The 9513 - Country Music Blog

Christmas songs are generally allowed more latitude than other songs. They can be a little more saccharine, a little sillier, because we’re only going to hear them a handful of times during December, and then they get left alone for 11 months. If a song can just not wear out its welcome after about five [...]

Continue reading "Gord Bamford – “Baseball Glove”"

Yes, this was supposed to be Sevens. I’ve been making my way chronologically through Garth Brooks’ catalog, listening to each album for the very first time, wrestling with each one as both a separate work and a piece of a larger catalog, and ultimately trying to measure the distance I’ve come since my teenage self [...]

Continue reading "Christmas Jeer: Garth Brooks’ Beyond the Season and The Magic of Christmas"

When you’re talking with guitar legend Steve Wariner, the influence of his mentor of Chet Atkins is never far away. It was Atkins that signed Wariner to RCA Records and it was there he would start off a career that would reel off nine #1’s and a long line of Top 10 hits, including “Your [...]

Continue reading "Talking Holiday & Guitar Spirit with Steve Wariner"

What does Alan Jackson like on his eggs? Cheese and corn. — Stephen He still likes bologna. — Ken A load of salsa. — Jim Hens. — CMW What message is Tim McGraw saying in Southern Voice? The message is that while most people think the South is full of uneducated rednecks and hillbillies, there [...]

Continue reading "January Mailbag: What Does Alan Jackson Like On His Eggs?"

Much like holiday movies and specials, Christmas albums bring out the children and the Scrooges in all of us with their chintzy production and forced cheeriness. Typically, they’re filled with the musical equivalent of switches and ashes: perfunctory run-throughs of the same old songs you hear every year and uninspired new compositions you won’t remember [...]

Continue reading "Album Review: Sugarland – Gold and Green"

Last.fm Top Artists The 9513 group is up to 132 members, and 30 of them listened to Brad Paisley last week, making him the #1 artist. That should give him some consolation for having his #1 Billboard singles streak broken. Right behind him is George Strait (27 listeners), Miranda Lambert (26), Alan Jackson (25) and [...]

Continue reading "The 9513 Last.fm Chart Update (11-29-09)"

Is Dave Haywood going solo? Only if he thinks his latest song he’s written, “I’m Leaving The Gravy Train” is going to be a hit. – Ken No, but he will be featured on the upcoming season of Meerkat Manor. — CMW I don’t think so, because he’s a pretty integral part of… um, what [...]

Continue reading "September Mailbag: Is Dave Haywood Going Solo?"

John Gerome lays out all the logistics of a Christmas album from the label side of things. Basically, the peak season for a Christmas album is between late October and Christmas, it usually sells well for a few seasons, and if it makes it to gold status, then it’s hugely successful. Gerome says Elvis’ Christmas [...]

Continue reading "Even Elvis’ Crap Turns to Gold"

I don’t know how long they’ll be available, so start downloading. Sugar Hill Records has three free mp3 downloads on their MySpace from Sugar Plum: Holiday Treats From Sugar Hill. You have to be logged in with pop-ups enabled to download these: “That White Christmas Song” – Red Knuckles & The Trailblazers; “Silent Night” – [...]

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The time has come to announce the winners for our Christmas album giveaway sponsored by EMI. I’d like to extend a big thanks to everyone who participated and thanks to EMI for offering to send a few free albums to the winners. As Napoleon Dynamite would say: Luckkyyyy. Also, if you’re interested in winning a [...]

Continue reading "Christmas Album Winners"