Tag Archives: Dottie West

by | March 12, 2012 · 5:29 pm

100 Greatest Men: #60. Don Gibson

100 Greatest Men: The Complete List

The writer of several timeless country standards, Don Gibson put down his pen often enough to maintain a remarkable, decades-long career as a singer and performer.

His childhood was fraught with adversity.  His railroad worker father died when he was just two years old, and his mother remarried a sharecropper.  Gibson loathed the farm life, but also school, which he dropped out of after the second grade.   Paralyzed with shyness and hindered by a speech impediment, his escapism was the music he heard on the radio.

As a teen, he learned guitar and modeled himself after other performers, paying the bills by hustling pool.   His growing instrumental talent blossomed into a band.  Formed in 1948, Sons of the Soil garnered enough attention to earn a spot on a popular radio show.  It was there that Gibson’s individual talent shone through.

A Mercury Records producer heard them and issued four sides for them, but the band split up in 1949.  After another stint in a band called the King Cotton Kinfolks,  Gibson pursued a solo career.   A deal with Columbia resulted in promising records, but no commercial success.  Gibson focused on his songwriting, and honing his craft earned him a publishing deal with Acuff-Rose.   He insisted in an accompanying recording contract, which he received from MGM Records.

After a long wait, the hits came fast.  Over the course of the next few years, he wrote and recorded songs that are now synonymous with country music.  “Sweet Dreams” was his first top ten hit, and later was immortalized by Patsy Cline.  “Oh Lonesome Me” and “I Can’t Stop Loving You” were a powerful two-sided hit on both the country and pop charts.  While the former became Gibson’s signature song, the latter is now considered a Ray Charles classic.  Meanwhile, “Just One Time” was a #2 hit two times.  Gibson took it near the top in 1960, and Connie Smith revived it in 1971.

The hits slowed in the sixties and seventies, but still remained constant.   He had a series of successful duets with Dottie West, most notably the #2 hit “Ring of Gold.” In 1972, he returned to #1 for the first time in fourteen years with “Woman (Sensuous Woman),” later covered by Mark Chesnutt.  He spent much of the seventies collaborating with Sue Thompson, charting eleven songs together from 1971 to 1976.

From the eighties up until his death in 2003, Gibson remained an Opry performer and elder statesman of the genre.  He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2003, a nice bookend to his Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame induction back in 1971.

Essential Singles:

  • Sweet Dreams, 1956
  • Oh Lonesome Me, 1958
  • I Can’t Stop Loving You, 1958
  • Sea of Heartbreak, 1961
  • Rings of Gold (with Dottie West), 1969
  • Woman (Sensuous Woman), 1972

Essential Albums:

  • Oh Lonesome Me, 1958
  • That Gibson Boy, 1959
  • I Wrote a Song…, 1963
  • Great Country Songs, 1966
  • Country Green, 1971

Next: #59. John Anderson

Previous: #61. Charlie Daniels

100 Greatest Men: The Complete List

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by | February 28, 2012 · 8:17 pm

100 Greatest Men: #67. Steve Wariner

100 Greatest Men: The Complete List

Many stars shone brighter before they quickly faded away. Steve Wariner stayed humble and relied on his talent, and he managed to outlast all of them.

He was born and raised in Indianapolis, and started out as a member of his dad’s backing band.  Though he enjoyed singing, his guitar meant just as much to him, and the dual talents caught the attention of Dottie West.   At age seventeen, he was hired to join her band.  Unlike most guitar players on the road, his prodigious talent was considered worthy enough to take into the studio, and he backed West on several records, including her smash hit “Country Sunshine.”

By 1976, he’d gained the attention of RCA, which would be the first of four major label deals over the next quarter century.  His first album didn’t make much of an impact, and RCA released several singles before one finally hit.  In 1980, he had his first top ten hit, “Your Memory.”   His second album was released in 1981, and the self-titled set received high critical acclaim.  It featured his first #1 single, “All Roads Lead  to You.”

After one more album with RCA, Wariner switched to MCA, where he would have his greatest success at radio.  Over the course of six albums and six years, Wariner racked up seventeen consecutive top ten hits, including eight #1 hits.  Wariner chose to leave MCA for upstart Arista in 1991, and the change was creatively reinvigorating.

Hie first set for his new label, I am Ready, hit stores in 1991, and it produced three top ten hits.  It quickly became the top-selling album of his career, and his first to be certified gold.  During his years at Arista, Wariner would release an instrumental album and win a Grammy for a collaboration with Mark O’Connor.  In 1997, he teamed with Anita Cochran on her debut album, and their collaboration “What If I Said” became his first #1 hit since the eighties.

