Harmonica player Merchant's Cafe, Nashville, Tennessee, 1974

Country music, alcohol, tobacco, and cheating love mix well. If you don't believe it, listen to the songs. "Prop Me Up Beside the Jukebox (If I Die)," "Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)," "It Was Always So Easy (To Find an Unhappy Woman)," "Straight Tequila Night," "Six Pack to Go," "There's a Tear in My Beer," "Dim Lights, Thick Smoke (and Loud, Loud Music)."

The term "honky tonk" strictly refers to the type of bar that became popular after prohibition ended in the mid-1930s—a place that was at least a little seedy and usually located on the outskirts of town—away from churches, schools, and God-fearing folks. At a typical honky tonk, one could find live music, alcohol, romance, divorce, friendship, and brawling—and the amplified music of Hank Williams, Lefty Frizell, and Hank Thompson. Of course, there are still a lot of bars that fit this description. But the heyday of the honky tonk ended in the early to mid-1960s with the arrival of the jukebox and recorded music. Country bars today are more likely to be civilized affairs where couples line dance politely with each other and don't actually have affairs. In fact, you'd be hard-pressed to find reference to alcohol, smoking, or cheating in most modern country songs—at least the songs you hear on mainstream country radio.

Many people think of honky tonks as a Southern institution. Not at all. They were everywhere. The photographs here are from different parts of the country, including the Hillbilly Ranch in Boston, located on the edge of the notorious Combat Zone, adjacent to the Continental Bus Terminal. The Lilly Brothers (with Don Stover) from Clear Creek, West Virginia, was the house band for the Hillbilly Ranch for eighteen years (1952–1970). On a given night, you might find sailors from the Charlestown Naval Yard, shipworkers from the Quincy Fore River Shipyard, off-duty bus drivers certainly, secretaries from the Financial District, and slumming college students. Johnny Cash played there, as did Kitty Wells, Little Jimmy Dickens, Tex Ritter, and many others—most of whom are long forgotten.

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