Who I am is who I wanna be

To finish up our Reba coverage this month, we wanted to talk about what she’s been up to for the past decade, since she’s only released 3 studio albums in that time – and I don’t count any of them among essential listening.  You should check out her take on the Kenny Rogers-penned ‘Sweet Music Man’ [...]

Happy birthday, Kitty Wells!

My Kind of Country salutes the Queen of Country Music on her 90th birthday. Kitty Wells was the first female artist to have a #1 country hit back in 1952 with “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels” and in doing so paved the way for other women such as Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, [...]

Week ending 8/29/09 – #1 singles this week in country music

1949: I’m Throwing Rice (At The Girl I Love) — Eddy Arnold (RCA)
1959: The Three Bells — The Browns (RCA)
1969: A Boy Named Sue — Johnny Cash (Columbia)
1979: Heartbreak Hotel — Willie Nelson & Leon Russell (Columbia)
1989: Are You Ever Gonna Love Me — Holly Dunn (Warner Bros.)
1999: Amazed – Lonestar (BNA)
2009: [...]

Week ending 8/29/09: #1 albums this week in country music history

1984: George Strait – Right or Wrong (MCA Nashville)
1989: Reba McEntire – Sweet Sixteen (MCA Nashville)
1994: Tim McGraw – Not A Moment Too Soon (Curb)
1999: Shania Twain – Come On Over (Mercury)
2004: Jimmy Buffett – License To Chill (Mailboat)
2009: George Strait -Twang (MCA Nashville)

Classic Rewind: Sara Evans – ‘Three Chords and the Truth’

Thanks to Steve from Boston for this one.

Album Review: Reba McEntire – ‘If You See Him’

Reba McEntire and Brooks & Dunn spent 1997 on tour together as co-headliners.  One night Reba would open for Brooks & Dunn and the next night they’d switch.  At the end of that tour, Reba and Ronnie Dunn would perform ‘You Don’t Know Me’ as a duet before being joined onstage by Kix Brooks for [...]

I am a simple man

Ever have a song just hit you like a ton of bricks?  Sure, you have.  That’s what we’re all looking for when we listen to music.  But sometimes a song just says what you’re thinking – which is a different epiphany altogether.  You have thoughts in your head that you just can’t illustrate with your [...]

Classic Rewind: Waylon Jennings – ‘Mental Revenge’

Album Review: Gene Watson – ‘Taste Of The Truth’

Gene Watson is one of my all-time favorite singers, and it is good to report that he is still sounding great at the age of 65. Listening to his new album, his second for independent label Shanachie, is like listening to a masterclass in singing country music, a subtle rendering of understated emotion. [...]

Classic Rewind: Conway Twitty – ‘Don’t Take It Away’

Album Review: Reba McEntire – ‘What If It’s You’

After experiencing a dip in sales with 1995’s Starting Over, Reba McEntire again changed musical directions, abandoning the glossy production of that covers album, in favor of a more stripped-down, organic sound.  She also teamed up with a new co-producer, John Guess,  and used her road band instead of studio musicians for the first time.   [...]

Classic Rewind: Jeanne Pruett – ‘Satin Sheets’

The ones that got away

Have you ever thought an artist was just so good they were destined for stardom, especiallly when they seemed to have a major label behind them, but then watched as … nothing actually happened? They had the voice, sometimes their own songwriting ability or musicianship, great material, a label which seemed supportive, and yet [...]

Classic Rewind: Connie Smith – ‘Ain’t Had No Lovin”

Album Review: Reba McEntire – ‘Read My Mind’

Toward the end of the 1980s, Reba McEntire began moving away from the hard traditional country sound that made her a star and an industry favorite.  As the ’90s dawned, gone were the fiddle-laden numbers on a Reba album and they’d been replaced by slick electric guitar-driven ballads.  Some point to this as the artistic [...]

Classic Rewind: Ray Price – ‘Crazy Arms’

Album Review: Deryl Dodd – ‘Together Again’

Texan singer-songwriter Deryl Dodd emerged in 1996 with his excellent One Ride In Vegas album on Columbia. He had a couple of top 40 hits, a cover of ‘That’s How I Got To Memphis’ and ‘A Bitter End’, before his career was derailed by serious illness. He never regained the lost momentum, and eventually lost [...]

Classic Rewind: George Jones – ‘The Grand Tour’

Week ending 8/22/09: #1 singles this week in country music history

1949: I’m Throwing Rice (At The Girl I Love) — Eddy Arnold (RCA)
1959: Waterloo – Stonewall Jackson (Columbia)
1969: A Boy Named Sue — Johnny Cash (Columbia)
1979: The Devil Went Down to Georgia — The Charlie Daniels Band (Epic)
1989: Sunday In The South – Shenandoah (Columbia)
1999: Amazed – Lonestar (BNA)
2009: You Belong With Me – Taylor [...]

Week ending 8/22/09: #1 albums this week in country music history

1984: Hank Williams Jr. – Major Moves (Warner Brothers)
1989: Reba McEntire – Sweet Sixteen (MCA)
1994: Tim McGraw – Not A Moment Too Soon (Curb)
1999: Shania Twain – Come On Over (Mercury)
2004: Jimmy Buffett – License To Chill (Mailboat)
2009: Sugarland - Live On The Inside (Mercury)