Photo courtesy of Webster & Associates.

Between 1982 and 1986, Janie Fricke reeled off seven No. 1 singles as country music fans got to know her as more than a backing vocalist and in-demand duet partner (she also scored No. 1 hits with Charlie Rich and Merle Haggard in 1978 and 1985, respectively). Her run in the US alone through the 1980s consisted of 16 Top 10 singles with a brand of country/pop that paid homage to classic country.

Janie’s now honoring the pickin’ tradition while reworking 12 of her own hits on the new studio album, Country Side of Bluegrass. Backed by a group of seasoned players, including dobro player extraordinaire Randy Kohrs (Hal Ketchum; Hank Williams III) and fiddler Luke Bulla (Lyle Lovett; Jerry Douglas Band), Janie offers up stirring renditions of chart-toppers like “He’s A Heartache” and “Don’t Worry ‘Bout Me Baby” with a bluegrass twist.

Amidst standard bluegrass instrumentation, songs like the speedy “Do Me With Love” nail the elements of controlled chaos and precision found in the genre. Add in quintessential country double-meanings like, Words are cheap and ‘I love yous aren’t free/ So unless you mean it, well, don’t spend ‘em on me, and it’s clear that the combination can be entertaining and exciting. Hard-hitting classic country lyrics are all over the record, like on standout track “Tell Me A Lie,” where Janie’s voice pours out the emotion of a desperate woman while singing, Tell me a lie, tell me you’re not a married man, in her Indiana twang. Janie cranked up the tempo on the new version of “Tell Me A Lie,” a song that was originally done as a ballad.

Traditional country influence is heard throughout the record. On the steady-paced “Please Help Me, I’m Falling (In Love With You),” Janie’s voice rises and falls with aching honky tonk melodies as a fiddle yearns in the background. The slow dobro/acoustic guitar intro of the classic “It Ain’t Easy Bein’ Easy” makes way for a smooth chorus full of textured harmonies as the song’s loneliness seeps through the speakers.

The album is indeed full of lonesome songs. One of the best is Continue Reading

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BMI Icon Billy Sherrill and Taylor Swift with her awards for BMI Songwriter of the Year and Co Writer of BMI Song of the Year and BMI President Del Bryant at the 58th Annual BMI Country Music Awards at BMI on November 9, 2010 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images for BMI)

Through songs such as “Mine,” “White Horse” and “Fifteen,” Taylor Swift has shown a real appreciation for great drama and complex character development.

This week, she’s experienced drama firsthand. On Tuesday, she won BMI’s Country Songwriter of the Year award, becoming the youngest person ever to claim it. And she and co-writer Liz Rose shared Country Song of the Year for “You Belong With Me,” recognized as the most-played country title over a full year, according to the performing rights organization.

Just a day earlier, Taylor sang at a funeral for a friend.

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Lady Antebellum photo courtesy of Capitol Nashville.

When Miranda Lambert set a record for female acts by picking up nine awards nominations this week from the Country Music Association, no one was more surprised than her.

But that wasn’t the only shock-a-roonie of the two-day nominations announcement. Lady Antebellum achieved something that’s never been done before, Steel Magnolia and The Band Perry each accomplished something that’s probably been done only once. And Miranda did something that’s only happened twice.

Here’s a bevy of CMA trivia that you may not have seen anywhere else:

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Vince Gill performs with Albert Lee at Eric Clapton's 2010 Crossroads Guitar Festival. Photo courtesy of Erin Morris.

Brooks & Dunn, Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris, Paul McCartney: several halls of fame are bursting with news about their programs or their members.

The Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame and the Georgia Music Hall of Fame have new inductees on the way, the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum has a couple of fundraisers on the docket in Nashville and Los Angeles, and one Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member invoked the names of two Country Hall of Famers when he played next door to Nashville’s best-known museum.

Here’s a bundle of Hall of Fame-related music news:

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The 2010 Country Music Hall of Fame inductees, clockwise from upper right: Don Williams, Ferlin Husky, Billy Sherrill and Jimmy Dean. Photos courtesy of the CMA.

Some of music’s finest talents — Ronnie Milsap, Shelby Lynne, Craig Morgan, Ricky Skaggs and Vince Gill — were among a bevy of significant artists and Music Row executives who witnessed Sunday’s induction of two new members to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum: Ferlin Husky and songwriter-producer Billy Sherrill.

In a here-today-gone-tomorrow culture, the names might not ring familiar to everyone. A girl in her 20s outside the Hall asked at the end of the night about Sunday’s soiree, then shrugged her shoulders in a “Who?” sort of manner when told the names of the inductees. But both men provided important building blocks to get the genre to the mainstream idiom it is today.

