Nineties country star Kevin Sharphas passed away at the age of 43 from complications relating to cancer.
Sharp had major success with his debut album, Measure of a Man, which spawned three big hits: “Nobody Knows”, a Tony Rich Project cover that spent four weeks at #1, and two additional top five follow-up singles, “If You Love Somebody” and “She’s Sure Taking it Well.”
Sharp’s inspirational biography made his early success especially impressive. He suffered from a rare form of bone cancer that was so dire that he received a Make-a-Wish grant that introduced him to record producer David Foster. After Sharp’s cancer went into remission, they remained in contact and Foster helped Sharp secure a contract with Asylum Records.
Sharp’s success came during a transitional time in country music, before one-hit wonders became far more common but while one-album wonders were becoming prominent. Like Lari White, Paul Brandt, Michael Peterson, Deana Carter, and Ricochet, Sharp seemed to have garnered a foothold at radio, scoring several hits off a breakthrough album.
But like those other artists, radio completely ignored the follow-up project, Love is, in 1998. Despite his first set going gold, he parted ways with his label after the second collection wasn’t a success. A few years earlier, and radio would’ve probably played more of his second album. A few years later, and the burgeoning independent label scene and digital distribution methods might have made it easier for his career to maintain momentum.
Still, he found great success on the road in the new century, this time as an inspirational speaker, and he released an independent album in 2005, appropriately titled, Make a Wish. By this time, he was a spokesperson for the organization that once introduced him to Foster. His 2004 memoir’s title, Tragedy is a Gift, speaks to the positivity that defined Sharp’s work and made him such a wonderful addition to the country music scene in the latter half of the nineties.
This year’s ACM Awards were mediocre and broverwhemingly male-centric, despite women winning most of the major awards. As with last fall’s CMA show, the best moment was the final one, when George Strait won Entertainer of the Year.
Here’s a rundown of all the major winners:
Entertainer of the Year
Luke Bryan
Miranda Lambert
Blake Shelton
George Strait
Taylor Swift
George Strait winning at the ACMs this year was even more surprising than at the CMAs last year, given how the fan-voted element of this award has favored stars with young fanbases in previous years. King George, indeed. – KJC
While it’s disheartening to see Strait’s mainstream support dwindling, it’s great to see the fans come through for King George. – BF
Even if Strait did unintentionally but hilariously leave Miranda Lambert hanging on her attempted hi-five, it was nice to see the genuine support for Strait’s win among the other artists in attendance. Too bad radio seems to have turned their back on him. - JK
Male Vocalist of the Year
Jason Aldean
Lee Brice
Luke Bryan
Blake Shelton
Keith Urban
A repeat win for Jason Aldean helped both hosts go home empty handed, despite the big years both Bryan and Shelton had. – KJC
Female Vocalist of the Year
Sheryl Crow
Miranda Lambert
Kacey Musgraves
Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood
Has there ever been a female vocalist that the ACMs loved more? Lambert’s fifth consecutive victory snaps Reba McEntire’s four in a row from 1985-1988, though she’d return to the winner’s circle three more times in the nineties. But even McEntire didn’t dominate the other categories the way Lambert’s been doing. – KJC
Lambert officially owns this category for a half-decade. Can we please get a shake-up in the Female Vocalist race next year? – BF
As I said on twitter: If she’s in the building, Trisha Yearwood is the Best Female Vocalist (unless Connie Smith is also in the building, in which case Trisha would be runner-up). End of discussion. – JK
Vocal Duo of the Year
Big & Rich
Dan + Shay
Florida Georgia Line
Love and Theft
Thompson Square
Florida Georgia Line had the biggest year – actually, the only big year – of all the nominees, making their victory the least surprising win of the night. – KJC
Congratulations to Florida Georgia Line on their win for (Only Significantly Successful) Vocal Duo of the Year. – BF
Vocal Group of the Year
Eli Young Band
Lady Antebellum
Little Big Town
The Band Perry
Zac Brown Band
The Band Perry won their first Vocal Group award, with all the votes in before a confetti backlash was able to sway the tally. – KJC
New Artist of the Year
Brett Eldredge
Justin Moore
Kip Moore
Two Moores and a Brett walk into an ACM ceremony… – KJC
Album of the Year
Blake Shelton, Based on a True Story…
Luke Bryan, Crash My Party
Florida Georgia Line, Here’s to the Good Times
Kacey Musgraves, Same Trailer Different Park
Tim McGraw, Two Lanes of Freedom
With the Grammys picking Musgraves and the CMAs picking Shelton, the ACMs broke the tie, picking the best album over the biggest. Good call. – KJC
Musgraves’ well-deserved victory restores some ACM credibility, though it is ironic that she was the only nominee whom the producers did not grant a performance slot. – BF
