Country music remembrances

In which part of an e-mail exchange poses as a blog post, and I show my age and nerdity.

Me: (in response to a link to "Whatcha Gonna Do With a Cowboy" by Chris LeDoux) Yeee haw!

He: Among my many musical oddities: I like country music that sounds like older country and western -- like that. Country song popular in the 1960s or 1970s? I probably know all the words.

Me: I grew up listening to (or being forced to listen to) the likes of Freddy Fender, Tom T. Hall, Conway Twitty and others. I can still listen to Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash, but most of the new country just sounds like twangy pop to me. So I can understand your "musical oddities."

He: So you... you remember the year that Clayton Delaney died?? (/arcane test)

Me: No. But I do remember the night that the lights went out in Georgia. And that day Billy Joe McAllister jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge.

He: He jumped because ROBBY BENSON DIDN'T GET THE OSCAR FOR THAT ROLE!! Ahem. The preceding microrant was gayer than a sequined handbag full of rainbows.

Me: Robby Benson WAS dreamy.

My apologies to those of you too young and/or hip to get the references. And even more apologies to those of you old enough and/or nerdy enough to get the references -- your ear worm of the day.