Between Colossalcon, Juneteenth, and other mayhem, I haven't been able to talk about pride month! So happy pride! If you're in the LGBTQIA+ community or an ally, I hope you have an excellent pride month!

I'm a little bummed out that I didn't get to let my bisexual flag fly at Cleveland pride, but I hope to see ya'll at Akron Pride in August!

When we stand together, we stand strong! Have a great rest of your week!

Every weekday in the 2 o'clock hour we play your songs for your 15 minute break! It's a realy easy form to fill out and so much fun to see what you picked when they get sent to me! Click here to submit your '15 Minute Break' playlist and if you need a "how to" (and also a behind the scenes of the whole process), watch my Instagram reel below! Thank YOU for listening at work!

 

 

 

 

 

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June 21st, has a special meaning for a certain song...  There is a documentary on Neflix "It All Begins With A Song: The Story of Nashville Songwriters."   It is a few years old.  Where if you would like to dig in deeper on the story it is amazing.  The documentary hits on various songs from country, rock pop really all genres.  The writers who wrote this song have a very interesting back story. 

The story comes about from Paul Monti's son Jared.  It began with a line from an interview one of the writers heard.  It was written, a demo made and an artist was picked out...  The writers after the song went to #1 they wanted to play it for the father of the fallen soldier.  There are a lot of coincidences with this song.  Like it was written on the same day the solider passed 2 years prior. That day was June 21st. 

I've only watched the documentary once.  The date stuck with me... June 21st.  

The writers have told this story many times.  The documentary is good with a number of country artists.  Maybe worth a watch.  Here is the story from one of the writers below and part of the documentary. 

I told you at the beginning of the month about buying a new ceiling fan for my back porch. Well, I have also been looking for new light fixtures for my kitchen and near my front door by my coat closet. After visiting four stores over the last three weeks, I finally bought some fixtures Tuesday evening! I bought one for the center of my kitchen, one above my kitchen sink, and the one near my coat closet. Now I wish I lived in a house that took a fixture like the one in the picture...I think that would mean I live in the Paris Opera House in "Phantom of the Opera"! LOL.

Now, I have to get an electrician scheduled to redo some electrics and get everything installed. Then I'll have light!!! (not that there isn't now...just better light)

There's no feeling like the one you get when you face just how bad things could become, or even how they already are. I get that bleak, insightful feeling whenever I watch Black Mirror, and I love it. I think the best kind of media we consume is the one that sends a clear message worth pondering, or worth talking about. So now that the new season is out, I want to talk about my favorite episodes from each season!

Season 1: The Entire History of You

Usually when a show starts it needs a bit to find its footing, and knowing how good Black Mirror got I agree that this is the case here. With the three episodes we get, all with stand out concepts, The Entire History of You has the most compelling story. The concept: What if there was a device that logs everything you see, hear, and do for you to replay at any point? What if it exposed all of your secrets as well?

Season 2: White Christmas

No not that White Christmas, but I love that one as well. Where the movie is filled with love and romance, this one is filled with death and heartbreak. There's snow in both though! Black Mirror's White Christmas follows three stories intertwined together, akin to Love Actually. Two men tell stories in a remote cabin, but everything is not as it seems. It's a great episode for people who hate Christmas, or need something to watch early on in December.

Season 3: San Junipero

Happy pride! Season 3 is one of the best in the series, but a clear standout is San Junipero. I also love Shut Up and Dance, but San Junipero has two things I love: tech I'd actually want in our reality, and a happy ending. An outgoing butterfly and a shy soul create a bond unlike any other, and I enjoyed every minute of it. And so did a lot of people, this episode won an emmy!

Season 4: Crocodile

Ahhhhh this one was so hard!!! Season 4 is my favorite, if not objectively the best season in the series. USS Callister is widely hailed as one of the best episodes in the series, and for good reason, but I want to talk about one of the most underrated episodes in the series. Crocodile is an episode I think about a lot. A LOT. The tech is similar to that in The Entire History of You, but this time your memories are whatever you're trying to picture. Which is great for an insurance investigator, who is using it to investigate a claim. But it's so much more than that, as always, and the twist is one of the best in the series. Out of all of my picks on this list, I implore you to check this one out the most.

