The Best Singles of 1993, Part Two: #30-#21
Our Best Singles of 1993 list continues with a collection of #1 hits, breakthrough hits, and should’ve been hits. Kicking things off is the debut […]
Clint Black
The Best Singles of 1993, Part One: #40-#31
How strong a year for country music was 1993? Well, if our Best Albums list revealed how many great artists were overlooked, our Best Singles […]
Daily Top Five: Drinking Songs
Drinking is among the biggest themes in country music. What are your five favorite drinking songs? Here’s my list: John Anderson, “Straight Tequila Night” Merle […]
Daily Top Five: Train Songs
Suggested by longtime reader Erik North: What are your top five train songs? Here’s my list: Rosanne Cash, “Runaway Train” Pam Tillis, “Train Without a […]
Daily Top Five: Favorite Debut Albums
As we’re prepping our 1993 lists, there have been many debut albums in consideration. That year brought the first studio sets from big stars like […]
Album Review: Aaron Watson, The Underdog
Aaron Watson The Underdog The narrative surrounding Aaron Watson’s The Underdog makes it an album that is easy to root for: Buoyed by more than […]
Song Talk: Songs About Songs
Songs have such a big impact on our life experience that they sometimes inspire songs of their own. It’s a cool theme that I wish […]
CMA Awards: Entertainer of the Year (1967-2013)
Since its inception, the top honor an artist could be given at the Country Music Association awards is this one: Entertainer of the Year. Originally a revolving door of winners, the winner in early years was often not even nominated the following year. In 1981, Barbara Mandrell became the first artist to win the award twice. Alabama succeeded her with a three year run from 1982-1984. Fourteen years later, Garth Brooks became the first artist two win four times, a feat later matched by Kenny Chesney in 2008.
Here’s a look back at the award from the very beginning, along with some facts and feats about the category and its nominees.
1967
- Bill Anderson
- Eddy Arnold
- Merle Haggard
- Sonny James
- Buck Owens
One year after being inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, Eddy Arnold was named the very first Entertainer of the Year at the inaugural CMA awards in 1967. Don’t assume it was a sympathy vote. Arnold had three #1 hits in the twelve months leading up to the ceremony, as he was in the middle of his impressive mid-sixties comeback, a period best defined by the 1965 classic, “Make the World Go Away.” He remains the only member of the Hall of Fame to win this award after being inducted.
We Need to Have a Little Talk about Randy Travis
In a year that has already brought the deaths of immortal talents like George Jones, Slim Whitman, Patti Page, and Jack Greene, not to mention the untimely loss of Mindy McCready, it is understandable that the recent news regarding Randy Travis is having the country music fans collectively holding their breath with nervousness and dread.
There is something distinctly different about how I am processing the news about Randy Travis. The thought of losing him is inextricably linked with a feeling that we’d be losing an essential core of the country music that I fell in love with more than two decades ago. Now, I remember Randy Travis from when I was a child. What little kid wouldn’t be in love with a catchy song like “Forever and Ever, Amen”?
100 Greatest Men: #31. Randy Travis
100 Greatest Men: The Complete List
He’s widely hailed as the leader of the new traditionalist movement of the mid-eighties, but his impressive sales numbers made him something the genre had never seen before: a traditionalist superstar.