Many of us know Claire Crosby as the little girl who became famous after her back-to-back viral covers of hit songs like “See The Light ” and the video that jump-started her fame, “Part of Your World,” in 2016. Now, with her sweet rendition of the gospel hymn, “Peace in Christ,” she’s just given us … Read more
In January 1989, Shenandoah released “Church On Cumberland Road” as the second single from their album The Road Not Taken. It became the country music group’s first No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and Canada Country Tracks. The song has become one of Shenandoah’s most enduring hits since. In fact, country … Read more
In December 1991, Randy Travis released “Better Class of Losers” as the third single from his album High Lonesome. It marked yet another hit in his impressive repertoire as the song peaked at No. 2 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart, as well as Canada Country Tracks. It also helped him earn a Grammy Award … Read more
Covers of the 1980s classic song “I Wouldn’t Be A Man” by Don Williams can be seen all over the internet. One of them is of country gospel singer Josh Turner. In 2010, as part of his album Haywire, Josh Turner added “I Wouldn’t Be A Man” to the album’s tracklist. His version of the … Read more
Luke Bryan shared a special moment backstage with American Idol contestant Aniston Pate on the set of the hit singing competition TV series – where they teamed up for a rendition of Shenandoah’s “Church On Cumberland Road.” While it didn’t air on TV, we’re lucky that the spontaneous performance was caught on camera, and the … Read more
In 2018, Sierra Ferrell recorded an off-stage performance, “In Dreams” for a GemsOnVHS video with Joseph Faison IV on guitar. Three years later, the song hit a viewership milestone of four-and-a-half million views (as of writing, it has already had 9.5 million views). According to Ferrell, she didn’t expect it would garner that level of … Read more
The opening track, “The Sea,” of Sierra Ferrell’s critically acclaimed 2021 label debut album Long Time Coming, is a captivating blend of folk, bluegrass, and country influences. And it’s hard not to get entranced in her wandering and whimsical glory as you listen to the tune. We’d even dare to say that you’d find yourself … Read more
With clamor from fans to release new material two years after her critically acclaimed 2021 debut album Long Time Coming dropped, the spellbinding singer-songwriter from West Virginia, Sierra Ferrell, finally delivered. In October 2023, she gifted fans her first single ahead of the release of her 2024 album Trail of Flowers — “Fox Hunt,” which … Read more
In 1987, country music’s Gentle Giant, Don Williams, dropped a romantic, wistful, straight-ahead country cut track titled “I Wouldn’t Be a Man,” and it didn’t disappoint. Well, Don Williams never did. Released as a single from Williams’ album Traces, the song became a commercial success. It reached number nine on the Billboard Hot Country Singles … Read more
The third single from Lorrie Morgan’s 1991 Platinum album Something in Red, “Except for Monday,” has become synonymous with the singer. Out of all the Lorrie Morgan hit songs, this really popped out for two reasons: First, it’s kicking-up-the-stiletto-heels kind of fun with catchy lyrics that showed a side of breakup that wasn’t the typical … Read more
The Country Music Hall of Fame dubbed Marty Robbins as the genre’s “Renaissance Man,” who achieved success not only as a recording artist, songwriter, and performer but also as an actor, author, and stock car racer. He was as versatile as his baritone voice, which enabled him to sing and cover just about anything. One … Read more
A song lamenting the inevitable separation of two people, Buck Owens’ “Crying Time” was a classic piece of country music. Written by Owens himself and released back in 1964 as the B side to their chart-topping hit “I’ve Got a Tiger By the Tail,” the song captured the painful feeling of seeing your lover growing … Read more
Six years before Waylon Jennings made a number-one hit out of the Bob McDill-penned track “Amanda,” Don Williams was the first to bring it to the charts. The track, which was the flip-side record of his number 12 hit “Come Early Morning” from the Don Williams Volume One album, cracked the Top 40 of the … Read more
“Aside from his smooth, effortless vocal style, his greatest talent was recognizing a great song when he heard it,” Calvin Gilbert of CMT said of Ray Price. And it was absolutely true. Price had an incredible music repertoire of covers, including one of his prime hits titled “Release Me.” The song was written by Eddie … Read more
First released in 1965 for his third album – and first under RCA Victor – Country Willie: His Own Songs, Willie Nelson’s “My Own Peculiar Way” showcased his immense talent in introspective narration and plays in word rhythms and sounds. Then, it was re-released in 1969 as the title track of his same-titled ninth studio … Read more
