A Look Back at the 1991 CMA Awards

TV screen shot of President & Mrs George H W Bush with Reba McEntire at the 1991 CMA Awards

.

The 1991 CMA Awards marked the 25th Anniversary of the awards which was a big enough reason to celebrate. However, a bigger reason came when noted country music fans President George H. W. Bush and First Lady Barbara Bush announced they would be attending the show.

President Bush was the first president to attend a music award show, so it made all the national news shows, and generated incredible amount of free publicity for the show and country music.

Hosted by Reba McEntire, the show is significant for another reason. It signaled a new era of country music an era that would propel country to a new huge level of popularity, and alter America and world’s perception of country music.

As you read on remember the show was only two hours in length, and all the awards were given during the show. Also Female Vocalist of Year Kathy Maetta and Lorrie Morgan did not get to perform while fellow nominee Patty Loveless only got to sing on a Vince Gill song. Think that is bad? No one of the vocal group or duo of the year nominees got to perform. Tanya Tucker won the Female Vocalist of the Year, but was not there to accept for perform because she was in the hospital having just given birth.

To open the show Ricky Skaggs, Steve Warnier, Vince Gill sang “That’s Where I’ll Be Found” with an all-star band featuring amongst others Mark O’ Connor, Carl Perkins, Bill Monroe, Marty Stuart, and Earl & Randy Scruggs.

President and Mrs Bush arrived after the first song, introduced by host Reba McEntire. Roy Rogers was the first artist to shake the President’s hand, Alan Jackson was the second. Country legend Roy Acuff sat next to Barbra while Crystal Gayle sat next to President Bush. Johnny Cash, June Carter Cash, Kenny Rogers, and George Strait sat in front of President who for security reasons was sat in the second row.

It should be noted the seating assignment of Crystal Gayle next to President Bush was intentional. Not only did President Bush love her music, she and her elder sister Loretta Lynn were major supporters of his. It also should be noted that the show as held at the Grand Ole Opry House where there are not seats, but pew benches, so people were literally rubbing elbows with each other.

12 minutes into the show the 2^nd musical performance. Yes, I said 12 minutes. Today award shows probably would have had four performances in the first 12 minutes. George Strait performed “You Know Me Better That”. Strait was a good friend of President Bush who loved his music. Strait was also the two-time reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year.

In a fashion statement worthy of a country music act, The Kentucky Hunters accepted their Group of the Year award wearing their FFA (Future Farmers of American) jackets. I suspect several viewers that night were former or current members of the FFA.

Trisha Yearwood sang “She’s in Love the Boy”. Alan Jackson performed “Don’t Rock the Jukebox” Vince Gill & Patty Loveless did “Pocket Full of Gold”, and Clint Black & Roy Rogers sang “Hold on Partner”. Jackson and Gill were exploding on the scene in 1991, and both would go on to significant success. Black on the other hand would begin to decent from lofty success he had achieved in 1989 – 90.

Namoni and Wynonna Judd appeared to introduce the nominees for the Horizon Award which is given to the best new artist. Each of the nominees was given a performance slot which showed how committed the CMA at the time was to promoting new artists. Travis Tritt “Here’s a Quarter”, Doug Stone “In Different Light”, Pam Tillis “Put Yourself in My Place,” Mark Chesutt “Brother Jukebox” and Mary Chapin Carpenter “Down at the Twist and Shout,” were the performers. Tritt won the award, but Carpenter won the most praise for her performance. I, on the other hand, love “Brother Jukebox” and have always thought Chesnutt was an under appreciated artist though he would be nominated for the award again the next year and win.

Former pro football player and accomplished song writer Mike Reid – did a melody of songs he had written for others and Walk on Faith a song he had recorded in 1990 and became a #1 hit for him. He was followed by one Garth Brooks doing “Shameless.”

Dolly Parton simply walked out on stage with no introduction to perform “She’s an Eagle” which dedicated to Mrs. Bush. Reba McEntire finished the performances with “For My Broken Heart."

As he accepted the Entertainer of the Year Award Garth Brooks said “no body is anything without his heroes. I love my George’s – George Strait, George Jones - thank you guys.” (pause) “No offense Mr. President. Sorry.” Everyone roared with laughter including the Bushes.

Roy Acuff, Dolly Parton, Kenny Rogers, Johnny Cash, George Jones, Ray Price, Barbara Mandrell, the Judds, Eddy Arnold, Anne Murray, Buck Owens, Kathy Maetta, Rickey Van Shelton, Larry Gatlin, Alabama, Roy Rogers and Sweethearts of the Rodeo were all in attendance that night. Still 9 and the 15 performance slots went to Brooks, Jackson, Gill, Yearwood, Tritt, Black, Stone, Chesnutt, and Carpenter all artists who charted the first country single in 1989 or later. The show opening number was a great way to get a lot of older artists like Ricky Skaggs and Bill Monroe involved, but it was obvious which generation the night belonged too. A new generation of country artists was about to take Country Music to heights it had never seen before.

