Sorry Sam Hunt, Name Dropping Tyler Childers Doesn’t Give You Street Cred
Sam Hunt needs to hurry up and retire already, like he’s been hinting he wants to do over the past couple of years. Beyond the terrible music, the dude’s a head case, and not in an interesting way that results in compelling art from a troubled soul. He’s just all over the place like a bad rash with his rhetoric, while the only consistency you can count on from this hack is that his music will be the most non country fare proffered for human consumption out there, more fitting to be categorized in every single other major American music genre other than country.
In a recent interview with Billy Dukes of Taste of Country right before his headlining set at the publication’s music festival, Sam Hunt said all the right things in the wrong way. He starts off by name-dropping fast-rising Kentucky-based traditional country songwriter Tyler Childers, and then starts to hint how he may head in a similar, more traditional direction with his music at some point in the future, but not right now of course. If ever. But he could, you know. And he likes Tyler Childers. So we should just look the other way as he trashes the 80-year history of the country genre with his shitty music.
Sam Hunt says of Tyler Childers and traditional country:
“That’s the music I grew up on and really love and I discovered him through a buddy a few months ago and have been listening to him a lot … I think as I continue to write songs, I may lean on country roots I think a little more than where the culture is going, musically. So I don’t know how that will work out, ultimately, but I think it will be fun for me to kind of create a more pure version of the music that’s been influenced by my country background. Tyler Childers is a good example of someone who inspires me as a songwriter and I want to make a record like that at some point, potentially.”
Potentially? You might? And if that would be the “pure” version of you, what are we getting now, the tainted and diluted version that studied the formula of popular music and brought it to country because he would have been spit out the ass end of pop if he tried his bullshit there? When Sam said in the same breath and in the same interview, “I’ve used my pop culture foresight to create a sound that I thought would be effective in today’s times,” that sounds like a pretty fair assessment.
We’ve heard similar style “real” country bandwagoning from Sam Hunt before. Preceding the release of “Body Like a Backroad,” he said he wanted to go deeper with his music, was dropping Sturgill Simpson’s name and such, and then we got the worst song of his career. Preceding his latest comments he released “Downtown’s Dead,” which is decidedly the most non country song he’s ever recorded in his decidedly non country career. Say whatever you want Sam Hunt, your actions speak louder, and result in diarrhetic refuse oozing out of speakers.
Sam Hunt just needs to get out of music and start selling a signature line of flat-brimmed baseball caps, bedazzled ironic fanny packs, and fur murses. Even if he did a complete 180 in his career right here, right now, it would be impossible for him to reverse all the irreparable damage he’s done to country over the last few Godforsaken years.
If Sam Hunt wants to start making better music, more power to him. But until then he can say whatever he wants. There’s no mistaking what we hear coming from him, and it ain’t anything near Tyler Childers.
Kevin
June 15, 2018 @ 8:26 am
Keep Tyler Childers name out of your dirty, sellout, rap-spitting little mouth.
Stringbuzz
June 15, 2018 @ 8:31 am
HAHAHAHAHAHAH –
I will give him credit though, he is f’in honest about what he is doing.
What a ride Mr Childers has got himself on now!!!
Trigger
June 15, 2018 @ 8:41 am
It’s incredible and eerie how similar the track Tyler Childers is taking to Sturgill Simpson in regards to how their music blew up, they started selling out venues left and right, and then all of a sudden they became the hip name for mainstream artists to tout. I have no doubt Sam Hunt is listening to Tyler Childers, because he’s the guy on the cutting edge at the moment, even though the media is being extremely slow at taking notice. Tyler Childers is truly taking off.
Trigger
June 15, 2018 @ 8:44 am
Also, I appreciate that Sam Hunt wants to share his love for Tyler Childers and I don’t want to discourage that. But Tyler Childers doesn’t need Sam Hunt at this point. Sam Hunt needs Tyler Childers.
Black Boots
June 15, 2018 @ 5:35 pm
I know what you’re getting at, but Sam Hunt could do more for Tyler than Tyler could do for him. The people that like Tyler aren’t going to like Sam Hunt even if he puts out a decent record, because he’ll need to earn way more goodwill than that. Like a string of good records..
It’d be like getting a kid who goes to punk rock shows in his friends basement and convincing him the Offspring were a good band now
Whereas i think Sam Hunt fans could get into Tyler because it’s good music and those people don’t seek out their own music. They just consume what’s there in front of them. If Tyler’s put in front of them, he’s not going to become an arena star or anything, and certainly not everyone in the audience is going to like him, but i think it’d do quite a bit for his ubiquity and bank account.
