On Those Chris Stapleton CMA Wins
We already knew that Chris Stapleton was an amazing singer, a great songwriter, and an astounding guitar player. Now the rest of the world knows. And where all of this will take country music is something we can only speculate on at the moment, but it certainly is something to be taken as a very good sign, even if you’re just ho hum on Stapleton, or gaze a hairy eyeball at all those pop country songs he wrote for others.
Nobody was pontificating that Stapleton would pull off a clean sweep of the three awards he was nominated for. I certainly wasn’t. If it wasn’t for Stapleton, I would have damn near had a clean sweep with my predictions. But I didn’t have him winning anything. Most people who were picking from their minds as opposed to their hearts felt the same way.
As Wednesday night’s festivities approached, you started to hear some murmurings about how Stapleton might have an outside chance for Album of the Year, but only if everything broke just right. As it turned out, Album of the Year was just the beginning. New Artist is a nice award to pick up, but sometimes it is used as a consolation prize. But to break Blake Shelton’s reign of half a decade as the CMA Male Vocalist of the Year is something nobody foresaw. How could you? It’s ridiculous, and I’m not sure if I can believe it still.
Is country music saved now? Of course not. Stapleton may have needed both hands to carry all his awards out of the Bridgestone Arena Wednesday night, but none of his self-performed songs have ever cracked the Top 40. For country music to be saved, it has to affect all sectors. Right? Or maybe Stapleton’s wins prove that it is radio who is out of step, and not in tune with public sentiment, and needs to right the ship before it loses its relevancy in the marketplace. Gary Overton’s “If you’re not on radio, you don’t exist” comments have never rung more hollow.
Beyond the showering of praise on Stapleton, how did this happen? How did a guy that just released his debut album and has virtually no commercial success compared to his peers become the big winner of the 2015 CMA Awards and shock the country music world? As much as we’d love to give all credit to Stapleton’s God-given talents, some of it comes down to the respect he’s garnered as a songwriter over many years, spreading his name recognition throughout the CMA voting populous, and some of it comes down to simple statistics.
Earlier this year at the Grammy Awards, the bid for Album of the Year was considered to be a two horse race between Beyoncé and Pharrell Williams. The two sucked up votes from various sectors of the Grammy voting bloc, and the eventual winner was Beck, and his album Morning Phase. With so many votes splitting down the two sides and canceling each other out, it opened up a space for a dark horse to emerge. And that’s what Beck did.
To certain people who were around in the 90’s, the Beck win was a celebration. But to many in the public, they had never heard of him. The #WhoIsBeck hashtag became its own cultural phenomenon, and there were a lot of people who were downright angry.
In a sector of the internet such as Saving Country Music, we’re planning victory parades today. But among the flotsam and jetsam the question is, “Who is Chris Stapleton?” Some who are naturally inquisitive will attempt to answer that question, and we’re already seeing this from the rise of Chris Stapleton on the iTunes charts, and most assuredly this will be paralleled when Billboard goes to print next week. All the bellyaching about how Chris hasn’t performed well enough to deserve all the praise may soon be quenched in arrears. And from the engagement we know Chris Stapleton’s music is capable of, he assuredly is set to make thousands of new fans.
But others will not be so inclined to wonder who this bearded man is who won all these awards. They will wonder why their favorite artists—the ones dominating the radio and selling out arenas left and right—got hosed. And just as we love to bellyache about injustices, and hatch schemes of how to right the country music ship around these parts, so will these mainstream fans. Sam Hunt didn’t walk away with anything? He’s been at the top of the charts for the entirety of 2015. Eric Church didn’t win anything more than splitting an award for Vocal Event of the Year? Wednesday was supposed to be Church’s big moment. He’d just released a surprise album that morning, and he never got his chance at the podium to explain his motives to the country masses.
If you want to talk about being overshadowed, think of how Luke Bryan and Little Big Town feel. Luke’s Entertainer of the Year win at the end of the show felt like a footnote. Little Big Town have been the comeback country music story of the last decade. Their three awards aren’t worth any less than Stapleton’s, but their story took second stage, and to no fault of their own.
What Chris Stapleton did was unprecedented, and historic. There have been plenty of 3-award sweeps in the history of the CMA’s, but never by such an underdog, and an unknown. But there are a couple of moments that have come close. When Stapleton was accepting the Male Vocalist of the Year award, you could tell he was taking in what he knew might be the greatest moment of his life, and he promised he would take the honors very seriously.
In 2009, another artist felt that same way. “I will never forget this moment, because in this moment everything that I have ever wanted has just happened to me,” said Taylor Swift. Taylor won the Music Video of the Year, the Album of the Year, Female Vocalist of the Year, and then the big one, Entertainer of the Year. Though Swift was sweeping over country music at the time, nobody expected Taylor Swift to sweep the awards in such a manner, not even Taylor Swift. Just like with Chris Stapleton’s wins, everyone was in shock.
Also in 2009, a somewhat obscure songwriter, who just like Stapleton, had written scores of hits for others, walked away with Song of the Year. Jamey Johnson’s “In Color” offered a complete contrast to Taylor Swift’s sweep. Jamey Johnson’s win was just as remarkable as any of Stapleton’s, but Swift was the headline the next day.
The day after the 2009 CMA Awards, Saving Country Music, and many other outlets, declared country music was dead. A tombstone was made, and was spread all over social networks (MySpace at the time). Legendary country columnist Chet Flippo said, “I know one thing: There are a lot of CMA voters who woke up this morning and thought, ‘What did we just do? Who did I just wake up next to? Four major CMA Awards at age 19? We just gave her the keys to the kingdom. Now what?'”
What was for sure is Taylor Swift’s wins would create a massive shift in country music. And they did. It’s not hard to point to the CMA Awards of 2009 as a sea change moment for the genre. It ushered in the unprecedented era of pop of which we find ourselves amidst today. Country music has always been a copycat genre, pliable to whatever and whomever people think is popular at the time.
And that brings us back to Chris Stapleton. So if Swift’s wins got us into all of this mess to begin with, will Stapleton’s wins deliver us out of them? Taylor Swift is now completely gone out of country, and Chet Flippo, may he Rest in Peace. And it will probably take another six years before we can truly answer any of these questions.
But Chris Stapleton’s sweep is a win for music that is more traditional country in nature than not. It is a win for music that is more independently-minded than mainstream. It’s a win for producer Dave Cobb, who continues his own unprecedented winning streak that may even put Stapleton’s to shame. It’s a win for fans of bluegrass and The SteelDrivers to see one of their alum succeed in this manner. And it’s a win for music of more substance, regardless of who made it, and what style it is.
And hopefully, that will all equate to a win for the folks who want to be proud to call themselves country music fans again, and not just on the day after the 2015 CMA Awards as they can yammer, “Yeah I knew who Chris Stapleton was” around the water cooler, but years from now when the writers and fans attempt to pinpoint the moment when country music was pulled back from the precipice, and became the voice of the people again.
November 5, 2015 @ 9:57 am
Wish this meant something would change but mostly it just means the gatekeepers can pat themselves on the backs for recognizing quality “when it matters” and then go back to trying to make as much money as easily as possible and damn the consequences. Chris stapelton isnt going to get any more radio play today then he did yesterday. Sam Hunt isnt going to get any less. The men who control the industry will continue to make more money then 95% of their artists. And so it goes.
November 5, 2015 @ 10:01 am
Perhaps, but it doesn’t mean we can use this moment as a stepping stone or a building block. Rome wasn’t conquered overnight. As dumb as country radio was for not playing Stapleton to begin with, they will look even more shortsighted today if they don’t at least give his music some consideration.
November 5, 2015 @ 10:06 am
Nah. Think of all the time when we have said “X won so that means there is a change coming!” And then no change came. The next 2 years of radio singles are already written and in the can. No one is coming to save us.
November 5, 2015 @ 10:16 am
The station I listen to in Boston plugged “Justin Timberlake’s performance” – and even played a clip – of JT alone, this morning. Clearly not going to be hearing Chris Stapleton there! Flipped to the next station and Bobby Bones WAS playing the Tennessee Whiskey part of the performance – I can’t stand him, but was glad to hear it getting the attention it deserves!
November 6, 2015 @ 11:53 am
Dammit, Carolyn Kruse!
November 5, 2015 @ 10:40 am
Right, and I’m holding out faith that when casual listeners hear actual good music, they may recognize the crap they’ve been eating up for what it is. At least to some small degree. And then maybe people will actually start wanting to hear better music more often!
November 5, 2015 @ 5:26 pm
My radio station locally a top 30 had to dig up old footage of him coming to town on a radio tour. I’m friends with a few of the dj’s on Facebook. Indirectly called them out. Seen a tweet that said if your radio station isn’t playing chris Stapleton then you’re listening to the wrong station. About that…
They were talking about him on the morning show and the cma awards recap but that’s about all.
December 22, 2015 @ 7:53 pm
Chris Stapleton is the next… Chris Stapleton. Let’s take him to the front line
November 5, 2015 @ 10:23 am
Hard to think Chris Stapleton doesn’t get more radio play when his album hits #1 on iTunes. Gotta think the domino effect would be more people calling and requesting his music.
November 5, 2015 @ 10:38 am
Radio programmers don’t pay any attention to iTunes charts. They don’t pay any attention to album charts either. If they did, they would already be playing Stapleton. They pay attention to whomever is spending lots and lots of money to get them to pay attention to them. The best way for Chris Stapleton to get on the radio would be for Mercury Nashville to launch a new single from his album, pick something sensible, put a radio promotional campaign behind it, make a video, and pray for rain. I can’t begin to express how narrow-minded country radio is. I do expect a few new spins from Stapleton after these wins, but it will be more of a conversational piece for DJ’s instead of a solid “add” to station’s rosters. Country radio probably wasn’t impressed by Stapleton’s wins, they were probably pissed off about them because it shows how they’re now on the outside looking in.
November 5, 2015 @ 10:49 am
I’m just hoping for a domino effect: more Chris Stapleton fans = more people requesting his music. But maybe that’s oversimplified. I don’t know the ins and outs of the industry.
November 5, 2015 @ 12:07 pm
The days of listeners calling in and requesting songs and radio listening went the way of the dinosaur a long time ago.
All that matters to radio now is 1) money from the major labels and 2) money from advertisers.
That’s it. Music is just something they play in-between commercials.
November 5, 2015 @ 3:25 pm
A rock station I listen to still has the call in request thing going on, maybe the Carolinas are more inept to older radio traditions.
November 5, 2015 @ 6:36 pm
Same in my market. One station bills themselves as a mixture of new country, older country, and Red Dirt, and when it was asked of one of the DJs why they play Sam Hunt so much when they could be playing more Red Dirt, he said it was due to one thing: requests. Money talks and bullshit walks (and records songs under the name “Sam Hunt,” apparently).
