The shows were over, but for Phil Kaufman, the headache was just beginning. Then the road manager for the Flying Burrito Brothers, one of the bands credited with finding the common ground between rock & roll and honky-tonk country, Kaufman had just returned home to Los Angeles, after some Burrito-related work in 1969. In the trunk of his Ford Country Squire station wagon were the embroidered cowboy suits the band had worn onstage and on the cover of its first album, The Gilded Place of Sin. Named after Nudie Cohn, the...
- 7/20/2023
- by David Browne
- Rollingstone.com
Myron Elkins is one of those guys who seems to have stepped out of another time. At just 22, the former welder from the small town of Otsego, Michigan — closest city: Kalamazoo — drops names like Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, and Al Green when recounting his musical mileposts. But he’s also fully aware that he’s a white man from the Midwest and that any claim he has to vintage soul music goes through one of his state’s most celebrated blue-collar singers.
“I have this thing, almost like a ‘worthy...
“I have this thing, almost like a ‘worthy...
- 5/5/2023
- by Joseph Hudak
- Rollingstone.com
Exclusive: A documentary and a feature biopic are in the works about the great Lefty Frizzell, one of the most influential singer-songwriters in the history of country music.
Extrovert Entertainment announced a deal with Frizzell’s family to make the films about the late performer, who died 46 years ago this day–on July 19, 1975–at the age of 47. His songs include “I Love You A Thousand Ways,” “If You’ve Got the Money (I’ve Got the Time)”, “Saginaw, Michigan,” and “Long Black Veil,” the latter song recorded in a haunting version by Johnny Cash.
In addition to his chart-topping hits, Frizzell was known for his dynamic performing style.
“Lefty is often referred to as the original Elvis, from the way he moved on stage, his legendary stage clothes, and how his good looks and voice made women swoon but beyond his talent is a fascinating story worthy of both a documentary and biopic,...
Extrovert Entertainment announced a deal with Frizzell’s family to make the films about the late performer, who died 46 years ago this day–on July 19, 1975–at the age of 47. His songs include “I Love You A Thousand Ways,” “If You’ve Got the Money (I’ve Got the Time)”, “Saginaw, Michigan,” and “Long Black Veil,” the latter song recorded in a haunting version by Johnny Cash.
In addition to his chart-topping hits, Frizzell was known for his dynamic performing style.
“Lefty is often referred to as the original Elvis, from the way he moved on stage, his legendary stage clothes, and how his good looks and voice made women swoon but beyond his talent is a fascinating story worthy of both a documentary and biopic,...
- 7/19/2021
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
“It’s been way too long since you slipped away/I just can’t forget, I can’t pretend it’s Ok,” Alan Jackson sings in his new song “Where Have You Gone.” It could easily be about the lover who left him, but he quickly lays bare the subject of his lament: country music itself.
“Soft steel guitar, oh how I’ve missed you/words from the heart, let me hear you again,” Jackson sings in “Where Have You Gone,” the weeping steel-and-fiddle title track of his just announced new album.
“Soft steel guitar, oh how I’ve missed you/words from the heart, let me hear you again,” Jackson sings in “Where Have You Gone,” the weeping steel-and-fiddle title track of his just announced new album.
- 4/2/2021
- by Joseph Hudak
- Rollingstone.com
For nearly two decades, Hayes Carll has been making consistently great singer-songwriter records, influenced by the back-porch songcraft of Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark. While off the road in Nashville for his longest stretch in years, Carll had the chance to revisit some of his best material — which he reimagines on a new acoustic album, Alone Together Sessions, out September 4th on Dualtone.
“It’s probably good to pause every now and then, to take stock of everything,” Carll said in a statement, talking about returning to his older material in the studio.
“It’s probably good to pause every now and then, to take stock of everything,” Carll said in a statement, talking about returning to his older material in the studio.
- 8/12/2020
- by Patrick Doyle
- Rollingstone.com
As graduation ceremonies begin to take place throughout the nation — albeit under strikingly different circumstances than last year’s — we look back at one of country music’s most acclaimed graduates, J.R. Cash, who 70 years ago on this date earned his Dyess High School diploma in the tiny town of Dyess, Arkansas. Less than a decade later, after graduation and military service, he would begin his recording career, on the way to becoming Johnny Cash.
A popular student, Cash was elected class vice president in his senior year, and...
A popular student, Cash was elected class vice president in his senior year, and...
