Johnny Rodriguez. Any serious fan of 1970’s country music worth their salt will know the name, the hits, and doesn’t need to be sold on the importance of this man. Six #1 songs, fourteen Top 5’s, twenty Top 10’s, including a run of fifteen Top 10 songs to start his career between 1973 and 1978…
John Prine was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, but the compass of his musical world was Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, where his parents and grandparents were from, where he visited frequently when growing up, and where some of his fondest memories were made. Prine spelled it all out in “Paradise.”
As reported by Saving Country Music in July, a new 6-part, 12-hour documentary named ‘They Called Us Outlaws: Cosmic Cowboys, Honky Tonk Heroes, and the Rise of Renegade Troubadours’ is on the way, featuring over 90 interviews and 75 live performances, with Jessi Colter executive producing.
Though you won’t see any press releases about it, or social media posts about it from their personal accounts, both Tyler Childers and Chris Stapleton have been spotted in the region with their boots on the ground in Kentucky directly helping local residents after the historic flooding.
A new country music documentary is on the way, courtesy of the Country Music Hall of Fame and executive producer Jessi Colter. Delving deep into the Outlaw era of country music like never before, They Called Us Outlaws will be a six-part series spanning 12 total hours.
We’re now supposed to believe that despite all these accolades BET has bestowed to Lil Nas X in the past, all of a sudden and out of the blue, BET has decided to discriminate against a guy they previously honored, solely because he’s gay? It seems extremely, extremely implausible.
Amid speculation by the public, inquiries by the media, and a continuing investigation by authorities, the family of deceased country music legend Naomi Judd has revealed that she died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound when she passed away on April 30th at the age of 76.
There’s nothing more country than showing love and appreciation for momma. It’s country songs that taught us all so well to respect our matriarchs. So no matter who you are, or where you’re from, make sure you’re a little country today. And after you wish momma…
There was a time in country music when your worth was measured in the amount of dues you paid, and also in how many of the old classic songs you knew. With ‘Jukebox Charley,’ Crockett proves his body of knowledge is quite deep, as is his pool of talent to interpret these songs.
“Jukebox Charley” isn’t just the name of an old Johnny Paycheck song. It’s a good term of endearment for Charley Crockett since he’s quickly proving that that he and his backing band The Blue Drifters can light into just about any classic country song you can call out
When country music Hall of Famer Tom T. Hall passed away on August 20th, 2021 at the age of 85, it was safe to assume his death was due to health or natural causes, as is commonly the case with someone at such an advanced age. It was likely an open and shut case.
As we look back on 2021 and before we look forward to 2022, it’s important we take the time to pay tribute to these individuals who left a mark on the country and roots music world that will never fade. Here are the performers, players, songwriters, and others we lost in 2021.
Tom T. Hall had the simple wisdom for life of Don Williams. He could find wit in the everyday world like Roger Miller. But nobody, nobody could tell a story within the medium of country music like Tom T. Hall. Nobody.
As tax season approaches and we get the opportunity to tie a bow around the doings of 2019, it’s always interesting to look back on the year at the Grand Ole Opry to see which performing members are paying their proper dues to country music’s most historic institution, and which one’s aren’t.
Even though names like Jimmie Rodgers, Roy Acuff, and The Carter Family loom large for many of country music’s devoted fans, they don’t necessarily rise to the level of household names like Ernest Tubb, and of course the great Hank Williams, who was the centerpiece of the third installment of the Ken Burns ‘Country Music’ documentary.
Nobody will ever be able to accuse Texas native and Davy Crockett descendant Charley Crockett of not paying his proper dues. He’s bookended his big 2018 breakout record Lonesome As a Shadow with two records released with the sole purpose of paying tribute to the past greats in country and blues that have influenced his […]
The International Bluegrass Music Awards (IBMAs) held court Thursday (9-27) night at the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts in Raleigh, North Carolina as the capstone of their yearly conference. Top performers in bluegrass walked away with coveted prizes, including Balsam Range winning the evening’s top prize.
When you think of the modern country music landscape, you think of a clear delineation line between the independent and mainstream. However the songwriting credits for Miranda Lambert are the one clear exception. Looking through her list of collaborators, it’s pretty incredible.
Michelob Ultra is the Cleveland Browns of Beers—the Sam Hunt of Suds—and with no disrespect to any of the low carb readers or listeners out there, I don’t think America’s most notorious “ultra light” beer is exactly what Tom T. Hall had in mind when he penned his ode to the amber goodness in 1975.
Who hadn’t thought that when Han Solo was outrunning Imperial starships in the Millennium Falcon—not the local bulk-cruisers mind you, I’m talking about the big Corellian ships now—that he wasn’t booming a little Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, and Billy Joe Shaver? Remember, Han was a smuggler, so it’s only fitting he’d find a hankering for music that many a moonshine runner would blare.
Bob Dylan is pretty notorious for not speaking publicly very often, either in speeches or to the press. But after being honored at a Grammy Awards’ MusiCares event a week ago, and the impending melee that resulted from the 30-minute speech in which he specifically criticized Merle Haggard and Tom T. Hall among others, Dylan was forced into another public disposition with Rolling Stone on Friday.
In the windup to Sunday night’s Grammy Awards presentation, Bob Dylan was the honoree at a Friday evening event (2-6) naming him the 2015 MusiCares Person of the Year. During Dylan’s 30-minute acceptance speech, he laid out much praise for his fellow songwriters, while unceremoniously lashing out at others, including Tom T. Hall and Merle Haggard. Merle has since responded.
The bayou cries out in mourning, but the music will live on. Jimmy C. Newman, the ‘C’ standing for “Cajun,” known as one of country music’s most passionate champions of the Cajun influence and nicknamed “The Alligator Man,” passed away on Saturday, June 21st due to Cancer. He was 86-years-old. Jimmy C. Newman, “The Alligator Man”, is now sitting on the banks of the great bayou in the sky.
Anyone who considers themselves a good storyteller has to be an admirer of songwriter and performer Todd Snider. Over his career, it can be argued his stories have gone on to bolster his troubadour status just as much as his songs. And anyone who’s seen Todd Snider perform a few times or more knows that Garth Brooks has been a familiar punching bag for Todd.