Category Archives: Blog Post 4

by Talia | November 24, 2015 · 7:00 am

Who is John Michael Montgomery?!

Have you ever heard songs like, “Sold (The Grundy County Auction Incident)”, “I Swear”, “Life’s a Dance” or “I Can Love You Like That”? Well John Michael Montgomery is the man who sings these iconic songs. John Michael Montgomery was one of the biggest hits of the 90’s and today many of his songs still play on the radio and are recognized by individuals of all ages. However, he, himself is unrecognizable and unknown by most.

Today John Michael Montgomery is one of my favorite country singers of all time, but not to long ago I was singing his songs without knowing who he even was. As soon as I learned that I would be writing these blogs I knew I had to do one on John Michael Montgomery because he is too good for my generation and even beyond to not continue to listen to and know!

John Michael Montgomery has released eleven albums since his career took of in 1992 when he released his debut album featuring “Life’s A Dance”, and “I Love The Way You Love Me”. He has had thirty singles on the Billboard Charts and seven of which that went number one. He has won multiple awards through the CMA’s and ACM’s. Montgomery was born in 1965 in Danville, Kentucky to a family who instilled his love for music in him early on. By the age of fifteen he was singing regularly with his family which ultimately led to him being seen and then signed by Atlantic Records.

I was drawn to John not only because his career took off in my favorite time period of country, the 90’s, but because his love songs are incredible (I am a sucker for love). It is the between his voice, which focus’ on country’s traditional roots, and his deep emotional connection with his fans, and his piercing looks that all make him stand out from other balladeers of the 90’s.

Like I previously said, many of Montgomery’s songs play frequently on the radio and are even easily recognized lyrically and musically but their titles and who sings them is unknown. I want to point out three of these love songs that you may or may not have heard before, but that you need to listen to and remember the name and artist of, because if you ever have been in, are in, or plan to be in love these songs will make you feel like never before. My top three favorite love songs of his are “I Can Love You Like That,” I Love The Way You Love Me,” and “I Swear.” Each of these breaks down what love should really be about.

“I Can Love You Like That” expresses a man saying he can fulfill all the dreams and hopes a woman can have about love. From a young age women are shown love stories through fairytales, movies, and more for example like the song shares Cinderella or Romeo and Juliet. He shares that he will do and love her in the ways she always wished for but never thought were true.

“I Love The Way You Love Me” reveals that one of the reasons behind his love for her is her love for him. He shares that its the simple things she does like laughing or taking long baths that all make up part of why he likes her. Its the way she puts up with him and does little things like cooking for him that also play a part in it. This song reminds you that true love should be when you love and accept everything about a person.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16yarf4ZCwA

“I Swear” relates back to the original promise behind love, that it will be meaningful and last forever. This song mentions the oath that’s taken during a marriage ceremony such as “for better or worse,” and “until death do us part.” It promises love that will last as appearances may change and things get hard. He compares this promise to things that are very constant such as the moon and stars and shadows.

Each of these songs are extremely powerful and full of feeling. I hope that you will enjoy them as much as I have. I know as a guy you may not want to admit it that you like love songs, but at least give them a chance or check out some of his other songs. He covers whimsical fun topics, family, and military life as well. John Michael Montgomery is an amazing musician that changed the 90’s and my generation needs to remember!

My Summer at KOKE FM

This past summer, I had the amazing opportunity to intern at the radio station KOKE FM. For those of you who have never heard of the station, its a country alternative station – meaning they play every type of country from classic to outlaw to current. Not only did I learn a lot of rewarding career experience from the internship, but I also learned so much more about country music in general. For example, I had never heard of Chris Stapleton, knew the significance of Merle Haggard, or knew people still appreciated Willie Nelson’s music before this summer.

