-
Jumping Ship: Reflections on Americana Music
It was hard times for roots based country acts in the 90s. Garth and Shania delivered an enormous audience to country music that the Nashville establishment had no intention of losing, and people who were playing “traditional” country music were being increasingly marginalized in favor of those who were playing a more pop-based variety. Country [...]
Continue reading "Jumping Ship: Reflections on Americana Music"
-
The Cyrus Virus: Billy Ray Tapped To Host Nashville Star
Billy Ray Cyrus announced he’ll be hosting the sixth-season of Nashville Star.
“This year it is all about the dream, about the music, about persistence and never giving up faith,” Billy Ray told Leno. “You know, I’ve been to the fair, and I’ve seen the bear, and I’m really excited.”Calvin Gilbert on the CMT blog: “At [...]
Continue reading "The Cyrus Virus: Billy Ray Tapped To Host Nashville Star"
-
Vince Vaughn: Honky Tonk Man
I knew there was a reason I liked Vince Vaughn, aside from his fast-talking, used-car salesmanesque humor and wit. His twelve-song celebrity playlist on iTunes has a couple of songs apiece from Dwight Yoakam, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, and Merle Haggard and then he throws in a Hank Williams and Buck Owens duet with Yoakam [...]
-
Your Take: Visionary Collaborations
Collaboration between established artists has created some interesting and successful pairings throughout country music’s lifetime. Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty, Emmylou Harris and Gram Parsons, Alan Jackson and George Strait, and with the advent of technology, Alison Krauss & Keith Whitley, and Hank Williams and Bocephus. Last year, Raising [...]
-
Country Music Hall of Fame Scores Lester Flatt’s Guitar
Vince Gill and Marty Stuart at the Country Music Hall of Fame on February 13. Photo by Marilu White
Valentine’s Day came a day early for the Country Music Hall of Fame when Marty Stuart and Connie Smith donated memorabilia from their personal collection. Among the most famous of the gifts was Lester Flatt’s guitar.
Other major [...]Continue reading "Country Music Hall of Fame Scores Lester Flatt’s Guitar"
-
George Strait To Kick Off 2008 Tour In Austin Tonight
Austin360’s John T. David lists eight things you will never hear George Strait say. My favorite is:
‘TMZ wants to film me working my cutting horses.’
Go read the others and see if you can come up with any good ones of your own.
The Dreamtime blog did some research and pieced together different aspects of the unfinished [...]Continue reading "George Strait To Kick Off 2008 Tour In Austin Tonight"
-
Hillbilly Poetry Playlist: An Introduction to Recitations
The recitation is a tradition embedded deep in country music. It’s the art of storytelling that involves spoken words with musical accompaniment, and usually has a strong moral undertone. They vary in subject matter, from the honorary (”I Remember Johnny Horton” - Claude King) to the infinitely cheesy (”To a Sleeping Beauty” - Jimmy Dean). [...]
Continue reading "Hillbilly Poetry Playlist: An Introduction to Recitations"
-
Aces Beat Kings: Charley Pride Bests Luke Bryan
Luke Bryan got his butt whipped by Charley Pride at a charity poker event in Las Vegas last week.
“I made the final table with Charley. He and I were the chip leaders. There were about four people left, and I got dealt a pair of kings - the money hand. I bet BIG and Charley [...]Continue reading "Aces Beat Kings: Charley Pride Bests Luke Bryan"
-
Surprise Guests Dropped by Asleep at the Wheel Performance at Antone’s
This past Saturday night Asleep at the Wheel played a gig at Antone’s where they were joined by Paul Shaffer.
Anyway, we got onstage about 10:30 pm, after Carolyn Wonderland had wowed Paul with her opening set. Paul took us for a spin through some of his favorite tunes by Texas artists, like “Treat Her Right” [...]Continue reading "Surprise Guests Dropped by Asleep at the Wheel Performance at Antone’s"
-
Bob Dylan Writing Unfinished Hank Williams Lyrics
Bill Friskics-Warren describes Josh Turner’s Everything Is Fine as flashbacks of Don Williams’ romance and commitment laced material mixed with some heartache and country-soul chops.
Carrie Underwood took home three trophies at the American Music Awards while Beyonce wowed the crowd with Sugarland on the “bluegrass” flavored version of “Irreplaceable”. (YouTube)
Part 3 of Trent Summar [...]Continue reading "Bob Dylan Writing Unfinished Hank Williams Lyrics"
Popular Stuff
Sponsor
We've labored long and hard to come up with our list of the Top 10 Country Albums of 2008. Click here to see who claimed the honor of the year's top album, as chosen by The 9513's staff and writers.
Don’t confuse disappointing with worst, as that list would most likely be dominated by obscure indie knockoff bands along with a couple of mainstream releases. There has to be a modicum of expectation that’s dashed upon the release of an album for it to qualify for the year’s most disappointing.
Join host Kelly Dearmore as he shines the light on several noteworthy album releases you might have missed and interviews various artists, from Sarah Borges to Trent Willmon and Reckless Kelly to Wade Bowen, in the first two episode of The 9513 podcast.
Jim Malec counts down the top 20 country music news stories of 2008. How many times do you think John Rich will be mentioned?Current Discussion
- Vicki: I heard George on my first visit to the Opry. That was a magical visit for I got to ...
- running kind: Hi, just to let you know, my 6 collegues in office vote for you each day, although they don't know ...
- Hollerin' Ben: I didn't actually contribute to this list, but I don't think it's disappointing at all. I think it's a ...
- Brady Vercher: I disagree with the assessment that the list is disappointing. Only 30 or so of my top 75 made the ...
- Matt C.: I do have to say that this is a disappointing list. The exclusion of songs that made last year's list ...
- Drew: I'm not familiar with much of his stuff, but if his lyrics are consistently as strong as the ones you ...
- Adriana: I Love this song! Me and my friends went to a road trip to Alabama and the song was so ...
- Brady Vercher: At least we know we've got the lion and the tin man ready to go if anyone ever decided to ...
- Wilburscott: I got to see George 3-4 years ago at a show here in northern Michigan. I think around the time ...
- Rick: Rick's Random Tidbits Part 2: Miss Loretta Lynn will be performing on both the Friday and Saturday Night Grand Ole ...
