The 9513 - Country Music Blog

Rusty Wier, one of the innovators of the “Austin sound” in the ’70s and an Americana musician before there was such a thing, passed away Friday morning:
Hearing was Rusty Wier’s last sense to go, so although he was almost unresponsive when surrounded by relatives and friends, including Jerry Jeff Walker, at his son Coby’s house [...]

Continue reading "Rusty Wier Passed Away; Garth Brooks Headed to Vegas; Teenage Stars"

Barbara Mandrell has become the first woman inducted into the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame.
Country California fake news:
Between canceled shows and a CMA Entertainer of the Year snub, fans of pop-country duo Sugarland have had a rough go of it in recent months. Sadly, there’s more bad news on the way: doctors have ordered Kristian [...]

Continue reading "Steel Guitar Hall of Fame Inducts Barbara Mandrell; Willie Nelson Bluegrass; Ricky Skaggs Stream"

Sara Evans‘ former nanny scored more than $500,000 in the settlement for a defamation suit she filed against the country singer in April 2007.
Kathy Mattea on the divide between traditional and pop influences in country music: (via GAC)
“This tension between a real traditional sound and pop music, it’s nothing new,” said Mattea. “We had Barbara [...]

Continue reading "Sara Evans Settles Suit; Jack Ingram Bests Taylor Swift; What’s Country?"

For part four of this series, I’ll be using the same criteria as before–Just some songs I liked, one song per artist (although feel free to comment on other songs by the artist). This part stops in the middle of the letter M.
“Joy To The World” – Murray Kellum (1971)
A nice country cover of [...]

Continue reading "Great Country Songs from the 1970s, Pt. 4"

Barbara Mandrell, Roy Clark and Charlie McCoy became the newest members of the Country Music Hall of Fame on Sunday in a ceremony that included tributes from Garth Brooks, Reba McEntire, George Jones, Alison Krauss, Josh Turner, Michael McDonald, Rodney Crowell and others.
Reba McEntire is scheduled to sign autographs at CMA Fest for the first [...]

Continue reading "Barbara Mandrell, Roy Clark & Charlie McCoy Take Their Place In Hall of Fame"

A person surveying the country music scene at the beginning of 1973 could be forgiven for thinking that David Houston was en route to a career that would culminate in eventual induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame. His most recent single, “Good Things,” would reach #1 on Cashbox and complete a decade in [...]

Continue reading "Forgotten Artists: David Houston (1935-1993)"

A few interesting notes from a study of country music listeners by the Country Music Association:

Roughly two in five American adults ages 18-54 qualify as country music fans.
They’re predominantly Caucasian, more often female than male.
Forty percent of them make more than $50,000 year.
Roughly 5 percent of American adults aged 18-54 qualify as “countryphiles,” and they’re [...]

Continue reading "Study Finds ‘Countryphiles’ Shy Away From Digital Downloads"

Today in Nashville the Country Music Hall of Fame announced its 105th, 106th and 107th inductees. The three individuals–one each from the Hall’s three categories–will be formally inducted this spring at the Hall’s Medallion Ceremony.
Musician: Charlie McCoy
Charlie McCoy is a noted musician who has performed and recorded with some of the most famous names in [...]

Continue reading "Roy Clark, Barbara Mandrell and Charlie McCoy Inducted Into The Country Music Hall of Fame"

For years the Country Music Hall of Fame was caught in the position where many deserving performers had died off before their turn for induction arrived. This was mostly due to the Hall’s practice of electing only one new member per year (and in at least one year, electing no one).
By the time the [...]

Continue reading "Who the Country Music Hall of Fame Should Induct Next"

Galleywinter has the lowdown on Randy Rogers’ 3rd Annual Sake of the Song Festival this Friday and Saturday, plus the history behind the festival.
Jerrod Nieman added “The Way It Used To Be” to his MySpace, go check it out.
When John Hiatt married his wife Nancy they each had a kid, which means the kids were [...]

Continue reading "Randy Rogers Readies 3rd Annual Sake of the Song Festival"