Category Archives: Lists

by | December 1, 2014 · 11:41 pm

Merle Haggard for the Win

merle-haggard_capitol-edit-dlA couple of weeks ago, I wrote this post about the list CMT has been releasing of the 40 artists who have been the most influential to country music. At that time, the organization had just announced its #4 choice, Dolly Parton. I predicted that the final three would be Merle Haggard, Elvis Presley, and Hank Williams.

Turns out, I was right about the names but wrong about the order. In the end, it was Elvis at #3, Hank Williams at #2, and Merle Haggard at #1. I am surprised that Hank wasn’t the final list-topper, but I will chalk it up to the fact that he’s been dead for 60 years. It’s hard to get too caught up in exact placements on lists like this one because they’re so crowded with talent and importance.

Also, I like Haggard. He’s been performing consistently for half a century, and in that time he’s helped country music both progress and stay true to its roots. On one hand, he is a true country music fan, recording songs by up-and-coming writers like Iris Dement (back in the ’90s). On the other hand, he also respects his elders, paying tribute to greats such as Jimmie Rodgers and Bob Wills. (You can download the Rodgers album here, for free).

We haven’t talked about him much in class, but in case you’re interested, here are two of my favorite Haggard songs:

“Mama Tried” topped the country charts in 1968 and is probably Haggard’s signature song. Don’t ask me why he’s performing on a carousel in this video.

Another chart-topper, “If We Make It Through December” (1974) was the song that made me a Haggard fan. Technically, it’s a Christmas song, but I think the story about a dad having to explain to his daughter why he can’t afford to give her a fancy holiday is worth listening to year-round.

Well, what do you think about CMT’s final list? Who was snubbed?

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Filed under Bakersfield Sound, Classic Country, Lists, Song Analysis

by | November 21, 2014 · 8:00 am

The Country Side of American Idol

UnknownWhether it was Sanjaya’s bizarre Mohawk, Simon Cowell’s cranky comments or Ryan Seacrest’s charming persona, American Idol was by far my favorite show to watch with my family as a child. The peak of its popularity was while I was in elementary school, captivating its viewers by showing the journey of each contestant from the moment they tried out, all the way until they made it to the big stage in Los Angeles. What most people might not realize is how much American Idol has contributed to the country music industry. Almost every season of American Idol produced a country singer, whether they were first place or not. Lets now go through a few contestants who have added to the success of country over the past ten years.

Unknown-1 Carrie Underwood:

Carrie was the winning contestant in Season four, and is no question the most famous artist that has ever come out of American Idol. She’s one of the hottest artists in country right now holding number 26 on iTunes Top Purchased Songs for her single “Something in the Water” and has won several awards for her work. Only some of her awards consist of six Grammy’s, sixteen Billboard Music Awards, and eleven Academy of Country Music Awards. Not only does her record breaking music success have girls all over aspire to be like her, but also her famously toned legs, attractive NHL player husband and the fact that she is insanely gorgeous contribute to that. Her powerful voice captivated millions of music listeners when she won in Season four, and has consistently been loved ever since.

Unknown-3 Scotty McCreery:

As the winner of Season ten, Scotty McCreery stole the hearts of viewers all over at a mere age of seventeen. This North Carolina native shockingly has one of the deepest voices I have ever heard that is undoubtedly country. His most famous songs that are out right now are “Feelin’ It” and “See You Tonight”. After seeing him live at the Orange County fair, I loved him way more than I ever thought that I would. He was such an incredible performer, and so down to earth. He was just so interactive with the audience and you could tell that he was my age by the way that he was acting. After the concert I followed him on Instagram and saw that his posts were so normal that you wouldn’t be able to tell that he was famous just by viewing his profile. To this day he is one of my favorite performers because of his amazing personality and his catchy music.

UnknownKellie Pickler:

Even though she wasn’t the winner of the show, she still had some success in country. Her high, twangy voice and thick country accent caused country fans to be attracted to her. She has come out with four albums since she has been eliminated on the show, and is arguably more successful than the actual winner of her season, Taylor Hicks. Many people compared her to Carrie Underwood while she was going through the show, however she put forth a lot of effort to stand out as an original artist. My personal favorite single of hers is “Best Days of Your Life” because of its catchy tune and lyrics that make you want to sing along.

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Filed under Lists, Movies and TV

by | November 18, 2014 · 10:16 pm

CMT’s 40 Most Influential Artists

CMT_logoThe folks at CMT are releasing the names in their list of country music’s 40 most influential artists of all time. So far, the list includes some obvious names, with George Strait at #5, Johnny Cash at #8, and George Jones at #10. Surprisingly, it also includes a number of performers who are not country themselves, but who have nevertheless influenced the genre in notable ways, including Michael Jackson (#12), The Beatles (#14), and Led Zeppelin (#32).