Country Music's CMA Awards 2010

The country music I loved died a while back and has been replaced by the pop light music now being passed off as country music. A few artists still make music I like such as Miranda Lambert. I was pleased to see Lambert received 9 nominations for this year’s Country Music Association Awards (CMA).

Lambert received two nominations each for Single and Song of the Year. Usually this means she won’t win the either category because the two songs split the vote, but that is not always the case. In 2002 Alan Jackson’s “Where Were You (When the World Stop Turning)” won Single and Song of the Year even though Jackson’s “Drive (For Daddy Gene)” was also nominated for Single and Song of Year. That said “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)” had such momentum that no song that year was even close to it in creed and popularity.

I expect Lambert to win Female Vocalist of the Year and Album of the Year. Lady Antebellum’s “Need You Now” will likely win Single and Song of the Year.

Much of the discussion about the CMA nominations centers on Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood being excluded from the Entertainer of the Year nominations. I was surprised too, but there is some precedent to this.

In 1998 the CMA bestowed the Entertainer of the Year on Shania Twain and then failed to nominate her the next year. The same thing has now happened to Taylor Swift who won last year and was not nominated this year. The reason is simple, the CMA voting membership dislikes Swift’s blatant attempt to make pop music and call it country just as they disliked Twain’s similar attempt. Of course the hypocrites who point their fingers at Swift are the same people who are systematically destroying traditional country music by producing the watered down pop music that is today called country music.

Carrie Underwood’s case is more complex, but none less hypocritical. Underwood is artist of great vocal talent who seems to represent all the good traits a country artist is suppose to represent. Underwood has also embraced country music’s past while trying to keep her pop audience gained when she won American Idol.

Underwood was a blessing to country music when she arrived. She was a ready made star who looked fabulous and sang even better. The country music world could not wait to build Underwood up as a mega-star. However, our society loves building people up only to systematically tear them back down. Call it the backlash against being to successful.

Underwood sang too good, looked too beautiful, sold too many albums, got too many #1 singles, and won too many awards. It happened to the Judds and Randy Travis. They were highly successful only to be denied the CMA Entertainer of the Year Award because they were jealously viewed as “too successful”. It also happened to Garth Brooks who after a string of amazing successes was sent into exile by the CMA. Today Brooks is seen as a greedy egoist; no matter that his drive to sell more albums, play to more fans, and be the center of attention was always part of who he was and help him make himself and country music more successful.

George Strait, Alan Jackson, and Brooks & Dunn are about the only people to survive this backlash against success, but even they were not completely immune. Now Brooks & Dunn have retired. Jackson is aging and not the commercial force he once was. Strait is not young either who could retire a moment’s notice.

Underwood may be able to reverse this backlash. She may make that album or record that song that is so good no one can deny her. Until then it is Miranda Lambert’s world, or it is until backlash against her success begins.

A New Era in Country Music

Country artists from different eras come together to honor Alan Jackson at the CMT Giants event in 2008. Pictured are George Jones, Taylor Swift, George Strait, Denise & Alan Jackson, Hank Williams Jr. Martina McBride, Lee Ann Womack, Dierks Bentley, Miranda Lambert, and Brad Paisley.

Carrie Underwood’s back to back ACM Entertainer of the Year wins and Taylor Swift’s 2009 CMA Entertainer of the Year win confirmed what I had been thinking for the past few months, that there is new era in country music lead by co-mega stars Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift. This new era likely started its genesis some time in late 2008, but now has come into full bloom in 2010.

Below I have provided a handy guide to each country era of the last 25 odd years, and highlight some of the super-stars of those eras.

The New Traditionalist era (1984-1989)

Traditional country music made a comeback in this era, but album sales were still stagnate. Many people romanticize about this era as being the last great era of country music, but that is simply not the case. In fact during this era country music was still considered an ugly step child mocked by mainstream music media and critics. It was only after the Class of 89 pushed country music to a new level of acceptance that mainstream media and critics began to romanticize about this era’s greatness as a way to “put down” the Class of 89. It seems with the mainstream media and critics the past is always better than the present.

George Strait – Strait transcends all country music eras, but this was the era that launched him. He is the only artist in music to chart a top 10 single for 30 years straight.

Reba McEntire - She was big in the 80’s then became huge in the early 90’s. Today she looks like an aging mother, or dare we say grandmother compared to Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift, yet somehow she keeps rolling on though not a consistently as George Strait has.

Randy Travis – In 1986 he took country music by storm and may well have been this era’s biggest star, but by 1990 he already was on the fade. It was roughly a three album reign as a superstar.

The Judds – Mother Namoni and daughter Wynonna formed the hippest act of this era. People forget that the Judds were once so cool that even many non-country fans were into them. The Judds music has worn well, but the ladies themselves have spent to much time living out their personal dramas in public.