I interned for the 6am morning show, meaning I had to get up at 4am to make it to work by 5am every weekday morning – yes I went to work when most people were coming home from the bars. My boss was the man who owned the station and on-air talent Bob Cole. Bob was actually inducted in the Country Music On-Air Personality Hall of Fame in 2003, so my boss was pretty awesome. I actually really came to enjoy the early mornings because my job was fairly simple and everyday was something different. One day the guys bought 10 different vanilla ice cream brands to see which ones could [temporarily] replace Blue Bell. Random country singers would come on the show. Some days the guys even let us interns talk on-air.

There was one day in particular that I will probably remember most about working at the station. One day I was logging the show like I always do, and a short, older man with the whitest hair and tattoos covering his arms walked through the door. It took a long stare and at least 30 seconds of processing to realize that THE Dale Watson had just walked 3 feet away from me and flashed his Dale Watson smile while saying “good morning” in his deep Alabama accent. He just walked himself into the studio with Bob like he had been there a thousand times before. And there I was fangirling so hard when my other boss, Eric Raines, told me that Bob wanted to see me. As I pulled myself together, I walked into the studio and Bob introduced me to THE Dale Watson. And THE Dale Watson shook MY hand as he repeated my name, and I swear my heart stopped for a solid 5 seconds. Bob wanted me to go get Dale some coffee, and I happily did so while nervously overthinking how much cream and sugar THE Dale Watson wants in his coffee. As I gave the coffee to Mr. Watson, he thanked me and said my name AGAIN. So that is the day I met THE Dale Watson and fell in love with my job even more. I’m a dork.

All the guys I worked with knew so much and currently have standing relationships with so many different country artists. Honestly, working there makes me appreciate everything I’m learning in this class so much more because if I want to end up doing my own country radio show, learning the true history and meaning behind the genre is the best way to be successful at it. I can’t say enough how lucky I was to score that internship and be able to learn so much more about country music as well as producing a radio show. If you’re interested in radio and country music, I highly recommend interning at KOKE FM. But if you just like listening to country music, turn the radio to 98.5 every now and then to hear some of the best country music ever made deejayed by some of the coolest guys I’ve ever worked with.

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Filed under Blog Post 4, Classic Country, Live Music, New Country, Outlaw, Reflection

by Matt Wills | November 20, 2015 · 7:00 am

To See Sam Hunt’s Real Talent, You Just Have to Look “Between the Pines”

Sam Hunt has become known for his “metro-country” hits such as “Break Up in a Small Town,” “Ex to See” and, of course, “Take Your Time.” Before the release of his album, “Montevallo,” however, Sam Hunt’s style was far from the metro-country sounds of his radio hits. While Sam Hunt is undoubtedly an extremely talented artist, he is often criticized for not being “truly country.” His radio giant “Take Your Time” may lack the traditional characteristics of country music, but his acoustic mixtape (which has recently been released on iTunes and Spotify) reveals a very different side of Hunt. There is quite a variety of songs on Hunt’s mixtape, Between the Pines, from the acoustic first-versions of hits such as “Ex to See” and “Raised on it” along with songs not polished by the Nashville machine and released on Montevallo. My personal favorite, I Met a Girl, is a masterfully written love song about a girl Hunt just met, and while it has yet to be released as a polished single, I have few doubts that it will eventually show up on the iTunes charts under Hunt’s name. Between the Pines is a completely different animal than the mainstream music Hunt has been releasing recently. All of the songs have been written by the artist, and vary in style as Hunt experimented with different sounds on the mixtape. From Vacation to Saturday Night, each song has its own character and its own style, the only constant being Hunt’s natural voice, instead of the altered version of his singing often seen on his mass-released tracks.

Before his career as a popular musician, Sam Hunt was a successful songwriter. Writing songs for artists such as Billy Currington, Keith Urban, Reba McEntire and Kenny Chesney, it is evident in Hunt’s mixtape just how strong his songwriting skills truly are. These skills really shine through in Between the Pines, and are much stronger than what is showcased on Montevallo. Yes, Take Your Time is a great song, with an excellent music video to go with it, but there is no comparison between the original, raw sounds of the tracks on Between the Pines compared to Montevallo and its cookie-cutter Nashville style. Sam Hunt’s real strengths lie in his songwriting abilities and his un-altered voice. Paired with just a guitar, it is easy for the listener to see how much talent Hunt possesses.