- 5/19/2020
- by Stephen L. Betts
- Rollingstone.com
As social distancing becomes a part of everyday life, married singer-songwriters Hayes Carll and Allison Moorer have released their intimate new single, a cover of one of Merle Haggard’s biggest hits, “That’s the Way Love Goes.” The result is a romantic duet that provides the aural equivalent of a warm embrace.
“That’s the way love goes, babe, that’s the music God made/For all the world to sing, it’s never old it grows,” the pair sings together in the simple yet affecting chorus. “Losing makes me sorry,...
“That’s the way love goes, babe, that’s the music God made/For all the world to sing, it’s never old it grows,” the pair sings together in the simple yet affecting chorus. “Losing makes me sorry,...
- 3/27/2020
- by Stephen L. Betts
- Rollingstone.com
Just ahead of the September 15th premiere of the eight-part PBS documentary Country Music – A Film By Ken Burns, Legacy Recordings will unveil musical highlights from the 16-and-a-half-hour series with a deluxe five-cd set spanning the history of the genre.
The impressive track list represents artists featured in each of the series’ episodes, from the first stars of the genre, such as the Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers, to influential acts from the latter half of the 20th century, including Randy Travis and the Judds. The set will be released Friday,...
The impressive track list represents artists featured in each of the series’ episodes, from the first stars of the genre, such as the Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers, to influential acts from the latter half of the 20th century, including Randy Travis and the Judds. The set will be released Friday,...
- 6/13/2019
- by Stephen L. Betts
- Rollingstone.com
One of the most influential country and bluegrass singers of his generation, Keith Whitley will be remembered on the 30th anniversary of his untimely death with an all-star concert featuring Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, Mark Chesnutt, Tracy Lawrence, Joe Diffie and more.
Set for May 9th at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s Cma Theater, the memorial tribute concert will be hosted by Whitley’s widow Lorrie Morgan and their son Jesse Keith Whitley, who will also perform. Tickets go on sale Friday, March 29th, at 10 a.
Set for May 9th at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s Cma Theater, the memorial tribute concert will be hosted by Whitley’s widow Lorrie Morgan and their son Jesse Keith Whitley, who will also perform. Tickets go on sale Friday, March 29th, at 10 a.
- 3/25/2019
- by Stephen L. Betts
- Rollingstone.com
Rising country crooner Logan Ledger recently released the first two singles from his eponymous debut album, produced by T Bone Burnett and due in October. “Starlight” and “Imagining Raindrops” form a resounding introduction for the California native, who works in an aesthetic best described as “Country Noir.”
“Starlight,” with its cosmic country meets Bakersfield vibe, straddles the line between Buck Owens and Dick Dale, while “Imagining Raindrops” is a wistful, classic ballad full of sorrow and warbling pedal steel. Ledger sings both like a modern George Jones with an appreciation for Chris Isaak’s stylish,...
“Starlight,” with its cosmic country meets Bakersfield vibe, straddles the line between Buck Owens and Dick Dale, while “Imagining Raindrops” is a wistful, classic ballad full of sorrow and warbling pedal steel. Ledger sings both like a modern George Jones with an appreciation for Chris Isaak’s stylish,...
- 3/25/2019
- by Thomas Mooney
- Rollingstone.com
Jay-z’s The Blueprint, Cyndi Lauper’s She’s So Unusual, Curtis Mayfield’s Superfly soundtrack, Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” and Nina Simone’s “Mississippi Goddam” are among the 25 recordings that will be added to the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry this year.
The eclectic list also includes Earth, Wind and Fire’s hit single “September,” the original Broadway cast recording of the musical Hair, Ritchie Valens’ “La Bamba,” Sylvester’s “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)” and a box set featuring the music of Schoolhouse Rock! The...
The eclectic list also includes Earth, Wind and Fire’s hit single “September,” the original Broadway cast recording of the musical Hair, Ritchie Valens’ “La Bamba,” Sylvester’s “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)” and a box set featuring the music of Schoolhouse Rock! The...
- 3/20/2019
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
Whitey Shafer, the songwriter of numerous hits for George Strait, Lefty Frizzell, Moe Bandy and others, died on Saturday following a long illness, family friend Corey Frizzell has confirmed. He was 84.
Born Sanger D. Shafer on October 24th, 1934, in Whitney, Texas, Shafer grew up in a gospel-singing family but didn’t write his first song until he was 30 years old. The nickname “Whitey” was bestowed on him during high school when he was employed by a local ironworking company. Following a stint in the Army and a series of jobs...
