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

Countdown Part V: 456-465, Plus more!

Here we are, topping off the first 50 songs of our 505 Favorite Country Single's of the 90's list. I don't know about you guys reading it, but it seems to be flying by for me!

Before we get into this weeks songs, I want to touch of a few topics.

- First, the BORN Country Facebook page has already blown up to just under 200 "Likes" in 2 weeks! I haven't looked into average page growth or anything, but that seems pretty awesome to me! Keep sharing, keep reading and liking! Heck, even TRACY LAWRENCE liked on the posts last week! How cool is that?!

- This past Thursday, Amy and I went out to Mansfield, OH to see Clint Black perform! It was my first time seeing him live and man, did he put on a great set! Clint was very funny and shared some great stories. His Willie Nelson impersonation is SPOT ON.

- This coming Tuesday, Darius Rucker's new album "Southern Style" hits stores. I've been listening to it all weekend and I recommend it! I was curious as to why there has yet to be a single following up "Homegrown Honey" released to country radio in anticipation of this album release. By no means is this an official reason, but Rucker's album actually SOUNDS like country music in comparison to a majority of the mainstream playlist right now. Time will tell!

- Starting this week, the "Song of the Day" on the BORN Country FB page will no longer be dedicated to 90's hits only. With the blog itself being based on my favorite decade of country music, for the majority, a more wide spread fan base on the FB page will help move us along in growth for better things to come in the future. (I have a lot of ideas!)

- Finally, the iHeartRadio Music Awards are airing tonight. While I will be recording the show, I will not be watching live, as tonight will be focussed on Wrestlemania and The Walking Dead. There are so many award shows these days, that its hard to really feel too strongly about any of them. I don't see Luke Bryan or Cole Swindell taking the trophies their respective categories this year, however in the "Country Song of the Year" category, I've got my fingers crossed for Eric Church.


Alright. Enough stalling! On to the countdown!

BORN Country's Top 505 Country Singles Of The 1990's!!!

465. Alabama - Dancin', Shaggin' On The Boulevard
Album: Dancin' On The Boulevard
Year: 1997

My first memory of this song, is my laughter after hearing the lyrics back in 1997. A little film titled "Austin Powers: International Man Of Mystery" had been released the same year and "Shagging" was introduced to my vocabulary. Being that I was 13 years old, I don't think I have to explain too much, haha. Anyhow, "Shaggin'" was one of Alabama's finally hits in the 90's and reached #3 on the Billboard Hot Country chart.



464. Chely Wright - Single White Female
Album: Single White Female
Year: 1999

Chely Wright hit the #1 spot on Billboard's U.S. Hot Country chart in 1999. Despite having not made the top of the charts before or since "SWF", Wright has written songs that were recorded by Brad Paisley, Clay Walker and others. Trisha Yearwood provided harmony vocals on the studio recording.



463. Vince Gill - You Better Think Twice
Album: When Love Finds You
Year: 1995

The "Guitar Slinger" took the 5th single from his album "When Love Finds You" to #2 on the Billboard Hot Country chart. Not all on this song, but Gill's album included backup vocals by what would now be considered an all-star lineup, including Amy Grant, Trisha Yearwood, Alison Krauss, Patty Loveless, Michael McDonald, Ricky Skaggs and more!



462. Andy Griggs - You Won't Ever Be Lonely
Album: You Won't Ever Be Lonely
Year: 1998

Andy Griggs hit the ground running upon his entry to the country music world. "Lonely" the first single from his first album climbed to the #2 spot on the Billboard country charts after 6 months on radio. Greg's first album also included a duet with country music's legendary outlaw, Waylon Jennings.



461. Mark Wills - I Do (Cherish You)
Album: Wish You Were Here
Year: 1998

The 90's saw a period in which a handful of country singles would also be recorded by pop/rock artists and released to radio as well. A lot of people will likely remember "I Do" as a single released by boyband 98 Degrees. This trend included two hit singles shared between John Michael Montgomery and All-4-One, Alabama teaming up with N'Sync and more. This Wills recording reached #2 on the Hot Country Chart.



460. Garth Brooks - Two Pina Coladas
Album: Sevens
Year: 1998

This Garth classic came in at #29 on CMT's 40 Greatest Drinking songs list. Brooks would follow this up with one more #1 and 2 other singles to round out the 90's.

