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House Recognizes Toby Keith For Commitment to Military
- Oklahoma congressman Tom Cole introduced a resolution to the House of Representatives to recognize Toby Keith’s commitment to the U.S. military. Keith has made six USO trips to visit troops on the front lines.
- As we enter into the second half of 2008 Craig Shelburne takes a look back at 10 albums from the first half that are worth checking out for fans with an adventurous ear.
- The Dedringers‘ (MySpace) new album, Sweetheart of the Neighborhood, doesn’t come out until July 10th, but you can download it for free here.
- Third Town–the trio that got ousted on last week’s Nashville Star–left the show feeling confused by John Rich’s criticism, which they describe as an on-camera ploy to boost ratings.
“We auditioned in Austin and he freaked out, asked me to sing the same note I did again and he goes, ‘My god, when Rascal Flatts hears you guys, they’re going to freak out. You are the best thing I’ve seen the entire audition process. You must come to Nashville now.’ That’s the direct quote. And then we got to Nashville week, he’s in front of the cameras and switches.”
- In an effort to preserve his venue for years to come, the owner of Austin’s popular Continental Club is seeking status as a historic landmark. During it’s early years the building housed a laundromat and electric company and in the early ’70s it’s thought to have hosted exotic dancers. Recently, however, artists from Dale Watson and James Hand to James McMurtry and Jon Dee Graham have frequented the stage.
- About.com’s Shelly Fabian lists 10 essential country music box sets, ranging from Hank Williams to Garth Brooks.
- American Idol season 7 semi-finalists Kady Malloy and Alaina Whitaker have joined with Brittney Whitaker to form a new country/pop trio dubbed…Whitaker Malloy.
- With a new album titled Moneyland due out on July 8th, Del McCoury and friends pay tribute to the struggles of rural America. The album begins and ends with excerpts from FDR’s fireside chats, and in between you’ll find tunes from the likes of Merle Haggard, Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell, Dan Tyminski and Chris Knight.
- Sam Houston says John Kruth’s Townes Van Zandt biography, To Live’s To Fly, offers a glimpse into the life of the troubled troubadour through the numerous stories told by his friends, but with hardly any chronological order and several instances of sloppy fact checking, it’s anything but definitive.
- Jerry Del Colliano on record labels’ desires to impose performance taxes on radio:
Radio deserves better than to be disrespected now at a time when it is fighting for its life — especially by the record labels who got rich on the back of free airplay.
- Craig Wiseman and Dierks Bentley were recruited by John Rich to judge his weekly Get Rich Talent Search and after judging duties were over, they delighted the crowd at 12th & Porter with performances.
- And on the subject of John Rich, he mentions in a Q&A with The Boot that despite Miranda Lambert being the only artist from Nashville Star to have steady success, he feels that country music, and America as a whole, will gain a superstar from this year’s competition…
- A collection of unreleased George Jones duets, titled George Jones: Burn Your Playhouse Down, will be released on August 19th. Country Standard Time has the details.
- Rebecca Lynn Howard tackles sooo-uul music on her new album, No Rules.
- Dobro master Jerry Douglas will perform four special concerts in August and September as part of his status as the sixth artist-in-residence for the Country Music Hall of Fame.
- Here’s some free music from the Bluegrass band Infamous Stringdusters, courtesy of Sugar Hill Records. “Wont Be Coming Back” and “Glass Elevator” are featured on the band’s current, self-titled album, which was released on June 10. “Gettin’ Down The Road” is a live track which was originally made available to fans who pre-ordered the album. Enjoy. Website | MySpace
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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.
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.
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.
Forgotten Artist: Wynn Stewart Both Buck Owens and Merle Haggard have cited Wynn Stewart as a major influence on their careers, yet somehow, he was never able to translate his enormous talent into extended and consistent success for himself.
Forgotten Artist: David Rogers David Rogers (1936-1993) is proof of the adage that it’s great to be on a major label, but only if the label is truly behind you.
In this exclusive interview with The 9513, the Show Dog Records trio talks about growing up around Waylon and Jessi Colter, and about how those experiences have helped shaped their music as they set off on their own country music journey.
One of an emerging wave of artists empowered by decreasing production costs and a rapidly changing distribution landscape, Kelleigh Bannen has taken a do-it-yourself approach to her debut album, Radio Skies.Tagged In This Article
Chris Knight // Country Music Hall of Fame // Craig Wiseman // Dale Watson // Dan Tyminski // Del McCoury // Dierks Bentley // Emmylou Harris // Garth Brooks // George Jones // Hank Williams // Infamous Stringdusters // James Hand // James McMurtry // Jerry Douglas // John Rich // Merle Haggard // Miranda Lambert // Nashville Star // Rascal Flatts // Rebecca Lynn Howard // Rodney Crowell // The Dedringers // Toby Keith // Townes Van Zandt // Whitaker Malloy
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13 Comments
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June 25, 2008 at 10:29 am Permalink
Say what you want about Toby Keith, espcially being that I believe his music now is NOWHERE near as good as it used to be, but he is always visiting the soldiers in Iraq and performing for them. He truly does practices what he preacies, which I respect a lot.
