The records just keep on coming for Ella Langley and her mega hit “Choosin’ Texas.” But this one might be the biggest of them all, taking Ella somewhere that no woman in country music has ever gone before.
There are some songs that when the last phrase is written and the period is dotted at the end, they immediately become timeless and genre-less due to how expertly they encapsulate a human experience.
This study sent to Saving Country Music is not only is it plausible and the methodology solid, it’s super interesting and in-depth with its findings, and they line up with anecdotal notions we’ve heard about these country tastes different geographic regions for years.
For years I’ve been thinking that a cool way to present the legends of country music would be to illustrate the genre’s top artists through a deck of cards. Where to place what artist, what suit would be suited best for certain performers all seems like it would create great discussion points.
Concept albums have been an integral part of country music history, with the release of certain projects completely reshaping the country music paradigm, including in recent memory. Just in case you need an illustration of the breadth and importance of concept albums in country music
The album ‘Purgatory’ by Tyler Childers will go down in history as one of the most important and successful releases by any country music artist in the last ten years, and perhaps in history. But now it’s time for Tyler’s ‘Can I Take My Hounds To Heaven?’ to attempt to grip our attention.
Country musician and current member of the supergroup Generation Radio, Chris Rodriguez, has plead “no contest” to a misdemeanor charge of Assault with Bodily Injury stemming from a 2021 domestic dispute incident with his wife. Rodriguez was initially arrested and charged with Aggravated Assault – Strangulation.
Born on January 18, 1938 in Spring City, Tennessee, Hargus Marvin Robbins was rendered blind at the age of four due to an accident involving his father’s knife. In those days, there were few occupations a blind boy could dream of, but one of them was playing piano.
With all of the concern over the swell of violence against Asian Americans lately, the question has come up in certain circles, “Are there any Asian Americans making country music?” Well I’m glad you asked, and hell yeah there are. In fact 2020 was actually a banner year for Asian Americans.
He could have been a star in the NFL. Instead Jim Weatherly chose to become a songwriter. The football world’s loss was the music world’s gain, if for no other accomplishment than the Pontotoc, Mississippi native wrote the iconic Southern anthem “Midnight Train to Georgia.”
The Grammy Awards have announced their annual inductions into the Grammy Hall of Fame, and a few of them have deep ties to country music, including “The Gambler” by Kenny Rogers, as well as Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, and Linda Ronstadt in “Trio.”
Kenny Rogers announced his final Gambler’s Last Deal tour in 2015, with dates scheduled through the end of 2018. However on April 5th, 2018, Rogers announced he was cancelling the remaining dates of the tour, citing health concerns. Rogers died on March 20th, 2020 at the age of 81.
More than anything else, it’s the songs on Doug Supernaw’s debut album ‘Red and Rio Grande’ that makes it to hold up so well now 27 years later. Though Doug only wrote or co-wrote four of the songs, he sure knew how to pick ’em, and some of them went on to be the pick of the litter for early 90’s country.
Among many other criticisms being lobbed at the 2020 CMA Awards broadcast on Wednesday (11-11), the lack of an In Memoriam segment, and specifically overlooking major deaths in country music such as John Prine, Jerry Jeff Walker, and Billy Joe Shaver have quite a few hopping mad.
The 2020 CMA Awards will transpire on Wednesday, November 11th (make sure to follow along with Saving Country Music’s LIVE blog), and this year it will be a tribute heavy affair. Tributes, remembrances, and the marking of anniversaries will be a big part of the presentation.
I just know too much about the untold history of Barry Gibb and his dalliances with country music to be perturbed that at 74-years-old, he wants to make a country record. And the first song they released from it featuring Jason Isbell sounds pretty damn good to me.
Charley Pride will be the 2020 recipient of the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award handed out by the Country Music Association. To be awarded during the 54th Annual CMA Awards set to transpire on Wednesday, November 11th from Nashville and broadcast on ABC.
In a recent interview, Willie Nelson said he has a Roger Miller tribute album on the way. He also told the story of how he once turned down recording “The Gambler.” Written by Don Schlitz, it became the signature song for Kenny Rogers when Kenny released it in 1978.
When you played on such iconic country music recordings as “Stand By Your Man” by Tammy Wynette, “He Stopped Loving Her Today” by George Jones, George Strait’s “Amarillo By Morning,” and “The Gambler” by Kenny Rogers, you know your legacy in country music is secured.
If you’re wondering just how much the music of Kenny Rogers meant to fans, this is a pretty good indication. The Country Music Hall of Famer passed away on March 20, and since then sales and streams of his music have spiked dramatically, putting The Gambler on the top of the Billboard Country Albums chart for the first time in 35 years.
You won’t find the 1982 film ‘Six Pack’ archived in the Smithsonian or in the short list of Oscar-awarded efforts. But for thousands, maybe millions of Americans who grew up in the 80’s, ‘Six Pack’ looms quite large in their little cultural ethos. It’s where they learned to cuss. It’s where they learned about love.
With passing of Kenny Rogers, there’s the passing of a little part of all us—a little part of our childhood where he loomed so large, a little part of our silly little slivers of life in this world where he reigned so ironically, a little part of ourselves where we separate certain eras in our own histories to the contributions of this bearded singer and actor.
Kenny Rogers is not on death’s door, despite misleading reports to the contrary, and some continuing health problems. The 80-year-old Country Music Hall of Famer has been hospitalized for dehydration in Georgia, and continues to remain in medical care to undergo physical therapy.
Mel Tillis was known for many accomplishments in music, but he’s also known to a generation as being one of the most famous people with the speech impediment known as stuttering. In the 80’s, Whataburger decided to take the initiative with their famous stammering spokesperson to make a point and inspire people.