- This morning, despite feeling ill, I went to the Northeast Ohio Record/CD Convention in Fairview Park, OH with a few friends this morning. While they didn't find much, and a lot of stuff was overpriced, I scored some pretty great classic country deals on vinyl! Loretta Lynn, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Flatts & Scruggs, Kris Kristofferson, Charlie Daniels Band and, what I am most excited about, a copy of Waylon Jennings: Honky Tonk Heroes! 8 solid records for around $20.
- Last Saturday, in celebration of my 31st birthday, Amy took me to see 90's country superstar, Neal McCoy at the Dusty Armadillo down in Rootstown, OH. Via Twitter, the manager of the venue hooked us up with some meet and greet passes. Despite it typically a 90 minute or so drive, due to the crazy snow we have been getting up here, it took nearly 3 hours! We arrived just in time to meet Neal before he went on stage, and he was awesome! I brought along a copy of his CD "You Gotta Love That" from 1995 for him to sign. I could see that he was happy to see it as he signed the cover. Neal said "Daaaang boy, that right there is some old shit! You have good taste!" I told him that I've been listening to his music for many, many years. "You'd have to be, cuz, boy, this is some old shit! Then again, all of our shit is old." He had a good laugh about that one, ha!
After our photo, he asked us where we were from and thanked us for coming out. As we were leaving the tent, he said "Hey! Let me know when the wedding is!" Ha! I responded, "Will do!"
- Next, the "project" that I mentioned in my first blog last week: This past Christmas marked 20 years since the day I received my first CD player/stereo and CD from my parents. It was a Sony bookshelf stereo (with remote!) and Garth Brooks - The Hits. I had loved listening to country music on my AM/FM alarm clock every night before bed, but this changed the game completely. I joined Columbia House and BMG multiple times over (Yes, at 10 years old) and CDs came pouring in. Brooks & Dunn, George Strait, Alan Jackson, everything!
I only really knew the music that played on the radio. To this day, 90's country music is still my absolute favorite. Yeah, the 70s had Waylon & Willie, George Jones, Tammy Wynette, etc., but we are talking Little Texas, David Lee Murphy, Shenandoah, Sawyer Brown!
"Who?" some of you are maybe asking. Or, some of you may be thinking, "I loved those guys!" Well, I have done a lot of digging and even more listening over the past few months and while its not completely finished, I have compiled the 500 BEST country radio singles from 1990-1999!!! Each week, I will share a handful of songs, some well known and some long forgotten, and hope to bring back memories or bring lesser known artists to your attention for the first time! A lot of these guys and gals are still going, recording and touring, despite lack of radio support. I hope to get it started by next Sunday's post, so stay tuned!
- Now, I'm going to live up to the mostly untrue classification of country fans, and watch WWE's Fastlane Pay-per-view in bed, while I snack on some treats that Amy dropped off while I was in my Coricidin coma.
Please leave comments, share the blog and keep an eye out for another post around mid-week!
-Arthur Born
Twitter: @arthurborn
Instsgram: @arthur214
#iwasBORNcountry
