What a week!!! For those of you who read last week's blog, you may recall that our Facebook page was just under 800 "likes" and that I would post an extended countdown blog once we passed that milestone. Well, in just one week, we have grown from around 740 page "likes" to an incredible 1,351!!! I don't know where everyone came from, but we are so glad to have you along with us!
With the new computer in operation over here in the BORN Country office, we are hoping to start showcasing some album reviews as often as possible, starting this week if all goes as planned! While we are on the subject, let's take a look at the new releases that are coming this Tuesday (5/26) in country music:
- Country music legend John Anderson is releasing his first collection of new songs in 9 years this week! "Goldmine", I think will be a must here album. I am very excited for this one. Anderson performed with Keith Urban a few weeks back as part of the ACM Superstar Duets TV special and it was fantastic!
- Opening act for Brad Paisley's "Crushin' It: World Tour" this summer, Mickey Guyton releases a digital EP on Tuesday. If you are a radio listener, you have probably heard her current single "Better Than You Left Me" getting some airplay. This gal has some real talent and I look forward not only to these tracks, but seeing her live performance come July!
- Rissi Palmer made her own bit of history back in 2008, when she became the first African-American to chart a country music single since 1987. This week, Rissi is back with a digital EP titled "The Back Porch Sessions."
Moving on to our countdown list for the week, let me say here, that the "BIG ANNOUNCEMENT" has yet to be revealed! Keep on reading!
BORN Country's 505 Favorite Country Singles Of The 90's!!!
365. Bryan White - So Much For Pretending
Album: Between Now And Forever
Year: 1996
I'm sure I posed this question along with the last Bryan White song on our countdown, but again, how is this guy not still charting huge country hits?! Well, besides the fact that he isn't singing about beer, or tailgating, or partying, I mean? Don't get me wrong, I'm by no means completely against songs of that nature, but here we have a strong single about a guy falling in love with a gal who doesn't even know he exists. Who can't relate to that? Isn't that what country music is all about? Real life!
364. George Strait - Round About Way
Album: Carrying Your Love With Me
Year: 1996
When I began this countdown project, I had every intention of making it at most, a 200 song list. As I got to picking songs, I realized that with George Strait, Alan Jackson, and Garth all included, I'd almost have half of the list already covered! As I stated at the beginning of this blog series, until we hit the last 50 songs or so, nothing is really in a particular order. If I'm not careful, we may have a whole week dedicated to "King George" himself!
363. Dixie Chicks - You Were Mine
Album: Wide Open Spaces
Year: 1998
While country radio and many fans in the U.S. have yet had enough time pass to forgive the Dixie Chicks, no list of the best 90's country songs would be complete without recognizing the incredible talent that this trio brought to the genre. "You Were Mine" is incredibly important in the history of the "Chicks" as it was the first song recorded with Natalie Maines in the lead vocals department and lead to her becoming a permanent part of the band. "You Were Mine" reached #1 on the Hot Country Songs chart and #34 on Billboard's Hot 100.
362. Trace Adkins - (This Ain't) No Thinkin' Thing
Album: Dreamin' Out Loud
Year: 1997
Now considered a country music mega star, we've got a little shocking trivia here for you: "No Thinkin' Thing" was the first #1 hit for Trace Adkins. Amazingly, he did not see the top of the charts again until "Ladies Love Country Boys" came around in 2006!
361. Alan Jackson - Tonight I Climbed The Wall
Album: A Lot About Livin' (And A Liittle 'bout Love)
Year: 1993
Part of me is fighting against the thought of having this song so high on the list. "A Lot About Livin'" was one of the first country CDs that I ever purchased, (after listening to mom's cassette tape on repeat forever, of course), and although I didn't really understand what it was about, I really liked singing along with this one. Kind of weird, for a kid, no?
360. David Lee Murphy - The Road You Leave Behind
Album: Gettin' Out The Good Stuff
Year: 1996
David Lee Murphy recently announced that his next album, coming sometime in 2015 (hopefully!) will be co-produced by long time pal, Kenny Chesney. Chesney will appear on at least one track and I'm crossing my fingers that we might see Murphy joining in on a tour next summer after the album is out... Now that would be awesome! "The Road" peaked at #5 on the Hot Country Songs chart.
359. Tracy Byrd - Big Love
Album: Big Love
Year: 1996
The last time that we featured a Tracy Byrd song in our countdown, I believe I had read that he had completely removed himself from the music industry and hadn't even a Facebook/Twitter account. Turns out that he is indeed still playing small shows around Texas. I sure hope he plans on getting out a little further when he is ready! (Incase you happen to see this, we need you in Ohio, Tracy!) "Big Love" was originally recorded by Chris LeDoux, before Byrd took the song to #3.
358. Garth Brooks - Shameless
Album: Ropin' The Wind
Year: 1991
Along with "In Pieces" Garth's first compilation, titled "The Hits", was my introduction to Brooks. I recall loving the booklet that had little notes about each song in the collection. Garth explained that he had received the album with this Billy Joel song included after he joined a record club (Just like me!) and neglected to send in the "decline" form for the CD of the month. (Also just like me, ask my mom...She loved it.) Garth asked for Joel's permission to record the song and like that, another #1 was born!
