Whitey Morgan and the 78′s tear Country back down to its roots
Whitey Morgan and the 78′s are a band out of Flint, Mich. and they have a good rootsy style of Outlaw Country that brings the genre back down to its roots. If you’re used to the country more commonly heard on popular radio stations, you know nothing of what to expect from this group. Despite the bar brawler image, Whitey is a very nice guy and as open sharing his commendations on other artists as he is his criticisms (the climate of the mainstream is a source of great anguish for Whitey).
Whitey grew up in Flint and he saw the devastation the economic slump has caused there. Seeing the pain of these experiences on the faces of his family, friends and neighbors allowed him to give the frustration and anger of the working man genuine voice. Whitey’s music doesn’t have the Hollywood shine of artists like Kenny Chesney or Brooks & Dunn. It doesn’t feel like a product catered by the rich to be received by the poor, but rather feels as though it is the voice of the blue collar population put in its purest form to honky tonk song structure and blues emotion.
Below is a slideshow of a concert the band played at The Village Idiot in Maumee, Ohio on January 15, 2011. Whether you like Blues, Country or both, Whitey Morgan and the 78′s are an act worth your listen.
Want to learn more about this show and the band? Follow the link below to my story published in a Jan. 14 issue of The BG News.
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March 20th, 2011 at 5:20 pm
I saw these guys at the Idiot before. They’re awesome! They opened for another band (also great), and I was surprised to find out that they weren’t the headliners.
March 21st, 2011 at 8:34 am
According to the bar’s head chef, Tom Sullivan, WM and the 78′s originally came to the Idiot as an opener but out-performed the act they were supporting, so the Idiot then sought to book Whitey every chance they could. It may well be the show you’re talking about.
I only had the chance of fully interviewing Whitey, but at the show I spoke to their pedal steel guitar player a bit as well. I was amazed to learn he had only been playing the instrument three years, given his performance and the difficulty of the instrument.