Doug Supernaw’s tumultuous life was like a country song. It went from obscure beginnings, to superstardom, to a return to anonymity, and eventually a path of new redemption. It has ended now, but not before he found redemption.
Among many other criticisms being lobbed at the 2020 CMA Awards broadcast on Wednesday (11-11), the lack of an In Memoriam segment, and specifically overlooking major deaths in country music such as John Prine, Jerry Jeff Walker, and Billy Joe Shaver have quite a few hopping mad.
The 2020 CMA Awards will transpire on Wednesday, November 11th (make sure to follow along with Saving Country Music’s LIVE blog), and this year it will be a tribute heavy affair. Tributes, remembrances, and the marking of anniversaries will be a big part of the presentation.
Many gave credit to Garth Brooks for taking himself out of contention, and you can’t blame him personally for voters awarding him the CMA Entertainer of the Year. But there’s still some bad blood out there coming from many in the country community, including Miranda Lambert, apparently.
The Saving Country Music Top 25 Playlist is built to keep you informed on all the best songs and albums coming out right here, right now in country and roots music. It’s available on most all streaming formats. New songs have just been added.
It’s almost eerie how when it comes to the death of certain country legends, circumstances and premonitions align in a way that makes it seem like they knew something way before the rest of us did. It’s because so much of country music is about addressing mortality.
Outlaw country legend Billy Joe Shaver died on Wednesday, October 28th after suffering a massive stroke on the morning of October 27th while in a rehabilitation facility. He was 81 years old. Details on a public viewing, graveside visitation, and memorial service with streaming option have been announced.
Two of the adult children of country legend George Jones are suing multiple defendants in the United States District Court of Middle Tennessee. The lawsuit sheds new details on master recordings once used as bail collateral by drug dealers.
It’s been a hard few weeks down in Texas and beyond as Texas music and Outlaw country have lost three titans of the golden era, with Johnny Bush, Jerry Jeff, Walker, and now Billy Joe Shaver all passing away in rapid succession. It has left the country music world reeling in an already unprecedented year.
The heart and soul of the songs and words of the American country music Outlaw movement has passed on. Billy Joe Shaver, with only three fingers on his right hand and an 8th grade education left an indelible mark on country music that will never be worn down.
To help in the COVID-19 recovery effort, the Hall of Fame is planning a special live streaming event that will match up many of the iconic instruments in the “Precious Jewels” collection and other displays with many of the best artists and players of today.
Wildly-influential alt-rock band Lucero will be releasing their 10th album on January 29th, 2021 called Where You Found Me through their own label Liberty and Lament, distributed by Thirty Tigers. The first single from the album called “Outrun The Moon” has just been released.
Without any physical product being sold yet (it’s still being manufactured), Sturgill Simpson’s surprise bluegrass album Cuttin’ Grass Vol. 1 The Butcher Shoppe Sessions reprising 20 songs from his catalog in bluegrass form sees a surprisingly strong debut in the charts.
Charley Pride will be the 2020 recipient of the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award handed out by the Country Music Association. To be awarded during the 54th Annual CMA Awards set to transpire on Wednesday, November 11th from Nashville and broadcast on ABC.
The Saving Country Music Top 25 Playlist is built to keep you informed on all the best songs and albums coming out right here, right now in country and roots music. It’s available on most all streaming formats. New songs have just been added.
From contributing one of the most important folk songs of the American songbook in history, to becoming a seminal member of the Austin, TX music scene and founding father of Texas country music, there is no comparing, and no replacing the impact of performer, songwriter, musical icon, and gonzo musician Jerry Jeff Walker.
For those that like to keep up with the doings of guitar player Laur “Little Joe” Joamets—the Estonian ax slinger who set houses on fire behind Sturgill Simpson from 2015 to 2017—he’s formed a new project with Nashville-based and noted blues singer Laura Reed called “Lore.”
Ray Wylie Hubbard has waited 45 years to finally make his debut on the Austin City Limits stage. And though COVID-19 restrictions mean there will be no audience in attendance for this monumental event that Ray Wylie and his fans have been lobbying for, the taping of the episode will stream live online.
Leave it to Garth Brooks to figure out how to finagle life to make sure he has some product to place on an end cap come Christmastime. This year it will be a re-release of a live album, and his latest studio album ‘Fun.’
Unexpectedly and without any explanation, Jamey Johnson has released his first truly new recording in over eight years. On Friday, October 16th, Johnson’s take on “America The Beautiful” populated on streaming sites without any fanfare or media push. Though it’s not an original song, it comes as a welcome surprise to fans.
The writer of “Whiskey River,” and a legend among legends in Texas music and beyond, Johnny Bush has died at the age of 85. The Texas native should have been a superstar, and a top name of the Outlaw era in country music. But right as his career as a solo performer started to take off, he began to lose his voice.
The protracted wait for new music from country music singer, songwriter, guitarist and piano player Ward Davis will soon be over, as he’s announced the release of his latest record Black Cats and Crows via Thirty Tigers, produced by the legendary Jim “Moose” Brown, and has released the title track.
On Friday evening, October 16th, PBS will air the presentation of the Grammy’s special merit awards for the year’s Lifetime Achievement recipients. The event is capped off with a tribute to John Prine, whose segment runs almost twice as long as any other tribute.
Many have notice the slow, but palpable shift in the 25-year-old Saskatchewan native Colter Wall’s voice and style since releasing his debut EP ‘Imaginary Appalachia’ in 2015, and recording a live version of “The Devil Wears a Suit and Tie” at Original 16 Brewery that now has over 12 million views.