by | 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.

jmmToday 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!

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by | November 23, 2015 · 7:00 am

Giving Thanks: Top 5 Country Songs about Thanksgiving

As we gear into the holiday season, it is important for us to think about our blessings and giving thanks to our friends in family. Most people value the food and parties as the most important part of the holidays, but we should take a step back and focus on what really matters, our friends and family. Now, country music discusses many topics such as drinking, tailgating, heartache, and love but what does it have to say about being thankful, here is a countdown of what I believe to be the top 5 country songs about Thanksgiving.

5. Pat Green, “Lucky” (2004)

Pat Green hopes that we win a million dollars or date a supermodel, but he also gives us the story of a regular guy. He says that the biggest victory in life fall  “beneath this red, white and big blue sky/With your job, your car, your family, your friends/The love of a girl that you know will never end.” That is what we should truly be thankful for and what aspects of life we are lucky to have.

4. Willie Nelson, “I’m Alive” (2008)

Willie Nelson sings, “As for me, I’d like to thank my lucky stars / That I’m alive and well,” He wants us to focus on the most important and little things in life that most people take for granted. Being alive and well is something we should be very thankful for, and this hit by Willie Nelson reminds us of this.

3. Blake Shelton, “God Gave Me You” (2011)

At first listen, this song sounds like it is merely a love song, but digging deeper this song is more than a story of a hopeless romantic. The song can be applied to any important person in our life. It is a song to show us that we are never alone. It is ironic that this song, for Shelton, is about his ex-wife Miranda Lambert. I wonder if he now applies this song for new girlfriend and fellow Voice coach, Gwen Stefani. Either way, this song reminds us if what were truly thankful for, friends and family.

2. Travis Tritt, “It’s a Great Day to be Alive” (2000)

“And it’s a great day to be alive / I know the sun’s still shinin’ when I close my eyes / There’s some hard times in the neighborhood / But why can’t everyday be just this good.” The chorus of this song reminds us to be thankful for everyday. Tritt also tells us that even when we are having hard days to take a step back and look at all that we have to be thankful for.

1. Martina McBride, “Blessed” (2000)

This CMA nominated hit by Martina McBride is the #1 song about Thanksgiving because she explains the little things of life we are blessed to have. The chorus states that, “At the end of every day / I have been blessed / With so much more than I deserve / To be here with the ones that love me / To love them so much it hurts / I have been blessed.” This song discusses our blessings in a humble manner and reminds us to thank God for the gifts we have been given that are “so much more than I deserve.” Martina McBride truly encompasses all aspects of Thanksgiving in this beautifully written song.

Before you dive face first in the turkey, think about what you are thankful for. Hopefully this list gets you into the Holiday spirit and makes you realize how blessed we are. Happy Thanksgiving!

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Filed under Lists, Reflection, Song Analysis

by | November 22, 2015 · 7:00 am

My Summer at KOKE FM

KokeFMThis 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.

IMG_1014There 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.

IMG_0910All 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 | November 21, 2015 · 7:00 am

From Check List Songs to Bro-Country

There has been a lot of criticism in the past few years regarding “bro-country.” There are many offenders out there, from Luke Bryan to Florida Georgia Line, but it has a history that goes beyond these modern day artists. It has evolved into something that country music fans and non-fans love to hate on.

This type of song used to be called a checklist or laundry list song. Basically the premise was that writers had a list of “country-isms” (think girls, trucks, beer, the south, dirt roads, etc.) that were supposed to be included in each song in order for it to be successful. It wasn’t until 2013 when Jody Rosen published an article in New York magazine that the official name changed to bro-country. This music has been around for awhile, but seems to have escalated in the past few years with tattoos and hip shaking.

Even though David Allan Coe is far from bro, his song in 1977 called “If That Ain’t Country” can be argued to have been “the first true laundry list country song that started the whole trend.” But unlike modern day check list songs,  his is actually autobiographical. Fast forward 36 years to 2013 and it seems that the trend exploded so that every country song sounded the same. People were questioning what country music had turned into so they made it worse by listing things they considered to be country.

This brings us to present day 2015 where people have now started to make fun of all these bro country songs. Maddie and Tae addressed the role of woman with their song “Girl in a Country Song” and now Bob Odenkirk and David Cross have gone all out in their parody called “All I Need.” This is the ultimate check list song that is quite entertaining and on point. They are just simple guys who are fine with “a case of miller or bud…rack of ribs, and a pack of chew.” The music video features some stereotypical scenes and the lady writing it all down on her grocery list tops it off. Take a look.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n–DbvvwYTo

With the Billy Ray Cyrus hair, dog tags, and creepy mustache, this duo hits on all of the criticisms of bro-country. They even threw in a little rapping to spice it up. You can check out their comedy show on Netflix for some more entertainment from these two.

Personally, I enjoy a little party song every once in a while, but when it starts to change the sound and views of country music I draw the line. Maybe some of these artists need to rethink their choice of genre and make the transition to pop. Some would go as far to say that this is the end of an era. Alan Jackson said that “real roots-y traditional stuff, may be gone…There’s some good music, good songwriting and good artists out there, but there’s really no country stuff left.” It is sad to think that is true, but I am still keeping hope considering Chris Stapleton has entered into the mix.

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by | 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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