Country Music, Y'all!

[Bastet]

8 minutes ago, UYI said:

#440: Tracy Lawrence--“Time Marches On”

I'm not a huge Tracy Lawrence fan, but I love this one.

9 minutes ago, UYI said:

#439: Henson Cargill--“Skip a Rope”

I had completely forgotten about this song, so I'm rather impressed by its inclusion. 

Quote

#436: Lefty Frizzell--"If You've Got the Money, I've Got the Time"

I have to go with the one of the three CU writers who said this placement is about right, while acknowledging while it feels too low.

13 minutes ago, UYI said:

#432: Mickey Gilley--“Don’t the Girls All Get Prettier at Closing Time”

Fuck this song.  The only thing I like about it is the opening it gave K.T. Oslin to school some radio guy when he was among those refusing to play "Younger Men" because poor little men might be offended by it -- she asked if they played this song, he said yes, she asked if he didn't think women might find it offensive, and he hung up on her.

HA - and then I read the CU commentary to see one of them said the same thing!

[ClassicShowsFan]

Singer-songwriter Mac Davis reported “critically ill” following heart surgery

[ClassicShowsFan]

Mac Davis, Country Singer and Elvis Presley Songwriter, Dead at 78

[UYI]

Another hiatus done, as the list goes on.

#430: Diamond Rio--"Beautiful Mess"

#429: Merle Haggard--“That’s the Way Love Goes”

#428: Tim McGraw--“Down On the Farm”

#427: Zac Brown Band--“Homegrown”

#426: Kip Moore--“Somethin’ ‘Bout a Truck”

#425: Tom T. Hall--“I Like Beer”

#424: Vince Gill--“One More Last Chance”

#423: Brooks & Dunn--“Red Dirt Road”

#422: Dottie West--“Country Sunshine”

#421: Randy Houser--“How Country Feels”
 

http://www.countryuniverse.net/2020/10/26/a-country-music-conversation-sirius-top-1000-country-songs-of-all-time-430-421/

[Bastet]

Wow, we're well into the top 500 and I only know two songs from this batch of ten: "That's the Way Love Goes" and "Country Sunshine".  And while I like both artists, I don't love either song.  So this is a thoroughly "meh" entry for me.

[UYI]

I meant to post this back in September after it aired, but Carrie Underwood did a medley of songs by women in country music in honor of the Grand Ole Opry's 95th anniversary this year during the show. Here are the songs she did:

"Crazy"--Patsy Cline
"You Ain't Woman Enough (To Take My Man)"--Loretta Lynn
"I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool"--Barbara Mandrell
"Why'd You Come in Here Lookin' Like That"--Dolly Parton
"The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia"--Reba McEntire
"A Broken Wing"--Martina McBride

I appreciate that a lot of these were not the most obvious song choices, ESPECIALLY in Dolly's case.

 

[Bastet]

On 10/28/2020 at 7:14 AM, UYI said:

I meant to post this back in September after it aired, but Carrie Underwood did a medley of songs by women in country music in honor of the Grand Ole Opry's 95th anniversary this year during the show. Here are the songs she did:

"Crazy"--Patsy Cline
"You Ain't Woman Enough (To Take My Man)"--Loretta Lynn
"I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool"--Barbara Mandrell
"Why'd You Come in Here Lookin' Like That"--Dolly Parton
"The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia"--Reba McEntire
"A Broken Wing"--Martina McBride

I appreciate that a lot of these were not the most obvious song choices, ESPECIALLY in Dolly's case.

That's a rather odd selection I can't decide how I feel about.  It starts with Patsy Cline's signature hit, moves to what is probably the song second-most associated with Loretta Lynn rather than "Coal Miner's Daughter", then back to the Barbara Mandrell song most resonant with a country audience, then veers to a B- or C-list pick from Dolly's discography, then comes back to a logical choice from Reba's iconic song options, and the same with Martina McBride. 

I think I might have liked it more if they'd all been second- or third-tier songs or all signature tunes, but I also kind of like the mix.

[UYI]

This was posted just a few days ago. They are almost NEVER this quick to post more entries of this list!