357. David Ball - When The Thought Of You Catches Up With Me
Album: Thinkin' Problem
Year: 1994
I hope this comes off as a compliment and not all all as a negative, but I believe David Ball to be a perfect example of a country artist with so much talent and desire to make real country music, that they just cannot fit in the world of country radio. Ball's first single, "Thinkin' Problem" was a huge radio hit, followed by "Thought", that peaked at #7. After that, the radio love was mostly gone. David released an incredible album in the early 2000's titled "Amigo" that included a minor radio success, but otherwise, mainstream success just wasn't there. Ball continues to successfully tour the country and I hope to get a chance to see him play soon!
356. Mindy McCready - Guys Do It All The Time
Album: Ten Thousand Angels
Year: 1996
It's the classic country theme in which a female singer turns the "typical guy" stereotypes around, in order to allow the men see how annoying they can be. Its been around forever, with many different voices. This may sound like a complaint, but heck, this song is catchy! McCready took "Guys" to #1 on the Hot Country Songs chart.
355. George Strait - Easy Come, Easy Go
Album: Easy Come, Easy Go
Year: 1993
What did I tell ya? We can't even get through this edition of the countdown list without at least two George Strait hits! I'm sure there will be no complaints from you guys, though! This classic country hit easily took the #1 spot on the Hot Country Songs chart. Man, what a performance in the video below!
354. Collin Raye - Little Red Rodeo
Album: The Best Of Collin Raye: Direct Hits
Year: 1997
A lot of the 90's blur together for me, as far as what came out when, but this song just feels like it was from the earlier half of the decade to me. "Rodeo" was co-written by fellow country artist, Phil Vassar. I've thought this to be a strong entry in Raye's long run of radio hits, but there are still many songs of his to celebrate in our countdown, that I figure we should spread out the love! Huge shout out to Collin, who happens to be following along on our Facebook page! (Not to brag, or anything, ha!)
353. Chris LeDoux - This Cowboy's Hat
Album: Western Underground
Year: 1991
We all know that the legendary Chris LeDoux never had a ton of radio support. Heck, only three of his radio singles cracked the Top 50, and this isn't even one of those. However, "This Cowboy's Hat" is such a strong song about standing up for what you believe in and being true to yourself. I hope those of you readers who are not familiar with LeDoux's music give this one a chance. It certainly deserved more credit than it received!
352. Brooks & Dunn - My Next Broken Heart
Album: Brand New Man
Year: 1991
The second single and also second in a string of four #1 hits from their debut album, "Broken Heart" is a perfect example of PRIME Brooks & Dunn country music. The idea that one is readily looking into starting a new relationship despite knowing it will not last is probably something a lot of people can relate with... although B&D make it sound a lot more fun than it usually turns out to be in real life!
351. Sammy Kershaw - Queen Of My Double Wide Trailer
Album: Haunted Heart
Year: 1993
Complete honesty, this Sammy Kershaw single wasn't even on the radio when I made the first draft of this list. I happened upon in while streaming other songs I had chose to feature and it was part of the shuffle. I haven't been able to stop listening to it since! "Queen" is just goofy enough to be an absolute blast while still keeping a great country vibe. Even the video is a good time!
Can you believe we only have another 350 songs to go in our countdown?! While I did note that these songs aren't really in any particular order, I did in fact put them in "levels." As we get closer to the end of the list, we will continue to see bigger and bigger songs. I hope everyone enjoyed this week's entry! Stay tuned for the above mentioned album reviews that we hope to start bringing you this week!
,,,Oh, that big announcement? That's right! Recently, some moves have been made to bring our blog to its own "Dot Com" site! We are hoping to launch the new website by next weekend's countdown blog! We hope that this move will allow us to bring you more updates in a clearer fashion. Blogger has been a good home to start us out, but we need to make more room in order to grow!
Make sure you are following us on Facebook and Twitter in order to help us help you continue to find our blogs, reviews and other features that we hope to bring to our readers soon! Thanks again for reading and please, continue to share on Facebook, Tweet us, Instagram us, whatever it is that you do!
-Arthur Born
Facebook.com/BORNcountryblog
Twitter: @BORNcountryBlog
E-Mail: Borncountryblog@gmail.com
Showing posts with label 90s. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 90s. Show all posts
Sunday, May 24, 2015
Saturday, May 2, 2015
Countdown Part X: Songs #386-395
Welcome to the 10th edition of our countdown blog! This week's entry includes a few fresh faces to the list, along with some tried and true. I can't believe we are already so far into the list! The last few weeks have been flying by! Don't worry, though, we still have a LOT of 90's country favorites to cover in the months to come!
A few notes before we get into the countdown:
- Last week, I mentioned that I am working on a blog cover stats over the first 100 songs on the list. It's still coming, but proving to be a little more challenging than I expected! Hopefully within this week it will be posted!
- New Music Tuesday: Jason Micahel Carroll, Shelby Lynne, and Chris Stapleton all have new music coming out this Tuesday. I have had the Stapleton vinyl preordered for weeks, and hope to get ahold of Shelby and Jason's music throughout the week. What are you planning on picking up?