But yeah i get where you’re getting at, but i think it might be thin soup
albert
June 15, 2018 @ 10:54 pm
this is dead on the money……
”Whereas i think Sam Hunt fans could get into Tyler because it’s good music and those people don’t seek out their own music. They just consume what’s there in front of them.”
Stringbuzz
June 15, 2018 @ 10:36 am
I actually think Tyler is on a more accelerated path.
I’ve been along for both rides, seeing how the shows in my area just grew for the both of them (less than a year ago I saw tyler in a freaking barn in someones backyard in New Hampshire. Maybe 60 people and half of them were just regulars on the weekend)
I think Simpson has helped pave the way in away and gave a template. They have the same management teams now I think in some capacity.
I also think Tyler resonates with the female listener a lil more.
He is also younger starting out.
But he is connecting with everyone and it is a great thing.
Made the write choice for album of the year.
Big Cat
June 18, 2018 @ 7:21 pm
Not sure I agree with quicker. Tyler been around awhile. As you point out, one can’t forget who propelled Tyler with this record. Tyler is the first to give credit to Miles and Sturgill.
That said, who cares, I hope they both just keep it up. I’m excited to see what other future stars Sturgill propels as well. Still looking like he will end up being the Nirvana of this whole movement.
Seth
June 17, 2018 @ 11:43 am
Trig, that statement is why I think we shouldn’t be confident that Childers is going stay rootsy at a satisfactory level for some of his fans. I bet you he’s heard a lot from Simpson about not letting himself be pigeonholed. I hope I’m wrong, but whatever he puts out will be good I’m sure.
Trigger
June 17, 2018 @ 12:31 pm
Despite all the accolades for “A Sailor’s Guide to Earth,” “Metamodern Sounds” has still outsold it, and remains the go-to record whenever his sales spike, like when he played SNL with Stapleton.
MH
June 15, 2018 @ 8:46 am
LOL!
Susan
June 15, 2018 @ 1:20 pm
D Sam Hunt needs to get the hell out of country music once and for all he’s no more country than Kanye or Jay-Z he tries to be rap he tries to throw that trash and country music just like a lot of artists are country music fans and country music artist need to stand together and put a stop to it all that Sam Hunt is doing like others is putting the bass thumping bullshit out there we don’t want it we don’t need it
Marianne
June 15, 2018 @ 8:48 am
Arrogant bastard thinks he has enough talent to just go out and make a record like Tyler’s…
Jason Hannan
June 15, 2018 @ 9:00 am
The stuff Sam Hunt writes is the kind of stuff most songwriters write down and go “nah that’s cheesy, we’re not gonna do that” then ball it up and toss it in the trash. Sam Hunt has a better chance of writing like Dr Seuss than he does of writing like Tyler Childers.
Zack
June 15, 2018 @ 9:04 am
Isn’t this something this site pushes for though? No specific credit intended for Sam Hunt, but the fact that he’s noticing Childers enough to mention should be celebrated I think. Just b/c he makes meh pop music doesn’t mean he’s incapable of recognizing and enjoying good music himself. He reaches a different audience that might overlook Childers otherwise. Any conversation around good music is worth having, even if the source is what it is.
Trigger
June 15, 2018 @ 9:18 am
Normally I would because regardless of my personal feelings on these artists’ music, if they’re helping spread the word about important independent artists, why get in their way? This was the case when Keith Urban wore a Sturgill Simpson shirt on American Idol, for example, or Jake Owen was touting Sturgill as well. But in the case of Sam Hunt, we’ve seen this style of rhetoric from him before, and all it resulted in was his music getting worse, and even more non country. From the word “Go” Sam Hunt has been a scourge in the country music space. At least Keith Urban and Jake Owen have spent segments of their career trying. Sam Hunt is a self-admitted product of gaming the listening public with algorithmic-style product. He admits as much in the interview. I would LOVE for him to switch his career path, and maybe even he would too in his heart of hearts. But regardless of the good game this guy talks, his actions speak louder. Nobody can be yoked with the burden of killing country music more than Sam Hunt. His words just make him that more culpable.
Zack
June 15, 2018 @ 9:39 am
Think you give him too much credit to say he’s killing country music. I think most people that listen to him don’t pay enough attention to care, and those that do will move to better country b/c his lacks the depth to hold them. This quote didn’t change anyone’s mind about Sam Hunt and probably boosts Tyler Childers profile, so I’m not seeing the harm. I’d be far more concerned if Childers said that about Hunt.
