Kevin John Coyne

100 Greatest Women, #26: Martina McBride

June 5, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 19

100 Greatest Women #26 Martina McBride With a big voice and a taste for topical material, Martina McBride has been one of the most consistently successful female country acts of the past fifteen years. She

Lady Antebellum, “Lookin’ For a Good Time”

June 5, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 5

I hate to dump on a new artist, particularly an act that shows such promise as Lady Antebellum. But to my ears, this sounds like a complete trainwreck. It’s novel having a mixed-gender group release

100 Greatest Women, #27: Kathy Mattea

June 4, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 7

100 Greatest Women #27 Kathy Mattea She was a gifted child who had been skipped a grade, who then dropped out of college and followed her songwriting boyfriend to Nashville. He had given up his

100 Greatest Women, #28: Anne Murray

June 3, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 7

100 Greatest Women #28 Anne Murray There may never have been a more unassuming female superstar than Anne Murray, who quietly built up an impressive run of hits that stretched two decades long. All this

100 Greatest Women, #29: Mary Chapin Carpenter

June 1, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 12

100 Greatest Women #29 Mary Chapin Carpenter The list of intelligent female singer-songwriters that have made it big in country music is fairly short. Brown-educated and world-traveled by the time she performed publicly, Mary Chapin

100 Greatest Women, #30: Lorrie Morgan

May 31, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 9

100 Greatest Women #30 Lorrie Morgan There are many second generation country stars that build on the legacy of the famous parent that came before them. Lorrie Morgan is one of the few that actually

Guest Commentary: Why I Love Country Music

May 31, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 16

Editor’s Note: This is the first guest commentary in the history of Country Universe. Please join me in welcoming Paul Edward, who e-mailed me this passage and graciously allowed me to share it here. –

100 Greatest Women, #31: Rose Maddox

May 31, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 13

100 Greatest Women #31 Rose Maddox She was only ten years old when her big brothers pulled her into their band, needing a female singer on the spot to land a regular performing gig on

100 Greatest Women, #32: Lynn Anderson

May 30, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 8

100 Greatest Women #32 Lynn Anderson She was the daughter of songwriters Casey and Liz Anderson. Raised in California, she witnessed the West Coast country music scene when it was most vital. But in her

100 Greatest Women, #33: Lee Ann Womack

May 29, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 16

100 Greatest Women #33 Lee Ann Womack When she released her debut album in 1997, she was widely hailed as the great hope for traditional country music, a much-needed counterpoint to the pop crossover sounds