Hank Williams Jr. – Son of the greatest country singer of all-time, Hank Jr. carved out of very success solo career that spanned the 80’s. Commercial success disappeared in the 90’s, but he remains an icon.

Alabama – They were the superstars of the era before this one, but their success carried over. Others artists get more shout outs than Alabama when it comes time to talk about the legends of country music who have made an impact in the 80’s, but Alabama is more deserving than people think.

Class of 89 era (1989-1996)

The Class of 89 not only saved country music, but made it a major player in the greater entertainment world. While some believe this era’s artists (mainly Garth) started the ruin of country music, the truth is this group carried on the traditional country mantel, and never really courted pop radio. The goal of these artists was not to go and cater to pop music fans, but to lure pop music fans to country music and country music radio. In my opinion (and growing number of others) this is the greatest of the eras covered in this piece of writing.

Garth Brooks – He dominated this era. His greatest achievement was getting droves of non-country music fans to take notice of the genre. He boosted every country act’s sales by his ability to promote not only Garth, but country music as a whole.

Alan Jackson - An amazing artist whose commercial and artistic success is unparalleled. He will be the artist most remembered from this era because his body of musical work is unmatched.

Vince Gill – A gifted singer, songwriter, and guitarist who won 18 CMA Awards. Amazingly he won only 4 ACM Awards. That disparity is the largest among any artists. Why did it happen? Who knows, but what is known is Gill’s commercial success had faded by the late 90’s.

Clint Black – His first album “Killin’ Time” was great. His subsequent albums were not so great. He spent too much time wanting to record only songs he had written, and fighting with his ex-manager Bill Ham.

Travis Tritt – Another artist who started strong then faded. He should never have gotten into that feud with Billy Ray Cyrus. He also never had the songs to make good use of his great voice.

Mary Chapin Carpenter - In reality she had one truly successful album – “Come On Come On”. This album produced 4 of her 9 top ten hits and sold 4 million copies which is almost half of her total sales.

Brooks & Dunn – Ronnie Dunn has one of the greatest voices in country music history. Kix Brooks had great stage presence and energy. Both were gifted writers. 20 years of successes will come in an end in 2010 as the duo is retiring as an act.

Wynonna Judd – After her success with the Judds and her wildly successful debut album, Wynonna seemed set for a ten year run as superstar. It never happened.

Billy Ray Cyrus – One monstrous (“Achy Breaky Heart”) hit propelled him to superstardom. It also doomed his career. Luckily he had a daughter (teen pop sensation Miley Cyrus) who was able to get a job to pay the bills.

John Michael Montgomery - He was one of the least acknowledged country superstars ever. He had three straight multiplatinum selling albums and a string of hit songs, and yet no one seems to mention him among successful artists of this era. Personally I was not a big fan of his music. In fact I think it’s downright bad.

The Women Rule era (1996-2002)

This is the era when country music became country pop. Shania Twain was the first to cross over to pop music by making pop version of her country songs, Faith Hill, LeAnn Rimes, and others followed. While creating pop versions of country songs was not invented in this era, it became an epidemic. Instead of bringing pop fans to country music, the country artists morphed into pop stars and went to the pop fans on the pop fans’ terms.

Country radio however wanted to have captive audience; an audience that would listen only to country radio because that was the only place you could heard a particular artist. Once country radio realized they no longer had this with most the female superstars (Shania, Faith, LeAnn, and others) of this era, country radio shifted to artists less likely to be heard on pop radio which brought forth the Return of the Men Era.

This era marks the beginning of the end of the country music industry as a homogonous entity. No longer were country artists promoting themselves and country music as a whole, but the artists were now just promoting themselves.

Shania Twain - Twain was the master of living in both the country and pop world. Twain mixed country instruments with pop music arrangements and came away with big success. She made lots of fans and lots of enemies in the process. Twain has not released a studio album in 8 years, so it will be interesting to see what happens if or when she releases a new studio album.

Dixie Chicks - This traditional leaning trio was much loved for their music, but their outspokenness ended their hold on country music. Now considered more a pop group, the question remains where will go with their next album? The political foils (President Bush, Toby Keith, country radio) are either gone (Bush), fading (Keith), or on to other things (country radio is living large with Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift). Now 11 years after their debut, the Chicks may not find the commercial success they once had. Do they care? Who knows, but it will be interesting to see what happens.

Faith Hill – At first she seemed to be a refreshing good old gal from Mississippi, but then Hill made herself into the blonde Shania. It worked for a while then things started going wrong. In a way the country music industry seem to feel worse about Hill going pop than Twain as Twain was never seen as a part of the country music family while Hill was.

Tim McGraw - He is not a great singer, but for the most part he has mastered the art of song selection. With some exceptions McGraw has recorded and released good songs which touch people one way or another. He may never be Strait, Jackson, Brooks or Gill, but he is a cut above most male country artists

Martina McBride – She tried to remain more country than Twain and Hill, and it helped with awards and country radio play. However, it seems that her time is up. Her latest album “Shine” is tanking. McBride never sang true traditional country, and her penchant for singing “preaching” songs grew old.

