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When Dolly Parton debuted her latest single, “World on Fire,” during the Academy of Country Music Awards on May 11, Nate Smith was aghast.
RCA Nashville was set to release his single with the same name to radio four days later.
“What are the odds of that?” Smith asks. “That’s crazy to me.”
The odds of two different songs with the same title being worked to the marketplace at the same time are not that large, though the likelihood that a title has been used before is pretty good:
• Chris Stapleton’s “White Horse,” the top debut on the current Country Airplay chart, uses the same two-word moniker as a 2008 Taylor Swift single and a 1984 pop single by Laid Back.
• Gabby Barrett’s “Glory Days” shares its name with a Bruce Springsteen classic and a recent Chapel Hart single.
• Parker McCollum’s “Burn It Down” mirrors the title of a 2012 Linkin Park single that topped Hot Rock & Alternative Songs. Jason Aldean also launched a Burn It Down Tour behind the similarly titled “Burnin’ It Down,” and back in the ’90s, Marty Stuart’s “Burn Me Down” and Clint Black’s “Burn One Down” were fairly close.
• Meanwhile, the July 26 death of Sinéad O’Connor, best known for “Nothing Compares 2 U,” occurred just nine days after the release of Mickey Guyton’s properly spelled “Nothing Compares to You,” featuring Kane Brown.
Using the same title isn’t a sin, as “Glory Days” co-writer Seth Mosley discovered early in his career. His first hit was The Newsboys’ “Born Again,” which peaked at No. 2 on the Christian chart in 2010. It came a year after Third Day reached No. 3 with its own take on “Born Again.”
“You can write the same title five different ways,” says “Glory Days” co-writer Emily Weisband.
Actually, five is a low number. There are nearly 300 songs with the name “Glory Days” in the Songview database, an online catalog of titles represented by performing rights agencies BMI and/or ASCAP. The index also features over 330 songs named “World on Fire,” more than 650 called “Burn It Down” and more than 50 titled “Nothing Compares to You.” Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night,” in fact, is one of at least 1,000 songs with that moniker.
“I guess if everybody else has been trying to do it, maybe we were on to something,” “Burn It Down” co-writer Hillary Lindsey reasons.
Whether or not a title has been written before hinges in great part on the familiarity of the phrase. Songwriters tend to lean toward songs that feature common language. Thus, the everyday phrase “Change of Heart” -— associated with hits by The Judds, Cyndi Lauper, Tom Petty and Eric Carmen — appears nearly 800 times in Songview, while the Joe Nichols semi-novelty “Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off” is the only song with that title.
The age of existing hits with a particular title can influence whether a phrase gets reused. Springsteen’s version of “Glory Days,” for example, was a hit in 1985, a full 15 years before Barrett was born. When the title came up in the writing room, she didn’t know about the Boss’ version, and nobody told her about it, either. The live-in-the-moment plot she and her co-writers developed is distinctly different from Springsteen’s nostalgic take on it.
Similarly, the writers on Carrie Underwood’s “Dirty Laundry” had little or no awareness of Don Henley’s 1982 anti-media take on that title. And Old Dominion’s current “Memory Lane,” a title that appears more than 900 times in the Songview database, has not been a top 20 title since Paul Whiteman’s Pennsylvanians took it to No. 1 in 1924. And Brothers Osborne’s first top 10 single, 2015’s “Stay a Little Longer,” came 70 years after Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys recorded a Western swing hit with the same name.
“Shit, if you know the Bob Wills song, then more power to you,” T.J. Osborne said at the time.
Still, standard titles — such as “Georgia on My Mind,” “I Will Always Love You” or “Your Cheatin’ Heart” — are mostly out of bounds.
“There are some that when you hear it, you would never touch it or you look like assholes, like ‘Yesterday,’ ” says “Burn It Down” co-writer Liz Rose.
Titles and basic ideas cannot be copyrighted — it would be unrealistic to ask writers to avoid “Without You” (a hit for Badfinger, Keith Urban and Dixie Chicks) as a title, or to not address a widely familiar topic such as heartbreak, simply because those subjects had been broached before.
