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Ralph Stanley’s His Own Favorite Entertainer; ‘All For The Hall’ Benefit; BR549 Not Done
The New York Times‘ Charles McGrath interviewed Ralph Stanley before a recent concert:
There are a lot of good bluegrass players these days, Mr. Martin among them, but Mr. Stanley said he didn’t listen to them much. He prefers to listen to the Stanley Brothers.
“I may be a little prejudiced, but I like my own music,” [...] -
Nashville Radio Station WSM Heads ‘Back to the Barn’
WSM, the radio station in Tennessee that’s famous for it’s exclusive broadcasts of the Grand Ole Opry, is introducing a live variety show called Back to the Barn, which borrows its name from the Opry’s original moniker, WSM Barn Dance. The new show will target a younger audience by showcasing music “from country and Americana [...]
Continue reading "Nashville Radio Station WSM Heads ‘Back to the Barn’"
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Top 12 Nashville Star Contestants Revealed
NBC revealed the top 12 acts vying to become the next Nashville Star, and it seems they all have somewhat of a sob story overcome many adversities to get where they are. (via ggcolumn)
In an open letter to her fans, Shania Twain expressed her gratitude for their words of encouragement during her rough time.
I have [...]Continue reading "Top 12 Nashville Star Contestants Revealed"
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Time Life Plans to Release Previously- Unreleased Hank Williams’ Recordings
Time Life plans to periodically release 143 previously-unreleased Hank Williams‘ recordings over a three year period. The recordings were made in 1951 for Williams’ show on radio station WSM-AM in Nashville and were sponsored by Mother’s Best flour.
Watch Jason Isbell perform “Dress Blues” live at Stubb’s in Austin, TX, then go read the story of [...]Continue reading "Time Life Plans to Release Previously- Unreleased Hank Williams’ Recordings"
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Country Music Writers Remember Eddy Arnold
As remarkable as Eddy Arnold’s country music career was, Chet Flippo says, “his lasting legacy will be that he made the world safe for country pop music.” Flippo also pulled a snippet from a CMT interview where Arnold recalled one of the first times he recognized the split between pop and hillbilly music.
Peter Cooper says [...]Continue reading "Country Music Writers Remember Eddy Arnold"
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A Nation’s Affair With Western Culture: The Story of Marty Robbins’ “El Paso”
Born in Glendale, Arizona as Martin David Robison in 1925, Marty Robbins spent his childhood idolizing Gene Autry and the cowboy way. “I wanted to be Gene Autry,” he once said. “I wanted to ride off into the sunset.”
His penchant for the the Old West was further fed by romanticized stories told by his [...]Continue reading "A Nation’s Affair With Western Culture: The Story of Marty Robbins’ “El Paso”"
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Brad Paisley Celebrates Two No. 1s in Four Months
Let’s suppose you were going to create a list of the 100 Greatest Christmas Downers of All Time. I’d assume that you’d include plenty of country songs, because country is known for it’s downers, right? Well, EW.com saved us all the trouble and did exactly that. They’ve got Merle, Loretta, Bruce Robison & Kelly Willis, [...]
Continue reading "Brad Paisley Celebrates Two No. 1s in Four Months"
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Book Review: Historic Photos of the Opry: Ryman Auditorium 1974
“The Opry left [the Ryman] in 1974 for the suburbs but music fans kept coming to commune with the ghosts. They wanted to come inside and look around, though the building had been left to moulder, with big holes in the roof, and to be torn down, but the persistent curiosity of ordinary people persuaded [...]
Continue reading "Book Review: Historic Photos of the Opry: Ryman Auditorium 1974"
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Three Country Debuts Top Billboard 200
Tune into WSM tonight between 7 pm and 12 am for a five hour remembrance of Porter Wagoner hosted by Grand Ole Opry announcer Eddie Stubbs and featuring interviews with many of Porter’s closest friends.
Merle Haggard, George Jones, Jack White, and Dwight Yoakam chime in on the loss of Porter Wagoner.
Josh Timmermann says “The [...] -
New Hall of Famers Gather at the Ryman
There was one more ghost than usual in the wings of the Ryman Auditorium on Monday night.
Less than 24 hours after the passing of their brother in the Hall of Fame and Grand Ole Opry, new Hall of Fame Members Vince Gill, Mel Tillis and Ralph Emery took the stage at the Ryman Auditorium for [...]
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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?

