Ricky Skaggs Goes Solo; Taylor Swift vs. Ernest Tubb; Caitlin & Will Debut New Video
- Tanya Tucker recently released an album of covers that she credits her father for introducing to her and in October, Rosanne Cash will release a new album, The List, consisting of songs from a list that her father gave her. But before Cash’s album, there will be yet another album released credited to the influence of the artist’s father — Ricky Skaggs Solo (Songs My Dad Loved) (Sept. 15).
“Some of these songs were my very first memories of music, of hearing my dad sing,” Skaggs tells Billboard.com. “If I could’ve gotten my dad into the studio, this is how I would’ve wanted him to sound — kind of Iron & Wine meets Ralph Stanley.”
Visit Billboard.com for the track list and other future Skaggs plans.
- What would be cooler than an Asleep at the Wheel audio bootleg? A video playlist of Asleep at the Wheel performing 11 hits from 2007 Music Fest in Steamboat, Colorado.
- Country California’s C.M. Wilcox teeters on the edge of sacrilege in a new editorial, “Does Swift Have Tubb Appeal?,” in which he draws parallels between the success of Taylor Swift and Ernest Tubb.
- Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss are headed to the White House.
- In light of the recent MLB All Star Game, Ninety Mile Wind’s Craig Bickhardt published an appropriate article about heart and competition and an accompanying song titled “The Real Game.”
Competition is a funny thing. If you give someone a fair chance to compete with heart, there’s nothing so enriching. Corrupt the spirit of competition and suddenly it gets ugly and debases everything it touches. When greed and steroids infected baseball, it declined. When greed and artificial enhancers like pitch tuners and pre-recorded concert tracks infected music, it, too, declined.
- Nashville is a hitmaker’s hotbed of commercial country music, but in a special to The Washington Post, Jedd Ferris says bluegrass, Americana’s most underappreciated genre, shouldn’t be overlooked.
- Country Universe: What hidden gems covering traditional country music subject matter (murder, drinking, ect.) would you recommend?
- Later this month Martina McBride will visit London and Ireland for her first concerts there in some 15 years.
- Shawn Colvin, who recently released a live album titled Live, discusses her knowledge of country music in an interview with Craig Shelburne.
- Super Summer Giveaway: My Kind of Country has albums from John Anderson, George Jones, Adam Hood and Charlie Robison to give to seven lucky winners. Simply leave a comment with your favorite Summer memory or your favorite song about the Summer time.
- Watch the new video debut of Caitlin & Will’s “Address In the Stars.”
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July 16, 2009 at 11:18 am Permalink
Can’t wait for the Skaggs album… the man is immensely talented. One of the best high voices there is and can pick with the best of them.
July 16, 2009 at 1:22 pm Permalink
Drew: “One of the best high voices there is…”
Yep, although he doesn’t like to sing high harmony with hardly anyone anymore, which is what led to the infamous encounter with the late King of Bluegrass, Jimmy Martin, detailed in Tom Piazza’s essay. So one of the likely high points of this release is the opportunity to hear him sing tenor again, even if it’s to himself.
July 16, 2009 at 4:42 pm Permalink
I see his Wilcox’s point with a very simple common place with Tubbs and Swift. But did Tubbs ever change a song so that it would be “pop’ enough to perform on the raunchiest of awards shows? (Carrie was asked to perform too and she kindly said “no”)
I will be anxiously waiting for Skagg’s album. I love this man’s smooth singing and I do love me some Bluegrass.
I thought Catlin and Will’s song was better than their first.
July 16, 2009 at 4:51 pm Permalink
Vicki,
Kind of random Taylor/Carrie point to make.:)
July 16, 2009 at 4:56 pm Permalink
I think CM’s onto something. Really, it would seem to me like there are a handful of the really big superstars from country music that fit under this. Look at Hank Williams. Eddy Arnold was releasing songs around the same time, and could sing circles, as far as technical prowess is concerned, around Hank. At the time it may have been different, Hank became the mega super star that everyone knows of. The same with Garth Brooks. Not a great singer, but obviously he was wildly more successful than a lot of better singers from the same time.