She won for Album of the Year and co-wrote the winner of Single of the Year, so we can’t necessarily blame the ACM voters for Musgraves’ lack of a performance: Clearly, the producers of the show had adopted an ethos of “Bros Before Women Who Make Good Music.” – JK
Single Record of the Year
Florida Georgia Line, “Cruise”
Tim McGraw featuring Taylor Swift and Keith Urban, “Highway Don’t Care”
Lee Brice, “I Drive Your Truck”
Miranda Lambert, “Mama’s Broken Heart”
Darius Rucker featuring Lady Antebellum, “Wagon Wheel”
True, a Song of the Year victory would’ve been sweeter. But Lambert’s single was still the best of the five, and gave her a third win in this category in four years. That feat was last accomplished by Willie Nelson, who picked up three in four years back in the eighties, for “Always on My Mind”, “To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before”, and “The Highwayman.” – KJC
The “Cruise” phenomenon promised to be hard to beat, but fortunately the voters chose to honor the best record over the biggest. – BF
I really wouldn’t have any reservations at all with Miranda having won this category three times for “Kerosene,” “Gunpowder and Lead,” and “The House That Built Me.” Hers was easily the best nominee of this line-up, though. – JK
Song of the Year
“Every Storm (Runs Out of Rain)” – Gary Allan, Hillary Lindsey, Matthew Warren
“I Drive Your Truck” – Jessi Alexander, Connie Harrington, Jimmy Yeary
“Mine Would Be You” – Jessi Alexander, Connie Harrington, Deric Ruttan
“Wagon Wheel” – Bob Dylan, Ketch Secor
With Grammy winner “Merry Go ‘Round” not in the running, the ACM chose to honor last fall’s CMA winner, “I Drive Your Truck.” – KJC
Props to Lee Brice for letting the songwriters have the spotlight for this win. Considering the Song of the Year award purports to honor the year’s best songwriting, it’s been disconcerting that recent years have seen the ACMs shifting the focus from the songwriters to the artists. – BF
Of note: Women won for Album of the Year, Single of the Year, and were two of the three co-writers of the Song of the Year. Yet the genre’s regressive gender politics are as problematic right now as at any point in recent memory. When will we reach a true tipping point with this? – JK
Video of the Year
The Band Perry, “Better Dig Two”
Kacey Musgraves, “Blowin’ Smoke”
Tim McGraw featuring Taylor Swift and Keith Urban, “Highway Don’t Care”
Lee Brice, “I Drive Your Truck”
Miranda Lambert, “Mama’s Broken Heart”
Carrie Underwood, “Two Black Cadillacs”
The high-octane collaboration between these three superstars earned several nominations, but their only win came in this category. – KJC
Vocal Event of the Year
Blake Shelton featuring Pistol Annies and Friends, “Boys ‘Round Here”
Florida Georgia Line featuring Nelly, “Cruise” (Remix)
Tim McGraw featuring Taylor Swift and Keith Urban, “Highway Don’t Care”
Darius Rucker featuring Lady Antebellum, “Wagon Wheel”
Keith Urban and Miranda Lambert, “We Were Us”
Betting against Miranda Lambert at the ACM Awards is starting to look like a fool’s wager. This is her first win in this category, and with the other awards she won last night, her total ACM count is now at fifteen. – KJC
Trite an uninspired, “Play it Again” is a Luke Bryan record without any of the aw-shucks earnestness that can make even his mediocre songs somewhat enjoyable.
Not much more to say than that, other than “songs about songs” are one of my favorite categories of songs, but this isn’t one of the better ones. There are a lot of great ones, but that’s another post.
Have we reached the point yet where a solid George Strait single should bring on waves of deep gratitude?
He’s been so good for so long that it’s easy to take him for granted. Maybe it’s radio’s sudden unwillingness to play him in heavy rotation, or the bittersweet sadness brought on by his farewell tour. But I’ve never been more aware that the music will eventually stop coming from him.
“I Got a Car” isn’t anything revolutionary or Single of the Year worthy. It’s just a good song elevated by a master storyteller who can make the most pedestrian conversation sound interesting. There’s so much back story in his voice, still strong but weathered by time, that adds layers of meaning here. This is a potential romance between two older people who are trying to start over again, and stumble upon a chance at real love and starting a family.
It wouldn’t sound like that if even the best of the new singers were singing it. Not because they aren’t good. They just haven’t lived enough yet. Maybe twenty years from now, somebody else will write about how much more interesting a song sounds because they’re singing it instead of whoever the new kid on the block is then.
I hope we’ll get a few more good ones from this guy before he’s gone.
Have you heard about the Miranda Lambert third single rule?
It goes like this. The first single will be alright, the second will be better, but you won’t get a great one until the third time around.
“Me and Charlie Talking”, then “Bring Me Down”, then “Kerosene.”
“Crazy Ex-Girlfriend”, then “Famous in a Small Town”, then “Gunpowder and Lead.”
