Country Song of the Week: James Talley's 'Are They Gonna Make Us Outlaws Again'
James Talley released one of the great country working songs in 1976.
"Are They Gonna Make Us Outlaws Again?" examines hard times in the country, and imagines ordinary people turning to crime to make ends meet.
Image courtesy of Capitol Records
Lady Antebellum's 'Golden' Tops the Charts
Lady Antebellum's new album Golden entered the Billboard country charts at #1 this week.
The group's previous three outings (four if you include their Christmas album On This Winter's Night) have all rung up to platinum sales (that includes the Christmas album).
Golden is a polished, lachrymose effort from the group that, unless I've completely misread the zeitgeist, will do nothing to allay the fears of the band's doubters.
The radio will eat up like the ear candy it is.
What did I think? Check out my review of Lady Antebellum's Golden.
Image courtesy of Capitol Records
Country Song of the Week: Brad Paisley's 'Me Neither'
Persistence doesn't pay off for Brad Paisley, who's quick with the pickup lines in one of his funniest songs, "Me Neither."
However the tune wasn't rejected by the listening public; they helped "Me Neither" break the country singles top 20 in 2000.
Image courtesy of Arista Records
Read more: Brad Paisley's Wheelhouse
Kenny Chesney's 'Life on a Rock' Tops the Charts
Kenny Chesney's Life on a Rock made a #1 debut on the country music charts this week.
That's no surprise for a mega-selling country artist.
But the impressive debut made by the Randy Rogers Band is.
Read all about it on this week's country music charts.
Read more: Top 10 Kenny Chesney Songs
Image courtesy MCA Nashville Records
Country Song of the Week: Conway Twitty's '(Lying Here With) Linda on My Mind'
Conway Twitty is a two-timin' son-of-a-gun in "(Lying Here With) Linda on My Mind."
The cheating song takes place in the mind of a married man consumed by thoughts of his wife's best friend.
Is it just me, or is this not going to turn out pretty?
Image courtesy of RCA Records
'He Stopped Loving Her Today' Back on the Country Charts
The country songs chart got a posthumous surprise from George Jones.
The legend's quintessential tune, "He Stopped Loving Her Today," came barreling full force up the rankings -- leaving Carrie Underwood, Chris Young, and The Band Perry grasping in the dust.
How high did it land?
Find out on this week's country music charts.
Image courtesy of RCA Records
Country Song of the Week: Dave Dudley's 'Six Days on the Road'
Hitting the road this Memorial Day?
Don't leave home without Dave Dudley's "Six Days on the Road."
Released in 1963, the propulsive tune was one of country music's first trucking songs -- sparking a phenomenon that would result in Merle Haggard's "White Line Fever" and Kathy Mattea's "18 Wheels and a Dozen Roses."
Image courtesy of Deluxe Records
Country Legend George Jones Dead at 81
Lower the flags to half mast, country fans. George Jones died today in Nashville, Tennessee, at the age of 81.
Few singers have been as influential as George Jones, who counted disciples among such disparate souls as Garth Brooks, Bob Dylan, and Leonard Cohen.
He was blessed with a voice -- and a delivery -- that seemed like it could express every nuance and error of the human heart.
While Jones's death wasn't a surprise to many of us (his health had been failing in recent years), it still registers as a shock.
Still (cliche as it may sound, the cliche is true), he'll always be with us through his music. Songs like "He Stopped Loving Her Today" and "The Window Up Above" aren't going away anytime soon.
Share your thoughts in the comments, and read about George Jones's incredible life in our biography of the singer.
Image courtesy of Hulton Archive / Getty Images
Florida Georgia Line Get Their 'Shine' On
Florida Georgia Line have not just one, but two singles in this week's country song chart: "Cruise" and "Get Your Shine On."
Both tunes come off the band's debut Here's to the Good Times, which isn't doing too shabby either.
Read all about it on this week's country music charts.
Image courtesy of Republic Nashville Records
Country Song the Week: Ray Price's 'City Lights'
Country music moves to the big city in this song from Ray Price, written by songwriting sage Bill Anderson.
It paints a devastating picture of urban isolation -- where heartbroken men search for places to "cry when things don't turn out right."
"City Lights" reigned at #1 for 11 weeks in 1958. It returned to the top of the country charts in 1975, thanks to a cover version from urban cowboy Mickey Gilley.
Watch Ray Price perform "City Lights"
Image courtesy of Legacy Recordings