Country History
Today is a good day to appreciate George Strait—it’s his birthday (May 18th, 1952) and he’s still actively performing. Here are 7 solid reasons people feel thankful for that:
When BlackHawk burst onto the country scene in the mid-’90s, fans couldn’t get enough. Their harmonies were so smooth that radio programmers compared them to country’s answer to classic rock supergroups. Songs like “Goodbye Says It All” and “Every Once in a While” became instant heartbreak anthems, turning the trio into arena-packing stars almost overnight. […]
In the early ’90s, Nashville executives didn’t know what to make of The Mavericks. They weren’t polished cowboys. They didn’t sound like anybody else on country radio. And frontman Raul Malo looked more like a rockabilly outlaw than a standard country heartthrob. Somehow, against every prediction in Music City, the band exploded into one of […]
Nashville insiders still whisper about the night Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn nearly walked away from each other before they became the hottest duo in country music. In the late ’80s, both men were struggling solo artists with more unpaid bar tabs than hit records. Friends say the pair couldn’t have been more different. Brooks […]
Before the nickname, before the Hall of Fame, before Nashville knew exactly what to do with him, Tom T. Hall was just a Kentucky kid with a notebook and a sharp eye for the way people really live. Born May 25, 1936, in Olive Hill, Kentucky he wasn’t handed a fast track. He worked for […]
Hank Williams Jr. overcame his father's shadow, reinventing himself from tragedy into an outlaw country icon.
George Strait, the 'King of Country', built an enduring career through authenticity, consistency, and a catalog defining the genre.
He’s the kind of man who doesn’t just sing a song, he owns it and on May 4, as Randy Travis celebrates his 67th birthday, it’s impossible not to tip your hat to a voice that didn’t just define an era of country music, it reshaped it. For those of us who grew up with […]
David Allen Coe was never the polished poster boy of Nashville and that’s exactly why his shadow looms so large over country music. While the industry was busy ironing its shirts and softening its edges, Coe kicked the door in with a snarl, a story and a sound that felt too real to fake. In […]
Released in 1982, ‘Heartbroke’ became one of the defining hits of Ricky Skaggs’ early career and helped cement his role in reshaping modern country music with a strong traditional influence. The song itself was written by Rodney Crowell, a respected songwriter and performer in his own right, whose work often blended emotional storytelling with a […]
Released in 1978, ‘Two Doors Down’ by Dolly Parton showcases a lighter, more playful side of an artist who was already well known for her emotional ballads and storytelling. The song appeared on her album Here You Come Again, a record that marked her successful crossover into mainstream pop while still maintaining her country roots. […]
‘Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain’ is one of the most important songs in the career of Willie Nelson, marking a turning point that helped define both his legacy and the outlaw country movement of the 1970s. Though many associate the song solely with Nelson, it was actually written by Fred Rose and first recorded […]