#420: Randy Travis--“I Told You So”

#419: Chris Young--“Aw Naw”

#418: Loretta Lynn--“One’s On the Way”

#417: Lady A--“I Run to You”

#416: Conway Twitty--“That’s My Job”

#415: Tim McGraw--“I Like it, I Love it”

#414: Miranda Lambert--“Mama’s Broken Heart”

#413: Hank Snow--“I’m Moving On”

#412: Rodney Atkins--“Farmer’s Daughter”

#411: Dwight Yoakam--“Crazy Little Thing Called Love”

http://www.countryuniverse.net/2020/10/29/a-country-music-conversation-sirius-top-1000-country-songs-of-all-time-420-411/

[Bastet]

4 hours ago, UYI said:

#416: Conway Twitty--“That’s My Job”

I cannot listen to this song without tearing up.

4 hours ago, UYI said:

#415: Tim McGraw--“I Like it, I Love it”

This damn song - which I like, but is ranked too high - is used in some commercial that airs a lot, and it gets stuck in my head all the time. 

4 hours ago, UYI said:

#413: Hank Snow--“I’m Moving On”

Way too low.

 

[UYI]

Onward we go with the next ten entries!

#410: George Jones--“Love Bug”

#409: Kenny Chesney--“Come Over”

#408: Merle Haggard--“The Bottle Let Me Down”

#407: Alison Krauss & Union Station--“When You Say Nothing at All”

#406: Blake Shelton--“Ol’ Red”

#405: Buck Owens--“Love’s Gonna Live Here”

#404: Carrie Underwood--“Before He Cheats”

#403: Kenny Rogers--“You Decorated My Life”

#402: Dolly Parton--“Here You Come Again”

#401: Thomas Rhett--“Get Me Some of That”

http://www.countryuniverse.net/2020/11/08/a-country-music-conversation-sirius-top-1000-country-songs-of-all-time-410-401/

[Bastet]

I don't know the Thomas Rhett song (I don't want to know something called "Get Me Some Of That"), but this comment made me laugh so hard I jostled my cat off my lap:

Quote

If chlamydia could sing, it would sound like this.

It was interesting to see the CU commentators all over the map in their analysis of the "Before He Cheats" ranking.  I'm torn between Too High and the one no one chose: About Right.  Too Low and So Wrong both have me scratching my head.

 

[Guest]

On 11/8/2020 at 9:42 PM, UYI said:

#406: Blake Shelton--“Ol’ Red”

Absolutely doesn’t belong on the list and after reading the comments I now have “Feed Jake” stuck in my head. 

[UYI]

And just like that, we're out of the 400's!

#400: David Frizzell--“I’m Gonna Hire a Wino (To Decorate Our Home)”

#399: Chris Young--“You”

#398: Alabama--“Born Country”

#397: Johnny Cash & June Carter--“Long-Legged Guitar Pickin’ Man”

#396: Lady A--“Downtown”

#395: Tammy Wynette--“Your Good Girl’s Gonna Go Bad”

#394: Rascal Flatts--“Mayberry”

#393: Rosanne Cash--“Seven Year Ache”

#392: Montgomery Gentry--“My Town”

#391: Bobby Bare--“Marie Laveau”

http://www.countryuniverse.net/2020/11/17/a-country-music-conversation-sirius-top-1000-country-songs-of-all-time-400-391/

[Bastet]

51 minutes ago, UYI said:

#400: David Frizzell--“I’m Gonna Hire a Wino (To Decorate Our Home)”

This song makes me laugh; I had it on a 45 back in the day, and have it on my iPod today.  But it is in no way Top 400.

53 minutes ago, UYI said:

#395: Tammy Wynette--“Your Good Girl’s Gonna Go Bad”

I dig this one, too - quite a product of its time, yet still easy to listen to - but it's also ranked too high.

54 minutes ago, UYI said:

#393: Rosanne Cash--“Seven Year Ache”

I love this song.  Everyone should love this song.  At the very least, it should be ranked higher.

57 minutes ago, UYI said:

#391: Bobby Bare--“Marie Laveau”

Meh.  I know all three CU writers felt this placement was about right, and I'm not upset about it, but I wouldn't rank it this high.  In fact, more like 600s than 300s.