Yesterday, the site revealed its entry for #4 — Dolly Parton. (Great choice.) Now, the question is, what artists will claim the top 3 spots?

It’s not an easy question to answer. There are a lot of classic country performers whose names haven’t appeared yet–Jimmie Rodgers, the Carter Family, Gene Autry, Roy Acuff, Bill Monroe, Ernest Tubb, Chet Atkins, Lefty Frizzell, Webb Pierce, Kitty Wells, Marty Robbins, Waylon Jennings, and Tammy Wynette to name just a few. Despite Dolly’s high ranking, the list is shy on female performers, and Wells–the first woman to truly crack country music’s “men’s club” wide open–would be a deserving contender. Given the list’s overall modern bias, I guess it’s also possible that Shania Twain, the Dixie Chicks, or even Blake Shelton could find a place in the top 3, but I doubt it.

Here are my off-the-cuff predictions for the last names to be revealed:

Stagecoach: California's Country Music Festival 2010 - Day 1#3. Merle Haggard. Like Dolly, Merle’s been on the scene since the 1960s and has become one of the genre’s most respected elder statesmen. I think #3 is a little high (not a diss — I think he’s great), but it’s hard to imagine CMT leaving Bakersfield’s favorite ex-convict hanging.

Elvis-Presley#2. Elvis Presley. Like I mentioned, the list includes several artists who are more associated with rock/pop than country. Realistically, Elvis probably deserves the #1 spot, as country music has never quite recovered from “Heartbreak Hotel,” which topped all the charts in 1956. But he just can’t win this fight because…

bestcountry-hanksplash#1. Hank Williams. More than 60 years after his death, ole Hank remains one of country music’s favorite inspirations and most recognizable icons. It will be a complete and utter rebellion if any other artist claims the top spot.

So there you have it. It’s not clear when #3 and #2 will be announced, but #1 will be revealed on December 1. What performers do you think might make the final 3? Who are you surprised to see on (or omitted from) this list?

(P.S. Yes, you’ll get credit for commenting on my post. I want love, too, y’all.)

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Filed under Awards, Lists

by | November 7, 2014 · 8:00 am

Country Dance Halls

I hardly think anyone refers to country dance clubs as “dance halls”anymore, but in case anyone was wondering where some of the fun places are, I thought I would give a list of some of my favorite places to go two-stepping.

  1. Midnight Rodeo – Okay, okay I know I mentioned this in my last post, but this place is my absolute favorite place to go country dancing. Thursdays here are college night and those are the nights that I usually go. To be more accurate I pretty much go to Midnight Rodeo 3 out of 4 Thursdays of the month. I also abbreviate the name of the place to just “Midnight” when I talk to people about it. I will usually ask someone “Hey, are you going to Midnight tonight?” and they usually know 381496_318099158210573_137971699556654_1172474_441156811_nwhat I am referring to. If you get there before 10 there is way more room to dance, but there is less people to dance with. It all depends on what you would rather enjoy. The entire night consists of some slow songs, a waltz song thrown in, then faster tempo songs, then 3 or 4 top 40 hits and then the cycle continues until 2 am. There are also pool tables for those who are dragged along and do not really want to dance. The live bands that play on Thursdays sometimes ruin the fun, but the bands on Friday are pretty awesome.
  2. Dallas Nightclub – Betcha did not think to throw that in there. I have only been on Wednesdays, but there is so much room to dance. This is considering that not a lot of people go to Dallas Nightclub as much as Midnight Rodeo. People usually have classes on Thursday so that may be a reason. They also play a lot more older hits and classic country than the newer country. They hardly play any waltz songs which disappoints me. However, they also throw in some top 40 hits like they do at Midnight. I also abbreviate the name of this place to just “Dallas”. I do not go as often as Midnight, but if there is a large group of friends that go then sure why not. One of my friends actually teaches country dance lessons on Saturdays in case anyone wanted to brush up on their skills.
  3. Rebels Honky Tonk (Rowdy’s) – So this place I have only been to a few times, but I enjoy it when I go with a group of friends. Yes, the floor is smaller than Midnight Rodeo, but there is a mechanical bull. I have not ridden it, but some of my guy friends have. The music they play is almost the same variety as Dallas Nightclub. There is something interesting about the “Footloose” line dance. They dance it different at Rebels than Midnight Rodeo. The song came and I got on the dance floor, but it looked as if I was doing it wrong. Technically there are no right or wrong versions of “Footloose”, some people just prefer to do it different ways than others. One of the downsides about Rebels is that most nights it is only 21 and over.
  4. Cowboys – The best thing about this country dance spot is that the dance floor is huge. College night is on Wednesdays because I mean no one would want it to conflict with Midnight Rodeo’s college night (especially me). I have only been a couple times, but from my experiences there are a few reasons why it is not my first or second choice. Yes, there is a huge dance floor. When the top 40 songs start to play, you either stay on the dance floor the whole time, or you watch from afar. That floor fills up super quickly. No way in, no way out. And you are actually allowed to take your drink on the dance floor (Midnight Rodeo strictly prohibits such a thing) for a good reason. Towards the end of the night there are so many bottles on the floor along with the substance that came from the bottles. I would suggest going on a Friday when they have live bands play because there are some pretty good ones that play there. 10361038_677764722260371_1040815024595110074_n

