Country Universe

100 Greatest Women, #48: Lulu Belle

May 18, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 3

100 Greatest Women #48 Lulu Belle The Queen of All Radio. Lulu Belle was born Myrtle Eleanor Cooper in North Carolina, the daughter of a convicted moonshiner. Her dad moved her family all around the

100 Greatest Women, #49: Olivia Newton-John

May 17, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 4

100 Greatest Women #49 Olivia Newton-John One of the biggest female country stars of the seventies became one quite accidentally. Her mere presence in country music infuriated traditionalists, but her pop-flavored country foreshadowed the boundary

ACM Awards 2008: Personal Picks

May 17, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 16

As has become our annual custom, Country Universe will be live-blogging this year’s ACM awards, which air on CBS Sunday, May 18 at 8 pm Eastern. The ACM’s are always an interesting show, with a bigger

100 Greatest Women, #50: Jeannie C. Riley

May 16, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 5

100 Greatest Women #50 Jeannie C. Riley Her music was more outspokenly feminist than any of her contemporaries, but Jeannie C. Riley was on the receiving end of every sexist obstacle imaginable as she worked

100 Greatest Women, #51: Terri Clark

May 15, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 6

100 Greatest Women #51 Terri Clark When Mercury records launched Terri Clark in 1995, they billed her as country music’s first female hat act. Over the next decade, she’d show a lot more staying power

100 Greatest Women, #52: Juice Newton

May 14, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 3

100 Greatest Women #52 Juice Newton The cross-pollination between pop and country music in the early eighties provided an opening for Juice Newton and her undeniably infectious aural confections. By the time that the hits

Eddy Arnold, “To Life”

May 13, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 7

A heartbreakingly beautiful toast to life, given by a man humbled by the blessings he’s been given over the years. “Life,” he sings, “you served your finest wine. I drank it down to find my

Taylor Swift, “Should’ve Said No”

May 13, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 13

This is very well-written. It’s to Swift’s credit that this song that she penned herself could be credibly sung by a woman twice her age but is still relevant to the female teen demographic that

Marcel, “I Love This Song”

May 13, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 12

Full disclosure: I’m a big Marcel fan. I say this because it’s pretty hard to make an clear, rational case for his music in a review. I just like it. It makes me smile. It

100 Greatest Women, #53: Jo Dee Messina

May 13, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 9

100 Greatest Women #53 Jo Dee Messina The first big post-Shania country star, Jo Dee Messina fully embodied the girl power movement of the late nineties, releasing catchy country-pop songs that were consistently from a