The Nashville music machine has been extremely successful at pumping out mainstream country artists who end up gaining incredible success, however, in the case of Sam Hunt, who has been a songwriter for some of the best, he really shines in an acoustic setting and when he is given room to experiment with and write his own music. I highly recommend that fans of Sam Hunt listen to Between the Pines, now that it has been recently released on Spotify and iTunes. Montevallo is a good album in its own right, but to really see another aspect of Hunt and what he can truly be as an artist, all it takes is a single listen of Between the Pines.

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by Sierra Smith | November 19, 2015 · 7:00 am

What Happened to Faith Hill?

Faith_Hill-CountryMusicRocks.net_ When you were young, who was your favorite country artist to listen to? Some may say Garth Brooks, George Strait, or Shania Twain (who were all popular during the 1990s), but ever since I was a child, I have enjoyed listening to Faith Hill and her pop style of country music. Usually my dad is the one who introduces me to different genres of music because of his passion for the music industry, but it was actually my mom who first introduced me to country music. She always used to put on Faith Hill, Sheryl Crow, or Shania Twain in the car wherever we would go. But lately, I haven’t heard much of Faith Hill, which saddens me because, at the time, she was my role model.

Faith Hill is known as one of the most successful country artists of all time having sold over 40 million records worldwide, with several number 1 hits throughout her entire career. Hill got started in the music industry quite early, performing at local churches and rodeos in Ridgeland, Mississippi. But by the age of 19 Hill had really found a passion for country music as she decided to drop out of school and move to Nashville to pursue her life long dream of becoming a famous country singer. There she debuted her first album Take Me as I Am, released in 1993, and her song “Wild One,” which soared to the top of Billboard’s charts for a month straight…This ultimately kick started Hill’s career.

By the time that Hill was becoming increasingly popular, she decided to come out with a second album in 1995 titled It Matters to Me. During this time of her career, she began touring and ended up meeting the famous country singer Tim McGraw, and the two have been married ever since.

At the turn of the century, Faith Hill became more interested in the mainstream, pop-oriented sound of country music. This is the period of time where most of my favorite Faith Hill songs come from, such as “This Kiss,” “Breathe,” and “The Way You Love Me,” simply because of the catchy music, the romantic lyrics, and the popularity of each song. “This Kiss” became an automatic country hit with more than 6 million copies of the album being sold.

“Breathe” debuted at the top of the Billboard Country and all genre charts in 1999 as well as on the Billboard Top 100 Chart in 2000.

Not to mention, “The Way You Love Me” charted in the top 10 in 2000 as well!

This was Hill’s big breakthrough as an artist as this album Breathe won her 3 Grammys for the Best Country Album, the Best Country Collaboration With Vocals, and the Best Country Female Vocal Performance, as well as an American Music Award for Favorite Country Album.

Since then, Faith Hill has created a name for herself as “the girl next door.” She gives off that sexy image, but yet is still inspiring to young girls like me who were listening to her number 1 hits at this time across all media platforms. Hill was also said to have influenced Taylor Swift as she was her “idol since [she] saw her on both VH1 and CMT…” gal-cmt-07-jpg

Faith Hill has always been one of my favorite country female artists because of her inspirational songs, and her positive presence in the spotlight. It’s a shame that she has stopped creating such catchy and fun music for her fans, but regardless, she will always be the one I remember when I think of my first experience with country music.

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Filed under Blog Post 4, Country Pop, Women

by Kayla Miracle | November 16, 2015 · 12:00 pm

The Low Down on Justin Timberlake

JT and New Artist of the Year Chris Stapleton break it down at the 2015 CMAs.