November 5, 2015 @ 10:58 am
Hypothetical: You, Trig, are a Mercury Nashville exec. How do you capitalize on all this attention? Which song do you launch as a single? “Tennessee Whiskey” since everyone got a taste of it last night? (Personally, “Fire Away” may be my favorite song of the album.)
November 5, 2015 @ 3:01 pm
“Tennessee Whiskey” is too long for radio. “Fire Away” might actually be a really good pick.
November 6, 2015 @ 11:38 am
“Nobody to Blame” would be my pick.
November 6, 2015 @ 3:47 pm
I would pick “when the stars come out”. Ultra catchy and hummable, a little faster paced, to maybe get the attention of the fans of country rock and its sort of Segerish, to get the attention of fans of classic rock. that song reminds me of Hollywood nights lyrically and that song remains in heavy rotation on rock radio.
November 5, 2015 @ 11:50 am
Actually I’ve already heard him on the radio twice today.
November 5, 2015 @ 10:00 am
I don’t know what it means for the future, but we all won when Sam Hunt lost.
November 5, 2015 @ 10:05 am
Trig I have a question. There have been times in country music where an artist seemed to have a moment and while that shot them forward, it often shut down other artists who might have been similar, as if our current country music world is not big enough for them both. Stapleton not only had a moment last night, but he had that moment with Timberlake, which immediately made it visible to millions of more people that would have never watched a Stapleton video. He will not only be the it guy in Country right now, but he will also gather fans that think he is cool, because Timberlake thinks he is cool. What I’m wondering though, is if you think his monster emergence will hurt Sturgill or help Sturgill? Will his momentum maybe actually slow Sturgill’s down?
November 5, 2015 @ 10:28 am
Obviously, I’m not Trig, but I was thinking on this very topic today. Since Music Row is such a copycat place, does this maybe push similar acts (e.g., Sturgill) to the forefront in a effort to cash in on the craze around Stapleton? Would be awesome if it did and we got a boom like the mid- to late-80s with Randy Travis, class of ’89, etc.
November 5, 2015 @ 10:45 am
I think this can only be good for Sturgill Simpson and other independently-minded country artists (even though like Stapleton, Sturgill’s now on a major label) because it opens up a door, and sets a precedent that you don’t have to win radio to win awards. You don’t have to be the pretty young pop country star in skinny jeans. Stapleton proves that substance matters. Stapleton won because he has the respect for his peers, and now look at all that big names like Keith Urban, Jake Owen, and Zac Brown who’ve touted both Sturgill and Jason Isbell. They’re who these mainstream guys are listening to, and when their ballot comes in the mail, they’re more likely to vote for them than Sam Hunt.
If you want to know who the real loser here is, it is Jamey Johnson. And I don’t mean that as a slight to Johnson whatsoever, but it’s just the truth. Jamey Johnson doesn’t seem like he cares to make new music ever again, and when he finally does (which he will), it’s very questionable if anyone in the mainstream will pay attention. Chris Stapleton has completely moved into that Jamey Johnson space. He’s the big bearded, more traditional leaning guy who wrote hit songs for others first. But where Jamey got content and decided to rest on his laurels, I think Stapleton will continue to push, at least for a few years, and be the hottest songwriting commodity we’ve seen in recent memory.
The other loser here is Dallas Davidson.
November 5, 2015 @ 11:01 am
“The other loser here is Dallas Davidson.”
Well then we’re all winners, aren’t we?
November 5, 2015 @ 11:17 am
I was just talking to my GF about JJ yesterday. I can’t believe how long it’s been since The Guitar Song. He tours his ass off and I’ve seen him many time but honestly it’s getting stale. I keep checking his site waiting for a new song or a bit of album news but nothing. I know he’s had a label issue to deal with but it’s my understanding he created his own now. So what gives? He really really needs to stop touring and sit down and make another killer record.
November 5, 2015 @ 2:43 pm
Couldnt agree more dude. I respect the heck out of the guy for his vigorous touring and meeting fans in the lowest places but dang, over 5 years! Its time, i think 2016 maybe the year, but is it too late?
November 5, 2015 @ 12:10 pm
Aren’t you the one who kept swearing up and down that Jamey and Chris were much less similar than everyone was making them out to be just a few months ago? My, how the tables have turned. Scratch my below comment, second hipster moment right here 😉
November 5, 2015 @ 3:04 pm
I think they’re both much more similar now since they both have won surprising CMA Awards. I think that vaults Stapleton into Jamey’s space. Country music wants to have guys like that around. It gives the mainstream street cred. They’re not going to go back to Jamey Johnson now. And again, I’m not attacking Jamey or anything, that’s just how the business works.
November 5, 2015 @ 12:14 pm
Just a side note, I’ve been working near a reservation for the past two weeks, and they have a radio station with local DJ’s. They play whatever the hell they want when they want. Just this morning I heard Alkaline Trio, George Thorogood, the Black Eyes Peas, and “High Cost of Living” by Jamey Johnson, all on the same station.
Of course it isn’t all country and alt country, but they play quite a bit of it throughout the day. It was great to hear Johnson on the radio again for no special reason other than he’s damn good.
As far as the Stapleton wins, good for him. Hopefully he gets a little love from radio, but I’m not expecting much.
November 5, 2015 @ 5:33 pm
Is it in Salamanca New York? Right by the Pennsylvania line
November 5, 2015 @ 5:39 pm
Negative, I’m in North Dakota, in the Bakken.
November 5, 2015 @ 11:12 am
I had this same conversation with a friend of mine last night after the CMA. I can only think this is a good thing for guys like Simpson and Isbell. To be honest, it was artist like them and even Musgraves (not a big fan of hers but she did what many couldn’t do and she is a female) that broke down the walls to allow someone like Stapleton to clean up last night.
Why this is a huge win for the Artists Artist, it will allow guys like Stapleton to headline arena shows and bring his opening acts. Allowing him to play and showcase great bands that would not have a chance or would play with other larger acts. Or pick to record a song from a friend and not 10 songwriters with their pencils up their ass. Example, three weeks ago Stapleton played at River Road Icehouse. He embraced playing with guys like Adam Hood and Jason Eady, he even got Wade Bowen on stage. This is great for the little guy. For the hundreds and thousands asking “who is Chris Stapleton” just think when they go see him and ask who the hell is this opening for him.
I don’t want to compare the two but its the only example that I can find that fits what I see going on. Similar to what we saw with the Outlaw Movement, and we really saw it in Austin. The success of Willie and Waylon really did help guys like Jerry Jeff, Doug Sahm, Guy Clark, Billy Joe and so on. It gave the songs that Willie and Waylon weren’t writing, a backbone and an organic feel that people seem to latch on to. All this was done without radio or even the internet/streaming services. Its bringing music back to ground level be it country, blues or southern rock. Willie and Waylon knew how to play the game just enough to make everyone happy but still do their own thing. This is what will keep Simpson and Stapleton in the spot light, they will have to walk that fine line of Bad Ass without Kissing Ass but still keep music row happy. What impressed me last night about Stapleton performance was you could hear real instruments playing and real people singing. No phoney smoke and mirror crap with fire and lasers.
Sorry to get of subject but this seemed to be a good place to say this. And I agree with Trig, this can only be a good thing. Will it reverse Bro Country from the Radio. No, but its a start, a catalyst.
November 5, 2015 @ 1:18 pm
i saw an interview today by a guy who writes for the paper in houston, it was from around 2010 and he was interviewing stapleton then with a band called the something Brothers, started with a J. The interviewer asked if he had any plans to do any shows in Texas, Chris said he did not have any plans but wade bowen had asked him about opening some shows and that he would do it if he was invited. So apparently him and wade go back at least 5 years.
November 5, 2015 @ 3:06 pm
The Jompson Brothers
November 5, 2015 @ 10:09 am
My local country station played “Tennessee Whiskey” this morning, which was a total surprise.
He introduced the song by saying, “This is a very old song written by a guy named Dean Dillon. It’s a very long song, to warn our listeners, probably about five minutes, but we are going to play it anyway.”
November 5, 2015 @ 10:11 am
What I’m wondering now, is that if the ‘bro-country’ acts are going to now pick up the ‘authentic’ line…
After Isbell, Sturgill and this, I wonder if this is going to signal another ‘Seattle Gold Rush’ like some of us saw in the ’90’s.
I suppose, what I’m aiming at, is there going to be an onslaught of ‘Wolves in Sheep’s clothing’?
November 5, 2015 @ 10:24 am
I could live with that a lot easier than the current state. If there were a mass movement to make real country music, I can simply ignore thomas rhett and sam hunt trying to make real country music, because it won’t be any good and everyone will realize it. The current crap, though, is so bad it’s hard to ignore.
November 5, 2015 @ 10:32 am
I’m certainly not opposed to the idea of new (and old) acts being brought to the forefront, not at all.
I just hope that there’s a genuine resurgence here, and that we won’t be faced with FGL singing the same crap but now ‘with MORE AUTHENTIC country sounds’… essentially, the great big rebrand of some of the worst perpetrators of ‘bro-country’… I think that’ll just keep us in the same cycle as we’re already at. Might get some steel players some more work, that being said… lol
November 5, 2015 @ 10:53 am
The thing is that you can’t fake substance. You can try, and we’re already seeing that from stuff like Charles Kelley’s “The Driver.” But substance isn’t as easy to fake as say rapping or bringing some EDM programmer in. But if it does make people think, “Oh, I need to cut songs that actually say something,” then good. Hopefully Stapleton’s success has Music Row looking for more big singers instead of pretty faces.
November 5, 2015 @ 10:19 am
This may sound shallow I dunno, but there is a lot of rhetoric out there in regards to this not meaning anything, and Stapleton just being an industry insider. So they are saying I guess that the industry just fooled us, and propped up one of their own. Is it so wrong for me to say I’m fine with that? I mean, the powers that be are always gonna be there. Is it so bad that maybe they turn their sights to music with more depth? They money is always going to be their driving force, but with slumping sales maybe they try to shift into a different direction. Isn’t this what we have asked for? So what if Chris wrote a bunch of songs for artists we do not like. I don’t think the system will be torn down, and all independent artists will rule the radio. I think we have to let the game be played, and hope that the pendulum swings back in our direction.
November 5, 2015 @ 11:04 am
Chris Stapleton is totally an industry insider. He has helped write some terrible, terrible songs. And there is nothing anybody can or will say that will in any way erase that, nor should it. This is baggage Chris Stapleton carries around, and it’s the reason I’m not sitting here calling him some “country music savior,” even though that opinion is being named to me and others who are simply happy for Stapleton’s wins.
