The 9513 - Country Music Blog

Tomorrow would have been Johnny Russell’s 70th birthday (he passed away in 2001). He was well-known for performing hits like “Rednecks, White Socks, and Blue Ribbon Beer” and “Catfish John,” but today’s Friday Five features my favorite Russell-penned songs that have been recorded by other artists. Honorable Mention: In a Mansion Stands My Love – [...]

Continue reading "Friday Five: Johnny Russell Tribute"

One of Miss Leslie‘s resolutions this year is to get more people to hear her music. If you send her your email address via her MySpace page or official website, she’ll ship you an autographed copy of Between the Whiskey and the Wine–an album The Houston Chronicle named as one of the best local releases [...]

Continue reading "Miss Leslie Resolves to Have More People Hear Her Music"

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"

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 [...]

Continue reading "Country Music Hall of Famer Eddy Arnold Passed Away This Morning"

On this day in 1949 Hank Williams scored his first #1 hit on the country music charts with “Lovesick Blues.” If it were up to Hank’s manager, Fred Rose, the song never would have been. The story goes something like this… It was three days before Christmas in 1948 when Hank and Audrey Williams, Fred [...]

Continue reading "Hank Williams – “Lovesick Blues”"

I went to Barnes & Noble the other day to pick up a beginner’s guide to playing mandolin. They didn’t have one at my local store, so I came away with the Sunny Sweeney album and a book by Paul Hemphill called “Lovesick Blues: The Life of Hank Williams” instead. The book is a biography [...]

Continue reading "Lovesick Blues: The Life of Hank Williams"