Corncaster
June 15, 2018 @ 11:01 am
Two minds about this, unfortunately. On the one hand, it’s good that Tyler’s effect is so strong it pulls even someone like Hunt in his direction. On the other, it sounds like Hunt just wants to wear Tyler’s thing like a shirt he buys off the rack.
“I think it will be fun for me to kind of create a more pure version of the music”
Because when you’re not from east Kentucky and its frickin reality, Sam, dicking around in front of your iPad trying to emulate that reality really can only be “fun,” can’t it.
Please go away and save yourself from more embarrassment.
Tara Danielle
June 15, 2018 @ 9:10 am
He’s jumping on the Tyler Childers band wagon because he’s aware of the attention and respect Tyler is getting and he’s trying to steal some of his thunder. This guy is like a cancer. Please Lord, help him find another career outside of the music industry.
OlaR
June 15, 2018 @ 11:13 am
Too old for twink-porn, not talented enough to sell a “signature line of flat-brimmed baseball caps” on QVC & not old enough for a retirement home.
When his “fans” move over to the next best thing Sam Hunt will be happy to be the opening-act for some other long forgotten country-“stars” like James Bonamy, Davis Daniel, Ty England, James Otto or Chad Brock.
Benny Lee
June 15, 2018 @ 9:37 am
Holy cow, clicked on the Taste of Country link – never again! What a waste of internet real estate.
Ll28
June 15, 2018 @ 9:44 am
There were a few things in the interview that also stuck out to me. The fact that he feels like he can’t write songs that may be “authentic” for him (and who knows if his version of authentic would even be tolerable) because these songs may not sound like a “Sam song” (and that’d be a bad thing because???)).
And the fact that it’s “intimidating” for him to write a song about his wife. Cause God forbid we get real and deal with actual human emotion that people may be able to connect with. If his music wasn’t so wretched, I’d almost (emphasis on the almost) feel sorry for the guy. What an awful place to be in as an “artist.”
Jacquelyn
June 15, 2018 @ 10:14 am
Is sad how people bash Sam Hunt. He has his own style, recognize him for his songwriting. Hes written for Urban, Reba, Currington, Chesney and Luke to name just a few. And pretty decent songs. Not everyone will like everything that’s why there is something for everyone!
staind620
June 15, 2018 @ 10:27 am
You must be new here…..
Eelurra Lia Capreece
June 15, 2018 @ 10:38 am
I agree with you 100%. This whole article is so angry. Goodness! Sam Hunt wouldn’t have written for all of these amazing artists if they didnt respect him and think he was talented.
kristofer hitchcock
June 15, 2018 @ 10:58 am
Just cherry picking one point, but Sam Hunt hated that Keith Urban wanted to sing Cop Car, and tried to derail that song from being available. His co-writers stepped in and allowed the song to go out, since they knew it could make them money. Keith (however we feel about his music, which I agree has gone downhill) is a super nice, peaceful guy, and he called SH to clear the air. Sam still was a dick about it. I’ve heard many similar stories about how he treated other artists. I just want to shed some light on the “he wrote for other people so he’s obviously a well-intentioned team player” narrative.
Trigger
June 15, 2018 @ 11:11 am
The difference between some like Sam Hunt and Florida Georgia Line is Sam Hunt knows better. That’s all his comments prove. Florida Georgia Line are the dunderheads they appear to be, putting out shallow-minded music, but still being true to themselves, their influences, and their audience. Sam Hunt is a smart guy. He knows he’s putting out shallow bullshit. But he keeps doing it for the meal ticket. That’s why I’m not surprised he’d get huffy and puffy with Keith Urban.
A few months ago I published an article about country stars who flunked out of professional sports first, including Sam Hunt. The article went over VERY poorly, but one of the underlying points many people missed is how some artists will do anything for money and fame. That is their underlying driving factor. I think Florida Georgia Line and others lucked into their fortune by doing the music they wanted to do. Sam Hunt maniacally set out to make the most commercially applicable music possible, be damned the ramifications to the country genre. This latest interview proves that to me more than ever.
Fuzzy TwoShirts
June 17, 2018 @ 5:10 am
WRONG.
there’s not something for everyone.
There’s bad Pop “Country” being forced on all the people who want actual Country Music.
if there were something for everybody it would be really easy for me to hear the Louvin Brothers and Hank Thomspon on the radio.
Which, as is the ending of that Bill Cosby routine about cake for breakfast “was all I wanted to begin with”
But I can’t hear any Country Music because people like Sam Hunt are taking up the radio space.
much in the same way people who like tacos would be really upset if all the taco shacks started selling spinach kopita and only spinach kopita and they coudn’t get tacos anymore.
