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An album coming Friday (March 24) isn’t the only new delivery Luke Combs is expecting.
Combs took to Instagram Monday afternoon (March 20) to announce that his wife Nicole is pregnant with their second child, following son Tex who was born in June. As a slide show runs of Combs, his wife and Tex, sporting a “Big Brother” t-shirt, “Take You With Me” plays.
“Joining the 2 under 2 club!,” Combs captions the photos. ” Baby boy #2 coming this September!!,” then adds, “I would have the audio turned on for this point if I was y’all.”
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The sweet song addresses fatherhood and how quickly time passes. “I got a young’un of my own/he’s too young to understand it/When he gets a little older watching the stage where I’m standing/he’ll know it’s about him when I sing I take you with me/If it was up to me we’d do everything together/ and when they’re young like/ that days like that don’t last forever/So every chance I get, you best believe I take you with me,” Combs sings.
The 18-track Gettin’ Old hits this week and in addition to “Take You With Me,” includes Combs’ 15th No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart, “Going, Going, Gone,” as well as new single, “5 Leaf Clover,” and a rare cover from Combs of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car.”
Combs’ fellow artists were quick to offer their congratulations, including Chris Lane, who wrote, “congrats y’all! Buckle up…it’s wild,” as well as Cole Swindle and Ian Munsick, who sent best wishes.
The reigning Country Music Assn. Awards entertainer of the year starts a world tour March 25.
Liz Thiels, public Relations professional and former Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum executive, died on Sunday (March 19) following an extended illness. Thiels was 78.
Thiels was born in Alexandria, Louisiana in 1944. She attended the University of Southwest Louisiana in Lafayette, Louisiana, and Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, where she majored in advertising design. She later worked as a reporter at a daily newspaper in Louisiana, and served as press secretary for U.S. Congressman Speedy O. Long.
Thiels moved to Nashville in the late 1960s and worked as an account executive for Holder, Kennedy & Co. Public Relations. In the 1970s, Thiels became a partner in Nashville’s Exit/In music venue, helping to showcase artists including John Hiatt, Billy Joel, Steve Martin and Linda Ronstadt. In 1974, Thiels was named director of public relations at Sound Seventy Corporation, where she helped broaden the career of Charlie Daniels, as well as his annual Volunteer Jam concerts. In 1979, Thiels co-founded Network Ink, Nashville’s first PR firm specific to the city’s music industry. She became the company’s sole owner in 1985, representing artists including Clint Black, Dolly Parton, Reba McEntire, Kathy Mattea, Brooks & Dunn and Guy Clark.
In 1981, Thiels also started public relations efforts for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum and was heavily involved in the capital campaign that helped finance the museum’s move to its current location in downtown Nashville. In 2001, she closed Network Ink to join the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum as its vice president of public relations; she retired as a key member of its executive team in 2015. Along the way, she helped raise the Country Music Hall of Fame’s profile and spearheaded numerous museum events, including the annual medallion ceremony, which is held to induct new members of the Country Music Hall of Fame.
In November 2008, Thiels was honored during the museum’s annual Louise Scruggs Memorial Forum, which honors music industry leaders who represent the legacy of music business manager Louise Scruggs. The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum has honored Thiels’ love of gardening by now including a fresh herb garden onsite, the Liz Thiels Hillbilly Garden, which provides ingredients for the museum’s restaurant.
“Liz Thiels elevated and enhanced the profile of country music in countless ways,” said Kyle Young, CEO of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, in a statement. “She was the consummate music business publicist — heading her own firm (Nashville’s first to concentrate on music), and also expertly guiding public relations for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, first as a PR consultant and then as a staff member, for a total of more than three decades. A vital figure in the museum’s successful move in 2001 to downtown Nashville, she was instrumental in strategizing for our growth and crucial in positioning the museum as both a key fixture in Nashville’s music community and an institution of national stature. I can’t imagine where the museum would be without her many years of wise counsel.”
As her song “Tennessee Orange” reaches the top 20 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart, Megan Moroney is gearing for the release of her debut major label album, Lucky (May 5). Plus, she’s set to follow her recent Pistol Made of Roses tour (and an upcoming summer slot opening for Brooks & Dunn) with a headlining tour of her own.
