Box Office Results - Shazam! - (ONLY 30 MILLION)

New This Week - John Wick 4

Lance Reddick - From the John Wick movies and others died this weekend he was 60   (Story)

Dick Van Dyke - Suffered some minor injuries this week in a minor car crash he was driving - he's 97!!!!!  (Story) 

Adam Sandler - Received the Kennedy Center’s Mark Twain Prize for American Humor on Sunday night. (Story) 

This Weekend – Check out my Country Music Memory Lane  (link)

Also - My 50 Favorites Over 40+ Years This Week #40  (Link)

Plus - My Sunday Morning Song 3/19  (Link)

  The saying, "That ain't country" isn't new. It's been going on the 43 years I've been in country radio. This is the final installment of artists that helped supply a bit more street cred with young fans that we had a hard time attracting. But these fringe acts were incredibly influential to our future stars.   - ICYMI  (Part 1) (Part 2)  (Part 3)

Lynyrd Skynyrd

For a group that never charted a song country, and did not really enjoy the chart success you might think on any chart, they have an incredible following with many country fans.  From Jacksonville, Florida, for many they are the sheer definition of Southern Rock. Sweet Home Alabama is an immensely popular song with rock fans and country fans as well.  And who on earth has not yelled, "Free Bird"  at some concert somewhere at some point?   The two Van Zandt Brothers went country and recorded a country album that I loved, Get Right With The Man  (2005), with the single, Help Somebody  (#8)  that was a fantastic song. That album went to #2.  They did a few other country albums as well.  But clearly, much of their stuff is way outside of our spectrum still today, but their popularity with our fans is absolute, along with Kid Rock and others of that ilk. In the end a no, BUT their influence to future stars and popularity with listeners was resolute and can not -  and should not - be ignored.  It is undeniable.  That is their real gift to us.

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

Before I go on, these guys are in the end -  a hard  - YES!  But it didn't start that way.  Formed in the mid 1960's by exceedingly talented singers and musicians and Mr. Bojangles  of course became a gigantic hit and classic in the early 70's.  Flash forward to the mid 1980's and country is very pop sounding.  They show up in Nashville and are clearly very country sounding and go on to great success for about a 6 year period garnering a ton of hit songs, award show nominations and just recorded some fantastic music.  Fishin' In The Dark is such a great song, and was HIGHLY influential to many rising stars it's hard to explain it properly.  It is also still today, some 37 years later one of the most loved country songs ever.  Garth performs that song many times in concert and gives them major props on stage. Funny about them, they were a pop/country/folk style band at first. Then became far more country than most of the "country"  being recorded in the mid-80's. Great singles, great albums, great musicians and great success.  It didn't start that way, but in the end a resounding yes!

Jim Croce

Jim Croce died very young and the career that was ahead for him seemed very britght and endless.  He was very good  friends with Jimmy Buffett and they each early on shared that wonderful acoustic sound that was a blend of pop/country/and folk. But Croce and much of his music was very hard to categorize, and yes, some of his songs ended up in country radio's gold libraries for a time as his sound was similar to Gordon Lightfoot, James Taylor and others that did the same. We did not play Bad, Bad, Leroy Brown, but we did play a couple of others. Much of his music was released after his tragic death and a few songs did chart mildly on the country charts but nothing significant.  But the popularity of his music was very vast and he had fans from all genres including ours.  His story is a sad one dying so young but his music lives on.  In the end, a no, but his music was and is loved and isn't light years away.

Givin' Up On That  - Dalton Dover

This weeks Sunday Song is a slick release that I loved the first time I heard it from a new artist, Dalton Dover. Many new artists go to Nashville with big dreams and talent.  They have dreams of making it big in the music biz, nice goal.  Then there those that go to that same town wanting to be country singer and have a career in country music.  There is a big difference, and the ability to fool fans anymore is becomming more difficult.  The most direct path to the latter is recording country songs, and that's exactly what we have here.  This is a great contemporary country song, sung with today's passion style vocals and arranged country.  It's a modern version of a "hurtin" song and has reached down and touched a lot of people very rapidly, (just look and read the comments under this video when you're playing it.)  This is a powerful song that speaks to many, and that's a great start for anyone.  This is well, well done!

Dalton Dover Website

Letting Go - Suzy Bogguss -  1992 - (Album - Aces)

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I feel the incredible Suzy Bogguss is the best pure vocalist we have had in country since I have been in it.  She is absolutley blessed with perfect pitch (which is a real thing.)  Her voice is and was timeless, knows no real bounds, and it all seems so effortless.  She also understands that louder is not better - better is better.  When Suzy Bogguss sings you have to listen.  This was a number six hit on the country charts, and did well on the Canadian country charts too. This is powerfully written and delivered wonderfully, as a highly emotive story of a mother and daughter and their journey together.  The thing that jumps out of the speakers for me is this.  We don't really record a lot of songs like this right now.  This is honest, happy, sad, very emotional, and it's hard not to feel something deep when you hear it.  If you have never really heard Suzy Bogguss sing a song, or if it's been a while, take a few minutes and give her your full attention. Listen to her angelic performance of this song, it should live forever somewhere. For what this is, it's just about perfect.