Wariner guested on a Garth Brooks single, who coaxed Wariner into joining his label Capitol.  Wariner would have his greatest commercial success at this label, with two straight gold-selling albums.   His first single for Capitol, ‘Holes in the Floor of Heaven”, became his signature song.  When he won the CMA awards for Single and Song in 1998, he was greeted with standing ovations, as the genial performer finally received industry honors for his solo work.

He scored the last of his thirty-one top ten hits in 2000, reaching #5 with “Been There”, a duet with Clint Black.   Since then, he has gone on to release several independent albums to continued critical acclaim.  Wariner still tours, but keeps a higher profile in Nashville, particularly at the Grand Ole Opry, where he’s been a member since 1996.

Essential Singles:

  • All Roads Lead to You, 1981
  • Some Fools Never Learn, 1985
  • Life’s Highway, 1986
  • The Tips of My Fingers, 1991
  • What if I Said (with Anita Cochran), 1997
  • Holes in the Floor of Heaven, 1998

Essential Albums:

  • Steve Wariner, 1982
  • It’s a Crazy World, 1987
  • I am Ready, 1991
  • Burnin’ the Roadhouse Down, 1998
  • Steal Another Day, 2003

Next: #66. David Houston

Previous: #68. Mark Chesnutt

100 Greatest Men: The Complete List

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by | February 3, 2011 · 10:38 am

Album Review: Steve Wariner, Guitar Laboratory

Written by Paul W. Dennis of The 9513.

Steve Wariner
Guitar Laboratory


Chet Atkins had many disciples, not the least of whom was Steve Wariner. Steve was a major country star and chart presence from 1980-1994 with scattered success both before and after his peak years.

Steve grew up listening to his father’s record collection which included some Merle Travis and everything Chet Atkins recorded. After tours with Dottie West and Bob Luman, Steve signed with RCA as a recording artist and became a friend and student of Chet Atkins. Steve has won many awards and honors but the award of which he is most proud was being awarded the Certified Guitar Player designation by Chet (the only others were Tommy Emmanuel, Jerry Reed and John Knowles).

Guitar Laboratory is a sequel of sorts to his previous album, My Tribute To Chet Atkins, released in 2009 . This album is no stubborn copy or pastiche of Chet’s style but represents a tribute to the spirit of Chet Atkins, covering a wide range of styles and tempos. While I wouldn’t describe this album as a country album, it does contain some country (“Sugarfoot Rag”) as well as some jazz (“A Groove”), some rock (“Telekinesis”), some blues (“Crafty”), some folk/bluegrass (“Up A Red Hill”) and even some Hawai’ian (Waikiki ’79) On some songs such as “Crafty” and “Kentuckiana” Steve sounds very much like Chet; however , on other tracks, not quite so much.

Steve enlists several guest pickers on the album who acquit themselves admirably. Steve is joined on “Sugarfoot Rag” by legendary guitarist Leon Rhodes, a long-time Opry Band member and former member of Ernest Tubb’s Texas Troubadours. Paul Yandell, a long-time associate and musical compadre of Chet’s, joins in on “Pals” and Steve’s son Ryan Wariner shows his musical chops on the rocking “Sting Ray”. The review copy of the album did not include any notes so I am not sure of the identity of any background musicians such as the accordionist and violinist on “I Will Never Forget You (Je Ne T’oulbieri Jamais)” or the trumpeter on “Phyllis and Ramona”, but suffice it to say they are all excellent.

All songs on this album, except “Sugarfoot Rag” were written by Steve Wariner (“Sugarfoot Rag” of course was written by guitar legend Hank Garland). There’s something for everyone on this all instrumental collection, and while I generally prefer vocal albums, I’ve listened to this album five times through thus far, although I’ve played my two favorite tunes “Sugarfoot Rag” and “Up a Red Hill” far more often than that.

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by | March 28, 2010 · 5:37 pm

ACM Flashback: Album of the Year

The ACM Awards has traditionally been overshadowed by the CMA Awards, despite its longer existence. This is for several reasons.  First, the ACM originally existed to emphasize the West Coast country music scene, whereas the CMA Awards represented Nashville from the start.  The ACM has also been more commercially-oriented from the beginning, as the history of this category proves.  Eighteen of the last twenty winners in this ACM category are multi-platinum sellers, and the organization allowed greatest hits albums to compete for more than a decade.

