary Powers’ U2 spy plane…a predecessor to the A-12 and SR-71 Blackbirds…fell to a Russian surface-to-air (SAM) missile. The incident increased Cold War tensions AND brought about another Country Music song by Red River Dave. The Trial Of Francis Powers. The super patriotic lyrics and Battle Hymn of the Republic melody claimed glory glory he’s a hero…who flew for Uncle Sam. It was a messy international affair.
The U.S. didn’t need the SR-71 Blackbird to come down from Soviet surface-to-air-missiles. Fortunately, the SR-71 avoided a shootdown and a messy international Cold War situation. At sixteen Lila McCann did a fine job with her Blackbird song. Her Blackbird came down willfully. Her Blackbird came down because of a bad relationship with a man who hangs around the house always shootin’ off his mouth.
Well, so much for the Bayeux Bayou tapestry of The Broken Road trip you say. Well…not quite. Something else happened as I delved into the naming of the Grimes-Musk baby. Of course, I did some additional looking into Lila McCann. She has a same sex marriage partner. At one time this would be totally scandalous and would have made it impossible to have a Country Music career.
Yes, there’s still prejudice against the gay lifestyle and same sex marriage. But it doesn’t send shock waves through the industry and fan base. It’s only been in recent years that Country Music artists have become to ‘come out.’ Chelly Wright of Single White Female fame lived a straight life style before finally announcing her sexual preference.
Lila McCann can now point to the likes of Brandi Carlile of the Highwomen living openly gay and prospering in Nashville. Whether Lila McCann will ever have the visibility she experienced as a teenager is a tough question. Nothing about a career in Country Music is easy.
Well then. The threads of the Bayeux Bayou God Bless the broken road that lead me STRAIGHT to you tapestry takes on yet another twist through Lila McCann’s personal life. Over the years, Bayeux Bayou tapestry threads lead me embrace Country Music, view diversity in a positive light, and connect all sorts of seemingly unrelated ideas.
The Beayeux Bayou Broken Road tapestry may seem like an odd travelogue. From Elon Musk and Grimes giving their son an unconventional name to a wide variety of connections unexpected by my Bayeux Bayou tapestry continues to be woven. Weaving together a tapestry of relationships suggests that the fabric of each person’s Country Music world can be unique yet unified. Each connection does have a logic.
Each thread contributes to your Country Music tapestry. I’m most surprised by weaving the Red River Dave Ballad of Francis Powers into my personal Bayeux Bayou tapestry. Think about it, mate. Your personal tapestry of Country Music might surprise you as well. Give your Bayeux Bayou Country Music tapestry some thought. It can enhance us all as you discover unexpected connecting threads. Weave on! Keeping It Country, y’all. Bayeux Bayou for now.