Ex-boy bander Justin Timberlake performed at this year’s CMAs and can now be heard on some country music radio stations. As a listener of all genres of music I think that this could actually be an interesting and achievable endeavor for Justin; however, I know that many of you (with little knowledge of JT) might be nervous about this. Never fear, your resident JT expert is here to save the day and fill you in on what you’ve missed throughout his career. Here is the low down on the “soul of Memphis” as Brad Paisley would say.

THE BEGINNING

Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Justin was raised a southern boy with a very distinct southern voice. The world was first introduced to Justin’s talent when he got a spot alongside, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Ryan Gosling and other star kids on The Mickey Mouse Club in 1993. On MMC, Justin got immense amounts of training in singing, dancing and acting (all of which he could already do very well). In 1995, Justin would go on to leave MMC at the age of 14 and later that year form superstar boy band *NSYNC.

***Side note: My favorite part of Justin’s career started this year (also happens to be the year I was born). And in just 3 years, I would be able to mutter the words “I love Justin” while I was toddler dancing around watching him and the rest of the boys on my parents TV (back when MTV played music videos 24/7). ***

THE BOY BAND

LOS ANGELES, CA - AUGUST 1999: *NSYNC, (clockwise L) Chris Kirkpatrick, JC Chasez, Joey Fatone, Lance Bass and Justin Timberlake sit for a portrait in Los Angeles 1999. (Photo by Bob Berg/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Chris Kirkpatrick;Justin Timberlake;Joey Fatone;Lance Bass JC Chasez

*NSYNC: Justin with the curly platinum-blond hair on the right, then Lance, Joey, JC and Chris on the left.

*NSYNC: the boy band to end all boy bands. Justin, Joey, JC, Lance and Chris took on the world from ’95 to ’02. Although Justin had previously been on a TV show, which he gained recognition from, he was thrust into the spotlight when he became the non-official lead singer of this group of talented guys. *NSYNC really created a name for Justin in the pop music scene. The Grammy-nominated group reigned victorious in pop music while attracting screaming girls from all over the world.

THE SOLO CAREER

In 2002 hearts broke everywhere at the dismemberment of *NSYNC; however, Justin quickly arose from the ashes of boy-bands-who-were and started producing solo albums and acting in major Hollywood films. He has won more awards as a solo artist, including nine Grammy’s, than with his boy band. As his emergence as a solo artist prevailed, he proved that he was not only a pop artist but also could pull some R&B and soulful vibes, as well. This southern boy has proved himself in more areas than many hopeful singers and actors can think of in a lifetime.

The early 2000s power couple, Britney and Justin. (And look at that cowboy hat… Ready for country music, am I right?)

THE IMAGE

Justin is a man of few flaws (in my eyes) which comes from his pretty squeaky clean image. His portrayal in the media from his *NSYNC days was the cute, blond, curly headed boy dating Britney Spears and making girls cry as he walked by. He was perfect. Today his image remains the same. His very public friendship with Jimmy Fallon makes him funny, his recent marriage to Jessica Biel makes him desirable but unattainable and his overall career in music, movies and TV makes him well rounded and an admirable celebrity.

THE COUNTRY CAREER

During the 2015 CMAs, Justin took the stage with New Artist of the Year winner Chris Stapleton to take on Stapleton’s “Tennessee Whiskey” and later his own “Drink You Away” (a very country sounding song, if you ask me). Well, you don’t have to ask me because apparently I’m not the only one who thinks so. The CMA audience liked Justin’s performance so much that “Drink You Away,” a song released in 2013 shot up on the iTunes charts and is now getting airtime on country radio.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDda4Vj__aU

So what’s to come of Justin Timberlake in country music? No one can be sure but from what we know of him and his career and his sound, we can be sure that it won’t suck. Nope, not one bit. I think this southern Tennessee boy has covered everything except country, so honestly it’s time.

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Filed under Awards, Blog Post 4, Live Music, Movies and TV

Tagged as CMA, countrymusic, Justin Timberlake