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Willie Nelson Avoids Jail Time And Clint Black Is Back In The Studio
- Martina McBride has answered twenty questions from fans on CMT.com. She talks about how she stays grounded and keeps a very normal life, spending time with her family, a possible duet with Faith Hill, and hands out some positive advice.
How have you kept yourself and your family away from the tabloid press?
We really don’t have much interesting for the tabloids! As a matter of fact, it’s hard for me to get on some TV shows and in magazines because I don’t have anything controversial or juicy enough! I guess writing about someone who is happy and fulfilled and who works each day to try and do their best just isn’t exciting enough in today’s culture where we want to hear about everything celebrities are doing wrong and then criticize and judge and tear them apart!
- Big Rock Candy Mountain leaves us in suspense with their Top 100 Drinking Songs which debuts next Monday. In the mean time they recommend Eddie Bond who they describe as “embodying the soul of Memphis, Bond veered from Rockabilly, straight-up Country, and Gospel throughout his career, laying down some crazed tracks that still sound fresh today, especially in light of imitators and hep-cat rock’n'twang wannabes.”
- Raul Malo, the former lead singer of The Mavericks, will release a new solo album on July 17th. On the album Malo says he wants to provide a different interpretation of some very classic country songs. Some of the songs include “Crying Time” by Buck Owens, “Cold, Cold Heart” by Hank Williams, and “Husbands and Wives” by Roger Miller. If nothing else, it sounds intriguing.
- Also in the studio working on a new album is Clint Black, although I can’t find a release date. It’ll be interesting to see what kind of material he comes up with for this project.
- Brian White from Chicago Maroon has some harsh things to say about modern country music, mostly true though.
It is a horrible, talentless genre full of hacks who wave American flags and somehow get to lay claim to American culture. Kenny Chesney is what you get when you slap a cowboy hat on Lance Bass. He is the Backstreet Boys for white trash.
He then goes on to sing the praises of Johnny Cash.
- Willie Nelson and his tour manager avoided spending any time in jail after they plead guilty to a misdemeanor count of marijuana possession. The incident arose last September when troopers found marijuana and hallucinogenic mushrooms on Willie’ tour bus. Willie, his tour manager, his sister, and two drivers were issued citations. Charges against the drivers were later dropped because there was no indication that they “had anything to do with the contraband.” Willie’s sister, Bobbie Nelson, had her citation dismissed as part of a plea agreement.
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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.
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.
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.
Forgotten Artist: David Rogers David Rogers (1936-1993) is proof of the adage that it’s great to be on a major label, but only if the label is truly behind you.
Forgotten Artist: Charley Pride For the ’70s, Billboard has Charley listed as its third ranking singles artist behind only Conway Twitty and Merle Haggard. 
In this exclusive interview with The 9513, the Show Dog Records trio talks about growing up around Waylon and Jessi Colter, and about how those experiences have helped shaped their music as they set off on their own country music journey.
One of an emerging wave of artists empowered by decreasing production costs and a rapidly changing distribution landscape, Kelleigh Bannen has taken a do-it-yourself approach to her debut album, Radio Skies.Tagged In This Article
Clint Black // Eddie Bond // Johnny Cash // Martina McBride // Raul Malo // Willie Nelson
Current Discussion
- leeann: I *did* mention the Lauderdale song in my review. I really liked it. He sounds...
- Thomas: "whereas rap was the word of truth, today country is where you go for honesty".....
- Razor X: The Jim Lauderdale track is excellent. Another one that I liked better than I t...
- Dylan Gramm: Why does that statement make Keith a racist?...
- f_t_e: Namely this: http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/30/toby-keith-obama-white/ "...
- f_t_e: Yeah, because if there's anyone who would have supported John McCain, it's the m...
- Josh: Rascal's "I'm Moving On" was good.. that's all I got....
- Mirandas2cool: Kenny really has made some bad choices lately. I really like I go back and his o...
- Dylan Gramm: What's the Jim Lauderdale track like?...
- leeann: I didn't mention it in my review, but I didn't like the Skaggs duet either. It ...
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11 Comments
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April 24, 2007 at 6:41 pm Permalink
That’s the first time I heard anything from Brian White in a long time! Country music still has a lot of talented artists, but White’s statement about modern country still has a lot of truth to it at the same time. However, I think Rascal Flatts would have been a more appropriate comparison to the Backstreet Boys.
April 25, 2007 at 6:47 am Permalink
I agree that Rascal Flatts makes a better comparison. It’s also not a good idea to compare everything to Johnny Cash because you’re sure to be disappointed with the end results.
April 25, 2007 at 7:51 am Permalink
Most people who compare modern artists to Johnny Cash are not the country music purists they claim to be. I’d venture that White is a relatively young person who has never been much of a country fan but fell in love with Cash after hearing “Hurt” and has since heard enough of the San Quentin album to claim that he’s familiar with Cash’s “early work.” He’s probably never heard a George Jones record and wouldn’t like it if he did. It’s cool to like Cash no matter what genre of music you listen to and its cool to pile on contemporary country artists.
As stated above, he doesn’t even criticize the right artists. Toby Keith is one of the best male vocalists out there. Shania is not very country but has made some undeniably great and record-setting music.
To Dave - maybe you know this Brian White, but don’t confuse him with singer-songwriter Bryan White.
April 25, 2007 at 8:52 am Permalink
Rascal Flatts is to the Backstreet Boys what Kenny Chesney is to Vanilla Ice.
April 25, 2007 at 9:26 am Permalink
Go Willie! So sweet part of the plea deal was to get charges dropped against sister Bobbie. Oh, it pays to have good attorneys, it really does.
April 25, 2007 at 2:39 pm Permalink
Matt - I agree completely, but I think a lot of contemporary country artists have made it easy for people to pile on them by putting out a lot of crap, and by doing so all of the country music genre gets labeled as crap when in fact there’s just as much good stuff being created.
Baron - Nice analogy.
Linda - The funny thing about the whole Willie thing is I don’t think his reputation takes a hit at all, where as with other artists they’d for sure lose a few fans.
April 25, 2007 at 3:03 pm Permalink
“Takes a hit.” Heh heh.
April 25, 2007 at 3:05 pm Permalink
Oh, and Merle Haggard did too sing about his feelings. Still does.
April 25, 2007 at 3:05 pm Permalink
I knew that was coming.
April 25, 2007 at 4:45 pm Permalink
Johnny Cash never was a heroin addict, although being hooked on speed isn’t exactly a walk in the park.
April 26, 2007 at 9:31 am Permalink
I don’t think you can reinterpret “Cold, Cold Heart” any better than Hank Williams, especially considering that he’s the one that wrote it and knew exactly what it was supposed to convey. The project does sound a little intriguing, but it seems kinda pretentious and a little lazy to me.
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