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In a nod to her album, the Sony Music Nashville/Columbia Records artist will launch her 22-city The Lucky Tour in September, starting with a Sept. 20 show at New York City’s The Bowery Ballroom. The trek will also include Moroney’s first headlining stops in Chicago (Joe’s on Weed St.), Los Angeles (Troubadour), New Braunfels, Texas (Gruene Hall) and a tour-wrapping concert at Buckhead Theatre in Atlanta on Nov. 10.
Tickets and VIP packages will go on sale Friday, March 24 at 10 a.m. local time at meganmoroney.com. Additionally, in select cities, Moroney’s fan club will have access to an exclusive presale beginning Wednesday (March 22) at 10 a.m. local, with the code JACKPOT.
See the dates for The Lucky Tour below:
SEPTEMBER20 | New York City, NY – The Bowery Ballroom21 | West Springfield, MA – The Big E22 | Philadelphia, PA – Theatre of Living Arts23 | Washington, D.C. – The Hamilton28 | Saint Louis, MO – Delmar Hall29 | Indianapolis, IN – 8 Seconds Saloon30 | Chicago, IL – Joe’s on Weed St.
OCTOBER13 | Los Angeles, CA – Troubadour14 | Bakersfield, CA – Buck Owens’ Crystal Palace19 | Denver, CO – Bluebird Theater20 | Salt Lake City, UT – The Grand at The Complex21 | Grand Junction, CO – Warehouse 25 Sixty-Five25 | Phoenix, AZ – Crescent Ballroom26 | San Diego, CA – Moonshine Beach27 | Las Vegas, NV – Stoney’s Rockin’ Country
NOVEMBER2 | New Braunfels, TX – Gruene Hall3 | Houston, TX – Warehouse Live Ballroom4 | Dallas, TX – The Studio at The Factory
DECEMBER7 | Nashville, TN – Brooklyn Bowl9 | Charlotte, NC – Coyote Joe’s10 | Atlanta, GA – Buckhead Theatre
It’s telling that one of the most emotional moments during the Country Radio Seminar came when Darius Rucker and Brad Paisley led a large cast of artists in a cover of Prince’s “Purple Rain” at the close of the Universal Music Group Nashville (UMGN) showcase at the Ryman Auditorium on March 14.
Just the day before, Garth Brooks had addressed the divisiveness in modern America and encouraged country broadcasters to use their place at the microphone to bring people together: “Unify. Find common ground. Amplify our similarities instead of our differences.”
In “Purple Rain,” the assemblage demonstrated what that looked like, bridging genres and backgrounds to deliver a song that obliquely embraces connection as the world comes to an end. The arrangement included fiddle and Dobro, a significant cross-format augmentation of a song with anthemic pop/rock qualities. Rucker and Dalton Dover brought Black voices to the performance, notable in a genre that went decades with Charley Pride as its lone African American star. And covering Prince meant that Paisley — who had performed a dark track about opioid addiction less than a half-hour before — was now playing an extended guitar solo on a tune originated by a man who had died of an opioid overdose.
Just as important was the mass of people onstage: Vince Gill, Tyler Hubbard, Parker McCollum, Kassi Ashton, Sam Hunt and Catie Offerman were among those lined up behind the lead voices. And while most of the nation has regained some level of normalcy after the pandemic, every sign of people feeling safe to get together remains heartening.
A year ago, CRS attendees were chided for slow-moving charts and a lack of individuality. The format hasn’t changed significantly since then, though a committee is working to resolve those issues.
Meanwhile, 2023’s three-day conference, based at the Omni Nashville Hotel, found programmers in seemingly better spirits. Some 57% of country listeners believe the music is better than it was just a few years ago, according to a NuVoodoo study. Even 52% of consumers who have been country fans for over 10 years — the kind of listener most likely to complain that current music pales in comparison with the good old days — say the new music is better. Jacobs Media president Fred Jacobs, in a “Fred Talk” titled “The Future Ain’t What It Used To Be,” also noted that 62% of respondents in a 2023 survey cited their appreciation of the on-air talent as a motivating factor for listening to AM/FM. That exceeds the 55% of respondents who cited the music as a contributing factor to their radio consumption.
Stations would be wise, Jacobs suggested, to develop on-air talent that successfully connects with the audience.