On Sunday (February 25), only a day before the Season 25 premiere of NBC’s The Voice, Reba McEntire took to social media to reassure fans and to set the record straight that her stint in the singing competition is not ending anytime soon. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Reba (@reba) The … Read more
“This is a dream,” Emmy Russell said when she first entered the American Idol 2024 audition and met the panel consisting of Lionel Richie, Katy Perry, and Luke Bryan. After an impressive performance of her original song, “Skinny,” she exited with three yeses, a golden ticket to Hollywood, and a dream slowly coming true. “Tell … Read more
In April 1987, George Strait released “All My Ex’s Live In Texas” as the second single from his album Ocean Front Property. It became one of the most popular songs by George Strait and is widely regarded as one of his best. In fact, the song ranked No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart. … Read more
Back in 2019, Lukas Nelson, one of Willie Nelson’s four children who decided to follow in his musical footsteps, dropped an acoustic rendition of “My Own Peculiar Way.” According to Lukas, he had been having a great time out on the road and playing with his dad. And so, he decided to do a cover … Read more
Singer-songwriter Keith Urban lived out a fan’s biggest dream – and a country musician’s, too – when he collaborated with his lifelong idol and one of his biggest influences, Don Williams. He was featured on Williams’ track “Imagine That” off his 2012 studio album And So It Goes. It was one of two Don Williams … Read more
In August 2018, everyone was swept away by a video uploaded by Darell Burnett on Facebook featuring a blind girl from the Philippines casually belting a Dolly Parton classic, “I Will Always Love You,” whilst sitting down the whole time. And people couldn’t get enough of her rendition. In fact, in a matter of a … Read more
In July 1969, Linda Martell released her version of “Color Him Father” as the debut single of her country music career. Her rendition captivated audiences, earning positive reviews. It even peaked at No. 22 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart, where it spent a total of ten weeks. The single became Martell’s highest-peaking track on … Read more
Deciding on the absolute best country artists is a near-impossible task, guaranteed to spark lively discussions and passionate disagreements. This genre, steeped in storytelling, soulful melodies, and twangy guitars, has produced a staggering number of iconic figures. While any list is inherently subjective, certain artists stand as undisputed giants whose voices and songs have shaped … Read more
Country singer Ben Haggard went straight to the major leagues, performing on stage at 15 as the lead guitarist of his father’s band, The Strangers. He said, “I never had any experience on stage, and I had to adapt or essentially not play.” But he didn’t regret it because it taught him many things. And … Read more
On November 22, 1999, Toby Keith released “How Do You Like Me Now?!” as the second single from his fifth studio album. The song swiftly soared high, ranking No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart – where it spent five weeks atop. It also marked his first crossover success on the Billboard Hot 100, … Read more
In an episode of NBC’s hit show “Little Big Shots” in 2018, an 11-year-old girl with autism, Kaylee Rogers, broke all odds as she sang her rousing rendition of Leonard Cohen’s hit gospel song “Hallelujah” with Grammy award-winning group, Pentatonix. Before her guesting on the show, Kaylee was already quite the internet sensation. But what … Read more
Beyoncé made an epic debut on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart with her country single “Texas Hold ‘Em” landing at No. 1. According to Billboard, the song amassed 19.2 million streams on official platforms and garnered an audience of 4.8 million through airplay across all formats. With such a feat, Beyoncé made history by becoming … Read more
In 2017, country singer Joe Nichols released his soul-stirring track “Billy Graham’s Bible” as part of his album Never Gets Old. The song aims to revive traditional country music, which has been slowly fading through the years. With the desire to fill in the shoes of country legends like Hank Williams, Waylon Jennings, and Merle … Read more
In 1965, the iconic bluegrass duo Flatt & Scruggs released their breakout gospel song “Get in Line Brother” as part of their album Great Original Recordings. Before becoming the iconic duo, they were members of Bill Monroe’s band, the Bluegrass Boys, from 1945 to 1948. But in 1949, the two decided to form their group, … Read more
On August 20, 2001, Toby Keith released “I Wanna Talk About Me” as the second single from his album Pull My Chain. The song became a chart-topping hit, reaching No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart. It also experienced triumph on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, where it peaked at No. 3. It remains … Read more