Born Sanger D. Shafer on October 24th, 1934, in Whitney, Texas, Shafer grew up in a gospel-singing family but didn’t write his first song until he was 30 years old. The nickname “Whitey” was bestowed on him during high school when he was employed by a local ironworking company. Following a stint in the Army and a series of jobs...
- 1/14/2019
- by Jon Freeman
- Rollingstone.com
Painter, poet and musician Joni Mitchell turns 75 years old today. Her artistry has encompassed pop, rock, folk and jazz, earning varying degrees of praise and criticism, especially for her more experimental, jazz-centric works, but she remains, unquestionably, one of the most influential songwriters of the past 50 years.
Born Roberta Joan Anderson in Fort MacLeod, Alberta, Canada, and raised in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, she began performing in public, accompanying herself on ukulele, in 1963. In August of that year, she appeared on Ckbi-tv in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, as a one-time replacement for a...
Born Roberta Joan Anderson in Fort MacLeod, Alberta, Canada, and raised in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, she began performing in public, accompanying herself on ukulele, in 1963. In August of that year, she appeared on Ckbi-tv in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, as a one-time replacement for a...
- 11/7/2018
- by Stephen L. Betts
- Rollingstone.com
Mellow-voiced singer and prolific songwriter Freddie Hart, whose self-penned single “Easy Loving” was one of the biggest crossover hits of the early Seventies, died Saturday in Burbank, California. He was 91.
In addition to winning the Acm award for Song of the Year in 1971, “Easy Loving” was a Top 20 hit on the pop chart, a million-seller and earned Hart two Grammy nominations and the first of two consecutive Cma Song of the Year honors in 1971. Over the next two years, he would reach Number One on the country chart five additional times,...
In addition to winning the Acm award for Song of the Year in 1971, “Easy Loving” was a Top 20 hit on the pop chart, a million-seller and earned Hart two Grammy nominations and the first of two consecutive Cma Song of the Year honors in 1971. Over the next two years, he would reach Number One on the country chart five additional times,...
- 10/29/2018
- by Stephen L. Betts
- Rollingstone.com
Germany’s Bear Family Records continues its incomparably exhaustive work with the upcoming release of a 20-cd set honoring Lefty Frizzell, one of the most influential country musicians of all time. Featuring re-mastered versions of every 45, 78, and LP track from Frizzell’s career, along with several previously unissued session recordings, the aptly titled An Article from Life: The Complete Recordings, features a staggering 361 tracks and includes a new 264-page hardcover biography.
In October 1950, Texas-born William Orville Frizzell (nicknamed “Lefty” after a schoolyard fight) debuted on the country chart with a double-sided hit,...
In October 1950, Texas-born William Orville Frizzell (nicknamed “Lefty” after a schoolyard fight) debuted on the country chart with a double-sided hit,...
- 7/26/2018
- by Stephen L. Betts
- Rollingstone.com
Fifty-five years ago this summer, on August 4th, 1963, housewife Connie Smith won a talent contest in Columbus, Ohio, earning a performance spot on a local Grand Ole Opry concert where songwriter Bill Anderson took note of her and encouraged her to make a trip to Nashville when the two met again at a New Year’s Day concert in Canton, Ohio.
As 1964 unfolded for the young wife and mother, she garnered yet another invitation – this time a spot on the popular Ernest Tubb Midnite Jamboree, which followed the Grand Ole Opry on Wsm radio.
As 1964 unfolded for the young wife and mother, she garnered yet another invitation – this time a spot on the popular Ernest Tubb Midnite Jamboree, which followed the Grand Ole Opry on Wsm radio.
- 7/16/2018
- by Stephen L. Betts
- Rollingstone.com
It will likely come as no surprise that, 40 years after the release of his classic album of standards “Stardust,” Willie Nelson will be releasing another standards-filled new collection, this one devoted to the repertoire of Frank Sinatra.
“Sinatra and I were very good friends,” Nelson says by way of explanation. “He was my favorite singer, and he had written one time in an article that I was his favorite singer, so we kinda kicked it off good together, and we worked a few shows together, did a couple of albums together, and a video. He was just a buddy.”
Nelson expects that the Sinatra project, titled “My Way,” will be released on the heels of “Last Man Standing,” his new Legacy Recordings album, out today (April 27), just ahead of his 85th birthday. Buddy Cannon, who has produced most of the singer-songwriter’s recent records, recorded the horn- and string-laden backing...
“Sinatra and I were very good friends,” Nelson says by way of explanation. “He was my favorite singer, and he had written one time in an article that I was his favorite singer, so we kinda kicked it off good together, and we worked a few shows together, did a couple of albums together, and a video. He was just a buddy.”