As technology becomes ever more dominant in daily life, it appears that interactions with people have greater value. Syndicated Audacy personality Josh “Bru” Brubaker, a Los Angeles-based 26-year-old whose radio background and TikTok skills have built a following in the millions, said in an “Okay Boomer” panel that simply being real goes a long way.
“Vulnerability and relatability has never been more important to our audiences, especially in Gen Z,” he said. “That’s something that we’ve been doing in radio ever since it’s been around, so play on our strengths. I think we overthink a lot of things. But those core things are what Gen Z is looking for. And we can use that to reinvigorate our audiences.”
That word “reinvigorate” is important, given that time spent listening to radio has dropped since the advent of streaming services. Brubaker recalled meeting a young fan who asked him, “What is radio?”
The medium, once dominant in American entertainment, faces a crowded field that includes audio and video streaming, satellite radio and broadcast and cable TV, plus streaming TV services and online games. The future will only grow more complicated.
Automobiles, where radio once dominated, are undergoing significant change. Jacobs showed images of pillar-to-pillar dashboards that manufacturers are designing with more in-car options than ever. FM radio, he noted, will need to up its visual game — taking advantage of logos and other graphic opportunities — to remain appealing to commuters. But AM radio faces a much bleaker future with the accelerating shift toward electric vehicles. The engines create interference problems, and AM is increasingly being booted from car interiors. Jacobs cited Ford specifically, though news site Axios indicated in a March 13 story that eight automakers — including BMW, Mazda, Tesla and Volkswagen — have dropped AM radio from their electric cars.
“After hanging around with automakers for the past 15 years, I don’t think they give a shit,” said Jacobs. “I think they’re going to make whatever they’re going to make, and AM radio is not a part of the future for them.”
One other change that could create structural issues for broadcasters is the adaptation of subscriptions. Detroit is toying with recurring payments, Jacobs said, that would bill owners monthly for heated seats, map updates or driving assistants. And he believes over-the-air radio could become yet another optional service rather than a standard feature.
Country’s future, as always, was on display at CRS. Mackenzie Carpenter infused ultra-Southern phrasing in the hooky “Don’t Mess With Exes” during the Big Machine showcase. Avery Anna fielded a tuneful kiss-off with “Narcissist” on Warner Music Nashville’s lunchtime stage, and Offerman applied a warm, intimate voice to the confessional “I Killed a Man” at the UMGN show.
Programmers were encouraged repeatedly during CRS panels to take risks and “think outside the box.” Much of the industry, it appears, is of a mind to simply make the box larger. The genre’s widening cultural representation and increasing blend of music styles suggest that country and its real-world stories have the potential to fulfill Brooks’ challenge, to become a unifying voice.
Whether that potential is fully realized is a question that can only be answered in that uncertain future.
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Barroom heartbreak country from Jake Worthington, jam band energy from Boy Named Banjo, a hard-charging confessional from Bailey Zimmerman and sophisticated balladry from Erin Kinsey are among the best country songs debuting this week. Check out these and more of our new favorites below.
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Jake Worthington, “State You Left Me In”
Former The Voice contestant Worthington has earned praise (and a publishing deal) from Brooks & Dunn’s Ronnie Dunn — which is aptly placed, given Worthington’s pure Texas drawl. Worthington’s latest song, which he wrote with Roger Springer and Timothy Baker, is hearty heartbreak country. She’s left for Cabo, while he still resides in the (emotionally shattered) state she left him in. While the influence of staunch country traditionalists such as George Jones and Tracy Lawrence are apparent, he manages to bring his own nuances to wringing the anguish out of every note.
Erin Kinsey, “Always Never”
With a strikingly pure tone — lyrically and vocally — Kinsey conveys the story of a couple struggling to sustain a relationship that’s not meant to be. “You blame it on feelings changing, I blame the dreams I’m chasing/ Neither one of us wanted to say it, but boy it’s never not been fading,” she sings over this dream-pop haze of a track, which she wrote with Sarah Buxton and Josh Kerr.
Bailey Zimmerman, “Religiously”
Zimmerman follows a string of solid singles like “Rock and a Hard Place” with this tear-jerker of a track that finds him taking solace in an old church pew, in a last-ditch effort to soothe the hurt of losing “the only woman who was there for me, religiously.” Despite this artist’s relatively tender age, he brings emotional heft and authority to the throes of heartbreak here, especially on self-recriminating lines like, “You were all about us, I was all about myself/ What kind of man would lose a woman like that?”
