Settlement Will Allow Country Music Hall of Fame to Keep Historic Instruments
- The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum will be required to pay $750,000 to keep historic instruments from Bill Monroe, Johnny Cash and Mother Maybelle Carter. The instruments were donated by Bob McLean, who committed suicide after being accused of defrauding investors. The settlement will go to McLean’s bankruptcy estate to help pay back his creditors.
- Peter Cooper doesn’t like people who pull out their Blackberry during intimate concert performances. Especially when the intimate concert performance is by Don Schlitz, the writer of “The Gambler,” and he’s in the middle of intimately performing “The Gambler.”
- Photocrap is back to the funny with honest album covers chosen from several year-end best-of lists.
- In the introduction to his interview with Ashton Shepherd, The Washington Post’s J. Freedom du Lac mentions that Shepherd’s album Sounds So Good is his pick for album of the year.
Was there ever any question that you’d make a traditional-sounding album? That’s not exactly the easiest sell these days.
It was always just gonna be what it is. I remember when we first started, me and [producer Buddy Cannon] were starting to get to know each other. I remember talkin’ to him one day and I was telling him the different music that I love. I said, “Buddy, I love John Anderson’s music. I love that sound, with the fiddles driving a lot of his songs.” And I gave a couple of other examples of real country music that I like.I was a little afraid then because I didn’t really know Buddy. I knew a little of his history of course and just how legendary he is. But I didn’t know what he was going to want to do with my songs. Producin’, that’s not what I do. I’m just a singer-songwriter.
- Roughstock’s top 25 albums of 2008.
- If you’re not familiar with Dolly Parton’s catalog, you’re in luck–Country Universe’s Kevin J. Coyne put together a handy buyer’s guide.
- For his next album, due in the spring on Bloodshot Records, Wayne Hancock decided to use his road band. It will include a song titled “Moving On” that he wrote when he was 14 and another about economic hard times that he wrote 20 years ago.
- Listen to an interview with Charlie Haden and family, and musical selections from their latest album, on NPR. Haden is most known for being a jazz bassist, but he grew up in a musical family that performed together on country radio. His most recent album, Ramblin’ Boy, marks a return to those country roots with his current family: triplets Petra, Tanya and Rachel; son Josh and son-in-law and actor Jack Black. Also making appearances are country music singers Vince Gill, Ricky Skaggs, and Rosanne Cash, as well as Elvis Costello, Bruce Hornsby, and Pat Metheny.
- Word has it that Tanya Tucker and Collin Raye will be releasing new albums in the spring on Saguaro Road Records.
- A big thanks goes out to Jim Caligiuri for mentioning The 9513 as best discovery in The Austin Chronicle’s year-end critic’s poll and for everyone who nominated us for The 2008 Weblog Awards in the best music blog category. Both were unexpected and exciting. We’ll let you know when voting opens for finalists in the Weblog Awards, so uh, if you’ve got the itch you can vote for us.
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What country artist, young or old, would you recommend as a must-listen artist to a newcomer on his/her journey through country music, and what would your essential song picks be?Tagged In This Article
Ashton Shepherd // Charlie Haden // Collin Raye // Country Music Hall of Fame // Dolly Parton // Don Schlitz // John Anderson // Johnny Cash // Maybelle Carter // Peter Cooper // Ricky Skaggs // Rosanne Cash // Tanya Tucker // Vince Gill // Wayne Hancock
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26 Comments
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December 31, 2008 at 12:49 pm Permalink
Someone is going to have to explain the Electric Boogaloo reference to the people born in the 80’s.
December 31, 2008 at 12:51 pm Permalink
Ahh, just let ‘em enjoy their youth instead.
December 31, 2008 at 12:57 pm Permalink
Thanks for the mention. Oh, that Peter Cooper story is damn funny (his rant). I sure hope the Blackberry dude reads that article. The thing is he’ll probably be too stupid to realize it was about him.
December 31, 2008 at 1:07 pm Permalink
LOL I loved the album covers-especially Taylor Swifts “EARLESS”
December 31, 2008 at 1:22 pm Permalink
Members only jackets and Breakin’ references in the span of two weeks …I’m showing my age :). Thanks for the link.
December 31, 2008 at 1:40 pm Permalink
Photocrap really outdid itself on that one! Hilarious.
Also, Time Warner Cable/Viacom still haven’t agreed on a new settlement and Viacom is set to take its channels off the air tonight at 12:01, including CMT. I guess since I haven’t turned on CMT since Can You Duet? it’s not too big of a blow…
December 31, 2008 at 1:56 pm Permalink
Peter Cooper is the man.
December 31, 2008 at 2:57 pm Permalink
Loved the Ashton Shepherd interview. Hers is the one new album I’ve listened to over and over again this year.
December 31, 2008 at 3:23 pm Permalink
I would never begin to call Ashton Shepherd’s album the absolute best of 2008, but I’ll be darned if it wasn’t one of the most likable. That really is a great interview.
