How Country Popped Its Way Into the Mainstream

The Big Interview w/Dan Rather - Little Big Town
Going to be quite a few of these. Anyway, this 4-piece had been together 20 years at the time of this chat, and were up to their 9th album. They had hit the odd big one with Girl Crush and Boondocks and things. They were friends with Taylor Swift. They didn't seem that notable to me, I must say.

Ellen 18 - Brad Paisley
A pandemic can't slow some people down. Brad had a show in Saskatchewan before everything shut down, though he's back in Nashville now. He's involved with animal welfare, donkey rescuing and so on. First time he's had summer at home in 10 years. Made a video using fans Zoom, and the "No I in Beer" (?) song.

Showreel: Jason Aldean
A less familiar name to me, though the songs seemed OK. Another member of the Class of '77.

Showreel: Brad Paisley
He was 48 last week, apparently. This was a decent selection of hits, with a couple of duets with the likes of Dolly Parton and Carrie Underwood.

Showreel: Martina McBride
She turned 54 in July. Fairly ordinary stuff here.

The Golden Hour: Chris Young
I wait ages for new episodes of these shows, and suddenly they come like buses.

misery guts wrote:The Golden Hour: Brad Paisley
Pleasant enough in the main, some duets with Alison Krauss and Dolly Parton and Keith Urban.

The Golden Hour - Brad Paisley
Don't think any of those duets featured this time, so I sense it was in fact a new one.

54th CMA Awards
Reba McEntire and Darius Rucker presented. This show cut out most of the awards, and allowed the enjoyment of performances starting with Jason Aldean paying tribute to Charlie Daniels, and then Maren Morris, Miranda Lambert, Brothers Osborne, Jimmie Allen and Keith Urban. Charley Pryde was recognised with some sort of merit award.

The legendary Charley Pride passed away at 86, partly through covid. His contribution to country music, and the struggles against racism, were much reflected on in tributes. RIP 

Showreel: Luke Bryan
A fairly reasonable selection. He's a year older than me with a birthday around the same time of year too.

CMA Country Christmas
Couple Thomas Rhett and Lauren Akins MC'd an "at home" special with various guests like Tim McGraw, Darius Rucker, Dan & Shay, and the dubious Lady A.

The Big Interview w/Dan Rather - Shania Twain
This 2018 chat coincided with his first album for 15 years. She had been suffering with Lyme disease and dysphonia which had put a stop to her singing. Slowly, with help from friends like Michael Buble and Lionel Richie, she improved, to the stage of making her new album. She mentioned divorcing Mutt Lange after his infidelity, and how she was now happily remarried. She was 52 at this point. She enjoyed touring more because she thought she'd never be doing it again. She wanted to write books and do more acting.

Dennis Miller Plus One - Wynonna Judd & Cactus Moser
They were in Franklin, Tennessee. She put an album out in October, Recollections, which was a covers album. They spoke warmly of the late John Prine. They worked with Bob Weir. They've done online concerts to keep going, and spoke of the value of distractions at a time like this. Her career has been 38 years long so far. Dennis told a tale of opening for Roy Orbison and receiving a flattering reaction from the Big O. Wynonna and Cactus have been watching Ken Burns' Jazz series; Dennis talked about Ken's series on Country.

The Big Interview w/Dan Rather - Trisha Yearwood
From 2015, as Trisha was pushing a 3rd cookbook, and her first new album for a while. She'd sold 12 million record, and won 3 Grammys. She talked about her youth and being drawn to music, meeting Garth Brooks, and so on. She sang with Luciano Pavarotti at one of his charity concerts in Moderna, on a bill which also included Stevie Wonder and Jon Bon Jovi. She met Garth in 1998, and they'd been married 9 years at the time of this interview.