Jeff Tappan
June 15, 2018 @ 10:21 am
Sam Hunt? Country? Well, no more so than Shania Twain, Carrie Underwood, Lady Antebellum, and countless others. Traditional country music is not played on pop stations. Here’s a hint: St Hank, St. Lefty, Brother Waylon, Sister Tammy and Deacon George. That’s a good start.
Corncaster
June 15, 2018 @ 12:21 pm
You might even start earlier, with the Carter Family. Jimmie Rodgers, too.
Black Boots
June 15, 2018 @ 5:20 pm
You might wanna start even earlier, when my great great great grandfather was yelling at his cat with a cold and he accidentally sang a major 6th interval.
Corncaster
June 15, 2018 @ 5:49 pm
Good. Still more country than Sam Hunt.
Mike
June 15, 2018 @ 10:51 am
Sam Hunt’s songwriting credits: “Real Good Feel Good” (Neal McCoy); “Come Over” (Kenny Chesney);
“We Are Tonight” (Billy Currington); “Cop Car” (Keith Urban); “Catch Me If You Can” (Dylan Scott); “Love Somebody” (Reba McEntire); “I Met a Girl” (William Michael Morgan). Not exactly Hank Williams.
Mike
June 15, 2018 @ 10:53 am
Who should I add to this list of good new singers? Waylon Payne, Tyler Childers, Cody Jinks, Colter Wall
Black Boots
June 15, 2018 @ 5:23 pm
Randall King and Caitlyn Smith
DJ
June 15, 2018 @ 5:49 pm
I like Crystal Bowersox and Emi Sunshine.
Kevin
June 15, 2018 @ 8:05 pm
Whitey Morgan, Justin wells, Dallas Moore, Matt woods, Adam Lee, Jason eady, Jason boland, sturgill simpson, Zephaniah ohora, Joshua hedley, jayke orvis, James hunnicut, John prine, hank 3, shooter Jennings, Wayne Hancock, dale Watson, Scott h. Biram to name a few of my favorites. I’m sure if you like colter,Tyler, and jinks, you’ll dig a lot of these dudes.
Ulysses McCaskill
June 15, 2018 @ 8:30 pm
Luke Bell’s another good one.
Biscuit
June 16, 2018 @ 10:06 am
Speaking of Luke Bell, what the heck is going on with his music career? That last album came out, some of his tour dates were cancelled and crickets ever since.
Ulysses McCaskill
June 16, 2018 @ 2:12 pm
Last I heard of him he was playing the WB Walker 5 Year Anniversary Show in West Virginia back in April.
Barry
June 16, 2018 @ 5:24 pm
Probably doing construction work in east Nashville to make a living.
Ulysses McCaskill
June 16, 2018 @ 11:10 pm
Actually, the way it sounded he moved from Wyoming and now resides in North Carolina.
James Ewell Brown
June 16, 2018 @ 4:33 am
Mike & The Moonpies, Sarah Shook, Kayla Ray, Ward Davis, Sunny Sweeney, Charley Crockett, Darci Carleson, Jamie Wyatt, Robynn Shayne, Courtney Patton…
Hell, if Jinks is “New” – about to release the, what, 6th or 7th album – add Turnpike Troubadours they’re only on #5… 😉
Jimmy's Carhart
June 19, 2018 @ 12:26 pm
My favorites who have been new to me over the last couple years, ranked by how much I’ve enjoyed their music and how likely I think they are to keep making great music for years to come.
1. Turnpike Troubadours
2. Tyler Childers
3. Cody Jinks
4. Sam Outlaw
5. Colter Wall
6. Shane Smith & The Saints
7. Parker McCollom
8. John Baumann
9. Flatland Cavalry
10. Luke Bell
CountryKnight
June 15, 2018 @ 11:09 am
Sam,
It doesn’t matter who you like or listen to, it matters what you sound like.
Sheldon
June 15, 2018 @ 11:45 am
That would be considered your opinion i know there is fans like myself who love his music
DJ
June 15, 2018 @ 1:13 pm
LOL- there is fans? Where did you go to school?
ScottG
June 15, 2018 @ 3:22 pm
You’re reaching if you expect his fans to have half a brain.
Black Boots
June 15, 2018 @ 5:24 pm
Ya’ll can shit on Sam Hunt all you want, but is shitting on his fans who did nothing but write a supportive comment really necessary? It’s just kinda mean for mean’s sake.