- The BORN Country Facebook page is still booming! We are closing in on 800 "likes" and will hopefully hit that goal this weekend. As always, we appreciate your sharing of our page with your family, friends and anyone else that would love the music we are showcasing here in the blog! When we reach the 900 "like" level on Facebook, I will post another extended countdown blog with more music! Thanks again!
BORN Country's 505 Favorite Country Singles Of The 90's!!!
395. Steve Wariner - Burnin' The Roadhouse Down
Album: Burnin' The Roadhouse Down
Year: 1998
Despite being in the country music industry since the 70's "Roadhouse" is the first song that I REALLY remember hearing by Steve Wariner. In doing research for this week's blog, I couldn't believe to find that he had released 46 singles PRIOR to this one! Holy cow! While I like to believe my country music knowledge runs pretty deep (At least from the 90's and on) I definitely have some more digging to do on Steve Wariner! Heck, he even recorded the theme song for "Who's The Boss?" for seasons running between 1986 and 1990! Who knew?! ...Oh yeah, Garth Brooks is on the track too.
394. Faith Hill - Piece Of My Heart
Album: Take Me As I Am
Year: 1994
Fitting that this song lands on this week's portion of our countdown, as just this past Thursday, Faith shared on Facebook, that it had been 21 years since this song hit #1 on the Hot Country Chart. Some of you will of course also recognize this song as recorded by Big Brother & The Holding Company back in the late 60's.
393. Clint Black - Wherever You Go
Album: One Emotion
Year: 1995
Clint Black continued his rise to the top of the country music world with this 1995 hit. "Wherever You Go" reached #3 on the Hot Country chart. Black had 3 more singles to come from his album "One Emotion" which would be followed up by his first greatest hits compilation.
392. Brad Paisley - Who Needs Pictures
Album: Who Needs Pictures
Year: 1999
This is where it all started! Brad Paisley released his debut single in February of 1999. While "Pictures" would peak at #12, the follow-up single, "He Didn't Have To Be" would be Brad's first of many #1 singles to come!
391. Travis Tritt - Anymore
Album: It's All About To Change
Year: 1991
The video for this Travis Tritt single was the first in the "Mac Singleton" trilogy. "Tell Me I Was Dreaming" which was featured earlier in the list was part 2, followed by "If I Lost You" in 1998. CMT ranked this video #64 in their list of 100 Greatest Videos of All-Time in 2004.
390. Brooks & Dunn - That Ain't No Way To Go
Album: Hard Workin' Man
Year: 1994
I absolutely love the first 3 B&D albums. I recall ordering all three of them through the BMG music club. "That Ain't No Way To Go" was the final of five singles from the 2nd album. This song marked Brooks & Dunn's sixth #1 hit.
389. Michael Peterson - By The Book
Album: Michael Peterson
Year: 1998
Michael Peterson released 5 Country Top 40 singles from his debut album. With the amount of new artists coming into the exploding country genre in the late 90's, I'd say that's pretty impressive! While "By The Book" only peaked at #19 on the Hot Country chart, it feels to me like it was played quite a bit during it's radio run. Peterson's radio play tenure was unfortunately quite short, however, he found success in writing for other artists and still performs military benefits today.
388. Daryle Sinlgetary - I Let Her Lie
Album: Daryle Singletary
Year: 1995
Here's another fresh face to our countdown! Daryle Singletary has one of the strongest voices in country music. His first album hit the shelves in 1995 and produced 4 singles, including his highest charting song, "I Let Her Lie" at #2. Singletary was able to climb the charts with a single from his second album, but afterwards found little mainstream success. Daryle continues to produce some fantastic country music, including a duet with a personal favorite of mine, Ashton Shepherd (Buy her music, now!) In fact, Singletary has an album releasing this June, titled "There's Still A Little Country Left." Perhaps a little knock on today's mainstream country? Can't wait to hear it!
387. Diamond Rio - It's All In Your Head
Album: IV
Year: 1996
I had no idea what was going on in this song when I was little. In fact, I suppose it's still up in the air! However, I also remember thinking that the chorus was a blast to sing-a-long to! "We never walked on the moon, and Elvis ain't dead. You ain't going' crazy, it's all in your head." Fantastic! Not only does the music video feature Martin Sheen as the shouting priest, but also a young Melissa McBride, who most of you will know as "Carol" from AMC's "The Walking Dead".
386. Joe Diffie - Bigger Than The Beatles
Album: Life's So Funny
Year: 1995
Easily one of the goofiest singles in Joe Diffie's career, "Beatles" was his final #1 single on the Hot Country chart. I thought for sure that Diffie would get another single charting after Jason Aldean's "1994" hit radio a few years back. I've seen Joe perform acoustic shows twice in the last few years and he still sounds great live. I have plans to finally see hi perform with a full band backing him late this summer. Fingers crossed!
We are 120 songs into the countdown now! Like I stated above, I can't believe how fast this seems to be moving along! Thanks again for reading, and keep an eye out for the special blog I am working on focusing on the stats of the first 100 songs from our list. I think it'll be a pretty fun read!
As always, we appreciate your reading, and hope you will continue to join us on this musical journey down memory lane! Follow along, comment and share with friends!