Haley Mae Campbell and Julia Cole, “20 Something”
South Carolina-raised Campbell and Texas native Cole forged a friendship in Nashville’s writing rooms, and now team up for this festive tribute to youthful years of fun-fueled late nights, gallivanting and making new friends — because, as they put it, “memories ain’t going to make themselves.” The duo brings a spry verve and synergy that belies the wisened perspective of lines such as “Raise one up to all the mistakes made in the name of being young/ ‘Cause growing up’s good for nothing.”
Boy Named Banjo, “Whiskey Dreams”
Amid the breakneck, banjo/mandolin/harmonica-fueled and seriously wrought instrumentation that has become their calling card, this collective of musicians — Barton Davies, William Reames, Willard Logan, Sam McCullough, and Ford Garrard — depicts a scene of whiskey-drowned worries. “One shot will just stop the hurtin’/ Two will put a smile on your face,” they sing, crafting an enticing invitation to take the moments of nadir and drink them blurry.
Warren Zeiders, “Pretty Little Poison”
Zeiders’ raw, papery vocal rips into this grizzled track he wrote with Ryan Beaver and Jared Keim. For others, alcohol, pills or some alternate vice might fill a need, but he takes a clear-eyed stance that he’s easily swayed by a momentary lover and old memories. “She’ll probably be the death of me/ But damn if it ain’t sweet,” he sings. Zeiders came to the country music forefront on the strength of songs like “Ride the Lightning,” and his latest offers an early look into his upcoming summer album.
Madison Hughes, “You or the Whiskey”
This ambient track, which Florida native Hughes wrote with Rich Deans (with production from Justin Weaver), finds Hughes pondering if an encounter with a charismatic, attentive guy at a bar will amount to more than a whiskey-fueled heartbreak in the making. Florida native Hughes’ delightfully husky voice is underpinned by an understated, yet hook-driven melody, offering high hit potential.
The ongoing success of Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time, which is in its second week at No. 1 on both The Billboard 200 and Top Country Albums, increases the possibility that the album could wind up with a Grammy nomination for album of the year.
It would be the first country album to be nominated in that category since Kacey Musgraves’ Golden Hour, which won the 2018 award.
A recent Billboard report looked at the scarcity of nominations in recent years for country in the Big Four categories (album, record and song of the year, plus best new artist).
Eddy Arnold’s My World (1965) was the first country album to be nominated for album of the year. Glen Campbell’s By the Time I Get to Phoenix (1968) was the first country album to win in that category.
The Chicks have had three album of the year nominations, more than any other country act. Taylor Swift (in her country period) had two. Linda Ronstadt also had two, counting the Trio album, on which she collaborated with Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris. Harris and Alison Krauss also had two, counting the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack, on which they both were featured.
We define a country album as any album that made Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart. That rather low threshold for what constitutes a country album brought in Lionel Richie’s Can’t Slow Down. The album peaked at No. 55 on Top Country Albums in 1984, but a subsequent Richie album spent four weeks at No. 1 on that chart.
Here are all the country albums that have received Grammy nominations for album of the year. They are shown in reverse chronological order.
Kacey Musgraves, Golden Hour (2018)
Image Credit: Alberto E. Rodriguez/GI
Top Country Albums peak: No. 1 (two weeks)
Billboard 200 peak: No. 4
Notes: This was the sixth country album to win album of the year. It also won best country album, while “Butterflies” took country solo performance and “Space Cowboy” won best country song. The other singles from the album were “High Horse,” “Slow Burn” and “Rainbow.”
Sturgill Simpson, A Sailor’s Guide to Earth (2016)
Top Country Albums peak: No. 1 (one week)
Billboard 200 peak: No. 3
Notes: Though this didn’t win album of the year, it won best country album. The album spawned three singles: “Brace for Impact (Live a Little),” “In Bloom” and “Keep It Between the Lines.”
Chris Stapleton, Traveller (2015)
Top Country Albums peak: No. 1 (29 weeks)
Billboard 200 peak: No. 1 (two weeks)
Notes: Though this didn’t win album of the year, it won best country album. Stapleton won a second award for the title track, which was voted best country solo performance. Other singles from the album were “Nobody to Blame” and “Parachute.”
