Later this week on December 12th, in my adopted home state of Kentucky, one of the 90’s Country artists whom I consider to be Legends, will perform his last show of his career. Much like thousands of others in the world of music, most people are skeptical regarding artists that claim that they are retiring. Even I have many different opinions on all of the different scenarios that make some of the more famous band breakups. It happens.
Most importantly, I am a music fan. I do however continue to moderate this website, and I write about the music I love. It just turned into a media website after all, and it’s all good. This man came onto the scene right about 1994, Grunge music came around, and I was still into Thrash Metal and Classic Rock but since I have always been into Country, that 90’s Traditional sound appealed to me.
His first album “Kickin’ It Up” boasted a ton of hits for him and I remember the heavy ass radio play that his songs got along with so many others. I even lost a girlfriend over my obsession with 90’s Country! I have spent a lot of time and money researching this period of Country, and I still say some of the “filler” songs were better than the singles!
In the next few weeks, I am going to have some damn fine news about a bunch of package shows these artists get banded together on. Many of them have the same management companies, and often times they throw deals of package shows to all the talent buyers, many times so they can avoid radius clauses and play casinos.
I mean, who doesn’t want to listen to all of those beautiful hits like “I Swear” and “Rope the Moon”. But honestly, what made this era of Country so great was the writers. Like Frank Myers who wrote “I Swear”, and the many others that kept this Nashville money train rolling. And people like me enjoyed it all.
The producers and studio musicians that made all of these albums evolve into bangers should be more celebrated that the current media gives them, and so that also is another reason why I do this. It is therapeutic to me to wander around and look for names like Lonnie Wilson and Paul Franklin.
I continue to hope that one day in the near future he is given the opportunity to belong to the Country Music Hall of Fame. Will he continue to play on the Opry? I would say yes. I think this will be a wonderful show full of many memories and treasured hits, don’t you?