-Arthur Born
Facebook: BORN Country
Twitter: @BORNCountryBlog
E-Mail: BORNCountryBlog@gmail.com
Thursday, March 12, 2015
Chris LeDoux, The Dixie Chicks, Billy Dean
It's a little later than I planned, but as I promised yesterday on social media, I'm back with a mid(ish) week blog entry!!! I'm just looking to cover a few topics relevant to the week and country music, this evening. Don't forget, this Sunday with feature another 10 songs on my list of the top 505 songs in country music from the 90's!!!
* This past Monday, March 9th, marked 10 years since the unfortunate passing of rodeo and country music legend, Chris LeDoux. Some of you reading this may not be familiar with this man's work, but you should absolutely look into changing that. After winning many prizes in rodeo, LeDoux retired from the sport in 1980 to focus on his music career. Between 1971 and 1990, he wrote, recorded and sold his own music, completely independent from any label or marketing! He sold his records out of the back of his truck at rodeos and concerts! Incredible!
After mention in Garth Brooks' first single "Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)" LeDoux finally decided to take advantage and sign to a major label. While seeing very little radio support throughout the 90s, Chris continued producing music with 9 more studio albums before his passing in 2005 with Cholangiocarcinoma at the age of 56.
In 2005, Garth Brooks briefly came out of retirement to release a tribute song to his long time friend, "Good Ride Cowboy". As I said before, if you are unfamiliar with LeDoux's music, check it out. You will not regret it. A few songs will be popping up in the 90's countdown!!!
* This past Monday, March 9th, marked 10 years since the unfortunate passing of rodeo and country music legend, Chris LeDoux. Some of you reading this may not be familiar with this man's work, but you should absolutely look into changing that. After winning many prizes in rodeo, LeDoux retired from the sport in 1980 to focus on his music career. Between 1971 and 1990, he wrote, recorded and sold his own music, completely independent from any label or marketing! He sold his records out of the back of his truck at rodeos and concerts! Incredible!
After mention in Garth Brooks' first single "Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)" LeDoux finally decided to take advantage and sign to a major label. While seeing very little radio support throughout the 90s, Chris continued producing music with 9 more studio albums before his passing in 2005 with Cholangiocarcinoma at the age of 56.
In 2005, Garth Brooks briefly came out of retirement to release a tribute song to his long time friend, "Good Ride Cowboy". As I said before, if you are unfamiliar with LeDoux's music, check it out. You will not regret it. A few songs will be popping up in the 90's countdown!!!
* 2 years and a day short of LeDoux's passing marks another memorable date in country music history. On the first date of their Top Of The World Tour, The Dixie Chicks were set to perform their hit, "Travelin' Soldier" in London, England. Lead vocalist, Natalie Maines stepped up to the microphone, and as most know, notoriously stated the following:
"Just so you know, we're on the good side with y'all. We do not want this war, this violence, and we're ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas."
This statement lead to many fans turning away from the Chicks and the majority of the nation's radio stations followed suit. I've always been a fan of the Dixie Chicks and still enjoy their music today. I'm certainly not here to make political posts, but I hadn't realized that it had been 12 years since the now famous incident. I do wish the Chicks were able to make a comeback, as I believe country music NEEDS strong female acts, but it seems to be a case in which we will not see in a long time, if ever.
* On a lighter note, last weekend, Amy and I had the chance to see 90's country star Billy Dean perform at Keystone Elementary School in Lagrange, OH. The concert was held in charity to raise money for the local fire department. Billy played the majority of his hits throughout his acoustic set, including "We Just Disagree","If There Hadn't Been You", my favorite, "Billy The Kid" and many more. we lucked out with a last minute meet & greet with Billy before he went on. Despite being a bit rushed due to his needing to take stage, he came off as a very polite and kind guy. I would definitely see him perform again! This event takes place every year, and somehow I've been sleeping on it big time. Previous performers included Shenandoah, "Little" Jimmy Dickens, Collin Raye, Doug Stone and many others!
That about wraps it up for me tonight! I'm still working on the 10 songs for Sunday's 505 post, so stay tuned for that! Please comment below! Who remembers Chris LeDoux? Thoughts on the Dixie Chicks? Share, follow, Tweet, reblog, etc. and please help get BORN COUNTRY out to those who will enjoy it!!! I'm working on more features for the future along with the countdown of my 505 Favorite Country Singles of the 90s!
Thanks for reading!
-Arthur Born
Twitter: @arthurborn
Instagram: @arthur214
#iwasBORNcountry
Sunday, March 8, 2015
Countdown Part II: Songs 486-495
It's been a long week of battling a little ear-ache, work and other things, so I didn't get to make a mid-week blog entry, unfortunately. However, we are back with the another 10 songs on Born Country's list of 505 Favorite Singles of the 1990's!
But first, I must say a special "Thank you" to Diane Schumann for setting Amy and I up with a chance to see 90's country star, Billy Dean, last night! He put on a great set, and still has an awesome voice. He played just about everything I could've wanted to hear, but left out one minor hit. Diane was also able to get us a last minute chance to meet Billy! I'll share some pictures later this week!
Now, the list continues!
BORN Country's Top 505 Country Singles Of the 1990's!!!
