An oral history on the life of songwriting legend Billy Joe Shaver is on the way. Called ‘Live Forever: The Songwriting Legacy of Billy Joe Shaver,’ it will be about Shaver’s life and songs told through his peers, friends, and disciples like Ray Wylie Hubbard, Dale Watson, James McMurtry, Scott H. Biram, Dallas Moore, and Jessi Colter.
I don’t think Hank done it this way. And neither did Waylon. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that this Waylon doesn’t know what he’s doing. I just don’t know what we’re supposed to do. Are we to laugh, cry, get angry, be happy? Here’s “Waylon” ladies and gentlemen.
There were many performing artists, side players, roadies and managers that played a major part in the country music insurgency in the 70’s that came to be known as “Outlaw,” but only one can rightfully claim they coined the phrase, or saw the revolution happen from its early incarnation to its Platinum-selling peak.
Yes, Yes, and Yes! On Thursday (1-11), the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville announced their newest major exhibit to open on May 25th, 2018. Not just part of the regular rotation of smaller exhibits, the major exhibit creates the cornerstone for the museum’s focus for the next few years.
When the topic of discussion turns to legacy alt-country bands, it’s easy for the Old 97’s to get left out of the mix, and unfairly so. Since their epicenter revolves around Dallas, and not Austin, Nashville, or Los Angeles, it seems like they’re always a little more out-of-sight, out-of-mind than their mammoth output and legacy deserves.
Today, September 8th, 2017, would have been the 85th birthday of Patsy Cline—one of the most iconic, influential, and immediately recognizable voices in the history of country music. But she died tragically in a 1963 plane crash near Camden, Tennessee that also killed country starts Cowboy Copas, and Hankshaw Hawkins.
As first reported by Saving Country Music in January, a new animated series called ‘Mike Judge Presents: Tales from the Tour Bus’ covering real stories from country music’s past in animated form is on its way to television. Now, we finally get the details and an in-depth look at what country music fans can expect.
How should a country purist regard the legacy of Glen Campbell? That should be a really easy question to answer: with class, respect, and appreciation for a man that was an incredible ambassador for the genre through multiple avenues, and a timeless contributor to the country music canon.
for years, Broadway was one of the very few personalities in mainstream country radio willing to ask tough questions of artists, willing to broach subjects otherwise thought of as taboo in the mainstream, and overall just show guts and independent thinking in an otherwise stuffy, closed-off world. And he did it all with class and respect.
In the process of criticizing modern country music, sometimes we lose sight of the bigger picture, or fall into “old man’s syndrome” where the past of the genre seems pristine and idyllic in our mind’s eye, and today’s smutty music perpetrated by sellout stars is an abomination to our beloved genre.
Not caring whether his music earns him any notoriety or financial gain is what gives an artist like Justin Dean Payne the power and latitude to explore the inner depths of his own soul like the deepest regions of a coal vein until a mother lode of the purest, most lucrative strains of human expression are discovered, and unearthed for the world’s benefit.
To put it bluntly, the ability of Blackbird Presents to curate talent for events is pretty terrible, and appears to be done without any true understanding of the layout of the current country music landscape. Some of the invites for these Blackbird Presents events seem so incredibly blind to the realities present in country music fandom, it’s remarkable.
There have been many true country music “Outlaws” over the years, and many more that claim to be. But there can be only one original Outlaw, and that is Bobby Bare. Without Bobby Bare, there may be no Waylon Jennings. When Bare discovered Waylon in Phoenix, AZ in 1964, Waylon was still very much a regional act.
Though publicity has been somewhat light for the record, Stapleton did sit down with Charlie Rose on Thursday (5/12) for a lengthy discussion, and to perform the acoustic “Either Way.” In the interview, Charlie Rose tried to portray Chris Stapleton as “Country’s Reigning Outlaw.”
As first reported by Saving Country Music in January, Steve Earle’s newest album will be called So You Wanna Be An Outlaw, and feature an appearance by Willie Nelson on the title track. The album is said to be unabashedly inspired by Waylon Jennings and the other original country music Outlaws.
The truth is we have no idea why Bill O’Reilly was fired from the most prominent seat in cable news commentary. The allegations against him could all be false claims from money-grubbing hussies looking to take advantage of his celebrity. But in country music, the way women are looked upon, and the way they’re spoken to is spelled out right there in the songs.
If you’re going to make a movie based in West Texas about the destruction of the agrarian economy and the way the banks rape the poor and why so much of the American heartland has turned into a ghost town husk of what it once was, what better way to embellish the moments than to include the songs of artists like Ray Wylie Hubbard, Scott H. Biram, & Colter Wall?
The story has been told for many years that The Allman Brothers initially didn’t want to record “Ramblin’ Man” or release it as a single because they were afraid it was too country. Today people take for granted that The Allman Brothers fit squarely in the Southern rock genre, but to start, they were very much a blues and jazz-based jam band.
Legendary rockabilly and Western swing guitarist Tommy Allsup passed away on Wednesday, January 11th according to his son Austin Allsup. The 85-year-old had been placed in Intensive Care earlier this month. No funeral arrangements have been made at the moment, but the family is asking for continued prayers.
Country music is not just a commodity or even a form artistic expression. It is an integral part of people’s lives and has been the foundation for their cultural identities for generations. It’s what binds them to their homes and ancestry, and is interwoven into the very fabric of who they are as people.
Yesterday amid many calls for my opinion and participation, I finally tuned into The Voice finale to see what all the hubbub was about … just in time to see Sundance Head performing with KISS. I promptly returned to the Dolly Parton telethon.
For those who can’t get enough info about legendary country music Outlaw Waylon Jennings and the wild and influential life he lived, you’re about to get one of the most up close and personal accounts of Hoss that’s possible to put in print, while also getting to know the lady who stood by his side in sickness and health.
For those fed up with the political system, scared to vote either way for two of the most unlikable Presidential candidates in recent memory, voting with trepidation, not voting in spite, or just plain wanting this whole election thing to end and hoping that somehow the United States can find a modicum of healing after it is all over…
Preserving the roots of country is not always just about paying homage. Sometimes it is about sowing disharmony or speaking out in protest to help force country music back on the right path. Music Row and the country music industry will always be about money first. The artists are the ones who must take the lead and reign the business in.