[UYI]

I'm back, and so is the list!

#390: Kenny Chesney--“Big Star”

#389: Mel McDaniel--“Louisiana Saturday Night”

#388: Jason Aldean--“When She Says Baby”

#387: Loretta Lynn--“Fist City”

#386: Taylor Swift--“Our Song”

#385: Tim McGraw--“Indian Outlaw”

#384: Lonestar--“Walking in Memphis”

#383: Vern Gosdin--“Set ‘Em Up Joe”

#382: Sawyer Brown--“The Race is On"

#381: Brooks & Dunn--“Ain’t Nothing ‘Bout You”

http://www.countryuniverse.net/2020/11/28/a-country-music-conversation-sirius-top-1000-country-songs-of-all-time-390-381/

[Bastet]

39 minutes ago, UYI said:

#389: Mel McDaniel--“Louisiana Saturday Night”

I love this song.  There's a boy from a brief period in my childhood whose name I can't remember at all and whose face I can just call up a vague image of, but with whom I clearly remember singing and dancing to it with at a barbecue at his parents' house during the time they lived in our neighborhood.  I don't know why the memory is strong, but I think of that every time the song pops up on my iPod.

42 minutes ago, UYI said:

#385: Tim McGraw--“Indian Outlaw”

REALLY?!  That song is repugnant and these Sirius fools have it in the top 400 of all time!

43 minutes ago, UYI said:

#384: Lonestar--“Walking in Memphis”

Um, too high.  This isn't a bad cover, but the original is so far superior that to rank this so highly is just weird.

44 minutes ago, UYI said:

#383: Vern Gosdin--“Set ‘Em Up Joe”

Such a good song.  I might have ranked it a bit higher, but I think this is a fair placement.

51 minutes ago, UYI said:

#381: Brooks & Dunn--“Ain’t Nothing ‘Bout You”

Ain't nothing 'bout this song that's special, but it's enjoyable.  Nowhere near top 400, though.

I don't know "Big Star" or "When She Says Baby", and I'm not even going to bother looking them up, because I'm quite sure I'd agree with the CU commentary.  And, while I still wish they'd included a woman among their analysts, I appreciate the men being the kind who recognize things like:

Quote

Oh, look. Another bro country hit where the woman only exists to bring happiness to the man and has no agency of her own. Yay. 

 

[UYI]

RIP to the most famous black artist in country music history, Charley Pride.

I hope his family sues the Country Music Association's ass to oblivion and back. I'll leave it at that before I devolve into a rage-filled rant. But absolutely no celebrity death has pissed me off more this year than this one. Absolutely none. THIS DID NOT HAVE TO HAPPEN. 

On a more positive note: this is such a fantastic song. What a voice. 

 

Edited December 13, 2020 by UYI

[Bastet]

4 hours ago, UYI said:

I hope his family sues the Country Music Association's ass to oblivion and back. I'll leave it at that before I devolve into a rage-filled rant. But absolutely no celebrity death has pissed me off more this year than this one. Absolutely none. THIS DID NOT HAVE TO HAPPEN. 

So did he indeed get infected while preparing/performing at that ridiculous CMA awards show?  I wondered about that in the Celebrity Deaths thread given the timing.

(Not much of a suit from what I know, but admittedly I have not looked beneath the surface of it being a profoundly stupid decision from everyone involved.)

[Guest]

54 minutes ago, Bastet said:

So did he indeed get infected while preparing/performing at that ridiculous CMA awards show?  I wondered about that in the Celebrity Deaths thread given the timing.

Nothing has been confirmed. The CMA issued a statement that he tested negative before and after the awards show but that really means nothing. 

It also pisses me off that some country singers who were there are now calling out the CMA. You don’t get to go to the party and then act outraged over the potential consequences. 

[UYI]

He truly was one of the highlights of Ken Burns' Country Music documentary. A marvel, and a triumph of the human spirit. As he said himself, "It's my music, too." <3

But man, his friendship with Faron Young--a wonderful story that he spoke about at length in said documentary--is more bittersweet than ever now. First Faron's suicide in 1996, and now this--and both were right before Christmas. Damn. :'( 

I dearly wish I had seen his episode of American Masters before now. I'll have to rectify that very soon.