It would also be difficult to referee disputes when more than one version of a title emerges at the same time. When “Day Drinking,” for example, became a hit for Little Big Town in 2014, it was one of several songs with that title that had circulated around Music Row simultaneously. That sometimes happens when specific themes become popular and multiple songwriters attempt to capitalize on the trend. It could, however, derive from something deeper.
“Some people say that being creative, it’s just out there in the universe, and you have to just be open to it to let it flow through you,” Lindsey notes. “I believe in all that stuff. I haven’t dove all the way into all that stuff, but I believe it.”
That title, “I Believe It,” has already been written more than 150 times, and it has yet to become a hit.
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Grand Ole Opry member Craig Morgan surprised the audience by enlisting and being sworn into the U.S. Army Reserve during his set on the Opry stage on Saturday night (July 29). Morgan, who was inducted as an Opry member in 2008, became a newly sworn in Staff Sergeant and Warrant Officer candidate, who will continue touring and releasing new music in his civilian career while simultaneously serving in the Army Reserve.
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Morgan first took to the Opry in civilian attire, performing a trio of his hits: “That’s What I Love About Sunday,” “Redneck Yacht Club” and “Almost Home.” Then, Morgan briefly exited the stage before returning donned in his military uniform for the swearing-in ceremony, officiated by General Andrew Poppas, commander, US Army Forces Command. Morgan followed with a performance of his song “Soldier.”
“It’s been awhile since I’ve sung in uniform,” he told the crowd. Backstage, several members of Morgan’s family watched the performance and ceremony, along with many of Morgan’s military colleagues, who joined him onstage during the swearing-in ceremony.
Of course, Morgan’s dedication to the U.S. military and his own military service are well-known to his fans; he previously served 17 years in the Army and Army Reserve with the 101st and 82nd Airborne Divisions as an E-6 Staff Sergeant and Fire Support Specialist. He includes Airborne, Air Assault and Rappel Master among his certifications. Morgan is also a recipient of the Army’s Outstanding Civilian Service Medal and the USO Merit Award, as well as a member of the U.S. Field Artillery Hall of Fame.
Backstage at the Grand Ole Opry, prior to his swearing in ceremony, Morgan discussed with Billboard the significance of holding the ceremony on the Opry stage. Seated in a dressing room, Morgan looked at the walls that were covered in quotes from country artists and/or Opry members including Alan Jackson and Taylor Swift.
“I’ve got a quote on the wall around here somewhere. I said that there have been more people to climb Mount Everest than there are members of the Grand Ole Opry. There’s less than 300 people [who have been Opry members]; it’s very few. So I am humbled beyond words to be part of that group. And the military has been such a big part of my life for so long — 17 and a half years, and now to go back into the military and work with those folks again. To be able to do [the ceremony] here on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry to marry those two things, it’s historical; it’s special. It’s something that I will always remember.”
Next up, Morgan will go to warrant officer school for six weeks in November, and then will fulfill his Army Reserves commitment one weekend per month, and two weeks per year, alongside his music career commitments.
“I’m a singer and we want to take advantage of that, and use it as a marketing tool to encourage people to come in the military,” Morgan told Billboard. “While I’m out on the road touring, I believe they are looking forward to me going to a high school or college and speaking to young men and women who are considering the military.”
“I’m taking this just as serious as I take my occupation as a singer and songwriter,” he added. “I didn’t want them to think I was asking for any favors. I didn’t want to pass my PT test, I wanted to max it. I didn’t want to just pass my Army physical or Army Combat test; I wanted to max it, and I’ve done those things. I don’t want to go through officer warrant school and have them nudge me along; I want to be an honor grad.”
He also tells Billboard he has a special musical project in the works — “I’ve been in the studio recording a bunch of new stuff; I’m recording two new songs and then four of my hits, but I’m completely recording them differently — and with friends.”
This fall, Morgan will hit the road to reprise his God, Family, Country Tour in partnership with Operation Finally Home. The tour, which features special guests The Reeves Brothers, launches Sept. 20 in Englewood, N.J. and will find Morgan making 13 tour stops through the end of October.
In this week’s new crop of musical contenders, Jelly Roll teams with Apple Music to give an older demo track new life. Meanwhile, Tyler Childers and Silas House team to release a stirring music video (and new song from Childers) that highlights unyielding love.
