We want our country and Western artists to be the real deal. Even if it doesn’t make any bit of difference in the quality of the music, we want to know that they sing what they live, and live what they sing.
It’s going on 20 years since rodeo legend and country music hero Chris LeDoux passed away. But with the help of his son and fellow performer Ned LeDoux, his voice is coming back to life, at least for one song.
If we could wave a magic wand and instantly remake mainstream country music into something much better than what it is today, Chancey Williams and “One of These Days” would not be a bad wish at all. It’s country with steel guitar and fiddle. It’s cool. It’s catchy and hooky, but the songs still say something.
Country music is country music, and the best definition of what country music is, is that you know it when you hear it. It’s self-evident. But the genre has birthed many subgenres, many stylistic movements over the years, and at times has seen a splintering and Balkanization.
Instead of Ned LeDoux trying to fight the idea that he’s a protégé of his famous father—rodeo champion and country performer Chris LeDoux—he’s embraced that role, and found his home in the style his father pioneered, and that Ned helped perform as the drummer.
And then right there in the center of town, completely taking you off guard is this immaculately cared-for memorial park to Chris LeDoux, bursting with vibrancy and color, and of course, a towering 12 1/2-foot sculpture of LeDoux himself riding bareback affectionately named “Good Ride Cowboy.”
If you take your country music traditional, but still want some drive and hooks to get the heart pumping and have a good time to—and especially if like it when your country comes with a Western and cowboy flavor—Chancey Williams is serving up just what you want straight out of Wyoming.
Rodeo professionals and country songwriters have always enjoyed a close kinship, even if riding a bull or roping a calf, and crafting the perfect country song may not seem like similar skill sets, or two sides of the same coin. Two-time AQHA World Champion Roper Paul Bogart knows this all too well.
‘Red Bandana’ is anything but typical, for Aaron Watson or anyone else. When Watson says this is his most involved and personal work that he rates at the top of the heap, believe him. When others say they’re shocked or ecstatic about how good this record is, take their word for it. With Red Bandana, Aaron Watson defies his own odds.
Starting on November 4th, Kevin Welch has been #1 on the Music Row Songwriter Chart, and will likely be at or near the top of the chart for a while as “Millionaire” continues to climb. And that’s not the only accolade for the tune. The song is up for Best Country Solo Performance at the Grammy Awards.
For many true country music performers, the bug to write, sing, and play country music bit them at an early age, and never left. For others, country music is simply a vehicle for fame and riches. Specifically, many of them first tried to make it in professional sports before flunking out or getting sidelined with injury.
Chris LeDoux’s son Ned, who started playing drums in his father’s backing band Western Underground way back in 1998, has stepped up to take the reigns from his father. Though first a bit timid to take center stage in his father’s absence, he now sees it as his duty to introduce a new generation of country fans to his father’s music.
Esteemed country and western songwriter and performer Chuck Pyle has passed away. According to his long-time manager, Pyle died unexpectedly Friday evening (11-6) in Palmer Lake, Colorado, where he lived in a historic cabin. He was 70-years-old. Known as the “Zen Cowboy,” Chuck had just released a new album this year, and had numerous dates booked on his touring schedule when he passed.
The feud between country music Outlaw legend Waylon Jennings and country superstar Garth Brooks has been well-documented and talked about over the years. Though a lot of rumor and conjecture tend to cloud the conversation, we do know that Waylon’s dislike for Garth, who was coming up just as Waylon’s career was hitting a sharp decline, was very real.
When you look back at some of the early songs, early albums, and even the early image of some of country’s biggest current stars, it can stimulate downright culture shock. Of course styles change naturally over time, but many of these artists came from small towns and had simple dreams. But the problem with money and fame is that you can always have more of it….