Ellen 18 - Garth Brooks
By coincidence, this other country legend appeared recently to chat to a guest host. He sang at Joe Biden's inauguration. Trisha had tested positive for covid, but he brought her on to show she was on the mend. They were marking a 15th wedding anniversary. They've covered the Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper duet "Shallow". They look forward to the return of touring and the value of fans. They'd been honoured by the Kennedy Centre too.

The Golden Hour: Alan Jackson
Odd new ones of these keep emerging from time to time. Alan seems a decent cove, songs like It's Alright to be a Redneck and She's Got The Rhythm (and I Got the Blues) perhaps point to why he's been a success.

The Big Interview w/Dan Rather - Rascal Flatts
Two of them are cousins, the third one isn't. They made it big quick, dominated awards and then stopped being nominated. They took their name from a 50s band apparently; it was better than other suggestions like Okla-hio (after the two states they hail from).

Ellen '18 - Keith Urban
He was in LA, and had been honoured by Australia recently, as well as earning his boating licence. He had a #1 album which included a duet with Taylor Swift, who used to open for him when she was just starting out. He was to host the ACM Awards.

misery guts wrote:The Golden Hour - Reba McEntire
Or McCentire, as she was wrongly billed. She seems to be unafraid of some left-field covers like Cathy's Clown and If I Were A Boy, but her better material are tracks like Somebody's Chelsea, and Good Doggie, No Bone.

The Golden Hour - Reba McEntire
Another one, spelt correctly this time. Though Cathy's Clown came up again, the others didn't, so there were tracks like Why Haven't I Heard From You and I'd Rather Ride Around With You.

misery guts wrote:The Golden Hour - Josh Turner
A pleasant enough hour, surprised this isn't a more regular show really.

The Golden Hour - Josh Turner
Another pleasant, if not particularly inspiring, hour. He had tunes like Long Black Train, I Can Tell By The Way You Dance, and Firecracker.

Emmylou Harris - From A Deeper Well
A welcome repeat from 2003, as Ms Harris related her time with Gram Parsons, and what she did next. Many contributors all spoke warmly and well of her; Albert Lee and Rodney Crowell spent time in her backing band, and Linda Ronstadt was a great friend.

The Big Interview w/Dan Rather - Keith Urban
They met at the Mohegan Sun in 2016, where Keith was touring his "Ripcord" album. He was born in New Zealand and raised in Australia, but music drew him to Nashville. He dabbles with other genres beyond country, started out in covers bands before starting to write songs at 21. Has done collaborations with Taylor Swift, Nile Rodgers and Carrie Underwood. Married to Nicole Kidman too. Spent time as an American Idol judge.  Had been sober since 2006. Lost some of his guitar collection during a rare river flood.

Emmylou Harris' 10 Commandments of Country
A gig from 2007, with Emmy and her band performing 13 songs overall, and her introductions included the "instructions" which varied from "Always remember that less is more" to "Always do a waltz" and "Help yourself to tradition". Good show.

misery guts wrote:The Golden Hour: Dwight Yoakam
He was around in the 80s, but doesn't seem as respected as many others who came later. This showcase saw him covering Suspicious Minds, I Want You To Want Me and Crazy Little Thing Called Love. His own songs were alright, I guess.

The Golden Hour: Dwight Yoakam (sometimes spelled Yoakham)
I'm fairly confident this was a new show, even though it did include those three covers again, as well as Honky Tonk Man, and two different Cadillac numbers.

The Old Grey Whistle Test - Emmylou Harris and the Hot Band
Bob Harris introduced this live set from 1977, where they rattled through many catchy numbers and even had a go at You Never Can Tell.

misery guts wrote:The Golden Hour - Carrie Underwood
A steady hour's effort, notable for maybe missing out the more recent So Pretty, and finishing with Jesus Take The Wheel.

The Golden Hour - Carrie Underwood
Another selection, including a couple of collaborations (with Brad Paisley and with Ludacris), and this time finishing on Dirty Laundry.