DJ
June 15, 2018 @ 5:47 pm
Yes- and? Personally I appreciate grammatical errors and spelling errors and improper punctuation pointed out- it helps the comment be taken seriously.
Black Boots
June 16, 2018 @ 2:16 am
They why is your punctuation all messed up?
Caballo
June 15, 2018 @ 1:07 pm
What a hipster douche.
Dobe Daddy
June 15, 2018 @ 1:12 pm
So Sam Hunt thinks he could be just like Tyler Childers, he just doesn’t want to.
If my feet could fit a railroad track, hell I guess I’d have been a train.
Pierre Brunelle
June 15, 2018 @ 1:17 pm
Sam Hunt had song writing skills. No doubt. He released a EDM R&B album but unfortunately for country fan, we were forced into it since it was label “country”.
Can he write a pure authentic country song? I am sure that he can. No one is stopping him from doing that so I am not sure why he couldn’t do it until now. Unlike FGL, Sam Hunt is not a clown but he acts like one.
Corncaster
June 16, 2018 @ 7:11 pm
There remains the question of whether he *is* a country song or whether he’s just playing *at* one.
It’s fashionable to think we can put on identities as if they were a line of clothing. The reality is, we can’t. Not really. There is a remainder we can try to run from, but maybe we’re better off just accepting it.
Otherwise, you and yourself never coincide. This will lead you to think you can write like Tyler Childers. Because it’s just an act, right? It’s all just an act … right?
Pierre Brunelle
June 18, 2018 @ 6:03 am
I agree with you. Country music is a lifestyle not an act.
Having said that, an artist could very well release a country album because he loves country music and wish to compose some country songs.
The problem with Sam Hunt is that he was an outsider who came in the country music genre and publish a non country album (he called it innovation but it is truly social regression!..) and the radio decided to put him above the crowd in terms of airplay so we all have to suffer his crap where ever we go.
He certainly has song writing skills and he certainly knows the difference between his crap and real country songs unlike others clowns.
Corncaster
June 18, 2018 @ 8:15 am
I’m not even sure I’d call it a “lifestyle.” What we’re conversing about goes to the center of issues at SCM. Can urban or suburban people make a country records? If we’re just talking about musical form, of course they can. You write two-step shuffles and triple-time songs, add steel and fiddle, and you’re probably going to end up sounding “country.” This can be learned and imitated.
But there’s another sense to country, which is that it’s the music of country people. In that sense, people born in urban and suburban areas can’t write country music, because they’re not from the country. They’re not rural. They didn’t grow up in a rural culture. I’m not trying to pull rank on anyone, I was born on the border of a suburb myself, but all my life I’ve been drawn to and respect the people I know who have lived all their lives in the countryside.
They work really hard. They care for each other. They’re plenty aware of the world and the things that are happening to their communities. Because the world is urbanizing and is now majority urban, these folks don’t have much of a voice anymore, and they know it. The music they’ve produced is deep and great. If you’ll excuse a little enthusiasm, it’s a mighty river of knowledge and human experience. It deserves great respect.
Like the rest of us, Sam Hunt can be inspired by it. But like other musicians who are inspired by it — I’m thinking of excellent writers like Sam Outlaw and Zephaniah O’Hora — Mr. Hunt, to my way of thinking at least, will be writing city or suburban music inspired by classic country.
Which is perfectly fine. But I’d like to be careful in what we call it, because I don’t want American country music to be erased by some radical redefinition.
Just my two cents.
Jayme
June 15, 2018 @ 2:40 pm
instead of bashing people because you don’t like them or something that they said or I’m done why don’t you try just not listening to him and keeping your damn mouth shut and stay away from it cuz obviously your opinions don’t matter he’s open for many famous country singers including Kenny Chesney among others so obviously has something going for him or these guys wouldn’t have him open or play in their tour because honestly it sounds like a bunch of immature people out there if you don’t like them in and keep your mouth shut and don’t listen to him because nobody wants to listen to your opinions on such crap again he’s doing something right cuz he’s opening up for major players and not just opening he’s also touring with them sounds to me like a bunch of immature jealous people if you don’t like him keep your mouth shut and don’t listen to him because a lot of big names are taking him on tour with them and if he was such a piece of crap as you want to say these guys wouldn’t be doing that so just keep your mouth shut and don’t listen to him if you don’t like them so just keep your mouth shut and don’t listen to him if you don’t like him and the problem is now solved can’t believe how many immature idiots are really out there
Jack Williams
June 15, 2018 @ 3:29 pm
Well, I’m glad you decided to finally hit the Post Comment button. Seems like you were stuck in a loop. Tripping, maybe?