Nelson expects that the Sinatra project, titled “My Way,” will be released on the heels of “Last Man Standing,” his new Legacy Recordings album, out today (April 27), just ahead of his 85th birthday. Buddy Cannon, who has produced most of the singer-songwriter’s recent records, recorded the horn- and string-laden backing...
- 4/27/2018
- by Chris Morris
- Variety Film + TV
For the record, Lee Ann Womack does not smoke, despite the fact that the artist is holding a lit cigarette on the cover of her new album. And yes, she says, she knows “it’s not cool to smoke.”
But then if Womack had cared about what is and isn’t cool, she probably wouldn’t have made The Lonely, the Lonesome, and the Gone – one of the year’s most fearless and soulful albums to come out of Nashville this side of Chris Stapleton.
“I have something that has been in me since I was a little girl – a...
But then if Womack had cared about what is and isn’t cool, she probably wouldn’t have made The Lonely, the Lonesome, and the Gone – one of the year’s most fearless and soulful albums to come out of Nashville this side of Chris Stapleton.
“I have something that has been in me since I was a little girl – a...
- 10/27/2017
- by Nancy Kruh
- PEOPLE.com
You knew it had to be a special concert if Martina McBride was the opening act.
The platinum-selling artist lit the way last Wednesday evening for a mostly female lineup of stars at this “only in Nashville” kind of event.
Songs you won’t hear on any record? Check.
Artists who usually perform for thousands now singing in an intimate nightclub setting? Check.
Stripped-down acoustic versions of million-selling hits? Check.
McBride, a surprise bonus to the announced lineup, kicked off the almost three-hour show, and Hall of Famer Reba McEntire capped the evening, channeling her inner nightclub chanteuse on a...
The platinum-selling artist lit the way last Wednesday evening for a mostly female lineup of stars at this “only in Nashville” kind of event.
Songs you won’t hear on any record? Check.
Artists who usually perform for thousands now singing in an intimate nightclub setting? Check.
Stripped-down acoustic versions of million-selling hits? Check.
McBride, a surprise bonus to the announced lineup, kicked off the almost three-hour show, and Hall of Famer Reba McEntire capped the evening, channeling her inner nightclub chanteuse on a...
- 7/20/2017
- by Nancy Kruh
- PEOPLE.com
Robert Duvall has a few inviolable rules when he's making a movie: If there's a horse to be ridden, he will ride it; if there is a dance to be danced, he will dance it, and if there is a song to be sung, he will sing it.
"Those three things I am going to do myself without a double, unless it's a dangerous stunt," the legendary actor tells Rolling Stone Country.
So when the script for his new film, Wild Horses, called for him to sing the western standard,...
"Those three things I am going to do myself without a double, unless it's a dangerous stunt," the legendary actor tells Rolling Stone Country.
So when the script for his new film, Wild Horses, called for him to sing the western standard,...
- 7/22/2015
- Rollingstone.com
Thank You A Lot is an Austin, Texas film through and through, from its setting (if you know Austin, you'll see lots of familiar sites) to its music-centric focus on a variety of musical styles (classic country, indie rock and hip-hop) to its cast (featuring locals such as Andy Langer, Sam Wainwright Douglas and Zell Miller III). But while Matt Muir's directorial feature film debut can be labeled an "Austin film," its central themes, of dreams, failures, family, art and commerce, are universal. Jack Hand (Blake DeLong) is a struggling talent agent at Intrepid Management. He's not struggling because he's bad at his job or doesn't care about his clients but because he's having a hard time buying into the plastic corporate culture that his boss (Michael D. Conway) exudes, which leaves him on the outs with his boss and co-workers. It doesn't help that not too long ago...
- 3/8/2014
- by Linc Leifeste
- SmellsLikeScreenSpirit
George Jones, the peerless, hard-living country singer who recorded dozens of hits about good times and regrets and peaked with the heartbreaking classic "He Stopped Loving Her Today," has died. He was 81. Publicist Kirt Webster says Jones died Friday at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville after being hospitalized with fever and irregular blood pressure. Known for his clenched, precise baritone, Jones had No. 1 songs in five separate decades, 1950s to 1990s, and was idolized not just by fellow country singers, but by Frank Sinatra, Pete Townshend, Elvis Costello, James Taylor and countless others. In a career that lasted more than 50 years,...
