Country music from a fan's point of view since 2008
1958: City Lights — Ray Price (Columbia)
1968: I Walk Alone — Marty Robbins (Columbia)
1978: Sleeping Single In A Double Bed — Barbara Mandrell (ABC)
1988: I’ll Leave This World Loving You — Ricky Van Shelton (Columbia)
1998: Wide Open Spaces — Dixie Chicks (Monument)
2008: Just A Dream — Carrie Underwood (Arista Nashville)
2018: Meant To Be — Bebe Rexha featuring Florida Georgia Line (Big Machine)
2018 (Airplay): She Got The Best of Me — Luke Combs (Columbia Nashville)
1958: City Lights — Ray Price (Columbia)
1968: I Walk Alone — Marty Robbins (Columbia)
1978: Sleeping Single In A Double Bed — Barbara Mandrell (ABC)
1988: Runaway Train — Rosanne Cash (Columbia)
1998: Wide Open Spaces — Dixie Chicks (Monument)
2008: Just A Dream — Carrie Underwood (Arista Nashville)
2018: Meant To Be — Bebe Rexha featuring Florida Georgia Line (Big Machine)
2018 (Airplay): She Got The Best of Me — Luke Combs (Columbia Nashville)
1958 (Sales): Oh Lonesome Me / I Can’t Stop Loving You — Don Gibson (RCA Victor)
1958: I Guess Things Happen That Way — Johnny Cash (Sun)
1968: I Wanna Live — Glen Campbell (Capitol)
1978: I’ll Be True To You — Oak Ridge Boys (Dot)
1988: He’s Back and I’m Blue — The Desert Rose Band (MCA/Curb)
1998: I Just Want To Dance With You — George Strait (MCA Nashville)
2008: Last Name — Carrie Underwood (Arista Nashville)
2018: Meant To Be — Bebe Rexha featuring Florida Georgia Line (Big Machine)
2018: Everything’s Gonna Be Alright — David Lee Murphy feat. Kenny Chesney (Reviver)
1958 (Sales): Ballad of a Teenage Queen — Johnny Cash (Sun)
1958 (Disk Jockeys): Ballad of a Teenage Queen — Johnny Cash (Sun)
1968: A World of Our Own — Sunny James (Capitol)
1978: Mama’s Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys — Waylon Jennings & Willie Nelson (RCA)
1988: Life Turned Her That Way — Ricky Van Shelton (Columbia)
1998: Nothin’ But The Taillights — Clint Black (RCA Nashville)
2008: All-American Girl — Carrie Underwood (Arista Nashville)
2018: Meant To Be — Bebe Rexha featuring Florida Georgia Line (Big Machine)
2018: Broken Halos — Chris Stapleton (Mercury)
1958 (Sales): Ballad of a Teenage Queen — Johnny Cash (Sun)
1958 (Disk Jockeys): Ballad of a Teenage Queen — Johnny Cash (Sun)
1968: A World of Our Own — Sunny James (Capitol)
1978: Mama’s Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys — Waylon Jennings & Willie Nelson (RCA)
1988: Too Gone Too Long — Randy Travis (Warner Bros.)
1998: Round About Way — George Strait (MCA)
2008: All-American Girl — Carrie Underwood (Arista Nashville)
2018: Meant To Be — Bebe Rexha featuring Florida Georgia Line (Big Machine)
2018 (Airplay): Marry Me — Thomas Rhett (Valory Music Group)
1957 (Sales): My Special Angel — Bobby Helms (Decca)
1957 (Disc Jockeys): My Shoes Keep Walking Back to You — Ray Price (Columbia)
1967: It’s the Little Things — Sonny James (Capitol)
1977: Here You Come Again — Dolly Parton (RCA)
1987: The Last One to Know — Reba McEntire (MCA)
1997: From Here to Eternity — Michael Peterson (Reprise)
2007: So Small — Carrie Underwood (Arista)
2017: Meant to Be — Bebe Rexha featuring Florida Georgia Line (Warner Bros.)