Texican
June 15, 2018 @ 4:49 pm
So, are you saying we should just keep our mouths shut and not listen to him? Are we also supposed to abandon punctuation entirely?
DJ
June 15, 2018 @ 5:43 pm
Did you run out of breath? LOL periods, commas and capitals (upper case FYI) helps decipher a point, or points whichever the case may be.
Justin
June 15, 2018 @ 6:46 pm
Yeah, that was a lot of stream-of-consciousness right there, lol.
Ulysses McCaskill
June 15, 2018 @ 8:27 pm
What was your highest grade completed?
MH
June 16, 2018 @ 12:09 pm
You could’ve saved a lot of time by just typing “I don’t know how the Nashville music business works” and left it at that.
Fuzzy TwoShirts
June 17, 2018 @ 5:11 am
If you don’t like Country Music, why don’t YOU keep your mouth shut and stop trying to replace it with POP music like Sam Hunt
Charlie
June 18, 2018 @ 5:39 am
Copy/Paste trolling. This should be deleted. At least make them put in a little effort.
KEBlake
June 15, 2018 @ 2:44 pm
Considering how many times he says ‘I think’, ‘I may’, ‘potentially’ and ‘future’, he sounds waffly enough to run for office. As long as it keeps him out of the studio!
ScottG
June 15, 2018 @ 3:04 pm
Not sure what’s worse. The squirming hack or his soulless fan base.
Karen K
June 15, 2018 @ 4:18 pm
I like Sam Hunt and a lot of his songs even if they’re not the most “country” sounding out there!
CountryRoads
June 15, 2018 @ 9:24 pm
Sam Hunt’s music being a complete abomination has little to do with him not being traditional country. In fact, I would say that is about 10th on the list of reasons why any willing adult should not like his “music”.
Scott
June 15, 2018 @ 5:25 pm
Jumping on what Stringbuzz said up there, I also think Tyler is on a more accelerated path than Sturgill – more along the lines of what happened with Chris Stapleton as far as the possibility of broad, mainstream appeal.
There are two types of songwriter/poet: those who write in the first person like a diary entry of how they are feeling (e.g. Sturgill), and those who can tell a story as a way to get a glimpse into another character’s life, using a lot of imagery (Tyler). Both can be effective and one way isn’t necessarily better than the other, BUT the second way is much more difficult to pull off. Tyler has the rare gift to be able to do both and it really sets him apart from the pack. Potentially more tricks at his disposal as a writer to keep churning ’em out in the long run. Amazingly talented craftsman. Maybe Bob Dylan level of ability?
I think Margo straddles the line a bit too with a song like Hands of Time. I’d be interested to hear her dive more into storytelling songs.
Bryan H.
June 15, 2018 @ 5:49 pm
WOW These critics are brutal!! They must be liberals. 😜
GrantH
June 16, 2018 @ 12:23 pm
Nope, I’m a conservative Trump voter, and I can’t stand Sam Hunt because the music he makes is a complete mockery of the “country” lifestyle and southern values. He sees you as a meal ticket and nothing more.
Doug
June 17, 2018 @ 3:26 pm
I’m trying hard not to say anything here.
MH
June 15, 2018 @ 6:18 pm
“Now I ain’t the toughest hickory
That your axe has ever fell
But I’m a hickory just as well
I’m a hickory all the same.
I came crashing through the forest
As you cut my roots away
And I fell a good long ways
For my lovely Lady May.”
VS
“Body like a backroad
Driving with my eyes closed
I know every curve like the back of my hand
Doing fifteen in a thirty
I ain’t in a hurry
I’m gonna take it slow just as fast as I can.”
LOL FUCK outta here!
Ulysses McCaskill
June 16, 2018 @ 11:13 pm
Perfectly illustrates the difference.
GrantH
June 15, 2018 @ 6:28 pm
If Sam Hunt and others were to try and emulate the sound of guys like Childers and Simpson, I think we all know it’d all be watered-down discount versions of what they’ve already done. I’d almost prefer that Sam Hunt saves face and continues putting out what he’s doing now than ruining something good.
Lisa Sharp
June 15, 2018 @ 6:55 pm
Chris Stapleton could teach him a few a things, if it is not too late.
Ur mom
June 15, 2018 @ 6:57 pm
F*c*ing idiots all of you.
ScottG
June 16, 2018 @ 6:15 am
Come on now. Set a better example for the kids out there…by listening to better music.