Ellen 18 - Luke Bryan
He was in the studio, for once. He mentioned recovering from covid (Ellen has had it too, apparently). He's an American Idol judge, so talked about the latest series. ACM named him 'Entertainer of the Year'. He has a new behind-the-scenes documentary. He played Born Here, Live Here, Die Here.

The Golden Hour: George Strait
Now this was welcome, a new face for inclusion, and some good songs too.

From Cradle to Stage: Miranda Lambert
Dave Grohl and his mum meet Beverley Lambert and her daughter. Apparently dad Rick was a cop, but became a private investigator, and his wife joined his business. Miranda had a couple of goes at a talent contest before making her way.

misery guts wrote:Focus On... Carrie Underwood
Former American Idol winner, who again hasn't really made any inroads in this country. Phil was this time joined by Sophie Craig, who seemed more assured. There were some good songs, some interesting duets, and collaborations too.

Focus On: Carrie Underwood
Laura Evans is host by now, and Jesus Take The Wheel made a reappearance.

Mike Judge presents - Tales from the Tour Bus: Johnny Paycheck
Another new series, each looking at particular notorious legends. Here, it's "Hubcap Donny" as he was known, a petty thief with a complex about being short. He hooked up with the Adams Brothers, took a name after Johnny Dollar and Johnny Cash, and then met Swamp Dogg. Inbetween stealing Patsy Cline's car, he took to the outlaw country genre, and also took to speed and cocaine. He managed a couple of big hits like "Take This Job and Shove It". After working with the Hells Angels, he ended up on jail. Perhaps the most preposterous part of the story was that he did clean up his act in the end.

From Cradle to Stage: Brandi Carlile
A fun-loving tomboy who found a good side-band in two brothers, and whose mother Teresa, was supportive of her musical and personal odyssey.

The Big Interview w/Dan Rather - Darius Rucker
He was the frontman with Hootie and the Blowfish, then went solo and became the biggest thing in country since Charley Pride. At the time of this 2014 interview, he left the door open for an end to the Hootie hiatus, but I guess that's still open. South Carolina was his home, and though he spent a while away in Columbia, he's Charleston through and through. His charity angle seemed to be "Musicians on Call", some kind of hospital patient service. Not counting the Hootie and the Blowfish Foundation.

misery guts wrote:Focus on... Shania Twain
Hurrah, a new series. This featured Phil Mack and Aveleen Rose introducing a whole raft of Ms Twain's videos, chatting about her albums, and odd other facts which weren't exactly novel. What did shine through of course were the less familiar numbers which haven't had the familiarity stamped out of them. Any Man Of Mine and Forever And For Always, to name but two.

Focus On: Shania Twain
Laura got to crack through this, but I think there were some different inclusions (she re-did Endless Love with Lionel Richie, which must have passed me by).

The Golden Hour: Clint Black
Another new one, notable for many "videos" which were anything but. I'm not sure, but I think it's just possible he has some rodeo connection   Some good songs, though, which is all that matters.

misery guts wrote:
The Golden Hour: Blake Shelton
Another of the many seemingly interchangeable country stars of the modern day, he covered Footloose, Home and The Gambler in this selection, but his own songs are fine enough too.

A Golden Hour: Blake Shelton
New titles, and a few less covers this time (Footloose made it, though), and a few collaborations ranging from Ashley Monroe to Trace Adkins.

A Golden Hour: Kacey Musgraves
Or sometimes mis-spelled Kasey. Plenty of steady material from one of the younger acts from this series (although she's been around quite a few years now as well).

misery guts wrote:Focus on... Faith Hill
Phil & Aveleen again. I thought this might be a struggle, as she's only known in the UK for two tracks, but her other ones were reasonable enough (aside from a needless cover of Piece of My Heart).

Focus On: Faith Hill
4 years later, and Laura fronted another crack at it. I was a little harsh last time, as I recognised at least 3 tracks this time (not counting said cover again).