Forbes Lists Toby Keith As Country Music’s Top Money Maker
- Alan Jackson falls in at No. 10 on Forbes’ list of the top-earning country music stars, but Toby Keith takes the top spot with a cool $48 million in earnings over the last year.
- Bob from the Lefsetz Letter has written an interesting piece on Tuesday night’s American Idol Top-2, in which he talks, specifically, about how songwriting affects the way we perceive an artist’s music. It’s a compelling argument, especially when we relate it to a genre (country) that often features a push-pull between those who write and those who don’t.
An executive can get song doctors to construct something salable, but he can’t tap into the zeitgeist and create something wholly new, that stops someone in his tracks and makes him a believer.
- Services were held yesterday in Los Angeles to honor Al Gallico, one of the leading independent country music publishers in the 1960s and 1970s. During his career he managed Joe Stampley and helped secure record deals for guys like David Houston and John Anderson. He passed away last week at age 88.
- In a phone interview with Susan Guynn, Dierks Bentley briefly mentions that one day he hopes to make a bluegrass album.
- Rock singer Rod Stewart wants to record an album of country tunes, but the label executives at J Records blocked the idea. Stewart says:
“Everybody there (at J Records) is against that, which makes me want to do it even more. Apparently, the idea didn’t test well, whatever the f**k that means.”
- Guy Clark broke his leg recently when he was carrying a case of water down the stairs in his home and missed the last step. He has to stay off the leg for 6 weeks and unfortunately had to cancel all of his June dates.
- And an illness forced Merle Haggard to cancel his four remaining May dates.
- American Idol executive producer Nigel Lythgoe attributes Kellie Pickler’s growing fanbase to her new breasts. (via ggcolumn)
- Craig Bickhardt talks about the process behind writing great songs, legacy songs the type of songs that Guy Clark writes and Rodney Crowell refers to as “museum quality.”
I find it takes a pretty intense desire to create something great. The forge has to get pretty hot. Aspiration leads to some desperation, which leads to a spark of inspiration, and then the song sometimes comes in a rush of elation, fulfillment. Or maybe there will be a sudden vision that crystallizes in the mind’s eye and ear. This is the mystical part of the art, and it totally eludes those who have little faith in the process, or those who are in too much of a hurry. Great songs require dedication, time, effort, desire, fire, and yes, faith that the task can be accomplished.
Sadly, he concludes that “great songs” are outcasts, orphans of better days and the current process is why country radio pretty much sucks.
- A couple of months ago Owen Temple gave away his latest album, Two Thousand Miles, to anyone who added him as a friend on Facebook. Now he’s offering his third disc, Right Here and Now, for free. The conditions are the same, just add him as a friend and get your free downloads. You can’t beat free music.
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Forgotten Artists: Bradley Kincaid In a manner similar to Alan Lomax, William Bradley “The Kentucky Mountain Boy” Kincaid was one of the great American musicologists and collectors of American folk, country and parlor songs.
Forgotten Artists: Goldie Hill Had Carl Smith and Goldie Hill been born 30 or 40 years later, they might have been like Faith Hill and Tim McGraw–the dominant married couple in country music.
Miranda Lambert - “More Like Her” This kind of material, as opposed to her tough-chick-done-wrong romps like “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” and “Gunpowder and Lead,” is where her real promise lies
Joey Rory - “Cheater, Cheater” It’s actually downright frivolous, but that just makes it all the more fun. And really, are you allowed to say “ho” on country radio?
Josh Gracin - “Unbelievable (Ann Marie)” Despite initial marketing that touted the album as deep and personal, “Unbelievable (Ann Marie)” is anything but deep or personal.
Josh Turner - "Everything Is Fine" Turner is the rare example of an artist who records material that’s both quality and trademark.
Darryl Worley - "Tequila On Ice" A groovy mid-tempo that sways, a refreshing reprieve from the exhausting pace of a format that clamors for loud music and swelling choruses.
Blake Shelton - "She Wouldn't Be Gone" It’s all about nailing the melody rather than providing a legitimate interpretation that accentuates the lyrical content, although Shelton does do a pretty good job of injecting what limited emotion he can.
Don’t look now, but Darius Rucker, lead singer of 90s rock group Hootie & The Blowfish, has a country hit on his hands. What you probably haven’t heard is that Rucker is the first black artist to chart a single in the country top 20 since Charley Pride last did it in 1988.