- 4/26/2013
- by Stephen M. Silverman
- PEOPLE.com
Jason Boland
As for most bands that get paid to play, New Year’s Eve is a work night for Jason Boland and the Stragglers. The country act will tune up for 2012 on familiar turf, at the Tumbleweed Dancehall in Stillwater, Okla., the town where the Stragglers formed more than a decade ago at Oklahoma State University. In the years since, Boland relocated to Austin and expanded the audience for the Stragglers’ style of regional red dirt music, carving out...
As for most bands that get paid to play, New Year’s Eve is a work night for Jason Boland and the Stragglers. The country act will tune up for 2012 on familiar turf, at the Tumbleweed Dancehall in Stillwater, Okla., the town where the Stragglers formed more than a decade ago at Oklahoma State University. In the years since, Boland relocated to Austin and expanded the audience for the Stragglers’ style of regional red dirt music, carving out...
- 12/30/2011
- by John Jurgensen
- Speakeasy/Wall Street Journal
Back in December, MTV's Kurt Loder had the privilege of sitting and chatting with "Crazy Heart" star Jeff Bridges, tonight's winner of the Best Actor (Drama) Golden Globe award and a strong contender to receive the same honors at the Academy Awards in March. Since we're all buzzing with Bridges love tonight, I thought I'd dig out this first-hand account of Kurt hanging with The Dude for you all to enjoy a second time.
Fox Searchlight Pictures threw a little holiday party at a fashionable SoHo hotel the other night, and no wonder. The company has had a very good year. Three of its movies are getting serious critical love as the year-end polls come in. The animated “Fantastic Mr. Fox” and its director, Wes Anderson, have just won awards from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and the National Board of Review (Nbr); “(500) Days of Summer” won a best-film nod from the St.
Fox Searchlight Pictures threw a little holiday party at a fashionable SoHo hotel the other night, and no wonder. The company has had a very good year. Three of its movies are getting serious critical love as the year-end polls come in. The animated “Fantastic Mr. Fox” and its director, Wes Anderson, have just won awards from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and the National Board of Review (Nbr); “(500) Days of Summer” won a best-film nod from the St.
- 1/18/2010
- by Kurt Loder
- MTV Movies Blog
Fox Searchlight Pictures threw a little holiday party at a fashionable SoHo hotel the other night, and no wonder. The company has had a very good year. Three of its movies are getting serious critical love as the year-end polls come in. The animated “Fantastic Mr. Fox” and its director, Wes Anderson, have just won awards from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and the National Board of Review (Nbr); “(500) Days of Summer” won a best-film nod from the St. Louis Film Critics Association, and best-debut awards for director Marc Webb from the Nbr and New York Film Critics Online; and “Crazy Heart” -- a movie that won’t even be released till this Wednesday –- won the best-actor award from the L.A. critics for its star, Jeff Bridges. Will Oscar action for these three pictures soon follow?
Descending to the downstairs party rooms of the Crosby Street Hotel,...
Descending to the downstairs party rooms of the Crosby Street Hotel,...
- 12/15/2009
- by Kurt Loder
- MTV Movies Blog
In the original Children of the Corn, many actors were brought together to keep us terrified by children in a small Nebraska town and cornfield. One actor's name you may not recognize, but are sure to remember his performance, is Corey Frizzell. Corey played one of the children from Gatlin and was featured in several scenes. One thing you may not know is that Corey also was a stand-in double for the character of Job, played by Robby Kiger. One of the big scenes memorable to Children of the Corn fans that you may not have recognized Corey in was the "Town Hall" scene where Burt (played by Peter Horton) roams the town of Gatlin looking for residents. As he enters the Town Hall, Job follows him into the building. Contrary to what you might of thought, all of the scenes inside the fictional "Town Hall" featuring Job were not Robby Kiger.
- 2/16/2009
- by Children of the Corn Movie
- ChildrenoftheCornMovie.com
Robbie Roberston is the only guy I know who can discuss the mechanics of the electric guitar and the surrealist films of Luis Buñuel with equal passion and authority, pass any blues trivia test, and spin tales involving Arkansas redneck bars, Hollywood minus the glitz, the birth of rock and roll or Native American culture and myth, all from personal experience. He’s enjoyed long-lasting creative partnerships and longer-lasting friendships with Bob Dylan and Martin Scorsese.
As the songwriter, guitarist and visionary of the Band, and more recently on his own,...
As the songwriter, guitarist and visionary of the Band, and more recently on his own,...
- 11/15/1991
- by Robert Palmer
- Rollingstone.com
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