495. John Michael Montgomery - Cover You In Kisses
Album: Leave A Mark
Year: 1998
Starting this week's countdown with one of my favorite artist's of the 90's! While Montgomery easily had much stronger singles and success prior to this single, "Kisses" made it up to #3 on the country Billboard charts.
494. Collin Raye - I Think About You
Album: I Think About You
Year: 1996
Although I am not a father, I always loved singing along to this song whenever it came on the radio. I unfortunately missed out on a chance to see Collin perform last year, but hopefully he comes around again someday. "I Think About You" clocked in at #15 on Billboard's year end country chart in 1996.
493. Mila Mason - That's Enough Of That
Album: That's Enough Of That
Year: 1996
This was Mila's only real splash in the country music scene during the 90's. She reached #18 on the Country Billboard charts with this single, but had very little luck with anything that followed.
492. Travis Tritt - Tell Me I Was Dreaming
Album: Ten Feet Tall And Bulletproof
Year: 1995
Amy and I had the chance to see Travis Tritt perform an acoustic show late in 2014 from the 2nd row. He was incredible! Trott still has one of the best and most recognizable voices in country music. This is truly a case in which an artist has lost the spotlight, despite 100% still being deserving of it. I had never seen the video for this song until the writing of this post, and it turns out that there is a trilogy of videos based on this character played by Tritt. Imagine my confusion!
491. Vince Gill - Pretty Little Adriana
Album: High Lonesome Sound
Year: 1996
While I certainly understand the love for Vince Gill, the majority of his work in the 90's never really appealed to me when I was young. The killer guitar player and fantastic vocals didn't sync in until later on for me, but I still recall the few songs that really stuck out to me back then. I would love to see the guy perform live!
490. Clint Black - No Time To Kill
Album: No Time To Kill
Year: 1993
In 1989, there were 5 artists who released their first radio singles and exploded into country music. The "Class of '89" included Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, Travis Tritt, Mary Chapin Carpenter and this man, Clint Black. Black was the first of the group to find immediate success, which followed him throughout the entire decade of the 90's
489. Alan Jackson - Little Man
Album: High Mileage
Year: 1999
Speaking of the "Class of '89", next up is Alan Jackson. Being my all-time favorite artist, I suppose it's only fitting that he be the first artist with 2 songs on the list! While I admit that I'm guilty of taking advantage of the convenience offered by Walmart and other major chain businesses, I always try to remind myself to also help out small businesses when I am able. This song will always be a true reminder that we need to support local businesses in order to not allow EVERYTHING to be taken over by the big guys.
488. Lee Roy Parnell - Heart's Desire
Album: We All Get Lucky Sometimes
Year: 1996
If any of these 10 songs this week receive a big "WHO?!" from readers, its probably going to be this one. Lee Roy had a number of radio songs throughout the 90's with a few nearly taking the #1 spot, including "Heart's Desire" which peaked at #3. Parnell's last released album came out in 2006, but he has not held a strong radio presence since the mid-90's.
487. Michael Peterson - Too Good To Be True
Album: Michael Peterson
Year: 1998
Ok, so if Lee Roy Parnell wasn't the one to not ring a bell, here comes Michael Peterson. Peterson is another artist who dropped a few successful hits to country radio, but as the years went by, sales slowed down leading to his final album in 2002. Peterson still performs at military benefits. This will NOT be the only time you see him on this list though!
486. Garth Brooks - It's Midnight Cinderella
Album: Fresh Horses
Year: 1996
Undoubtably, Garth is the KING of 90's country music. With that being said, referring to "Cinderella" as possibly one of Garth's weakest radio singles of the decade, is by no means degrading. It's catchy, easy to sing along to and just plain fun. Just like Alan and George, you can certainly expect to see a LOT more of Garth on our journey through these 505 songs!!!
There you have it! Another 10 songs down on my list of 505 Country Singles of the 90's! Hopefully this list is bringing back some memories for those of you who listened to country music in the 90s. For those that didn't, perhaps my list will help you dive into what in my opinion, was the best decade in country music history!
Stay tuned for my next post sometime mid week! I plan on writing a bit more on the Billy Dean concert, including pictures, and perhaps I'll finally get everything uploaded from the trip I took down to Nashville a couple months ago with Amy!
Please comment below! I'd love to hear your thoughts on the songs, and the blog in general! Who do you hope to see more of on the list? Is there anyone that you think shouldn't make the list from the 90's? I'm curious!!!
Follow, comment, share, Tweet, Facebook, Instagram(?) the blog to your friends and family who listen to country music! Share on message boards! Do whatever you can to help get BORN Country to those who would enjoy it! Thanks!
-Arthur Born
Twitter: @arthurborn
Instagram: @arthur214
#iwasBORNcountry
But first, I must say a special "Thank you" to Diane Schumann for setting Amy and I up with a chance to see 90's country star, Billy Dean, last night! He put on a great set, and still has an awesome voice. He played just about everything I could've wanted to hear, but left out one minor hit. Diane was also able to get us a last minute chance to meet Billy! I'll share some pictures later this week!
Now, the list continues!
BORN Country's Top 505 Country Singles Of the 1990's!!!