Still, the ACM category has bragging rights of its own. Critically-acclaimed albums like Storms of Life, Trio, Killin’ Time and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend won at the ACMs but were overlooked by the CMAs.  Additionally, women have also been far more successful at this ceremony. Only five women have ever won the CMA Album trophy, and one of them was Sissy Spacek!  At the ACMs, women have dominated the category for the past three years, and the category has honored everyone from Loretta Lynn and Donna Fargo to K.T. Oslin and Shania Twain.

A special note about ACM flashbacks. Like the Grammys, the ACMs issue their award for a given year the following year, so the awards for 2009, for example, are given out in 2010.  For the purposes of the flashbacks, Country Universe notes the year the award is presented. While the ACM first presented awards in 1966, the Album category wasn’t introduced until 1968.

As with other flashbacks, we begin with a look at this year’s nominees:

2010

  • Lady Antebellum, Lady Antebellum
  • Miranda Lambert, Revolution
  • Brad Paisley, American Saturday Night
  • Carrie Underwood, Play On
  • Zac Brown Band, The Foundation

Three previous winners – Miranda Lambert, Brad Paisley, and Carrie Underwood – compete against the debut albums of two hot bands.  Lady Antebellum and Zac Brown Band each picked up a Grammy this year and are well represented on the rest of the ACM ballot.  This is a very competitive race. Even the sales-friendly nature of the ACMs doesn’t help much here, as four of these albums are platinum and Lambert’s just went gold.

2009

  • Jamey Johnson, That Lonesome Song
  • Montgomery Gentry, Back When I Knew It All
  • George Strait, Troubadour
  • Taylor Swift, Fearless
  • Carrie Underwood, Carnival Ride

Taylor Swift became the third consecutive female artist to win in this category, a feat that would’ve seemed unthinkable earlier in the middle part of the decade, when country radio all but exiled women from radio.

2008

  • Rodney Atkins, If You’re Going Through Hell
  • Kenny Chesney, Just Who I Am: Poets and Pirates
  • Miranda Lambert, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
  • Brad Paisley, 5th Gear
  • Taylor Swift, Taylor Swift

A visibly shocked Lambert accepted the trophy for her critically acclaimed sophomore set.  While it did go gold, it remains an anomaly among ACM album winners. You have to go all the way back to 1979 (Oak Ridge Boys) to find another ACM album winner that didn’t sell platinum or higher.

2007

  • Brooks & Dunn, Hillbilly Deluxe
  • Vince Gill, These Days
  • Rascal Flatts, Me and My Gang
  • George Strait, It Just Comes Natural
  • Carrie Underwood, Some Hearts

Carrie Underwood became the first solo female artist to win this award in eleven years with her 7 million-selling Some Hearts.

2006

  • Gary Allan, Tough All Over
  • Brad Paisley, Time Well Wasted
  • Rascal Flatts, Feels Like Today
  • Sugarland, Twice the Speed of Life
  • Lee Ann Womack, There’s More Where That Came From

A strikingly strong lineup, with the victory going to Brad Paisley. Due to differences in eligibility between the two shows, there are two CMA winners in this category. Not only did Paisley repeat his victory the following fall, Womack won the CMA the previous year.

2005

  • Kenny Chesney, When the Sun Goes Down
  • Sara Evans, Restless
  • Tim McGraw, Live Like You Were Dying
  • Keith Urban, Be Here
  • Gretchen Wilson, Here for the Party

Though he’s always been popular with the CMA and Grammy voters, Urban’s only Album award to date came courtesy of the ACMs. Oddly enough, they haven’t nominated him since.

2004

  • Brooks & Dunn, Red Dirt Road
  • Toby Keith, Shock’n Y’All
  • Martina McBride, Martina
  • Brad Paisley, Mud on the Tires
  • George Strait, Honkytonkville

On an evening where he won several major awards, Keith picked up his second Album of the Year trophy from the ACMs for an album that included the #1  hits “American Soldier”, “Whiskey Girl”,  and “I Love This Bar.”

2003

  • Kenny Chesney, No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems
  • Dixie Chicks, Home
  • Alan Jackson, Drive
  • Toby Keith, Unleashed
  • Trick Pony, On a Mission

If you think all of those 2009 nominations for Heidi Newfield were surprising, check out Trick Pony’s presence in this category among four albums that sold more than 4 million copies each.  Alan Jackson picked up his third trophy in this category for the album that included “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)” and “Drive (For Daddy Gene)”.

