Week ending 11/21/09: #1 albums this week in country music history

1984: Willie Nelson – City of New Orleans (Sony)
1989: Randy Travis – No Holdin’ Back (Warner Brothers)
1994: Mary Chapin Carpenter – Stones In The Road (Columbia)
1999: LeAnn Rimes – LeAnn Rimes (Curb)
2004: George Strait – 50 Number Ones (MCA)
2009: Carrie Underwood- Play On (19/Arista)

Classic Rewind: Lee Ann Womack & Jamey Johnson – ‘Give It Away’

Week ending 11/14/09: #1 albums this week in country music history

1984: Willie Nelson – City of New Orleans (Sony)
1989: Randy Travis – No Holdin’ Back (Warner Brothers)
1994: Mary Chapin Carpenter – Stones In The Road (Columbia)
1999: LeAnn Rimes – LeAnn Rimes (Curb)
2004: George Strait – 50 Number Ones (MCA)
2009: Taylor Swift – Fearless (Big Machine)

Classic Rewind: George Strait & Alan Jackson – ‘Murder on Music Row’

This just seems appropriate today.

Album Review: Brooks & Dunn – ‘Waitin’ On Sundown’

Brooks and Dunn’s third album was released in September 1994. Produced like the first two by Don Cook and Scott Hendricks. In theory, Kix and Ronnie had equal billing, each singing lead on five songs, but Ronnie’s lead vocals were showcased on four of the five singles. This may have been the [...]

Week ending 11/7/09: #1 singles this week in country music history

1949: Slippin’ Around — Margaret Whiting & Jimmy Wakely (Capitol)
1959: The Three Bells — The Browns (RCA)
1969: To See My Angel Cry — Conway Twitty (Decca)
1979: You Decorated My Life – Kenny Rogers (United Artists)
1989: Ace In The Hole – George Strait (MCA)
1999: I Love You — Martina McBride (RCA)
2009: Toes – Zac Brown Band [...]

Week ending 11/7/09: #1 albums this week in country music history

1984: Willie Nelson – City of New Orleans (Sony)
1989: Randy Travis – No Holdin’ Back (Warner Brothers)
1994: Mary Chapin Carpenter – Stones In The Road (Columbia)
1999: The Dixie Chicks – Fly (Monument)
2004: George Strait – 50 Number Ones (MCA)
2009: Tim McGraw – Southern Voice (Curb)

Album Review: Brooks & Dunn – ‘Hard Workin’ Man’

Following the mega success of their debut album, Brooks & Dunn released their sophomore effort, Hard Workin’ Man in early 1993.  Like its predecessor, Hard Workin’ Man proved to be a critical and commercial success and furthered the pair’s status as the new superstar duo in country music following The Judds’ retirement in 1991.   [...]

Who should win this year’s CMA Awards

This year’s CMA Awards are due to be announced on November 11th. There are bound to be a few surprises, with unexpected winners or losers. We’ll share our best attempts at prediction with you next week, but first we thought we would let you all know not who we expect to win, but [...]

Classic Rewind: Mel Street – ‘I Met A Friend Of Yours Today’

70s star Mel Street with a top 10 hit which was later covered by George Strait.

 

Week ending 10/31/09: #1 albums this week in country music history

1984: Willie Nelson – City of New Orleans (Sony)
1989: Clint Black – Killin’ Time (RCA)
1994: Mary Chapin Carpenter – Stones In The Road (Columbia)
1999: The Dixie Chicks – Fly (Monument)
2004: George Strait – 50 Number Ones (MCA)
2009: Taylor Swift – Fearless (Big Machine)

Album Review: Patty Loveless – ‘Dreamin’ My Dreams’

Dreamin’ My Dreams was the last album Patty Loveless recorded for the Epic Nashville label before they closed shop. Some of their artists went to the Columbia Records roster.  Patty instead took a two-year hiatus from touring and recording before going the indie route, signing with Suguaro Records in 2008.  She has since recorded two [...]

Week ending 10/24/09: #1 albums this week in country music history

1984: Willie Nelson – City of New Orleans (Sony)
1989: Clint Black – Killin’ Time (RCA)
1994: Mary Chapin Carpenter – Stones In The Road (Columbia)
1999: The Dixie Chicks – Fly (Monument)
2004: George Strait – 50 Number Ones (MCA)
2009: Toby Keith – American Ride (Show Dog Nashville)

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 [...]

Album Review: Patty Loveless – ‘Patty Loveless’

A teenager of 14, Patty Loveless first came to Nashville with her brother Roger in 1971. Roger had a job on one of the most popular shows of the day, the nationally syndicated Porter Wagoner Show.  Brother Roger arranged a meeting with Wagoner one day, and after hearing her sing ‘Sounds of Loneliness’, Porter offered [...]

CD Giveaway: George Strait – ‘50 Number Ones’

Update: And the winner is … Pat Amo. Congratulations, Pat, we’ll be emailing you shortly.  Thanks to everybody who commented, and keep looking for a special Patty Loveless package giveaway soon, and of course stick around as we spotlight Patty’s career throughout the month of October.
George Strait has had a longer run at the top [...]

Album Review: George Strait – ‘Somewhere Down In Texas’

In 2005, twenty-four years into his hit-making career, George Strait released Somewhere Down In Texas, a collection of laid-back songs that contrasted 2003’s Honkytonkville’s hard honky-tonk sound.  The album landed at the top of the country albums chart as well as the all-genre Billboard 200 and was certified platinum.  It also provided Strait with another [...]

Album Review: George Strait – ‘Carrying Your Love With Me’

George Strait’s 1997 album Carrying Your Love With Me came out when he was at the peak of his commercial success. It followed up the triple platinum Blue Clear Sky, released the previous year, and achieved the same status itself (the last of his studio albums to do so to date). It was [...]

Album Review: George Strait – ‘Easy Come, Easy Go’

In 1992, George Strait teamed up with a new producer, ending an eight-year professional relationship with Jimmy Bowen, who had moved on to assume the presidency of rival label Capitol Nashville. The association with Tony Brown would prove to be even more enduring, lasting until the present day. A change in producers almost [...]

Soundtrack Review: George Strait – ‘Pure Country’

George Strait has an extensive catalog, so just narrowing down which albums of his to write about for our spotlight was a daunting task in itself.  Then there’s the work that goes along with profiling a legendary artist like George Strait – making sure we hit all the high points as well as the lows, [...]