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.

Eric Paslay at Duke's--7-21-12

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


You may not recognize the name "Eric Paslay", but it's fairly certain you've heard his music.

While Paslay is new to the public as a singer, as a songwriter he's notched several hits with other artists.  For instance, Jake Owen's "Barefoot, Blue Jean Night"; the Eli Young Band's current single, "Even If It Breaks Your Heart"; and Love & Theft's "Angel Eyes".  Paslay has also had album cuts by Lady Antebellum.

As a singer, he's released two singles of his own, "Never Really Wanted", and his current single, "If the Fish Don't Bite".

On July 21, 2012, Paslay brought his music to the crowd at Duke's Bar & Grill in Portland, Oregon.  Though while talking to the audience, Paslay seemed very laid back; when he played, he gave every song his all.  He told those in attendance about how the songs were written; where he grew up, (Texas), and several other things, all while performing with his band. At some point he mentioned things are bigger in Texas, and that he was a leprechaun from that state.  This was in reference to his 6' 4" stature and bright red hair.  

Though the crowd at Duke's was small for a Saturday night, those in attendance were definitely enjoying themselves and the music Eric Paslay had to offer.  Here's hoping this young man sees even more success in the future.

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.

47th Annual ACM Awards

Watching the Academy of Country Music Awards Sunday, April 1, 2012 may have seemed like a bit of an April Fool's joke to some.

For one, there are actually 35 awards handed out, from awards to radio stations, and air personalities, to Entertainer of the Year. However, of these 35 awards, how many actually made it on to the three hour broadcast Sunday evening? Nine, yes, that's a single digit, nine; less then a third of the awards presented actually were broadcast on the air.

The rest of the broadcast was made up of performances, between artists at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, and others at the "Fan Jam" at Mandalay Bay.

Granted, performances are definitely a large part of what draws viewers to these type of shows. I guess it's just me that feels, if it's an *awards* show, the awards should actually be what's featured the most.

Also, I won't deny that I love all genres of music, and I'm as big a KISS fan as anyone; but seriously, what was the point of them being at the ACM Awards? Had there been some legitimate reason given, (other than they're KISS), maybe I'd understand; there wasn't though, so I'm still left wondering. It was cool, but still...

Hosting duties were once again handled by Reba McEntire and Blake Shelton. Both did an excellent job as hosts, despite some of the lame jokes they were given to say.

Two performances that were hyped quite a bit were by Toby Keith and Rascal Flatts.

Toby's live performance of "Red Solo Cup" was touted as having "Las Vegas entertainers", joining the singer singing the song. While Toby wandered through the audience at the MGM Grand, singing his hit, the only entertainers I saw were Carrot Top, Wayne Newton, a show girl and towards the end of the song, the Warren Brothers.

Except for Wayne Newton, where were the "Las Vegas" entertainers? It's not like there aren't plenty of them! And as Earthquake Jake pointed out on KUPL this morning, it would have been really cool if Garth had been part of the performance; after all, he does perform in Vegas now.

Rascal Flatts' performance of their new single, "Banjo" was to feature comedian and grammy winner, Steve Martin, performing with the band. Well, Steve was there, and he played the banjo; but that was it. He stayed in the background, barely moved at all, and basically just blended in with the other musicians.

I would think, if you're going to plug Steve Martin as a guest performer, he'd have been given a bigger role. Especially since another banjo player with the band had a featured solo spot. Why wasn't Martin given that spot?

Both of these presentations were very lackluster in producing what had been promised.

On the other hand, one really cool presentation was when Martina McBride and Train's Pat Monahan sang "Marry Me" while a couple was actually being married on stage behind them. Not a way I'd want to be married, but for a Vegas wedding, it was pretty nice.

As far as the actual awards are concerned, for me, there were a couple nice surprises, along with some of the obvious winners for the night.

Though they were surprised with the award the night before the show, I was happy to hear that Thompson Square had won for "Vocal Duo of the Year".

Another pleasant surprise was the Eli Young Band winning, "Song of the Year", for "Crazy Girl". Love the song, and the band!

The 2012 ACM Awards actually added a new award to their list, the first new addition since the 1960's; "Songwriter of the Year".

Sounds prestigious, for sure, and you would think, being a new award, it would have been on the broadcast part of the show; not the case.

Not only was the award not broadcast, it was relegated to one of the awards that the winner is notified ahead of time, so they can be in Las Vegas, or not, if they didn't win.

Of this year's inaugural nominees: Rhett Akins, Ben Hayslip, Dallas Davidson, (the three are known collectively as "The Peach Pickers"), Luke Laird, and David Lee Murphy; Dallas Davidson walked away with the award.

One thing I did notice this year also was that, except for Thompson Square getting a brief mention for winning "Duo of the Year", the off camera awards weren't announced during the show.

In the past, though they're given out before the broadcast, artists, producers, radio stations, air personalities, etc., were all at least mentioned during the broadcast as having won.

Over all, the show was mostly entertaining. It had it's good moments, and it's not so good ones; and things I'd like to have seen done differently, for sure.

For those who missed the show Sunday evening, here's the complete list of winners, including those that weren't aired during the three hour broadcast:

Vocal Event of the Year: “Don’t You Wanna Stay” by Kelly Clarkson and Jason Aldean

Video of the Year: “Red Solo Cup” by Toby Keith

Songwriter of the Year: Dallas Davidson

Song of the Year: “Crazy Girl” by the Eli Young Band

Single Record of the Year: “Don’t You Wanna Stay” by Kelly Clarkson and Jason Aldean

Album of the Year: “Four the Record” by Miranda Lambert

New Artist of the Year: (American Idol winner) Scotty McCreery

Vocal Group of the Year: Lady Antebellum

Vocal Duo of the Year: Thompson Square

Female Vocalist of the Year: Miranda Lambert

Male Vocalist of the Year: Blake Shelton

Entertainer of the Year: Taylor Swift


Small Market Radio On-Air Personality of the Year: Bill Barrett, Tim Fox, and Tracy Berry from KKNU-FM in Eugene, OR

Medium Market Radio On-Air Personality of the Year: Roger, Tom, and Melissa on WPCV-FM in Lakeland, FL

Large Market Radio On-Air Personality of the Year: Big Dave and Chelsie from WUBE-FM in Cincinnati, OH

Major Market Radio On-Air Personality of the Year: Kelly Ford and Rider from KYGO-FM in Denver, CO

National Radio On-Air Personality of the Year: Lon Helton for the CMT Country Countdown USA

Small Market Radio Station of the Year: WUSY-FM in Chattanooga, TN

Medium Market Radio Station of the Year: KATM-FM in Stockton, CA

Large Market Radio Station of the Year: WQDR-FM in Raleigh, NC

Major Market Radio Station of the Year: WQYK-FM in St. Petersburg, FL

Specialty Instrumentalist of the Year: Aubrey Haynie

Steel Guitar Player of the Year: Paul Franklin

Piano and Keyboard Player of the Year: John Hobbs

Guitar Player of the Year: Kenny Greenberg

Fiddle Player of the Year: Stuart Duncan

Percussionist and Drummer of the Year: Shannon Forrest

Bass Player of the Year: Michael Rhodes

Audio Engineer of the Year: Justin Niebank

Producer of the Year: Frank Liddell

Promoter of the Year: Brian O’Connell from Live Nation

Talent Buyer of the Year: Jimmy Jay from Jayson Productions Inc.

Venue of the Year: Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, TN

Nightclub of the Year: Billy Bobb’s Texas in Ft. Worth, TX

Casino of the Year: Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, NV