Posted on January 7, 2010 by Occasional Hope
Texan Sonny Burgess is one of those relatively obscure artists who are still making traditionally-rooted country music. This is his third album, and although it was released some months ago, has only recently come my way. It is produced by successful songwriter Kerry Kurt Phillips, who does a fine job. Sonny’s voice [...]
Filed under: Album Reviews | Tagged: Ashley Gorley, Bobby Pinson, Brett James, Chris Farren, D J Gleason, Dave Gibson, Greg Barnhill, Hank Williams, Jasn Matthews, Jeremy Spillman, Jerry Salley, Johnny Cash, Kathleen Wright, Kerry Kurt Phillips, Kevin Denney, Kevin Haynie, Richie Jones, Sam Tate, Sonny Burgess, Trent Willmon, Waylon Jennings, Wil Nance | Leave a Comment »
Posted on December 15, 2009 by Razor X
I was one of those kids who refused to eat vegetables; mealtimes were often a battle of wills with my parents — battles, that more often than not, I won. If left to my own devices, I would have quite happily subsisted on an all junk food diet. Of course, I wasn’t alllowed to do [...]
Filed under: Discussions | Tagged: Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard, Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson | 15 Comments »
Posted on November 22, 2009 by Razor X
1949: Slippin’ Around — Margaret Whiting & Jimmy Wakely (Capitol)
1959: Country Girl – Faron Young (Capitol)
1969: Okie From Muskogee – Merle Haggard (Capitol)
1979: Come With Me – Waylon Jennings (RCA)
1989: Bayou Boys — Eddy Raven (Capitol)
1999: I Love You — Martina McBride (RCA)
2009: Cowboy Casanova – Carrie Underwood (19/Arista)
Filed under: Charts | Tagged: Carrie Underwood, Eddy Raven, Faron Young, Jimmy Wakely, Margaret Whiting, Martina McBride, Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings | Leave a Comment »
Posted on November 15, 2009 by Razor X
1949: Slippin’ Around — Margaret Whiting & Jimmy Wakely (Capitol)
1959: Country Girl – Faron Young (Capitol)
1969: Okie From Muskogee – Merle Haggard (Capitol)
1979: Come With Me – Waylon Jennings (RCA)
1989: Burnin’ Old Memories – Kathy Mattea (Mercury)
1999: I Love You — Martina McBride (RCA)
2009: Toes – Zac Brown Band (Atlantic)
Filed under: Charts | Tagged: Waylon Jennings, Kathy Mattea, Martina McBride, Merle Haggard, Faron Young, Zac Brown Band, Margaret Whiting, Jimmy Wakely | Leave a Comment »
Posted on November 1, 2009 by J.R. Journey
In addition to hosting the show in 2004-2006, Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn are also the two winningest artists in CMA Awards history. As a duo, they have collected 18 trophies, a tie with Vince Gill. But Ronnie Dunn’s solo win in 2006 for ‘Believe’ as Song of the Year tipped his total wins to [...]
Filed under: Spotlight Artist | Tagged: Brooks & Dunn, Conway Twitty, Ernest Tubb, Kix Brooks, Montgomery Gentry, Ronnie Dunn, Sugarland, Tim DuBois, Waylon Jennings | 1 Comment »
Posted on September 18, 2009 by Razor X
Posted on September 17, 2009 by Occasional Hope
Singer-songwriter Jackson Taylor was born in Texas as one of 11 children of a migrant laborer, and raised wherever his father found work. I picked up his 2007 album Dark Days earlier this year, and was impressed by it. He has followed that up this year with a new release for Smith Entertainment, [...]
Filed under: Album Reviews | Tagged: Dale Watson, Hank Williams III, Jackson Taylor, Jason Boland, Mike Ness, The Taylors, Waylon Jennings | Leave a Comment »
Posted on September 4, 2009 by Occasional Hope
It’s easy to get discouraged by the state of today’s country radio and the majority of major-label releases. But there are still artists out there making real country music, even if most of them are on independent labels and can be hard to track down sometimes. One singer I’ve been interested in for [...]
Filed under: Album Reviews | Tagged: Dave Kirby, Don Helms, Hank Williams, Merle Haggard, Mike Headrick, Shane Worley, Steve Young, Vern Gosdin, Waylon Jennings | 12 Comments »
Posted on August 28, 2009 by Razor X
Posted on July 20, 2009 by Occasional Hope
After the monster hit that was ‘Swinging’ the only way was down for John Anderson. He continued to incorporate pop and rock influences in his music for few years after All The People Are Talking, with diminishing returns both commercially and artistically. He was still hitting the top 10 sporadically, but in 1987 [...]
