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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 […]
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Keith Urban T-Shirts Now Made With Recycled Plastic
Keith Urban has partnered with a company to help make his t-shirts more environmentally-friendly by being partially made from recycled plastic bottles. At the same time, Kenny Chesney says his tour requires 55 trucks and 28 buses to make everything work.
Who didn’t see this one coming years ago? Dolly Parton postponed her tour, citing […]Continue reading "Keith Urban T-Shirts Now Made With Recycled Plastic"
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Fallen Tree Split Bobby Bare’s House in Two; Everyone Okay
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"
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Brad Paisley Added To Grammy Lineup
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 […] -
Songwriting Is What Dolly Loves The Most
Edd Hurt talked with Dolly Parton about Porter Wagoner, her new album, and her legacy for a piece in American Songwriter. She says throughout her career songwriting is what she has enjoyed the most.
Have you ever thought about making a record similar to Porter’s Wagonmaster or Charlie Louvin’s last record, using an outside producer to […] -
Cancer Patient Granted Wish to Visit Opry
The Charleston Gazette ran a touching story on Christmas Eve about Steve Johnson, a 50-year old cancer patient who had fulfilled two of his three wishes. The last thing he wanted to do before he died was visit the Grand Ole Opry, something he didn’t think he was going to happen. While looking up information […]
Continue reading "Cancer Patient Granted Wish to Visit Opry"
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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"
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Todd Snider and John Carter Cash Play Part In New Loretta Album
Singer-songwriter Larry Joe Taylor–who doesn’t listen to mainstream music–participated in Galleywinter’s 20 Questions feature.
Your music and festivals really promote songwriting above show. What made you want to really focus on the songwriting aspect? And, who are some of your favorite songwriters?
Songwriting is a craft. I’ve spent all of my musical life trying to hone my […]Continue reading "Todd Snider and John Carter Cash Play Part In New Loretta Album"
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Georgia Anti-Dogfighting Ad To Feature Willie Nelson
Sissy Spacek and Reese Witherspoon land on EW.com’s list of favorite singing actors for their respective roles as Loretta Lynn and June Carter Cash. Spacek portrayed Loretta in the 1980 biopic Coal Miner’s Daughter and Witherspoon played June in Walk the Line.
In his description of Miranda Lambert and her music Chris Gray writes “…live is […]Continue reading "Georgia Anti-Dogfighting Ad To Feature Willie Nelson"
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Trace Adkins Plays Trump Card; To Be Contestant On Celebrity Apprentice
There was a time in Trisha Yearwood’s life when she needed drama in her relationships just so she could feel something, but she’s thankful that time has passed. These days she channels the emotion into her songs.
Willis Alan Ramsey recorded an album in 1972 and hasn’t recorded one since. “As Ramsey likes to say, ain’t […]Continue reading "Trace Adkins Plays Trump Card; To Be Contestant On Celebrity Apprentice"
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Forgotten Artists: Goldie Hill Had Carl Smith and Goldie Hill been born 30 or 40 years later, they might have been like Faith Hill and Tim McGraw–the dominant married couple in country music.
Forgotten Artist: Wynn Stewart Both Buck Owens and Merle Haggard have cited Wynn Stewart as a major influence on their careers, yet somehow, he was never able to translate his enormous talent into extended and consistent success for himself.
Miranda Lambert - “More Like Her” This kind of material, as opposed to her tough-chick-done-wrong romps like “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” and “Gunpowder and Lead,” is where her real promise lies
Joey Rory - “Cheater, Cheater” It’s actually downright frivolous, but that just makes it all the more fun. And really, are you allowed to say “ho” on country radio?
Josh Gracin - “Unbelievable (Ann Marie)” Despite initial marketing that touted the album as deep and personal, “Unbelievable (Ann Marie)” is anything but deep or personal.
Josh Turner - "Everything Is Fine" Turner is the rare example of an artist who records material that’s both quality and trademark.
Darryl Worley - "Tequila On Ice" A groovy mid-tempo that sways, a refreshing reprieve from the exhausting pace of a format that clamors for loud music and swelling choruses.
Blake Shelton - "She Wouldn't Be Gone" It’s all about nailing the melody rather than providing a legitimate interpretation that accentuates the lyrical content, although Shelton does do a pretty good job of injecting what limited emotion he can.
Don’t look now, but Darius Rucker, lead singer of 90s rock group Hootie & The Blowfish, has a country hit on his hands. What you probably haven’t heard is that Rucker is the first black artist to chart a single in the country top 20 since Charley Pride last did it in 1988.
News that former Sugarland member and co-founder Kristen Hall is suing her ex-mates, to the tune of $1.5 million, goes a long way towards providing a bit of context regarding the Atlanta singer/songwriter’s sudden departure from the group.
In Memory of Don Helms (1927 - 2008) Helms dated back to a time when an excellent four or five piece band and a good singer were all that were needed to make great country music. No drums, no light shows, no production tricks in the recording studio–just good music.Current Discussion
- Aargh: I may well apologize for getting personal but I think (and perhaps others will b...
- paul: ARRGH, wow, you get personal and call me an illiterate fool just because you hat...
- Aargh: "I predict it sells 700-800 thousand the first week in sales in late 2009. And I...
- Stormy: Leann: You might take a listen to The Miseducation of Lauren Hill. Its technic...
- leeann: I don't know those songs. Maybe he was trying to be ironic? I have no idea, re...
- Stormy: Leeann: But just going off his favorite lists there were "Touch the Sky" and "R...
- leeann: Sorry, I've been spelling Shania wrong. I hate proper nouns....
- leeann: Agreed, Matt. I love Vince Gill and everyone knows it, but if a thread is about...
- leeann: Stormy, Wasn't Hillary's campaign song originally going to be a Celine Dion son...
- Kevin Coyne: This year's nominees just aren't that into country. In 2000, both Bush and Gore ...
