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Merle Haggard Praised at Kennedy Center Honors; Songs From Hank, Willie, & Bob Wills Added to GRAMMY Hall of Fame
Merle Haggard was among the honorees praised during Sunday night’s Kennedy Center Honors gala. The Recording Academy announced inductees for the 2011 GRAMMY Hall of Fame, an institution set up to honor recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance that are at least 25 years old. Songs in the country category include: “Lovesick Blues” by [...]
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Brett James Named Songwriter of the Year; Justin Townes Earl Gets Mixed Reviews — Jamey Johnson, Not So Much
At last night’s ASCAP country music awards ceremony, songwriter Brett James took home his second ASCAP songwriter of the year honor for helping write five of the organization’s most performed songs of the past year. Songwriter Josh Kear won for the second time as well. His win came in the song of the year category [...]
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Gary Allan – “Get Off On The Pain”
“Today,” Gary Allan’s most recent single, has roared up the charts with all the speed of a tree sloth, taking more than eight months to crack Billboard’s Top 20. It’s not exactly a mystery why–with a drippy string section and pedestrian theme, it’s more suited to a lesser light like Jimmy Wayne or Chuck Wicks. [...]
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Chris Young – “The Man I Want To Be”
Songwriters: Brett James & Tim Nichols. Chris Young’s self-titled first album suffered from an acute case of Underwooditis: a great voice, but not-so-great material. While the dozens of Nashville Star viewers may have bought the record, the subsequent radio play just wasn’t enough to make him a household name. His second album has been much [...]
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Jason Aldean – “The Truth”
Songwriters: Brett James and Ashley Monroe. Jason Aldean definitely knows what his fans want and expect—country songs about country life and country living…as long as they don’t sound too, you know, country. Sure, you can throw in a fiddle or a steel guitar, as long as those instruments don’t take away from the drums and [...]
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Carrie Underwood – “Cowboy Casanova”
If this were 1992, and the release of this song came on the boot scootin’ heels of the “Achy Breaky Heart” line dance craze, it would be an understandable entry from a new country act trying to score some face-time on TNN’s Wildhorse Saloon Dance Show; thanks to its hard-pounding rhythm and infectious melody, “Cowboy [...]
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Kenny Chesney – “Out Last Night”
Songwriters: Kenny Chesney and Brett James. I once had a journalism professor who said the hardest assignment for a writer was to take an ordinary person–the mechanics, the truck drivers and the waitresses of the world–and craft stories about them and their lives in an interesting, relevant way. Country music is famous for songs about [...]
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Jessica Simpson – “Pray Out Loud”
Though gossip mongers and tabloids of late have been focusing on Jessica Simpson’s alleged weight gain, there is another, more important issue which needs to be brought into the public eye, and that’s the sheer lameness of her latest single, “Pray Out Loud.” First things first, it seems that Simpson—who began her musical career as [...]
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Josh Gracin – “Telluride”
Songwriters: Brett James & Troy Verges. In 2005 Josh Gracin delivered what I believe is one of the finest performances from a mainstream male country artist this decade; Gracin’s vocal on “Stay With Me (Brass Bed)” is urgent and vulnerable, oscillating between contemplative, understated verses and a pleading chorus that glows with desire. Since that [...]
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- Jack Hanford: For those who are interested, there is a new 90-minute documentary video about Tompall & the Glaser Brothers on DVD ...
- joe morris: how come nobody mentions his fan club which started 1950 and was called the " the penny pushers " which ...
- jane: I'm reading this article in 2013 and I've yet to hear anything from the album played on the radio.....
- Catwandy: I guess Matt C. is eating his well-deserved crow 'bout now. Critics....gotta love 'em , bless their little hearts.
- Ed McClendon: Saw the brothers in Greeley CO on the occasion of Tompall's 50th birthday. The show wasn't well promoted and there ...
- Roby Fox: I'm sure no one else will know, or even care about this little tidbit of trivia. "Keep Your Change" was ...
- kate wonders: Roni Stoneman is still on Hee Haw every Sunday night on RFD channel.
- Marsha Blades: Tommy, You were so kind to me during a tough time in my life and I don't think I ever ...
- Leona Jones: I seen Chris at the Grand Ole Opry last week.. First time I have heard of him.. He rocked the ...
- Sonicjar Music: Agree with Lucas, But one thing is certain, for a song to come to existence, so many things have to ...
