On the day after the CMA Awards, it’s always important to take a deep breath, and remind yourself, “It’s just the CMA’s.” But it does feel important to address what turned out to be the biggest controversy Wednesday night, which was Garth Brooks winning Entertainer of the Year over Carrie Underwood.
The fifth installment of the Ken Burns country music documentary zeroed in on the time period between 1964 and 1968, when the United States at large began to be embroiled in tumultuous times, and two separate epicenters in country music began to emerge. Arguably the most egalitarian of the episodes so far, it covered a lot of performers.
The broadcast of the Ken Burns-produced 8-part, 16-hour documentary on country music could very well be the most significant event to happen in country music in 2019, if not in the next few years. For country music to receive the expansive documentary treatment for America’s preeminent filmmaking archivist could have significant implications.
“Old Town Road” is now the #1 song in all of music. However it wasn’t just the infectiousness of the track that got it there. It was also due to indisputably incorrect and biased reporting by major media outlets, from legacy music magazines such as Rolling Stone, all the way up to NPR and The New York Times.
Oh the irony of so many people demanding all music sound the same in the name of “diversity.” The only reason we’re even having a discussion of where Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” should be placed on the charts is because you can’t tell the difference between most any given piece of popular music anymore.
The aftermath of the removal of Lil Nas X’s viral trap song “Old Town Road” from the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart continues, and unfortunately, so do the misconceptions and outright lies surrounding the removal as being motivated by racism.
See, this is the reason why showing concern of where and how songs are placed in music charts is so critical, and how making a simple mistake can cause dramatic reverberations throughout the music ecosystem where now you have long-standing institutions and entire genres of music being accused of outright racism.
For many years, the influence and contributions of African American musicians in country music went mostly overlooked, or overshadowed by their Caucasian counterparts. However there has been a recent trend by media and even some artists to overstate the influence of African Americans.
For many true country music performers, the bug to write, sing, and play country music bit them at an early age, and never left. For others, country music is simply a vehicle for fame and riches. Specifically, many of them first tried to make it in professional sports before flunking out or getting sidelined with injury.
Let’s face it. For a host of reasons, it’s pretty rare to see African Americans making country and roots music. But when they do, more often that not, they’re doing it the right way, pushing the music forward creatively while fiercely helping to preserving the past, becoming part of the solution instead of prolonging the problem.
Country Music Hall of Famer and Grand Ole Opry member Charley Pride will release his first album in over six years when Music In My Heart hits the shelves. It will be released via Music City Records. “It was fun getting back into the studio,” Charley Pride says. “My goal was to record the best traditional country album possible.”
Who knew actor Dwayne Johnson, a.k.a The Rock had such good taste in music? Well his 82.5 million followers on Instagram do now after Sunday evening he let his love for Cody Jinks, and specifically Cody’s song “Somewhere in the Middle” from his 2014 record ‘Less Wise’ be known.
Two groundbreaking pioneers in country music—the “Father of Country Music” Jimmie Rodgers, and country music’s first African-American superstar Charley Pride—have both been selected along with five others to be in the 2017 class of Grammy Lifetime Achievement recipients.
I told you booking Beyoncé was a bad idea CMA’s. Now you’re a racist reprobate in the eyes of the politically-charged Millennial entertainment media and sycophantical pop diva worshipers who will nail people to crosses to prove the depth of their fanaticism, and so is all of country music and its bumpkin fans.
Well now, perhaps there is a reason for old school traditional country fans to tune into the CMA Awards in 2016. Celebrating their 50th Anniversary, the Country Music Association has promised to honor country music’s past in the presentation, and they have put their money where their mouth is.
According to Blake Shelton, nobody wants to listen to grandpa’s music anymore. But somebody forgot to tell the throng that assembled at Austin’s historic Paramount Theatre on Tuesday evening (2-16) and filled the venue to capacity for the 3rd installment of the Dale Watson-helmed Ameripolitan Awards.
Dale Watson’s 3rd Annual, 2016 Ameripolitan Awards went down Tuesday night in Austin at the Paramount Theatre, with awards handed out in the categories of “Honky Tonk,” “Western Swing,” “Rockabilly,” and “Outlaw,” designated by male and female, and groups. Additional awards were handed out favorite venues, festivals, DJ’s, and musicians.
Some may recognize the name south of the Canadian border, especially if they understand the intricacies of hockey’s offsides and icing rules. But in the great frozen north, he’s considered a national treasure. Theo Fleury, a 1,000-goal scorer in the NHL, Stanley Cup winner in 1989 with the Calgary Flames, Gold Medal winner in 2002 representing Canada, and a World Junior Champion, has decided he’s going country.
“Shakespeare Was A Big George Jones Fan: Cowboy Jack Clement’s Home Movies” was made in 2005 to document Jack’s life, and the wild environment swirling around his legendary home studio, the “Cowboy Arms Hotel and Recording Spa.” It is about capturing the spirit of the man—the whimsy that he approached the creative process with.
ountry Music Hall of Famer, legendary producer, songwriter, and cosmic music man “Cowboy” Jack Clement has died according to the Nashville newspaper The Tennessean. He was 82. Jack Clement was just inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame this year. He got his start working at Sun Studios in Memphis under Sam Phillips, arranging such hits as Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire.”
The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, TN has just announced their 2013 inductees. The new members to country music’s most prestigious institution are “Cowboy” Jack Clement, Bobby Bare, and Kenny Rogers. Host Bill Anderson Steve Moore made the announcement from the Hall of Fame rotunda Wednesday morning (4-10).
Dale Watson has been throwing around his “Ameripolitan” term for years, but Dale is now working to organize behind the name. The main idea behind Dale’s Ameripolitan at the moment is the formation of an Ameripolitan awards show that would transpire in February 2014 in Austin, TX. The awards would be voted on by three divisions: 1) Fans. 2) Industry. 3) 100 Ameripolitan “captains.”
Country Music Hall of Famer Charley Pride will be portrayed in a new biopic about his life by former pro wrestler turned actor/comedian Dwayne Johnson, aka “The Rock”. Though many outlets will love to portray that “The Rock” is “Going Country”, in truth he is just signing up to play a role in a movie (though current Saving Country Music/Las Vegas odds of The Rock parleying the role into a country music career are a very generous 3 to 1) .