Summer Song Summary

(Today's word will be in red and bold.)


In July I had two posts listing my top ten current songs I'd been hearing on the radio.  At the time I wrote about my hopes and predictions of how each song would fare against other tunes being played.

Now that summer's over, it's time to revisit the music and see how each artist did in the heat of the moment.  As with the other posts, I'll list each performer alphabetically.

For those wanting to hear these songs, here's the links to the two previous posts:

 http://kuplramblings.blogspot.com/2012/07/five-of-my-ten-favorite-current-country.html

http://kuplramblings.blogspot.com/2012/07/five-of-my-ten-favorite-current-country_05.htm

Aaron Lewis debuted "Endless Summer" just before the season got into full swing.  This is a great song, and I thought for sure it would be one of this year's summer anthems.  Unfortunately, Lewis never made it past the overnight rotation.

At the time I wrote the previous post I said that there was no doubt Carrie Underwood's "Blown Away" would be a hit; I was right.  What I wondered about more was whether or not this song would stay one of my favorites; or be played so much I'd be sick of it.

The song has been in heavy rotation all summer; I'm happy to say though, I've yet to tire of hearing it.

 Chris Young had been on a hot streak of  four #1 singles when "Neon" was released.  It's such a cool tune, I thought for sure Chris would be scoring his fifth #1.  Sadly, this song never made it very far out of the overnight rotation.  Once in a while it could be heard at other times of the day, but rarely.

Craig Morgan's "Corn Star" was probably the shortest lived single of the summer.  The song was a quirky, tongue in cheek tune filled with puns.  I liked the song, though I wondered if it would wear thin with time.  I never really got the chance to find out.  The song was rarely played; and almost as soon as it hit the airwaves, it was pulled, and Craig's current single "More Trucks Than Cars" was released to radio.

Of my top ten summer songs, David Nail's "The Sound of a Million Dreams" tied with another tune as my very favorite.

I'm not really a fan of David Nail, however this song had me from the first time I heard it.  I was just sure this would be his biggest hit yet; I was wrong.  Sadly, this tune was yet another that didn't make it too far from overnight plays.  Sometimes I wonder how such great music can fail so much at radio.

Due West had a couple of songs on the radio with their old record label.  Since then, the band has changed labels and released a new single to radio, "Things You Can't Do In A Car".

Though this song is still only being played during the wee hours of the morning, it's at least still getting airplay. I'm still holding hope it will catch on and be played more in the coming days and weeks.

The Eli Young Band had just come off their #1 single, "Crazy Girl" when their current single, "Even If It Breaks Your Heart" was released.  I predicted at the time that the band had another hit with this song; and I was actually right about this one.  "Even If It Breaks Your Heart" is the Eli Young Band's second consecutive #1 song on the Billboard Country charts.

George Strait is known inside and outside of country music as "King George". Over the span of his career, Strait has had fifty-nine #1 songs.  There's nothing he touches that doesn't turn to gold; except "Drinkin' Man".

This is one of my favorite George Strait songs of all time; yet somehow it never made if very far from overnight status.  I honestly can't remember the last time George Strait didn't have a hit, until now.  Another great song that never got the chance at seeing the light of day.

Gwen Sebastian is best known for her stint on "The Voice" as part of Team Blake.  Since that time, Gwen has been on tour, and has also done back up for Blake during his tour.

Gwen's first radio single is, "Met Him In A Motel Room".  The song is slightly complicated, and really needs to be listened to for the full impact.  So far this song hasn't made it past KUPL's overnights, though it is getting good rotation during that time.

The final song on my list is the one that's tied with David Nail's tune as one of my favorites; Phil Vassar's "Don't Miss Your Life".

I've always felt  Phil Vassar is one of the most underrated, singer/songwriters in the business; "Don't Miss Your Life", is more proof of that.  Arguably one of the best songs released to radio, Phil hasn't been getting the airplay he deserves; yet, the song hasn't faded away totally.  Just about the time I think it's going to silently fade away, I'll hear it again on the overnight show.  I'm still holding hope that if it hangs on a bit longer, it will catch on enough to make it into other radio time slots; it definitely deserves to be heard by more listeners.

And there you have it, a recap of what I've been hearing on the radio this past season.  Now that fall is here, I'm wondering what new tunes are on the horizon.  I guess time will tell.

Five of My Ten Favorite Current Country Songs--Continued

(Today's word will be in red and bold.)


In Tuesday's post, I listed five of my ten favorite, current country songs.  As with that listing, the second half of my list will be in alphabetical order.