 

[UYI]

Warning: I wound up typing WAY more than I expected, the down side of talking about something you're passionate about, I guess. Sorry for the multiple parentheses abuse to follow. ;)

One thing I do want to say is that a few of the country artists who lashed out at the CMAs last night (none of whom attended the ceremony--the one person who I saw who reacted this way--although she's since deleted her Tweet--who attended was Maren Morris, and in her defense she has been outspoken about a LOT of issues that the so-called stereotypical country music fan would NOT like--she's pissed off people for GOOD reasons, IMO; she and Kelsea Ballerini were among the--mostly female--country stars who called out the--mostly male--country stars who held concerts this past summer without masks or social distancing; it's possible they and others thought the CMAs might be better because they were both tested AND seated at small tables set eight--yes eight--feet apart; they weren't packed like sardines, and they were still wearing masks when walking around the venue, but alas...) were black female country artists, including Yola, Rissi Palmer, Rhiannon Giddens, and Mickey Guyton, who actually performed at the ACMs, which were two months prior to the CMAs (and unlike the CMAs, both the ACMs AND the CMT Awards were held with no audience, limited in person performances and others in separate venues, along with a few pre-taped performances; this is what the CMAs SHOULD have done, IMO, up to and including having Charley perform at home in Texas). 

Anyway, I wanted to share two songs by Mickey in particular: "What Are You Going to Tell Her?", and "Black Like Me", which is actually nominated for a Grammy now. I love her voice.

 

Edited December 13, 2020 by UYI

[UYI]

One more thing: 

Rissi Palmer--who, in addition to being a country singer-songwriter, also hosts a radio show called Color Me Country on Apple Music, which focuses on black/other POC/WOC in country music--had this to say on Twitter (apologies for the repeated Tweets; 'tis the hazard of sharing a Twitter thread): 

 

[UYI]

 

[UYI]

 

[UYI]

And now it's time to return to the Sirius XM list--it may be batshit insane, but I'm a pretty stubborn completist, and I will see this through to the end, damn it!

#380: Willie Nelson--“Blue Skies”

#379: Keith Urban--“You’ll Think of Me”

#378: Clint Black--“Killin’ Time”

#377: Faron Young--“Wine Me Up”

#376: Jason Aldean--“My Kinda Party”

#375: John Michael Montgomery--“Be My Baby Tonight”

#374: Luke Bryan--“Do I”

#373: Ernest Tubb--“Walking the Floor Over You”

#372: Rascal Flatts--“Bless the Broken Road”

#371: Restless Heart--“When She Cries”

http://www.countryuniverse.net/2020/12/14/a-country-music-conversation-sirius-top-1000-country-songs-of-all-time-380-371/

 

[Bastet]

2 hours ago, UYI said:

#373: Ernest Tubb--“Walking the Floor Over You”

Are they seriously fucking kidding me with this one?!  I don't love it, and don't even particularly like it, but in any actual Earth-based evaluation seeking to identify the top 1000 country songs of all time, this is not going to wind up only in the upper 300s.  Dude has a record shop named after him, in which - among all the great music - one can buy, as I did for my dad during my first trip to Nashville many decades ago, a floor mat reading "Walking the Floor Over You".  The song is a honky-tonk legend.  Number 373?!

[Dandesun]

Why does it feel like there are 1000 Jason Aldean songs on this list?!

[UYI]

It's usually not this fast (and I'm about a day late), but here we go again!

#370: Garth Brooks--“Ain’t Goin’ Down (‘Til the Sun Comes Up)”

#369: Merle Haggard and the Strangers--“Today I Started Loving You Again”

#368: Chris Young--“Voices”

#367: Alan Jackson--“Gone Country”

#366: Steve Wariner--“Lynda”

#365: Brad Paisley--“Alcohol”

#364: Alabama--“Love in the First Degree”

#363: Carrie Underwood--“Wasted”

#362: Kenny Rogers--“Coward of the County”

#361: Kenny Chesney--“No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems”

http://www.countryuniverse.net/2020/12/17/a-country-music-conversation-sirius-top-1000-country-songs-of-all-time-370-361/

 

[UYI]

RIP, K.T. Oslin.