LeAnn Rimes - Many expected more from Rimes. She has such a great voice, but instead of a superstar career in country music, she became a so-so country artist and a mediocre pop star.

Deana Carter - A true one album wonder. Who would have thought her career would have ended so quickly. She seemed to have it all voice, songwriting talent, and good looks.

The Return of the Men era (2002-2007)

Women 25-55 have always been a key demographic in country music radio’s listening audience. It is in this era that female 25-55 demographic became literally all encompassing. The wishes of this soccer mom audience became the command of country record labels and country radio. The soccer moms wanted good looking guys singing songs of love. An occasional funny ditty was welcomed as well.

Knowing that male artists had a harder time getting played on pop radio thereby making country radio the only place male artists could be heard, and knowing that playing male artists would keep the 25-55 female audience tuned in, country radio went male artist heavy.

George Strait, Alan Jackson, Brooks & Dunn, Tim McGraw, and Garth Brooks were allowed to continue on, but female artists were thrown aside. This era had some good music, but the complaints of water down country music began to rise exponentially during this era. Kenny Chesney and Rascal Flatts especially came under attack.

Also this era begins to see albums sales decline. Fans of pop music began getting their music via the Internet not on cd. Country fans lagged behind on this trend, but the trend started to take hold during this period.

Kenny Chesney - It took years for Chesney to finally hit the big time (his big break came off publicity generated from his stealing and riding a police horse at the George Strait Music Festival in the late 90’s), and it was a great run. However, trends seem to show the days of his tropical island flavored countrys seem to be coming to an end.

Toby Keith - His macho country help make him a super-star, but he spent to much time on it instead of the great ballads he use to sing.

Keith Urban - He can play guitar, sing, write, and has huge stage presence. The fact he is married to movie star Nicole Kidman only adds to his hipness, and yes likely his happiness.

Brad Paisley - He was more traditional country when he started, but Paisley seems to be in the zone right now. Like Urban he can sing, write and play guitar.

Rascal Flatts - Loved by many hated by many, RF continues to charts hits, sell records, and draw big crowds on the road. They will never garner many industry awards or respect though

Gretchen Wilson and the Muzik Manfia - The only female artist to rise during this period, Wilson redneck pride image eventually worked against her with the arrival of the more beautiful and youthful Carrie and Taylor. However, for a brief moment Wilson seemed to be the queen of country music.

The Raise of the Young Women of Country era (2008-

The soccer moms are now discovering that they have company - their daughters and sons. While other eras of country music most notably the Class of 89 era bought in the youth audience, this era seems to have made major inroads to the youth market. Give credit to Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert, and Taylor Swift for this change in country music’s audience demographics.

Teenage girls see Carrie, Miranda, and Taylor as friends and role models. Teenage boys see Carrie, Miranda, and Taylor as someone they want to date and possibly marry.

Taylor Swift has shown the country music industry the new way to reach young fans is via Internet social media sites such as MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Now a presence on social media sites is a requirement for all country artists.

Surprisingly no solo male superstars have emerged since the arrival of Brad Paisley, Keith Urban back around 2000. Country audiences continue to migrate toward getting their music from the Internet, but many fans still cling to their cds.

Carrie Underwood – Winner of the wildly popular televised pop music competition “American Idol”, Underwood stormed into Nashville already a star. Her rise to mega-stardom has been marked by a surprise clinging to country music tradition. She has joined the Grand Ole Opry and espoused the music of Alan Jackson, Randy Travis, and other country legends. While many see her only as country pop singer, she seems to be lending more towards mixing traditional country with her country pop. Without a doubt Underwood is one of the most gifted singers to appear in country music in decades.

Taylor Swift – Swift is a talented singer-songwriting teenager whose writing ability is far superior to her actual singing. Her gifts don’t stop at songwriting. Her ability to understand that her fan base now communicates with each other in new way (via social media on the Internet) put her on the cutting edge of a new music marketing era.

Sugarland – This once time group is now a duo that consists of gifted lead vocals Jennifer Nettles and her male music partner Kristen Bush. Sugarland is the country version of the Eurhythmics where the lead singing female vocals comes to dominate the group. Sugarland members do not have much in the way of country music backgrounds, and their sound are definitely country-pop, but the music and personalities have engaged a country music audience.

Miranda Lambert – Her kick ass traditional country music may not get played as much as some on country radio, but it sure sells cds. She beloved by music critics and music industry professionals, and her new album Revolution was the best album released in 2009.

Lady Antebellum – Hilary Scott, Charles Kelly, and Dave Haywood form an interesting trio. Scott (daughter of country artist Linda Davis) and Kelly share lead vocals. In a way they are the country Fleetwood Mac.