We’ll have to see if Stapleton now stops writing pop country songs with others, and focuses mostly on his own career. If that’s the case, the above mindset may change. Artists can get better and improve, and we shouldn’t hold past trespasses around their necks forever. There’s STILL some people who can’t get over the fact that Jamey Johnson wrote “Honky Tonk Badonka Donk.”
With success comes polarization. Some are mad at Stapleton because he’s not “their guy.” They’d rather see Whitey Morgan, or Sturgill Simpson, or Jason Isbell, or the Turnpike Troubadours get these wins. Well I may too, but I’m not going to get mad that Chris Stapleton isn’t perfect in my country music eyes. I’m going to be thankful, and immensely grateful that finally, FINALLY an artist that deserved these distinctions actually won them. This is a victory for ALL independent fans and traditional fans. Is it ideal? Of course not. But let’s continue to push and work towards that ideal, and not cry sour grapes just because Chris Stapleton may not be our favorite #1 artist.
November 5, 2015 @ 11:52 am
Thanks for the reply. Most of my favorite artists are the list of names you just mentioned. I know Chris has played many events with these bands, such as John D Hale’s Barn Party he holds annually. I figured Chris had endured himself that crowd. I guess I was surprised last night to read so much negativity towards his win. It wasn’t the who is he crowd. It was the crowd of indie music fans that I guess hold a grudge towards the mainstream songwriting cred, much like Jamey as you mentioned. I guess I was wrong to assume the crowd I count myself apart of to be more behind Chris. He may be an insider, but they didn’t just lay down and give him radio play. Hell he still may not get radio time after this. We will see I guess
November 5, 2015 @ 2:07 pm
Some people you just cant please you have to take victories where you can get him. The night that Zak Brown played dress blues before the national championship game, Jason thanked him on his twitter and talked about how big of a deal it was. He was bombarded with people talking about how bad his version was and that Zac sucked for taking hollywood war out of it. To Jason’s credit, he told them that you cant bitch about nashville cutting bad songs then bitch when they cut one you like.
November 5, 2015 @ 9:29 pm
It just bugs me because it’s not like the powers that be just handed him the keys ya know. I watched Chris open up for freakin Charlie Worsham just 2 years ago. I’ve seen him in lists to open for the likes of the Randy Rogers Band too. The guy had to work his way up it seemed to even get a solo project approved by the label. Let’s not forget about 2 years ago there were rumors of a solo album when “What Are You Listening Too” was released, and it seemed to get shelved.
November 5, 2015 @ 12:10 pm
It will be very interesting to see how the industry reacts. It could be something like the reaction to Nirvana when every label scrambled to sign the next Nirvana for example. Additionally, Sturgill Simpson’s and Jason Isbell’s recent releases have proven to be quite financially viable. There is gold in them hills and I think we can expect it to get mined to some degree. Just depends on how deep they are willing to dig.
November 5, 2015 @ 2:00 pm
Yeah. Country radio aside, one thing Chris Stapleton’s success could hopefully do is encourage major Nashville labels to support and market artists outside the context of mainstream radio. There is clearly a sizable demographic of people who are willing to actually buy albums in order to support substantive country artists. That’s being proven as we speak.
November 5, 2015 @ 5:41 pm
Not saying I can sing or play a single instrument. Coming out of a producers mouth when my friend cut his last album. With current technology you can cut an album that’s maybe 80% as good as a professional one for $10,000. Meaning at 1,000 units is the break even point. I never got why labels don’t capitalize on doing it that way. It’s almost a zero loss situation and if they hit it big then even better.
November 5, 2015 @ 10:20 am
So happy for Chris Stapleton and what these means for more independent artists. This morning at work I overheard a lady (suburban soccer mom) saying to someone “We watched the CMAs last night and this big bearded guy we had never even heard of or heard on the radio swept 3 awards. And he supposedly has been around for 20 years and got new artist I don’t know about that. . .” I couldn’t help but laugh at that and continued my celebration. It definitely has people talking about him whether good or bad his name and story is still out there to even the most clueless “fans” of country.
November 5, 2015 @ 10:26 am
While these wins are huge and I think could swing things, it has to be noted that Stapleton is not an Independent artist, even if he has the sound of one. You can bet if he was not on a Major label, he would not have been nominated for all those awards last night. Look at all the publicity Sturgill got for Metamodern Sounds, but did not get nominated for any CMA Awards last year, because he was on an Independent label. The trick is for artist to be able to get on a major label and still be able to hold their artist integrity like they were on an independent one, the way Stapleton was able to do. I do think that the fact he had written so many songs for big start in Nashville probably gave him a little more flexibility with his album and what the label was willing to let him do.
November 5, 2015 @ 10:50 am
Very good points. I hadn’t meant to use the independent title because yes he is indeed not independent. But, I think it’s a very big victory for those artists not being played on the radio to get some recognition.
November 5, 2015 @ 11:03 am
I knew what you meant, because Stapleton’s record has the sound that we would normally only hear on an independent album. Everything about him sounds raw and edgy.
November 5, 2015 @ 10:35 am
Sometimes I wonder if there is just a god of bad music who takes sacrifices of talented people, and likewise a god of good music who takes sacrifices of untalented people.
Think about it:
We lost Elvis young, Hank Williams young, and we just lost George Jones.
How many of the untalented people have we lost?
The god of bad music has had more sacrifices than the god of good music, that’s why we had so much of it last night.
We have to feed the untalented people to the god of good music. I’m naming this god Colmvisko. If we sacrifice enough bro country singers, the god of good music will have more power than the god of bad music, who I assume is called SwinvidsBeiber.
Thoughts?
November 5, 2015 @ 10:43 am
I thought for sure this would be a show that reversed recent ratings declined, but apparently the opposite has been confirmed! =(
This year’s telecast marked approximately a 2.3 million audience decline from 2014 overall, and a decline of 700,000 in the 18-49 demographic (from 4.5 million to 3.8 million)
That’s a shame. Still, the iTunes results prove this telecast had an impact, especially with Chris Stapleton’s emergence to the top of the charts.
November 5, 2015 @ 11:14 am
I personally forced myself to watch at the last minute, and thankfully I did! I wouldn’t doubt a bit if the ratings were low because people couldn’t bring themselves to see man buns and skinny jeans prancing around. No one could’ve predicted how epic it wounder turn! I betcha next years ratings will soar
November 5, 2015 @ 11:18 am
Ouch.
November 5, 2015 @ 11:21 am
On Which part, Trigger?
November 5, 2015 @ 11:33 am
The ratings slide.
November 5, 2015 @ 11:46 am
Unless it’s sports, and all the people betting on fantasy are watching, all TV shows are falling in the ratings. Network TV, like radio, is a dying genre. I followed along on this blog and Twitter. I did turn it to the station for Eric’s performance and was going to for Maddie and Tae and Kacey, but I missed them. But I caught them online this morning.
This isn’t 2000, people follow these shows in dozens of different ways, all but one of them doesn’t require you to sit through Luke Bryan.
November 5, 2015 @ 12:06 pm
That’s true.
I don’t watch television myself, so I’m living proof of these trendlines. Instead, I stream the footage subsequently via YouTube.
Still, when you measure these ratings up to previous digital-age telecasts, that’s still a notable decline. We’ve already had Tivo for nearly a decade as well as many On-Demand services, so that doesn’t exactly assuage the ratings declines.
November 5, 2015 @ 10:53 am
I just hope from all of this…is that some new kid searching for Tennessee whiskey discovers ….David Allan Coe!
November 5, 2015 @ 11:09 am
Amen! And hears it and thinks, “Oh, so THAT’S how that song is supposed to sound.”
November 5, 2015 @ 11:36 am
Jeez I wish David Allan Coe would find David Allan Coe.
November 5, 2015 @ 12:01 pm
While he’s at it he should probably find the money to pay all of those back taxes he was evading.
November 5, 2015 @ 11:00 am
I was reading comments on social media, generally a bad idea, and a lot of fans were upset with this development. Quite a few said that Stapleton doesn’t sound country, and I have to say they have a point. He is more of a blues or southern rock vocal style. Still I’d rather have good songs than bad music and he writes some good songs, and sings them well. I’d also rather have blues or southern rock in my country, than stadium rock and a poor imitation of hip hop.
The other thing is that radio is not out of touch with the populace. Unfortunately, a lot of the populace is still into what they’re putting down. Independent minded music fans are a growing audience but we’re still the minority.
November 5, 2015 @ 11:22 am
There is a strong contingent of people out there hurting the cause because if it is not music that sounds EXACTLY like George Jones or Waylon Jennings, then it’s garbage and not country. They’re right, Chris Stapleton did write pop country songs. They’re right, Stapleton is not straight down the middle country. But if Chris Stapleton doesn’t win, Sam Hunt, Jason Aldean, and Luke Bryan do. So which one do you want? Those people need to stop being red-assed idealists and be appreciative of the huge gift that was just delivered on a silver platter.
November 5, 2015 @ 11:46 am
I want the latter, I’m ok with other influences in country music. In fact, I’d even be ok with a little hip hop influences if it was well done. I’m skeptical that will ever happen.
For people (like me) who like straight country, there is plenty of straight up country music out there if you go looking for it. It would be nice to have it on the radio from time to time, but really the only time I listen to the radio is when I’m driving.
November 5, 2015 @ 12:26 pm
The only example of hip hop (1987-old-school-style) mixed with ‘country’ is this 1988 hit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFO6M7QZ1bU
November 5, 2015 @ 8:02 pm
I know that was originally a Paul Carrack pop hit, but what’s hip hop about it? (sorry, just never thought of it as hip hop before)
November 5, 2015 @ 12:07 pm
Trigger your hypocrisy is amazing. Don’t you always speak against the meshing of genres and the formation of one singular “unigenre”? You preach against pop, rap, and edm infecting country music to a point in which musical genres are unrecognizable. Why then do you accept Chris Stapleton as the new ‘country music savior” when his music is essentially bluesy soul music? Like pop, rap and edm, soul music is a completely different genre than country music. Sure Chris Stapleton’s music has more substance than the other bro country guys, but why state Chris Stapleton’s wins are a win for country music when his music isn’t in fact country music. As seen last night, he is better accompanied by a memphis horn section than a fiddle and pedal steel.
“Not all country music has to sound exactly like George Jones or Waylon Jennings”- you are stating the obvious. However, when did country music start including soul and blues music like Stapleton’s? In a country song, I look for a great melody above all else. While Stapleton can sing his ass off, this feat doesn’t do much for me when the melody wanders around and doesn’t go anywhere (most songs on his album except traveller). Country doesn’t have to sound exactly like George or Waylon to be considered country and you should understand this concept. Its not being a red- assed idealist to want country music to sound like country music, however (tight melody, twang). Anyone who is an avid listener of music will know that Stapleton’s music, while good in its own right, isn’t country music. Why not include his music in r&b where it belongs.
