Whitey Grant, Country Music Pioneer, Passes Away At 94

Whitey Grant, half of the longest running duo in country music, Whitey and Hogan, has passed away at the age of 94.

Whitey and Hogan grew up in Rutherfordton and in Andrews, North Carolina respectively. They met for the first time in 1935 when they were both employed at the Firestone Cotton Mill in Gastonia, North Carolina. They began performing together as a duo, Whitey played the guitar and Hogan played the mandolin. Soon they were touring all over North and South Carolina and Georgia. Their debut on the radio took place at WSPA in Spartanburg, South Carolina. They called themselves the Spindle City Boys. Sponsored by the Efird's Department Store, Whitey and Hogan received a radio spot at WGNC radio in Gastonia in 1939. They also appeared on the Rustin Radio Show in Gastonia, the show was sponsored by Rustin Furniture. In 1939, they recorded sixteen sides at their first session for Decca Records, before moving to the Sonora and Deluxe labels.

They joined the WBT Briarhoppers in 1941 performing at radio station WBT in Charlotte. When Whitey and Hogan was asked to join the Grand Ole Opry they declined since the Opry required them to work on Saturdays and they didn't want to stay away from their families. Whitey and Hogan existed as a duo between 1935 and 2001.

TNS Video History- Kenny Loggins- "Conviction of the Heart"

Stream A Free Zac Brown Band Concert This Sunday

Watch a FREE Zac Brown Band Concert streamed live from Red Rocks Amphitheatre THIS SUNDAY,September 19 at 8pm MT/7pm PT/10pm ET on ZacBrownBand.com

Sunday, September 19th, ZBB will be streaming their Red Rocks concert LIVE on zacbrownband.com. Don't miss this opportunity to hear tracks off their new album You Get What You Give, which hits shelves on Tuesday.

The concert will debut the new Ustream Multiview technology and mark the first concert ever to stream live with five simultaneous camera angles, allowing users to pick their own view of the show starting at 8pm MT/7pm PT/10pm ET at zacbrownband.com.

"Every show gets bigger and better, and we've been working hard to create an experience that's unlike any other," says Zac Brown. "When people come to our show, we want to blow them away every time. So for us, this is no different. Except that for the first time we're coming to the fans that can't make it out to see us."

New Music Video From Jessie James- "Dear John"

This release song is the first offering from her Jessie James' second studio album which is reportedly titled Daughter of a Gypsy.

James confirmed back in August that she's working on a new album which sees her transition from pop to country. She wrote on Twitter, "Gonna make a real country record finally!!!! being a southern girl and having to hide it has been tuff! thank u Jesus for the chance!"

Montgomery Gentry Searching For New Record Deal After Split With Columbia

Montgomery Gentry, has parted ways with their long time label, Columbia Records. The platinum pals hit career high points with awards such as CMA Duo of the Year (2000) and ACM Top New Group/Duo (2000).

Signed in 1999 to Columbia Records, the duo released its debut album Tattoos and Scars that year. They have since recorded five more studio albums: Carrying On (2001), My Town (2002), You Do Your Thing (2004), Some People Change (2006), and Back When I Knew It All (2008) as well as a Greatest Hits package. These albums have produced more than twenty chart singles for the duo on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, including the Number One hits "If You Ever Stop Loving Me", "Something to Be Proud Of", "Lucky Man", "Back When I Knew It All" and "Roll with Me" and ten more Top Ten hits.The group’s latest release, For Our Heroes, was a Cracker Barrel exclusive that sold 25,933 debut week units in May of 2009.

The parting most likely has to do with the recent performance at radio of MG's last two singles. The duo released "Oughta Be More Songs About That" on November 30, 2009 which peaked at number 40 on the Hot Country Songs chart in January of this year.  That single became their lowest charting single to date. A second single, "While You're Still Young", was released in April 2010 and peaked at 32 in August.

That Nashville Sound's Lyric Of The Week

That Nashville Sound's Lyric Of The Week is a weekly feature that will pull a line from a song that we think is memorable. It might be funny or it might be touching. It might even be philosophical. Regardless, it makes a mark on the consciousness and we look forward to sharing them with you.

