The 9513 - Country Music Blog

Since my September 2008 article, Charlie McCoy, Barbara Mandrell, Roy Clark, Don Williams, Billy Sherrill, Ferlin Husky and Jimmy Dean have been elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame. As I noted, for decades the Country Music Hall of Fame was caught in the position where many deserving performers died before their turn for [...]

Continue reading "Revisited: Who the Country Music Hall of Fame Should Induct Next"

This is meant neither to be a comprehensive list of great country songs from the 1970s, nor any sort of ranking of records; It’s just a list of some songs that I liked and remember. See if you recall any of these records “Cowboy Convention” – Buddy Alan A silly record with some great trumpet [...]

Continue reading "Great Country Songs from the 1970s, Pt. 1"

Brad Paisley joins Keith Urban by dipping into a previous album for his next single. “Waitin’ On A Woman,” from his Time Well Wasted album, was released to radio yesterday and Andy Griffith will appear in the video that’s due out later this year. EW’s Popwatch Blog looks at what Nashville Star did right during [...]

Continue reading "Brad Paisley Pulls An Urban; Releases Single From Previous Album"

Word has it that guit-steel inventor Junior Brown shot three pilot episodes for the Junior Brown Show last Tuesday. Negotiations with possible outlets are just beginning, but the show is modeled after country music programs from the 1960s like The Porter Wagoner Show. “Along with selections from Brown’s catalog, each episode also spotlights a different [...]

Continue reading "Junior Brown Modeling New Show After 1960s Country Music Programs"

Songs like Johnny Cash’s “Hurt”, Martina McBride’s “Independence Day”, and George Strait’s “Amarillo by Morning” chartered considerably lower than other songs from these artists’ catalogs, but are sometimes considered signature songs; even over higher charting singles. With that in mind, Country Universe wants to know: What is the definition of a hit? Sarah Borges, Lucinda [...]

Continue reading "Kenny Chesney Produced Willie Album Hits Shelves In January"

Only six days left until we announce the winners for the Big State Festival contest, so if you haven’t entered yet head over to the contest page and leave us a comment. While you’re at it, check out some of the contests on the Big State Festival website. I particularly like the one titled “The [...]

Continue reading "Professional Bull Rider Justin McBride Ventures Into Country Music"

Think about the most exciting act you’ve ever seen perform live; who was it? Hazel Smith says for her it was Roy Acuff and the Smoky Mountain Boys. Acuff would be twirling his fiddle bow as Bashful Brother Oswald bellowed a hee-haw as he made his Dobro scream. Onie Wheeler would honk that harmonica and [...]

Continue reading "Preview “Close Up The Honky Tonks” From Dwight Sings Buck"

Joe Samuel Starnes recalls his first Willie Nelson Fourth of July Picnic for The New York Times. His show was transcendent. That’s a highfalutin word that I would almost never use, but I honestly felt as if I were taking a trip back in time to another era, through Willie’s guitar and voice and the [...]

Continue reading "George Strait Tied With Conway Twitty For Most Number 1 Singles"

Bon Jovi’s attempt at a country album, Lost Highway, is set to hit stores on June 19. The first single from the album, “(You Want To) Make a Memory,” will make its way to radio today. Rapper Paul Wall recently recorded in Willie Nelson’s studio, but left disappointed after he didn’t meet Willie himself, “I [...]

Continue reading "Paul Wall Disappointed In Not Meeting Willie And Richie McDonald Leaves Lonestar"