Davis’ Country Does Not Go Pop

Mac Davis calls it “real country.”

It’s the type of roots-oriented country music that’s being passed over by country radio programmers now who favor songs with a stronger pop appeal.

“There are a lot of R&B; songs today that are being re-cut as country songs,” laments Davis, a veteran singer-songwriter who scored a handful of country and pop hits during the 1970s, including “Baby Don’t Get Hooked on Me” and “I Believe in Music.” “But they just don’t sound like country music. It’s more pop. Country is basic roots music that’s three or four chord turnovers. It’s about people with life experiences writing lyrics that really speak to you.”

A chance to expose what he feels is authentic country music was a principal reason why Davis decided to try his hand at hosting his own free-form radio show every Sunday night. That, and a forum to do something about one of his pet peeves--country stations focused almost solely on reaching the 18-to-34-year-old market that advertisers prize. Davis believes it’s a mistake to assume that young country listeners can’t identify with songs performed by older artists.

So “The Mac Davis Show,” which airs from 7 to 10 p.m. on country station KZLA-FM (93.9), features everything from 1940s western swing tunes by Spade Cooley and Patsy Cline torch ballads from the ‘60s to underexposed new numbers by erstwhile stars such as George Jones and Dolly Parton.

The Lubbock, Texas, native also includes contemporary artists who he feels capture the “real country” spirit. Singers like Clint Black and 17-year-old LeAnn Rimes can also be heard on the program.

But it’s the classic country numbers that really distinguish “The Mac Davis Show” from most country radio. (The program also features sidekick Marina Wilson.)

It’s a formula that, at least with Davis behind the microphone, seems to be working. KZLA Vice President and General Manager Dave Ervin says the audience for “The Mac Davis Show” has increased “about 500% to 600%” since it quietly debuted in August. In fact, Ervin said that Davis and the station have been approached with offers to syndicate the program.

Davis knows in a less scientific way that he’s reaching listeners: “There are people out there who say, ‘What in the world has happened to Waylon Jennings? Why don’t I hear anything from him anymore?’ Or Dolly or Emmylou Harris. When they hear somebody is playing those people, they really appreciate it. I get mail that literally says, ‘Thank you, thank you, thank you for playing these songs that I’ve been wanting to hear.’ ”

The 58-year-old Davis is clearly peeved at what he sees as blatant age discrimination in country radio. He says the vast majority of these stations won’t play works by artists over the age of 40.

When Davis released his last album in 1994 (“Will Write Songs for Food” for Columbia Nashville Records), he was told by radio programmers that he was too old for the youth-oriented market they were targeting.

“Country radio used to play you forever,” he observes, adding that it was rock stations that would drop artists once they were over 30. “But around the late ‘80s that started changing. Rock radio now plays all the old guys from Elton John to the Rolling Stones. In country, once you’re 40, you literally drop off the face off the Earth.”

It was a point of view Ervin first heard last summer when he was introduced to Davis.

“Dave made the mistake of asking me if I had a new album coming out,” Davis recalls. “Of course I kind of lit into him. I said, ‘Why would you want to know that? You’re not going to play it. Nobody plays anybody over 40 in country radio.’ He was kind of taken aback.”

Several weeks later, Ervin approached the 34-year Los Angeles resident about hosting his own no-holds-barred Sunday night program at KZLA.

Easygoing Chats With the Artists

“The Mac Davis Show” is surely one of the few radio shows in existence in which the host is apt to pick up a guitar at a moment’s notice and start singing a tune. Davis once performed an unusual but charming telephone duet with country singer Joe Diffie. Davis played his guitar at the KZLA studio in Los Angeles while Diffie sang the lyrics from his home in Nashville.

Davis’ status as a known artist in country circles has allowed him to corral numerous high-profile guests for his radio show. Rimes, Parton, Black and Trisha Yearwood are some of the country personalities he’s spoken to on his show. These segments tend to come across like conversations between friends.

His skills as a raconteur have also helped endear Davis to his radio audience. He’s chock full of stories that he tries to tie into the songs featured on his show.

“I’ve always told stories with my songs,” says Davis. “So it’s fun telling stories [during the radio show], though some of them I have to clean up a little bit!

“When I talk to somebody during the show, I usually ask them to give me a good road story. I talked to Ronnie Milsap recently and he told me that he once drove the tour bus. And you know Ronnie’s blind!”

Though he still writes songs, Davis considers himself essentially retired from the performing aspect of music. He’s devoted much of his time in recent years to his wife of 17 years and their two young boys, ages 8 and 10. Davis also has an adult son who is 36.

Despite the success of his program, Davis says he has no desire to expand the show to other nights: “Once a week is perfect.”

* “The Mac Davis Show” can be heard every Sunday on KZLA-FM (93.9) from 7 to 10 p.m.

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“Country radio used to play you forever. But around the late ‘80s that started changing. . . . In country, once you’re 40, you drop off the face of the Earth.”

MAC DAVIS

Country singer and host of “The Mac Davis Show” on KZLA-FM (93.9)