2002

  • Brooks & Dunn, Steers & Stripes
  • Toby Keith, Pull My Chain
  • Tim McGraw, Set This Circus Down
  • Soundtrack, O Brother, Where Art Thou?
  • Travis Tritt, Down the Road I Go

Big comeback albums for Brooks & Dunn and Travis Tritt were nominated, but it was no surprise to see the victory go to the landmark soundtrack that sold more than eight million copies in the end.

2001

  • Johnny Cash, American III: Solitary Man
  • Billy Gilman, One Voice
  • Toby Keith, How Do You Like Me Now?!
  • Brad Paisley, Who Needs Pictures
  • Lee Ann Womack, I Hope You Dance

Even Keith was a veteran in comparison to Gilman and Paisley, who were nominated with their debut albums, but the biggest surprise was the nomination of Cash for his third project with Rick Rubin. Even the CMA didn’t recognize those collaborations until the fourth volume and “Hurt.”

2000

  • Asleep at the Wheel, Ride With Bob
  • Dixie Chicks, Fly
  • Faith Hill, Breathe
  • George Jones, Cold Hard Truth
  • Tim McGraw, A Place in the Sun

An impressively eclectic lineup is unsurprisingly represented by the consensus choice Dixie Chicks, the one act that everybody used to agree on.

1999

  • Garth Brooks, Double Live
  • Dixie Chicks, Wide Open Spaces
  • Faith Hill, Faith
  • Jo Dee Messina, I’m Alright
  • George Strait, One Step at a Time

For the fourth time in the nineties, the trophy went to an artist’s breakthrough album.  After their shocking win at the Grammys a few weeks earlier, this Dixie Chicks victory wasn’t quite as surprising.

1998

  • Garth Brooks, Sevens
  • Patty Loveless, Long Stretch of Lonesome
  • Tim McGraw, Everywhere
  • George Strait, Carrying Your Love With Me
  • Shania Twain, Come On Over

Strait’s third victory in this category tied him with Alabama for most wins.  It was also his first album to top the overall Billboard 200, a feat he’s repeated with three additional albums.

1997

  • Brooks & Dunn, Borderline
  • Tracy Lawrence, Time Marches On
  • Patty Loveless, The Trouble With the Truth
  • LeAnn Rimes, Blue
  • George Strait, Blue Clear Sky

Strait’s victory came with an album that featured the #1 hits “Blue Clear Sky” and “Carried Away”, along with the rodeo-themed “I Can Still Make Cheyenne.”

1996

  • Brooks & Dunn, Waitin’ On Sundown
  • Patty Loveless, When Fallen Angels Fly
  • Tim McGraw, All I Want
  • George Strait, Lead On
  • Shania Twain, The Woman in Me

Although Loveless won the CMA award the previous fall, the ACM sided with the Grammy winner for Best Country Album, Shania Twain’s landmark set, The Woman in Me.

1995

  • Garth Brooks, In Pieces
  • Mary Chapin Carpenter, Stones in the Road
  • Vince Gill, When Love Finds You
  • Alan Jackson, Who I Am
  • Tim McGraw, Not a Moment Too Soon

McGraw’s only victory in this category came with his first nomination. This set remains his top-selling to date, thanks to the presence of the massive hits “Don’t Take the Girl”, “Indian Outlaw”, “Down on the Farm”, and the title track.

1994

  • Brooks & Dunn, Hard Workin’ Man
  • Billy Ray Cyrus, It Won’t Be the Last
  • Vince Gill, I Still Believe In You
  • Alan Jackson, A Lot About Livin’ (And a Little ‘Bout Love)
  • Various Artists, Common Thread: The Songs of the Eagles
  • Dwight Yoakam, This Time

Alan Jackson picked up his second victory in this category with an album that included “Chattahoochee”, which would remain his biggest hit for nearly a decade.

1993

  • Garth Brooks, The Chase
  • Brooks & Dunn, Brand New Man
  • Mary Chapin Carpenter, Come On Come On
  • Billy Ray Cyrus, Some Gave All
  • Wynonna, Wynonna

These are some big selling albums. Wynonna and Mary Chapin Carpenter both sold five million and they are tied for last place among the nominees.  It’s easy to forget how fresh the Brooks & Dunn sound was when it first arrived on the scene.  Five hits, including the classic title track, “Neon Moon”, and “Boot Scootin’ Boogie”, helped power them to a win.