 

[UYI]

A tribute to all the country artists we lost this year.

The description has a written list, one which has been updated as more country deaths have been reported since it was made. I'll copy and paste it below.

Singers

Kenny Rogers

Joe Diffie

Jan Howard

Fuzzy Owens

James Hands

Charlie Daniels

Kenny Dale

John Prine

Trini Lopez

Justin Townes Earle

Mac Davis

Billy Joe Shaver

Jerry Jeff Walker

Doug Supernaw

Steve Gulley

Carl Mann

Harold Reid (The Statler Brothers)

Johnny Bush

Hal Ketchum

K.T. Oslin

Charley Pride

Margie Bowes (added after the release of this video)

Musicians

Jimmy Capps

WS 'Fluke' Holland (Johnny Cash´s Drummer)

Paul English (Willie Nelson´s Drummer)

Tony Rice (December 25, 2020)

Songwriters

Gary Walker ('According To My Heart' & One Week Later')

Bill Mack ('Blue' & 'Drinking Champagne')

Alex Harvey ('Delta Dawn' & 'Reuben James')

Ed Setser ('Seven Spanish Angels')

Ray Pennington (I'm a Ramblin' Man)

[UYI]

New year, a new batch of ten entries to our Sirius XM list. Let's do this.

#360: Waylon Jennings--“Bob Wills is Still the King”

#359: Wynonna--“No One Else On Earth”

#358: Luke Bryan--“Someone Else Calling You Baby”

#357: Alan Jackson--“Mercury Blues”

#356: Jamey Johnson--“In Color”

#355: Hal Ketchum--“Small Town Saturday Night”

#354: Little Big Town--“Girl Crush”

#353: John Conlee--“Rose Colored Glasses”

#352: Jason Aldean--“She’s Country”

#351: Freddy Fender--“Before the Next Teardrop Falls”

http://www.countryuniverse.net/2021/01/13/a-country-music-conversation-sirius-top-1000-country-songs-of-all-time-360-351/

 

[Bastet]

1 hour ago, UYI said:

#351: Freddy Fender--“Before the Next Teardrop Falls”

Well, that's a ridiculously low ranking.

This is very old news, since Tammy Wynette has been dead for over 20 years, but I've been listening to Kathleen Madigan read Loretta Lynn's Still Woman Enough memoir (good lord, that woman's life is a hillbilly shit show [I mean, we all knew that from Coal Miner's Daughter, but wow]), and Loretta told a story about Tammy being at some event where a young singer told her the older women of country music ought to move aside to make way for the new crop of singers -- Tammy smiled and said, "Move me."  You tell 'er, Tammy.

[UYI]

2 hours ago, Bastet said:

Well, that's a ridiculously low ranking.

This is very old news, since Tammy Wynette has been dead for over 20 years, but I've been listening to Kathleen Madigan read Loretta Lynn's Still Woman Enough memoir (good lord, that woman's life is a hillbilly shit show [I mean, we all knew that from Coal Miner's Daughter, but wow]), and Loretta told a story about Tammy being at some event where a young singer told her the older women of country music ought to move aside to make way for the new crop of singers -- Tammy smiled and said, "Move me."  You tell 'er, Tammy.

I have a biography of Tammy's that tells that story!

I'm also a Kathleen Madigan fan; I need to go back and watch her read Tanya Tucker's Nickel Dreams so I can get out my copy and read along. 