495. John Michael Montgomery - Cover You In Kisses
Album: Leave A Mark
Year: 1998
Starting this week's countdown with one of my favorite artist's of the 90's! While Montgomery easily had much stronger singles and success prior to this single, "Kisses" made it up to #3 on the country Billboard charts.
494. Collin Raye - I Think About You
Album: I Think About You
Year: 1996
Although I am not a father, I always loved singing along to this song whenever it came on the radio. I unfortunately missed out on a chance to see Collin perform last year, but hopefully he comes around again someday. "I Think About You" clocked in at #15 on Billboard's year end country chart in 1996.
493. Mila Mason - That's Enough Of That
Album: That's Enough Of That
Year: 1996
This was Mila's only real splash in the country music scene during the 90's. She reached #18 on the Country Billboard charts with this single, but had very little luck with anything that followed.
492. Travis Tritt - Tell Me I Was Dreaming
Album: Ten Feet Tall And Bulletproof
Year: 1995
Amy and I had the chance to see Travis Tritt perform an acoustic show late in 2014 from the 2nd row. He was incredible! Trott still has one of the best and most recognizable voices in country music. This is truly a case in which an artist has lost the spotlight, despite 100% still being deserving of it. I had never seen the video for this song until the writing of this post, and it turns out that there is a trilogy of videos based on this character played by Tritt. Imagine my confusion!
491. Vince Gill - Pretty Little Adriana
Album: High Lonesome Sound
Year: 1996
While I certainly understand the love for Vince Gill, the majority of his work in the 90's never really appealed to me when I was young. The killer guitar player and fantastic vocals didn't sync in until later on for me, but I still recall the few songs that really stuck out to me back then. I would love to see the guy perform live!
490. Clint Black - No Time To Kill
Album: No Time To Kill
Year: 1993
In 1989, there were 5 artists who released their first radio singles and exploded into country music. The "Class of '89" included Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, Travis Tritt, Mary Chapin Carpenter and this man, Clint Black. Black was the first of the group to find immediate success, which followed him throughout the entire decade of the 90's
489. Alan Jackson - Little Man
Album: High Mileage
Year: 1999
Speaking of the "Class of '89", next up is Alan Jackson. Being my all-time favorite artist, I suppose it's only fitting that he be the first artist with 2 songs on the list! While I admit that I'm guilty of taking advantage of the convenience offered by Walmart and other major chain businesses, I always try to remind myself to also help out small businesses when I am able. This song will always be a true reminder that we need to support local businesses in order to not allow EVERYTHING to be taken over by the big guys.
488. Lee Roy Parnell - Heart's Desire
Album: We All Get Lucky Sometimes
Year: 1996
If any of these 10 songs this week receive a big "WHO?!" from readers, its probably going to be this one. Lee Roy had a number of radio songs throughout the 90's with a few nearly taking the #1 spot, including "Heart's Desire" which peaked at #3. Parnell's last released album came out in 2006, but he has not held a strong radio presence since the mid-90's.
487. Michael Peterson - Too Good To Be True
Album: Michael Peterson
Year: 1998
Ok, so if Lee Roy Parnell wasn't the one to not ring a bell, here comes Michael Peterson. Peterson is another artist who dropped a few successful hits to country radio, but as the years went by, sales slowed down leading to his final album in 2002. Peterson still performs at military benefits. This will NOT be the only time you see him on this list though!
486. Garth Brooks - It's Midnight Cinderella
Album: Fresh Horses
Year: 1996
Undoubtably, Garth is the KING of 90's country music. With that being said, referring to "Cinderella" as possibly one of Garth's weakest radio singles of the decade, is by no means degrading. It's catchy, easy to sing along to and just plain fun. Just like Alan and George, you can certainly expect to see a LOT more of Garth on our journey through these 505 songs!!!
There you have it! Another 10 songs down on my list of 505 Country Singles of the 90's! Hopefully this list is bringing back some memories for those of you who listened to country music in the 90s. For those that didn't, perhaps my list will help you dive into what in my opinion, was the best decade in country music history!
Stay tuned for my next post sometime mid week! I plan on writing a bit more on the Billy Dean concert, including pictures, and perhaps I'll finally get everything uploaded from the trip I took down to Nashville a couple months ago with Amy!
Please comment below! I'd love to hear your thoughts on the songs, and the blog in general! Who do you hope to see more of on the list? Is there anyone that you think shouldn't make the list from the 90's? I'm curious!!!
Follow, comment, share, Tweet, Facebook, Instagram(?) the blog to your friends and family who listen to country music! Share on message boards! Do whatever you can to help get BORN Country to those who would enjoy it! Thanks!
-Arthur Born
Twitter: @arthurborn
Instagram: @arthur214
#iwasBORNcountry
Sunday, March 1, 2015
The Countdown Begins!
It's finally time! As promised, today's entry marks the beginning on my countdown of the 505 best country singles of the 90's! I decided to bump it up 5 extra songs just in the case that I missed something while making my list!
Originally, I intended for this list to be in order from my favorite to least favorite of the songs I chose. However, after months of attempting to find an order than I felt content with, I decided that instead, I would choose 10 songs a week at random and post them. I think this will also allow me to bring everyone a more solid list each week, featuring a mix big hits and more obscure songs.