1992

  • Garth Brooks, No Fences
  • Garth Brooks, Ropin’ the Wind
  • Alan Jackson, Don’t Rock the Jukebox
  • Ricky Van Shelton, Backroads
  • Travis Tritt, It’s All About to Change

In perhaps the most bizarre moment in this category’s history, Garth Brooks competed again with No Fences, which won the same award last year. Alan Jackson emerged victorious with his sophomore set.

1991

  • Alabama, Pass it On Down
  • Garth Brooks, No Fences
  • Vince Gill, When I Call Your Name
  • Alan Jackson, Here in the Real World
  • Ricky Van Shelton, RVS III

No Fences includes the Garth Brooks classics “Friends in Low Places”, “Unanswered Prayers”, and “The Thunder Rolls”. It remains his highest-selling album to date, and second only to Shania Twain’s Come On Over among all single-disc country albums in history.

1990

  • Clint Black, Killin’ Time
  • Rodney Crowell, Diamonds and Dirt
  • Kathy Mattea, Willow in the Wind
  • Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Will the Circle Be Unbroken? Vol. II
  • Randy Travis, Old 8×10

The winning album demonstrates why Clint Black was the head of the Class of ’89, even though he’d soon be overshadowed by fellow newbie Garth Brooks.

1989

  • Vern Gosdin, Chiseled in Stone
  • K.T. Oslin, This Woman
  • Ricky Van Shelton, Loving Proof
  • George Strait, If You Ain’t Lovin’ You Ain’t Livin’
  • Dwight Yoakam, Buenos Noches From a Lonely Room

K.T. Oslin dominated the awards circuit in 1988 and 1989, with her final victories coming at the ACM Awards.  Her Album of the Year winner included the #1 hit “Hold Me”, along with the top five hits “Hey Bobby” and the title track.

1988

  • The Judds, Heart Land
  • Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, and Emmylou Harris, Trio
  • George Strait, Ocean Front Property
  • Randy Travis, Always and Forever
  • Hank Williams Jr., Born to Boogie

The classic project by legends Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, and Emmylou Harris also won a CMA for Vocal Event and a Grammy for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.

1987

  • The Judds, Rockin’ With the Rhythm
  • Ricky Skaggs, Live in London
  • George Strait, 7
  • Randy Travis, Storms of Life
  • Dwight Yoakam, Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.

The neo-traditionalist movement at its peak, with a win by its standard-bearing artist with his standard-bearing debut album.

1986

  • Alabama, 40 Hour Week
  • Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, and Kris Kristofferson, Highwayman
  • The Judds, Why Not Me
  • George Strait, Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind
  • Hank Williams Jr., Five-O

The only #1 hit from this album was the title track, but “The Fireman” and “The Cowboy Rides Away” have since become signature songs for the legendary artist.

1985

  • Alabama, Roll On
  • Earl Thomas Conley, Don’t Make it Easy On Me
  • Ricky Skaggs, Don’t Cheat in Our Hometown
  • George Strait, Right or Wrong
  • Hank Williams Jr., Man of Steel

Their third victory in four years came on the strength of the hits “Roll On (Eighteen Wheeler)”, “If You’re Gonna Play in Texas (You Gotta Have a Fiddle in the Band)”, “(There’s a) Fire in the Night”, and “When We Make Love.”

1984

  • Alabama, The Closer You Get…
  • John Anderson, Wild & Blue
  • Merle Haggard, Going Where the Lonely Go
  • Merle Haggard & Willie Nelson, Pancho & Lefty
  • Ricky Skaggs, Highways & Heartaches

Over a field of traditionalists old and new, the pop-country supergroup Alabama won their second Album award. In addition to the hit title track, The Closer You Get… included the hits “Lady Down on Love” and “Dixieland Delight.”

1983

  • Alabama, Mountain Music
  • Willie Nelson, Always On My Mind
  • Kenny Rogers, Love Will Turn You Around
  • Ricky Skaggs, Waitin’ For the Sun to Shine
  • Don Williams, Listen to the Radio

Nelson’s biggest single powered the album of the same name to victory. It also included a pair of #2 hits: “Last Thing I Needed First Thing This Morning” and “Let it Be Me.”

1982

  • Alabama, Feels So Right
  • Rosanne Cash, Seven Year Ache
  • George Jones, Still the Same Ole Me
  • Oak Ridge Boys, Fancy Free
  • Dolly Parton, 9 to 5 and Odd Jobs

With the exception of George Jones, all the nominees here enjoyed significant pop success with these projects. Alabama won their first trophy in this category with Feels So Right, which included the hit title track, “Old Flame”, and their biggest crossover hit, “Love in the First Degree.”

