If they were starting out today …

A lot has been written during the past week about The Night The Music Died. I read an excellent post in the past few days on Twang Nation about the state of modern country music. It speculated that country music icons like Hank Williams and Dolly Parton would not be able to find [...]

Songs about adoption

I was adopted as a baby, and because of that the subject has always drawn me in fiction. In fact I’ve read some really bad books and watched some bad TV purely because of the topic. One of the things I appreciate most in country music is the range of topics it covers, [...]

Nothing novel?

I recently stumbled on this Roger Miller medley on The Muppet Show.  Songs include ‘Do-Wacka-Do’, ‘Dang Me’, ‘My Uncle Used To Love Me But She Died’, and ‘You Can’t Roller Skate In A Buffalo Herd’.  These are real novelty songs.  If you like these shortened versions, be sure to check out the entire songs at [...]

A genre by any other name …

Anyone who reads a country music blog for any length of time, is at some point bound to come across a heated discussion about what country music is and what it is not. There are no cut and dry definitions, and a lot of songs borrow heavily from different styles, and are thus, hard [...]

Discussion: Crossover roots?

Last week, this article about Taylor Swift’s crossover success got me to thinking about not only Swift, but other country stars who have met with major success in pop and adult contemporary markets.  It’s a mixed bag among the genre’s most steadfast supporters, while we welcome all the new listeners and fans to the format, somehow [...]

The next step for Caitlin & Will

The latest news is that Caitlin & Will, winners of the first season of Can You Duet, appear to have been dropped by their record label, Columbia (along with Keith Anderson).
What went wrong? The label certainly doesn’t seem to have known what to do with the duo, whose excellent single ‘Even Now’ [...]

A swarm of new videos!

Head over to CMT’s website today, and there are 10 music videos that are premiering. Those would be “Southern Voice” by Tim McGraw, “I’m Alive” by Kenny Chesney & Dave Matthews, “White Liar” by Miranda Lambert, “Keep You” by Sugarland, “Consider Me Gone” by Reba McEntire, “That’s How Country Boys Roll” by Billy Currington, “Hit [...]

Secret tracks

Reading the comments section on one of the many country blogs I read, I came across a thought that resonated with me.  The comment was about when you find an album cut that you love as much or more than the album’s radio singles – the singles are usually the reason you bought the album [...]

Thank God For Believers

Sometimes world events or personal events pile up and the needle on my emotional dashboard veers into the red “overwhelm” zone.  Depending on the day and the circumstance, I might dial up my favorite “drown your sorrows” country songs in order to know I’m not alone in the “overwhelm” zone.
However, there are other days when [...]

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 [...]

The Song Remembers When

Whether it’s a breakthrough hit for a newcomer or a song that finally makes us fans of an established act to whom we’ve previously not paid much attention, we can all remember that one song that made an impression on us and made us become fans of the artist.   Prior to 1980, I didn’t have [...]

The evolution of the album

The term “record album” first came into use when record companies used to package a series of related 78 RPM phonograph records together in a book that resembled a picture album.  The first known album to be released was a four disc set of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite, in 1909 in the United Kingdom.  It retailed [...]

Rediscovering Tracy Lawrence

There are so many artists and songs I’ve been a fan of over the years, that it’s inevitable I forget about a song or album that at one time I absolutely loved. Especially when you’re constantly adding to your music collection. So, I always like reading the What’cha listening to? thread on The [...]

R-r-r-r-remix time!

Remixes are a foreign concept in country music- in my opinion, good country music shouldn’t ever have to be remixed in any other way. A remix makes me think “What, it wasn’t good enough the original way? Why is this better?” Usually country songs, if remixed, will be remixed for pop radio, like Taylor Swift’s [...]

Completed collections

A few weeks ago, while chatting to Country California’s C. M. Wilcox on facebook, I expressed my goal for the summer. Due to Patty Loveless releasing her next album, Mountain Soul II, on September 29 I made my goal to get all of her studio albums before summer ended. So far? I’m almost done, I’m [...]

The bottle that pours the wine: Songs about songwriting

It’s always about the song in country music. Whether the writer sings the song or not, a topic Razor X raised last week, the song itself is what everything else ultimately depends on. One of the things I love about country music is the range of subjects it tackles, but the thing most songwriters [...]

When two stars collide

Country music has a long history of two separate artists coming together to record a single or album together.  We’ve also seen our fair share of duos who sing and perform exclusively together.  In the 1970s it seemed like all the rage for two of country’s biggest stars to join forces.  The decade saw the [...]

Singers & songwriters

Country music has a long, rich heritage of artists who were both accomplished singers and songwriters — Hank Williams, Merle Haggard, Loretta Lynn, and Dolly Parton are just a few examples of those who excelled not only as vocalists, but at writing their own material. Others, like George Strait and Reba McEntire, have occasionally [...]

Terrific tributes

Here’s a recommendation that’s a little different.  I’ve recently stumbled on two fan sites for two of my favorite artists that are amazingly good.  Remember back in the pioneer days of the internet (the mid 1990s) when everybody had their own geocities page?  Long before MySpace, Facebook, or Twitter were even words in the English [...]

Classic #2’s

As was noted in some of the recent discussions here, chart position is not necessarily indicative of a song’s quality. A lot of #1 hits are forgotten as soon as they drop off the charts, while other songs that didn’t reach the top have more staying power. In fact, we’re often surprised, years [...]