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

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