Of course there are others such as the Broken Spoke (more of an older crowd), Wild West (in cedar park), and Gruene Hall (in Gruene, TX). Those are a few places that I have not been to yet, but I do plan on going to very soon. I have been to Billy Bob’s in Arlington which was pretty cool. Country dance halls are some of my favorite places to go. I just love country music and dancing. I usually go dancing once a week because if not, my heart becomes sad.

Have any places you think I missed? Comment about them!

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Filed under Austin, Dancing, Lists, Texas

by | October 27, 2014 · 8:00 am

5 Reasons Why the Dixie Chicks Need to Have a Reunion Tour

I love the Dixie Chicks. They’re possibly my favorite band and what’s sad about this is even though they’re my favorite, I’ve never seen them live. I constantly check their website to see if they’ll ever tour again and every time I check is a disappointment. I need to see them live. For this reason, I have decided to make a list of five reasons why the Dixie Chicks need to have a reunion tour.

The cover of my all time favorite album Wide Open Spaces

The cover of my all time favorite album Wide Open Spaces

1. Their music is timeless
You know those songs that you hear on the radio over and over again and get so annoying that you can’t stand to listen to them? I don’t think a Dixie Chicks song could ever be one of those. I could listen to their songs one hundred times and still not get tired of them. I don’t know what it is about them, but their songs are catchy, meaningful, and, in my opinion, true country (but more on that later). Seeing the Dixie Chicks live would make these songs even more timeless for me because there’s just something different about hearing a song live and not just on recording. For some reason, I think hearing them live would make me want to listen to them even more.

 2. The Dixie Chicks are true country

Yes, there is some pop in many of their songs, but I still think the Dixie Chicks are true country. They use country instruments like the banjo, fiddle, and steel guitars. Their songs are about country living, love, and nostalgia. They also just have that country sound and twang to them that makes them so connectable. Country concerts are my favorite because, well country music is my favorite kind of music, and country concerts are just so much more fun. You can dance and sing and really connect to the artist in ways you can’t with pop artists.

The girls at one of their last concerts in 2003

The girls at one of their last concerts in 2003

 3. They are great performers

It is hard for bands and artists to sound just as good live as they do when recorded, but the Dixie Chicks are very good at this. Natalie Maines has such a cool and unique voice and it sounds just as amazing live as it does recorded. I can only say this based on the recordings of their live performances, but I’m going to go ahead and assume she truly does sound that amazing. The girls also love their music and love performing it for people and you can see this in any recordings of their live performances. I would love to be able to experience this talent and love for music in person, but I can only do that if they have a reunion tour.

4. They need a comeback

Ever since “the incident” in 2003 when Natalie Maines insulted President George W. Bush, the Dixie Chicks have really struggled to win back the approval of the huge fan base they had in the late 90s and early 2000s. A think a reunion tour will allow the girls to reintroduce themselves and get some of their fans back. I think that if the girls came out and performed their songs and made no statements on the past and simply played their music, people could look past “the incident” and remember why they love the Dixie Chicks. They make great music and I don’t think it is fair for them to not be able to make music because of one mistake they made.

An example of the negative reactions the girls got after "the incident"

An example of the negative reactions the girls got after “the incident”

5. I have never seen them perform live

I know this is selfish, but it’s probably the most important reason why I think the Dixie Chicks should have a reunion tour. The last time they performed in Texas, or even in the United States, was December of 2006. That was EIGHT years ago and I was only 12 years old. At this point in my life, I never really went to concerts and the Dixie Chicks weren’t a huge part of my life. So basically, I never really had the opportunity to see the Dixie chicks because they stopped touring in the United States before I ever really wanted to go see them. I am absolutely obsessed with them now so I think it’s only fair that they tour again so I can see them.

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Filed under Lists, Live Music, New Country, Texas