The biggest adversity to independent music is success. Nobody knows this better than Chris Stapleton. After he was fully embraced by the mainstream industry and was winning awards left and right, folks began vilifying him as a sellout and for not being as country as advertised. But Marty Stuart doesn’t see it that way.
Not exactly sure what has gotten into 2018, but all of a sudden we’re finding ourselves in the midst of one hell of a twangy, honky-tonkin’, 90’s-style resurgence in country music. Add Jay Bragg and his new album Honky Tonk Dream to the list of names and projects you need to check out.
Everything is better with a little bit of Alan Jackson. Even if it is just a full-sized cardboard cutout of him from the 90’s with a mullet pouring out of the back of his cowboy hat stuck in the corner of a record store, his mere presence reminds you of a time when popular country music didn’t completely suck.
Alan Jackson isn’t one to pull punches, or to not say what’s on his mind when somebody asks him. His Hall of Fame career has been marked by taking hard stances for the cause of real country music. Alan Jackson was recently interviewed as part of a GQ feature, and had some interesting things to say about Chris Stapleton.
The legendary and Hall of Fame country music career of Alan Jackson has been marked by two underlying things: his ability to write and sing songs that stay true to country’s roots and ultimately become mega-hits (he had 26 #1’s overall), and his propensity to step up at critical moments and say or do whatever he can to help preserve the music.
When we broach the exercise of whittling down the field of songs of a given year to a list of a chosen few to be considered Song of the Year, we’re not looking for booty shakers or boot scooters. We’re looking for those songs that through the power of words and music, hit you so deeply, you’re a different person after you’re done listening.
2017 continues to make a great case for itself as a bumper crop year for songs and albums, and recent additions to Saving Country Music’s Top 25 playlist reflect that. Just added to the stable of the best country songs are Alan Jackson’s surprise new single “The Older I Get” from a yet named new album, and more….
On Sunday, October 22nd, 2017, Alan Jackson will officially take his rightful place in the Country Music Hall of Fame right beside all the other greats of country music. And ahead of it, Jackson has released the first taste from a new, upcoming album in the form of a song called “The Older I Get.”
Music is the way we get through these moments. And though others have tried valiantly, Eric Church is the one so far, verified by the viral reaction, that has stepped out of the shadows of grief to deliver the light and the message we’ve all been waiting to hear, and put words to the emotions we all feel.
How should a country purist regard the legacy of Glen Campbell? That should be a really easy question to answer: with class, respect, and appreciation for a man that was an incredible ambassador for the genre through multiple avenues, and a timeless contributor to the country music canon.
“Alan Jackson. Wholeheartedly. Alan Jackson. All day. Everyday,” is what the former fiddle player for The Band Perry Jason Fitz said when asked who was the person in country music you most want to punch in the face. Jason Fitz now works for ESPN where the segment occurred.
Alan Jackson is the new “Modern Era” inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame. One of the biggest superstars in country music history, and one of the genre’s most uncompromising supporters of the traditional roots of the music, Alan Jackson deserves the Country Music Hall of Fame distinction as much as anyone from the modern era.
Ruth Musick, the mother of country music legend Alan Jackson, and known affectionately by Alan Jackson fans as “Mama Ruth,” passed away Saturday (1-7-17) at her home in Newnan, Georgia—the same town where Alan Jackson was born. Mama Ruth was 86-years-old.
Alan Jackson has been known throughout his career for putting his foot down for the integrity of country music, regardless of the ramifications. That’s what happened at the 1994 ACM Awards when Jackson instructed his drummer to play without sticks when the producers insisted his band mimic playing to a backing track.
Well now, perhaps there is a reason for old school traditional country fans to tune into the CMA Awards in 2016. Celebrating their 50th Anniversary, the Country Music Association has promised to honor country music’s past in the presentation, and they have put their money where their mouth is.
Imagine a scenario where one of the very top artists of today, someone like Jason Aldean or Luke Bryan, wasn’t just actively not trying to be a part of the problem, but was doing things to troll the rest of the industry right under their noses while still holding one of those very top industry spots. That’s what Alan Jackson did throughout his commercial career.
Preserving the roots of country is not always just about paying homage. Sometimes it is about sowing disharmony or speaking out in protest to help force country music back on the right path. Music Row and the country music industry will always be about money first. The artists are the ones who must take the lead and reign the business in.
On Friday (5-13), it was announced that Billboard would finally be adding an Americana chart to their weekly albums chart roster. This is 10 years after the Grammy Awards began to recognize Americana, nearly 17 years after the Americana Music Association formed.
Tuesday morning (3-29) found country music dignitaries and CMA executives gathered in the rotunda of the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville to announce the newest members to the storied institution. The event was hosted by the fiery Brenda Lee. The 2016 Country Music Hall of Fame inductees were: — Randy Travis in the […]
As we get to mid February each year, it comes down to nut cutting time for deciding who the next class of inductees to the Country Music Hall of Fame will be. Though who gets to decide is a big secret kept by the Country Music Association, or CMA, we all should feel like we have a say so and voice our opinions and hope the right people listen.
Love them, hate them, evoke the strong opinions of the Coen Brothers’ fictional character Jeff “The Dude” Lebowski all you want, but Glen Frey and The Eagles turned millions of music fans from all around the world into country music listeners through the evocative power of simple, universal sentiments bathed in twangy tones, however filed off the edges may have been, or however commercially successful the pursuit ultimately was.
This week was the first week Something More Than Free has not graced the #1 spot on the Americana Radio Airplay chart in the last 20—an all-time record. The only other records to come close to the accomplishment were Isbell’s previous release Southeastern from 2013, and Robert Plant’s Band of Joy album, which both spent 15 weeks at the top of the charts.
So what’s to learn from hitching a ride in Marty McFly’s time machine and traveling back to 1985? That the problems country music is facing today are virtually the same ones that were being faced 30 years ago. It’s all cyclical, as canonized in the old Gospel tune enshrined in the architecture of the Country Music Hall of Fame asking the question, “Will The Circle Be Unbroken?”
“18,700”: This is the number of albums Toby Keith sold upon the debut of his new record 35 MPH Town, and it got me to thinking, which artists and bands have beat that number in a year of unprecedented ascent in independent country music? 2015 is the year it became common to see one of your favorite independent acts and aging legends compete at the top of the album charts.