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Shooting at Tom T. Hall’s Home; Ronnie Dunn Splits with Label; New Music Videos
Last week’s CMA Music Fest sold out for the third consecutive year. That includes the scores of people treated for heatstroke. The fantastic, four-part BBC country music documentary Lost Highway is now available on YouTube. Here’s Part I. Jewel unveiled her transformation into June Carter Cash for an upcoming Lifetime biopic. Late last night, there [...]
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Keith Urban Invited to Become Opry Member; JD Crowe Announces Retirement; New Alan Jackson Album Drops June 5
Last night Vince Gill invited Keith Urban to become the newest member of the Opry. He’ll be formally inducted on April 21. On 4:20 p.m. on April 20, a statue of Willie Nelson will be unveiled in Austin. At the end of the year, J.D. Crowe will retire from performing. On June 5, Alan Jackson [...]
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Mel Tillis Receives National Medal of Arts; Muddy Roots Festival Lineup Additions; New Album Releases
Mel Tillis was at the White House yesterday, receiving a National Medal of Arts. CMT.com has the story about how Whitney Houston came to record Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You.” This project, a documentary about Peter Rowan, looks pretty interesting. Jake Kelly of American Songwriter paid a visit to the Deering Banjo factory [...]
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Friday Five: Ray Charles
Born on this date in 1930, Ray Charles wasn’t supposed to be a music icon, let alone a country music one. The odds were certainly stacked against him. He was born to a poor African-American family and lost his sight at the age of seven. He was sent to a home for the deaf and [...]
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Wilma Lee Cooper Passes; Alley Between Ryman and Tootsie’s Gets Makeover; New Music Videos
Wilma Lee Cooper, a member of the Grand Ole Opry for 50+ years, passed away at the age of 90 late last week. Elizabeth Cook probably said it best: “Sad to know of the passing of Wilma Lee Cooper, a personal hero and original punk rockin honky tonk girl.” Wilma Lee and Stoney Cooper had [...]
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Billy Grammer Passes; Pistol Annies Love True Crime TV; National Folk Festival Sneak Peek
Opry member Billy Grammer passed away yesterday. The Civil Wars, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, and Wye Oak make Paste‘s Top 20 current guy/gal musical pairings. Songwriting ace Darrell Scott’s new album Long Ride Home is coming out on October 11. Legendary session musician Hargus “Pig” Robbins appears on the album, as do Tim O’Brien, [...]
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20 Songs About Hotels and Motels
Here’s 20 of country music’s best hotel and motel songs. Apologies for excluding Neal McCoy’s “Hillbilly Rap.” Honorable Mentions: Cadillac Sky – “Motel Morning” David Houston – “No Tell Motel” Eagles – “Hotel California” Gene Watson – “Love in the Hot Afternoon” Guy Clark – “Lone Star Hotel” Jack Ingram & Jerry Jeff Walker – [...]
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Friday Five: The Songs of Boudleaux Bryant
Tomorrow would have been Boudleaux Bryant’s 90th birthday. There are few songwriters who’ve been as important to music as Bryant. He and wife Felice are responsible for “Wake Up, Little Susie,” “Bird Dog,” “Brand New Heartache,” “You’re the Reason God Made Oklahoma,” and quite a few other classics. Below are some of my favorite renditions [...]
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20 Songs About Dogs
It’s February and reminders of Valentine’s Day are everywhere. Sure, having that special someone is nice, but when times get bad, the only one who will always stand by you is your dog. So we’re going to pay tribute to them this month. There was quite a library of songs to choose from, so we [...]
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George Jones Is Still Going Strong: The 9513′s Exclusive Interview
A few short decades ago, George Jones built up quite a reputation for missing concert dates and appearances. Things have changed: “No Show Jones” called me five minutes early for our interview. Well, actually it was his wife, Nancy, who really seems to run the show, as she handed over the phone with a cheerful [...]
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Current Discussion
- Jon: I've got to say, I think "Lots More Blues, Rags, and Hollers" was a better record.
- Janice Brooks: As for new releases, I love the new Don Rigsby and Mike Scott. Will also dig up a cut of ...
- Barry Mazor: Look, one sort of music reporting/reviewing I like to do best is reporting on live performance, the interaction with the ...
- nm: That's probably why I generally don't watch music on a screen in my home, except for films of live shows. ...
- Jon: If you are watching music on a screen in your home, you're not going out to a show, are you? ...
- nm: I don't think the problem with lip-synching (for me as a member of the audience at a live event) is ...
- Jon: I've played for some audiences I'd have liked to have sued!
- Barry Mazor: One of the funny aspects of lip synching is that virtually every Hollywood musical number ever shot has been lip ...
- Jon: "So you’re saying that lip synching is not done–or not commonly done–anymore." Nope. If someone doesn't like the decades-old practice ...
- Paul W Dennis: Interesting song - I look forward to hearing the rest of the album
