New Bear Family Series Exemplifies Country Music From 1945 to 1950
- Barry Mazor introduced the new Bear Family series Country & Western Hit Parade: Dim Lights, Thick Smoke And Hillbilly Music in his most recent column for NoDepression.com. The first six volumes are structured around a given year from 1945 through 1950 and attempt to gather songs that represent that year without necessarily relying on by-the-charts hits.
- Marty Stuart on the response his TV show has been getting:
“The viewer response is off the charts,” Stuart said. “There are stacks of mail, as well as e-mail. A lot of people have longed for this kind of show again.”
“This kind of show” follows a formula set by Show Biz Inc., the Nashville company that produced the Wilburn and Wagoner shows, among others.
“The Show Biz model was specific — a gospel song went here, a comedian went here — and it’s timeless,” Stuart said. “I wanted to update that, and reignite it, because people respond to it.”
- After failed negotiations, Warner Music Group ordered YouTube to remove all music videos by its artists.
- Since releasing Waylon Forever, Shooter Jennings feels like he’s finally free from the pressure of fitting into country music. He also reveals that the title of the album came from watching Batman re-runs.
- The Tennessean’s Cindy Watts has a brief Q&A with Rory Feek in which he discusses the story behind “Cheater Cheater” and his favorite method of writing a song.
- Congratulations to MikeKY, Friday’s winner in our 12 Days of Christmas giveaway. After a bit of a technical glitch over the weekend, the giveaway is back today, with the weekend’s prizes all rolled into one.
- Artist David Liverett has a new book being published this week titled Those Grand Ole Country Music Stars. It includes a full page biography on more than 200 country music artists along with a Liverett’s trademark sketches. “Using pointilism — essentially dots that complete a portrait — his detailed pen-and-ink illustrations can each take up to 12 hours to finish.”
- Ladies and gentlemen, meet John Rich’s wedding ring.
- Trent Tomlinson’s new single, “That’s How It Still Oughta Be,” is being released for digital download via Play MPE today, making him the second artist to release material on Disney Music Group’s new imprint, Carolwood Records.
- Country Universe’s Kevin J. Coyne listed 25 of his favorite songs by Dolly Parton.
- Lori McKenna performed six shows during her three-night stand at Club Passim in Cambridge, Mass. The Boston Globe correspondent Jonathan Perry reviewed her final show:
McKenna’s voice, bristling with tang and twang that was much more rural country than college-town coffeehouse, was like an open hand: trusting and nakedly exposed; a lined palm of ridges and peaks; softly calloused from years of hard work and harder-won freedoms. Thus, plangent selections like “Make Every Word Hurt” and “Your Next Lover” felt, as much as sounded, almost regal in their sorrowful strength and humanity.
- On Friday, the RIAA announced it has abandoned its policy of suing people for sharing songs protected by copyright and will work with Internet service providers to cut abusers’ access if they ignore repeated warnings.
- The list of good things that Chet Flippo is savoring from 2008 runs the gamut from Taylor Swift’s songwriting progress and career acumen to album releases from Kathy Mattea, Tom Petty’s former band, Mudcrutch, and Shooter Jennings.
- Be sure to catch up on the current edition of “Quotable Country” since it’ll be on hiatus next week.
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December 22, 2008 at 11:26 am Permalink
now that is a solid news day mi compadre!
December 22, 2008 at 2:33 pm Permalink
Good for Marty Stuart man, I’m stoked for his show. They really need to either put episodes online, offer a dvd set, or hurry up and get some network to pick it up because I’d really like to see it.
John Rich has good taste in everything.
December 22, 2008 at 2:52 pm Permalink
WMG are fools. So desperate for the revenue they need, they’s bitten off their nose to spite their face. And the RIAA just took a hard right turn at about the same time. The twists and turns as result of the recession are fascinating, to say the least.
December 22, 2008 at 2:53 pm Permalink
that first sentence should say “they’ve.”
December 22, 2008 at 5:07 pm Permalink
What’s sad is that labels were putting alot of that content up, not unauthorized fans. They’ll agree to some sort of licensing deal shortly….
December 22, 2008 at 5:22 pm Permalink
Not very many CD releases make my mouth water, but those new Bear Family compilations sure do. The post WW-II 40’s were a golden era for country music by my reckoning. Sadly it seems the mindset these days is that “real” country music began with Hank Williams Sr. and the artists predating his success can be ignored, which is a cryin’ shame.
I would love to see Marty Stuart’s variety show but we don’t get RFD TV on out cable TV system out here. An artist like Amber Digby would make a perfect guest and the show’s audience is the sort of folks she’s trying to reach. Amber should pull her Momma’s strings connected to Connie Smith to get on the show when she’s in Nashville in late January.
I always enjoy reading interviews with Rory Feek as he is just so down home and straight up. I’m glad to see them getting some chart success with “Cheater, Cheater” and hope any follow up singles also garner decent radio airplay.
Chet Flippo’s savoring the vocal phrasing at the Colbie Caillat concert is still my favorite off his list. Maybe Jewel should return to her roots and vocal style of her first album to really give Chet a thrill in 2009.
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