Country Universe

100 Greatest Women, #46: Janie Fricke

May 20, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 3

100 Greatest Women #46 Janie Fricke There aren’t that many singers who emerge from the background to become stars in their own right. Then again, there aren’t that many who are able to make six

Entertainment Weekly’s 25 Essential Country Albums

May 20, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 20

Entertainment Weekly has named what they consider “25 Country Albums You Need to Hear (Even if You Hate Country Music.)” It’s an interesting list which has some clearly essential albums (Johnny Cash, Dixie Chicks, Dwight

100 Greatest Women, #47: Felice Bryant

May 19, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 6

100 Greatest Women #47 Felice Bryant With husband Boudleaux, Felice Bryant was part of the greatest songwriting team of her time, so fine at their craft that they wrote themselves into the Country Music Hall

Kenny Chesney's Not a Fan of ACM's Fan-Voted Entertainer Award

May 19, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 16

2008 ACM Entertainer of the Year Kenny Chesney has gone on record to protest this year’s change that made the category fan-voted: “The entertainer of the year trophy is supposed to represent heart and passion

ACM 2008 Live Blog

May 18, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 229

ACM Live Blog 11:02 From the comments: Jonathan notes that the AP says Tracy Lawrence won Vocal Event. That settles the final open question of the evening. All of you in the comments helped make

100 Greatest Women, #48: Lulu Belle

May 18, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 3

100 Greatest Women #48 Lulu Belle The Queen of All Radio. Lulu Belle was born Myrtle Eleanor Cooper in North Carolina, the daughter of a convicted moonshiner. Her dad moved her family all around the

100 Greatest Women, #49: Olivia Newton-John

May 17, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 4

100 Greatest Women #49 Olivia Newton-John One of the biggest female country stars of the seventies became one quite accidentally. Her mere presence in country music infuriated traditionalists, but her pop-flavored country foreshadowed the boundary

ACM Awards 2008: Personal Picks

May 17, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 16

As has become our annual custom, Country Universe will be live-blogging this year’s ACM awards, which air on CBS Sunday, May 18 at 8 pm Eastern. The ACM’s are always an interesting show, with a bigger

100 Greatest Women, #50: Jeannie C. Riley

May 16, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 5

100 Greatest Women #50 Jeannie C. Riley Her music was more outspokenly feminist than any of her contemporaries, but Jeannie C. Riley was on the receiving end of every sexist obstacle imaginable as she worked

100 Greatest Women, #51: Terri Clark

May 15, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 6

100 Greatest Women #51 Terri Clark When Mercury records launched Terri Clark in 1995, they billed her as country music’s first female hat act. Over the next decade, she’d show a lot more staying power