[UYI]

Next up:

#350: Montgomery Gentry--“Where I Come From”

#349: Dwight Yoakam--“Guitars, Cadillacs”

#348: Jake Owen--“Barefoot Blue Jean Night”

#347: Merle Haggard and the Strangers--“Silver Wings”

#346: Dierks Bentley--“Sideways”

#345: Shania Twain--“Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under”

#344: Bobby Bare--“500 Miles Away From Home”

#343: Brantley Gilbert--“Country Must Be Country Wide"

#342: Zac Brown Band--"Whatever It Is”

#341: Trace Adkins--“Every Light in the House”

http://www.countryuniverse.net/2021/01/17/a-country-music-conversation-sirius-top-1000-country-songs-of-all-time-350-341/

[Bastet]

On 1/14/2021 at 8:50 PM, UYI said:

I'm also a Kathleen Madigan fan; I need to go back and watch her read Tanya Tucker's Nickel Dreams

I got caught up with the Still Woman Enough reading (I love Kathleen Madigan's reactions, especially to all things "Doo"), so started watching the Nickel Dreams stuff last night; Tanya's crazy life is tame by comparison. 

2 hours ago, UYI said:

#349: Dwight Yoakam--“Guitars, Cadillacs”

Oh, hell to the no.  This needs to be significantly higher.

2 hours ago, UYI said:

#345: Shania Twain--“Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under”

I now have this song stuck in my head.  And I don't mind.

[SunnyBeBe]

On 11/30/2020 at 12:00 AM, UYI said:

I'm back, and so is the list!

#390: Kenny Chesney--“Big Star”

#389: Mel McDaniel--“Louisiana Saturday Night”

#388: Jason Aldean--“When She Says Baby”

#387: Loretta Lynn--“Fist City”

#386: Taylor Swift--“Our Song”

#385: Tim McGraw--“Indian Outlaw”

#384: Lonestar--“Walking in Memphis”

#383: Vern Gosdin--“Set ‘Em Up Joe”

#382: Sawyer Brown--“The Race is On"

#381: Brooks & Dunn--“Ain’t Nothing ‘Bout You”

http://www.countryuniverse.net/2020/11/28/a-country-music-conversation-sirius-top-1000-country-songs-of-all-time-390-381/

This made me laugh.  A few years ago, I had a friend who would often break out singing Fist City when we were out on the town with the girls!  This involved alcohol.  She wasn’t angry or wanting to fight, but something in her brought that song out.....good memories. Lol  Mind you she must have been a child when that song debuted.   She endeared me to the song.  

Edited January 21, 2021 by SunnyBeBe

[UYI]

Continuing On:

#340: Kenny Rogers & The First Edition--“Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love to Town”

#339: Lonestar--“I’m Already There”

#338: George Strait--“Give it Away”

#337: Garth Brooks--“The Beaches of Cheyenne”

#336: Don Williams--“Some Broken Hearts Never Mend”

#335: Cole Swindell--“Ain’t Worth the Whiskey”

#334: Alan Jackson--“Where I Come From”

#333: Tim McGraw--“Please Remember Me”

#332: Statler Brothers--“I’ll Go to My Grave Loving You”

#331: Sugarland--“Baby Girl”

http://www.countryuniverse.net/2021/01/25/a-country-music-conversation-sirius-top-1000-country-songs-of-all-time-340-331/

[UYI]

What a day in contrasts for country music today. The biggest new country star of the past year, Morgan Wallen (who just broke streaming records for a country artist when his second album came out LESS THAN A MONTH AGO), appears to have lost his career in a day (and rightfully so, there's songs of his that I like and it's clear that he needs some sort of help for alcoholism/mental health issues, but racism is racism, and I'm surprised but proud to see radio, streaming services, country award shows, and CMT make it clear they will NOT be promoting him or his music anymore), and one half of the country duo Brothers Osborne (and a fellow Marylander like me, WOO HOO!), TJ Osborne, just became the first openly gay country star in the mainstream on a major label WHILE he is still in his hey day. So much history today. 

 

[UYI]

 

[UYI]

Also, in honor of Black History Month--and especially, as a counterpoint surrounding all the news around Morgan Wallen this past week--here are some black women in country music you can listen to (I'm only mentioning black women right now as they are CONSIDERABLY at a larger disadvantage in the industry than even their black male counterparts are):

Mickey Guyton

Rhiannon Giddens

Rissi Palmer

Valerie June

Priscilla Renea

Yola

Full disclosure: I am really the most familiar with Mickey and Rhiannon, and even then not to the extent that I should be, so this is something I need to work on, too. And there are other names I didn't list here, too, this is just a starter list. :) 

Edited February 6, 2021 by UYI

[ebk57]

Love Rhiannon and Valerie June!  I should really go deeper into their catalogues.  Thanks for the reminder!!

