| Excerpted from an interview with Tony Brown:
CSR: Marty Stuart told me his hope for country music is "that we stay true to the cause of music and don't wind up parodies of ourselves." Do you see that happening? How is it prevented?
Tony Brown: Marty is one of the most important people in our business. Someone has to take that stand or we'll all slowly drift away from true country music. Someone has to burn the candle, be the guardian. Marty, Vince, Alison Krauss, Travis Tritt, Emmylou are proud to be on the Opry and really think it's an honor. That's the way it should be treated, as opposed to an old folks home. My favorite country music is the old hillbilly music. When I first heard Marty Brown, I said, "He's surely kin to me!" Marty Stuart loves true country and not every new artist does, although they say they do. Marty treasures all the old bluegrassers, the instruments. He drives out to take pictures of them; it's so important to him. Don Was, who produced Rhythm, Country and Blues feels that way about music; he's Marty across the whole spectrum and they're close friends. Those kind of people are important to our business, and I'm proud to say I know both personally!
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