The year is 1999. You’re 11 years old and it’s a school night so you scramble to get your homework done so you can watch some TV later. Maybe a little Johnny Tsunami is on the Disney Channel? But when you get over to the TV, mom and dad are already parked in front for the annual CMA Awards. Not bad… You pop a squat next to them and the first thing you see is Alan Jackson and George Strait, giving a big ol’ “F-YOU” to Music Row and the mainstream country music establishment. Of course, I’m talking about Jackson and Strait’s iconic performance of “Murder On Music Row” at the 33rd Annual Country Music Association Awards. Country music was reaching new heights in popularity around the turn of the century, and you had some absolute studs rocking the stage year after year at country music awards ceremonies. However, the “pop-country” sound was slowly starting to make its way into country music radio, and country music purists were not happy, to say the least. Granted, George and Alan were still regularly topping the charts at that time, but they could see what was coming down the pipeline. Alan Jackson and George Strait took the stage that year and took a shot at mainstream Nashville and country radio with a performance of their duet, “Murder On Music Row.” Originally written by Larry Cordle and Larry Shell, and recorded by Larry Cordle & Lonesome Standard Time, it was a lament of the death of traditional country music. George and Alan performed it at the 1999 CMA Awards, and recorded the tune for Strait’s 2000 Latest Greatest Straitest Hits album. Although it was never formally released as a single, it did chart, and went on to win Song of the Year at the CMA Awards the following year. Check out a bit of the lyrics: “For the steel guitars no longer cry And the fiddles barely play But drums and rock ‘n’ roll guitars Are mixed up in your face Ol’ Hank wouldn’t have a chance On today’s radio Since they committed murder Down on music row…” You gotta love it… and we have to take this opportunity to share, because Lord knows the CMAs would never let a singer perform a song like this on stage nowadays. Unfortunately… it got WAY worse for awhile, but now, we’re starting to see a resurgence of traditional country music in the mainstream. We’re even seeing indie acts garner mainstream levels of fame and notoriety… and more importantly for them, ticket sales. “Murder On Music Row” The post CMA Awards 1999: Alan Jackson & George Strait Boldly Call Out Country Radio With “Murder On Music Row” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.