Filed under: Album Reviews, Retro Reviews, Spotlight Artist | Tagged: Ben Dover, Fred Carter Jr., Jimmy Bowen, Joe Spivey, John Anderson, John Jarrard, Lionel A. Delmore, Mark Germino, Michael P. Heeney, Paul Craft, Paul Kennerley, Roger Murrah, Russell Smith, Waylon Jennings | 3 Comments »
Posted on July 17, 2009 by Razor X
Posted on July 12, 2009 by Razor X
1949: One Kiss Too Many — Eddy Arnold (RCA)
1959: The Battle of New Orleans — Johnny Horton (Columbia)
1969: Statue of a Fool — Jack Greene (Decca)
1979: Amanda – Waylon Jennings (RCA)
1989: Lovin’ Only Me — Ricky Skaggs (Epic)
1999: Write This Down — George Strait (MCA)
2009: Sideways – Dierks Bentley (Capitol)
Filed under: Charts | Tagged: Waylon Jennings, Dierks Bentley, George Strait, Ricky Skaggs, Jack Greene, Johnny Horton, Eddy Arnold | 8 Comments »
Posted on July 5, 2009 by Razor X
1949: One Kiss Too Many — Eddy Arnold (RCA)
1959: The Battle of New Orleans — Johnny Horton (Columbia)
1969: Statue of a Fool — Jack Greene (Decca)
1979: Amanda – Waylon Jennings (RCA)
1989: Come From The Heart — Kathy Mattea (Mercury)
1999: Write This Down — George Strait (MCA)
2009: Sideways – Dierks Bentley (Capitol)
Filed under: Charts | Tagged: Waylon Jennings, Kathy Mattea, Dierks Bentley, George Strait, Jack Greene, Johnny Horton, Eddy Arnold | 2 Comments »
Posted on July 4, 2009 by J.R. Journey
Here’s a selection of some of my favorite songs about America. They’re not ‘God Bless the U.S.A.’, but they all make a statement about the state of our nation. And though most of these tracks are 20 years old or more now, their message still rings true. So Happy Independence Day and enjoy some [...]
Filed under: Blurbs, Recommendations | Tagged: Conway Twitty, George Jones, Hank Williams Jr, Loretta Lynn, Statler Brothers, Waylon Jennings | Leave a Comment »
Posted on June 28, 2009 by Razor X
1949: One Kiss Too Many — Eddy Arnold (RCA)
1959: The Battle of New Orleans — Johnny Horton (Columbia)
1969: Running Bear — Sonny James (Capitol)
1979: Amanda – Waylon Jennings (RCA)
1989: I Don’t Want To Spoil The Party — Rosanne Cash (Columbia)
1999: Write This Down — George Strait (MCA)
2009: Out Last Night — Kenny Chesney (BNA)
Filed under: Charts | Tagged: Eddy Arnold, George Strait, Johnny Horton, Kenny Chesney, Rosanne Cash, Sonny James, Waylon Jennings | 8 Comments »
Posted on June 13, 2009 by Razor X
In her 1997 autobiography Nickel Dreams , Tanya Tucker referred to TNT as her first million-selling album and the one that nearly killed her career. In 1977, in need of professional management, she was referred to a Los Angeles firm called Far Out Management, who had managed a number of pop [...]
Filed under: Album Reviews, Retro Reviews, Spotlight Artist | Tagged: Bobby Borchers, Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, Ed Bruce, Elvis Presley, Jerry Goldstein, Joey Paige, John Prine, Patsy Bruce, Phil Everly, Shania Twain, Tanya Tucker, Waylon Jennings | 5 Comments »
Posted on April 20, 2009 by Occasional Hope
Like Alan Jackson, Travis Tritt just sneaks in as a member of the Clas of ‘89. Although his debut album was not released until 1990, the first single came out in 1989. Travis was less traditional than many of his peers, but he brought a distinctive, southern-rock-influenced flavor to the country charts which marked out his [...]
Filed under: Album Reviews, Retro Reviews, Spotlight Artist | Tagged: Alan Jackson, Duane Allman, George Jones, Hank Williams Jr, Roy Acuff, Travis Tritt, Waylon Jennings | 8 Comments »
Posted on March 19, 2009 by Razor X
Few things satisfy a country music fan more than when two of one’s favorite solo performers announce plans to go into the studio and record together. Country music has a long and rich history of producing collaborations with such great chemistry that they threatened to overshadow the solo work of the same artists. Perhaps that’s [...]
Filed under: Discussions | Tagged: Brooks & Dunn, Conway Twitty, David Frizzell, Dolly Parton, Dottie West, Faith Hill, George Jones, Jessi Colter, Joey + Rory, Kenny Rogers, Loretta Lynn, Marty Stuart, Porter Wagoner, Reba McEntire, Shelly West, Sugarland, Tammy Wynette, Tim McGraw, Travis Tritt, Vince Gill, Waylon Jennings, Wille Nelson | 6 Comments »
Posted on February 24, 2009 by J.R. Journey
In country music today, a great deal of mediocrity has been allowed to slip into the genre – where at one time, only legends and great ones stood. Now that’s not to say that every new artist is recording interchangable and forgettable tunes. But it seems the ratio of disposable songs to standards has taken [...]
Filed under: Discussions, Venting | Tagged: Dolly Parton, Garth Brooks, George Jones, George Strait, Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, Merle Haggard, Reba McEntire, Shania Twain, Sugarland, Waylon Jennings | 26 Comments »
Posted on December 12, 2008 by J.R. Journey
This review by the fabulous Jim Malec over at the9513 and the ensuing comments got me to thinking about how patriotic songs are received by the general listening public. There is of course that portion of the population who are going to love anything mildly patriotic and pull the little flag out of their back [...]
Filed under: Discussions | Tagged: Rodney Atkins, Waylon Jennings | 2 Comments »