It only took 45 years, and many many impassioned pleas by fans and supporters and believers (including here at Saving Country Music), but Ray Wylie Hubbard will finally be appearing on his own segment on the longest-running music show on television, ‘Austin City Limits.’
A honky tonk sweetheart and certified heartbreaker originally from Canada, for the second record in a row, Whitney Rose has eased off her original traditional country sound that pegged the honky tonk meter at “10” to add a little more old school rock ‘n roll flavor and fervor to her music.
When looking to assemble a draft class of strong and talented country music women to return some balance to the genre, you better not let your gaze shoot over the head of Canadian-born, and Austin-forged singer/songwriter Whitney Rose. They don’t just hand out residencies at Austin’s legendary Continental Club to anyone.
Perfection is certainly not at the heart of the appeal or staying power for Car Wheel on a Gravel Road. Instead it’s the sloppy, sticky, loose feel of it all, carried upon the words of Lucinda’s candid and real character recitations that make the record feel like the ultimate insight into the disheveled mind of the broken hearted.
American Idol is not going down without a fight, and is looking to field their strongest roster of participants yet. No stone is being left unturned apparently, and they’ve even resorted to reaching out to some quite unusual individuals with special VIP invitations for private tryouts, proving just how clueless the show’s talent scouts are, while also offering an interesting insight into how they actually find contestants.
The Forgotten Outlaw, and the man at the forefront of keeping American roots filled with the rockin’, gritty heart of the 60’s music revolution, has just announced a new album, and has released a new song in conjunction. Ray Wylie Hubbard will release his newest record “The Ruffian’s Misfortune” through his own label Bordello Records.
In the fall of 2012 when Ronnie Dunn (of Brooks & Dunn) was looking to write and record material for his upcoming album, he reached out to Texas music songwriting guru Ray Wylie Hubbard after falling in love with the gritty sound Hubbard imbibes on all his records. Dunn flew into Austin as Ray Wylie wrangled up an A-list of Austin musicians to to participate in a recording session.
Gone are the days of the legendary duet pairings in country music like George and Tammy, Loretta and Conway, but the Austin country scene’s power couple of Brennen Leigh and Noel McKay have revitalized the country duet concept album in a smart, brilliant, hilarious, and sweet offering called Before The World Was Made.
On August 15th, the plans for the upcoming Outlaw Country Music Hall of Fame and an accompanying Outlaw Music Association were made public. The announcement stimulated a lot of speculation about what direction the upcoming Hall of Fame would take, but not many serious answers. So Saving Country Music reached out to Gary “Sarge” Sargeant, the spearhead of the Outlaw Country Hall of Fame.
Where most musicians might peak in their 20’s, Ray Wylie Hubbard seems to be hitting his stride in his 60’s. Since the release of his latest album The Grifter’s Hymal, he’s been asked to play David Letterman, and write and record with Ronnie Dunn of Brooks & Dunn fame. But he’s taking time out of his busy schedule to put on a festival of the music he likes.
In the first part of my interview with Texas songwriting legend Ray Wylie Hubbard, we talked about how he wasn’t proud of the end result of the movie Last Rites of Ransom Pride of which he co-wrote. In the second part we turned out attention to more positive things, namely his latest album A. Enlightenment B. Endarkenment (Hint: There is no C) that is up for Saving Country Music’s Album of the Year.
When I first caught wind that a movie written by legendary Texas songwriter Ray Wylie Hubbard was in the works, and that it starred Kris Kristofferson and Dwight Yoakam, my ears perked to say the least. But as the movie neared release, it was clear something about Last Rites of Ransom Pride was off. Information about the film was sketchy at best, and despite my best efforts to obtain more, emails and phone calls weren’t returned.