The 9513 - Country Music Blog

Taking chances is a rare thing in mainstream country these days. Taking chances that are culturally significant is even rarer. Leave it to veteran George Strait to be the diamond in the rough. On his new album, Twang, Strait covers “El Rey” a traditional Mexican folk song delivered entirely in Spanish. The move has the [...]

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Remember that whole Nashville Star thing? John Rich is trying to distance himself from his involvement in the show. “I wouldn’t touch ‘Nashville Star’ with a 40-foot pole,” he told The Tennessean. “NBC completely bastardized what country music is about. I thought this was really going to represent country music, put us on a new [...]

Continue reading "John Rich Blasts ‘Nashville Star’ and Contestants"

Music City TV is reporting that Little Jimmy Dickens is recovering in a Nashville area hospital following surgery to repair a subdural hematoma. Other than that, there’s not much info, but the family asks for your thoughts and prayers. Melonie Cannon‘s duet with Willie Nelson on “Back to Earth,” a song that was picked as [...]

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Brad Paisley and Kimberly Williams-Paisley are expecting their second child. If the American Music Awards remind us of anything, it’s that the CMAs and ACMs could always be worse. Here’s the 2008 AMA nominees in the country category: Favorite Male Artist Garth Brooks Kenny Chesney Brad Paisley Favorite Female Artist Reba McEntire Taylor Swift Carrie [...]

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Grand Ole Opry and Country Music Disc Jockey Hall of Fame member Charlie Walker passed away on Friday at age 81. Peter Cooper eulogizes: In 1958, Mr. Walker decided to record “Pick Me Up On Your Way Down,” from the pen of an aspiring songwriter named Harlan Howard who was a forklift driver at a [...]

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Don’t look now, but Darius Rucker, lead singer of 90s rock group Hootie & The Blowfish, has a country hit on his hands. “Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It” currently sits at number 14 on Billboard’s country singles chart and continues to pick up spins. What you probably haven’t heard is that Rucker is [...]

Continue reading "Rucker Proves That Sometimes, The Best Marketing Is No Marketing At All"

It’s the day that I’ve been waiting for since I first heard Underwear Boy sing: the season finale of Nashville Star! Since early in the competition I’ve felt confident that Melissa Lawson will prevail, and I still predict that she’ll come out on top. However, a significant part of my psyche is telling me to [...]

Continue reading "Live Blog: Nashville Star Season Six Finale"

Nashville Star‘s Gabe Garcia scored a couple of articles in San Antonio’s Express News, which reports that his hometown of Lytle, TX has Gabe fever. Tonight’s show is devoted to love songs and Gabe will be singing Billy Currington’s “Must Be Doing Something Right.” Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban bought an 1878 two-story Georgian mansion [...]

Continue reading "Small Texas Town Catches Gabe Fever; John Rich Salivates"