Country Singles Jubilee 6.29.09: The Rednecks, Rap, and Kenny Rogers Edition
Posted by Jasper Jones on 06.29.2009
This week's Jubilee includes singles from Joey + Rory, The Trailer Choir, and Melonie Cannon. Check out a Tammy Wynette classic and a cool version of Kenny Rogers inside too!
Welcome back, Jubileers. This has not been a good week for celebrities. Ed MacMahon, Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson, and Billy Mays all passed on this week. My condolences go out to the families, friends, and fans. Next week has got to be better.
Country Music Tidbits
New Opry Members
Popular country music duo Montgomery Gentry are the latest members of the Grand Ole Opry. Troy Gentry and Eddie Montgomery were inducted by Opry members Little Jimmy Dickens and Marty Stuart last Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009. Stuart is quoted as saying, "You guys have worked so hard for so many years. Your legacy stands right here...It is my pleasure to welcome Montgomery Gentry to the Grand Ole Opry family." The choked up duo hugged then promised they would not let the fans or the Opry down. The duo concluded the ceremony by performing their first country hit "Hillbilly Shoes". The award presented to them was a 14-inch replica of the Opry's vintage microphone stand. Montgomery Gentry's first task as Opry members is to host the upcoming Star-Spangled America's Opry Weekend Special on Independence Day weekend.
Overdue Releases
Texas singer/songwriter Charlie Robison returns with Beautiful Day, his first album since 2004's Good Times. Robison, recently divorced from The Dixie Chick's Emily Robison, produced the album himself. It includes a cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Racing in the Sun". If you have no idea who he is, other great Charlie Robison songs to check out include "El Cerrito Place", "Photograph", and "Life of the Party".
Patterson Hood, the lead singer of alt-country band Drive-By Truckers, released his second solo album last Tuesday. Murdering Oscar (And Other Love Songs) contains full-blooded songs about losers and lost love with great southern imagery and Falkner-esque storytelling. Hood is backed by his band The Screwtopians, which includes Drive-By Truckers' drummer Brad Morgan and Don Hood, Patterson's father and longtime bassist for the revered Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section.
MUSIC TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Country Singles Reviews
Joey + Rory - "Play the Song"
There are a couple reasons you may know Joey + Rory. They were the third place finalist on CMT's Can You Duet in 2008. That same year they were featured in a couple of Overstock.com commercials too. However, most people know Rory Lee Freek and Joey Martin Freek from their debut hit single "Cheater, Cheater". You might remember it as the one where Joey wanted to know where Rory met "that no good, white-trash ho". "Cheater, Cheater" debuted at Number 57 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart the week of September 27th, 2008. It continually climbed the charts week after week, eventually peaking at Number 30. The success of the single caused the duo's first album to debut at Number 10 on the Top Country Albums chart.
"Play the Song" is the second single released from Joey + Rory's debut album The Life of A Song. It's a mid-tempo song driven by piano and acoustic guitar. Joey is featured on lead vocals, while Rory provides back-ups and plays the acoustic. It's about record executives' need to tweak songs into something their not to appeal to the mass audience instead of just playing the song as it is and letting the people decide if they like it or not. It's common-place in most musical genres for record companies to flood the market with whatever sound is "hot" at the moment. One hit from Quiet Riot lead to the signing of a slew of other sunset strip hair bands. One hit from The Backstreet Boys lead to the signing of a slew of other boy bands. Unfortunately for Joey + Rory, their theory of just playing the song and letting the fans decide if it's good or not has backfired on them. "Play the Song" has failed to chart since being released back in March. Ouch.
Favorite Lyric: "And it's too bad, if you ask me,/ Our song's gotta be so darn P.C./ so DAMN P.C."
Melonie Cannon feat. Willie Nelson - "Back To Earth"
Melonie Cannon is the daughter of Nashville songwriter and record producer Buddy Cannon. Buddy is most well known as Kenny Chesney's record producer. He even won the Academy of Country Music's Producer of the Year award in 2006. Thanks to the connects through her father, Melonie has been singing back-up for some of the biggest stars in country music since she was in high school. Melonie's voice can be heard on albums from George Jones, Kenny Chesney, John Michael Montgomery, and many others. Some of country greatest have nothing but kind words to say about Melonie. Willie Nelson claims that she's one of the best singers he knows, while Vern Gosdin called her the real deal.
