-
2009 CMA Awards Ratings Surpass 2008, But Not 1978; R.I.P. Country Music (1927-2009); Revisit 1981 With Haggard
The 43rd Annual CMA Awards was the most watched show in four years, logging an average of 16.85 million viewers, a number that is distorted by consumers who record the show to watch on their own time. The record for the CMA Awards is 36 millions viewers, set in 1978, when Dolly Parton was crowned [...]
-
Margaret Durante – “Use Somebody”
Songwriter: Anthony Caleb Followill
When a new artist releases a cover song as his or her first single–especially a cover of a non-country song–there are two ways it could flesh out.
A cover song comes with a built-in audience, or at least an “Oh-that-sounds-familiar” audience. And those 20-some extra seconds a familiar tune may buy can make [...] -
2009 CMA Awards Predictions
Depending on your point of view, the Country Music Association may be the organization responsible for broadening the reach of country music and its artists throughout the nation and around the world, the organization responsible for transforming the genre into a musically homogeneous mass-market commodity, or both. Either way, there’s no denying that both the [...]
-
Honky Tonky Happy Hour: Why I Won’t Be Watching The CMA Awards
I haven’t watched the CMA awards in years. Sometimes I’ve had a gig, but most of the time, there wasn’t anything there to interest me. I would flip channels and land on the awards show, but wouldn’t stay long. In the 80s, I didn’t miss a show. All my favorite artists were on. Country [...]
Continue reading "Honky Tonky Happy Hour: Why I Won’t Be Watching The CMA Awards"
-
The 9513 Last.fm Chart Update (11-8-09)
Last.fm Top Artists
Apparently this group isn’t as crazy for Carrie as you’d think. Despite a brand new album, the best Carrie Underwood could manage was #4 with 25 listeners, behind Johnny Cash (28), Miranda Lambert (27) and Garth Brooks (26). That’s a dead guy, a slightly un-retired guy and a non-radio sweetheart whose new album [...] -
The 9513 Last.fm Chart Update (10-25-09)
The 9513 Group has grown to 127 members, but while our membership increases, the quality of our charts remains exemplary. You could take the Top 50 artists on these charts (minus Kelly Clarkson) and build a killer radio playlist with them. It’s split about 50-50 between mainstream country acts and the alt-country/country legends that make [...]
-
U.S. House of Representatives Honors Country Music; New Releases; Awards Results
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution honoring country music for its contributions to America.
New releases for the week of October 20, 2009 include:
Bomshel – Fight Like a Girl
Amazon | iTunes | MySpaceFlatt & Scruggs – Foggy Mountain Banjo (Reissue)
Amazon | Collector’s Choice MusicGrasstowne – The Other Side of Towne
Amazon | iTunes | MySpaceJoe [...]
Continue reading "U.S. House of Representatives Honors Country Music; New Releases; Awards Results"
-
The 9513 Last.fm Chart Update (9-27-09)
Last.fm Top Artists
George Strait has held the #1 spot for most of the month of September, but Brad Paisley takes over this week with 29 listeners, one more than Strait. Dwight Yoakam, having a bit of a resurgence despite not having any new material, tied Tim McGraw for third place with 24. Miranda Lambert, [...] -
43rd CMA Awards Nominees Announced
Below are the nominees for the 43rd CMA Awards which will be broadcast live from the Sommet Center in Nashville November 11 on ABC. There’s not a lot of turnover in the artist selections from last year, but let us know what you think of this year’s selections in the comments.
Entertainer of the Year
Kenny Chesney
Brad [...] -
40 Truckin’ Songs
This September, The 9513 is saluting one of our favorite topics: truckin’. We had a list long as Route 66, but after much debate, narrowed it down to 40 artists and 40 songs.
Though there is a fair amount of women truck drivers, this list is Y chromosome heavy. You won’t find too many ballads on [...]
Popular Stuff
Sponsor
Current Discussion
- Terry Ridont: I think its cool. Thats what I like about indy rock artists, everything isn't the same high budget packaging and ...
- Stormy: Jon: The problem is that the progressive country music is now being called Americana. And why is it ...
- Razor X: Maybe his brother did talk him into it but what’s to say he hasn’t ‘always loved’ and ‘wanted’ to ...
- Brian: Josh Kelley will be fine. At the very least it means Katherine Heigl may show up on country award shows regularly. ...
- Razor X: Change may be inevitable but we aren't required to support it and if enough people boycott it, it doesn't last ...
- Jon: "You can’t stop “progress”… We can if we try hard enough. Um, no. Not that I think "progress" is a good ...
- Joe: When she moved from Mercury to BNA, I think we were all just allowed to think there'd be some grand ...
- sam sam: Well, Suzie, maybe if I saw his live show I'd love him. But I'm not interested in attending concerts. Radio ...
- JOHN: Personally Sherrie s voice is as pure as it gets to me. Just listened to her demo songs after reading ...
- Suzie: What is all this hate for Bucky about anyway?? He has one of the best voices in country music ...

Is Dave Haywood going solo? This and many other of country music's most pressing questions answered in the September edition of The 9513's world famous Mailbag!
Caroline Herring likes to sing songs about life in the South. No, not exactly like Justin Moore and Jason Aldean...
The 9513's resident historian Paul W. Dennis sits down for a chat with country music legend Gene Watson.
As much as we love girl singers, we love songs about girl singers even more. Here's just a few of the many tribute songs out there.
Step away from the river and up to a jukebox, because heartbreak is only temporary, but a good song about drowning yourself—like a diamond—lasts forever.
What do you think about music labels "testing the waters" with a single before providing access to an artist's entire album?
What country artist, young or old, would you recommend as a must-listen artist to a newcomer on his/her journey through country music, and what would your essential song picks be?

