Posts Tagged ‘Country Music’

Charlie Daniels Band “Texas” Single Of The Day

Greetings from Asheville, where good music is always on the turntable, or on the Ultimate Twang Show.  Today’s Single Of The Day gave The Charlie Daniels Band their first Country 40 appearance, albeit a brief one.

The band had already enjoyed success in the Pop and Rock fields, thanks to hit like “Uneasy Rider”, “Long Haired Country Boy”, and “The South’s Gonna Do It Again”, but “Texas” would the their first single to receive significant Country airplay.  Released on the Kama Sutra label in early 1976, the single made it’s Country 40 debut in March.  The single only peaked at thirty-six, but it would be the first of fourteen (fifteen, if a guest appearance on Bobby Bare’s “Willy Jones” is included) appearances on the Country 40 for Charlie Daniels, through 2001.

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Jimmy Newman “D. J. For A Day” Single Of The Day

Greetings From Asheville, where good music is always on the turntable, or in the CD player.  Today’s Single Of The Day takes you back nearly fifty years for one of the twelve top ten hits enjoyed by Jimmy “C” Newman.  Jimmy, who has always said the C stands for Cajun in honor of his Louisiana roots, made his first Country40 appearance in 1954, when “Cry Cry Darling” became a top five hit.  He would go on to score thirty more Country 40 hits between 1954 and 1969, the biggest being his 1957 classic “A Fallen Star”.

Jimmy’s first seven chart hits came during his tenure with Dot Records, where he resided through the end of 1957.  1958 saw him move to MGM Records, where he enjoyed a couple of top ten hits, before moving on to Decca Records in 1961.

“D. J. For A Day” was his first top ten hit on the Decca imprint, making it’s debut in December, 1963.  The single would peak at nine on the charts, but enjoyed an extended run of nineteen weeks on the Country 40, a longevity not often seen on a single that just makes it inside the top ten.

One other item worth noting about this single, is that the song was also one of the early songwriting successes for an up and coming songwriter and future hall of famer, Tom T. Hall.

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Merle Haggard “Grandma Harp” Single Of The Day

Greetings from Asheville, where good music is always found on the turntable, as well as the Ultimate Twang Radio Show.  Today’s Single Of The Day is a Merle Haggard classic.

1972 was a great year for Merle, as he made four appearances at number one, and as the year ended, was climbing towards the top, again.

Today’s Single of the Day was Merle’s first actual release of 1972.  ”Grandma Harp” was the designated “A” side when it debuted in early April, but by the end of the month, it’s flip side, “Turnin’ Off A Memory”, had gained enough notice on radio, that the trade publications, such as Billboard and Cashbox, began including it in their chart tabulations, as well.

The combination was a winning one for Merle, as his twenty-sixth Country 4o single for Capitol Records would soon turn into his twenty-second top ten hit and his twelfth number one, when it hit the top in May.

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Alabama “Born Country” Single Of The Day

Greetings from Asheville, where good music is always on the turntable.  Today’s Single Of The Day is a 1993 near-number one for the legendary Alabama.

Amazing career for Randy Owens and company, after taking the Country music world by storm in 1980.  They were fixtures on the Country 40 for the next twenty years, scoring no less than sixty-six Country 40 appearances, with fifty-two appearances in the top ten, and thirty-two at number one.  It’s easy to see why they are already in the Country Music Hall Of Fame.

Today’s single, released through RCA, was their fortieth Country 40 appearance.  ”Born Country” made it’s debut in January, 1992, and would make it as high as two on the charts.  It’s standard Alabama music, a strong Country feel, with a tinge of Rock mixed in, though not as apparent, here.  A strong composition and the typically great vocal presence.

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Jack Cardwell “The Death Of Hank Williams” Single Of The Day

Greetings from Asheville, where good music is always on the turntable.  Whenever someone of legendary proportions passes away, it’s a guarantee that there will be tribute songs.  And with the passing of the legendary George Jones just a couple of days ago, it won’t be long until tribute songs to him will be on the market.  More often than not, these songs are bad and quickly fade into permanent obscurity.  There are exceptions, though.  For instance, Merle Haggard’s “From Graceland To The Promiseland” as well as Ronnie McDowell’s “The King Is Gone”, both successful tributes to Elvis.  Then, there’s been numerous songs about the legendary Hank Williams, of which several have been somewhat successful, including today’s Single Of The Day.

Like Hank, Jack Cardwell was an Alabama native who found some success on the radio, before being signed to the King Record label.  Jack’s second release was a rush job, released just weeks after the death of the legendary Williams.  ”The Death Of Hank Williams” made it’s chart debut in February, 1953, quickly climbing as high as three on the charts.  The single reportedly sold well, some stories claim as high as half a million copies.

Unfortunately, the success of the record didn’t translate into a long string of hits, in fact, Jack would chart only one more time, later in 1953 with “Dear Joan”, an answer song to the Jean Shepard/Ferlin Husky hit, “A Dear John Letter”.

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