As the genre of country music continues to take in different sounds and trends of pop and R&B, many fans keep asking the existential question: Is real country music is dead? Is the classic sound and genuine lyrics that made the country music industry become the honored tradition that we know and love now just a memory? Well if you are looking for that reassurance that all is not lost, look no further than Ricky Cook. This coal-miner’s son, and native of Tennessee, recently released his debut album Thanks A Lot, Loretta and from start to finish, the album will satisfy that desire for authenticity.
Kicking off with a song appropriately titled “Country Joe,” the track sets the tone for rest of the album. The honky-tonk jam easily gets you up on your feet ready to dance as the lyrics show how grounded Cook is:
I’m a backwoods, redneck Country Joe
I’m a son of the south from my head down to my toes
I’ve got white lightning running through my veins
And I keep that engine runnin’ on that long black train
Cook’s wit and humor come front and center in songs like “Hangin’ With My Country Peeps” and “Honk For A Hottie,’ but its his ballads that are the gems of the album. “It’s All In the Kiss” is reminiscent of classic country love songs conjuring up visions of couples dancing in unison to the sway of the tune as the lyrics tell the simple truth that while material things may be great, a small gesture like a kiss is the true indicator of love. Cook tips his hat to one of his idols, Conway Twitty, embodying the iconic smooth style as he swoons his lady in the sensual “I Want to See You Satisfied.”
As an inspiration to him not only as a musician but also as a person, Cook has a lot to thank Loretta Lynn for. Being a coal miner’s daughter, she proved that you didn’t have to be from a big city to follow your dream. In his “Getting to Know” interview featured on The Country Note in March, Cook explained the background story to the title track “Thanks A Lot, Loretta,” which didn’t exactly end up the way he originally intended: “I had the title, ‘Thanks a Lot, Loretta,’ and my intention was to pretty much pour my heart out and tell her how much I love her, but it didn’t quite come out that way! Somehow it got twisted around, and I kind of started to blame her for having to straighten up and do right. I hope she knows it’s all tongue-in-cheek, maybe a little like her early songs.”
So to those who dread that real country music is long gone, we say “have no fear.” Classic country is alive and well, thanks in part to a coal miner’s son named Ricky Cook.
For more information on Ricky Cook, and to purchase Thanks A Lot, Loretta, visit his website: www.rickycookmusic.com
Thanks A Lot, Loretta Tracklist:
1. Country Joe
2. Hangin’ with My Country Peeps
3. Honk for a Hottie
4. It’s All in the Kiss
5. Chewin’ Beechnut
6. Kissin’ Tree
7. Thanks a Lot, Loretta
8. Blood, Sweat and Mud
9. Call Me a Sinner
10. If That’s Just Too Country
11. I Want to See You Satisfied
12. Mess up the Bed