I feel like you and most other people are so deprived of good country music that when you hear a rootsy artist with substance you proclaim them “the savior of country music”. If you want to avoid a “unigenre” trigger, Stapleton’s music shouldn’t be called country.
November 5, 2015 @ 12:51 pm
I agree, Chris Stapleton is great but let’s call it what it is: Americana? R&B? I don’t see why another non-country singer winning big at the CMAs is something I should be excited about.
November 5, 2015 @ 1:43 pm
On the contrary, blues and soul are inextricably linked with country. I don’t understand why this misconception is so rampant. Some of the foundational figures of the blues and soul genres were heavily influenced by country artists. Some of country’s most hallowed names borrowed heavily from blues and soul artists. Go listen to Waylon’s “Lucille” and tell me you don’t hear the characteristic twelve-bar progression of blues/rock and roll (no doubt attributable at least partially to his mentor Buddy Holly; there’s an inconvenient partnership for the “country and rock and roll have nothing in common” crowd). Tell me Jerry Lee Lewis and Ray Charles and the Hanks worked in entirely separate genres. In reality, country music is an amalgamation of regional sounds and traditions. Soul, rock and roll, Gospel, bluegrass, cowboy songs – they all find voice in this genre. The same can obviously not be said for hip hop and EDM, which is why contemporary country radio is in such a quality crisis: it’s full of Frankenstein creations, rather than the gracefully and logically integrated creations that used to constitute country music.
Chris Stapleton wasn’t transgressing genre boundaries last night. He was actually working very much within them.
November 5, 2015 @ 1:51 pm
Hang on there. Frankenstein’s monster at least knew how to play the recorder. These Bro-country clowns barely know how to play two chords on a guitar.
November 5, 2015 @ 2:07 pm
I have no misconceptions about the roots and traditions of American music country or otherwise. There was no country aspect to that performance. None. Im well aware of the influences from which my heroes drew inspiration and aware of the tradition of extra-genre covers and collaborations. That’s not what happened. The only thing country about it was Stapletons hat.
November 5, 2015 @ 3:22 pm
Kyle S,
First off, don’t misrepresent my opinions. I NEVER said that Chris Stapleton was a “country music savior.” In fact I have gone out of my way to say that he is NOT a country savior, and he’s NOT straight down the middle country. I said in a comment just above,
“This is baggage Chris Stapleton carries around, and it”™s the reason I”™m not sitting here calling him some “country music savior,” even though that opinion is being named to me and others who are simply happy for Stapleton”™s wins.”
And yet here I am being mischaracterized again.
There are people, principally on Facebook, that are parading around this idea that Saving Country Music and others are saying that Stapleton is a country music savior, and it is based on NOTHING but wild-eyed assumption. So quit misrepresenting my opinions.
Chris Stapleton has baggage. Chris Stapleton is NOT straight down the middle country. But I do think he’s country, and I do think he’s good. I also think some people would have rather seen Sam Hunt and Luke Bryan win last night because they want to be pissed off.
We’re all music fans first. Jesus Christ let’s just celebrate the fact that real music played by human beings won over the alternative last night. So Chris Stapleton represents the mongenre? Please. He represents good fucking music. So let’s be happy he won, and work towards a future when folks that are more country can win as well.
November 5, 2015 @ 11:03 am
I’ve got a confession to make: even though I’ve been meaning to, I haven’t gotten the “Traveler” album just yet but I definitely plan to probably tomorrow especially since Ghosttunes slashed the price down a bit.
I will say this though about his duets with Timberlake, Stapleton also worked with Garth on a Queen song remake for the Blame It All on My Roots box set he did awhile back, so him working with Timberlake didn’t leave me any doubt that he could hold his own with pop stars.
November 5, 2015 @ 11:15 am
I feel like I’m living out a twilight zone episode. What is everyone talking about?? What on earth is country about their performance last night?! How does the guy from nsync shitting all over a classic country song in the style of white boy soul have anything to do with a change in Nashville? If anything, Brad Paisley introducing two over singing posers is exactly the same as any CMA year so far… I feel like I’m taking crazy pills!
November 5, 2015 @ 11:25 am
I personally didn’t even mention Justin Timberlake in this entire article. And I did that on purpose. I thought Timberlake did a great job, but no, his performance wasn’t country. Neither was Fall Out Boy’s. But what does that have to do with Chris Stapleton winning awards over Sam Hunt and Luke Bryan? Can’t we all agree Stapleton is better than the alternative at least?
November 5, 2015 @ 11:40 am
I guess no, Trig. Unless they want to rename it the “Lesser of the evils” award, give a country music award to someone who plays country music. I used to think Dale was going a little far to discard the “Country” term altogether, but honestly, the cheerleading I’m seeing all over social media for this “real country” victory has changed my mind. I wish the narrative was more honest: “Emerging Pop star in cowboy hat sweeps pop award show and dazzles pop music fans in duet with pop superstar in which they performed a real pop version of a David Allan Coe song.”
November 5, 2015 @ 12:00 pm
I’m surprised you would classify Chris Stapleton as pop. I bought his album when it was released and “pop” never came to mind for me. Granted, his version of Tennessee Whiskey is nothing like the original, and several songs may have southern rock influence, but I’m surprised “pop” was the term used to describe it. JMO. Quite a bit of steel guitar in there.
November 5, 2015 @ 12:08 pm
I think this version of “Tennessee Whiskey” is just garbage. It in no way at all pays tribute to George or any other country artist. I described him as pop because that’s exactly what he was at the CMAs. He over sang an incredibly lame rendition of a great song with Justin Timberlake, the king of that. It was as Nashville as Nashville could get. Haha. Then I wake up to a world of people who own Dale Watson records high-fiving each other over it. I think people are so desperate to see that town change that they aren’t seeing it for what it is: the rise of Dave Cobb as the go to pop-producer.
November 5, 2015 @ 12:30 pm
I know nothing of the performance with Timberlake, since I didn’t watch the CMA’s. Couldn’t care less about Timberlake in general. However, I am one of those Dale Watson album owning fans (about 10, I think) who is happy about this development. I think Traveler is a solid country influenced roots music album. Somewhat less than great, but still quite good. I think that having an album of that quality won CMA Album of the Year is a big surprise and a positive development.
November 5, 2015 @ 12:40 pm
I agree with Jack^. The Album of the Year win was a big surprise and huge development. Hopefully, a sign of things to come. Gotta crawl before you can walk (but don’t get me wrong, I don’t find much wrong with this album).
Brett, in case you haven’t checked out the full Traveller album, give a listen to Fire Away, Daddy Doesn’t Pray Anymore, and Traveller (title track). All good listens.
November 5, 2015 @ 3:26 pm
So now Chris Stapleton’s music is “evil,” and only a lesser evil to Luke Bryan’s? And he’s also a “pop” singer? Please.
Just because you’re pissed off that he’s not traditional country doesn’t mean you have the right to swing in the other direction and characterize him a Brittney Spears.
November 5, 2015 @ 12:17 pm
Chris Stapleton is a country artist, and Traveller, is a country album, albeit a somewhat diverse one. Stapleton said when it was released that this particular album was inspired by his late father’s taste in music, which centered on outlaw country and classic R&B. Covering a classic David Allan Coe song in an R&B style is one interpretation of that motif, but it’s only one song on a fairly lengthy album. I’m guessing Stapleton chose to play it last night because it was a natural choice for a collaboration between him and Timberlake, who is from the Pop/R&B world.
I’m guessing most of the people praising Stapleton’s success are actually familiar with his music as opposed to reacting to just one song.
In short, you should check out Traveller.
November 5, 2015 @ 12:39 pm
edit – replied to wrong comment
November 5, 2015 @ 12:42 pm
I’ve heard the record. Tennessee Whiskey seems to be the go-to track for Stapleton in most of his high-profile performances, so I don’t think the Timberlake factor explains away the decision to go with that song. The record is good but in my honest opinion seems more in the vain of the Alabama Shakes style new-southern soul stuff. Mixed in with some Charlie Starrisms. What it doesn’t do for me is conjure up any single feeling of connection to the country music I love. I’m not a classic country purist but I love Waylon and Merle: Honky Tonk. When a honky tonker gets on tv and does real tribute to DAC and George lemme know.
November 5, 2015 @ 1:41 pm
I”™ve heard the record. Tennessee Whiskey seems to be the go-to track for Stapleton in most of his high-profile performances.
Last time I saw Stapleton on TV, he did “Nobody to Blame” on the Late Show. He also didn’t play “Tennessee Whiskey,” on that NPR Music concert thing. Or on Letterman. But I digress.
Ultimately, I think when artists choose which songs to play on live appearences, they’re mostly just thinking about which song will have the strongest possible impact. And the “Tennessee Whiskey” cover is a distinctive track which catches people’s attention. Personally, I’d love to hear his cover of CDB’s “Was It 26” on TV sometime.
Anyway, I guess I just disagree about the content of Stapleton’s music. I agree that there are a variety of elements Involved, but the outlaw country feel is strong throughout, the whole record is drenched in pedal steel, and for the most part, the lyrics are about as country as lyrics can get. Ultimately, though, in an ideal world, Stapleton would be just one artist among many in a healthy mainstream country music scene.
I”™m not a classic country purist but I love Waylon and Merle: Honky Tonk. When a honky tonker gets on tv and does real tribute to DAC and George lemme know.
Well, I would protest that Merle recorded many smooth pop and even R&B style ballads, and Waylon’s music contained a lot of bluesy elements, but I think I get your point. You wanna see a a real hillbilly honky tonker barnstorm the CMA stage and go play loud-as-hell steel guitar right in the faces of those smug bro-country tools. And yeah, I would love to see that too.
November 5, 2015 @ 11:51 am
What you heard last night was a memphis soul tribute to a George Jones (or Dean Dillon) song. It was pretty cool to actually hear a George Jones song at the country awards, and it was cool to hear a song with lyrical prose and emotion.
It’s true though that this song without any modifications to production would’ve fit well into an Otis Redding album.
FWIW I didn’t like Timberlake’s take on the song. This made me less excited for his country album than I was before.
November 5, 2015 @ 11:24 am
DAYUM. Man goes to sleep one night without checking his news feed and the next morning Eric Church has released a personal album in a classy move for his fans and the underdog country traditionalist has swept the CMA Awards. I need to abstain from the internet more often.
Funny story, I was listening to Traveller the other day at my kitchen table. It didn’t quite floor me the first few times I listened to it, but it soon grew on me and it’s been my go-to album this whole week. Anywho, my parents were also in the room with me when I was playing it and they asked me who it was (understandably they don’t pay much attention to a lot of mainstream music these days, much less the more independent artists out there). They tend to watch the CMAs, so I bet the know now. Ha! This is the one hipster moment I’ll allow myself.