[RealHousewife]

I don't listen to a lot of country, but I do enjoy Dolly. Are there other artists who have kind of a similar upbeat, positive vibe? I know there is only one Dolly, but I'd love to explore artists who may have been inspired by her and give me good vibes. 

[UYI]

Continuing on:

#330: Little Texas--“God Blessed Texas”

#329: Dierks Bentley--“Free and Easy (Down the Road I Go)”

#328: Tanya Tucker--“Texas (When I Die)”

#327: Zac Brown Band featuring Jimmy Buffett--“Knee Deep”

#326: Faith Hill--“Wild One”

#325: Johnny Paycheck--“I’m the Only Hell (My Mama Raised)”

#324: Gary Allan--“Every Storm (Runs Out of Rain)”

#323: George Strait--“You Look So Good in Love”

#322: Merle Haggard--“Big City”

#321: Randy Houser--“Runnin’ Outta Moonlight”

http://www.countryuniverse.net/2021/02/15/a-country-music-conversation-sirius-top-1000-country-songs-of-all-time-330-321/

 

 

 

Edited February 16, 2021 by UYI

[Bastet]

Another blah batch of ten; nothing I truly hate, but a bunch of "doesn't belong" or "too high" songs.  That shouldn't be the norm in the top 350.

[UYI]

On 2/12/2021 at 4:07 AM, RealHousewife said:

I don't listen to a lot of country, but I do enjoy Dolly. Are there other artists who have kind of a similar upbeat, positive vibe? I know there is only one Dolly, but I'd love to explore artists who may have been inspired by her and give me good vibes. 

The easiest thing for me to do would probably be for me to share the names of female country artists with similar voices or tones, as finding someone with both of those key elements you mentioned about Dolly might be harder. Keep in mind that this is a mix of both past and present artists:

Pam Tillis ("Don't Tell Me What to Do" and "Shake the Sugar Tree" are too big favorites of mine by her, along with "Cleopatra, Queen of Denial", even though that one's WAY hokier, it's definitely upbeat)

Kellie Pickler (who has made it known that Dolly is one of her all time country music heroes--hardly an earthshattering revelation from a female country artist, of course, but I feel like her sound and style in particular has some parallels to Dolly and therefore fits here)

Lee Ann Womack ("I Hope You Dance" is full of hope and optimism, although it's WAY more pop-country than what she's known for overall)

Ashley Monroe (she both looks AND sounds a LOT like LAW, actually--in any case, she should be a bigger star and it's INSANE to me that's she's not)

For artists that may not have similar voices or tones to Dolly but some well-known upbeat, positive songs, two of Sara Evans' best-loved hits are "Born to Fly" and "A Real Fine Place to Start", and Jo Dee Messina has "Heads Carolina, Tails California", "I'm Alright", "Bye Bye" (it's more upbeat than the title might indicate, lol)...that's just off the top of my head right now. Shania Twain also has a LARGE number of very upbeat, positive songs, and Dolly was one of her biggest influences, too.

There's also Dolly's good friend Emmylou Harris, who has a similar angelic quality in her voice like Dolly does. She has a fair number of heartbreaking songs, though, not to mention ones that SOUND upbeat instrumentation-wise but are quite sad lyrically ("In My Dreams" is a good example of this). She's a legend, though, and worth hearing no matter what, IMO.

Hope that helps! If there's anyone else I can think of, I'll let you know. :) 

[RealHousewife]

8 hours ago, UYI said:

The easiest thing for me to do would probably be for me to share the names of female country artists with similar voices or tones, as finding someone with both of those key elements you mentioned about Dolly might be harder. Keep in mind that this is a mix of both past and present artists:

Pam Tillis ("Don't Tell Me What to Do" and "Shake the Sugar Tree" are too big favorites of mine by her, along with "Cleopatra, Queen of Denial", even though that one's WAY hokier, it's definitely upbeat)

Kellie Pickler (who has made it known that Dolly is one of her all time country music heroes--hardly an earthshattering revelation from a female country artist, of course, but I feel like her sound and style in particular has some parallels to Dolly and therefore fits here)