Before we start, here are the rules I gave myself when picking songs:
1.They must have been a single released to radio. If this rule wasn't set into place, the list would only have room for Garth, Alan Jackson, George Strait and Brooks & Dunn. As great as that would be, that's not the idea here!
2. All songs must have been released to radio between January of 1990 and December of 1999. Obviously. Some songs may have been released on earlier or later albums, but as long as they hit the airwaves between the dates, they are fair game.
So, we might as well dive right in and get this list going! Please comment below! Let me know what songs you remember, love or hate, never heard of, whatever it is! Don't forget to follow the blog and find me on Twitter!
BORN Country's Top 505 Country Singles Of the 1990's!!!
505. Diamond Rio - This Romeo Ain't Got Julie Yet
Album: Close To The Edge
Year: 1993
The video for this song by one of the 90's greatest country bands has got it all. Huge feathered hair, key-tars, sparkly clothing, etc. "Romeo" reached #13 on the Billboard Country Charts.
504. John Anderson - I Fell In The Water
Album: Solid Ground
Year: 1993
John Anderson, probably best known for his huge success with "Swingin'" in 1982, found a touch of radio success in the early 90's. While "Water" climbed up to #13 on the Billboard Country charts, Anderson was only able to pass that point again 2 more times in his long career.
503. Alan Jackson - There Goes
Album: Everything I Love
Year: 1997
I'll throw this out here: Alan Jackson is my all-time favorite artist of any genre. You will be seeing a lot of his songs on this list. "There Goes" THAT.
502. David Kersh - If I Never Stop Loving You
Album: If I Never Stop Loving You
Year: 1997
This is a perfect example of "How did this guy not blow up?!" I think this is such a solid song and is s strong representation of what radio country should sound like. Unfortunately, after this single hit #3 on the Billboard Chart, Kersh never broke the Top 20 again despite being active in the industry until 2005.
501. Tim McGraw - Can't Be Really Gone
Album: All I Want
Year: 1995
Slowing it down a bit, we come up on one of the MEGA stars of country music. Although McGraw hasn't been doing much for me with his output over the last few years, his 2014 duet with wife Faith Hill, "Meanwhile Back At Mama's" was easily one of the best songs of the year. "Gone" peaked at #2 on the Billboard Charts.
500. Faith Hill - This Kiss
Album: Faith
Year: 1998
Speaking of Faith Hill, why not? The best memory that I have connected to this song, is when my dear friend Laurel sang it at the 8th grade talent show waaay back in 1998. While there was not instrumental version available and you could barely hear her singing along, it may be the only time I've ever experienced Laurel singing along to a country song, ha! "Kiss" reached #1 on the Country Charts and even hitting the Top 10 on the Hot 100 Chart, covering all genres. The video though... Real weird.
499. Mark Collie - Even The Man In The Moon Is Crying
Album: Mark Collie
Year: 1992
I'll admit, that I don't know much of Mark Collie's career, almost at all. Despite still being active in the country music industry, this was one of only two singles of his that hit the Top 10 on the Billboard Country Chart. I remember hearing this song on my AM/FM alarm clock at night, fairly often, but that is the extent of his career that I am familiar with.
498. Joe Diffie - Texas Sized Heartache
Album: Greatest Hits
Year: 1998
Man, what a talent. While Joe Diffie was huge in 90's, he should've been even bigger and still huge today. No, he's older and he doesn't LOOK like the guys who survived into present day country music like McGraw and Chesney, but he sure deserves more credit than mention in a Jason Aldean track. I thought for sure that Aldean's "1994" would blast Diffie back into the spotlight, as least for one single, but, nothin. Amy and I did get to see Diffie perform with Mark Chestnutt in late 2014, and he was awesome! Great to see these guys still chugging along despite getting no love from country radio.
497. Billy Ray Cyrus - Busy Man
Album: Shot Full Of Love
Year: 1998
Okay, I have a theory about Billy Ray's career, but I'm not going to talk about that quite yet. I believe the guy had some strong talent and got swallowed by his own success. We'll touch base on this later.
496. George Strait - If I Know Me
Album: Chill Of An Early Fall
Year: 1991
King George. While Alan Jackson is indeed my all-time favorite, George Strait has hands down shown the strongest longevity in country music possibly in the history of the genre. Strait has always been on the radio, and along with his newer recordings, he is one of the very, very few artists who still has his older catalogue titles getting airtime. Legendary.
Well, there we have it! 10 songs down and 495 left to go! The list will continue next Sunday. Please, please comment below, follow the Blog here on Blogger. Share iwasBORNcountry.blogspot.com on Twitter and Facebook! Let me know below what you like and dislike about the list!
I can't wait for feedback! Thanks for reading! Another general blog will be coming in a couple days! Thanks!
-Arthur Born
Twitter: @arthurborn
Instagram: @arthur214
Originally, I intended for this list to be in order from my favorite to least favorite of the songs I chose. However, after months of attempting to find an order than I felt content with, I decided that instead, I would choose 10 songs a week at random and post them. I think this will also allow me to bring everyone a more solid list each week, featuring a mix big hits and more obscure songs.
