The 9513 - Country Music Blog

I’ve always been fond of Robert Altman, and not just because he’s my high school’s most famous graduate. His 1975 film Nashville, released post-Vietnam/post-Watergate, combines politics and country music in a film that’s funny, poignant, and thought provoking. Its inclusion in the National Film Registry means it’s one of those movies everybody should see; thanks [...]

Continue reading "Celluloid Country: Robert Altman’s Nashville Is Required Viewing"

Edward Thomas (Eddie) Rabbitt had a seventeen year run as a recording artist on the Billboard country charts with some success on the pop charts. He also enjoyed success as a songwriter, writing many of his own hits and supplying songs to other artists. Ultimately, 20 of his recordings reached #1 on either Billboard or [...]

Continue reading "Forgotten Artists: Eddie Rabbitt (1941-1998)"

Whether real or imaginary, the figure of the angel has wormed its way into all facets of country music. From church pews to bar stools, you just can’t escape these heavenly helpers…or the real life folks who may just look angelic.
The list of potential songs for this month’s playlist was quite lengthy, but after shedding [...]

Continue reading "30 Songs About Angels"

Rumors of an affair between LeAnn Rimes and her Lifetime movie co-star Eddie Cibrian continue to burn, and now Us Weekly reports that Cibrian’s wife, Brandi Glanville, has left him.
“LeAnn is a stalker,” Glanville told Us last month. “She refuses to leave us alone. It is shameful and scary. People are going to say it [...]

Continue reading "News Roundup – The Stalker Edition; Hank Jr. Lashes Out; He’s Got A…Mustache"

Charley Pride will join Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss and Union Station at the White House today to perform as part of an educational workshop about Country music. The event will be streamed live on the internet starting at 6:25 PM/CT.
Ken Tucker recently conducted an interview with Scott Borchetta which landed in the pages of [...]

Continue reading "Charley Pride Joins White House Lineup; Jack Ingram Schedules ‘Big Dreams’; New Releases"

As always, just some songs I liked, one song per artist, not necessarily the biggest hit, (although I feel free to comment on other songs by the artist).
“Let’s All Go Down The River” – Jody Miller & Johnny Paycheck (1972)
A nice country cover of an old gospel song–how could you go wrong with this [...]

Continue reading "Great Country Songs from the 1970s, Pt. 5"

Fans of the long running television show Hee Haw may remember Kenny Price. He played various roles in Hee Haw’s skits, including the over-protective father of a pretty teenage daughter (whose suitor, Billy Bob, did not meet his approval), a backwater sheriff and a country bumpkin lounging on the lawn in front of the general [...]

Continue reading "Forgotten Artists: Kenny Price (1931-1987)"

Johnny Richard Duncan was born in Dublin, TX to a very musical family. His mom played rhythm guitar in his uncle’s country band and many of his cousins went on to have fine careers in the music industry, including noted songwriter Troy Seals (”Rattle the Windows,” “Don’t Take It Away,” “Two Old Cats Like Us” [...]

Continue reading "Forgotten Artists: Johnny Duncan (1938-2006)"

Yesterday morning, Billy Bob Thorton and his band, The Boxmasters, went to an interview in Toronto, Canada, except Thorton didn’t appear to be coherent when host Jian Ghomeshi began asking him questions. Apparently Thorton was perturbed that Ghomeshi briefly mentioned his acting career when he introduced the band. EW.com has video of the bizarre interview.
Joe [...]

Continue reading "Billy Bob Thorton Acts Bizarre in Radio Interview; Cleary, He Does Not Do Mornings"

In the summer of 1987, my wife Kay and I were vacationing in Germany and Austria. As is always the case, I would check out the local record stores in the various towns that we visited, and in doing so I was surprised to see the large number of Dave Dudley cassettes and CDs that [...]

Continue reading "Forgotten Artists: Dave Dudley (1928-2003)"