2017 (Airplay): Ask Me How I Know — Garth Brooks (Pearl)
1957 (Sales): My Special Angel — Bobby Helms (Decca)
1957 (Disc Jockeys): Wake Up Little Susie — The Everly Brothers (Cadence)
1967: It’s the Little Things — Sonny James (Capitol)
1977: Here You Come Again — Dolly Parton (RCA)
1987: Somebody Lied — Ricky Van Shelton (Columbia)
1997: Love Gets Me Every Time — Shania Twain (Mercury)
2007: So Small — Carrie Underwood (Arista)
2017: Greatest Love Story — LANco (Arista)
2017 (Airplay): Greatest Love Story — LANco (Arista)
1957 (Sales): Jailhouse Rock/Treat Me Nice — Elvis Presley (RCA)
1957 (Disc Jockeys): Wake Up Little Susie — The Everly Brothers (Cadence)
1967: It’s the Little Things — Sonny James (Capitol)
1977: The Wurlitzer Prize (I Don’t Want to Get Over You) — Waylon Jennings (RCA)
1987: Lynda — Steve Wariner (MCA)
1997: Love Gets Me Every Time — Shania Twain (Mercury)
2007: So Small — Carrie Underwood (Arista)
2017: When It Rains It Pours — Luke Combs (River House/Columbia)
2017 (Airplay): Greatest Love Story — LANco (Arista)
The deeper I lean into the marketing of mainstream country music, The more I’m seeing the blatant manipulation. It’s no secret that Keith Hill’s comment that women are the tomatoes on the salad was offensive and misogynistic, but it was also, unfortunately, spot on. Women, unless they are members of a group, duo or collaboration also featuring men, have been shut out of even marginal airplay. Miranda Lambert is justifiably pissed at her diminishing returns, even as her music veers more and more towards Americana.
Media outlets that cover mainstream country have been celebrating the success of Carly Pearce’s “Every Little Thing” with Rolling Stone Country saying she “defied the odds with risky song” in a recent headline. I’ll admit, it’s against the norm, in this current climate, to release a ballad and have it succeed. The slower a song is the less likely it will fall under what is deemed “radio friendly.” That logic is nothing new.
But what’s baffling is the suppression of the truth. Carly Pearce is succeeding on her own merit about as much as Thomas Rhett. This grand success story? It’s all courtesy of iHeart Media and their “On The Verge” program. “On The Verge” exists to help struggling artists succeed and pretty much guarantees them a #1 hit. It’s the only reason former American Idol runner-up Lauren Alaina scored a chart topper with “The Road Less Traveled” seven years after her debut album bombed into oblivion. There’s absolutely no fairy tale here, no reason to cheer or even get excited. These feats are political manipulations swept under the rug disguised as major success stories.
We’re at a crisis point right now with female artists. Not only are none getting airplay, there really aren’t any in the mainstream sector for radio to embrace. Brandy Clark and Sunny Sweeney would never get airplay for the latest music, in any era, since they’re 40 years or older. Ashton Shepherd didn’t connect, with her heavy twang, so MCA dropped her. Ashely Monroe was told, on her last radio tour, that “On To Something Good,” was dead on arrival. Kacey Musgraves has done next to nothing to endear herself to the mainstream audience beyond wearing crazy outfits and adorning her sets with neon cacti. She will join Harry Styles on tour next year. Will Maren Morris connect? Possibly, as she’s already building a following. But I would think she’d have to prove herself as more than the “80s Mercedes” singer. “I Could Use A Love Song” has done that for me, but it’s only a step in the right direction for her to take as she contemplates her follow-up to Hero.
About the only person, we can count on is Carrie Underwood, who is currently in between albums. Time will tell if her newly minted deal with Capitol Nashville, the label that refused to sign her as a pre-teen back in 1996, will yield further success. I can’t imagine her being blackballed but I never thought Dixie Chicks would fall from grace like that either. In this market, anything is possible.
Is there a solution or silver lining in all of this? I honestly have no idea. I never imagined mainstream country music would ever be in this bad a shape in my life. It took until I got to college to see why Luke Bryan has been able to succeed like he has. He’s tapped into an audience previously ignored by country music, those who love to socialize and party and be high on life. He’s like the male Taylor Swift in that sense. He’s found his audience and he’s running with it all the way to the bank.
This era is the building block for whatever comes next. Has anyone else noticed the glaring oddity of Sam Hunt’s “Body Like A Backroad?” The song has succeeded without a music video, parent album or physical release of any kind. I can’t remember any other massive song that lacked even one of those three elements. These are uncharted waters and they’re reaping big rewards.
