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Stream Kelly Willis & Bruce Robison’s Cheater’s Game; New Lori McKenna Record Due in April; Album Releases
On March 2, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum will “present a special panel discussion, Forever with Us: The 50th Anniversary of a Country Music Tragedy, in memory of Country Music Hall of Fame member Patsy Cline, Cowboy Copas, Hawkshaw Hawkins and Randy Hughes, whose lives were lost in a plane crash a half century [...]
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Roots Watch: Nashville’s Eddie; Nashville’s Jack
Back a lifetime or two ago when I was an undergraduate at George Washington University in DC, I was a regular deejay on the campus radio station, with a show called “Heartbreak Hotel” that featured roots rock, country music and what would have been called “Americana” if there’d been a term for it; this was [...]
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Roots Watch: There’s More “Dust Bowl Music” Than Woody’s
The power of music (and the secondary power of repeatedly talking and teaching a particular narrative about it), are such that for many, the Dust Bowl, some eighty years later, survives in memory mainly or solely as “the horrible experience Woody Guthrie sang about.” (For others, it’s what they saw or read in The Grapes [...]
Continue reading "Roots Watch: There’s More “Dust Bowl Music” Than Woody’s"
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HoF to Hold “Women of West Coast Country” Panel; Download Rayna Gellert, Buddy Miller & Jim Lauderdale Songs; Album Releases
Here’s a New York Times article about Darden Smith’s SongwritingWith:Soldiers retreat, which helps veterans find some healing through writing: Staff Sgt. Eustacio Obregon, who deployed four times to Iraq as a petroleum supply specialist, composed a song with Sergeants McRae and Josh Hartman, 43, about firefights, friends who were killed in battle and repeat deployments. [...]
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Don Schlitz Named to Songwriters Hall of Fame; Bakersfield Sound HoF Exhibit Opens in March; Carrie Underwood Shares “Good Girl” Sneak Peek
Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum exhibit The Bakersfield Sound: Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, and California Country will open March 23, 2012, and run through the end of 2013. On March 24, there will be a panel discussion featuring Jean Shepard, Don Maddox, Rose Lee Maphis, Dallas Frazier, Buddy Mize, and Red Simpson, all [...]
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Patsi Bale Cox Passes Away; Dolly on Ice; New Music Videos
Music journalist Patsi Bale Cox passed away at the age of 66. She was credited with books on Loretta Lynn, Wynonna Judd, Ralph Emery, George Jones and more. A benefit concert being held by George Jones will fund the construction of a memorial in honor of country music star Tammy Wynette in Mississippi. It will [...]
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Friday Five: Judges
Today is the birthday of the most important figure in American law since Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.: Judge Judy. As you know, judges play a pretty important part in several country songs; they’re normally the ones sentencing our protagonists to 99 years in the Folsom pen or presiding over sham trials when the lights go [...]
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Opry Celebrates 86 Years; Brad Paisley Visits Sesame Street; Billy Burnette To Be Inducted Into Rockabilly HoF
Barry Mazor’s got a feature in the Wall Street Journal in which Holly Williams and Alan Jackson offer their thoughts on The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams. Jean Shepard, Connie Smith, Dierks Bentley, Chris Young, and more are helping the Opry celebrate its 86th Birthday Bash. In other Opry news, Randy Travis celebrated his 25 [...]
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Roots Watch: From Connie Smith to Taylor Swift
Two memorable shows in Nashville last week, both well thought out, highly planned and never lagging, but strikingly different from each other, spotlighted the evolving responses and tactics women in country music have used when stardom— however that was defined in their own generation—beckoned. Monday, September 12th at the Country Music Hall of Fame’s packed [...]
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Tracklisting Finalized for New George Strait Album; Free Compilation Record to Support Public Radio; Jean Shepard on a Boat
Rolling Stone announces that an album of Hank Williams’ lyrics and unfinished songs (which were found in a briefcase after Williams’ death) will be released on October 4. Bob Dylan, Alan Jackson, Vince Gill, and Norah Jones are just a few of the artists tasked with recording those songs. Taylor Swift hit up the Lincoln [...]
Current Discussion
- BRUCE: Toby's generosity and philanthropic work is very expansive. His USO tours plus other works deserves praise, though I an sure ...
- Luckyoldsun: Arlene, That's another big one.
- Fervor Coulee: Sometimes I really think I live in a Stephen King bubble-town: 12 weeks at number one, and I've never heard ...
- bll: Nice roundup today, Trisha singing and Jen Chapin too!
- Paul W Dennis: I guess my favorite would be George Hamilton IV's version of "Forever Young" and The Byrd's cover of Mr. Tambourine ...
- Jack Williams: Speaking of Chris Smither, he did a nice version of Visions of Johanna. Other favorites: Neville Brothers - The Ballad of Hollis ...
- Leeann Ward: I think benefit concerts and telethons are great and needed, but I'm also impressed by Underwood's generous donation.
- Arlene: Ummm? "For impact, nothing surpasses The Byrd's cover of "Mr. Tamborine Man?"" How about Peter, Paul and Mary singing "Blowin' ...
- Jon: Interesting that folks are falling all over themselves to talk up Toby Keith's prospective benefit for Oklahoma tornado victims, while ...
- Luckyoldsun: For Dylan covers with impact, nothing surpasses the Byrds' "Mr. Tambourine Man." As far as obscure ones, I happened to like ...
