40 Years Ago: Marty Stuart Helps Name The Highwaymen
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Did you know that there was a very distinct possibility that The Highwaymen might have never been called “The Highwaymen,” and that they might have never recorded the iconic song that gave them their name?
An Artifice of Integrity: The Death of Examiner.com
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What once was one of the Internet’s most promising up-and-coming properties has announced they will be ceasing operations on or around July 10th. Examiner.com, which consisted of numerous locally-oriented sub-domains and relied on citizen journalists for content has decided to shutter due to low revenue and a tainted brand.
Gene Watson Wants More ‘Real. Country. Music.’ on the Radio. “Some Depth”
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Watson’s comments illustrate that the issues facing today’s country music don’t just boil down to preferences in style. Country music used to be more about conveying something of substance to the audience—a moment that gives you perspective, or makes you take stock in life.
Song Review – Tim McGraw’s “How I’ll Always Be”
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If “Humble and Kind” had no business on country radio (yet it ended up at #1), then “How I’ll Always Be” is a downright coup d’état. It’s not the lyrics of the song that make it a marvel of modern American country radio. It’s the music of “How I’ll Always Be” that makes it so unique and welcome for mainstream country radio.
Chris Stapleton Chooses to Spend the 4th of July with 40,000 Troops
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For those wondering why Chris Stapleton isn’t playing Willie Nelson’s 4th of July Picnic this year, or perhaps some other big holiday blowout concert, it’s because the flaming hot country music star has decided instead to spend it with the 40,000 service members and their families at Fort Bragg in North Carolina.
Kenny Chesney Fan’s Drunk Walk Epitomizes Annual Pittsburgh Embarrassment
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Every year, Kenny Chesney’s annual concert on Pittsburgh’s North Shore at the Heinz Field has become the biggest country music embarrassment of the year. This year it’s the video of a drunken female talking on the phone, bent backwards like a character from an M.C. Escher painting while walking backwards before eventually falling down.
Album Review – Aaron Vance’s “Shifting Gears”
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Whenever you find an artist who doesn’t fit in the stereotypical mold of what we expect certain music artists to be, that’s when you know you’ve found someone with true passion because they’ve had to overcome those stereotypes and sideways glances when it might be easier to just fold and move on to something else.
So Why Are Songwriters Pissed At The Justice Department All of a Sudden?
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Last week the big issue was YouTube, and the ridiculously small amount of revenue that creators make for their works. This week the big issue is a new Justice Department ruling that has the potential to turn the long-standing methods of writing songs, licensing them for use, and paying the songwriters for their efforts completely upside down.
Sturgill Simpson Hangs Out with Stephen Colbert at the Waffle House
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If you thought Sturgill Simpson’s and Stephen Colbert’s Waffle House duet “No Shirt, No Shoes, No Knuckleheads” was funny when they debuted it on national television in April, then the second installment will split your sides.
“That Thing, That Sound” Doc Looks to Revitalize Interest in the Steel Guitar
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Cinematographer Kelsey Hammer-Parks and music journalist Nathan Emerson have set out to create a new documentary about a dying music instrument and those trying to save it. That Thing, That Sound is a musical documentary on the steel guitar—often a topic of discussion when the talk turns to the dying roots of country music.
The Country Music Collaborator / Interloper Field Guide
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Clearly this trend of cross genre collaborations is only going to deepen, so with a servant’s heart and a sincere desire to help the collaborators and interlopers with their “country” efforts, Saving Country Music has constructed a pocket reference field guide to help these cross-genre collaborators navigate through their country music experience.
Music Gear Thefts Dealt a Blow After 130 Arrested in Houston
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On Tuesday (6-28), the Houston Police Department, in conjunction with the nearby Pasadena and Baytown Police Departments and the Department of Homeland Security, arrested 130 people in a massive operation called “Operation Wheels and Deals.” It was the theft of multiple items from Texas country music artist Zane Williams that helped police connect the dots.
Album Review – Craig Morgan’s “A Whole Lot More To Me”
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You can almost overlook Craig Morgan if you’re not careful. He’s not been cutting records nearly long enough to consider him some kind of elder or legend in country music. He’s had a few significant hits and noteworthy records over the years, but it’s not like he was a perennial chart topper even in his heyday in the mid oughts.