1981

  • Charley Pride, There’s a Little Bit of Hank in Me
  • Kenny Rogers, Greatest Hits
  • Soundtrack, Coal Miner’s Daughter
  • Soundtrack, Urban Cowboy
  • Don Williams, I Believe in You

For all that it’s been maligned, the Urban Cowboy soundtrack does have a lot of classic hits on it.  Some of them were recycled, like “Devil Went Down to Georgia” and “Lyin’ Eyes”, but some were introduced on the soundtrack, most notably Anne Murray’s “Could I Have This Dance” and Johnny Lee’s “Lookin’ For Love.”

1980

  • Larry Gatlin, Straight Ahead
  • Emmylou Harris, Blue Kentucky Girl
  • Waylon Jennings, Greatest Hits
  • Willie Nelson, Willie Sings Kristofferson
  • Kenny Rogers, Kenny

Those of you wondering how on earth Larry Gatlin was the winner in this field should know that this was actually a platinum-selling album. Perhaps its big hit, “All the Gold in California”, endeared the project to west coast voters.

1979

  • Ronnie Milsap, It Was Almost Like a Song
  • Anne Murray, Let’s Keep it That Way
  • Willie Nelson, Stardust
  • Oak Ridge Boys, Y’All Come Back Saloon
  • Kenny Rogers & Dottie West, Every Time Two Fools Collide

They had made several albums as gospel stars, but it was their first big country hit that fueled this win for Album of the Year.

1978

  • Waylon Jennings, Ol’ Waylon
  • Dolly Parton, Here You Come Again
  • Elvis Presley, Moody Blue
  • Kenny Rogers, Kenny Rogers
  • Conway Twitty, Greatest Hits Vol. II

This self-titled album was renamed “Lucille” in later pressings to capitalize on its biggest hit.

1977

  • Mickey Gilley, Gilley’s Smokin’
  • Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Jessi Colter, and Tompall Glaser, Wanted! The Outlaws
  • Loretta Lynn, Somebody Somewhere
  • Marty Robbins, El Paso City
  • Conway Twitty, Now and Then

Gilley’s winning album features his most well known hit, “Don’t the Girls All Get Prettier at Closing Time.” It’s the most recent album in the category’s history that hasn’t reached at least gold status.

1976

  • Glen Campbell, Rhinestone Cowboy
  • Freddie Fender, Before the Next Teardrop Falls
  • Merle Haggard, Keep Movin’ On
  • Loretta Lynn & Conway Twitty, Feelins’
  • Willie Nelson, Red Headed Stranger

This shared award is the only Album trophy that either Lynn or Twitty won from the ACM or CMA, though Lynn did go on to win Best Country Album three decades later at the Grammys.

1975

  • John Denver, Back Home Again
  • Merle Haggard, Merle Haggard Presents His 30th Album
  • Loretta Lynn, They Don’t Make ‘Em Like My Daddy
  • Cal Smith, Country Bumpkin
  • Bob Wills, For the Last Time

Denver’s biggest country album, it spent thirteen weeks atop the country album chart. The title track topped the chart, and “Annie’s Song” became a wedding standard.

1974

  • Merle Haggard, I Love Dixie Blues…so I Recorded “Live” in New Orleans
  • Loretta Lynn, Love is the Foundation
  • Charlie Rich, Behind Closed Doors
  • Johnny Rodriguez, Introducing Johnny Rodriguez
  • Conway Twitty & Loretta Lynn, Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man

Rich’s classic set has sold four million copies, an unheard of tally for a country album from this time period. It didn’t hurt that the title track and “The Most Beautiful Girl” were crossover hits, with the latter actually topping the pop singles chart.

1973

  • Mac Davis, Baby Don’t Get Hooked On Me
  • Donna Fargo, The Happiest Girl in the Whole U.S.A.
  • Merle Haggard, The Best of the Best of Merle Haggard
  • Merle Haggard, It’s Not Love (But It’s Not Bad)
  • Merle Haggard, Let Me Tell You About a Song
  • Freddie Hart, Bless Your Heart

Donna Fargo triumphed in a field of six albums, half of which were recorded by Merle Haggard! The Fargo set produced two million-selling singles – the title track and “Funny Face”.

1972

  • Merle Haggard, Hag
  • Merle Haggard, Someday We’ll Look Back
  • Freddie Hart, Easy Loving
  • Ray Price, I Won’t Mention it Again
  • Charley Pride, Charley Pride Sings Heart Songs

The title track was a massive hit, helping Hart’s Easy Loving reach gold status and spend nine weeks atop the country albums chart.

