It’s always interesting to see how music industry awards reflect (or don’t reflect) larger narratives in the industry itself.
If you’re interested in the narratives behind this year’s CMAs, look no further than the two men who’ve made the biggest strides on the ballot: Blake Shelton and Jason Aldean. Both show up in Entertainer and Male Vocalist, plus Album and Single, plus assorted other stuff. But the marketing approaches that have gotten them there are vastly different.
The closest he’s come in two albums to capturing his old uptempo spark. Maybe that’s because he’s found his banjo again, and it pokes some much-needed holes in the thick layer of polish. Or maybe it’s because he dares to be a little lusty – “waiting on the sun to go down,” his passion rising like (nice touch) a lake in heat.
As most of my favorite artists tend to be, Rodney is talented in multiple ways. Not only does he have a charismatic voice, he’s an accomplished musician, songwriter and producer. He has used these talents for himself, but has also shared them with many other artists. In fact, high-profile artists like Rosanne Cash, Emmylou Harris, Vince Gill, Johnny Cash, Chely Wright, among many others, have benefited from his musicianship, compositions and producing abilities.
In this feature, we will focus on some of the best Rodney Crowell songs–whether they were big hits, minor hits or unreleased album tracks—but these twenty-five songs certainly do not do enough justice to this man’s contribution to country music. As a result, look for an accompanying Favorite Songs by Favorite Songwriters feature on Rodney Crowell to come soon.
In some parallel universe where I had actual musical talent and the opportunity to record an album, I suspect I’d forgo the pile of demo tapes sent to unknown artists and just look for awesome album cuts from great songwriters.
Matraca Berg’s catalog of recorded cuts would be a good place to start, an epiphany that serves Kenny Chesney well. Berg is usually associated with female artists, and indeed, this song was originally recorded by Deana Carter, who also co-wrote the song. But Berg’s pen has been responsible for some great moments from Keith Urban and Randy Travis, so it’s no surprise that Chesney does well with this one.
Today’s category is…
A Song You Hate by an Artist You Love.
Here are the staff picks:
Kevin Coyne: “Honk if You Honky Tonk” – George Strait
Not even Trace Adkins would cut this.
Oh, who am I kidding? Of course he would.
But it should be beneath the stature of a legend like George Strait. His talent helped him pull of “Write This Down” and “Don’t Make Me Come Over There and Love You”, but there was no saving this one.
Inspired by a recent trend on Facebook, the staff of Country Universe is launching our tweaked version of The 30 Day Song Challenge.
Every day, the staff will share our picks in a different category. We hope that all of our readers will do the same in the comments!
We’re not limiting ourselves to the country genre. All of us are primarily country fans, but our tastes run wider and deeper than that.
Hello.
This is going to be a really important show, you guys.
WINNERS
Entertainer of the Year: Taylor Swift
Top Female Vocalist: Miranda Lambert
Top Male Vocalist: Brad Paisley
Top Still-Deciding Vocalist:
Album of the Year: Lady Antebellum, Need You Now
Song of the Year: “The House That Built Me”
Single of the Year: “The House That Built Me”
Couple of the Year:
(^ Not to be confused with) Top Vocal Duo: Sugarland
Top Vocal Group: Lady Antebellum
Top New Artist: The Band Perry
Top Till You Drop:
Vocal Event of the Year: Zac Brown Band & Alan Jackson, “As She’s Walking Away”
Music Video of the Year: Miranda Lambert, “The House That Built Me”
Refresh for updates. Major categories will be announced above the fold:
Male Country Vocal Performance: Keith Urban, “‘Til Summer Comes Around”
Country Duo/Group Vocal Performance: Lady Antebellum, “Need You Now”
Country Song: Dave Haywood, Josh Kear, Charles Kelley & Hillary Scott, “Need You Now”
Country Collaboration with Vocals: Zac Brown Band featuring Alan Jackson, “As She’s Walking Away”
Country Instrumental Performance: Marty Stuart, “Hummingbyrd”
Bluegrass Album: Patty Loveless, Mountain Soul II
Americana Album: Mavis Staples, You Are Not Alone
Traditional Folk Album: Carolina Chocolate Drops, Genuine Negro Jig
Contemporary Folk Album: Ray LaMontagne And The Pariah Dogs, God Willin’ & The Creek Don’t Rise
Southern/Country/Gospel Bluegrass Album: Diamond Rio, The Reason
It’s hard to believe, but it’s that time of year again: the 2011 Grammy Awards air this Sunday at 8 p.m. Eastern. Country music has its hand in the Grammy pot via major nominations for Lady Antebellum, performances by Miranda Lambert, Lady A and Martina McBride, and appearances by Keith Urban, Zac Brown, Blake Shelton and Kris Kristofferson. We’ve picked and predicted the awards below – chime in with your own thoughts, and stop by on Sunday night for our live blog!
Album of the Year
Should Win
Will Win
Mr. Urban, you’re trying to trick me.
You’re giving me an achingly sincere vocal performance. You’re giving me a stripped down production that’s genuinely country, fiddle and all. You’re giving me your life story, from the music to the marriage to the birth of your daughter.
It all adds up to so much goodness that you almost distracted me from the clunky and self-indulgent songwriting. I can’t even give you a pass on that, because you didn’t write it.
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