November 5, 2015 @ 5:45 pm
Just the other day I was listening to the song “Traveller” with my mom in the car and for whatever reason I decided to change it to something else. She yelled at me for it even though she had no idea who it was. I was kind of proud of her considering she listens to shit music 90% of the time.
November 5, 2015 @ 11:41 am
When I got to work this morning my buddy called me and asked, “Who”™s Chris Stapleton?” (My buddy is a Country Karaoke singer and knows my dislike for the current mainstream country) Because of SCM, I was able to give him a fairly educated answer and my buddy is at least one new listener of Mr. Stapleton.
The last four months I”™ve had the opportunity (if that”™s what you want to call it) to listen to the local country station in the background for most of eight hours a day. Not once have I heard a song by Stapleton, Isbell, Simpson, or any other “independent” artist that are routinely mentioned on SCM. Hell, I don”™t even recall them ever playing a Jamey Johnson song. My cubicle mate routinely announces, “Hey, it”™s your favorite song” anytime one of the many bad, bad, horrible, songs by the likes of Luke/Chase/Sam/Cole/Tom”¦etc., etc. comes on (which is abhorrently too many times a day). It”™s an inside joke with us.
There”™s another office across the way that, with the egging of my cubicle mate, will blare those crappy, talky, drivel songs whenever they come on (i.e., Sam Hunt) for the sole purpose of getting a rise out of me (this usually ends with me unplugging the radio for while). These guys are not ”˜country”™ music fans and even they remark about how bad and stupid the songs are in general and how if country sucked before, it really sucks now.
Anyway, this morning the station had a canned promo announcing the winners of the awards during last night”™s show. Even the morning DJ, who on occasion plays some Waylon/Willie/Jones, simply went about his regular routine and now, halfway through the day, not a hint of change in the programming. So, at least right now, it is status quo in my little corner of the radio world.
November 5, 2015 @ 12:56 pm
Sadly this sounds exactly like the local “country” station where I live. Except the people I work with love each and every song, with every male singing along with “Strip It Down.”
But yeah, Stapleton will be seeing exactly zero spins on radio here.
November 6, 2015 @ 1:17 am
Checked my local radio’s recent 24 hours playlist and no Stapleton. I saw a Kacey Musgraves, Josh Turner and a few other country songs but no Stapleton.
November 5, 2015 @ 11:43 am
I love watching radio stations in my area doing a complete 180 and not only playing his stuff, but also claiming they already had been playing his stuff.
November 5, 2015 @ 11:51 am
Here’s something I found interesting. After the CMAs ended, I texted a friend of mine who doesn’t follow country music at all, and offhandedly told him I was feeling baffled because a non-mainstream artist that I happen to like named Chris Stapleton just won a bunch of major country music awards on national television. He said, “Oh yeah, I liked that song ‘Tennessee Whiskey.’ I gotta check out that guy’s music.” Apparently, not only had the video clip already been uploaded to YouTube at that point, it had spread on various networking sites, leading him to watch it and then determine that he wanted to listen to the full album – all before I even had the chance to tell hm about it. Amazing.
One fun thing to do is to go type “Chris Stapleton” into the search bar on Twitter and see not only all the publicity hoopla, but the huge outpouring of support from literally every corner of the country music realm congratulating the guy, and expressing approval for the implications of his success within country music. And that’s not counting the comments from various celebrities and such talking about the big duet performance. I also happened to notice that the number one and two most popular stories on Rolling Stone’s website at the moment are both about Chris Stapleton. Anyway, you get the picture.
As for what all of that means, honestly at the moment it just seems strange for something from the mainstream country music world to make a splash in the the surrounding popular culture that I’m not actually embarrassed by. It seems unusual for an event like the CMAs to play host to a performance that is received almost universally as high quality and artistically credible. Obviously, much of the viral interest and acclaim for the duet performance is driven by Justin Timberlake’s involvement, and it helps that the music isn’t country enough to turn non-country fans away, but part of the appeal is surely due to Chris Stapleton’s raw talent. And as we all know, when you let something real into the room, it makes everything else look shabby by comparison. And mainstream country has been setting the bar way, way too low to this point.
I do think there is a general sense of a tide turning in the genre, or at least a general acknowledgement that the tides need to turn. In the other thread I posted a quote from the lead singer of Little Big Town literally saying this directly in a post-show interview, which I thought was really interesting. Unfortunately, I think mainstream country radio will continue to suck for the foreseeable future, but awareness of independent country artists will continue to grow, and mainstream radio’s stranglehold on the genre will continue to weaken. You know, It was just a couple weeks ago that Stapleton was opening for Jason Isbell at the Ryman. And come to think of it, Miranda Lambert also attended that concert and was posting about about it online. The lines kinda blur together.
November 5, 2015 @ 11:55 am
Dap for the SteelDrivers, but no love for the Jompson Brothers???
https://www.facebook.com/TheJompsonBrothers/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vm4yP3OgYtA
November 5, 2015 @ 11:58 am
In 09, didn’t Jamey Johnson perform with Kid Rock? At least, they collaborated on an original Johnson song, “Between Jennings and Jones,” and, hate him or not, Kid Rock is much more palatable in country music circles than freakin Justin Timberlake!
By not performing an original song from Traveller, I can’t wrap my head around what the Stapleton camp was thinking last night. First, two dudes duetting “Tennessee Whiskey” is gay. Seriously, if you walked into a bar and two dudes were karaoking to that song, you’d think you walked into a gay bar.
Then comes the Timberlake song. Timberlake’s bravado casted a shadow over Stapleton. He could have walked off the stage and no one would have noticed. It became about Timberlake, not Stapleton.
So, if you never heard of Stapleton before last night, what did you learn from his big moment on the national stage? Nothing. What did the Stapleton camp give to country radio to play today? Minus the snipet of Traveller played as he walked to the stage to accept his awards, Nothing. What a wasted opportunity.
I’m not a Stapleton fan, but I’d of much rather he played an original song (maybe a new single sent to radio this morning) than perform duets with a former boy band member.
November 5, 2015 @ 12:12 pm
I was actually a little disappointed that they went with Tennessee Whiskey myself, since that was the only exposure a lot of people will have had to Stapleton. I suppose it was to tie in with Timberlake’s song.
“if you walked into a bar and two dudes where singing that song, you walked into a gay bar” is hysterical by the way.
November 5, 2015 @ 3:34 pm
The choice might have been at the behest of the CMA. I think they were actively trying to lure in older and more traditional fans last night, and so by doing a more-recognizable song, it’s something they could promote and buzz. Most of the time, the CMA is going to approve the performance, if not downright tell the artist what they’re going to play.
November 5, 2015 @ 12:27 pm
I don’t think Kid Rock is acceptable in any circle.
November 5, 2015 @ 12:12 pm
The only independent artist I know to ever have a big night at the CMAs is Alison Krauss in 95. But she had major air play.
November 5, 2015 @ 3:36 pm
Brandy Clark was nominated for New Artist of the Year in 2014 when she was not on a major label. It’s extremely rare, but it happens.
November 5, 2015 @ 5:32 pm
Yeah, but Alison went 3 for 3 on the solo awards- Single, Horizon and Female Vocalist. She had major label backing with the vocal even win with Shenandoah.
November 5, 2015 @ 12:17 pm
The top takeaway from Stapleton’s night is that I think it should end the “old fart” and “evolve” arguments from mainstream country music types.
There will always be people who only want to hear older music. But, modern artists like Stapleton clearly are more than throwbacks.
November 5, 2015 @ 12:21 pm
Good point and I agree. I wonder what argument they’ll trot out instead.
November 5, 2015 @ 12:17 pm
Also lets not forget country radio missed one of the biggest songs in the last 20 years when it neglected to play “Man of Constant Sorrow.”
November 5, 2015 @ 12:43 pm
But Kane Brown’s lurking in the shadows, ready to be the next Garth (or at least the Bieber) of Country…
https://savingcountrymusic.com/kane-brown-market-manipulations-the-manufacturing-of-an-organic-star
November 5, 2015 @ 1:08 pm
Trigger is right about Stapleton being an insider. All these rtist loved him because he has been with them the past few years writing. he is there buddy. These guys are not isbell’s or sturgill’s buddy. Only isbell has had a song cut by a mainstream act and isbell cut it first.
Still Stapleton had a big night and its win for the good guys BUT the fight isn’t over till luke bryan and Thomas Rhett are gone or make better music.
BTW Thomas Rhett’s crash and burn was co-wrote by stapleton.
November 5, 2015 @ 1:10 pm
Take nothing away from Chris Stapleton, his music is good and his vocal power is impressive. Well deserving of the awards. Obviously was pulling for the guy. However, the comparisons to his situation in 2015 to Jamey Johnson in 2009 are interesting. Jamey Johnsons That Lonesome Song was gritty, hardcore, dark, traditional country music loaded with steel guitar. While Stapleton’s Traveler is a great album, its simply not as hardcore traditional as Johnson’s sound. Stapleton’s album is not as sad, not as dark, and honestly not as traditional country as Johnsons. I think this will end up being a good thing for Stapleton, as his sound will be more appealing to the mainstream.
November 5, 2015 @ 1:13 pm
Stapleton makes Jamey Johnson look like Johnny Paycheck.
November 5, 2015 @ 2:41 pm
Agreed Brett. Not trying to hate on Stapleton’s success, as its deserved. He makes great music, but its just not hardcore traditional country.
November 5, 2015 @ 3:41 pm
A lot of this chatter about how Stapleton is not country enough absolutely baffles me. Maybe it’s because I’m forced to listen to all the awful singles being released to radio. You put Stapleton against pretty much anybody else who was up for a major award yesterday aside from maybe Garth Brooks, and Stapleton is flaming red extreme country.
Today we have a lot of folks who listen to Dale Watson religiously saying, “Stapleton ain’t country!” Well he may not be Dale Watson country, but that’s also the reason he just won three CMA’s. Chris Stapleton is country. Is he hard tack 100% country without any other genre in his body? No. But neither were Waylon, Willie Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, 90% of the other artists revered in the history of country music.
November 6, 2015 @ 8:50 am
“There’s a reason he won..” Is the exact same argument people make when Brad Paisley or someone wins… I could care less who wins these awards. Maybe I don’t get the contrast here: I’ve never heard a single Sam Hunt song. I don’t upset myself with that shit. The reason I’m here talking about this is because that CMA performance did the opposite of signaling some kind of watershed moment in Nashville, in my opinion. I woke to a thousand reposts of that Tennesee Whiskey with the tags “finally real country” or “Justin Timberlake is more country than…” It’s simply not true. Brad Paisley, Luke Bryan, all of those douchbags are actually more country than that… I watched that and was disappointed. Just like when someone at a show turned me onto Chris Stapleton and I heard that track the first time. I don’t get it. Stapleton, in his first act as “CMA King” brought nsync on stage. Boo. I can’t believe you’re arguing to the contrary. And Trig you made the “better than the alternative” (lesser of two evils) argument.
