Retro Single Reviews – Page 17

Retro Single Review: Dolly Parton, “Dumb Blonde”

June 21, 2011 Kevin John Coyne 4

1967 | Peak: #24

Few titles could be a less apt description for the singer delivering the song. What’s more surprising is that after establishing herself as a songwriter in Nashville, her first major single release was written by somebody else.

Retro Single Review: Alan Jackson, “Blue Blooded Woman”

June 20, 2011 Kevin John Coyne 2

1989 | Peak: #45

It’s hard to figure out why “Blue Blooded Woman” was the first single that Arista sent to radio. Perhaps they felt something uptempo was needed out of the gate.

Retro Single Reviews: An Introduction

June 20, 2011 Kevin John Coyne 20

Despite some amazing album artists – a Willie Nelson here, an Emmylou Harris there – country music has always been a singles format. Over the past seven years, we’ve charted the development of some artists from the very beginning, like Lady Antebellum and Zac Brown Band, just by reviewing their singles.

With Retro Single Reviews, we’re going to go back in time to tell the story of the genre’s biggest artists from the very beginning, by reviewing all of their singles in chronological order.

Here’s how it works: At any given time, we’ll be working our way through the catalog of five artists. When we complete one of them, we’ll add a new one to the rotation.

The first five artists are: