Nashville “A Team” member, “Nashville Cats” honoree, and a man that played some of the most memorable parts on some of the most memorable country music songs in history has passed away.
There are only a few instances in the history of country music when a song and a songwriter came along and released something so revolutionary, it changed the possibilities of what country music could be.
Cue up this fine specimen of authentic country music that will steal you away to a sublime place where all is right in the world like only the best of country music can do. Because this, ladies and gentlemen, is the best of country music.
The Saving Country Music Top 25 Playlist is built to keep you informed on all the best songs and albums coming out right now in country music.
Vince Gill and Paul Franklin are reuniting once again, and this time to pay tribute to Ray Price and his legendary backing band The Cherokee Cowboys.
Willie Nelson will turn 90 on April 29th, and has shown no signs of slowing down, either on the road, or in the studio. His last album called “A Beautiful Time” was released last year on his birthday and went on to win the Grammy Award for Best Country Album, and earned it entirely on the merit of the music.
The Longhorn Ballroom was one of the most important venues in country music for many years. When it opened in 1950, it was known as Bob Wills’ Ranch House, and was one of the major venues in Western Swing. It was also once operated by Jack Ruby.
Beginning earlier in November—and rising to a fevered pitch over the last few days—there has been concern that the house of Hank Williams called Beechwood Hall is about to be demolished. But the house’s ties to country music and it’s history deserve greater context.
Few voices ever graced the Western traditions of Texas music so eloquently, and perhaps nobody ever brought such compositional prowess to the music and with a host of instruments as Bobby Flores. Known as a side man to some of country music’s most famous artists, as well as an accomplished solo artist.
On December 9th, 1996, with his career forgotten and his health failing, Faron Young decided to end his own life. He penned a suicide note specifically enumerating the decline in his career, and how he felt abandoned and forgotten by country music as one of the causes
Dubbed “The Luckenbach of West Texas” and likened to Gruene Hall in New Braunfels, The Lumberyard in the unlikely location of Roscoe, TX about 50 miles west of Abeline had gone from a good idea to a great venue beloved by many over the last decade.
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 writer of “Whiskey River,” and a legend among legends in Texas music and beyond, Johnny Bush has died at the age of 85. The Texas native should have been a superstar, and a top name of the Outlaw era in country music. But right as his career as a solo performer started to take off, he began to lose his voice.
Songwriter, performer, producer, and record label owner Ray Pennington was killed Wednesday, October 7th in a house fire in Sumner County in a rural part of Hendersonville, just north and east of Nashville. He’s known for writing “I’m a Ramblin’ Man” for Waylon Jennings.
Willie Nelson’s latest album First Rose of Spring has been postponed until July 3rd due to Coronavirus concerns (it was supposed to be released April 24th), but he’s celebrating Mother’s Day by releasing his cover of Johnny Paycheck’s infamous song “I’m The Only Hell My Mama Ever Raised.”
Any frustration you might have experienced with The Mavericks for not releasing an original album this year is chased pretty quickly when they light into their version of “Swingin'” made popular by John Anderson, and then “Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way” written and recorded by Waylon Waymore Watasha Jennings.
The fourth installment of the eight-part Ken Burns documentary on country music laid out in no uncertain terms how country music became a well-ordered business in the aftermath of the death of Hank Williams, and during the rise of rock n’ roll as the most popular genre in America, putting pressure on country music.
The estate of Country Music Hall of Famer Ray Price is currently locked in a contentious legal battle, and the outcome could have ramifications upon the ownership of his music masters, and many of the artifacts that help tell the story of his legendary career.
If you’re looking for more Willie Nelson and Ray Price in your life, you can knock out two birds with one stone, and get a heaping helping of The Time Jumpers at the same time on a new tribute album on the way. For The Good Times: A Tribute To Ray Price is set for release via Legacy Recordings on September 16th.
Never could I have dreamed when I first decided to channel my passion for music into operating a country music website that I would be asked to comment on a country record released from Queens-born New Wave 80’s sensation Cyndi Lauper. But this is not your average “gone country” project.
Former professional baseball player turned actor Casey Bond has been cast as Hank’s legendary fiddle player Jerry Rivers. The rest of Hank’s Drifting Cowboys have also been cast, as well as Ray Price and Faron Young. From both the recent casting revelations, and the synopsis found on the Toronto Film Festival’s website, we’re beginning to get a sense of the scope of the film’s focus.
“So we started playing music for her on a daily basis, and when I played old country music, she would respond well to it, so we started playing that all the time and she loved it. Any time she was having a bad day, you could play Willie Nelson or Johnny Cash or Ray Price, and her stats would come up, almost immediately.”
One of the most important and influential steel guitar players in the history of country music has died. Buddy Emmons, known as the “The World’s Foremost Steel Guitarist” passed away Wednesday evening (7-29) according to reports. He was 78-years-old.
Gone are the days of Loretta Lynn singing “One’s On The Way.” Gone are the days of adult issues like divorce, resonating with mature audiences. Gone are the days of originality, not only in style but in songwriting. In that classic era you could tell the difference between Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings. Artists were easily discernible and legends arose because of their unique qualities…