January 01, 2009
2008 in Review
It must be the most uneventful year in Country music history! Taylor Swift, the keen teen who became America's sweetheart sold more records and graced more magazine covers than anyone else in the hillbilly business. Kenny Chesney, who doesn't sell outside the US, packed stadiums to overflowing and continuing to win the top entertainer awards from both the Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association.
Shania Twain split from husband Mutt Lange; Mindy McCready, spent 60 days in prison, then apparently attempted suicide; John Rich, Sugarland, Mark Herndon and Natalie Maines got sued; and Billy Joe Shaver and Kid Rock got busted. Chris Cagle and his girlfriend are jailed on domestic assault charges.
Sadder still, country music lost some of its finest voices and fiercest advocates, including John Stewart, Charlie Walker, Leo Jackson, Danny Davis, Paul Davis, Danny Dill,Chris Gaffney (Hacienda Brothers), Don Helms,Reg Lindsay, Bobby Lord, Ken Nelson,Odetta Holmes, Dottie Rambo, Jerry Reed, Nick Reynolds, (founding member of the Kingston Trio),Artie Traum, and Jerry Wallace.
This past week, Delaney Bramlett, 69, singer, songwriter, record producer and a founding member of Delaney & Bonnie & Friends, Dec. 27, in Los Angeles, of complications from gallbladder surgery.
And finally, Eddy Arnold, 89, trailblazing crossover crooner and member of the Country Music Hall of Fame,died May 8, near Nashville.
The late star's single, "To Life," charts in Billboard just days after his death, making him one of the few artists to have charted a record in seven consecutive decades and giving him a grand total of 147 singles charted. ...
Carrie Underwood's "Before He Cheats" becomes first country song to earn double-platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for generating 2 million digital downloads. Then in May, she joined the Grand Ole Opry, once the home of singers that could honestly be called legends. Later in the year, she was joined by Craig Morgan, the Opry's youngest member.
Ernest V. Stoneman, Tom T. Hall, The Statler Brothers and Emmylou Harris are inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
In bluegrass, Dailey & Vincent win seven International Bluegrass Music Awards, including entertainer of the year. ...
But still, everyone wanted into Country music. Actress Jessica Simpson, R&B singer Jewel, and Dancing With The Stars dancer Julianne Hough all made Country music albums. Even President George W. Bush treats the annual Gridiron Dinner crowd to a self-mocking parody of "Green, Green Grass of Home".
Shania Twain split from husband Mutt Lange; Mindy McCready, spent 60 days in prison, then apparently attempted suicide; John Rich, Sugarland, Mark Herndon and Natalie Maines got sued; and Billy Joe Shaver and Kid Rock got busted. Chris Cagle and his girlfriend are jailed on domestic assault charges.
Sadder still, country music lost some of its finest voices and fiercest advocates, including John Stewart, Charlie Walker, Leo Jackson, Danny Davis, Paul Davis, Danny Dill,Chris Gaffney (Hacienda Brothers), Don Helms,Reg Lindsay, Bobby Lord, Ken Nelson,Odetta Holmes, Dottie Rambo, Jerry Reed, Nick Reynolds, (founding member of the Kingston Trio),Artie Traum, and Jerry Wallace.
This past week, Delaney Bramlett, 69, singer, songwriter, record producer and a founding member of Delaney & Bonnie & Friends, Dec. 27, in Los Angeles, of complications from gallbladder surgery.
And finally, Eddy Arnold, 89, trailblazing crossover crooner and member of the Country Music Hall of Fame,died May 8, near Nashville.
The late star's single, "To Life," charts in Billboard just days after his death, making him one of the few artists to have charted a record in seven consecutive decades and giving him a grand total of 147 singles charted. ...
Carrie Underwood's "Before He Cheats" becomes first country song to earn double-platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for generating 2 million digital downloads. Then in May, she joined the Grand Ole Opry, once the home of singers that could honestly be called legends. Later in the year, she was joined by Craig Morgan, the Opry's youngest member.
Ernest V. Stoneman, Tom T. Hall, The Statler Brothers and Emmylou Harris are inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
In bluegrass, Dailey & Vincent win seven International Bluegrass Music Awards, including entertainer of the year. ...
But still, everyone wanted into Country music. Actress Jessica Simpson, R&B singer Jewel, and Dancing With The Stars dancer Julianne Hough all made Country music albums. Even President George W. Bush treats the annual Gridiron Dinner crowd to a self-mocking parody of "Green, Green Grass of Home".
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