Justin
June 15, 2018 @ 7:04 pm
Even AJ McLean (of Backstreet Boy fame who’s trying to “go country” right now) is name-dropping Chris Stapleton in the short interview below. Just a few years ago the only place I had ever heard of Chris Stapleton was right here on Saving Country Music (thanks!). Probably in a couple of years we’ll have Post Malone name-dropping Tyler Childers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlMTIO-Jy4M
Summer Jam
June 18, 2018 @ 6:58 pm
Shit, Stapleton isn’t even real country, hes an over-rated artist IMO.
wayne
June 15, 2018 @ 8:07 pm
So why was this article written? Sam who?
Mike Honcho
June 16, 2018 @ 4:34 pm
Sam Hunt. Mike Hunt’s brother.
Ulysses McCaskill
June 15, 2018 @ 8:24 pm
Name-dropping Childers might not give him street cred, but it does mean one thing.
It means that not everything that has ever come out of his mouth is complete bullshit. Almost everything, but not quite.
Mike Honcho
June 15, 2018 @ 9:06 pm
My only problem with the article is he is trashing more than 80 years of Country Music. Jimmie Rogers and the Carters were recording in the 1920s.
Mike Honcho
June 15, 2018 @ 9:09 pm
Kenny Chesney? That’s Classic Country.
albert
June 15, 2018 @ 10:51 pm
In the immortal words of National Lampoon’s ”John Lennon”
” I wanted to be a fisherman but I couldn’t cuz I was a genius ”
( no offense John )
AZgirl
June 16, 2018 @ 2:50 am
I am so surprised at the level of vitriol thrown at Sam Hunt! He has talent and is discovering who he is musically….isnt that what we want people to do? Isn’t That why musicians are called artists? I am 56,. been listening to all types of music longer than a lot of you “dudes”. By the way…We called people that back in the 70s so does that mean the tone and use of the word is exactly the same now as it was then? No. What we called rock music then doesn’t hardly exist now…so because it’s not the same does rhat mean it doesn’t exist. No! Music and music genres are ever evolving and changing if you are a true music lover you know this. Calm down people!
MH
June 16, 2018 @ 12:11 pm
I can’t believe a 56 year old has such shitty taste in music.
BlackHawgDown
June 18, 2018 @ 8:37 am
Oh look it’s another “Music Evolves” defense argument. Well you know what happens when things evolve? they become entirely new species. If you want to make Pop music with a southern accent, then take that shit somewhere else and market it as such with a new name, but quit trying to call it something that it’s not. There’s a reason we call elephants an elephant and not Mastodons or Mammoths still.
Patty
June 16, 2018 @ 6:46 am
I think Sam hunt does know a dam thing about country music heis an smart ass an irrogent shit he will never be good like Luke Bryan and all the ones that work hard
Jon Gunder
June 19, 2018 @ 8:07 pm
The only good thing Luke Bryan has done for country music is let Brent Cobb sleep on his couch…
Biscuit
June 16, 2018 @ 10:23 am
It’s kinda like that time Garth Brooks named dropped Randall King. Or when Miranda Lambert namedropped John Moreland. Or when practically anyone namedrops Johnny Cash.
Trigger
June 16, 2018 @ 10:42 pm
If Sam Hunt records a Tyler Childers song, I’ll eat my hat. And Miranda Lambert didn’t just name drop John Moreland, she has travelled to attend multiple shows of his.
TimFromGA
June 17, 2018 @ 9:50 am
I’ve only heard “Body Like a Backroad” or any SH tune when forced to listen…as in I’m in a Walgreens or a local store and it is playing overhead. So, I can’t remember all the lyrics, but I can tell you that I had no idea it was a “country” song until I heard the chorus and realized (from reading on here) that this was in fact Sam Hunt and the song I never wanted to hear. Having said that I can tell you that if he thinks he can write a song/lyrics even close to as amazing as “Banded Clovis” by Tyler which paints an almost perfect picture for the listener of a man shooting another man/his friend in order to steal and sell the much sought after but hard to find Clovis point/Native American projectile point (aka “arrowhead”) then he’s crazy. I don’t know a lot of songwriters that I respect and love that can write a song like that because you have to live that experience and know it firsthand to write it. I have no doubt that Tyler has hunted many an arrowhead in his day (and, according to the song, used a shovel to dig for them which is illegal in my state unless on private land with landowners consent) while Sammy boy has probably never even walked a harrowed peanut Field looking for an arrowhead laying on the surface right in front of him. That song blows my mind. So well written. And you have to live that life to write about it. Sam, in my opinion, has probably not lived that kind of life and, therefore, will never write a song that deep . It ain’t easy. Now if you are into songs that aren’t deep lyrically then Sam Hunt may be for you. He must have a lot of fans and probably more $ than most of us combined because he knows how to play the Nashville game. I also don’t care for Luke, Kenny, etc songs or music so Sam opening for them really means nothing to me. To each his own. But Sam will never write like Tyler. Just ain’t happening.
