Randy Travis – Page 13 – Country Universe

My Start in Country Music

March 2, 2009 Guest Contributor 11

The following article is by guest contributor and Country Universe commenter, Craig R. My Start in Country Music By Craig Ross My memories only started collecting at age four. That year, 1969, my uncle was

Perfect Producer/Artist Pairs

February 25, 2009 Leeann Ward 17

Last week, I berated producers that I could count on to produce bland, generic albums that I inevitably would not enjoy. As promised, I’ll be more positive this week. As previously noted, producers play a

The 51st Annual Grammy Awards: Keeping It Country (Staff Favorites)

February 6, 2009 Guest Contributor 6

The second article in our Grammy Awards series, our personal favorites in the country categories at this year’s ceremony. Best Country Album Jamey Johnson, That Lonesome Song Patty Loveless, Sleepless Nights (Blake, Leeann) George Strait,

The 51st Annual Grammy Awards: Keeping It Country (Staff Predictions)

February 6, 2009 Guest Contributor 5

In a nod towards diversity, the General Field nominees for the 51st annual Grammy Awards include a shepherd’s pie of musical genres, with Brit soul ingenues (Adele, Duffy) against American pop trios (Jonas Bros., Lady A), Brit pop

Review: Carrie Underwood, “I Told You So”

January 27, 2009 Guest Contributor 43

When Randy Travis invited Carrie Underwood into the Grand Ole Opry last spring, the sprightly young maiden had fully arrived as the new torchbearer for the house of twang. Her reign as the genre’s princess

The First Annual Country Universe Readers’ Choice Awards

January 24, 2009 Kevin John Coyne 27

Carrie Underwood is the top winner of the inaugural Country Universe Reader’s Choice Awards, earning first place in all four of the races in which she was eligible. In addition to being named Artist of

Grammy Flashback: Best Male Country Vocal Performance

January 19, 2009 Kevin John Coyne 10

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

Grammy Flashback: Best Country Album

January 17, 2009 Kevin John Coyne 23

A look back at the previous winners and nominees of the Best Country Album Grammy, updated to include the 2009 contenders. The Grammys have been doing better in the country categories since they reintroduced the

Kevin J. Coyne’s Top Singles of 2008

December 28, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 14

Gone are the days where this would just be called the Country Universe’s Top Singles of 2008. The collective tastes of our writers makes for more distinguished lists, but thankfully, there’s still a place for

Leeann Ward’s Top Ten Albums of 2008

December 27, 2008 Leeann Ward 7

#10 The SteelDrivers, The SteelDrivers Chris Stapleton’s voice just blows me away. As Lee Ann Womack has recently observed, he sings like a real man. He takes Travis Tritt’s soulfulness to a whole new level.