Ladies and gentlemen, we now live in a world where not even King George remains relevant on country radio. Isn’t that the sad, ever present revelation of the living—that time marches on, and no matter how important something was in the past, the present moves forward, callously at times, and the greatest of efforts are relegated to moments of fond reminiscing.
There was another big battle at the top of the country albums charts last week, and once again the good guys won. Despite the perception by so many in the mainstream country business that radio play and youth is the key to success, two guys in their 60’s with no mainstream radio love topped the charts, and not just from statistical anomalies based on weak numbers, or on an off week for releases.
We knew George Strait couldn’t keep from stirring for too long. Though he played his final shows as a touring artist in 2014 on his way to racking up astronomical numbers for his farewell junket and finding himself being named Entertainer of the Year by both the CMA and ACM Awards for the effort, you had to know he wouldn’t sit tight for good.