June 25, 2008 at 12:50 pm Permalink
Oh, John Rich.
“Melissa [Lawson] is one of the best singers I’ve ever heard…We also have an Hispanic country singer named Gabe Garcia, who has one of the best, straight-up country voices I’ve ever heard in my life.”
So either he’s been secretly wearing earplugs for the entire time he’s been in Nashville and just took them out to be a judge on this show, or he thinks his viewing audience is so absurdly impressionable that they won’t notice the difference between decent amateurs and exceptional pros. Lawson and Garcia are indeed talented and might even show professional potential, but pumping them up like that just for the sake of ratings (/potentially sales) boosts is not only unfair to the contestants (who will have to contend with the confusing feedback like Third Town is now); it’s manipulative of the viewing audience and really country music as a whole. Simon Cowell has often played pimp for his favorite Idol contestants, but I don’t recall him ever overrating anybody quite so grossly.
As to the contention that they’re looking to develop “artists” and not “singers,” I can certainly see how UW boy’s (probably) back-door entry onto the show and the absurd background dancers (to name a few inane features of the show) would really help support this claim. Jeez.
June 25, 2008 at 1:05 pm Permalink
On another note, if anyone is interested in the box sets list, there’s a much more comprehensive Waylon Jennings set called Nashville Rebel (four discs instead of two, 92 tracks vs. 40) which is a terrific value ($29.97) on Amazon, and I’d also highly recommend the 70-song Roger Miller set, King of the Road: The Genius of Roger Miller, which is the same price.
June 25, 2008 at 6:12 pm Permalink
Hey everyone, Sarah Buxton will be performing on the Opry this coming Saturday night! WooHoo! Other artists worth catching include Rebecca Lynn Howard and the top shelf western swing band The Time Jumpers. Okay, now to getting back on topic…
The lovely and extremely talented Elana James has a standing weekly gig at The Continental Club when she’s not busy with other things. After The Hot Club of Cowtown split up she named her own band “The Continental Two” after the club. Anyone who loves western swing and/or fantastic fiddle playing should check out Elana’s stage act if they get the chance.
Rebecca Lynn Howard must have a great traditional country album buried deep within her small town Kentucky soul. I just hope it comes out some day as her new effort reminds me far too much of Lari White’s failed attempt at “Green Eyed Soul”….
John Rich has the most over inflated opinion of himself thinking he is the combination Simon Cowell / Queen Elizabeth II of Nashville. None of the contestants on the current Nashville Star have one tenth the talent of a Megan Mullins or Ashley Monroe, let alone a Sarah Buxton and yet those gals didn’t get embraced by country radio. Paul King of Nashville Hype got a picture taken with some of the NS gals last night at one of John Rich’s “Get Rich” shows in Nashville which included the gorgeous Jaida Dreyer. Here’s a link to his page with the photos:
http://nashvillehype.com/
Paul must have a personal “No Smiles” policy when posing for pictures…..
June 25, 2008 at 9:29 pm Permalink
I wouldn’t call either the Dwight or NGDB boxes essential since both feature material that has been readily available throughout the years
Rhino’s BUCK OWENS box is essential as is the Bear Family WEBB PIERCE box (actually, all of the Bear Family box sets are great - they’ve issued several Johnny Cash box sets that are better than the set Shelly Fabian referenced)
June 25, 2008 at 11:25 pm Permalink
The Genius of Roger Miller is by far the best boxed set I own… and I have four of the boxes on that list… Johnny, Garth, George, and Merle.
June 26, 2008 at 5:18 am Permalink
I miay have to purchase the Roger Miller Boxset.
June 26, 2008 at 7:08 am Permalink
don’t forget willie nelson’s ‘one hell of a ride’. that one is stunning.
June 26, 2008 at 8:47 am Permalink
If you ever want to convert a friend, hand them Shout Factory’s ‘Legends of Country: Classic Hits of the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s.’ A nearly perfect box set hobbled by an awful title.
http://tinyurl.com/5qczvx
June 26, 2008 at 9:07 am Permalink
The 12-CD Country Legends box-set looks like it has some pretty swanky music on it, too.
June 26, 2008 at 3:36 pm Permalink
Brody, way to go out on a limb and proclaim that a 12 CD set has some good music on it. I turned 25 before I could afford to own 12 CDs.
John Rich: “feels that country music, and America as a whole, will gain a superstar from this year’s competition…”
… or at least he’ll die trying. Think he’s got a piece of that action?
June 26, 2008 at 9:26 pm Permalink
Rick,
I’ll crack a grin every now and then, but smiling is almost always out of the question. :)
Jaida rocks.
July 2, 2008 at 8:32 pm Permalink
Congrats to Jaida Dreyer on her Get Rich win! I’m a fan! She is so real - I love everything about her/music. =) Oh and I’ll admitt I’m pulling for Ashlee Hewitt on NS too!
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