1971

  • Glen Campbell, The Glen Campbell Goodtime Album
  • Merle Haggard, The Fightin’ Side of Me
  • Merle Haggard, A Tribute to the Best Damn Fiddle Player in the World (or, My Salute to Bob Wills)
  • Ray Price, For the Good Times
  • Charley Pride, Charley Pride’s 10th Album

Who knows how many times Haggard could’ve won this award if he wasn’t nominated against himself? This year, Ray Price’s For the Good Times was the victor, thanks to the Kristofferson-penned title track.

1970

  • Glen Campbell, Live
  • Johnny Cash, At Folsom Prison
  • Merle Haggard, Okie From Muskogee
  • Charley Pride, Best of Charley Pride
  • Tammy Wynette, Greatest Hits

Haggard’s only victory in this category was for a live album. Incidentally, he won over two other live albums and a pair of greatest hits sets.

1969

  • Glen Campbell, Wichita Lineman
  • Bobbie Gentry & Glen Campbell, Bobbie Gentry & Glen Campbell
  • Merle Haggard, The Best of Merle Haggard
  • Merle Haggard, Mama Tried
  • Buck Owens, Best of Buck Owens

Campbell won for the second year in a row, this time sharing the victory with Bobbie Gentry of “Ode to Billie Joe” fame.

1968

  • Glen Campbell, Burning Bridges
  • Glen Campbell, Gentle on My Mind
  • Merle Haggard, Branded Man
  • Merle Haggard, I’m a Lonesome Fugitive
  • Wynn Stewart, It’s Such a Pretty World Today

California favorite Glen Campbell won the first ACM trophy in this category, and he’d remain a favorite of the Academy over the next decade.

Facts & Feats

Multiple Wins:

  • (3) – Alabama, Alan Jackson, George Strait
  • (2) – Glen Campbell, Dixie Chicks, Toby Keith

Most Nominations:

  • (17) – Merle Haggard
  • (12) – George Strait
  • (7) – Garth Brooks, Glen Campbell, Willie Nelson
  • (6) – Alabama, Tim McGraw
  • (5) – Loretta Lynn, Brad Paisley, Kenny Rogers

Most Nominations Without a Win:

  • (4) – Vince Gill, Waylon Jennings, Charley Pride, Ricky Skaggs
  • (3) – Johnny Cash, Kenny Chesney, The Judds, Patty Loveless, Ricky Van Shelton, Hank Williams Jr., Dwight Yoakam

Albums that won the ACM Award and the CMA Award:

  • Merle Haggard, Okie From Muskogee
  • Charlie Rich, Behind Closed Doors
  • Willie Nelson, Always on My Mind
  • Alabama, The Closer You Get
  • George Strait, Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind
  • Garth Brooks, No Fences
  • George Strait, Blue Clear Sky
  • George Strait, Carrying Your Love With Me
  • Dixie Chicks, Fly
  • Soundtrack, O Brother Where Art Thou?
  • Alan Jackson, Drive
  • Brad Paisley, Time Well Wasted
  • George Strait, It Just Comes Natural
  • Taylor Swift, Fearless

Albums that Won the ACM award and the Grammy for Album of the Year:

  • Soundtrack, O Brother Where Art Thou?
  • Taylor Swift, Fearless

Albums that Won the ACM award and the Grammy for Best Country Album (only presented in 1965-1966 and 1995-present):

  • Shania Twain, The Woman in Me
  • Dixie Chicks, Wide Open Spaces
  • Dixie Chicks, Fly
  • George Strait, Troubadour
  • Taylor Swift, Fearless

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by | February 3, 2009 · 8:00 am

Six Pack: Hall of Fame Candidates

hof_logoOn Wednesday, February 4, the Country Music Hall of Fame will announce its newest members. The genre’s highest honor, induction into the Hall of Fame is bestowed upon the absolute best of country music. In 1996 the CMHOF developed a set of categories to sort candidates, an effort intended to recognize the great breadth of the genre.

The Hall will admit three new members in 2009, one each from the following categories:

  • Recording and/or Touring Musician Active Prior to 1980
  • Performer, career achieved national prominence between WWII and 1975
  • Performer, career achieved national prominence between 1975-current

Below are six living Country Music Hall of Fame candidates that deserve induction in 2009.