Maybe you know where we’re going from here. I know I probably shouldn’t care, and I have spent the majority of this year focused on independent releases, but I do. I can’t help it. It’s in my nature as female artists have always been my favorite, the ones I listen to most frequently. I guess Angaleena Presley and her fellow Pistol Annies said it best:
Dreams don’t come true
They’ll make a mess out of you
They’ll hang around the darkest corners of your mind
They’ll beat your heart black and blue
Don’t let anyone tell you they do
Dreams don’t come true
I hate to put a damper
On the fairy tale you pictured
I shoulda known all along that
Glass slippers give you blisters
1957 (Sales): Gone — Ferlin Husky (Capitol)
1957 (Jukebox): Gone — Ferlin Husky (Capitol)
1957 (Disc Jockeys): Gone — Ferlin Husky (Capitol)
1967: Need You — Sonny James (Capitol)
1977: She’s Pulling Me Back Again — Mickey Gilley (Playboy)
1987: Don’t Go To Strangers — T. Graham Brown (Capitol)
1997: One Night at a Time — George Strait (MCA)
2007: Wasted — Carrie Underwood (Arista)
2017: Body Like a Back Road — Sam Hunt (MCA)
2017 (Airplay): Body Like a Back Road — Sam Hunt (MCA)
1957 (Sales): Gone — Ferlin Husky (Capitol)
1957 (Jukebox): Gone — Ferlin Husky (Capitol)
1957 (Disc Jockeys): Gone — Ferlin Husky (Capitol)
1967: Need You — Sonny James (Capitol)
1977: She’s Got You — Loretta Lynn (MCA)
1987: Rose In Paradise — Waylon Jennings (MCA)
1997: One Night at a Time — George Strait (MCA)
2007: Wasted — Carrie Underwood (Arista)
2017: Body Like a Back Road — Sam Hunt (MCA)
2017 (Airplay): Any Ol’ Barstool — Jason Aldean (Broken Bow)
1957 (Sales): Gone — Ferlin Husky (Capitol)
1957 (Jukebox): Gone — Ferlin Husky (Capitol)
1957 (Disc Jockeys): Gone — Ferlin Husky (Capitol)
1967: Lonely Again — Eddy Arnold (RCA)
1977: It Couldn’t Have Been Any Better — Johnny Duncan (Columbia)
1987: Kids of the Baby Boom — The Bellamy Brothers (MCA/Curb)
1997: Rumor Has It — Clay Walker (Giant)
2007: Wasted — Carrie Underwood (Arista)
2017: Body Like a Back Road — Sam Hunt (MCA)
2017 (Airplay): Road Less Traveled — Lauren Alaina (Mercury/Interscope)
1956 (Sales):Singing the Blues — Marty Robbins (Columbia)
1956 (Jukebox): Singing the Blues — Marty Robbins (Columbia)
1956 (Disc Jockeys): Singing the Blues — Marty Robbins (Columbia)
1966: Somebody Like Me — Eddy Arnold (RCA)
1976: Good Woman Blues — Mel Tillis (MCA)
1986: It Ain’t Cool To Be Crazy About You — George Strait (MCA)
1996: Little Bitty — Alan Jackson (Arista)
2006: Before He Cheats — Carrie Underwood (Arista)
2016: Blue Ain’t Your Color — Keith Urban (Capitol)
2016 (Airplay): May We All — Florida Georgia Line featuring Tim McGraw (Republic Nashville)
1956 (Sales):Singing the Blues — Marty Robbins (Columbia)
1956 (Jukebox): Singing the Blues — Marty Robbins (Columbia)
1956 (Disc Jockeys): Singing the Blues — Marty Robbins (Columbia)
1966: Somebody Like Me — Eddy Arnold (RCA)
1976: Good Woman Blues — Mel Tillis (MCA)
1986: Touch Me When We’re Dancing — Alabama (RCA)
1996: Strawberry Wine — Deana Carter (Capitol)
2006: Before He Cheats — Carrie Underwood (Arista)
2016: Blue Ain’t Your Color — Keith Urban (Capitol)
2016 (Airplay): A Little More Summertime — Jason Aldean (Broken Bow)
1956 (Sales):Singing the Blues — Marty Robbins (Columbia)
1956 (Jukebox): Singing the Blues — Marty Robbins (Columbia)
1956 (Disc Jockeys): Singing the Blues — Marty Robbins (Columbia)
1966: Somebody Like Me — Eddy Arnold (RCA)
1976: Somebody Somewhere (Don’t Know What He’s Missin’ Tonight) — Loretta Lynn (MCA)
1986: You’re Still New to Me — Marie Osmond with Paul Davis (Capitol/Curb)
1996: Strawberry Wine — Deana Carter (Capitol)
2006: Before He Cheats — Carrie Underwood (Arista)
2016: Blue Ain’t Your Color — Keith Urban (Capitol)
2016 (Airplay): Middle of a Memory — Cole Swindell (Warner Bros.)