“Dead Flowers”, then “White Liar”, then “The House that Built Me.”
“Baggage Claim”, then “Over You”, then “Fastest Girl in Town”, then “Mama’s Broken Heart.”
Yeah, it took until the fourth single the last time around. Still, I’m optimistic that like so many times before, lead single “Automatic” won’t be the best thing waiting on an upcoming Miranda Lambert album.
The song starts off promising, with a lovely personal memory about taping songs off the radio because you couldn’t afford to buy them yet. But the argument that other technological advances have made us less appreciative and more emotionally hollow doesn’t ring true.
Paying at the pump is better than waiting in line. GPS beats Rand McAnally. Cell phones are better than pay phones. And anyone who is reminiscing about manually rolling down car windows wouldn’t be so sentimental if we took their power windows away.
I’m all for nostalgia when done right, but even when it’s great, like on Tim McGraw’s “Back When”, the focus isn’t so much on yesterday’s technology as it is on yesterday’s time spent together with others. What “Automatic” misses is that it’s not about technology; it’s about time.
Everybody reaches an age where they wonder where the time went, that it seemed we had so much more time when we were younger. Truth is, the adults were just as busy back then. We just didn’t notice it because we had all of the time in the world.
Written by Nicolle Gallyon, Natalie Hemby, and Miranda Lambert
A cool sounding record that is ultimately undermined by a juvenile delivery.
As is often the case with the Band Perry, the arrangement is interesting. This is one of their more distinctive records in that sense, with enough changes in mood and sonics to give you aural whiplash.
But the vocal is so childish that it makes “Picture to Burn” sound like restrained maturity. They’ve got the vocal chops, and they’ve got the creativity, but they don’t seem to be able to balance the two very well. So yes, it’s interesting. But it’s not very enjoyable to listen to.
Written by Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne, and Matt Ramsey
The mind-numbingly dull lyric has nothing new to offer, with details that sound more like a pitch for an Axe commercial than an actual documentation of a realistic human experience. The band also phones it in, with nothing more distinctive than a Karaoke backing track.
But Rhett sells it anyway. It’s nice to hear a guy who can actually sing being allowed to do so, without any production tricks or clumsy attempts at spoken word. Sincerity is always a plus in my book, and “Get Me Some of That” is better than similar records because Rhett sounds engaged, not detached.
I don’t really want to listen to it again, but if I had to pick one brocountry album to hear all the way through, I think Rhett’s might be the one that’s the least likely to be painful.
Written by Rhett Akins, Michael Carter, and Cole Swindell
A surprisingly philosophical take on the “drinking in the country with a girl” theme that is apparently the only thing that new male artists are allowed to sing about.
I’m seriously thinking that it’s a contractual obligation now, along with the radio tours and the publishing partnerships. Frankie Ballard’s “Helluva Life” is most interesting when he’s singing about what he’s thinking about while he’s doing the only things that guys his age are singing about. There’s a potentially compelling voice that’s trying to shine through, one that is wondering more about tomorrow than where the party is tonight.
The conversational vocal style and tasteful arrangement create a nice groove, a sound that I could really get into if Ballard applies it to more mature material.
Written by Rodney Clawson, Josh Kear, and Chris Tompkins
Any time a country single not only reminds you of Rebecca Black’s “Friday”, but also falls short of it in charm and vocal delivery, something has gone horribly wrong.
I really am starting to run out of adjectives and assorted observations. This has a tired theme coupled with the dreaded vocoder effect. You’ve heard it all before, just like you’ve read my thoughts on it all before.
I will say that if the verses were sung instead of country rapped, a bit more like he does on the chorus, the whole thing might’ve been more listenable. As is, this record is kind of painful to listen to, like the dull headache you get from a long and irritating day in musical form.
It’s not good, y’all. It’s just not good.
Written by Derek George, Lance Miller, Brad Warren, and Brett Warren
Unless the Dixie Chicks suddenly decide to put out some new music, Nickel Creek just nailed down the title for most exciting reunion of the year. In February.
The progressive bluegrass sound that Nickel Creek pioneered more than a decade ago has surfaced all over mainstream music in recent years, with everyone from Mumford & Sons to the Civil Wars walking through the doors they flew open with their innovative musicianship. So the coolest thing about “Destination” is that they’re not picking up where they left off. Rather, this is what one could imagine Nickel Creek doing once everybody else caught up to what they used to be doing: moving on, and pushing forward with fresh new sounds.
“Destination” is the most alive record I’ve heard so far this year. There’s a rush of energy that was always present in their live act, as opposed to their more measured sound on record. Enjoy it now. You’re going to be sick of hearing records that sound like this by artists not quite as good for the next few years, where the songwriting won’t be as sharp, the harmonies won’t be as haunting, and the mandolin won’t be as proudly prominent.
Nineties country star Kevin Sharp has passed away at the age of 43 from complications relating to cancer.
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