Brad Paisley Celebrates Two No. 1s in Four Months
- Let’s suppose you were going to create a list of the 100 Greatest Christmas Downers of All Time. I’d assume that you’d include plenty of country songs, because country is known for it’s downers, right? Well, EW.com saved us all the trouble and did exactly that. They’ve got Merle, Loretta, Bruce Robison & Kelly Willis, Dwight Yoakam, Buck Owens, Ernest Tubb and the country goodness doesn’t begin to stop there. You won’t be disappointed; maybe a little depressed, but not disappointed.
- Brad Paisley and 150 other guests celebrated his two No. 1 songs (”Ticks” and “Online”) within a four month span at the Mac Authority computer store.
- With sales in the slumps Daily Variety associate editor Phil Gallo brings up the idea that the writer’s strike could be affecting the music industry. He says, “You don’t have late-night shows promoting new albums or songs getting placed on new shows.”
- The copyright infringement lawsuit filed against Toby Keith for “I Love This Bar” has been dropped.
… I was put in the terrible position of not being able to defend myself until the trial and I just could not wait for that day to come. I knew it would take no time at all for the case to be dismissed and it was, of course, with prejudice which means: He had no case whatsoever.”
- Watch: Intimate performance of Walt Wilkins singing “Someone Somewhere Tonight” acoustically. Why is this guy not more famous?
- Of all the music created this year Stephen King found only seven albums he wanted to mention in his year-end list. Number one being Steve Earle’s Washington Square Serenade and another being Lyle Lovett’s It’s Not Big It’s Large.
Of Lovett’s album, King says: “This is a terrific Texas swing album, but of course not everybody likes Texas swing (or even knows what it is). What makes it special is Lovett’s vermouth-dry vocals and his equally dry wit.”
- Is the reprise being reprised? Alison Bonaguro rattles off a few examples of reprises from recent years and wonders whether it’s making a comeback. If done properly reprises can be cool, so go leave her a comment and introduce the readers to some of your favorite reprises.
- If you’ve ever wondered why Nashville became the center of country music as opposed to Dallas or Atlanta, then Air Castle of the South: WSM and the Making of Music City is the book for you. Chet Flippo wrote an appetizing summary of the book in his weekly column.
- Honky-tonker Jeff Griffith lives and breathes George Jones and Vern Gosdin. His debut album If It Ain’t One Thing It’s Another was produced by Joe Stampley.
“You’ve got to stand for something, and I stand for good country music,” he says by phone from his San Antonio home. “I’m not going to let nobody come in and mold me into what I should do. I can only sing and do what I feel. Every time I travel and perform, people are starved to death for that traditional sound.”
- Ferlin Husky has been hospitalized. Fortunately, it sounds like the doctors have everything under control and he only needed a stent in his right leg to aid with circulatory problems. Let’s hope he has a speedy recovery.
- Alabama Gypsy Rose–the daughter of Shooter Jennings and Drea de Matteo–was born in New York on Wednesday night, weighing a healthy eight pounds, three ounces.
- On January 8, 2008, Collectors’ Choice Music will reissue five of John Anderson’s Warner Bros. albums: I Just Came Home to Count the Memories; All the People Are Talkin’; Eye of a Hurricane; Tokyo, Oklahoma; and Countrified.
- Rolling Stone dubs The Original Outlaw the most comprehensive Haggard compilation yet.
He doesn’t sing as much about husbands — no great country singer has ever had less interest in his own love life, mainly because his only true love is the road. Hag knows it will never love him back — you can hear that in his voice from the beginning, the way he feels the cold wind hit him in “Branded Man.” But on The Original Outlaw, it’s a lifelong passion.
- Jim McGuire’s timelessly supreme portraits of country music artists.
- Through his research Louis Black conveys–in intricate detail–the stories of how Johnny Cash’s prison albums came to be recorded. Don’t be discouraged by the length, it’s a fantastic read.
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Brad Paisley // Bruce Robison // Buck Owens // Christmas // Dwight Yoakam // Ferlin Husky // George Jones // Jeff Griffith // Jim McGuire // John Anderson // Johnny Cash // Kelly Willis // Lyle Lovett // Shooter Jennings // Stephen King // Steve Earle // Toby Keith // Walt Wilkins // WSM
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November 30, 2007 at 10:40 am Permalink
Amen on Walt Wilkins. I have seen him in a “songwriters circle” a couple of times, and got to hang with him a bit once. he is genuine, and an absolute natural. Also, Stephen King should write for friggin’ popmatters. I have generally agreed with how he sees the year in music.
November 30, 2007 at 11:45 am Permalink
I’ve seen Wilkins a couple of times as well and he was impressive both times.
November 30, 2007 at 1:30 pm Permalink
I’ll have a review of Air Castle up soon at AR, but I would recommend to any fan of country music history. Havighurst did a fantastic job.
And I must say I am very excited about the John Anderson re-issues – long overdue.
November 30, 2007 at 3:37 pm Permalink
I figured Vince Gill’s “It Won’t Be the Same This Year” would have been a lot higher on the Christmas Downer list. It’s downright depressing.
Walt Wilkins doesn’t get the credit he deserves, but I thought his latest album with the Mystiqueros was kind of a bummer. He sounds great and does some good stuff, but it’s kinda disorienting having the lead vocalist switch every few songs.
November 30, 2007 at 4:14 pm Permalink
I was checking out the Jim McGuire gallery and noticed this under the picture of Steve Young: “Waylon Jennings recorded an entire album of his songs, kicking off the [outlaw] movement…” Anyone know what that’s about? As far as I’m aware, that honor belongs to Billy Joe Shaver and Waylon never record a full album of Steve Young’s songs. Is it just misinformation spread from Young’s Wikipedia page?
December 3, 2007 at 4:27 am Permalink
Interesting stories, thanks!
Just something I’d thought I’d point out real quick (and it’s not a big deal, either, but): I noticed on a lot of the entries that Dwight Yoakam’s name is spelled “YoakUm” when it’s “YoakAm” with an “a” where the “u” is.
December 3, 2007 at 4:33 am Permalink
…ok, just checked. I should say “some”, not “a lot” :p .
December 3, 2007 at 12:12 pm Permalink
Thanks for pointing that out, CF. I think I’ve got them all changed. It drives me bonkers when people put “Gary Allen,” so I like to make sure I get names right, but I usually end up tricking myself into the wrong spelling with Yoakam.
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