Mel Tillis Gets Remastered
- Three out-of-print Mel Tillis albums have been remastered and are scheduled for release on April 29.
- Despite having a rough few weeks and speculation about his sexuality, Chace Crawford (whoever that is) is doing fine since his split with Carrie Underwood.
- Founding member and lead singer of the Hacienda Brothers Chris Gaffney was diagnosed with liver cancer. His health insurance won’t cover all of the costs, so his family set up a website asking for your help. (via Twang Nation)
- Mario Tarradell claims the “Sinatra of country music” moniker frequently attached to George Strait fits.
- The new Willie Nelson box-set, One Hell of a Ride, opens with Nelson’s first recording from 1954, “When I’ve Sang My Last Hillbilly Song.” It was recorded in a tiny radio station in Pleasanton where he worked as a disc jockey, and closing the box-set is another recording of the same song that he cut late last year.
- Juli Thanki scorches Zane Lewis’s new album.
- Still Is Still Moving drew my attention toward some nifty limited edition Willie Nelson shirts celebrating the big 7-5.
- Sometimes fans don’t know best. The Dierks Bentley greatest hits project that he enlisted fans help with will be titled Greatest Hits//Every Mile A Memory 2003 - 2008. Sounds more like an epitaph if you ask me, or the title of a posthumous release.
It will include Bentley’s 10 Top 10 and number 1 radio hits, 4 live versions of crowd favorites “So So Long,” “Lot of Leavin’ Left To Do,” “Wish It Would Break” and “Free & Easy (Down The Road I Go)” and two new tracks, “With The Band” and “Sweet & Wild” (featuring Sarah Buxton).
- Country Music Central has a track by track breakdown of the new Josh Gracin album, We Weren’t Crazy.
- If you want some good roadhouse style music from a talented artist and an incredible band then Country Universe’s Leeann recommends checking out Darryl Lee Rush’s Live From the River Road Icehouse.
- Taylor Swift has nearly a dozen agents working on various aspects of her career now that she’s represented by WMA.
- Self-professed amateur historian of country music and world’s most enthusiastic fan of country music’s female artists Laura Cantrell takes a stab at introducing readers to unknown women in country music with Country Music’s Greatest Underappreciated Female Artists.
- April 1st marked the one year anniversary of Billy Joe Shaver’s infamous shooting in Waco and the grand jury still hasn’t decided whether to press charges in court or not.
- The incredible Pete Anderson is answering any questions you might have over on the Little Dog Records blog. Anderson is “the man behind recordings by such renowned artists as Dwight Yoakam, Roy Orbison, k.d.lang, Flaco Jimenez, Buck Owens, Lucinda Williams, Jim Lauderdale, Rosie Flores.” Cool stuff.
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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
Billy Joe Shaver // Carrie Underwood // Darryl Lee Rush // Dierks Bentley // George Strait // Josh Gracin // Little Dog Records // Mel Tillis // Taylor Swift // Willie Nelson // Zane Lewis
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Trackback URI for this postApril 18, 2008
[…] of the roundups at the beginning of the month included the news that founding member and lead singer of the Hacienda Brothers Chris Gaffney was […]
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April 3, 2008 at 9:42 am Permalink
I hate to be a stickler (just kidding, I love it), but the recording of “When I’ve Sang My Last Hillbilly Song” is listed in the Willie box set as being from 1954 or 1955.
April 3, 2008 at 12:57 pm Permalink
so what is the 9513 netsite going to do for willie nelson’s 75th birthday? something big, i hope. i’d encourage everyone to indulge in that box set (it’s pricey, but it’s worth it).
April 3, 2008 at 1:05 pm Permalink
Chris Gaffney is a great musician, and by all accounts a great guy.
I’m glad to see that the9513 posted this link and I’d encourage everyone to check out The Hacienda Brothers’ music, as well as donating money to help Chris.
April 3, 2008 at 6:05 pm Permalink
Too bad it’s the Electra stuff on Mel Tillis that’s being reissued - his best recordings were from the pre-Jimmy Bown era, probably the MGM recordings. Actually Tillis deserves a boxed set covering the entire span of his impressive career including the very scarce material from the Kapp label
April 3, 2008 at 6:21 pm Permalink
I really like Laura Cantrell’s list and hope she keeps doing more of the same. When it was pointed out here that Country Universe was listing their Top 100 Female Country Artists, I posted that the list better include Rose Maddox! Well Laura has honored Rose in a way that is more than satisfactory in this regard:
“4. Rose Maddox: Her family group, the Maddox Brothers and Rose, dominated California’s airwaves in the 1940s and ’50s, with Rose emerging as the group’s supertalent. She schooled Buck Owens and Merle Haggard in how to sing honky-tonk music with soul, and deserves a place of honor wherever jukeboxes are playing.”
Amen to that.
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