1956 (Sales):Singing the Blues — Marty Robbins (Columbia)
1956 (Jukebox): Don’t Be Cruel/Hound Dog — Elvis Presley (RCA)
1956 (Disc Jockeys): Crazy Arms — Ray Price (Columbia)
1966: I Get The Fever — Bill Anderson (Decca)
1976: Somebody Somewhere (Don’t Know What He’s Missin’ Tonight) — Loretta Lynn (MCA)
1986: That Rock Won’t Roll — Restless Heart (RCA)
1996: Lonely Too Long — Patty Loveless (Epic)
2006: Before He Cheats — Carrie Underwood (Arista)
2016: Blue Ain’t Your Color — Keith Urban (Capitol)
2016 (Airplay): Move — Luke Bryan (Capitol)
1956 (Sales): Crazy Arms — Ray Price (Columbia)
1956 (Jukebox): Don’t Be Cruel/Hound Dog — Elvis Presley (RCA)
1956 (Disc Jockeys): Singing the Blues — Marty Robbins (Columbia)
1966: Open Up Your Heart — Buck Owens (Capitol)
1976: Cherokee Maiden — Merle Haggard (Capitol)
1986: Diggin’ Up Bones — Randy Travis (Warner Bros.)
1996: Like the Rain — Clint Black (RCA)
2006: Before He Cheats — Carrie Underwood (Arista)
2016: Setting the World on Fire — Kenny Chesney featuring Pink (Blue Chair/Columbia)
2016 (Airplay): Move — Luke Bryan (Capitol)
Instead of the typical CMA Awards prediction post, I thought it might be fun to rank the twenty performances, all of which brought something special to the evening. Here they are, in ascending order, with commentary:
20.
Beyoncé Feat. Dixie Chicks – Daddy’s Lessons
The most debated moment of the night was the worst performance in recent CMA history, an embarrassment to country music and the fifty years of the organization. Beyoncé was the antithesis of our genre with her staged antics and complete lack of authenticity. If Dixie Chicks had performed this song alone, like they did on tour, it would’ve been a slam-dunk. They were never the problem. Beyoncé is to blame for this mess.
Grade: F
19.
Kelsea Ballerini – Peter Pan
I feel bad for her. It seems Ballerini never got the memo that this was the CMA Awards and not a sideshow at Magic Kingdom. Everything about this was wrong – the visuals, wind machine and, most of all, the dancers. Once I saw the harness in plain sight, I knew it was over.
Grade: F
18.
Luke Bryan – Move
Nashville is perennially behind the trends as evidenced by Bryan’s completely out of place performance. One of only two I purposefully fast forwarded through.
Grade: F
17.
Florida Georgia Line feat. Tim McGraw – May We All
Stood out like a sore thumb, for all the wrong reasons. Not even McGraw could redeem this disaster.
Grade: F
16.
Carrie Underwood – Dirty Laundry
The newly minted Female Vocalist of the Year gave the third weakest performance of this year’s nominees. I commend her use of an all-female band, but disliked everything else from the visuals to Underwood’s dancing. It all starts with the song and this one is among her worst.
Grade: D+
15.
Thomas Rhett – Die A Happy Man
The biggest hit of the year gave Thomas Rhett a moment his other radio singles proves he doesn’t deserve. He remained gracious throughout the night, proving he can turn it on when it counts. I just wish it wasn’t an act.
Grade: B-
14.
Keith Urban – Blue Ain’t Your Color
A perfectly serviceable performance of an above average song. He did nothing to stand out from the pack neither adding to nor distracting from the night’s more significant moments.
Grade: B
13.
Dierks Bentley feat. Elle King – Different for Girls
At least Bentley wasn’t showcasing the rowdier side of Black. He and King didn’t do anything to stand out and the whole thing was more middle of the road than anything else.
Grade: B
12.
Martina McBride, Reba McEntire, Kacey Musgraves, Jennifer Nettles and Carrie Underwood – Dolly Parton Tribute
I have nothing against Parton nor do I deny her incredible legacy as a pioneer in the genre. But it’s time to honor someone else. Parton has been lauded and it’s so old at this point, it’s unspectacular. That’s not to say this wasn’t a great medley, it was. I just wish it had been for someone different, like say, Tanya Tucker.
Grade: B
1956 (Sales): Crazy Arms/You Done Me Wrong — Ray Price (Columbia)
1956 (Jukebox): Crazy Arms/You Done Me Wrong — Ray Price (Columbia)
1956 (Disc Jockeys):Crazy Arms — Ray Price (Columbia)
1966: Think of Me — Buck Owens (Capitol)
1976: Teddy Bear — Red Sovine (Starday)
1986: On The Other Hand — Randy Travis (Warner Bros.)
1996: Daddy’s Money — Ricochet (Columbia)
2006: The World — Brad Paisley (Arista)
2016: H.O.L.Y. — Florida Georgia Line (Republic Nashville)
2016 (Airplay): Church Bells — Carrie Underwood (Arista)
My Kind of Country 