Countrypolitan crooner
Country Music History – Essential Releases of 1960, Part I
Posts By: Steve Crawford
Country Music History – Essential Recordings of 1959, Part II
cattle driving number
Country Music History – Essential Recordings of 1959, Part I
Satan Is Real
Country Music History – Essential Recordings of 1958, Part II
Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. Conway Twitty
Country Music History – Essential Recordings of 1958, Part I
Entries from George Jones, Ray Price, and Johnny Cash
Country Music History – Essential Recordings of 1957, Part II
#12 pop hit/#2 country single.
Country Music History – Essential Recordings of 1957, Part I
The Everly Brothers first hit
Country Music History – Essential Records of 1956, Part II
Presley’s third #1 country hit of the year
Country Music History – Essential Recordings of 1955
World meet Cash And Jones
Country Music History – Essential Recordings of 1953
death, alcoholism, and Slim Whitman
Country Music History – Essential Recordings of 1952, Part II
Hank, Hank, Hank, and Hank
Country Music History – Essential Recordings of 1952, Part I
“She was my hero. If I had never heard of Kitty Wells, I don’t think I would have been a singer myself.”
Country Music History – Essential Recordings of 1951, Part II
Ernie penned this ode to his own inadequacy
Country Music History – Essential Recordings of 1950, Part II
His confidence and enthusiasm as a singer are at his peak.
Country Music History – Essential Recordings of 1950, Part I
Lefty’s first single and his signature tune
Country Music History – Essential Recordings from 1949
Hank Williams skyrocketed to stardom in 1949
Country Music History – Essential Recordings from 1947 and 1948
World War II and his own battles with the bottle delayed his success
Country Music History – Essential Recordings from 1946
“The Cow Cow Girl.”
Country Music History – Essential Recordings from 1943 to 1945
There was a reduced availability of shellac
Country Music History – Essential Recordings from 1941 to 1942
Many of these songs were written for movies
Country Music History – Essential Recordings from 1939 to 1940
the first gay hillbilly song
Country Music History – Essential Recordings from 1937 to 1938
Business won’t pick up appreciably until after WWII
Country Music History – Essential Recordings from 1936
A Western swing standard
Country Music History – The Essential Music of 1935
In other news…
Country Music History – Essential Recordings from 1934
Another Jimmie Rodgers imitation
Country Music History – Essential Recordings from 1931 to 1933
A talent void
Country Music History – Essential Songs from 1930
When dollars are tight, you go with the safe bet
The 20 Greatest Country Songs from the 1920s, Part 2
Rodgers merging Delta blues into the country tradition
The 20 Greatest Country Songs from the 1920s, Part I
A mixture of jazz, blues, and Southern Appalachian fiddle
25 Essential Songs from Waylon Jennings
He’s a major figure in the history of country music who deserves more respect
Steve Crawford’s Top 25 Songs of 2016 (So Far)
Music about loss of dignity, loss of innocence, and loss of loved ones
Bun E. Carlos’ “Greetings from Bunezuela!” Reviewed
More like a labor of love than a vanity project
Oldies But Goldies: Billy Joe Shaver Live In 2013
Shot a man in Waco, just to watch him bleed.
Billy Joe Shaver – The Wacko from Waco
He gave me a warm smile and did not shoot me
Robbie Fulks, The Live Oak, Fort Worth, Texas, Saturday, June 4th, 2016, Reviewed
Rhyming “rose petals” with “death metal.”
Together Through Life: A Personal Journey with the Music of Bob Dylan by Chris Morris – Book Review
Morris takes the reader on a personal journey
“Adrian Street,” by Jon Langford & Men of Gwent Reviewed
No speculation on what Gary Glitter might do
Journey, Dallas, Texas, Gexa Energy Pavilion, May 20th, 2016 – Reviewed
Worst band ever
Ernest Tubb – Remembering The Texas Troubadour
The star power of Tubb most likely brought more attention to the Opry than the program did for the singer
Deeper In – Another Look at The Drive-By Truckers
They have a deeply dedicated and passionate fanbase
25 Essential Songs by the Drive-By Truckers
They have aggressively staked their claim to a vivid Southern gothic landscap
Faron Young – The Singing Sheriff Remembered
He lived fast, loved hard, and while he didn’t die young, he died on Faron Young’s terms.
Prince Remembered – I Think I Wanna Dance
He made people laugh, dance, and think at the same time
Where’s My Corn Dogs? The Old 97’s County Fair, Dallas, Texas, April 16, 2016, Reviewed
More Songs About Whiskey And Heartbreak
101 Reasons to Love Merle Haggard, Part Four
He lived life on his own terms and we are all much richer as a result of his idiosyncratic journey.
101 Reasons to Love Merle Haggard, Part Three
He went from a legitimate to a fading superstar
101 Reasons to Love Merle Haggard, Part II
They display his ability to simultaneously be a historian, traditionalist, and, at the time, a major country music superstar.
101 Reasons to Love Merle Haggard, Part One
Universally respected for his talent, his honesty, and his steadfast underdog empathy
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, America Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas, April 5th, 2016 – Reviewed
I literally wept
Robbie Fulks’ “Upland Stories” Reviewed
As good as people pretended the last Jason Isbell album was.