Justin
June 17, 2018 @ 4:36 pm
“I can tell you that I had no idea it was a “country” song until I heard the chorus and realized (from reading on here) that this was in fact Sam Hunt and the song I never wanted to hear.”
That’s the worst feeling, isn’t it? Being forced to listen to a song in a restaurant or store or somewhere that you hoped you’d never hear or hoped you’d never hear again.
Doug
June 17, 2018 @ 3:30 pm
She also makes some good records.
pacer
June 16, 2018 @ 10:54 am
I am surprised how much people on this site listen to Sam Hunt and how familiar most everyone seems to be with his music and even his song lyrics!!! Makes me realize, how unique and successful Sam Hunt actually has become. Other than Elvis I cannot think of any other artist who was capable to change an entire genre -as stressed here- just by himself. And Sam Hunt did it with barely one single album out. Quite impressiv indeed!
But I understand how one can discuss if he belongs on country radio in the 21st century. However I cannot follow the derogatory language against people with other music tastes. Quite disgraceful. All of this makes me want to stay away from this crowd – and maybe their hailed music as well. Because I do not feel comfortable inside of a cult.
James Ewell Brown
June 16, 2018 @ 1:04 pm
https://i.imgur.com/P7ssEJt.jpg
Nick
June 16, 2018 @ 12:42 pm
I’m seriously offended that Tyler Childers’ name came out of his mouth. Fuck you man.
NCW
June 16, 2018 @ 6:45 pm
I’ve been thinking about dropping 25-30 lbs and potentially going to the gym. After I get into a good routine I might, very well, potentially start body building. I grew up watching people work out so I know what I’m doing. After I accomplish that, I potentially will resign.
ScottG
June 16, 2018 @ 7:01 pm
I’ll potentilaly think about supporting you in that endeavor. Unless of course I don’t. In the case that I don’t, I will not be supporting you at that time. But maybe in the future, if I feel like it, I’ll think about it then. Maybe.
NCW
June 16, 2018 @ 7:24 pm
Well I did watch a YouTube video of Jay Cutler (the bodybuilder, not the football player) working out and I think that’s the type of working out I wanna get back to. I grew up watching it so I should be fine. I think😒
ScottG
June 16, 2018 @ 8:23 pm
I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night….
albert
June 16, 2018 @ 10:15 pm
you guys just stay put ….I’m going to grab the net and we’ll all go for a nice ride.
BenBen
June 16, 2018 @ 10:58 pm
Well, maybe Tyler will sell more records and gain some more new fans as a result. I don’t care for Sam hunt or that particular style of music at all, but if him name dropping can shed more light on artists I like then I’m not going to complain. Don’t really care about why he did it, but hell it’s free promotion. That’s just my two cents.
Summer Jam
June 18, 2018 @ 7:00 pm
Sam Hunt needs to step up to the plate and put out music that actually sounds country if he wants to be in the country music genre. Don’t get me wrong….I LOVE his music as pop songs, but as country theres just too little of a country sound, country lyrics, or even a country influence to call it even pop country. I hope Sam finally listens to the critics and puts out some good country music, I think hed kill it if he actually tried.
Jon Gunder
June 19, 2018 @ 8:03 pm
What’s even more disparaging is that Hunt acts like he could easily approach the level of Childer’s songwriting if he just decided to do so at lunch one day. It would be easier for a toddler to paint the Sistene Chapel. You don’t just choose to become a phenomenal songwriter. It’s both an inherent talent as well as a practiced craft that develops over time.
I predicted we would see a string of “fake songwriters” after Chris Stapleton’s debut with Justin Timberlake, where pop country stars would attempt to mimick the things they heard with zero understanding. It appears we are there.
James
June 23, 2018 @ 5:02 am
I just don’t listen to the country radio, besides a very occasional listen to the classic station. There are local music shows on the public radio stations here that I like (KOSU and KGOU), but of course, those shows don’t play garbage. A few weeks ago I watched an independent movie on a streaming platform called “American Honey.” The movie is, more or less, about the struggle of young, non-literate WT. About halfway through, this abortion of country rap songs starts playing, and immediately I knew I was listening to something that is ridiculed on this website. I looked it up, and it was Sam Hunt. I could have gone forever without hearing his feeble-minded musical moaning.