The Decade in Country Music (2000-2009)

This Country Music decade started out with Alan Jackson, the Dixie Chicks, and Toby Keith dominating, George Strait still making hits, and promising new male artists Keith Urban and Brad Paisley emerging. The decade ends with Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood dominating, George Strait still making hits, and few promising new artists.

Rather than rate which album or song was the best, here is my brief look at some of the key country artists of this decade.

Taylor Swift – The first country artist to figure out that the ground had shifted beneath the industry. Swift realized country artists are now required to enter into a new kind of relationship with their fans. Her use of social media to communicate directly with her fans helped this gifted songwriter but mediocre singer; evolve into the most powerful force in country music.

Carrie Underwood – Underwood seems to be everything you could hope for in a country artist - a beautiful, young, southern woman with rural values, a strong Christian faith, an amazing singing voice, and knowledge of country music history. All she needs knows is some real good music. When she sings traditional country, she is utterly amazing. When she sings her country pop music, she lacks.

Kenny Chesney – His concerts are great, but his music will likely be the least remembered of any of these top artists. Chesney was never more than a bland, would be rocker wearing a cowboy hat.

Toby Keith – He started a decade trying to be macho. He fought with Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks, the late ABC News Anchor Peter Jennings, the CMA, his record label president Luke Lewis, and pretty much anyone else. Keith was man’s man, a patriot fighting for America. Sadly all the fighting covered up some great music that he made early in the decade. Even sadder as the decade wore on, Keith became a parody of himself and his music suffered.

Brad Paisley & Keith Urban – I like some music by each of these guys though more their earlier stuff than later, but really they both could have been so much more than they were. Urban can at least point to his rehab stint as an excuse, Paisley has none. I think Urban is a far better live performer, but that is just my opinion.

George Strait – Here are the top 10 artist of the 3 decades. The 80’s (Alabama, Randy Travis, Hank Williams Jr., George Strait, Reba McEntire, the Judds, Dwight Yoakam, Willie Nelson, Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton). The 90’s (Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, George Strait, Reba McEntire, Brooks & Dunn, Shania Twain, Tim McGraw, Vince Gill, Faith Hill, Clint Black). The 00’s (Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, George Strait, Alan Jackson, Toby Keith, Kenny Chesney, Rascal Flatts, Tim McGraw, Keith Urban, Brad Paisley).

One name appears on all three – George Strait. That says it all.

Alan Jackson – He started this decade with masterpiece album “Drive” featuring his 9/11 ode “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)”, and wonderful tribute to his father “Drive (For Daddy Gene)”. As the decade wore on he dared to record an album of old Christian hymns “Precious Memories” that sold over 1.5 million copies. Throw in a artsy album “Like Red on a Rose)” a few massive hits like “Remember When” and “Its Five O’Clock Somewhere”, and a record tying 5 CMA wins in 2002 and Alan Jackson proves he like George Strait is timeless.

Rascal Flatts – The sold plenty of albums and got zero industry respect. They are likely beyond caring, but I think they will never be accepted by critics and the country music industry.

Dixie Chicks – They started the decade the biggest stars in country music, ready to take country back to its roots. Then Natalie Maines said the wrong thing in the wrong place at the wrong time. The ensuing controversy was handled badly by everyone including the Dixie Chicks. The Chicks adoption of an us vs. them approach to things worked fine for a while, however such an approach only works as long as the “them” are still around. Unfortunately for the Chicks the “them” (President Bush, Toby Keith, and country music radio) are either out office, fading, or have moved on to Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood.

Evidently the two of the three Chicks have moved on as well. Martie and Emily have recorded an album of fiddle and banjo music without Natalie. They now call themselves The Courtyard Hounds. Does this mean the end of the Dixie Chicks? I don’t know, but I always like Martie and Emily’s playing, so it should be interesting.

My “Artist of the Decade” is the same as last decade – Alan Jackson. I loved this man’s music, so does my entire family.

My “Favorite New Discovery of the Decade” is Miranda Lambert. She gives me hope that my kind of country music is not dead.

These Pictures Spoke to Me

I love to look at photographs of people. I like wondering who they are or were and what they were thinking at the time of the photo. Did they have dreams, hopes, fears, joys, and what were they?

I decided to pick out some of my favorite country photos I have found over the last few years, and talk about what I see in them.

“The Proud Father” is what I call this photo. I have come to believe there are two eras in country music – the pre-George Strait debut era and the post-George Strait debut era. In essence every male country music artist who has debuted after George Strait is really a descendant of his. Don’t believe me? Check out who every country male artist from Garth Brooks to Kenny Chesney lists as a significant influence. It will be George Strait.

This photo was taken at the 2008 CMT Giant special honoring Alan Jackson. While you never see this moment on the actual televised show, it spoke to me. It is right before Alan steps to the microphone to offer a thank you speech for the night’s honor. George Strait (far right of the photo) has a satisfied grin on this face and is gesturing to Alan to step forward. I feel like George is saying “Well done my son, I am proud of you”.