"For as long as I shall live

I will testify to love
I'll be a witness in the silences when words are not enough
With every breath I take I will give thanks to God above
For as long as I shall live
I will testify to love"

Wynonna Judd- "Testify To Love"- Touched By An Angel Soundtrack

Trace Adkins Performs "Whoop A Man's Ass" On Jimmy Kimmel

New Album From Norah Jones Features Willie Nelson and Dolly Parton

Norah Jones is releasing a star-studded duets album featuring collaborations with artists including Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson.

The "Come Away With Me" hitmaker has recorded the new disc titled Featuring, which includes duets on several tracks from the last ten years.

Jones also teams up with Ray Charles and indie rockers Belle & Sebastian on the album.

She says, "It's so exciting and flattering and fun when I get asked to sing with somebody that I admire. It takes you a little bit out of your comfort zone when you're doing something with another artist. You don't know what to expect - it's kind of like being a little kid and having a playdate."

Featuring is due for release in November 16.

New Music Video From Rascal Flatts- "Why Wait"

CD Reviews- Joey+Rory- Album Number 2

The Background:
ACM award-winning husband and wife duo Joey+Rory first performed together on CMT's hit series Can You Duet, where they quickly became fan favorites and ultimately placed in the show's Top 3. Their debut album The Life of a Song followed, chock-full of beautiful harmonies, top-notch songwriting, a traditional country aesthetic, and their natural joyfulness, authenticity and romance. The album debuted at #10 on the Billboard Country Album charts and remained on that chart for over 50 weeks. The duo enjoyed a hit single and video with first single "Cheater Cheater" and landed starring spots in a series of Overstock.com TV spots. Now, Joey + Rory's release their sophomore release off of Sugar Hill Records, an appropriately named Album Number 2.

The Review:
It's hard to not draw comparisons between Joey+Rory and The Judds. It might be a family thing. It might be an acoustic styling in production thing. It could just be a way they approach music that’s different from the mainstream that allows it to stand out in a distinctive way. The end result is that each one of the tracks is a homespun take or slice of Americana that isn’t what you hear too often on the radio dial any longer.

The common theme running through Album Number 2 is “perspective.” Whether it’s the title of the album, fun lyrics that you’re not too big for your britches or reminders of keeping what’s important in life the focus, the album is reflective of two artists who recognize their unique place in an industry providing a sound that’s just left of mainstream. Perhaps part of it is their authenticity. The couple shares a gift for communicating their values through songs- truth and stories pulled from their own life experiences and burned into three-minute, instrumental chapters of their life. It’s rarely a stereotype- always heartfelt. Most of the singing is provided by the beautiful vocals- that are always under-appreciated- of the fairer sex of the couple, Joey.

There are several high points across the album starting with the title track. Yep, the duo wrote a song called “Album Number 2.” The song touches on the funny process of their second release and suggests that if this happens to be their last album, and they have to bid adieu, they happily do so with Album Number 2. It’s cute and quirky and an appropriate way to set the theme of the album.

The strongest track on the album is the one not sung by Joey, but by Rory. On “My Old Man”, he sings a beautiful dedication to his father highlighted by the struggles he went through dealing with a songwriter for a son and the sacrifices that he made to help him live his dream. It’s a powerful song that was borrowed off a (very limited) indie release that Joey made several years back.

Sounds Like:
The Judds

Track Highlights (suggested iPod adds):
Album Number 2
Baby I’ll Come Back To You
The Horse Nobody Could Ride
Farm To Fame
God Help My Man
My Ole Man

The Verdict:
Three and A Half Stars Out Of Five

New Music Video From Kenny Chesney- "Coastal"

CD Reviews- Randy Houser- They Call Me Cadillac

The Background:
Randy Houser's second album, They Call Me Cadillac, will be released Sept. 14 by Show Dog-Universal Music. Houser wrote the first single from the album, "I'm All About It." Lee Ann Womack sings harmony on one of the tracks, "Addicted." The album was co-produced by Cliff Audretch and Mark Wright. "I put my heart into this record," Houser said. "We went into the studio with a direction in mind, conceptually, for the album, and the result is something I'm really proud of. I think people are ready to hear real country music again, and I'm one of them." Houser's hits include "Anything Goes," "Boots On" and "Whistlin' Dixie."

The Review:
Steel guitars and Randy Houser go together like peas and carrots. Honky-tonk rocking and Randy Houser go together like Jack and Coke. And for that matter, country blues and Randy Houser go together like mac and cheese. Make you hungry? It should. Lucky for you, They Call Me Cadillac will satisfy that appetite for a great country music album.

