Now a new study indicates that might not be such a farfetched idea. In a yearlong look at 49 metropolitan areas, sociologists Jim Gundlach of Auburn University and Steven Stack of Wayne State University found that the more radio time was devoted to country music, the greater the suicide rate among whites. The study, published in the journal Social Forces, stops short of suggesting a direct cause and effect. But it says country themes do “foster a suicidal mood.” Even allowing for such other causes as poverty, divorce and money troubles, says Stack, “it’s an association that just won’t go away.”
C&W is not the first brand of pop to be accused of promoting mayhem. A 1986 suit against the heavy-metal group Judas Priest unsuccessfully claimed one of the band’s albums had prompted two young fans to attempt suicide. Country folks complain they are unfairly stereotyped as doom and gloomers just because the songs confront real-life problems. “An argument could be made as easily that they promote awareness and mental health,” says Bill Ivey, director of Nashville’s Country Music Foundation. All of that is changing, anyway, say the C&W people. There’s a rebellion against the tears-in-their-beers genre. A current country joke runs, “What do you get when you play country music backwards? You get sober, get your job back, your dog comes home, you get your wife back. . .”
And best of all, one might add, you get rid of these conehead academic types who probably wouldn’t know a smokey from a Twinkie.