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Jelly Roll, “Dragging These Roots”
Over his past rap and country projects, Jelly Roll has only grown more adept at crafting and vocally unfurling songs with dynamic melodies and dramatic rock fluency, as on his latest, “Need a Favor.”
Here, he takes a song written by Jesse Frasure, Josh Thompson and Ben Hayslip, about never being fully capable nor inclined to shuffle off one’s native outset, and fuels it with his growling, agile vocals. Jelly Roll teamed with Apple Music to record this previously unreleased track as part of Apple Music’s Lost & Found project.
Tyler Childers, “In Your Love”
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This stirring song, written by Childers with Gino Seale, is accompanied by a gripping, tender and essential music video (with the video treatment written by journalist/novelist Silas House). The clip highlights the love story of two men, Jasper and Matthew, who escape work in the coal mines in 1950s Appalachia — and the violence and discrimination of their co-workers — to build their life together on a farm deep in the country.
The beautifully-shot video depicts the love, passion, joy and sorrows the couple experiences– from having dinner with friends to enjoying a concert– but also the discrimination and fear that threads through their time together. “In Your Love” offers a rich look at the complete arc of the couple’s relationship, and a romance that lingers long after Matthew passes away from black lung, due to his work in the coal mines.
The song is the first glimpse into Childers’ upcoming album Rustin’ in the Rain.
The Oak Ridge Boys and Alabama, “Jesus and John Wayne”
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For the first time, these two Country Music Hall of Fame-inducted groups (the Oaks in 2015; Alabama in 2005) team up for a vocal collaboration that pays tribute to gospel songwriting duo, Bill and Gloria Gaither. The song, previously recorded by the Gaither Vocal Band, was written by Bill and Gloria as well as Benjamin Gaither and Kim Williams, and pays tribute to the influence of both a hard-driving, uncompromising father and a soft-hearted mother. Sonically, this fiddle-drenched track is reminiscent of Alabama’s 1980s country sounds, though the lyrics fail to rise above country/gospel tropes. However, the song reaches its zenith when the music momentarily quiets, leaving the two iconic vocal groups to blend their signature harmonies.
Parker Ryan, “First on My List”
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This Texas native issued his debut project, Talbert Street, Pt. 1, in 2020, followed by Pt. 2, and a eponymous project. His recently released three-song project includes “First on My List,” an amalgam of airy folk, country and bluesy-rock tones. Here, over a swirl of hypnotic acoustic guitar, he sings of spending his days piling up miles, money and vacation time in pursuit of dreams. “Maybe part of me wishes you would fix up all my feelings/ Help me with my healing,” he contemplates, before doubling down on where his commitment lies. A chorus of voices joins as the song ascends to its close, as he reconfirms that the relationship remains his priority.
Carter Faith, ‘Cowboy Forever”
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Singer-songwriter Faith previously issued her debut EP Let Love Be Love. On her latest, Spanish guitar flourishes, a cinematic Western vibe and Faith’s unique, sultry twang meld to convey this tale of a young woman who falls for a headstrong, restless cowboy. “I was dreaming of his cattle ranch/ His grandmother’s diamond on my left hand,” she muses, later calling herself a “lovesick fool.” Masterful use of Faith’s airy falsetto lends to the song’s freewheeling-yet-wounded mystique. Faith wrote this song with Lauren Hungate and Tofer Brown.
Mitchell Tenpenny, “Bigger Mistakes”
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“At the End of a Bar” hitmaker Tenpenny adds to post-breakup misery in this pop-punk-tinged track, telling his ex-lover, “I’ve made bigger mistakes than you.” On the surface, it’s a searing insult, but embedded in the lyrics is his realization that a breakup isn’t the end of the world. He reserves those weightier, more haunting self-recriminations for failing to have a drink with his good friend (and fellow country singer), the late Joe Diffie, before Diffie’s passing in 2020, or failing to put a ring on the finger of a different ex, whom he calls “the one who got away,” years ago. Tenpenny’s gravelly voice is all remorse and swagger here, to great effect.