The album opens up appropriately set in a barroom on “Lowdown and Lonesome.” Filled with booze and blues and lyrics like “my bartender hangs her picture on the wall just in case I can’t remember how I wound up in this place.” “They Call Me Cadillac” is a fun spirited autobiography with a fantastic use of the steel guitar. It hits its high point with the outstanding blues-drenched plead for his woman to stay the night backed by heavenly harmony by Lee Ann Womack on “Addicted.” You can almost feel the sweat-soaked delivery that seems delivered from some small town back room barroom. It probably wasn’t recorded that way. But it could have. He does his best King George impression on “Here With Me”- a beautiful piano ballad backed by- you guessed it- steel guitar. It’s a love song Strait-forward. “Whistlin’ Dixie” is a Jason Aldean(ish) rocker celebrating all things southern from a “son of a son of the south.” Is it critically meaningful? Perhaps no. But it is a hell of a lot of fun. Houser makes BB King and Muddy Waters proud on “Somewhere South Of Memphis.” It starts with an uneven acoustic guitar about a place “where music isn’t about business” that explodes into a great bluesy guitar explosive riff. And the other huge highlight sees Houser stealing the playbook of his good friend Jamey Johnson, delivering a special steel guitar gem called “If I Could Buy Some Time.” It’s not as deep or dark as JJ’s That Lonesome Song, but it is as emotive and passionate.

This is one highly recommended album… go getcha’ a bite of this one.

Sounds Like:
Jamey Johnson

Track Highlights (suggested iPod adds):
They Call Me Cadillac
Addicted
Will I Always Be This Way
Here With Me
Whistlin’ Dixie
Somewhere South of Memphis
If I Could Buy Some Time

The Verdict:
Four Stars Out Of Five

New Music Video From Kevin Fowler- "Pound Sign"

CD Reviews- Jamey Johnson- The Guitar Song

The Review:

Pardon me if I gush.

In what plays out like an outstanding Broadway story in style and performance, the new 25 song double CD The Guitar Song by Jamey Johnson is- as hard as it may sound- beyond expectations. With elaborate musicianship and production that never leaves its honky-tonk roots, the album is meant to immerse yourself into. Like an old  album, it’s an experience. Songs have prelogues and prologues- elaborate musical finishes that start up and fade into new songs. Each one tells a story and leads into the next. It’s not to be listened to as singles; it’s meant to be listened to as an album. A collection. They’re like chapters in a book. A really good book.

The comparisons to Johnson’s last album, That Lonesome Song are inevitable. That particular album appealed to a near universal acclaim that celebrated its dark morose feel. The Guitar Song certainly draws on that same inspiration but at the same time, certainly has some lighter weight fare that isn’t so much fluff as balance. (Over two dozen songs sung from that dark place of Lonesome would have even the most ardent fan reaching for the nearest therapist or suicide hotline.)

The art of writing in song is the crux and heart of the album. No track better exemplifies this fact than the stark “That’s Why I Write Songs.” Johnson talks and sings his way through a perfectly believable acoustic and sparsely produced song of why he sings like he does. “I knew what I was born to do,” he croons as he pays sweet dedication to the songwriters “that gave us chills” both in lyrics and in sound.

The additional highlights across the rest of the release are many. “By The Seat of Your Pants” crosses light humor and philosophy as he relates a spanking as a youth that enlightens on lessons learned the balance of his life. They’re terrific lyrics made only better by a killer steel guitar bridge. He channels his inner Ray Charles on the soulful R&B flavored ballad “Even The Skies Are Blue.” “Front Porch Swing Afternoon” draws on the same sentimental place of Miranda Lambert’s “House That Built Me” that celebrates rural living without ever stooping to becoming too stereotypical. “Heartache” makes up the prefect representation of Johnson as a performer. He draws on tons of empathetic angst as he portrays the role and persona of love gone wrong. When he growls that he’s coming after you, it almost gives you chills.

“I Remember You” puts Johnson as a protagonist stepping into heaven for the first time. He opens up the song by speaking the question:

“I always thought one of the most important conversations you can have in your life is the first time you talk to God. What would you say?”

He relates a conversation that is simple, yet emotionally charged and filled with a spiritual depth. Music production does the same and the result is a great example of why Johnson’s music is so different from what we’re normally hearing on modern country radio. It makes you feel.