Taylor Swift, Red (2013)
Top Country Albums peak: No. 1(16 weeks)
Billboard 200 peak: No. 1(seven weeks)
Notes: This album didn’t win a single Grammy — though nine years later, a short film for an expanded version of “All Too Well,” one of the prized songs from Red, won best music video. The album’s lead single, “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” was nominated for record of the year the year before the album was eligible. The album spawned six additional singles: “Begin Again,” “I Knew You Were Trouble,” “22,” the title track, “Everything Has Changed” and “The Last Time.”
Lady A, Need You Now (2010)
Image Credit: Kevin Winter/GI
Top Country Albums peak: No. 1 (31 weeks)
Billboard 200 peak: No. 1 (four weeks)
Notes: Though this didn’t win album of the year, it won best country album. And the poignant title track won four Grammys — record and song of the year, best country song and best country performance by a duo or group with vocals. The album spawned three additional singles: “American Honey,” “Our Kind of Love” and “Hello World.”
Taylor Swift, Fearless (2009)
Top Country Albums peak: No. 1 (35 weeks)
Billboard 200 peak: No. 1 (11 weeks)
Notes: This was the fifth country album to win album of the year. It also won best country album, while “White Horse” won best country song and best female country vocal performance. “You Belong With Me” received Grammy nods for record and song of the year. The album spawned three additional singles: “Love Story,” “Fifteen” and the title track.
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Raising Sand (2008)
Top Country Albums peak: No. 2
Billboard 200 peak: No. 2
Notes: This was the fourth country album to win album of the year. It also won best contemporary folk/Americana album, while four tracks from the album won Grammys. “Please Read the Letter” took record of the year, “Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)” and “Rich Woman” won back-to-back awards for best pop collaboration with vocals and “Killing the Blues” won best country collaboration with vocals.
Vince Gill, These Days (2007)
Top Country Albums peak: No. 4
Billboard 200 peak: No. 17
Notes: Though this four-disk box set didn’t win album of the year, it won best country album. Three singles were released from the collection: “The Reason Why” (featuring Alison Krauss), “What You Give Away” (featuring Sheryl Crow) and “How Lonely Looks.”
The Chicks, Taking the Long Way (2006)
Image Credit: M. Caulfield/WireImage
Top Country Albums peak: No. 1 (nine weeks)
Billboard 200 peak: No. 1 (three weeks)
Notes: This was the third country album to win album of the year. It also won best country album. The lead single, “Not Ready to Make Nice,” won record and song of the year and best country performance by a duo or group with vocal. Grammy voters rallied behind the group which had suffered a backlash amid controversy over Natalie Maines’ harsh comments about President George W. Bush. The other singles from the album were “Everybody Knows,” “Voice Inside My Head,” “Easy Silence” and “The Long Way Around.”
The Chicks, Home (2002)
Top Country Albums peak: No. 1 (19 weeks)
Billboard 200 peak: No. 1 (four weeks)
Notes: Though this didn’t win album of the year, it won best country album. In addition, the group won best country performance by a duo or group with vocal for “Long Time Gone” and best country instrumental performance for “Lil’ Jack Slade.” The other singles from the album were “Travelin’ Soldier,” “Godspeed (Sweet Dreams),” “Top of the World.” and a cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide.”
Various Artists, O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack (2001)
Top Country Albums peak: No. 1 (35 weeks)
Billboard 200 peak: No. 1 (one week)
Notes: This was the second country album to win album of the year. In addition, it won best compilation soundtrack album for a motion picture, television or other visual media. Two tracks from the album won Grammys. Ralph Stanley’s “O Death” was voted best male country vocal performance. The Soggy Bottom Boys’ “I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow” won best country collaboration with vocals. The trio consisted of Dan Tyminski, Harley Allen and Pat Enright.
The Chicks, Fly (1999)
Top Country Albums peak: No. 1 (36 weeks)
Billboard 200 peak: No. 1 (four weeks)
Notes: Though this didn’t win album of the year, it won best country album. The group also won best country performance by a duo or group with vocal for “Ready to Run.” The other singles from the album were “Cowboy Take Me Away,” “Goodbye Earl,” “Cold Day in July,” “Without You,” “If I Fall You’re Going Down with Me,” “Heartbreak Town” and “Some Days You Gotta Dance.”
