The 9513 - Country Music Blog

News on John Michael Montgomery’s website says the country singer has checked himself into rehab for substance abuse and canceled all appearances for the next 30 days.
“I will be disappearing for a while to try and defeat the demons that have stripped me of my energy of life and good health for so many years […]

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As remarkable as Eddy Arnold’s country music career was, Chet Flippo says, “his lasting legacy will be that he made the world safe for country pop music.” Flippo also pulled a snippet from a CMT interview where Arnold recalled one of the first times he recognized the split between pop and hillbilly music.
Peter Cooper says […]

Continue reading "Country Music Writers Remember Eddy Arnold"

Country Music Hall of Famer Eddy Arnold passed away early this morning at age 89.
Before Garth Brooks came along, Arnold was easily country music’s biggest record-seller. Sales of his discs from the mid-1940s to the present, in every recorded medium from 78s to CDs, have topped 80 million. Along the way, Arnold became a key […]

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Jim Hager, one half of the Hagers duo, died on Thursday from an apparent heart attack. Jim and his twin brother Jon rose to fame after joining the cast of Hee Haw in 1969.
Taylor Swift (sans makeup) and Carrie Underwood both made People magazine’s “100 Most Beautiful People” list. And so did Barbara Mandrell, which […]

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On Sunday, April 13th I was lucky enough to see one of my favorite bands, Eleven Hundred Springs, play at Safari Sam’s in Hollywod, Calfornia. Eleven Hundred Springs has a brand new album, Country Jam, being released on May 6th, and they were kind enough to take a little time out of their busy schedule […]

Continue reading "Q&A: Eleven Hundred Springs Balancing Tradition and Innovation"

Sara Evans’ publicist has confirmed that she is engaged to Alabama talk show host, and former University of Alabama quarterback, Jay Barker.
Toby Keith plans to release a 35-song greatest hits package on May 6th that spans his career, starting with “Should Have Been a Cowboy” and concluding with his latest single, “She’s a Hottie.” […]

Continue reading "Sara Evans Engaged To Alabama Talk Show Host"

The wife of Bobby Bare suffered two cracked vertebrae when a tree fell on their house, slicing it in half. She was watching TV when the tree hit. Luckily she was able to crawl from under the tree and call 911.
The new Hayes Carll album is due out April 8th and will be titled Trouble […]

Continue reading "Fallen Tree Split Bobby Bare’s House in Two; Everyone Okay"

Brad Paisley has joined the performance lineup for the Grammys.
Speaking of Brad, the Tennessean’s Beverly Keel reports that he’s set to begin working on an instrumental album.
Charles Hughes confesses that he’s become something of a Josh Turner fan over the past couple of years and designates “Nowhere Fast”, Turner’s duet with Anthony Hamilton, as the […]

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In the we-saw-this-one-coming category, John Rich has announced that he will release a solo album in 2008. “I would only do this with Kenny’s blessing,” he said. Rich recorded his first solo record, Underneath The Same Moon, in 1999, but it was not released until 2006.
The only country star among the first set of […]

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The new Drive By Truckers’ album is a whopping 74 minutes long, and the Houston Chronicle’s Andrew Dansby says even that is after a trim. Joshua Klein suggests that the 19-song Brighter Than Creation’s Dark may be the band’s strongest record in his in-depth interview with the band for Pitchfork Media.
Mark Cuban emphatically declares the […]

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