The 2007 CMA Awards Aftermath: Country Music Hijacked
- There’s only one country album on Stylus Magazine’s List of the 50 Best Albums of 2007, and it’s Miranda Lambert’s Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, coming in at number two.
- Yallwire posted the second part to their video interview with Billy Joe Shaver. This time around he sings “Get Thee Behind Me Satan” and gives some insight into why he wrote the song.
- Also from Yallwire is the second installment of Trent Summar’s adventures at the Big State Festival. He wants everyone to know that he is not the fat guy from Rascal Flatts and confirms that Chris Cagle took his shirt off at the festival. The rest of the video is dedicated to Luke Bryan’s performance of “Country Man”.
- Is 2008 really almost here? On February 19 Allison Moorer will release a new cover album, Mockingbird. What makes it special? She’s only including songs from other female singer/songwriters, like: June Carter Cash, Gillian Welch, and Shelby Lynne. Check out the track listing with Moorer’s comments on each song.
- According to an article on the New York Times, one thing that we can infer from last night’s award ceremony is that “no one can decide how country music is supposed to sound in 2007.“
- The “Glittering Gals of Country” pose for pictures on the red carpet.
- The Eagles skipped the CMA Red Carpet.
- People.com posted a video from the last thirty seconds of Kellie Pickler’s performance at the CMAs, and one of our readers, Dave S, sent us a link to an article where Pickler’s mom explains why she gave her up as a baby.
- Twang Nation wordsmith Baron Lane bumped in to Sunny Sweeney (who acknowledged that she had seen his site) and shook hands with The Rodney Crowell at the tribute show for Porter Wagoner in Nashville.
- The second night of Garth Brooks’ show in Kansas City is apparently the first time his daughters have seen him perform live.
- Merlefest 2008 has quite a lineup.
- Chet Flippo says that Porter Wagoner was the last of the great hillbillies…as in there aren’t anymore, and there won’t be anymore.
- Backstage at the CMAs sounds a whole lot like the comment thread on The 9513–aside from the occasional star or two.
- Wings For Wheels scored a phone interview with John Carter Cash for his podcast. From what I’ve listened to they talk mostly about the Johnny Cash TV Show DVD that was recently released. Sadly, Cash didn’t answer his phone by saying “Hello, I’m John Carter Cash.”
- Michael Devers wrote a brief bio on Lone Star Music to memorialize Doug Sahm, a Texas music icon who blended country, rock, blues, cajun, Tex-Mex, conjunto, western swing, and polka before his death in 1999 at the age of 58. During his career “he had an opportunity to sit in on steel, mandolin, and fiddle with such country greats of the day as Webb Pierce, Faron Young, Hank Thompson and, two weeks before the legendary country singer’s death, Hank Williams.”
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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.Tagged In This Article
Big State Festival // Billy Joe Shaver // Chris Cagle // CMA Awards // Garth Brooks // Hank Thompson // John Carter Cash // Johnny Cash // Kellie Pickler // Luke Bryan // Miranda Lambert // Porter Wagoner // Rascal Flatts // Rodney Crowell // Sunny Sweeney // Trent Summar
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November 8, 2007 at 11:53 am Permalink
I loved this year CMA… Rascal Flatts along with Gary LeVox and Jamie Foxx were great! I saw this great country music directory with lots of videos from people like Taylor Swift, Dierk Bentley and Alan Jackson: weshow.com/us/c/83/country_and_folk
Which one of those is your favorite singer?
November 8, 2007 at 12:22 pm Permalink
I love Josh Turner and his newly released album should get best album next year. His voice is awesome, and he has an amazing range. He was up for male vacalist this year and should have won. Of course we knew he plabably wouldn’t get it with his first nomination, but if they just picked best vocalists without the politice involved it would have been him.
November 8, 2007 at 3:52 pm Permalink
See slave to mainstream pop culture: 11:53 post
November 9, 2007 at 10:44 am Permalink
hey, who’s the fat girl that sings lead for rascal flatts?
November 9, 2007 at 5:16 pm Permalink
Thrilled to see Miranda’s album at such a high ranking in Stylus Magazine. I had high hopes for it, sales-wise, after its release; but now it has dropped out of the Billboard Top 25 which is where it lingered since the May 1st release date. Now I’m not exactly sure it will have the success of her debut album.
Although “Famous In A Small Town” has done better than her “Kerosene” single in 2005/2006, it’s showing a less that impressive impact on her sales. When “Kerosene” (single) was released, her debut album climbed about 20 spots and back into the Top 10 Billboard Country Albums chart for the first time since it was released in March 2005, which later resulted in a Gold certification. Lambert is only about half way to Gold at this point with “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.”
November 9, 2007 at 7:54 pm Permalink
I’ll say one thing… this years CMA’s, just like country music in general has become SO mainstream. There is such a huge audience listening to the different styles of Country Music these days, and it’s popularity keeps rising. The great thing is that within the country genre, there is truly something for everyone. From the more pop sounds to the grittier outlaw country, this aint your grandaddy’s country days! lol.
I’m currently working with a station called Lone Star 92.5 and they play ALL styles of country including Classic Rock, Outlaw Country, Alternative Country, Roots Rock, and Americana, all with barely any commercials!
Check it out: http://www.lonestar925.com
What’s YOUR favorite style?
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