First up in today's post is Due West.  I've liked these guys since the first time I heard "Between the Bible and the Belt", and "When the Smoke Clears."  Unfortunately, neither song really made it on the radio.  The band then went through a label change, and are finally back with a new single, "Things You Can't Do In A Car".  I'm really hoping this song is the one that breaks these guys through to the masses.  They've got so much talent, and really deserve to be heard more.

The Eli Young Band's "Even if it Breaks Your Heart", is the only song on my list that is actually getting a lot of airplay on the radio.  I know it's partly due to the fact this song is following their latest single, "Crazy Girl", which went to #1 on the charts.  Even if that weren't the case though, the band's current single is definitely a winner!

It surprises me that the next song on my list hasn't been getting as much radio time as the artist's songs usually do.  George Strait is known as "King George" for a reason; he's had over fifty #1 hits during his career; and seems to be a chameleon when it comes to music styles.  Yet, his latest offering, "Drinkin' Man", doesn't seem to have really taken off like other Strait tunes.  I can't honestly remember hearing this song during peak times for songs in heavy rotation.  Let' hope it's just a slow mover, and that Strait continues his string of hits.

The first time I heard Gwen Sebastian's "Met Him in a Motel Room" was live in the Bing Lounge in Portland, Oregon.  I liked it then, however really didn't think about it too much.  Once I heard it on the radio, (overnights of course), a few times though, it really grew on me.  While the delivery of the message is rather convoluted, it's also what makes this song so interesting.  It's a tune that needs to be heard more than once, to really understand what it's about.  Sebastian does an excellent job singing the song.

The last song on my list is, "Don't Miss Your Life", by Phil Vassar.  To me, Vassar has always been one of the most underrated singer/songwriters in country music.  Yes, he's had his fair share of  hit singles; it just seems to be an extra effort to get Phil's heard on the radio, compared to other artists.  "Don't Miss Your Life" is the song that got me putting together this list.  So far it's still only played during late nights and early mornings; though, as with other songs I've mentioned, hopefully that will change soon.

And there you have it; my list of my favorite current country songs.  I'm sure those of you reading this have your own favorites; I'd love to hear what other listeners are enjoying musically at the moment.  Maybe together we can get these songs, and others, the boost they need to be radio hits.

Due West @ the Bing Lounge--4-24-12

Due West-(l-r):  Brad Hull, Tim Gates, Matt Lopez

I usually miss the noontime shows at the Bing Lounge, as I'm working at that time.  Once in awhile though, if there's someone I *really* want to see, I can usually get away long enough to catch the show.  That was the case with Due West.

I've loved this trio since I first heard their songs "Between the Bible and the Belt", and "When the Smoke Clears", on the radio.  I saw them perform live awhile ago at the Ponderosa Lounge as well; so when I heard they were coming to the Bing Lounge I knew I HAD to be there!

 From the moment the three, (Brad Hull, Tim Gates, and Matt Lopez), hit the stage, they kept the audience mesmerized with their beautiful harmony.  I think Earthquake Jake put it best when he told them that of all the acts that have performed on the Bing Lounge stage, Due West are best at what they do.  Anyone who knows Jake, knows he doesn't say anything he doesn't mean; the man cannot, and will not tell a lie.

During the interview segment, the guys said that their biggest influence are bands like Alabama, Diamond Rio, Restless Heart, and other similar groups.  When asked how they got together, they told how they'd met at a party where people were taking turns singing various songs.  By the end of the evening, everyone else had stopped to listen to the three of them singing together.  The guys said people at the party told them how tight their harmonies were and asked how long they'd been performing together, to which they responded, "about three hours now".  From then on, they began working together as a group.

The members of Due West write some of their own music, and also look to others for songs.  They said they don't usually do cover versions of songs, however, they had one that they had been doing for awhile.  Since Lionel Richie has just released his album of duets with country artists,  Due West did their version of "Stuck On You" for the Bing Lounge audience.  In one word:  AMAZING!!!

Another cool song the band performed was their latest single, "Things You Can't Do In A Car".

All too soon the show was over; however the guys did stay to meet members of the audience, sign autographs and have their picture taken with everyone.  Though I'd seen them perform before, I'd never met the band.  Let me just say, Brad, Tim and Matt are three of the nicest people you'll ever meet!

It happened to be an audience member's birthday that day, and when she told the guys that during the meet and greet, they did an impromptu version of "Happy Birthday" for her.  Wish I'd gotten that on video!  I get the feeling these three could sing a phone book in perfect harmony!

Though they haven't made it as big as some artists out of Nashville, keep an eye and ear out for Due West.  I predict big things are going to happen for them!