Articles by Kevin John Coyne

No Picture

100 Greatest Men: #82. Fiddlin’ John Carson

September 26, 2011 Kevin John Coyne 0

100 Greatest Men: The Complete List

It’s no wonder that so many purists believe it just ain’t country if you don’t have a bit of fiddle. Thanks to Fiddlin’ John Carson, the first legitimate country hit had fiddlin’ all over it.

Like many performers of his generation, being a musician meant live performances. Hailing from Georgia, Carson traveled around the south for decades playing his signature fiddle. While the meager pay meant he had to work several other side jobs, one of which was manufacturing moonshine, Carson’s fame outpaced his fortune.

No Picture

100 Greatest Men: #83. Freddie Hart

September 21, 2011 Kevin John Coyne 2

100 Greatest Men: The Complete List

Back in country music’s golden age, an artist could maintain a solid career for two decades before suddenly reaching a massive height of popularity.

Freddie Hart was a great example of this. As one of fifteen children born to an Alabama sharecropper, Hart’s only chance at success was striking out on his own. Though he played guitar since the age of five, Hart’s first tour of the world was as a soldier at the age of fifteen. He lied about his age to join the service during World War II.

No Picture

100 Greatest Men: #84. Uncle Dave Macon

September 20, 2011 Kevin John Coyne 0

100 Greatest Men: The Complete List

Every country star with their salt longs to play the Opry stags. That’s thanks in large part to Uncle Dave Macon, who helped put the Opry on the map.

Macon began performing at a young age, learning skills from the wide variety of guests who passed through his family’s hotel. But he chose a career in freight trains instead, and settled for being an amateur performer until he was in his fifties.

No Picture

Four Ways that 9/11 Changed Country Music

September 12, 2011 Kevin John Coyne 27

The terrorist attacks on American soil ten years ago changed the course of our nation’s history in far more significant ways than just its impact on country music.

But the fact is that country music was changed as well. Here are the four biggest ways that it did, for better and for worse.

1. Alan Jackson Becomes a Legend

He was still getting solid radio airplay and record sales in 2001, but it seemed like his glory days were behind him. Then, he stepped on to the CMA Awards stage and debuted “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)” to a stunned industry crowd on national television.

No Picture

Someone Like You

September 1, 2011 Kevin John Coyne 25

I didn’t expect much.

I’ve had the Adele album for a good bit now, and “Someone Like You” is my favorite track on it. I’d already heard how the song shot to #1 in the U.K. after she performed it on the Brit Awards.

I checked out that performance, and thought it was good. Not great, but good.

1 … 204 205 206 207 208 … 339