The widely admired country neotraditionalist John Anderson has passed at the age of 71.
Anderson was proud of the fact that he worked on the roof of the Grand Ole Opry House long before he was invited to grace its stage. Not just because it made for a good story, but because it spoke to the type of country artist he was: one who fashioned his thoroughly down-to-earth, blue-collar sensibilities into enduringly vital music.
Anderson had done his share of rocking during his rural Florida youth, but he was also an admirer of honky-tonk’s great expressive voices. Lefty Frizzell. George Jones. Merle Haggard. And when Anderson began to score his own hits in the early 1980s, it wasn’t by aiming for what was popular at the time, but embracing his thrilling idiosyncrasies as a singer.
Thanks to the often rollicking, mischievous songs he selected and the gutsy way he dug into the melodies’ bluesy bends, his music was instantly recognizable.
Even when Anderson evolved from a country hitmaker into an elder statesman and slowed his touring, he still followed his gut. After a mysterious health condition caused him sudden and catastrophic hearing loss for which he sought successful treatment at Vanderbilt, he made one last deeply felt album and conveyed his gratitude to his doctors by playing a benefit show at the Ryman Auditorium.
John Anderson sings for the doctors who gave him his music back
In recognition of the mark he’d made, Anderson received what he considered the ultimate honor in 2024: induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
“It’s a long, long road from Apopka, Florida, to standing right here on this stage,” he reflected during his acceptance speech. “But I must say … I got to choose my own way. And I said I wouldn’t really trade with anyone, because it was my way.”
And we can surely hear that in the music Anderson left behind.
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