November 6, 2015 @ 9:16 am
I agree. I like Chris Stapleton’s new album and I liked his portion of the performances on that stupid award show, but his new album is part country, part blues, part R&B. Is it good? Its pretty good, but its not a great “country” album. Look at his version of Tennessee Whiskey. All of the vocal wanking makes it sound more like Luther Vandross than a country song. That type of singing is nauseating. Its like the cliched black female singer who drags out every note in the National Anthem. Not good and not country. Coe did the song country. Stapleton has played with Warren Haynes and I would say that is where he fits in. He’s a bluesy/R&B guy who tends toward country on some songs.
Justin Timberlake was just plain embarrassing.
November 6, 2015 @ 9:13 am
When you compare his sound to Sam Hunt and Luke Bryan, he seems as country as Jones. I’m not saying the guy isn’t country at all. He makes good music and I am glad he won the awards. I don’t view this as a lesser of two evils. This is a win for anyone who enjoys country music with substance.
Many are comparing his situation to Johnsons in 2009, and I’m stating the obvious fact that Jamey’s album and sound were much more traditional country than Stapleton’s. Not that its a good thing or a bad thing, just the truth. Stapleton’s sound is no where near as “hard traditional outlaw country”, which will probably be good for his mainstream success. I’m not trying to start a Johnson/Stapleton competition or comparison, but their situations are similar as you’ve alluded above. This website was kind of ho hum on Jamey’s success back in 2009. Didn’t really get behind the guy despite how good and how country That Lonesome Song was. Many were too busy hating because he co wrote one stupid song,. Fast forward 6 years later and we have Stapleton, who has had a hand in writing many bro-country and pop country songs and released a solid country/bluesy/southern rock album, and everyone jumps on the bandwagon.
November 6, 2015 @ 12:23 pm
No doubt Johnson is much more traditional than Stapleton, and no doubt there has been a demographic shift in the readership of Saving Country Music in the last six years, and I myself have tried to be more pragmatic than hardline in an attempt to actually make improvements instead of insisting everything must be hard country or it’s crap. But my issue with Jamey was never that he wasn’t country, or even that he couldn’t write a song. It’s that his music lacked an enthusiasm behind it to the point of veering towards boring. That fire that was lacking in Jamey’s music can be found in Stapleton’s, even if it also combines some Motown moments.
November 6, 2015 @ 12:55 pm
I don’t understand. 80% of the Stapleton record is made up of slow-to-mid tempo snoozers. If anything I found it to be a less-country Jamey Johnson record. (Aside from the title track which I really like.) I mean, you’ve said it several times, but I’d argue that Stapleton has MORE mainstream pop song baggage than Jamey does. I can’t help but think that if it had been Jamey Johnson up there with Timberlake the narrative would be: “Jamey Johnson / JT collaboration further signals the decline of the Country Music Association.” Am I wrong? So why does a bigger insider get a pass? Why the sudden apologist viewpoint? It just seems inconsistent.
November 6, 2015 @ 2:14 pm
It’s not an apologists viewpoint, it is a pragmatic approach. And yes, my approach to this website has changed over the last six years because I figured out that people tend to listen to you when you’re talking to them as opposed to yelling insults at them. It doesn’t mean I still don’t draw a hard line when it’s called for (or yell insults), but Stapleton is such an incredible improvement from previous winners of these awards, why bog down in discussions of how country he is to the point of calling it a loss as opposed to a victory? I’m definitely not wanting to make it sound like Stapleton’s wins are ideal. I’ve made sure to mention Stapleton’s songwriting baggage at every single turn, including in this article. Is it more or less than Johnson? I’m not really sure.
I completely disagree that if Jamey Johnson was the one collaborating with Timberlake then we’d be criticizing Johnson more. I’d argue if Johnson pulled off what Stapleton did on Wednesday, we’d all be even more over the moon than we are right now because he’s more country. I know I would, and that’s from someone who admittedly like Stapleton’s music more. But that’s a matter of taste and we can disagree. Neither of us is wrong or right.
November 6, 2015 @ 3:38 pm
I’ve absolutely noticed the more pragmatic approach of this site and agree it’s a step in the right direction. Also agree that Stapleton’s win is a huge improvement over previous winners and current nominees.
November 5, 2015 @ 1:24 pm
You really like to overrate/overestimate the impact of Swift’s 2009 sweep on the genre. It was already going pop before she started, and country-pop artists had been awarded numerous times before her wins.
I also still can’t see why her 2009 Album of the Year win was when you and other country bloggers (or so you claim) declared country music dead when there have been many more moments much more signifying of genre death than that particular moment. Is it because she was young+popular+female in a male dominated genre+country-pop (like many other artists at the time)+had a sweet, relatable image (at the time), so she was pretty much an easy target to pick on by middle-aged male country bloggers? ‘Cause I find nothing else in that moment that would create such an undeserved reaction.
I said it once and I’ll say it again: Taylor Swift’s country-pop was the best thing mainstream country had to offer for the length of her career in the country industry, and there’s literally nothing in mainstream country right now better than the majority of Swift’s country-pop offerings (2006-2012).
November 5, 2015 @ 1:46 pm
The problem was that we gave Country Awards to an adolescent. Country Music is full of train songs, drinking songs, cheating songs. Ms Swift, 19 in 2009, probably had a high schoolers understanding of cheating, couldn’t legally drink, and may or may not have ever been on a train, and if so it was probably Amtrak. Country Music was also, historically, a genre founded by, played by, and listened to by adults, many of whom were poor middle class adults with real world struggles. Swift was wealthy, had no real responsibilities, and no real world experience.
Now, her music, especially compared to the bro-country movement, was fine and tolerable, and she’s not THAT untalented, even if maybe she leaves a lot to be desired in terms of technical ability.
November 5, 2015 @ 3:23 pm
More ageism.
Leann Rimes released her first #1 album in 1996. Do you know how old she was then?
Tanya Tucker had her first #1 hit in 1973. Want to guess how old she was then?
It is true that country stars on average hit their peak in their 30s. However, just like any bell curve, there will always be outliers in the tails. Just like Willie Nelson who hit his peak when he was about 49, there will always be a small handful of talented artists like Taylor Swift who peak early. Our job is to let that process work out naturally rather than cutting off an entire tail just because of some misguided idea that artists below a certain age don’t belong in country music.
November 5, 2015 @ 3:59 pm
Eric:
I think there’s a difference between having a number 1 hit and taking three awards at an awards show.
Awards should acknowledge excellence in a field. Entertainer should go to someone with a wide swath of abilities like Roy Clark, vocalist should go to someone who excels with that instrument, I.E. Jones. But it should also acknowledge the work it took to get to that point. Swift has in essence played the game with all the cheats on.
Tanya Tucker could sing on pitch and I bet she had a broader range than two octaves,
AND more importantly she didn’t get a vocalist award until 1991. and Album of the year not until 1994. In 2002 she received the 20th spot in a 40 greatest women in Country list.
See the difference?
Taylor Swift in essence had the industry bow to her and give her awards she had no business winning.
She has an abysmal vocal range, moderate skills on three instruments, equal skill as a writer, a passable ability to stay on pitch.
By contrast Tanya Tucker was able to stay on pitch over a wider breadth of notes. Granted she was no instrumentalist or writer.
November 6, 2015 @ 3:00 pm
I would probably agree with you that she did not deserve the Female Vocalist award. Nonetheless, it is important to note that vocal ability involves more than just acrobatics. It’s also about the capacity to convey emotional warmth, which Taylor Swift excels (or at least used to excel) at.
Entertainer of the Year is a very loosely defined category, but it is fundamentally rooted in the idea of awarding the artist with the most impact on the genre. It is hard to argue that Taylor Swift was not the most impactful country artist of 2009. Her album “Fearless” was by far the best-selling album of that year (in all genres), and she had a string of #1 or #2 hits on both country and pop radio.
November 6, 2015 @ 4:41 pm
Well Eric: on the entertainer thing, I would think (and I could be wrong) that the whole idea is to recognize somebody who puts on a live show, excites audiences and does something other than just perform, I.E. Roy Clark.
and on the merit and material thing: “Our song” and “fearless” are probably the two best radio-successful examples of that era. Compared to some of her peers (such as the much missed Josh Turner) it doesn’t hold up. Granted by today’s standards it isn’t very exciting.
Good estimate, I would say I really got into music around 14-16, and had sworn off radio by 16 at least. As for how well I remember Swift’s era, I do remember not being very impressed with the “Fearless” album, which you may be surprised to find out I own, although I had to really dig through the dustbunnies of the unlit corners of the Fuzzipedia archives to find it today while writing this comment. By comparison to Luke Bryan’s “Tailgates and Tanlines” album (also somewhere deep in the archives) I would say they were about the same in terms of quality. A few clunkers but at least three listenable tunes on each. I certainly don’t think it stands up to “That Lonesome Song” (which resides in the much more traveled section of the archives)
As for how much the Grammy’s, CMA and others agree with me, they have a business objective too. The Grammy’s have an image to maintain, just like some high-faluting concert venues do, and have to be a little more expectant when they give out awards, so obviously they felt that by shunning Swift they would hurt the image more than by accepting her, I think in no small part due to her massive legions of obsessive fans.
Think about it, quality or not, the Grammy’s would have had to deal with the shitstorms raised by thousands of Swifties, and for all of their arguments about the quality, it would inevitably fall into the same trap as the 2008 election, in which anybody who didn’t vote for a certain colored politician was deemed a racist, rational arguments be out the window. Any argument about quality is moot in the face of that level of fanaticism, the same way we see it with the bros in the modern era.
The CMAs likely just rolled over and gave her the awards to get ratings and viewers, and also to avoid the media firestorm.
November 7, 2015 @ 9:27 pm
Fuzzy,
“Our Song” was from her first album. The two biggest hits of the “Fearless” era were “Love Story” and “You Belong With Me”, both of which were massive hits in country and pop. When I originally listened to “You Belong With Me” on pop radio in 2009, I was impressed by how high-quality it was compared to the other pop songs. When I decided to check out more about who this “Taylor Swift” was, I found myself consistently impressed by her songs, and in the process, I discovered the world of country music.