Lee Ann Womack ("I Hope You Dance" is full of hope and optimism, although it's WAY more pop-country than what she's known for overall)

Ashley Monroe (she both looks AND sounds a LOT like LAW, actually--in any case, she should be a bigger star and it's INSANE to me that's she's not)

For artists that may not have similar voices or tones to Dolly but some well-known upbeat, positive songs, two of Sara Evans' best-loved hits are "Born to Fly" and "A Real Fine Place to Start", and Jo Dee Messina has "Heads Carolina, Tails California", "I'm Alright", "Bye Bye" (it's more upbeat than the title might indicate, lol)...that's just off the top of my head right now. Shania Twain also has a LARGE number of very upbeat, positive songs, and Dolly was one of her biggest influences, too.

There's also Dolly's good friend Emmylou Harris, who has a similar angelic quality in her voice like Dolly does. She has a fair number of heartbreaking songs, though, not to mention ones that SOUND upbeat instrumentation-wise but are quite sad lyrically ("In My Dreams" is a good example of this). She's a legend, though, and worth hearing no matter what, IMO.

Hope that helps! If there's anyone else I can think of, I'll let you know. 🙂

Thanks SO much! I will check out all the artists/songs you mentioned. 🙂

[UYI]

7 hours ago, RealHousewife said:

Thanks SO much! I will check out all the artists/songs you mentioned. 🙂

You're very welcome! Please also check out Carlene Carter (the daughter of June Carter Cash and Carl Smith; Johnny Cash was her stepfather), especially her signature song, "Every Little Thing". 

[RealHousewife]

2 hours ago, UYI said:

You're very welcome! Please also check out Carlene Carter (the daughter of June Carter Cash and Carl Smith; Johnny Cash was her stepfather), especially her signature song, "Every Little Thing". 

Will do! 🙂

 

[UYI]

Just a few days later and we have more entries!

#320: Mark Chesnutt--“It’s a Little Too Late”

#319: Willie Nelson--“Georgia On My Mind”

#318: Jason Aldean--“Amarillo Sky”

#317: Shania Twain--“You’re Still the One”

#316: Rodney Atkins--“Watching You”

#315: Keith Whitley--“Don’t Close Your Eyes”

#314: Waylon Jennings--“I’ve Always Been Crazy”

#313: Kenny Chesney--“Save it For a Rainy Day”

#312: Johnny Cash--“Don’t Take Your Guns to Town”

#311: Kenny Rogers and Sheena Easton--“We’ve Got Tonight”

http://www.countryuniverse.net/2021/02/18/a-country-music-conversation-sirius-top-1000-country-songs-of-all-time-320-311/

[Bastet]

39 minutes ago, UYI said:

#311: Kenny Rogers and Sheena Easton--“We’ve Got Tonight”

I cannot be reminded of this song without thinking of Rogers performing it with Dolly Parton on their Real Love concert special, when she changes the lyrics from "We've got tonight, who needs tomorrow?" to "We've got tonight, who needs Sheena Easton?"

But let me get to the important part of this batch of ten, which is the second half of Kevin John Coyne's response to the ranking of "You're Still the One":
 

Quote

 

But I can’t think of any example – not even “Jolene” – that better demonstrates this list’s dismissal of female artists than the biggest country album of all time being only represented with three tracks, with the highest being #317.  Two of the most impactful hits from the album – “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!” and “From This Moment On” – aren’t on the list at all, nor is “Love Gets Me Every Time,” which spent five weeks at #1.

The pop crossover argument doesn’t fly with me.  More than half of the top twenty on this list were crossover hits, and there’s a top five entry by another female crossover star that is only that high because of a massive pop cover cementing its legacy.  Notably, of course, most of those crossover hits toward the top are by male artists. 

This ranking is a flat-out insult, and representative of the casual dismissal of legendary female artists that Sirius has demonstrated along the way, with C-list bro country acts getting more entries than the most significant female artists of all time.  

 

Testify.  (I'm a lot more pissed about the ranking of "Jolene" than I am this one, but the overall point stands strong.)