Townes Van Zandt To Be Awarded The President’s Award At AMA
- Before you go out and buy The Great Lost Performance from Johnny Cash that was recently released, head over to Twangville and see what they have to say about the album.
This release is billed as The Great Lost Performance, but I’m not sure I’d go that far. It is a rollicking good time but lacks the piss and vinegar of the jailhouse live albums mentioned earlier and was recorded four years before the release of American Recordings which revived his career and brought him a slew of younger fans.
- Mississippi native Marty Stuart will headline the Johnny Cash Flower Pickin’ Festival Nov. 2-4.
- Check out these classic videos of Jimmie Rodgers, the Father of Country Music, circa 1929. It’s amazing what you can find on YouTube.
- Kenny Chesney opens up and lets his fans know that 2006 may have been the most frustrating time in his life as an artist and as a person. He channeled that frustration into his new album and made the most personal record of his career. His inspiration? Willie Nelson. The album, Just Who I Am: Poets and Pirates, was released yesterday.
- After dating on and off since 1995 Joe Nichols finally married Heather Singleton on Sunday in front of 100 of their closet friends and family.
- Australian country singer Troy Cassar-Daley took the title of entertainer of the year for the fifth time at the Country Music Association of Australia’s annual Achiever Awards
- On the subject of awards, we can’t leave out Emerson Drive for winning group of the year, video of the year, and song of the year (for “Moments”) at the Canadian Country Music Awards on Monday night.
- With the release of his new album Chesney has been receiving a lot of press. Kelefa Sanneh says the title is one of the worst he has come up with, but the album is full of some of the best music. The last paragraph, about the song “Dancin’ for the Groceries”, cracks me up.
But maybe the lyrics are more revealing than they first seem. Imagine that this hard-working mother isn’t a mother at all. Imagine that those are tight jeans, instead of panties, and replace the pasties with a sleeveless shirt. Make her a him, add a cowboy hat and you’ve got a much more interesting character: an aging party boy, singing for his supper while dreaming about the workaday lives of the fans who pay his bills.
- The 2007 Americana Honors and Awards Show is shaping up to be what I would simply dub as awesomeness. There will be performances from Emmylou Harris, The Hacienda Brothers, Elizabeth Cook, Ricky Skaggs and Bruce Hornsby, Joe Ely, Amy LaVerre and the Avett Brothers as well as Guy Clark, who will be performing a Townes Van Zandt song. Van Zandt will be posthumously awarded the President’s Award.
- Hank Williams Jr. and Flatt & Scruggs will be among five new inductees into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. The other three inductees include country tunesmiths Bob DiPiero and Mac McAnally and gospel singer Dottie Rambo. The ceremony will take place October 14th.
- The Gobbler’s Knob attempts to categorize the three stages of Steve Earle: Heartland Hillbilly Stage, Bluegrass Rehab Rocker Stage, and Hardcore Protesting Troubadour Stage.
- Sunny Sweeney struck a chord among commenters on The CMT Blog with her post titled “Age and Beauty Shouldn’t Matter in Country Music.”
- According to Jessica Simpson’s father/manager the singer is planning on “going back to her roots” and recording a country album. Apparently being from Texas means that your roots are in country.
“She’s a singer from top to bottom,” Joe Simpson said. “And everything in the music business, especially pop music, has moved away from singers. And I think country is the the only pure, storytelling kind of genre left.”
On whether she will be accepted among country fans, he said, “She’s from Texas. How could she not?”
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Tagged In This Article
Emerson Drive // Flatt & Scruggs // Hank Williams Jr. // Jessica Simpson // Jimmie Rodgers // Joe Nichols // Johnny Cash // Kenny Chesney // Marty Stuart // Steve Earle // Sunny Sweeney // Townes Van Zandt
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September 12, 2007 at 11:02 am Permalink
Is this why Jessica’s Dad was seen talking to Toby Keith in Vegas last weekend? Trying to get her a record deal??? I certainly hope not. Toby is much smarted than that!!….Her roots..COUNTRY? Didn’t she record on the “Pop” Genre? Oh pleazzzzzzzz!! I am so sick of Pop and rock artist, cross-over just to make a couple of $$!!! Country don’t need nor want any of you!!
September 12, 2007 at 11:10 am Permalink
Jessica Simpson can’t even get through a Dolly Parton song without butching the hell out of it. How can she make an entire album of country music? I’m not buying it; and I mean that literally, too.
September 12, 2007 at 11:12 am Permalink
I didn’t read about the Toby Keith thing anywhere, and I guess we should reserve our judgment until an album actually gets made…but I guess it’s human nature to judge and I’m with both you guys.
September 12, 2007 at 11:51 am Permalink
I don’t really care if Jessica makes a “country” album, but I was bothered by her father/manager’s remarks. He seems to take the country audience for granted, just assuming they’ll latch onto Jessica because she’s from Texas and already a pop star, and banking on this being an easy thing. And who knows, maybe his remarks were pulled out of context. Anyway, I don’t know why anything Jessica Simpson-related should get to me, but for some reason this did.
September 12, 2007 at 2:17 pm Permalink
there is an assumption among failed pop stars that since their pop careers have hit the skids, they can always go to country. after all, how hard could it be? that’s why failed country singers often go to gospel. how hard could it be, right? unfortunately, that’s what’s happening here. it’s insulting through and through. and the media and the ’stars’ and the labels will all get in the great long sycophantic line that leads to the bullshit trough. line up and lube up, america.
but with that said, jessica simpson is hot. i can’t stress that enough.
September 12, 2007 at 2:20 pm Permalink
“but with that said, jessica simpson is hot. i can’t stress that enough.”
hahaha, well said.
September 12, 2007 at 2:23 pm Permalink
oh, and kudos on the great news day guys. lots of good stuff here. go ahead and pat yourselves on the back.
September 12, 2007 at 3:10 pm Permalink
I share your concern Patrick.
Micker - intentional or not, I like the irony. [alluding to the Sunny Sweeney post]
Thanks Ben, but we’re doing the easy part, creating all the good content that we link to is the hard part ;)
September 14, 2007 at 2:59 pm Permalink
Isn’t Steve Earle in NY now? I wondered why he wasn’t at Farm Aid. I don’t think there were any NY bands there. But I loved the Jam bands who did show.
September 14, 2007 at 3:03 pm Permalink
But wait, Carol, I never liked country for the longest time. I followed the grateful dead around forever, and saw all the rock bands and had no time for country music. Now, as I age (gracefully) and become that aging hippy, my musical tastes have changed, and as you know or may not know, I’m crazy about Willie Nelson, and my radios are all tuned to country music (mostly).
Why can’t artists (read: Bon Jovi, Simpson) be allowed to change their musical tastes? Who cares what they play, really?
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