Cooper Alan, “Never Not Remember You”
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Alan has become a TikTok sensation thanks to songs including “New Normal” and “Colt 45 (Country Remix).” His latest, a ballad about remembering the sweeter moments after a loved one’s passing, is somewhat of a throwback — no hip-hop leanings, no angst-fueled rock shadings — just a straightforward song that swells with piano and strings, and one that highlights Alan as an elegant-voiced crooner with a hint of twang. Alan also further proves his growth as a songwriter as a co-writer on the track, alongside hitmaking writers Victoria Shaw (“The River”) and Seth Mosley (“Fix My Eyes,” “Joy”).
Drake Milligan and the Reklaws, “Honky Tonkin’ About”
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Texas native Milligan teams with duo The Reklaws for this hard-charging, rousing track. The song centers on a guy questioning a potential lover’s country bona fides (“Was there dust on your driveway … did your daddy drive a tractor?”), before deciding that no matter her origin story, he’s ready to see where the evening takes them. Milligan’s hearty voice is as commanding as ever, even on this more lighthearted outing. The song comes courtesy of writers Blake Redferrin, Thomas Salter, Callum Maudsley and The Reklaws’ Stuart Walker.
The Chicks have postponed more tour dates due to illness, the band announced.
Concerts that were originally set for Nashville, Tenn., on July 27, Knoxville, Tenn., on July 29, and Greensboro, N.C., on July 30 were called off this week.
After announcing that they had to cancel the Nashville show just hours before showtime on Thursday, on Friday afternoon the country group informed fans that this weekend’s concerts in Knoxville and Greensboro were also not happening.
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“We have made the difficult decision to also reschedule our shows in Knoxville and Greensboro due to illness. We are so sorry for the inconvenience, but our priority is to put on a show you all deserve,” The Chicks wrote in an update on their official social media accounts.
The Chicks have already announced makeup dates for the postponed concerts: Greensboro, N.C., has been rescheduled for Aug. 8 at Greensboro Coliseum Complex, Knoxville, Tenn., has been rescheduled for Sept. 21 at Thompson-Boling Arena, and Nashville, Tenn., has been rescheduled for Sept. 23 at Bridgestone Arena.
“All original tickets will be honored at the rescheduled performances,” they posted on Friday. “Wild Rivers will still support the newly rescheduled dates. There are no changes to additional dates at this time.”
The Chicks — Martie Maguire, Natalie Maines and Emily Strayer — are currently touring across North America on The Chicks World Tour 2023. The world tour launched in June in Oslo, Norway.
See the band’s latest tour update below.
Jimmie Allen recently announced he will launch a three-date “I Said What I Said” comedy tour in October, and a rep for Allen tells Billboard that the shows will be filmed to put together a digital comedy special, which will be made available on his website at a later date. Explore Explore See latest videos, […]
Since CMT pulled the video for Jason Aldean’s “Try That in a Small Town” after three days in rotation, as reported by Billboard July 18, a firestorm of publicity about the clip’s intent and political messaging has followed.
Sales and streaming surges catapulted the single to No. 2 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 on the Hot Country Songs chart, dated July 29. The song, released in May, scored the biggest sales week for a country song in more than 10 years, up 27,625% to 228,000 sold July 14-20, according to Luminate. It also vaulted by 547% to 11.6 million U.S. streams.
How is that translating to country radio?
On the Aug. 5 dated Country Airplay chart, the song, on Macon/Broken Bow, sports a 21% gain to 7.9 million impressions July 21-27, as it holds at No. 25.
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Says consultant Joel Raab, who advises programmers in both blue and red states, “Stations that I work with are largely sticking with the song. Listeners are asking for it, and there are very few objections to playing it. One station I work with did pull it for a short time because a policeman had been killed in their town. Another station was doing a country fair and one listener hadn’t even heard the song, but said he’d stop listening if his station didn’t play it.
“Much of the reaction is similar to what happened when Morgan Wallen was banned from radio [in 2021],” Raab continues. “Fans are afraid Jason will be banned, too. That’s not going to happen, though I do applaud him for editing his video.”
Raab further muses, “This song reminds me of when Merle Haggard sang ‘The Fightin’ Side of Me,’ which appealed to the pro-Vietnam War, conservative-leaning part of the country, and contains the line, ‘If you don’t love it, leave it.’ It was a huge hit at the time. Historically, country has waded into controversy, and it will again, particularly if it’s profitable.”