"Back To Earth" is the first single from Melonie Cannon's latest album And The Wheels Turn. It's a slow, mellow, and easy-going song about a couple who's fairy-tale romance is over because they are no longer together. It's glaringly obvious the song was written by Willie Nelson. It's got his songwriting cadence and pacing. Cannon's voice is definitely from a by-gone era. She's got the sweet and savory female voice that used to dominate the 70s and even most of the 80s. Willie's signature guitar playing, mixed with the mandolin and dobro, give the song a sincere feeling that is lost in most of today's over-produced country music. This is the kind of stuff I want to hear on country radio. The late Vern Gosdin was right. Melonie Cannon might just be the real deal.
Favorite Lyric: "Tonight I'll sing for everything I'm worth/ For all the hearts that settle back to Earth"
Rating: 4/5
Trailer Choir - "Rockin' The Beer Gut"
Trailer Choir is a new country music act. The trio is made up of Vinny Hickerson, Crystal Hoyt, and Mark Fortney. However, their stage names are Big Vinny, Crystal, and Butter. The trio was signed to Toby Keith's Show Dog Records in 2006. Their debut single, a rap-like country song called "Off The Hillbilly Hook", was released and included on the soundtrack for Beer For My Horses, a movie starring Keith and comedian Rodney Carrington. They went on to release a six-song EP in 2009 and have since released two more singles to country radio.
"Rockin' The Beer Gut" is the third official single from country trio Trailer Choir. Much like the band itself, the song is a train-wreck of hip-hop and country. The last thing I needed in this world is an ode to chicks with a beer gut and a four-hundred pound man doing the worm. Thanks a lot, Toby Keith! While listening to this song my emotions were scrambled. First I felt confusion. What the hell was this? Then I felt anger. Why the hell do people like this? Then I felt sick. Why is this fat guy doing the worm? After thinking about it for a while, I calmed down. I decided to just let it be what it is...novelty. The band doesn't take themselves seriously, neither do the fans, and neither should I.
Favorite Lyric: "Well Toby Keith never looked so good hanging out right there on the front of her black t-shirt"
Virginia Wynette Pugh, otherwise known to country music fans as Tammy Wynette, was one of country music best known and best selling female artists in history. Most people use Tammy as the measuring stick to which all country female singers are compared. Her most famous song "Stand By Your Man" has been voted numerous times as the greatest country music song of all time. She scored three Number 1 albums and twenty Number 1 singles over the span of her thirty year career. "The First Lady of Country Music" married George Jones in 1969 creating country's first couple. They recorded a serious of critically and commercially successful songs including "(We're Not) The Jet Set", "Golden Ring", and "We're Gonna Hold On".
My favorite Tammy Wynette song is the title track to her 1976 Number 3 album Till I Can Make It On My Own. I've never heard a woman sound so hurt and vulnerable then Tammy Wynette on "Till I Can Make It On My Own". She pleads with the man who just broke her heart to be her friend until she finds her feet again. She needs someone to talk to and a shoulder to cry on until that morning comes when she knows that she's finally over him. Everyone can relate to a song like this. We've all had relationships that destroyed us when they were over. No one could sing a hurting song like Tammy Wynette and she proves it here.
Favorite Lyric: "I'll get by, but no matter how I try/ There'll be times you'll know I call/ chances are my tears will fall/ and I'll have no pride at all from time to time"
Kenny Rogers and the First Edition - "Something's Burning"
Before the chicken restaurants, the Lionel Richie tunes, and the phone sex, Kenny Rogers played bass in a rock n' roll band. The First Edition (later known as Kenny Rogers and The First Edition) was a country/rock band formed in 1967. Over their twelves years together the band dabbled in everything from folk to country to rock to psychedelia. The band consisted of Kenny Rogers on vocals and bass, Mickey Jones on drums, Terry Williams on guitar and vocals, Mike Settles on guitar and vocals, and Thelma Camacho on vocals. Great First Edition songs to check out include "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love To Town", "School Teacher", "But You Know I Love You", and "Tulsa Turnaround".
Of all the great First Edition tunes, "Something's Burning" might be the best. Something's burning, and Kenny Roger's thinks it's love! It was the title track to The First Edition's 1970 album. The song, penned by Mac Davis, was a Top 40 hit around the world, peaking at Number 11 in the US. It features Kenny Rogers on lead vocals. The verses build up heat to a scorching and explosive chorus. Kenny croons about love building to a staggering heat between he and his lover. The harmonies from the rest of the group make this song something special. It's a real shame that the band is a footnote in the history of music. I truly enjoy their sound and think many more people would as well if they were only exposed to it.
That's it for this week's Jubilee! I'll catch you here next week for some more good-time country!