It is well known George thinks a lot of Alan, and Alan a lot of George. Alan also seems quite happy as though he is proud to have made his music father (George Strait) proud of him.

You can even make the case that George Jones (the other man in the photo) is a proud grandfather.

In a way this is a picture of three generations of country music men - all legends, all proud to know one another, and definitely proud of each others achievements.

I call this one “Country Woman”. I love Miranda Lambert. Here ballads like “Bring Me Down” and “More Like Her” are so tender and vulnerable while here up-tempo songs like “Kerosene” and “Gunpowder and Lead” are so empowering and tough.

I love this picture because it is such a country photo of her. The boots, the big belt buckle, the denim skirt, the t-shirt, the numerous necklaces one of which is a cross. It says to me that Miranda is country and country she will always be.

I love that Miranda’s music is traditional country. I wish there were more female artists who were making traditional country music.

Sadly female on Miranda’s left (Gretchen Wilson) is probably done as a significant country artist. Only Deana Carter has fallen faster and harder than Gretchen. In fact in this photo Gretchen seems to be a withering presence. It looks as though she is literally getting ready to fall out of the picture. To bad, I loved Gretchen’s music.

Meanwhile I think Miranda is bright, young artists on the rise. Go Miranda! We need more “Country Women” in country music



“Youthful Enthusiasm” is what I named this photo. It is Taylor Swift whose youthful enthusiasm and seemingly boundless energy has won her armies of loyal, young fans. Say what you want about Taylor’s singing voice and her writing, but you cannot argue her “presence”.

In the photo she is taking a photo of Alan Jackson and her backstage at CMT Giant special honoring Alan Jackson. I can just see her taking the photo then e-mail or texting it to all her family and friends saying – “Look! It’s me with my hero Alan Jackson! Cool huh!”

As we get older it seems we lose some of that youthful enthusiasm. Hopefully Taylor will be able to hang on it hers for some time to come.

“Getting High on Performing” is what I call this one. I love Pam Tillis. Her music is great, I think she is really good looking, and I know having seen her in concert, she loves to perform live. Not only can Pam sing, she can tell some great jokes too.

Pam has long since stop charting songs and selling albums, but she is still out performing. She recently did a Christmas tour with her dad Country Music Hall of Famer Mel Tillis, her brother, one of her sisters. They called it the Tillis Family Christmas tour. What a great time she must have had. Few people get to work with their families doing the things they love.

This picture of her is at the Grand Ole Opry a few years back. Look at that smile on her face as she looks out onto the crowd. She seems to be saying – “Wow, I am still able to perform before a live audience even after all these years. I love it!”
“Contemplative Superstar Woman”

This is the album cover for Reba McEntire’s 1994 album “Read My Mind”. It was Reba’s last massive selling album. What I love about this shot is it shows what Reba was all about in her commercial glory years.
Reba had big hair, so almost every other female artists had big hair, many of them were had red hair too. Reba wore big, over glamorous outfits, so did most other female artists. Reba always seemed to try to show herself as a contemplative woman.

In this photo she has the big red hair, and seems to be contemplating something. What? I am not sure. I do know this was the last of her five straight 3 million or better selling albums. She never sold at that level again, and soon cut her hair, and lost her place as country music top female artist to Shania Twain.

This though will be the Reba I will always visualize when I hear music, or talk someone or write about her. Reba you ruled as country music queen – a contemplative queen at that.

Alan Jackson is a CMT Country Music Giant

Alan Jackson will be honored as CMT Country Music Giant on a Dec. 6 with CMT special filmed at sold out Ryman Auditorium. Alan is defiantly worthy of the honor. Reba McEntire and Hank Williams Jr. were the first two honoraries. I was interest to note the list of performers at Alan’s event is most cross gender of the three.

Reba had all women at her event (Kelly Clarkson, Faith Hill, Martina McBride, Trisha Yearwood, Jennifer Nettles (Sugarland), and LeAnn Rimes). Hank Jr. had mostly men with Gretchen Wilson and his daughter Holly Williams as the only women (Alan Jackson, Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley, and Shooter Jennings were some of the men who appeared).

Alan has George Strait, Taylor Swift, Brad Paisley, Miranda Lambert, Lee Ann Womack, Martina McBride, and Derrick Bentley performing with Carrie Underwood, Brooks & Dunn, and Diane Sawyer offer video tributes to Alan. Hank Williams Jr. and George Jones will appear in person to pay tribute to Alan.

So Alan has four women and three guys performing. What does that mean? Reba was an icon for young female artists. Hank Jr.’s partying, macho songs tended to be beacon for men. Alan Jackson and his music have touched all genders and age groups. The up-tempo partying songs like “Chattahoochee” and “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere” are balanced out by romantic songs of love like “Remember When” and “Livin’ On Love” and songs of heart break like “Here in the Real World” and songs fond remembrance like “Drive (for Daddy Gene”.