Season 5: Rachel, Jack, and Ashley Too

No, I'm not just choosing it because my name is in it! Season 5 only had 3 episodes, mostly revolving around happier endings. My personal favorite is Rachel, Jack, and Ashley Too. Long story short: it's fun, and not too bleak. A good intro to Black Mirror if you're dipping your toes in! What happens when a tween obsessed with a mega star gets a robot that sings and dances just like she does? Chaos, adventure, and Miley Cyrus singing. Ashley O, I'm a HUGE fan!

Season 6: Beyond The Sea

Look, it's kind of cheating since I haven't technically finished season 6 yet (I just need to finish Demon 79!) but man. Beyond The Sea. What a ride! Two astronauts are able to control robot doppelgangers while they're in space. It gets dark. It gets sad. You will be horrified. Aaron Paul is incredible.

Black Mirror: Bandersnatch

And finally my favorite Black Mirror film, Bandersnatch. This interactive movie is incredibly well done. The acting, the sets, the story, the choices, it's incredible. A game developer in the 80's has an idea for a game based on a choose your own adventure novel, and you decide how he goes about that. I need to play it again someday, but I got all of the endings! And you can, too. Play/watch it today!

Black Mirror is some of the best television out there, and I hope you give it a go!

This series concludes here while we revisit some of the best pure singers we've had in my over 40 years behind the morning show country music microphone. There is no order, and the omission of one of your favorites today does not mean they are not "as good"  as someone else.  We are not taking career stats into account either, these are simply incredible singers that would sound good singing anything, anywhere, any time. 

ICYMI  -  The Vocalists: Supreme  (Part 3)  (Part 2)  (Part 1)

They Are  -  The Vocalists: Supreme  -  Part 4 Final

Reba McEntire   (My Full Profile On Reba McEntire)

You didn't think I would forget Reba did you?  Reba entered the charts as an understated artist, and turned out to be one of the biggest overall stars we've had in the past 40 years.  Her popularity has gone way past singing country music.  As a young artist, she sang simple songs that were traditional in every way when the trend was far more poppy in sound and style.  She resisted that, and it paid off in a huge way as her sound and style became the standard fans really wanted to hear, and for others to follow,  In time as the genre changed, so did she a couple of times and sang some of the most powerful songs on the charts for many years.  Her terrific range, and extreme honesty shined brightly in most every big hit she had.  She also never lost that traditional edge that she broke in with and always seemed to sing grown up songs that fans loved.  Reba has sung it all, and has been one of the most recognized ambassadors for our format.

This Was A Major Song For Her - Many Discovered Her  #1

Josh Turner

Classically trained and a country star, interesting combo.  Josh Turner possesses an amazing speaking and singing voice and one listen is all it takes to figure that out.  Turner had some really nice success with some very big hits, Grammy nominations and a big, booming, baritone voice that shook the speakers.  Like many of the stars in this series, his gift beyond tone and power was a completely identifiable voice.  You KNEW it was Josh Turner singing when he came on the radio.  His tone is terrific and sounds good singing about anything.  The strength on his lower register is incredible as he picks those notes off with ease and his delivery is gentle on the ears.  Others have had longer chart runs, but few, if any were blessed with the DNA Turner is.  He took it, trained it, and put it to great use.

Fantastic Delivery Of This Very Nice Song!

Sara Evans   (My Full Profile On Sara Evans)

She had a couple of very different phases of her career.  There was the early Evans which was very, very traditional and then there was the later Evans, a bit more poppy or mainstream.  The earlier got her immense praise from media, industry peeps, and hard core country fans.  The latter gave her big commercial success.  But no matter what Sara Evans was singing, and when, her voice was always her calling card. She has tremendous power and finds the notes perfectly.  It's hard to decide which Evans is best, and after review, the fact that it's hard to decide makes is clear she belongs on this list.  She also recorded a number of songs that really resonated with her fans, and we'll feature one here.  Sara Evans can still do it all vocally.