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My Full Profile On Suzy Bogguss

Eddie Rabbitt - Step By Step -  1981

There was time everyone on the planet was a fan of the late Eddie Rabbitt. For many years he was charting tons of songs on the country and pop charts with regularity having tremendous success.  Rabbitt was a sensational song writer, singer and a classy ambassador for country music.  There may be no singer who benefited more from "Pop Country" and the Urban Cowboy phase. He was cool, he was likable, and he was a star.  This song was my favorite from him as I think it encapsulated the perfect marriage of pop and country. Of course many of his songs were part of our culture, I Love A Rainy Night, Drivin' My Life Away and others.  This was his ninth number one, and he would go on to have seventeen writing most of them.  This was Rabbitt at the zenith of his career.  The album of the same name was a huge success as well.  #1 Country, #3 Adult contemporary, and #5 on the Hot 100. That's what Eddie Rabbitt did on the regular in that era.

Last Week #41

My Full Profile On Eddie Rabbitt

With the weather still a bit cold, we are still in "comfort food" mode.  And the big breakfast is still in season, so this weekend, MAKE THESE!

These Look Amazing!!

Box Office Results - Scream 6 -  (44 Million)

New This Week - Shazam / Inside / A Snowy Day In Oakland

The Oscars - Ratings for this year's Oscars were up by 12% from last year. 18.7 million viewers watched  (Story)

The Last Of Us - Is breaking all kinds of streaming records, and even did very well againsat the Oscars Sunday night  (Story) 

Some Families - Are very upset about their passed family members begin ommitted from the Oscars tribute telecast  (Story) 

This Weekend – Check out my Country Music Memory Lane  (link)

Also - My 50 Favorites Over 40+ Years This Week #41 (Link)

In case you missed some of my articles formn WQMX.com this week!

Eat Of The Week!

50 Favorites From 40 Years #41

The Forgotten Jukebox 3

Country Music Memory Lane - Were They Or Weren't They Part 3

Wynn At The Movies And More

The saying, "That ain't country" is not new. It's been going on the 43 years I've been in country radio. Sometimes it's up for debate.  This week and next I'll feature artists that got a fair amount of play on country radio at one time, and we can decide if they were or were not.  We needed real star power back then, and these artists helped supply it to give us a bit more street cred with young fans that we had a hard time attracting. But these fringe acts were incredibly influential to our future stars.  Four part series  - ICYMI - (Part 1)    (Part 2)

Kid Rock

He is a very interesting artist as far as country is concerned. There is no doubt that All Summer Long (#8 Country) is very popular with our fans, and Picture (#21 Country)  was a highly requested song years ago as well.  He has always had a soft spot with our listeners and has played in the arena with other contemporary country stars. When he comes to concert locally, we give away tickets and fans are thrilled to win them.  Many, not all country fans have a real liking for him.  Clearly, much of his music is far, far outside our scope, but some seems to fit in.  In the end, more than likely a no, but he certainly has fans who are loyal to him  -  and to us.

Olivia Newton-John  (My Full Profile On Her)

I featured her a while ago in an article and it was very popular. The late Olivia Newton-John at first was very country, but as time went on, she graduated to pop. Let Me Be There was a Grammy Award winning Country single. She also charted a lot of country songs after that, Please Mister Please, If You Love Me (Let Me Know) and others were all big songs.  I think everyone remembers Physical, which was far removed from her country days.  She sort of did what Taylor Swift did.  She established with country, and as she grew up and her tastes, and career path changed, so did her music. She early on was an award winning artist with us and we were glad to have her.  But like Taylor, after Olivia left us, we still all cheered for her and as she grew, we grew with her music. I loved her country stuff, and a lot of her pop stuff.  Magic is one of my favorite older pop songs as it was perfect for her at that time. In the end, she was and then she wasn't, but she was always popular with most everyone that ever heard her sing.   There was much done, before Grease.

James Taylor

James Taylor in many ways punched the same ticket to some country radio play as Gordon Lightfoot.  Taylor, especially early on had that nice, simple, acoustic sound that was easy to listen to that blended in well with much of the pop country.  Fire And Rain is a great example of that. So are Handyman, Mexico, and his duet with J.D. Souther, Her Town Too.  Taylor was also very easy to like. He had huge mass appeal and his voice was really not format specific. Clearly, much of this stuff was not conducive for us, but some was, and to say the name James Taylor on the air, gave us real cred.  Should be noted, he never charted on the US Country Charts, except Everyday later on -  which did, (Written by Buddy Holly)  but many of our fans loved his music and still do.  In the end, in sound at times yes, but overall -great music- but not so sure.

We Danced Anyway – Deana Carter -  1997 -  (Album - Did I Shave My Legs For This)

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Strawberry Wine was such a huge song, sometimes we forget that Deana Carter had other amazing songs too. Her album, Did I Shave My Legs For This, was a gigantic success and this song is one of the big reasons why.  I mean how do you follow up a single like Strawberry Wine?  With this gem written by two of the very best songwriters in Nashville, Matraca Berg and Randy Scruggs, that turned out to be a two week number one. That's pretty tough to do after a big hit like SW.  This song makes you happy and even without watching the video, it draws a picture in your mind's eye about as well as any song can.  I always felt that this song has gone too long being underrated and sadly is not heard much anymore.  But, this is a fantastic example of 90's feel good country that filled all of us with joy, and fun. The perfect song finding the perfect artist for it!  Well done, Deana - well, well done! 

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My Profile On Deana Carter

Wednesdays have a new feature, The Forgotten Jukebox Series.  I will spotlight a big hit song - post 1980 - that you just don't hear anywhere anymore.  All of these songs were very popular, in fact most were number ones, and they all are from great artists that you know.  Many times we still play a ton of songs from these stars, but for some reason these songs over time have fallen through the Country Music Cracks pretty much everywhere, and have sadly been lost.  They have a new and safe home in my basement in My Forgotten Jukebox.