High Five
Meanwhile, Luke Combs’ “Fast Car” tops Country Airplay for a fifth total and consecutive week (33.8 million, down 3%).
The remake of Tracy Chapman’s 1988 Hot 100 top 10 extends its record for the longest Country Airplay reign among covers of pop hits.
The update also becomes Combs’ fifth of 16 Country Airplay No. 1s to rule for five weeks or longer. He logged his longest command with “Beautiful Crazy,” which dominated for seven frames beginning in March 2019.
As Tim McGraw gears up to release his 17th studio album, Standing Room Only, on Aug. 25, he is also setting his sights on a tour for 2024. The Live Nation-produced Standing Room Only tour will launch March 14, 2024, in Jacksonville, Fla., and will hit more than 30 cities, including Chicago, Denver and Seattle. […]
Jimmie Allen is known for infusing jokes and humor into his concerts, but he’s now making an interesting career pivot. The country singer announced via Instagram on Thursday (July 27) that he will launch a three-date comedy tour, the I Said What I Said Tour, in October. No dates or venues have been shared at […]
Just hours before their slated headlining concert at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, The Chicks revealed that they are postponing the show due to illness. A statement from The Chicks’ team said they are working to reschedule the show, noting that fans are encouraged to keep their tickets for the newly scheduled date. “The Chicks are looking […]
A Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum exhibit was well-suited for a fashionable country/rock reunion that took place July 20 in Nashville.
A rhinestone suit worn by Flying Burrito Brothers bassist Chris Ethridge on the cover of the band’s 1969 album Gilded Palace of Sin was unveiled in a museum display, placing it alongside the other three band members’ ensembles for the first time since that year. Clothier Manuel Cuevas custom-made the apparel for the group, tailoring it to the individual musicians’ personalities, when he worked at Nudie’s Rodeo Tailors in North Hollywood. Cuevas attended the reunion, held in the midst of the museum’s exhibit, “Western Edge: The Roots and Reverberations of Los Angeles Country-Rock.”
The Burritos also included guitarists Chris Hillman and Gram Parsons, and steel guitarist “Sneaky” Pete Kleinow. Gilded Palace was the only album to feature the original lineup, as members shuffled in and out of groups in the era’s fluid Southern California scene.
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“The Flying Burrito Brothers introduced new generations of fans to the beauty of country music and made the steel guitar rock,” said the exhibit’s co-curator, vp of museum services Michael Gray. “They have influenced everyone from The Rolling Stones and Tom Petty to many of today’s Americana artists. Their cosmic couture perfectly reflected their music, taking the rhinestone-studded suits identified with country music and adding their own psychedelic twist.”
The path that Ethridge’s suit took to a Nashville glass display case was twisted as well. It was stolen in 1969 from a station wagon owned by road manager Phil Kaufman, who also attended the reunion. Unknown to the band, the outfit ended up back on the rack at Nudie’s, where Elton John — who was likewise unaware of its history— purchased it in 1970. John wore it on the British TV show Top of the Pops, on the U.K. sleeve of his single “Rocket Man” and at the 1971 wedding of co-writer Bernie Taupin.
An anonymous buyer purchased it during a 1988 Sotheby’s auction, and the suit was stored for over 30 years until it popped up last year at a British online auction of John’s memorabilia.
An Ethridge family friend, musician Tommy Miles, stumbled across the auction the first — and only — time he used Twitter, and he called Ethridge’s daughter, Necia Ethridge, with the news on Nov. 19. She was able to purchase it privately, sealing the deal on her father’s birthday, Feb. 10, and she flew to London to pick it up on March 15. A documentary of the suit’s journey is in production.
Ethridge’s granddaughter, Emma Atkinson, performed “She,” a song that he co-wrote with Parsons, during the ceremony, along with Wilco’s Patrick Sansone and three members of Brothers Osborne’s band. Sansone covered “Hot Burrito #1.”
The “Western Edge” exhibit — which also includes artifacts related to The Eagles, Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris and The Desert Rose Band — will remain open until May 2025.