Alan has also written many of his own songs making him a role model to young singer – songwriters like Taylor Swift and Miranda Lambert. He cuts across age with the oldest country hit-making artist (Strait) and the youngest (Swift) honoring him. Alan Jackson has truly been the country music artist for all ages, genders, ethnicities, shapes, and sizes.

Below is what I read on the Web was to be the set list for the night and my comments.

Brad Paisley (w/ an appearance by Alan Jackson) “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere” – Paisley is a well-know fan of Alan’s and has modeled his career after him, so he needed to here. Obviously this song had to be included, but I think Paisley was the wrong person. He would have been great doing “Here in the Real World”.

Miranda Lambert & Lee Ann Womack “Gone Country” – Alan was an early booster of Lee Ann’s career and she has not forgotten that. I was pleased to see Miranda included in the evening. I know she is a big fan of Alan’s and she leans toward the traditional country singer – songwriter he is.

I have to see this performance to judge it. I am not sure how a duet with these two fine artists will work on this song. Miranda would have been great on “Mercury Blues” or “Where I Come From”. Lee Ann could have tackled one of Alan’s many amazing ballads.

Martina McBride “Where Somebody Loves You” – A surprising song choice as this song was not one of Alan’s bigger hits. Still it seems to be something Martina could do well with. Martina is a long time admirer of Alan’s. The two have duet together and toured together. Then again everyone has toured with Alan. I was not surprise to see her on the list of performers.

Dierks Bentley “Don’t Rock the Jukebox” – Another obvious song choice. I think it will work well for Dierks. He is another Alan admirer, and a singer – songwriter dedicated to music more than image much like Alan has tried to be. I am not a huge Dierks guy, but I think it great he is here.

Taylor Swift “Drive (For Daddy Gene)” – I read on People Magazine’s Web site that Taylor says this song meant a lot to her father and her. I can see why. This is a real classic and something Taylor should have little problem handling. As a young singer – songwriter I Taylor has great admiration for Alan’s work, and it longevity.

I am sure the producers of the show were happy to have Taylor there, as where Taylor goes viewers follow. No offense to Brad, Lee Ann, Miranda, Martina, and Dierks, but none of them are mega – stars. Love her or hate her, Taylor is a mega star.

George Strait “Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning” - Of course George Strait is beyond mega star, he is an icon still charting hits and selling records. He is also a close friend and duet partner of Alan’s. Alan and George have been beacon’s of excellence in country music for years. They are icons. George had to be here, just as Alan should be at George’s CMT Giant celebration when that time comes.

Of course “Where Were You…” had to be included and I am glad George was selected to do the song. I have no doubt it will be a brilliant performance.

Alan Jackson “Chattahoochee” and “Remember When” – If I remember correctly at her CMT Giant celebration Reba sang only “Fancy” and at his Hank Jr. did only “Family Tradition”. Alan evidently will get two songs. Classics like these will remain ageless.

Alan Jackson, George Strait, Brad Paisley, and Dierks Bentley “Country Boy” – Alan’s present single gets the All-Star group performance. The song is an interesting choice; I would have gone for “Where I Come From”, but they are all country boys.

I would have liked to see Carrie Underwood perform rather than offer a video tribute. However it looks like her concert schedule made that impossible. Brooks & Dunn also offered a video tribute, but no other artist from the early 90’s (Strait covers the 80’s, 90’s and 00’s) is included. I would have been nice for say Vince Gill, Pam Tillis, Clint Black, Travis Tritt, or Garth Brooks to offer a shout out, but I guess with the limited time available you have to give time to the hot artists of the day and real hip old guys like Hank Jr. and George Jones.

Still I think this will be great. Interestingly Reba, Hank Jr. and Alan have yet to make the Hall of Fame, but Hall of Famers from their generations like Alabama, Vince Gill, and George Strait have not be named CMT Giants. Neither has Garth Brooks. Something tells me that will be corrected in the future as CMT Giants will probably continue on for years. For now it is a true country music giant – Alan Jackson.

Running the Table at the CMA & ACM

I have been doing some research on who wins CMA and ACM awards. What I have found offers some surprises

Amazingly only six Country Music artists can claim to have won both CMA & ACM Entertainer of Year and both CMA & AMC Vocalist (Male or Female) of the Year. They are:

George Strait, Reba McEntire, Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, Merle Haggard, and Barbra Mandrell

I thought there would be more people. What happened to the others? Here are some notable near misses and what award or awards they are missing:

- Garth Brooks & Kenny Chesney have never won CMA Male Vocalist of the Year

- Alan Jackson, Vince Gill, Tim McGraw, Kenny Rogers, Glen Campbell, and Keith Urban have never won ACM Entertainer of the Year

- Toby Keith has never won CMA Entertainer of the Year

- Willie Nelson & Hank Williams Jr. have never won a Male Vocalist of Year Award from either the CMA or ACM

- Shania Twain has never won a Female Vocalist of the Year Award from either the CMA or ACM

- Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings have never won ACM Entertainer or ACM Male Vocalist of the Year.