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by | January 25, 2009 · 6:50 pm

Grammy Flashback: Best Female Country Vocal Performance

Revised and Updated for 2009

While the Grammys have honored country music from the very first ceremony in 1959, they did not begin honoring by gender until 1965, when the country categories were expanded along with the other genre categories.

This is a look back at the Best Female Country Vocal Performance category. It was first awarded in 1965, an included single competing with albums until the Best Country Album category was added in 1995. When an album is nominated, it is in italics, and a single track is in quotation marks.

I’ve often made the case that female artists were making the best music in the 1990s, and the Grammys did a great job nominating songs and albums that were ignored at the CMA and ACM awards, which is not surprising, given that those shows have so few categories that are actually for songs and albums.

As usual, we start with a look at this year’s nominees and work our way back.

2009

  • Martina McBride, “For These Times”
  • LeAnn Rimes, “What I Cannot Change”
  • Carrie Underwood, “Last Name”
  • Lee Ann Womack, “Last Call”
  • Trisha Yearwood, “This is Me You’re Talking To”

This year’s lineup includes three former winners and two women looking for their first victory in this category. Martina McBride is in the running for the eighth time in fifteen years, and with one of her more understated performances. Lee Ann Womack returns for a fifth time, having received a nomination for the lead single of her five most recent albums. Both ladies turned in good performances here, but they’ve been overlooked for records bigger and better, so they’re not likely to snap their losing streaks this time around.

As for the previous winners, LeAnn Rimes earned her third consecutive nod, bringing her total to five in this category. She hasn’t won since 1997, when she took home the award for “Blue.” If enough voters hear “What I Cannot Change,” she might have a shot, though the only version of the song that’s been a legitimate hit has been the dance remix.

Trisha Yearwood won in 1998 for “How Do I Live,” her only victory to date. But she’s earned her tenth nomination for “This is Me You’re Talking To,” which is arguably her strongest vocal performance of the ten. Like Rimes, the challenge is getting enough voters to listen to it, but she’s never been more deserving of the victory than she is this year.

Still, the favorite remains Carrie Underwood. She’s quickly become a favorite with Grammy voters, having won this category two years running, along with Best New Artist in 2007. She’s the nominee with the highest profile, and while “Last Name” is nowhere near the same league of “Jesus, Take the Wheel” and “Before He Cheats” in terms of artistry or impact, it was a big hit, something that the other four entries cannot claim.

If Underwood was nominated for “Just a Dream,” she’d have a mortal lock on this one. But the strength of the other nominees will at least keep this race competitive. If Underwood prevails, Grammy queen Alison Krauss better watch her back.

2008

  • Alison Krauss, “Simple Love”
  • Miranda Lambert, “Famous in a Small Town”
  • LeAnn Rimes, “Nothin’ Better to Do”
  • Carrie Underwood, “Before He Cheats”
  • Trisha Yearwood, “Heaven, Heartache and the Power of Love”

Looking at this lineup, you’d think that it was a golden age of female country artists, something akin to the mid-nineties. In reality, only one of these songs was a big radio hit, though three others managed to go top twenty. In terms of quality, however, this is the most consistent and thoroughly wonderful set of nominees this category has seen this century.  You’d have to go back to exactly 1999 to find a better lineup.

In a year when any winner would have been deserving, Underwood won for “Before He Cheats,” her second straight win for a signature mega-hit from her debut album.

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by | June 11, 2008 · 11:07 pm

100 Greatest Women, #19: Dottie West

100 Greatest Women

Dottie West

She started out as a heartache singer who could wail a lonesome tune with the best of them. She developed into a sultry, showy stage performer. For more than two decades, her presence was felt on the country charts, but her presence was felt even more by the young new artists that she took under her wing.

Dottie West grew up in rural Tennessee, the oldest of ten children. Her family was poor when she was young, so much so that they went without electricity and plumbing, and made their own soap. Her childhood would not be an easy one, as she dealt with a father who was both physically and sexually abusive to her. When she was seventeen, she reported him to the police, and he was sentenced to forty years for his crimes against her.

Music had been a comfort for her while growing up, and in the aftermath of her abuse, she poured herself into music. She joined her high school band and began writing songs. Her talent earned her a college scholarship to study music, and it was there that she met her first husband, musician Bill West. After they had two children, they moved to Ohio. She formed a duo with friend Kathy Dee, and they appeared on a regional television show as the Kay-Dots. Encouraged by their early success, they attempted to secure a record deal in Nashville. In 1959, Starday signed them, but their early singles were not successful.

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