Shania Twain, Come on Over (1998)
Image Credit: Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via GI
Top Country Albums peak: No. 1 (50 weeks)
Billboard 200 peak: No. 2
Notes: Twain won four Grammys for this album across two years. In the first year, “You’re Still the One” won best female country vocal performance and best country song; in the second, “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!” won best female country vocal performance and “Come on Over” won best country song. “You’re Still the One” also received Grammy nods for record and song of the year. “You’ve Got a Way” was nominated for song of the year the following year. The other singles from the album were “Love Gets Me Every Time,” “Don’t Be Stupid (You Know I Love You),” “From This Moment On,” “When,” “Honey, I’m Home,” “That Don’t Impress Me Much,” “Rock This Country!” and “I’m Holdin’ On to Love (To Save My Life).”
Dolly Parton/Linda Ronstadt/Emmylou Harris, Trio (1987)
Top Country Albums peak: No. 1 (five weeks)
Billboard 200 peak: No. 6
Notes: Though this didn’t win album of the year, it won best country performance by a duo or group with vocal. The album spawned four singles: “Telling Me Lies,” “Those Memories of You,” “Wildflowers” and a remake of The Teddy Bears’ “To Know Him Is to Love Him,” a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1958.
Lionel Richie, Can’t Slow Down (1984)
Top Country Albums peak: No. 55
Billboard 200 peak: No. 1 (three weeks)
Notes: You probably wouldn’t have expected to see this album on this list. But Can’t Slow Down cracked Top Country Albums — largely on the strength of the country-tinged ballad “Stuck on You,” which rose to No. 24 on Hot Country Songs. Richie’s music has always blended strains of country, R&B and pop. His 2012 album Tuskegee, on which he was joined by an array of top country stars, logged four weeks at No. 1 on Top Country Albums. Can’t Slow Down belongs on this list, in the interest of completeness and general interest, but we’re not going to call it the second country album to win album of the year (though it did indeed win that award), because it wasn’t primarily a country album. Two songs from the album, “All Night Long (All Night)” and “Hello,” were nominated for song of the year and best pop vocal performance, male in successive years. “All Night Long” was also nominated for record of the year in the first year.
Kenny Rogers, The Gambler (1979)
Top Country Albums peak: No. 1 (23 weeks)
Billboard 200 peak: No. 12
Notes: The title track received a Grammy nod for record of the year. and won for best country vocal performance, male. The album spawned a second smash, the poignant “She Believes in Me,” which received Grammy nods for song of the year and best pop vocal performance, male.
Eagles, Hotel California (1977)
Top Country Albums peak: No. 10
Billboard 200 peak: No. 1 (eight weeks)
Notes: Like Lionel Richie’s Can’t Slow Down, this isn’t primarily a country album — though as you can see, it made the top 10 on Top Country Albums. The title song became the first rock track to win a Grammy for record of the year. It was also nominated for song of the year. The album spawned two other hits: the sublime “New Kid in Town” (which won best arrangement for voices) and the rock anthem “Life in the Fast Lane.”
Linda Ronstadt, Heart Like a Wheel (1975)
Image Credit: Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via GI
Top Country Albums peak: No. 1 (four weeks)
Billboard 200 peak: No. 1 (one week)
Notes: Ronstadt (shown here at the Grammy ceremony with her producer/manager, Peter Asher) won her first of 11 Grammys for “I Can’t Help It (If I’m Still in Love With You),” which was voted best country vocal performance, female. The album spawned three other singles: “You’re No Good,” “When Will I Be Loved” and “It Doesn’t Matter Anymore.”
John Denver, Back Home Again (1974)
Top Country Albums peak: No. 1 (13 weeks)
Billboard 200 peak: No. 1 (one week)
Notes: This was Denver’s first Grammy nomination. It’s unusual that the album was up for album of the year, but Denver wasn’t recognized in any other categories. The album spawned three hits: “Annie’s Song,” the title song and “Sweet Surrender.” In addition, a live version of another song from the album, “Thank God I’m a Country Boy,” topped the Hot 100 in 1975 and landed a Grammy nod for best country vocal performance, male.