- Tammy Wynette, Randy Travis, Faith Hill, and George Jones have never won Entertainer of the Year from either the CMA or ACM

- LeAnn Rimes, John Michael Montgomery, Travis Tritt, Billy Ray Cyrus, Dwight Yoakam, Roasanne Cash, have never won a vocalist or entertainer of the year award.

- I did not include groups or duos in my research.

I think it shows how hard it really is to win awards. While it seems like the same people always win that is not necessarily the case.

Six Country Songs Run the Table

What is the greatest country music song? For 40 years the Country Music Association (CMA) and the Academy of Country Music (ACM) have given awards for Single and Song of the Year. However, only 12 times have they awarded Single of the Year to the same song. Those songs are:

Friends in Low Places – Garth Brooks
Chattahoochee – Alan Jackson
Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning) – Alan Jackson
Check Yes or No – George Strait
I Swear – John Michael Montgomery
I Hope You Dance – Lee Ann Womack
Okie From Muskogee – Merle Haggard
Behind Closed Doors – Charlie Rich
He Stopped Loving Her Today – George Jones
Always On My Mind – Willie Nelson
Forever and Ever, Amen – Randy Travis
Happiest Girl in the Whole USA – Donna Fargo
Eighteen Wheels & Dozen Roses – Kathy Maetta
Live Like You Were Dying – Tim McGraw

All of these are well known songs. However, only six of them have won both Single and Song of the Year from both the CMA and ACM. Those songs are:

Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning) – Alan Jackson
I Hope You Dance – Lee Ann Womack
Behind Closed Doors – Charlie Rich
He Stopped Loving Her Today – George Jones
Forever and Ever, Amen – Randy Travis
Live Like You Were Dying – Tim McGraw

So out of 40 years these are the only six songs who basically have run the table at the CMA and ACM shows. Is one of these six the greatest country music song? Maybe, maybe not, but one thing is for sure. Only one artist has taken home all four awards for the one song – Alan Jackson. Why? The CMA awards the artist for Single of the Year, and only the songwriters for Song of the Year. Of the above six songs, only Alan Jackson wrote his song.

Lack of Good Country Artists Biographies

A while back I posted a bio of Alan Jackson, because I thought there was a lack of a truly comprehensive Alan Jackson bio on the Web. Many country artists have bio on their official Web sites, and on their label’s Web site. They are usually the exact same bios on each site, and they almost always focus on the artist’s latest album.

I’m sure some label person thinks that is a great market tool, but it really tells us nothing about the artist’s past. Wikipedia.com and allmusic.com also have bios of country artists. Allmusic.com is an offshoot of the reference book All Music. Like all reference books, it is only as up to date as the year it was written. On their Web site it’s just a copy of what is in the book with maybe a line or two update on the artists recent album. Often the bios are not extensive and sadly some are not much more than a few paragraphs

Then there is Wikipedia. I checked out the bios of Alan Jackson, George Strait, Garth Brooks, Reba McEntire, Brooks & Dunn, Pam Tillis, Vince Gill, and some of new artists as well. Some bios were pretty good, some are not. Some have incorrect information in them. Some seem to be more PR pages written by fans trying to make them look good. Some have extensive tables showing the artists album and single chart success. Some list awards the artist has won. Some have everything, some have little or nothing.

In graduate school, I studied Wikipedia and its effect on our society. When you have a collective effort there will always some good and some bad. The problem with collective efforts like this is getting the people with knowledge involved in the project.

For instances, I could write some real good biographies on some of the artists I have listed. I have read numerous magazine, newspaper, and reference articles about these artists. I have listened to numerous interviews with these artists. I know a lot about them. However, I have to list my sources in any bio I put on Wikipedia. If I have no sources, my work would be called into question. The problem is I don’t have the time, or want to put forth the effort to create such things.

This leads to a lack of true and comprehensive biographies of country music artists. That in turn can lead to people making up whatever they want about the artist and this misinformation spreading across the Internet.

Artists should take more responsibility for making their complete biographies available on-line. For if they don’t they may find themselves representative incorrectly.

Alan Jackson

Alan Jackson is my favorite country music artist. He conveys simple truths about life that many other music artists seem to miss. Like George Strait, Alan has never tried to reach beyond himself to be something he is not. I consider Alan Jackson on par with Hank Williams Sr., Willie Nelson, and the other legends of country. I feel he is the greatest country singer-song writer of his generation.

I will write more about Alan over time. Still let me leave you something to think about; of the artists who debuted with Alan in 1989, who is still at his level artistically and commercially? How about the artists who debuted before 1989? I think it is an awfully short list.