Why Jesse Welles Just Released a 63-Song Album
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If you need any further illustration of the creative explosion that Jesse Welles has been the catalyst and accelerant for over the last year or so, appreciate that he just released a 63-song album.
The Death of Wayne Mills 6 Weeks After (Update & Analysis)
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It has now been six weeks since the shooting death of country music artist Wayne Mills on November 23rd, 2013 at the Pit & Barrel bar in Nashville by Chris Ferrell—the owner of the Pit & Barrel, and the defendant in the case that claims self-defense, and is currently facing 2nd Degree Murder charges brought down by a Grand Jury on December 6th. Ferrel was released on bail on December 16th.
Ray Price Widow Pens Touching Letter To Fans
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Nearly three weeks after the passing of country music titan Ray Price on December 16th, and his wife Janie Price has published a very touching letter to Ray’s fans about her husband, and the days proceeding his death. Ray was remembered in public memorials both in his home of Mount Pleasant in east Texas on Saturday, December 21st, and in the Dallas suburb of Richardson on December 28th.
Saving Country Music’s 2013 Album of the Year
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In Time is not simply the best album in country music in 2013, it is arguably one of the best, if not the best album in all of American music, and for it not to win the day in it’s home genre of country music would be a silly oversight, and tough to justify as In Time only becomes fortified by the test of time, divested from trend or taste as it is, and embedded with such universal appeal.
Justin Townes Earle Gets Hitched
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Apparently while none of us were looking, Justin Townes Earle, son of alt-country hero Steve Earle, went off and got hitched. Mr. Mysterio divulged his new relationship status in some recent tweets, and according to a recent article in the Boston Globe’s Lifestyle section, the nuptials happened in mid October in Tahoe. “It was kind of an immediate thing,” Earle explained.
Bobby Joe Owens Entertains with “Liquor, Love & Laughter”
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Bobby Joe Owens is a guy who didn’t even start doing anything in music until 2006 when he started writing songs under the name “Robert J. Thompson.” He doesn’t play an instrument, is probably not going to win any singing competitions, but his songs will jerk tears from you, whether you’re laughing out loud, or relenting to a truly heartfelt ballad.
How Music Row & Acuff-Rose Killed The Everly Brothers
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Unlike Elvis, The Beatles, and other such acts that withstood the test of time to become commercial success stories in multiple decades, The Everly Brothers seemed to hit a wall in the early 60′s, and never really rekindled their popular magic later in life. Why did this happen? How could an act that was so popular, and seemed to resonate so deeply with the American public get lost in the shuffle?
Phil Everly of The Everly Brothers Passes Away
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Phil Everly, one-half of the highly influential Everly Brothers, passed away earlier today (1-3-14) in Burbank, CA from complications due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. “We are absolutely heartbroken,” his wife Patti Everly told The Los Angeles Times. “He fought long and hard.” Phil Everly was 74. The duo was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2001.
Review – Eric Church’s “Give Me Back My Hometown”
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So here it is January 3rd, the day that we were promised that everything would be revealed of why a month ago today, Eric Church’s marketing arm decided to post a psychotic and irresponsible “teaser” video for his upcoming The Outsiders album that depicted a shadowy figure in gloves obsessively watching a video of Taylor Swift explaining on the CMA Awards how it was Eric Church’s….
Clay Walker Declares Traditional Country Music Dead
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Not since Blake Shelton called traditional country fans Old Farts and Jackasses has a sitting country music star painted such a grim and disparaging picture for traditional country music as Clay Walker, The 44-year-old Curb-Asylum artist says that “Traditional country music died,” and that George Strait’s win for Entertainer of the Year was a “closing of the door” for traditional music in the country format.
Saving Country Music’s 2013 Artist(s) of the Year
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Saving Country Music’s Artist of the Year, just like the Song of the Year and Album of the Year, is designed to eventually resolve down to one. But this is not always the case. It seems irresponsible to supplant one for the other because of some silly notion that you can only have one. Such is the case here in 2013 when handing out the honor meant to not just highlight the music, but the man or woman behind it.
In Memoriam: 2013’s Fallen Country Music Greats
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It is sometimes easy to get swept up in moments and convince yourself that it has never been as bad as it is now. But one thing is hard to argue: the amount of loss that occurred in country music in 2013 was to a degree the genre has rarely, or never experienced before. 2013 seemed to be a year of suffering through one unfortunate news story after another.
Billy Ray Cyrus Recording Hip Hop Version of “Achy Breaky Heart”
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Yes folks, you read that right. According to media personality Larry King, Billy Ray Cyrus, King of the Atomic Mullet and father of devil spawn Miley Cyrus, is recording a hip hop version of his everlasting, demonically evil, and historically bereft scourge of Western Civilization known as “Achy Breaky Heart.” “Just spoke with @billyraycyrus on the phone – he’s recorded a hip-hop version of ‘Achy Breaky Heart’, Larry King tweeted out.