Regarding the motives of various organizations, it is hard to believe that the Songwriter Hall of Fame is particularly motivated by business. The vast majority of superstar singers in the past have not made any impression whatsoever on the Hall of Fame, but Taylor Swift did. All of the critics that praised her albums were likely unconcerned about the business repercussions of a negative review, since Taylor Swift’s fan demographics by and large do not pay attention to music reviews anyway.
As for the Entertainer of the Year topic, it is important to note that Taylor Swift’s concerts have always featured some of the greatest theatricality of any performer in either pop or country. I would suggest checking some videos from her Fearless Tour on Youtube to see what I mean.
Finally, I hate to get trapped in a political discussion, but what you said about the 2008 election simply is not true. I remember that entire election cycle extremely well, especially since that was the year that I turned 18 and that was the first election that I voted in. Race issues sometimes flared up in the Democratic primaries (particularly in South Carolina), but they only played a marginal role in the general election, in which the main issue was the massive national backlash against Bush and the Republican Party due to the Iraq War and the Great Recession. Not only did Obama win by a near-landslide, but Democrats also gained their biggest majorities in Congress in generations. There was widespread talk of the Republican Party either going the way of the Whigs or being relegated to regional-party status. The race-baiting by a small segment of Obama supporters should not be used to taint your memory of that whole election season.
November 8, 2015 @ 6:52 am
I don’t remember “You Belong With Me” on Country Radio, but if you heard it on pop radio, there could be a whole second argument. As for the critics praising her albums, we have to keep in mind that some of the critics are so tied to the industry that they just offer up good reviews for anything, as we can see with the bros in the modern era, as for the other critics, I’m sure some of them wrote their praise because of her youth, and may have been more critical if she had been an adult. Also, how many of those critics were comparing her to inferior music? If I have three radios that only make static, and one that makes a bit of static and also picks up a station, that last radio is better than the others. Simply put: if the stuff the critics were accustomed to was poor quality music, Taylor Swift seems better by comparison. I’d like to know if those critics listened to folks like Trent Tomlinson or Robert Goulet, or if they listened to Miley Cyrus and Britney Spears. obviously Taylor Swift is leagues better than these last two people.
And on the election thing, my comment was more of an example. It’s no different than Shelton’s old farts comments, it’s a case of painting the opposition into a bad light.
November 8, 2015 @ 4:40 pm
I know for a fact that “White Horse” was played heavily on country radio. It won the Grammy for Country Song and Best Country Vocal. “You Belong With Me” introduced me to her and made me like her, but “White Horse” made me fall in love with her (proverbially speaking, of course).
The argument that the critics were giving her added points due to her young age has been made before, but it is important to note that she was not that young by pop music standards and pop critics tend to be rather harsh and skeptical toward young singers. Taylor Swift, as you admitted, was pretty much the best of any major pop artist, and better than most country artists, in terms of song quality. Add that to her popular impact, and one can see why she deserved her awards.
November 9, 2015 @ 7:45 am
Being the best of any major pop artist was a pretty easy feat in 2008, as I recall. It’s not like they had the quality of the material they have today. Lady Gaga wouldn’t show up for a few years and she’s done duets with Tony Bennett and all around done a lot of quality music, even if I was a little slow giving her music a chance because of all the crazy fashion statements. Swift still beat out “That Lonesome Song” which in my mind is indicative of the awards show being rigged or semi-rigged, because I can’t fathom anybody thinking she made a better album than Jamey Johnson.
November 9, 2015 @ 1:07 pm
For the record, Lady Gaga showed up in early 2009, and she had some of the biggest album sales of the year. She was also nominated for Album of the Year at the 2010 Grammys, but Taylor Swift beat her.
November 6, 2015 @ 6:39 am
So what if she was adolescent at the time? There’s no age limit for winnings awards at the CMAs, and there shouldn’t be. There’s also no age limit for working in the country/country-pop music industry, and once again, there shouldn’t be. Out of the many country-pop artists who have won country awards, I find it ageist that we chose the youngest one to pick on, despite putting out better music than most at the time (mainstream-wise).
I also don’t understand why you chose to bring up her upbringing. Taylor Swift was born to an upper middle class family, and while she’s never suffered financial problems in her life, that doesn’t mean that she’s never faced any “real life” problems. It’s very arrogant of you to imply that just because she doesn’t face the same problems as yourself/others in your life that she doesn’t face any “real-life problems”, especially since Swift’s writing on Fearless was more insightful than many older artists who have faced so-called “real life” problems. You don’t define “real”.
“Country Music is full of train songs, drinking songs, cheating songs. Ms Swift, 19 in 2009, probably had a high schoolers understanding of cheating, couldn”™t legally drink, and may or may not have ever been on a train”
Train, drinking and cheating songs are not the only form of country songs, and should not be. I believe no artist is required to write about these topics (traditional topics in the country genre) to qualify as country. There should be a “country style of writing”, but no “country topics” because that would be very limiting for the genre. We should actually encourage artists to tackle different topics, but in a country style, to help the genre lyrically expand, instead of sticking to writing songs that have to include the word “beer” in any random context.
Taylor Swift wrote about love and relationships from the point of view of a teenager, in a country style, and sang her lyrics over a country-pop production. Her choice of topic, her sound, and her age didn’t make her any less of a country-pop artist than the other country-pop artists nominated who sang “the drinking, train, and cheating songs” (and certainly not her not being legal to drink either. I don’t even know what that has to do with anything music-related). Choosing her in particular to pick one with the whole “death of country music” thing is nothing but ageist and sexist. That’s how I see it.
November 6, 2015 @ 1:46 pm
Great, you managed to argue about how I said she shouldn’t be in Country Music.
I never said that.
I said she had no business sweeping at the awards shows for four awards.
She didn’t have the merit, the material, or the talent.
This isn’t about age in Country Music, this is about the industry bending over and giving her awards she had no business winning.
“That lonesome song” was up for album also in 2009. Anybody want to dare telling me Swift had any business getting that award? It was AND IS JAMEY JOHNSON’S by right. Who in their right mind honestly thinks Taylor Swift has EVER produced a better album than “That lonesome song?” It’s madness
She was competing with Carrie and Martina for female vocalist. Anybody honestly believe she sings as well as either of them?
We can argue about her life experience, but we can’t argue facts. She had no business winning that awards show, and I expect anybody with a passable understanding of music to agree with me.
November 6, 2015 @ 4:00 pm
“She didn”™t have the merit, the material, or the talent.”
That’s your opinion. Obviously, the voters at the Grammys, the CMAs, the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and most other major organizations disagreed with you.
By the way, I don’t mean to be ageist, but how well do you remember Taylor Swift’s classic era? You must have been about fourteen back during the Fearless era when she was winning these awards. It’s possible that your opinions of her music are heavily colored by her current output.
November 5, 2015 @ 2:13 pm
Sean McConnell is on a similar trajectory. Big radio cuts, red dirt cuts, respected in Nashville songwriting circles, paying dues playing shows and building grassroots following, incredible talent. Long shot, but he could be next.
November 5, 2015 @ 2:22 pm
I don’t know where this will all end up, but one thing that will forever be etched into my memory was the look on everyone’s face when Stapleton finished the song. It was like they finally realized what a lot of others have known for awhile, this is what the standard should be on country radio. And there are a lot more just as good (Simpson, Isbell, Morgan…………)!
November 5, 2015 @ 2:29 pm
I just got a chance to listen to Traveller. I like it. Many of the songs sound so much like Gregg Allman’s solo version of Midnight Rider, that I can’t imagine it wasn’t a HUGE influence on Stapleton. The instrumentation, even the voice, is uncannily similar. Minus the strings, of course…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yojZ-Ksr8AE
November 5, 2015 @ 2:39 pm
It is wonderful that someone so deserving got recognized. But that is about all there is to it, I think. Christ Stapleton is quality. He is craft beer. But remember, 90% of the beer sold in the US is macro-swill. Not because those drinkers are dumb and don’t know there are alternatives. Rather, they just really like macro-swill. Just like most country fans like Kenny Chesney and Eric Church and will continue to do so.
November 5, 2015 @ 3:05 pm
And somewhere, Gary “if you’re not on country radio you don’t exist” Overton is on suicide watch…..
November 5, 2015 @ 3:52 pm
The people suggesting that Chris Stapleton is not county becuase he doesn’t sound like Waylon or something are holding Country music back just as much as Sam Hunt or Luke Bryan fans.
November 5, 2015 @ 7:49 pm
Boom.
November 5, 2015 @ 4:05 pm
I’ll say this, at least someone GOOD is getting mainstream attention in Country music. Jason Isbell and Sturgill SImpson have had a taste of that as well, but Isbell is hard to label “Country” and Simpson probably isnt an easy enough sell to a lot of mainstream fans just yet.
I mean, Chris Stapleton was on the front page of Deadspin earlier today. Say what you will about Deadspin and the Gawker media brand (not a fan myself a lot of the time), the fact that Chris freaking Stapleton is getting a ton of press right now is a good thing.
I don’t expect major changes at Country radio in terms of quality any time soon, I think that ship has sailed and the radio industry needs to completely bottom out before it can become better….but at least Chris Stapleton is getting exposure and press and not someone like Sam Hunt.
November 5, 2015 @ 7:49 pm
Good to see pub for Stapleton on Deadspin, but it sucks they called him a “savior” because now I’m catching hell for calling him a “savior” when I never even said it. I think that story was the generation point for some purists to get inexplicably angry over Stapleton’s wins.
November 5, 2015 @ 4:08 pm
I do wonder what kind of effect Stapleton will have on established country stars? Namely, Miranda Lambert. She was sporting a sparkly Chris Stapleton t-shirt last night when she won her SIXTH female vocalist award and said due to Stapleton’s performance she had to go practice.
She’s going through a tough time and it showed last night. In fact, I wish she’d had just stayed home. But, through difficult times, incredible albums are born. Maybe she looks at what happened to Stapleton last night and scales it back and strips it down and pushes the envelope a little.
Last month she was posting about seeing Isbell at the Ryman. In the past, she’s recorded songs written by Gillian Welch, Patty Griffin, and Julie Miller. So, it wouldn’t take a big push to steer her away from the mainstream and record and write with more substance.
Wouldn’t that just piss off Carrie Underwood fans?
November 5, 2015 @ 4:29 pm
The headline on the front page of the The Tennessean today:
STAPLETON STUNS
( Along with a half page size picture of his face… )
November 5, 2015 @ 7:41 pm
Been trying to run down a good picture of it all day.
November 5, 2015 @ 5:22 pm
I love the fact that an actual country artist won something at an awards show.The fact that the Bros walk away butt-hurt is a bonus.
November 5, 2015 @ 5:54 pm
It’s a win for us music lovers. It’s partially going viral as I seen Mindy Ellis Campbell post it. At like 10am this morning a guy did a Youtube search for Chris’s performance and almost up 600,000 views. At the same time the Florida Georgia line performance had 5,800 views.