Songs topics have that depth all along the way, whether it is regret by lamenting life on the road on “My Way To You”- which has Johnson cranking up the power in his voice a bit- or “Macon”- in which a church choir-style backing draws on memories of a revival. Even the lighter weight “Set ‘Em Up Joe” becomes a sweet and appropriate jukebox dedication to songs that inspire him while he sings of drowning his sorrows. If that single was a 45 record, it would fit right in with the classic records he sings about in the song.

Overall, The Guitar Song represents a songwriter at the very top of his game and who has been given a rare opportunity to showcase that skill with a large collection of incredibly crafted songs.

The Result:
Four and a half stars out of five

Never Heard Ray Charles & Johnny Cash Duet To Be Released Next Month

A rare never-heard duet between Johnny Cash and Ray Charles is just one of the rare tracks that will be part of a new collection of unearthed Ray Charles recordings. Here is the announcement:

Concord Records is celebrating the 80th birthday of the legendary Ray Charles with a special gift for his legions of fans: Rare Genius: The Undiscovered Masters. This treasure trove of newly discovered recordings will become available at physical and digital retailers October 26, 2010.

Culled from four decades worth of demos and other previously unreleased material, Rare Genius showcases the remarkable artistic vision, stylistic range and emotionally rich vocals that crafted Charles enduring legacy.

Listening to the ten gems from the '70s, '80s and '90s that comprise this CD, fans will have no trouble envisioning the late singer rocking back and forth at the piano as he effortlessly segues between R&B/soul, pop, country and gospel. "Ray would always get inside the meaning of a lyric and make the listener believe every word," says Concord Music Group Chief Creative Officer. John Burk. "His vocals carried incredible emotion and intensity, even on demo tapes. What we have here with Rare Genius is on par with some of his greatest works."

And that's crystal clear right from the album's sparkling opener, "Love's Gonna Bite You Back." The March 1980 session track features an upbeat horn arrangement behind what Rare Genius liner notes author Bill Dahl calls "a Charles vocal that's a signature mixture of sandpaper grit and heavenly goodness." Up next is the stunning ballad "It Hurts to Be in Love," which underscores the album's main thematic focus and one of Charles' favorite subjects: the ups and down of romance.

Another compelling standout is the gospel-stirred Charles and Cash duet on Kris Kristofferson's "Why Me, Lord?" Discovered in the Sony vaults, the song was produced by Billy Sherrill in Nashville and recorded in 1981 for an anticipated release on a CBS album. For unknown reasons, that didn't come to pass. What's more important, however, is the emotional charge you get listening to these two powerful voices come together in this spirited and inspired pairing.

Except for "Lord," the nine other Rare Genius tracks including the soul-drenched "I Don't Want No One But You," a blues-infused cover of songwriter Hank Cochran's country classic "A Little Bitty Tear" and the joyous "I'm Gonna Keep on Singin'" were found in the vault at Charles' R.P.M. International studios.

Taylor Swift Performs "Innocence" At MTV Music Awards

New Music Video From Sons of Sylvia- "Love Left To Lose"

Sarah Darling Offers Free Download Of Famous U2 Song Cover

Sarah was the mannequin in Big & Rich's famous video "Save A Horse, Ride A Cowboy" and released an outstanding album Every Monday Morning. Now country music fans can download Sarah's beautiful cover of "With or Without You," the chart topping hit originally recorded and released by U2 in 1987. Download the single HERE.

Mary J. Blige Records Country-Influenced "Care" With Kid Rock

Mary J. Blige is known as a soulful R&B singer, but her most recently-heard song making the rounds is the country-tinged "Care," featuring Kid Rock and T.I. It was leaked online Thursday and you can listen to it HERE.

The song includes a guitar-laden production and earnest lyrics about wanting to change the world but only having the ability to care.

"I can't stop the war, shelter the homeless, feed the poor," Blige and Kid Rock sing together on the chorus, while T.I. ad-libs throughout the refrain. "I can't walk on water, can't save your sons and daughter/ I can't change the world or make things fair, but the least I can do is care."

"For the life of me, I can't see how the devil keeps enticing me," Tip raps on the number. "All you see is a felon, but I know God can see what's right in me."

MTV reports that it is unclear if the record will land on Blige's next project. A representative for the singer has not responded to inquiries.

TNS Video History- Kenny Rogers & Dottie West- "Every Time Two Fools Collide"