*NOTE: While I always try to find the best videos for the blog, sometimes it is flat out impossible. This is a fan recorded video from a live concert.



459. Lee Roy Parnell - On The Road
Album: On The Road
Year: 1993

I can't imagine anyone who is reading this, has ever found the best way to think through, deal with, or just come down from something that has been bothering you than a nice long drive with some good music for a brief escape. While the issues being dealt with in this track are a bit heavier than the typical everyday person, this song hits it right on the head.



458. Jeff Carson - Not On Your Love
Album: Jeff Carson
Year: 1995

It may seem like Jeff Carson came and went almost immediately, but he started off as a sessions musician and demo recorder out of Missouri in the early 90's before receiving his own recording contract. Carson hit the Top 10 with 3 singles in a row, including this track (#1) through 1995 and 1996. Carson also saw some recognition when he covered Bob Carlisle's "Butterfly Kisses" in 1997. Carson retired from country music in 2009 and is now working as a police officer in Franklin, TN.



457. Joe Diffie - If The Devil Danced In Empty Pockets
Album: A Thousand Winding Roads
Year: 1991

Man, do I love the sound of some good western swing music. I have seen Joe Diffie perform live twice, both being acoustic sets. If all plans align, I will finally get to see him perform with a full band come end of summer. While guys like Eric Curch, Big & Rich and Thomas Rhett are headlining the festival, Diffie still has me the most excited!



456. Clint Black - Put Yourself In My Shoes
Album: Put Yourself In My Shoes
Year: 1991

The harmonica intro followed by Clint Black's strong vocals always hook me immediately when this song comes on. While this is not one of his 19 #1 singles, (#4 Hot Country), the first single from his second album is still an essential piece of his collected works.





There we go! 50 songs into the 505 song countdown! I know this segment was a little heavy on the lesser knowns, but as we dive deeper and deeper, the songs will get bigger and bigger!

Don't forget to comment below, and then follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Spotify! Each week will be adding the new list to the ongoing playlist so you can take the countdown with you!

As I stated earlier, we are just under 200 "Likes" on Facebook now. The offer still stands from last week, when we reach 300 "Likes" I will post a 20 song edition of the weekly countdown blog as a way of thanking you!

As always, I appreciate your reading along and sharing your thoughts! Thanks!
-Arthur Born

facebook.com/BORNCountryBlog
Twitter: @BORNCountryBlog
Spotify: BORN Country Spotify

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!!!

* 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

"I was BORN country!"

Welcome!

Being that you are here reading the very first post on this new blog, it's probably safe to bet that you know me personally. For those few that do not, I will start with a little intro.

My name is Arthur Born (See what I did with the blog title there?) Other than minor stints in NYC and Los Angeles, I have spent the majority of my life here in the northern farming region of Ohio. I grew up in 4H, raising cattle for the county fair, playing on my uncles' farms, riding dirt bikes and 4 wheelers, etc. The typical farm kid stuff.

One thing that has pretty much been a constant as far back that I can remember, is country music. My parents never played it at home much that I can recall, as they grew up on the classic rock of the 70's, but somehow, I found myself gravitating towards it.

Recently, I decided that I wanted to start writing again after I dumped the hobby around 2009. What better topic I thought, than the music I love and listen to everyday? Sure, there are probably thousands of blogs on the same topic, but this would be MINE. I won't pretend that I know what I'm talking about from the technical side of music, but I will write about the things I like and don't like. Will we agree? Not likely all of the time, but I feel like I have a pretty good way of looking at the genre.

I'm planning on starting with one or two posts a week, as i don't want to get myself too jammed up right at the start. More than likely, I'll be posting on Sundays and another day. This coming Sunday, I will write about the Neal McCoy show (Incredible!) I attended this past weekend at the Dusty Armadillo in Rootstown, OH for my 31st birthday with my girlfriend Amy. ALSO, I have a huge project I have been working on for a few months that I'm excited to share here.

I don't know much about this blogging stuff, HTML, etc, but I'll try to spruce the thing up as i learn. Bear with me!



-Arthur Born
Twitter @arthurborn
Instagram @arthur214
#iwasborncountry