Tag Archives: country music

September 26, 2016

Marty Robbins, El Paso, and Mr. Teardrop

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In three decades as a singer and songwriter Robbins placed a staggering 94 songs on Billboard’s country music charts. His musical style ranged from rockabilly rave-ups to pop standards and even Hawaiian songs. Fulfilling another dream, Robbins spent time on … Continue reading →

September 24, 2015

Throwbacklist Thursday

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The University of Illinois Press thinks country and western music hung the moon. Our list of C&W books reads like a who’s who of that musical form’s rhinestone-studded history. You want singers? Our bill features hitmakers and hip shakers like the Singing Sheriff Faron … Continue reading →

September 17, 2015

Throwbacklist Thursday

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George Hamilton IV departed the world two years ago today. Unrelated to the actor and tanning phenomenon of the same name, IV, as he was sometimes called, ambled out of North Carolina in his college years to become a teen … Continue reading →

September 27, 2014

Beyond “El Paso”: a story song survey

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Story songs had won love from an admiring public since the days when drunken Vikings flung wandering skalds into a nearby volcano. When the wireless came along, story songs filled the air in a different way. The story song “El … Continue reading →

September 26, 2014

For the love of wicked Feleena

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There is a possibly apocryphal story about Loretta Lynn’s classic “Coal Miner’s Daughter.” Supposedly, Lynn’s original version of the song included ten (or eight or twelve) verses. Hearing it, her producer Owen Bradley said something along the order of, “Loretta, … Continue reading →

July 23, 2014

Happy birthday Alison Krauss

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Born on July 23, 1971, Central Illinois native Alison Krauss has been awarded with more Grammys than any other female artist. The singer and fiddle player has put up sales numbers greater than any other living bluegrass act. Yet, as Murphy … Continue reading →

September 21, 2013

Happy birthday to Ginger Boatwright

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Bluegrass singer Ginger Boatwright was born on September 21st in 1944. She has been involved in various bands throughout the years including the Grammy nominated Red White and Blue(grass), the all-female bluegrass group the Bushwackers, and the Doug Dillard Band. … Continue reading →

August 14, 2013

Happy birthday to bluegrass pioneer Rose Maddox

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Rose Maddox, the lead singer of America’s “most colorful hillbilly band” the Maddox Brothers and Rose, was born on August 15, 1925. Rose went from very modest beginnings to fronting her family band, to a solo career that included a … Continue reading →