When you think of Jimmy Swaggart, you might not think of music, or country music specifically. But there is a reason that in 1982 Newsweek dubbed Swaggart the “King of Honky Tonk Heaven.”
Almost immediately as the news spread and outlets started reporting on King’s drunken performance, some came forward to claim that the criticism Elle King was receiving constituted a double standard.
Fans love Elle King for her “devil may care” attitude and over-the-top presentation. She’s a lot, and that’s fine. But the Grand Ole Opry stage is supposed to be a family friendly environment, and it’s not the time or place.
Nothing has ever happened on the Grand Ole Opry stage, good or bad, that tops the moment that the recently-minted Country Music Hall of Famer and the even more recently dearly departed Jerry Lee Lewis enacted when he made his Grand Ole Opry debut 50 years ago.
The heirs of Jerry Lee Lewis are in a dispute with the heirs of Jerry Lee’s former manager about who owns The Lewis Ranch, and what should be done with it, with the former manager’s camp looking to sell the property. In recent days, both sides have released fiery statements claiming rightful ownership.
As we look back on 2022 and before we look forward to 2023, it’s important we take the time to pay tribute to the important individuals in country music who left us over the last year, and who left a mark on the country and roots music world that will never fade. 2022 saw some absolute titans of the music leave us.
One of the best things CMT did in the last decade was to air the limited series Sun Records back in 2017. Consisting of eight episodes written by Hank Williams biographer Colin Escott, and based off the Million Dollar Quartet musical, it captured the important moments that most all of popular music sprang from.
A pretty universal consensus from the country fans who did suffer through the presentation to see the extended Alan Jackson tribute at the end was that in 2022, the CMA Awards seemed to do a 180-degree turn, and started going back in the right direction toward featuring more actual country music.
Written by Tyler Childers some 10 years ago, and cherished to the point of being worn out via video renditions by many dedicated Childers fans, “Jersey Giant” is a unique composition for Childers since it features a bridge within the verse/chorus structure.
Luke Combs said it best while accepting the trophy for Entertainer of the Year Wednesday night (11-9) at the 2022 CMA Awards: “This is my fifth or sixth year being at this awards show, and country sounded more country than it has in a long time tonight.” In truth, the CMA Awards righting the ship goes back even further.
One of the biggest names ever in rock & roll, who also amassed a distinguished Hall of Fame career in the country music realm as well, has taken his place among the Million Dollar Quartet in the sky, right beside Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, and Carl Perkins. “The Killer,” a.k.a. Jerry Lee Lewis, has died.
Rock and roll legend and recently-inducted Country Music Hall of Famer Jerry Lee Lewis is NOT dead, Saving Country Music can confirm. Despite multiple reports of Jerry Lee’s passing on Wednesday (10-26), including from TMZ, the New York Post, and UK’s Independent, Jerry Lee Lewis publicist Zach Farnum…
Ameripolitan has been mothballed for the last couple of years, with a few fearing if it would ever return. Well just announced, the Ameripolitan Awards, as well as a weekend full of events will return to Memphis. Nominations are now open for the awards.
You have to be happy with this class overall. Certainly, you can look over the elongated list of other potential inductees that grows even longer every year due to the Hall of Fame’s austere approach to induction, and do a healthy level of second guessing.
Great balls of fire! Piano playing madman and American music legend Jerry Lee Lewis is the newest inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame in the Veteran’s Era category. The announcement came Tuesday morning (5-17) at a press conference in the Hall of Fame rotunda in Nashville.
Commonly announced in the spring, there was some wonder whether the CMA would delay the announcement this year to the summer after the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the regular rhythms of the process. The 2021 class wasn’t announced until August 16th.
There are few artists more synonymous with a specific era in country music than Mickey Gilley was with the Urban Cowboy movement—the early 80s influence that brought country music out of the country and into industrialized urban areas where many rural residents flocked…
It’s that time of year again to consider who might be in the running for the precious few spots as the newest inductees into the Country Music Hall of Fame. A secret committee commissioned by the CMA is going over their final ballots and whittling down the names.
Before you can write it, you first have to live it. And Dallas Frazier lived many lives in his lifetime, putting it all in song along the way, and amassing one of the most legendary song catalogs in country music history, while also enjoying moments as a singer and a performer.
Monday morning (8-16) was a moment of firsts for the Country Music Hall of Fame announcing their inductees for the 2021 class. It was the first time in 11 years more than three people were inducted, and the first time both a drummer, and surprisingly, a steel player have made it into the Hall.
In 1975 when Charlie Rich whipped out his lighter, and burned the card announcing John Denver as the 1975 CMA Entertainer of the Year, it was considered to be one of the greatest moments of protest in country music history. But was it truly his intent to protest John Denver’s win?
It’s that time of year again to consider who might be in the running for the precious few spots as the newest inductees into the Country Music Hall of Fame. A secret committee commissioned by the CMA is going over their final ballots and whittling down the names to the few who will make it.
Legendary American music drummer W.S. “Fluke” Holland has died. A titan and founder of drumming in popular music, W.S. Holland was Johnny Cash’s drummer for 40 years, and is considered by many as the “Father of the Drums.”
For all of you Johnny Cash fans out there, there’s been a bevy of release and announcement activity lately you should be aware of—some of it newer stuff, some of it old, and all of it worthy to be on your radar. Here’s a roundup.