If Vegas took odds on chris winning all three awards, even a small bet would’ve made someone a millionaire. Not even the brightest of country fans saw it coming. I said remember his name a few days ago and the performance I was most excited about. It gives us hope.
November 6, 2015 @ 5:43 am
It’s great that he won and all, but it doesn’t change the fact that country music is still shit right now
November 6, 2015 @ 6:25 am
I think everybody has their “chosen one” that they think should be in the position Chris is in right now. Me, I’m an Aaron Watson guy. Others are on Team Sturgill or Isbell. But, the fact is that Chris Stapleton is talented and he is the guy who is in a position within the market to make a difference right now. I can’t find a way to spin this as anything but positive for country music. I just hope we are able to capitalize on it.
November 6, 2015 @ 8:40 am
Happy to see him win….been a fan ever since his days with the Steeldrivers.
It was funny to look at Facebook, the next day and see everyone bitching about how Puke Bryan should have won, and asking who the hell Chris Stapleton was.
November 6, 2015 @ 9:01 am
i was looking forward to sering stapleton then i realized i was hearing nsync and michael mcdonald singing tennessee whiskey set to motown music.
November 6, 2015 @ 9:35 am
That is an apt description. Justin Timberlake was an embarrassment. As for Stapleton, I have to say that Tennessee Whiskey is the worst song on his new album. I detest that Luther Vandross-type of singing and that song is chock full of horrible vocal wanking. However, there are some good songs on his new album, and while they aren’t traditional country, they are much better than his version of Tennessee Whiskey. Doogie Howser needs to go tour with The Backdoor Boys again and leave country music alone.
November 7, 2015 @ 7:24 am
Do you also consider George Jones bending notes on “Bartender’s Blues” to be vocal wanking? How about Ray Charles singing “Your Cheating Heart?”
November 6, 2015 @ 12:58 pm
“Boom”
November 6, 2015 @ 5:43 pm
Speaking of McDonald, I wouldn’t mind hearing a Stapleton cover of “No Lookin’ Back”
The blues album Travis Tritt wishes he made: A review of Chris Stapleton’s “Traveller” | Hard Times No More
November 6, 2015 @ 2:02 pm
[…] live, and I am so grateful for all that it has accomplished for true fans of true country music. Trigger said it best: “It certainly is something to be taken as a very good sign, even if you”™re just ho hum on […]
November 6, 2015 @ 3:52 pm
With Sturgill Simpson signed to Atlantic, perhaps by this time next year the big buzz will be all about him and his new release and Sturgill will get the same type of attention as Chris has.
November 6, 2015 @ 6:45 pm
Chris sold 150,000 albums in two days! Sitting at my local college bar and they are playing Chris Stapleton radio on Pandora. Everybody at the bar has been talking about him. I can’t believe the effect and think this is the biggest opportunity we have seen yet to save country music!
November 6, 2015 @ 9:10 pm
Chris Stapleton will have some good hits now from his CMA wins now!!
November 7, 2015 @ 6:37 am
I reckon I’m spoiled down here in good ol’ Austin, Texas with great country music, both live and played on the legendary KOKE FM. I can see Dale Watson most Monday nights at the Continental Club or most Thursday nights at the Broken Spoke. The ACL Moody Theater generally has a list of folks you’d want to see. Keith Urban and his lot generally aren’t on that list. Either are any of the other, what I believe you call, “bro country” acts. Texas, or Austin at least, has always seemed a bit insulated from the shit overflowing from the toilet that is Nashville. For that, I’m thankful.
I had never heard of Florida-Georgia Line, Little Big Town, or Sam Hunt until I, unfortunately, turned on the CMA’s. What a fucking joke. Florida-Georgia Line? Perhaps those two ladies are the most punchable bitches I’ve had the misfortune to ever lay my eyes on. Not sure if it was the top-knot hair style on the one young lady, or the leather daddy bondage harness the other gal was wearing. I was waiting for a big, hairy ball-sack to swing down from the rigging and sweep them off the stage. Country? My ass.
Sam Hunt? Is he the “country” version of Vanilla Ice or Justin Bieber? I’m confused. Either way, he fucking sucks.Country? My ass.
Little Big Town and that dog-shit song, “Girl Crush”? Fucking terrible. The one old hag in that band looks like Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction. Thought she was going to boil a rabbit on stage for the encore. Wide-eyed, crazy lookin. They suck too. Not country.
The entire night was horrendous. The awkward, shit, banter between the hosts was cringeworthy. Bocephus and Eric Church was blasphemy. Church wears fucking skinny jeans and puts on a fake southern accent when he sings. He has no legit reason to wear sunglasses at night, like Bocephus does. Trash I tell you.
Guess I lucked out at Willie Nelson’s picnic this year (and in years previous). Someone put a gun to my head and made me watch Johnny Bush, David Allen Coe, Asleep at the Wheel, Leon Russell, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Billy Joe Shaver, Jason Isbell, Jamey Johnson, Sturgill Simpson, Chris Stapleton, Kris Kristofferson, Kacey Musgraves, Merle Haggard, and Willie Nelson. Somehow, someway GIRL-PANTS wearing, country poser Eric Church found his way onto the bill. Everyone was asking aloud, “How the fuck did this guy get on this bill?” The proverbial “turd in the punch bowl”.
On Monday July 6th, I was fortunate to have gone to the Tribute to Waylon Jennings at the Austin City Limits Moody Theater. Virtually all of the performers from the picnic played it too, with some good additions…Robert Earl Keen, Toby Keith (not a fan, but he played well), Jesse Coulter, Allison Kraus, and of course all three feet of Shooter was there. It was a REMARKABLE show. Willie and Kris played the Highwaymen with Jamey filling in for Johnny and Shooter for his dad (should have been Sturgill). Moved me to tears. It was taped for broadcast and is supposed to air on ACL at some point in the future.
What’s my point? I don’t think I have one exactly, except maybe to say that when compared to some of the complete douchebags listed above (and others not listed), Chris Stapleton is pure fucking country. Is he blues too? Yup. Is he maybe some southern rock as well? Fo sho. As said above by others, every artist has a mix of influences that shows through in their music. Stapleton is no different. As far as some of his or Jamey Johnson’s shit, pop-country tunes sold to other performers…who gives a shit? I’m guessing the mofo’s had to put food on the table and I highly doubt you’d ever catch them performing any of that dogshit.
November 7, 2015 @ 9:00 am
To the critics who say that Chris Stapleton’s Traveller album and the awards he garnered for said album are not “Country”, I posit the following question: How much more or less is he “Country” versus the following performers/artists/songwriters – Glenn Campbell, Vince Gill, Kris Kristofferson or Ronnie Milsap?
I ask this because all of these guys have been enshrined in the Country Music Hall of Fame. I’m of the opinion that Stapleton’s sound and style falls well within the white lines of the Country music highway. Regardless of songwriting credits that are not worthy of mention, this album, on its’ own merit, is very much a Country album when held up to the songs made famous by the HOF contingent I mentioned above. It certainly has immensely more credibility than any of the “music” put forth by the fanboys and girls sitting in the first 10 rows of the award show getting an education on what real talent looks like.
November 8, 2015 @ 11:20 am
Late to the party here, but what the hell.
I’m of two minds over this whole thing. Stapleton’s catalog of shit for other artists and its accompanying controversy has been discussed ad nauseum, so I’ll leave that one alone.
I had thought of buying Traveller for a while, and finally took the plunge last week with my birthday money…
…and honestly, I was rather underwhelmed. I won’t say that it’s bad, or that it’s totally not country…just not really my thing. Bit too heavy on the whole blues & Southern rock influences as opposed to more honky-tonk stuff. I know that might sound ridiculous, considering that country and the blues have always been intertwined and that Southern rock and Outlaw country were kissing cousins, if not outright siblings, but it is what it is. Maybe my perceptions have been skewed by listening to so much of the red dirt stuff over the last few years. Aaron Watson, Boland, Turnpike Troubadours, RRB/Wade Bowen, that sort of thing. I’m willing to give it more of a chance. Maybe it’ll grow on me with repeated listens.
Now, with that out of the way, good for him and good for country music. Stapleton winning those awards was by far the best choice out of all of them. I’d definitely consider him more of an ally than an enemy here, Trigger, and your statement that it was a win for music with substance was spot-on. If it gets us more stuff akin to the best of the Red Dirt movement in mainstream country music, that’d be even better. We’ll see how it goes.
November 8, 2015 @ 4:44 pm
Whay aint nobody talking about Brad Paisley?? He can play that guitar well better then Christ Stapleton and is funny as anyone. Right! Everybodys just jealous of everybody else anyway. Look at Reba she aint saying a bunch of trash about nobody. Just singing country music and making a pile of cash. same for Brad,\.
November 8, 2015 @ 5:34 pm
Whay aint nobody talking about Brad Paisley??
Because he’s a whiny little bitch, that’s why.
https://savingcountrymusic.com/its-not-fair-brad-paisley-says-hes-not-going-to-take-this-anymore
November 13, 2015 @ 12:02 pm
I did not watch the CMA’s.I never watch unless Loretta is on.(I only listen to Country radio stations that play Loretta’s songs.The other stations that won’t play her songs,I won’t listen to,or have nothing to do with.)
Instead of watching the CMA’s this year,I played and old Wilburn Brothers DVD,which featured Loretta,that I purchased from the Ernest Tubb Record shop in Pigeon Forge TN,while I was in the city to attend one of Loretta’s concerts that year.I consider that DVD far more interesting than the CMA’s,or ACM’s.
I did watch part of the CMA’s last year,but ONLY because Loretta was on.I turned on the show,but had the TV on mute,and read a book while waiting for Loretta’s performance.Once she was on,I turned up the TV to hear & see her performace (Great as always,IMO). After Loretta was done,I changed the channel.
Judging from the comments I’ve been reading,it sounds like I missed very little (if any),on this year’s CMA awards show.
November 18, 2015 @ 7:12 pm
I have listened to country music for the past two years, and love it. However, I was shocked at Chris stapleton’s wins, and still wonder, who the heck is he? I keep the radio on SR The Highway and I have never heard his music, and judging from what was played as he was on his way up to accept, I won’t be. Yes, Sam Hunt is a big name, and he has GOOD songs, unlike Mr. Stapleton. I like country music today as it brings me back to my teenage years, a good southern rock. As for what passed for country back then, I remember my parents dragging me to the Opry, and I hated it then and I hate that music now.
November 19, 2015 @ 4:05 am
So in other words, you weren’t a country music fan until it started sounding less like country music.
Or, to cut to the chase, you’re not really a country music fan and never have been.
Seems legit.