Before we start, here are the rules I gave myself when picking songs:
1.They must have been a single released to radio. If this rule wasn't set into place, the list would only have room for Garth, Alan Jackson, George Strait and Brooks & Dunn. As great as that would be, that's not the idea here!
2. All songs must have been released to radio between January of 1990 and December of 1999. Obviously. Some songs may have been released on earlier or later albums, but as long as they hit the airwaves between the dates, they are fair game.
So, we might as well dive right in and get this list going! Please comment below! Let me know what songs you remember, love or hate, never heard of, whatever it is! Don't forget to follow the blog and find me on Twitter!
BORN Country's Top 505 Country Singles Of the 1990's!!!
505. Diamond Rio - This Romeo Ain't Got Julie Yet
Album: Close To The Edge
Year: 1993
The video for this song by one of the 90's greatest country bands has got it all. Huge feathered hair, key-tars, sparkly clothing, etc. "Romeo" reached #13 on the Billboard Country Charts.
504. John Anderson - I Fell In The Water
Album: Solid Ground
Year: 1993
John Anderson, probably best known for his huge success with "Swingin'" in 1982, found a touch of radio success in the early 90's. While "Water" climbed up to #13 on the Billboard Country charts, Anderson was only able to pass that point again 2 more times in his long career.
503. Alan Jackson - There Goes
Album: Everything I Love
Year: 1997
I'll throw this out here: Alan Jackson is my all-time favorite artist of any genre. You will be seeing a lot of his songs on this list. "There Goes" THAT.
502. David Kersh - If I Never Stop Loving You
Album: If I Never Stop Loving You
Year: 1997
This is a perfect example of "How did this guy not blow up?!" I think this is such a solid song and is s strong representation of what radio country should sound like. Unfortunately, after this single hit #3 on the Billboard Chart, Kersh never broke the Top 20 again despite being active in the industry until 2005.
501. Tim McGraw - Can't Be Really Gone
Album: All I Want
Year: 1995
Slowing it down a bit, we come up on one of the MEGA stars of country music. Although McGraw hasn't been doing much for me with his output over the last few years, his 2014 duet with wife Faith Hill, "Meanwhile Back At Mama's" was easily one of the best songs of the year. "Gone" peaked at #2 on the Billboard Charts.
500. Faith Hill - This Kiss
Album: Faith
Year: 1998
Speaking of Faith Hill, why not? The best memory that I have connected to this song, is when my dear friend Laurel sang it at the 8th grade talent show waaay back in 1998. While there was not instrumental version available and you could barely hear her singing along, it may be the only time I've ever experienced Laurel singing along to a country song, ha! "Kiss" reached #1 on the Country Charts and even hitting the Top 10 on the Hot 100 Chart, covering all genres. The video though... Real weird.
499. Mark Collie - Even The Man In The Moon Is Crying
Album: Mark Collie
Year: 1992
I'll admit, that I don't know much of Mark Collie's career, almost at all. Despite still being active in the country music industry, this was one of only two singles of his that hit the Top 10 on the Billboard Country Chart. I remember hearing this song on my AM/FM alarm clock at night, fairly often, but that is the extent of his career that I am familiar with.
498. Joe Diffie - Texas Sized Heartache
Album: Greatest Hits
Year: 1998
Man, what a talent. While Joe Diffie was huge in 90's, he should've been even bigger and still huge today. No, he's older and he doesn't LOOK like the guys who survived into present day country music like McGraw and Chesney, but he sure deserves more credit than mention in a Jason Aldean track. I thought for sure that Aldean's "1994" would blast Diffie back into the spotlight, as least for one single, but, nothin. Amy and I did get to see Diffie perform with Mark Chestnutt in late 2014, and he was awesome! Great to see these guys still chugging along despite getting no love from country radio.
497. Billy Ray Cyrus - Busy Man
Album: Shot Full Of Love
Year: 1998
Okay, I have a theory about Billy Ray's career, but I'm not going to talk about that quite yet. I believe the guy had some strong talent and got swallowed by his own success. We'll touch base on this later.
496. George Strait - If I Know Me
Album: Chill Of An Early Fall
Year: 1991
King George. While Alan Jackson is indeed my all-time favorite, George Strait has hands down shown the strongest longevity in country music possibly in the history of the genre. Strait has always been on the radio, and along with his newer recordings, he is one of the very, very few artists who still has his older catalogue titles getting airtime. Legendary.
Well, there we have it! 10 songs down and 495 left to go! The list will continue next Sunday. Please, please comment below, follow the Blog here on Blogger. Share iwasBORNcountry.blogspot.com on Twitter and Facebook! Let me know below what you like and dislike about the list!
I can't wait for feedback! Thanks for reading! Another general blog will be coming in a couple days! Thanks!
-Arthur Born
Twitter: @arthurborn
Instagram: @arthur214
Sunday, February 22, 2015
Record Convention, Neal McCoy, 90's Country/a.k.a. "Old Shit"
Hello again! I meant to get this thing rolling much earlier today, but I just woke up from a long Coricidin induced slumber as I'm dealing with a little bit of a bug this weekend. However, I didn't want to disappoint anyone by missing my second post as I planned it! I'm just going to touch on a few things, then its back to bed for me.
- 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
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