Charlie Rich, Behind Closed Doors (1973)
Top Country Albums peak: No. 1 (21 weeks)
Billboard 200 peak: No. 8
Notes: Rich won his only Grammy for the classy title song, which was voted best country vocal performance, male. The track also received nominations for record and song of the year. The album spawned two other hits, “I Take It on Home” and “The Most Beautiful Girl.” The latter was a No. 1 hit on the Hot 100.
Johnny Cash, Johnny Cash at San Quentin (1969)
Top Country Albums peak: No. 1 (20 weeks)
Billboard 200 peak: No. 1 (four weeks)
Notes: This is the only live album by a country artist to receive an album of the year nomination. Cash won a Grammy for best country vocal performance, male for the novelty hit “A Boy Named Sue,” which also received a Grammy nod for record of the year.
Glen Campbell, By the Time I Get to Phoenix (1968)
Top Country Albums peak: No. 1 (four weeks)
Billboard 200 peak: No. 15
Notes: This was the first country album to win album of the year. Campbell had won two Grammys the previous year for his tender performance of the title song, which was voted best vocal performance, male and best contemporary male solo vocal performance. The exquisite ballad (written by Jimmy Webb) had received Grammy nods for record and song of the year the previous year. The album also included Campbell’s follow-up hit, “Hey Little One.”
Bobbie Gentry, Ode to Billie Joe (1967)
Image Credit: Bettmann/GI
Top Country Albums peak: No. 1 (three weeks)
Billboard 200 peak: No. 1 (two weeks)
Notes: This album bumped the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band out of the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200. How’d it do that? The title track was one of the most talked-about singles of its time, as people tried to piece together exactly what happened up on Choctaw Ridge that drove Billy Joe MacAllister to jump off the Tallahatchie Bridge. Gentry (shown here with Glen Campbell and Lalo Schifrin) became the first person in Grammy history to receive nominations in each of the Big Four categories in the same year. Of the Big Four, she won only best new artist. She also won best vocal performance, female and best contemporary female solo vocal performance, both for “Ode to Billie Joe.” The album spawned two other singles: “I Saw an Angel Die” and “Mississippi Delta.”
Eddy Arnold, My World (1965)
Top Country Albums peak: No. 1 (17 weeks)
Billboard 200 peak: No. 7
Notes: Arnold received four nominations for this album and its smash single “Make the World Go Away,” which exemplified the “countrypolitan” sound. Three of those nominations were in categories that still used the terminology “country & western,” which would soon seem dated. The album also spawned the hits “What’s He Doing in My World” and “I’m Letting You Go.”
“Kelsea Ballerini is all of us,” fans commented on TikTok this weekend, when the country singer stopped her show to ask if anyone was keeping tabs on Taylor Swift‘s Eras Tour on Saturday night (March 17) — while Ballerini was in the middle of her own performance.
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“Can I just level with you for a minute?” Ballerini asked an Atlantic City, New Jersey, crowd. “Is anyone stalking The Eras Tour? Has it started?”
“I’m gonna stalk it after this,” she promised, “but I have one question. Is ‘Cruel Summer’ on the setlist?”
Fans of both artists — who must’ve had one eye on Ballerini’s stage and one eye on their phones, watching for live updates from Swift’s tour kickoff — delivered the good news: “Cruel Summer” is finally getting its time to shine on The Eras Tour. The Lover favorite had never before been publicly performed live by Swift, who last toured before the album was released. Swift debuted the song live at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
“Wow,” Ballerini said in celebration. “That’s my Super Bowl, I gotta be honest.”
Billboard‘s review of the show notes that “Cruel Summer” got “the full, stadium-show treatment, complete with a raised platform, backup dancers and Swift unveiling a diamond-encrusted one-piece with matching tall boots. For both the fans in attendance and Swift herself, the song seemed to represent an exhalation — this tour was finally happening, and this immaculate song, three-and-a-half years old at this point, was finally being performed.”
Watch Ballerini’s “Cruel Summer” check-in via TikTok.
Lainey Wilson has extended her talents from country music to television. The “Heart Like a Truck” singer-songwriter made her acting debut in the fifth season of Yellowstone last year, and discussed why she wanted to try her hand at something different during Thursday’s episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show.