December 31, 2008 at 3:31 pm Permalink
Stormy is right: I have no idea what an ‘electric boogaloo’ is – but I’m not sure I want to know either …
December 31, 2008 at 3:35 pm Permalink
Stormy said: “Someone is going to have to explain the Electric Boogaloo reference to the people born in the 80’s.”
Chris said: “Ahh, just let ‘em enjoy their youth instead.”
I used to sign my school papers with the name “Turbo”…
December 31, 2008 at 3:49 pm Permalink
Wow, J. Freedom ranked Ashton best album in any genre (and Jamey Johnson gets No. 4). Kanye will not be pleased.
December 31, 2008 at 4:16 pm Permalink
“How Big Are Angel Wings” kept Ashton’s record out of my Top 10. Them’s the brakes!
December 31, 2008 at 4:29 pm Permalink
Wait? I didn’t realize Time-Warner and Viacon had a problem. So that’s what I was seeing going across my cable this morning. To call this number or not see MTV, Comedy Central, VH1 again..but I didn’t see CMT but I’m sure it’s involved. Well, darn..I do watch GAC all the time but CMT once in a great while does have a music special “GIANTS” and I did enjoy watching “CAn You Duet” and those best duets in country music specials. But I can’t stand all the stupid repeated reality shows over and over and therefore I check the channel for the whole night and most of the time skip for there’s nothing on there to watch. Mmmm…well, I’m a calling. I was upset that they did move PURECMT to another stage above what I pay to get GAC. That was a good CMT channel as it was mostly music.
December 31, 2008 at 7:08 pm Permalink
Good news regarding Collin Raye; I hope he’s able to find his way back to commercial viability… or artistic relevance; either would be find by my book. He’s certainly got one of the best tenors in the country music business today.
December 31, 2008 at 8:25 pm Permalink
Trailer, I love the Glen Campbell mug shot cover with Ashton Shepherd a close second. Great stuff as usual.
I finally caught the Ashton Shepherd episode of GAC’s “Into The Circle” recently and that plain little country gal charmed my socks off. I hope Ashton spends as little time as possible in Nashville so that she doesn’t get corrupted. Ashton is so genuinely “country” that she is giving Chris N. a run for his money.
Wayne Hancock is here in LA tonight for a New Year’s Eve concert at the Regent Theater downtown, but I’m just too tired to even consider going. I may have been the role model for the Lucky Stars band’s song “Run Down Daddy Blues”…..
December 31, 2008 at 8:42 pm Permalink
Accoridng to the washington post, Ashton still lives in a trailer. good for her. great album covers. really funny. glad to see soem people haev a sense of humor still. though, I bet Taylor Swifts people will make them take hers down because its uncomplimentary.
December 31, 2008 at 8:45 pm Permalink
wow. sorry about the typos. my fingers are dyslexic or something.
December 31, 2008 at 9:31 pm Permalink
JR: In the beginning, there was Breakin’ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMR1qaYbrd)
so, of course, you had to have Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo.
They are worth a watch on a slow weekend.
December 31, 2008 at 10:42 pm Permalink
Tift Merritt interviewed Patty Griffin for The Spark:
http://www.marfaspark.com/program.htm
January 1, 2009 at 9:44 pm Permalink
Chris N, that song is what largely kept Ashton out of my top ten as well. No wonder she was nervous about Cannon, the guy who produces Chesney.
January 1, 2009 at 11:32 pm Permalink
I think Buddy Cannon did a good job with Jamey Johnson’s album also. But I can’t say I really care for any of Kenny Chesney’s stuff.
January 2, 2009 at 9:54 am Permalink
I should add that no wonder she was worried about Cannon, the guy who produces Chesney, but fortunately it mostly worked out for her.
January 2, 2009 at 9:57 am Permalink
“Ashton is so genuinely ‘country’ that she is giving Chris N. a run for his money.”
Between her and Dale Watson I think I’d better just retire while I’m still on top.
January 4, 2009 at 11:10 pm Permalink
As for Ashton’s “Angel Wings” song, I don’t normally care for overly contrived sentimental songs unless they have a musical structure I really like. Both “Angel Wings” and Sherrie Austin’s “Streets of Heaven” are songs I love to listen to. Ashton’s vocals on “Angel Wings” are some of her most powerful on the album and the song always leaves me saying “wow”! I can understand why that song would turn a lot of people off, but I like it. I guess I’m a natural born contrarian. Oh well….
January 5, 2009 at 2:55 pm Permalink
My God I agree with Rick! For once! In another’s larynx, “Angel Wings” mighta stuttered but by gum if Ashton didn’t smash it into the stratosphere with her vocal…and those harmonies on the chorus are the icing on the cake.
But it’s Whiskey Won The Battle that keeps me coming back…
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