A Country Music Conversation, Day 25: “You Gave Me a Mountain” to “You’re Gone”
Day 25 concludes the series with tracks from Marty Robbins, Anne Murray, Bobbie Cryner, The Judds, and Diamond Rio.
Marty Robbins
CMA Flashback: Male Vocalist of the Year
Our CMA Flashback series continues with the Male Vocalist of the Year category.
CMA Flashback: Single of the Year
Here’s a look back at CMA Single of the Year, starting with this year’s nominees.
Sunday Selections: October 16, 2016
We’re only 23 days away from the election, y’all.
Sunday Selections: June 5th, 2016
Break out the eye-drops, gang, this one’s a longread!
Daily Top Five: Long Songs
Reader Buddy Noel suggested a Daily Top Five of “Songs DJ’s used for bathroom runs”, citing “El Paso” by Marty Robbins as an example. What […]
100 Greatest Men: #16. Marty Robbins
100 Greatest Men: The Complete List A pioneer in both country and rock and roll music, and the father of the country music concept album, […]
100 Greatest Men: #54. Hank Thompson
100 Greatest Men: The Complete List
A legendary star who performed for more than sixty years, Hank Thompson stayed relevant as country music slowly moved from a regional music to a national one.
Songs For Dad
My dad was passionate about many things, and in my memory, he’s defined by two of them: c0llecting vintage toys and loving music. Earlier today, my mother and I attended Toy Story 3. He loved the first two films, and it was a way to get closer to him in spirit this Father’s Day.
I couldn’t let this day end without using my humble little corner of the internet to celebrate some of his favorite songs. A love for country music was something that my father shared with my mother, and thanks to long car trips as child, this love eventually rubbed off on me. This morning, my mother put on the country classics Music Choice channel and it was playing their song: “Blanket on the Ground” by Billie Jo Spears.
ACM Flashback: Single Record of the Year
As with the similar CMA category of Single of the Year, looking over the history of this category is the quickest way to get a snapshot of country music in a given year. There is a quite a bt of consensus among the two organizations here, and it is very rare for the winner at one show to not at least be nominated at the other. The winners list here would make a great 2-disc set of country classics, at least for those who don’t mind a little pop in their country. The ACM definitely has more of a taste for crossover than its CMA counterpart, and the organizations have only agreed on 17 singles in the past four decades and change.
As always, we start with a look at this year’s nominees and work our way back to 1968.
2010
- Zac Brown Band, “Toes”
- Billy Currington, “People Are Crazy”
- Lady Antebellum, “Need You Now”
- Miranda Lambert, “White Liar”
- David Nail, “Red Light”
There’s usually a “Huh?” nominee among the ACM list in recent years. This year, it’s David Nail. Good for him! Currington hasn’t won yet for this hit, even though he got himself a Grammy nomination for it. With Lady Antebellum reaching the upper ranks of the country and pop charts with “Need You Now”, my guess is that they’re the presumptive favorites. Then again, Miranda Lambert is a nominee for the third straight year, and she’s up for her biggest radio hit.
2009
- Trace Adkins, “You’re Gonna Miss This”
- Jamey Johnson, “In Color”
- Miranda Lambert, “Gunpowder & Lead”
- Heidi Newfield, “Johnny and June”
- Brad Paisley, “Waitin’ On a Woman”
Adkins has been a fairly regular fixture on country radio since 1996, but this was his first major industry award. He also won the ACM for Top New Male Vocalist in 1997.