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“Songwriting has always been my number one no matter what, but I’ve loved country music — where I’m from, northeast Louisiana, it’s a town of 200 people, it’s a little town called Baskin. We eat, sleep and breathe country music so that was my focus,” Wilson told the host.
After Wilson was given a chance to play Abby in Yellowstone, it was an offer she could not refuse. “When this opportunity came up. I was like, ‘This is gonna be an opportunity for me to share my music with the world, you dang right i’m gonna take it. Let’s do it,’” she told the talk-show host, adding that the move was “stepping outside of that comfort zone” and “doing something a little scary.”
Wilson’s “Watermelon Moonshine” appeared on the Dec. 11 episode of the Paramount show, allowing it to crown the Top TV Songs chart at No. 1. The country starlet performed the song as her character in the episode.
Earlier this month, Wilson took the 2023 Billboard Women in Music stage at the ceremony on March 1 to perform her hit song “Heart Like a Truck” and accept this year’s Rulebreaker Award.
Watch Wilson talk about Yellowstone in the video above.
Maren Morris and Marcus Mumford have teamed up for a rendition of “Look at Us Now (Honeycomb),” an Amazon Original performance out Friday (March 17) via Amazon Music. The song is a reimagined version of the single, which first appeared on Aurora, the debut album from fictional musical group Daisy Jones & The Six — the subjects of the eponymous limited series that debuted March 3 via Prime Video.
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Mumford co-wrote the original version of the song with Blake Mills. Mills also served as the producer for both the original track and the Mumford-Morris version.
Morris said via a statement, “Shows depicting the reality of what it takes to become a band or what it’s really like touring can so often get it wrong. One of the components of ‘Daisy Jones’ is that they chose to ground this fictional universe with real songwriting. The music in the show that Blake Mills created and the incredible performances by the actors gives this world a heartbreaking authenticity. I’m so honored to have gotten to sing on ‘Look At Us Now’ with Marcus.”
Mumford added, “Blake and I wrote ‘Look At Us Now (Honeycomb)’ together – with a bit of help – about a year and a half ago for Daisy Jones & The Six. This time around, we stripped the song right back down to acoustic guitar and a vocal – which is how it was written – and then kind of built it back up from there until we landed on an arrangement that we liked. I’ve been a fan of Maren for a long time – both her solo music and her work with The Highwomen – and this duet needed a voice like hers. We’re just honestly so thankful she agreed to do it.”
The original version of the song featured lead vocals from series co-stars Riley Keough and Sam Claflin. For the week of March 18, Daisy Jones & the Six topped Billboard’s Emerging Artists chart, while the group’s album Aurora topped the Soundtracks chart.
Hear the collaboration from Morris and Mumford below:
Dierks Bentley notches his 28th top 10 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart, as “Gold” rises from No. 11 to No. 9. In the week ending March 16, the song increased by 7% to 19.4 million audience impressions, according to Luminate.
The track is the lead single from Bentley’s LP Gravel & Gold, which was released Feb. 24. It entered Top Country Albums at its No. 14 high on the March 11-dated tally with 12,000 equivalent album units.
“Gold,” which Bentley wrote with Ross Copperman, Luke Dick and Ashley Gorley, follows Bentley’s “Beers on Me,” with BRELAND and HARDY. Last April, the team-up became the 18th, first and second Country Airplay No. 1 for the respective acts.
Bentley becomes the 17thartist with 28 or more top 10s since the Country Airplay chart started in January 1990. George Strait leads all acts with 61, followed by Kenny Chesney (60) and Tim McGraw (59).
‘Gone’ Stays
Luke Combs’ “Going, Going, Gone” dominates Country Airplay for a second week (33.8 million, up 1%).
The song is the fourth Country Airplay chart-topper to lead for multiple weeks among the six new No. 1s so far in 2023. Of the 29 titles to ascend to the summit in 2022, nine dominated for more than one frame.
“Gone” is the 11th of Combs’ 15 No. 1s to rule for multiple weeks.
‘Room’ Building
Tim McGraw posts his 88th Country Airplay entry – and ties his fourth-highest start – as “Standing Room Only” arrives at No. 20 (10.2 million). Released March 10, it received hourly plays that day on participating iHeartMedia stations.
“Room” follows “7500 OBO,” which reached No. 4 last July. The new single is from McGraw’s LP expected later this year.