During a recent interview, Jones spoke his mind about new country music stars as well as traditional country artists reaching into other genres for songs, like Johnny Cash did when he recorded Nine Inch Nails’ “Hurt.”
Responding to a question about today’s country artists like Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood, the 78-year-old Jones gave the young stars a backhanded compliment, saying while they’re good, “they’ve stolen our identity.”
“They had to use something that was established already, and that’s traditional country music,” Jones said. “So what they need to do really, I think, is find their own title, because they’re definitely not traditional country music.”
Which artists, in Jones view, still perform traditional country music? Read on.
“It’s good to know that we still do traditional country music,” Jones said. “Alan Jackson still does it, so does George Strait. We still have it, and there’s quite a few of us that are going to hope that it comes back one of these days.”
Although Jones didn’t directly comment about Cash’s recording of “Hurt,” when asked about reaching outside the world of country music for songs, he did have a few choice words about one particular genre – rap, calling it “tacky.”
“How can you call that music,” Jones said. “Now, I love music, too. I love all kinds. I really do. I’ve got Brook Benton. I like his singing. Ray Charles. I’ve got an open mind. But now, you can’t call rap, talking stuff like that, music. No, no, no, you’ve got to have another name for that.”
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