News that former Sugarland member and co-founder Kristen Hall is suing her ex-mates, to the tune of $1.5 million, goes a long way towards providing a bit of context regarding the Atlanta singer/songwriter’s sudden departure from the group.
In Memory of Don Helms (1927 - 2008) Helms dated back to a time when an excellent four or five piece band and a good singer were all that were needed to make great country music. No drums, no light shows, no production tricks in the recording studio–just good music.Tagged In This Article
Alan Jackson // Dierks Bentley // Guy Clark // John Anderson // Kellie Pickler // Merle Haggard // Owen Temple // Rodney Crowell // Toby Keith
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May 22, 2008 at 10:16 am Permalink
I’d be up for a Rod Stewart country album. “Every Picture Tells a Story” is one of my favorites. I believe he could pull it off. It would definitely be better than a Christmas album or the dreck he’s currently throwing out there.
May 22, 2008 at 10:47 am Permalink
Oh goody, now we get to hear Toby Keith whign some more when the grammy’s nominate albums that are actually good and don’t incorporate rhymes from the Paris Hilton lexicon.
May 22, 2008 at 11:03 am Permalink
I wonder how much of Toby’s money is from race horses. Money like that, Hank never saw this coming.
May 22, 2008 at 11:05 am Permalink
I got a big kick out of the article about Kellie Pickler’s boob job. Now the crowning glory to this topic is Kellie’s latest MySpace blog entry where she encourages her female fans to accept their looks the way they are! Talk about mixed messages.. (Heidi Montag strikes me as another naturally good looking gal that should have left well enough alone..)
Link: http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=62796960&blogID=396334157
Its one of the best things I’ve heard since Sara Evans was promoting her book “You’ll Always Be My Baby” while in the midst of her messy psycho divorce from her former politician husband….
As for the songwriting article: “Sadly, he concludes that “great songs” are outcasts, orphans of better days and the current process is why country radio pretty much sucks.” Amen to that! Top 40 country radio just wants sound alike non-offensive material that serves as background elevator music to the lifestyles of their listener demographic. Not only are the commercial mindset programmers not looking for great songs, they would likely reject one if it came along as being too foreign to their thought processes….
May 22, 2008 at 11:11 am Permalink
PS - Here’s Perez Hilton’s quick take on the Stagecaoch music festival:
http://perezhilton.com/2008-05-20-country-rules
Have to admit I kinda agree with his dislike of large festivals, but the Bluegrass/Cowboy and Americana tent format worked out quite well.
Which reminds me, did Hollerin’ Ben attend day three of Stagecoach, or did he just catch Friday & Saturday as previously reported here? Hmm…
May 22, 2008 at 11:12 am Permalink
Not only are the commercial mindset programmers not looking for great songs, they would likely reject one if it came along as being too foreign to their thought processes…
Ha! The sad thing is, this shouldn’t be true, but it is 99% of the time.
May 22, 2008 at 11:13 am Permalink
All in all, a pretty pathetic list, with the exceptions of Strait, Jackson, and Paisley.
May 22, 2008 at 12:33 pm Permalink
I just want to second Rick’s comment about the mixed messages coming from Kellie Pickler.
My radio played her new single, “Don’t You Know…” yesterday, and sounds like a cheesy self help book in the form of a song.
May 22, 2008 at 12:49 pm Permalink
For me, the message isn’t mixed. It’s just hypocritical.
“Entertainers” justify anything they do to make their appearances fit the mold. They claim it’s a career demand no different from long hours in most jobs. Many entertainers see their lives as different and even special relative to the mainstream. This allows them to change their attitudes to the point where they don’t see the problems with saying do as I say, not as I do.
And about Kellie and her boobs? As the song we love to sing to make Keith top the Forbes list, “She’s a Hottie.” It’s all about quality, in boobs and in songs.
May 23, 2008 at 7:04 am Permalink
Funk: Things made of plastic are always cheaper and of poorer quality than things made of natural materials.
May 23, 2008 at 8:55 am Permalink
i hope rod stewart makes his country album. if j records won’t let him do it, he should take it elsewhere. stewart, for all his faults, is a great vocalist. he’s also heavily influenced by country music.
May 23, 2008 at 11:07 am Permalink
Got to love Toby!!! Trust me as hard as that man works it certainly didn’t come from all his music. He goes non-stop!! Music, restaurants, horses, fences, construction..LOVE HIM!! Rod and Country?!?!? What a match that will be!! Come on over to our yard Rod…WE WANT YOU!! Love Kelli Pickler. She deserves everything she can get.
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