Every year The Nashville Scene does a “Your So Nashville If…” and they have a winner, but also print all of the contenders. There is an entire section dedicated to making fun of John Rich. Go to the link below, and also go forward from there to page 4 for more on the man we all know and love!
http://www.nashvillescene.com/2009-07-16/news/you-are-so-nashville-if-winners/3
July 16, 2009 at 5:48 pm Permalink
Caitlin & Will’s new video is stunning, I absolutely loved it
And Miranda Lambert’s new “Dead Flowers” video came out today too… also fantastic
July 16, 2009 at 6:41 pm Permalink
Caitlin and Will, a ballad? IN THE SUMMER? IS THEIR LABEL INSANE!? That won’t sell CD’s for the non-big-timers. After seeing how they got to where they are, I think of them as “country music, I guess, if that’s where I can get in” kind of people. But they sound good.
Brad Paisley should be President, based on his guitar-playing alone.
July 16, 2009 at 8:11 pm Permalink
That WaPo article about experiencing bluegrass music in and around Nashville is well written. It was as much about the venues involved as the music itself. Its too bad he wasn’t at the Station Inn one of the nights Jypsi performs as they need all the publicity they can get.
Regarding the MLB All-Star Game and that quote about competition, in honor of Obama’s girly style opening pitch I would like restate a line or two:
“If you give Presidential candidates a fair chance to compete with truthfulness and transparency (not warped by extreme media bias), there’s nothing so enriching. Corrupt the spirit of Presidency (by being a deceitful leftist Manchurian Candidate) and suddenly it gets ugly and debases everything it touches (Banking, GM and Chrysler, Health Care, etc.). When Marxist ideology and a lust for authoritarian power infected the White House, the future prospects for America declined…..”
I’m just glad Ricky Skaggs has passed through his “Total Bluegrass Immersion” phase and is starting to play the older songs I like at his concerts once again!
July 16, 2009 at 9:03 pm Permalink
Lucas: “Caitlin and Will, a ballad? IN THE SUMMER? IS THEIR LABEL INSANE!? That won’t sell CD’s for the non-big-timers. After seeing how they got to where they are, I think of them as “country music, I guess, if that’s where I can get in” kind of people. But they sound good”
They actually released the single back in March… it peaked at #42 in June, but they still released a video anyway a month later
July 16, 2009 at 9:10 pm Permalink
It’s terrifying to think the label didn’t promote that song well enough to get a constant country radio listener like me to even hear about it until this video.
July 16, 2009 at 9:32 pm Permalink
Uh, Jypsi doesn’t perform at the Station Inn. The kids have been there individually with other groups, and they’ve sometimes gotten up to do a song or two as a group, but almost exclusively in their pre-Jypsi days. You might be think of the Bluegrass Inn, Rick, but not the Station Inn. And the songs from his “earlier days” that Skaggs is performing – with Kentucky Thunder, his bluegrass band – are themselves largely songs that come from the bluegrass repertoire, and they’re done bluegrass style. The new album, on the other hand, isn’t – as described – a bluegrass album; it’s almost certainly going to be more of an old-time record.
July 16, 2009 at 10:59 pm Permalink
The Catlin and Will video is absolutely stunning!! Great song too!! Thanks for posting the link!
July 17, 2009 at 3:43 pm Permalink
For the9513.com…THANK YOU FOR POSTING OUR VIDEO!!!!!!!!! We love you guys.
For those who watched the video and liked it…THANK YOU!
For Lucas…
Thanks for your input on us :) I will say only this…Country Music is the hardest genre of music to not only get into, but to have longevity. Country Music fans are more than capable of being able to spot a “fake”. Will and I would not insult their intelligence nor do them a disservice by being ““country music, I guess, if that’s where I can get in” kind of people.”" Trust me when I say THIS…what you see is what you get with us. We wont ever tell a lie…or live one.
Thank you for thinking we sound good!!! And I agree with you on Brad. If you were to ever meet him you would think he deserved the honor based on his mentality as well.
xoxo Caitlin
PS I told you I would be back Jim!!!!!!
July 17, 2009 at 4:09 pm Permalink
Nice to see Caitilin stopping by again. Ever since the podcast interview I had with Caitilin & Will, I have really hoped things would get rolling for them in a big way. the video is nice and hopefully, it gains them some more fans and greater notoriety!
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