This Song Registers With A Huge Fan Base  (Read Comments)  Many Would Have Loved To Record This

Gary LeVox

The lead singer of Rascal Flatts for years and now his own solo career. I always thought Gary LeVox was kind of the Steve Perry of country music.  As good and as long as the Rascal Flatts run was on the country charts, it was the direct result of the outstanding lead vocals of Gary Levox, much like Perry and Journey.  His incredible range, his passion, his power, you felt it, especially on the power ballads that became the Flatts signature.  Like Perry, his tone and range made it possible for thier core fans to sing right along with him, and that's a gift.  In time, his voice gave RF the same credibility as Alabama in the fact that when you heard Randy Owen singing, you knew it was them.  LeVox is a remarkably gifted singer in the fact that he can sing to many different audiences.  A few of RF songs were actually as big or bigger pop hits than country hits in the listners ear.  But no matter, Levox is a vocalist that is to be envied. Terrific talent.

Huge Hit  - Great Performance

I have never been on a game show.  Trust me I would love it!  My luck is more like this fellas on the Price is Right.  

 

 

 

 

 

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Six Days On The Road - Sawyer Brown - 1997  (Album - Same Name)

This song is one of the most recorded songs in country music history.  Dave Dudley  (His Version)  in the early 1960's had a big hit with it, and since then has been recorded by dozens of artists from many different formats.  And with it being America's birth week, what's better than a good old trucking song?  This version from Sawyer Brown was well into their career as it was on their 12th album. This by no means was their biggest hit, but it felt good to hear a strong, updated version of this classic.  And classic is not too strong of a word.  Many feel, as do I -  this written song began a unique portion of our genre  -   the truckin' song.  Of course it's always tough to pin point exactly these kind of things, but this song was heavily influential to many, as any who followed its lead. The era peaked in the late 70's and 80's with the CB/Truckin' Songs craze.  Truckin' songs today are a bit out of favor, and there are times that's too bad as they honor the Guardians of the highway, and hard working people in general.  This written song honors the trucker and his solitary life perfectly.  Sawyer Brown did a great job here, and this version should be remembered.  Although Dave Dudley  was the only guy who could make the line "sixdaysontheroadandI'mgonnamakeithometonight" all one word.  

Tomorrow June 21st, has a special meaning for a certain song...  There is a documentary on Neflix "It All Begins With A Song: The Story of Nashville Songwriters."   It is a few years old.  Where if you would like to dig in deeper on the story it is amazing.  The documentary hits on various songs from country, rock pop really all genres.  The writers who wrote this song have a very interesting back story. 

The story comes about from Paul Monti's son Jared.  It began with a line from an interview one of the writers heard.  It was written, a demo made and an artist was picked out...  The writers after the song went to #1 they wanted to play it for the father of the fallen soldier.  There are a lot of coincidences with this song.  Like it was written on the same day the solider passed 2 years prior. That day was June 21st. 

I've only watched the documentary once.  The date stuck with me... June 21st.  

The writers have told this story many times.  The documentary is good with a number of country artists.  Maybe worth a watch.  Here is the story from one of the writers below and part of the documentary. 

I remember being in High School when Top Thrill Dragster opened in 2003. My friends and I waited 3 hours for our 1st time on the 30 second ride. We loved it immediately! Then two years ago came the accident that shut it down. Now, Cedar Point is working on reimagining the attraction for 2024. 

What do you think they are doing with it? At this point...I've gotten too far removed from amusement parks to speculate like we loved to do when we were 16. I still love the rides like I did then, they just don't love me LOL! It never gets old to wait for the announcement from the park and see what they have come up with trying to top themselves to keep Cedar Point as one of the premier parks in the world!

If you still ride the rides on a regular basis...ENJOY whatever they come up with!