Charlie Louvin
The Parish, Wednesday, March 14
Introduced as a member of the Grand Ole Opry since 1955, Charlie Louvin is a bona fide country music legend well deserving of an anxious music throng. Closing in on 80, Louvin didn’t disappoint those looking for a down-home experience. It’s difficult to say bad things about your aging country uncle especially if he’s as easygoing and jovial as Louvin was. Still, as he put it in “Must You Throw Dirt in My Face,” “my better days are behind me.” He attempted to dampen some of his vocal liabilities by allowing backup singer Diane Berry to take a lead or two, but after about 20 minutes of less-than-stellar renditions of his and brother Ira’s best known hits, “Atomic Power,” “Blues Stay Away From Me,” the assembled grew restless with loud conversations nearly drowning out the band. Still, if you came looking for one of country music’s most important chapters, Louvin being there in the flesh was more than worth the wear and tear of time.This article appears in March 16 • 2007.