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The 2010 Country Music Hall of Fame inductees, clockwise from upper right: Don Williams, Ferlin Husky, Billy Sherrill and Jimmy Dean. Photos courtesy of the CMA.

Don Williams, Jimmy Dean, Ferlin Husky and record producer Billy Sherrill are the latest additions to the Country Music Hall of Fame. The Country Music Association announced the honor Tuesday via press release, with a formal induction ceremony promised later this year.

“I thought I was already in there!” Jimmy joked. “Seriously, it brought a huge grin to my face. I am honored.”

Each of the four has contributed significantly to the genre. Jimmy, whose name is synonymous with a line of sausage, gave country music plenty of TV exposure as the host of several different programs, most notably “The Jimmy Dean Show,” a 1960s ABC variety series. He often featured the likes of Roger Miller, Buck Owens or Faron Young. One 1964 episode aired live from the Grand Ole Opry, while a 1965 installment captured Eddy Arnold’s recording session for “Make The World Go Away.” The CMA also used “The Jimmy Dean Show” as a vehicle to announce the Hall of Fame inductees in 1966. As a recording artist, Jimmy is best known for “Big Bad John,” a recitation about a coal-mining accident that sold a million copies after crossing into the pop charts.

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Elvis Presley image used by permission, Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc.

In a bittersweet ceremony the day before a make-or-break court proceeding, four sets of session musicians received new awards Thursday at the Musicians Hall of Fame in Nashville. The players — who collectively backed such artists as Patsy Cline, Elvis Presley, the Beach Boys and Johnny Cash — are among those recognized in the structure, which is likely to be demolished to make way for a new convention center.

“To have it all torn down,” said Elvis’ drummer D.J. Fontana, “is a damn shame.”

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Miranda Lambert photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.

Like it or not, Valentine’s Day is almost here. We gave you our list of the Top 20 Country Love Songs – but life isn’t always moonlight and roses, is it? So after we dried our eyes and pulled ourselves together, we came up with a list of our favorite anti-love songs. Are you breaking up with your boyfriend/girlfriend? Your spouse? Your job? Did you find out your sweetheart’s been less than faithful? Whatever the heartbreak occasion, there’s usually a country song that’s a perfect fit.

By no means is this a definitive list, so please, tell us what other songs you’d add! Put your suggestions in the comments section below.

Top 20 Country Breakup Songs (in no particular order):

• “Lonely And Gone” – Montgomery Gentry
• “I’m Moving On” – Rascal Flatts
• “White Liar” – Miranda Lambert
• “I Will Always Love You” – Dolly Parton
• “The Most Beautiful Girl” – Charlie Rich
• “There Is No Arizona” – Jamie O’Neal
• “Today My World Slipped Away” – Vern Gosdin/George Strait
• “Whiskey Lullaby” – Brad Paisley & Alison Krauss
• “Kiss This” – Aaron Tippin
• “Take This Job & Shove It” – Johnny Paycheck
• “Before He Cheats” – Carrie Underwood
• “Consider Me Gone” – Reba McEntire
• “Blame It On Your Heart” – Patty Loveless
• “Unwound” – George Strait
• “You’ll Think Of Me” – Keith Urban
• “By The Time I Get To Phoenix” – Glen Campbell
• “Cheatin’” – Sara Evans
• “Goodbye Says It All” – BlackHawk
• “Should’ve Said No” – Taylor Swift
• “Brokenheartsville” – Joe Nichols

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Loretta Lynn photo courtesy of Interscope Records.

More than 100 trophies will be handed out on Sunday at the 52nd annual Grammy Awards to honor the best in music in 2009. Overlooked, but maybe just as important, are a few honors that recognize artists and musicians — including Loretta Lynn, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and guitarist Harold Bradley — for efforts that span a much broader scope of time.

The Dirt Band’s “Mr. Bojangles” has been added to the Grammy Hall of Fame, certifying it as a recording of long-term influence. Loretta and the late Roy Orbison are among the artists who will be hailed Saturday in Los Angeles with Grammy Lifetime Achievement Awards. That same night, Harold will receive a Trustee’s Award for his work as a session musician, studio owner and former president of the Nashville chapters of the Recording Academy and the Musicians Union.

As if that’s not enough, the Georgia Music Hall of Fame and the Alabama Music Hall of Fame have both been featured in the news in the last week.

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Elvis Presley image used by permission, Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc.

Elvis Presley, George Jones, June Carter Cash and Sheldon Kurland — a key musician in the growth of Nashville’s music industry — are all receiving recognition for their legacies in ways that range from sad to historical to simply amusing.

Elvis and June are being commemorated by public institutions, Sheldon is being remembered by friends after his death this week, and one of the Possum’s most infamous moments was documented in a piece of art by a fellow musician.

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