If you're just jumping on, this is the first month of my new year long series, The 50 Most Important Country Songs 1980-Today.   All songs on this list had to have been released since 1980, about the time I joined the format on the radio. This is month one, and I featured 5 songs.  These post here on Tuesdays.   Let's get you caught up!

#50 - Don't Rock The Jukebox - Alan Jackson

#49 - Tim McGraw - Taylor Swift

#48 - Stay - Sugarland

#47 - Should Have Been A Cowboy - Toby Keith

#46 - Country Must Be Country Wide - Brantley Gilbert

As we watch the NFL Conference Championship games today, we'll be eating good food be comfy inside.  The NFL is good for a day like that, when the weathers lousy and there's nothing else to watch with games at 3 and 630 today.  I know it's hard to wait till 3 to watch a game when regular season games start at 1.  I'm like you, I'd like to see the 1 and 4 o'clock games today, but we won't for one reason only.  The NFL doesn't care what you want.

As much as we watch, it's hard at times to patronize a company that cares so little about us.  Heck they seem to not even care about their own.  They don't care that their constant meddling with dumb rule changes, ridiculous officiating, unending replays and other nonsense have infuriated many fans.  They are the kings of TV and as long as that's true, they'll continue to behave this way.  The NFL is no longer a sport, it's a TV show.  Over the decades it has morphed into entertainment from sport.  Very clean fields of play, much of it inside, no mud, all very tidy.

Each year the most watched TV events or shows are NFL games, some with very high numbers.  The NFL has an advantage over other sports in the fact there is little else on TV to watch during these months, days and times.  They totally own a day of the week and have a large presence on Mondays and Thursdays.  And in years ahead, with college football starting to implode, some Saturday nights may be in play. 

When weather services strongly advised them to move the Chiefs-Dolphins game to a 1PM start to avoid a -7 degree kickoff temperature at 8pm for the physical safety of fans and players, they said no.  They have part time refs officiating the biggest league on earth who continue to butcher games and outcomes with actual lack of rules knowledge, taking no accountability.  When the refs decisions clearly cost the Saints a Superbowl appearance a few years ago, it was no big deal. 

And what is exactly a "catch" anymore?  Every week it seems there is a new "catch" that's not a catch by not "finishing the play."  We didn't have this problem for 100 years, now we do.  And does anyone know what pass interference is anymore?  And can we stop with these pathetic ex-refs on TV defending these officials?  They seldom disagree and NEVER call them out and say BAD CALL!   Oh, the actual refs are doing this as a well paid hobby. Want to be the next John Madden type?  Be the one who will call them out with real passion during broadcasts. 

When games start at 820 PM ending at midnight eastern time, they don't care.  They also basically got rid of the games most exciting play, the kickoff return.  So we'll never have a Josh Cribbs situation again with special teams players getting paid very well.  This de-emphasizes special teams players as they now just run down the field, keeping salaries down, and making lower end roster players very expendable.  There's a safety element that's true too, but they figured out a way to make that advantageous for themselves.

Football on TV has basically always been free, that too could eventually change.  We have forgotten ESPN is pay and many games have moved there and to their own NFL Network.  Prime and Peacock are paid streaming and they are in the game now.  I have thought for years that the NFL will eventually be a pay thing for everyone and that's not good for anyone - except the owners.  Oh, they don't care that you're unhappy about Prime, and Peacock and other streamers that may want to get in.  There's just too much money. 

Hey I love watching football too, it's sad they won't make these things right when all they have is money and time.  Just remember if your team is "performing" today or not -  it's not sports anymore.

It's pure entertainment. And we watch and love it.

In case you missed some of my articles this week from WQMX.com let's get you caught up! Grab a coffee and your earbuds and start off your Saturday right! 

Thanks for reading and listening every day!

Eat Of The Week

50 Most Important Country Songs 1980-Today #47

Forgotten Jukebox - F-97

CMML - The Mega Star Series - Dolly (Revisited)

Wynn At The Movies And More

Browns - Oh, One More Thing

Early this year I've been featuring past articles from my Mega Star Series and today we will revisit George Strait.  This will all lead up to my newest Mega Star Artist that will debut next week right here, and new ones continuing all February.  But for this week, let's look at The King  - George Strait!

Mega Star George Strait - Revisited

Cross My Broken Heart  - Suzy Bogguss - 1989  (Album - Somewhere Between)

To say that Suzy Bogguss is an incredible singer isn't doing her justice.  Quite frankly, she has one of the most beautiful singing voices I have ever heard.  She scored a top 20 song on my Fifty Favorites From Last Years List (#18).  This song was written by two of Nashville's best songwriters at the time and was at the start of her career from a debut album that was well liked by fans.  This was also at the beginning of a real country boom and new artists were coming out every week.  As great as the boom was from 1989 to the early 2000's not all artists were going to get as noticed as they would like.  Suzy Bogguss is and was an incredible talent that is undeniable, and many of her songs are absolute works of art that her fans loved.  But her issue was, where did she really fit in?  We were lucky to have her in country and she still tours today, and being very active on social media. I was a big fan of her and her music. Because as amazingly skilled as she is and was, her music should not be forgotten. If you have never heard Suzy Bogguss sing, click on this video and take a listen. I wouldn't steer you in the wrong direction.  Song reached #14 in 1989.

Last Weeks Selection

My Full Profile On Suzy Bogguss

My The Vocalists Supreme Series (Part 2)

Drive South - Top 20 On My Favorites List 2023 - #18

Box Office Results - Mean Girls

#2 - The Beekeeper 

#3 - Wonka

New Next Week – Millers Girl (Thriller)

Whoa!!! - The weekend’s only new movie, the sci-fi thriller I.S.S. was a bomb, opening in seventh with only $3 million from 2,500 theaters.

Oscar Nominations  - Oppenheimer 13 / Poor Things 11 / Killers Of The Flower Moon 10 / Barbie 8

The Razzies - WORST PICTURE Nominees

The Exorcist: Believer
Expend4bles
Meg 2: The Trench
Shazam! Fury of the Gods
Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey

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

Also - 50 Most Important Country Songs 1980 – Today #47 (Link)

# 46 - Country Must Be Country Wide - Brantley Gilbert -  2010

This was also on my Favorites List from last year in about the same position (#49).  Songs will end up on THIS list for various reasons, and this one is simple.  This is one of the most influential songs of the past number of years.  It's a mix of a few kinds of music and that's always a challenge to do the right way.  It's very unusual that a new artist records a song this impactful.  This number one was his debut single, and it took us to a different place musically.  When many newer artists heard this song many said, "I wanna do THAT!"   This was exceedingly edgy for 2010, but this sound has become a bit more commonplace since.  Now whether that's good or bad for country overall is still up for debate, as this did and does miss with some.  But for Brantley Gilbert, it's his accepted sound as he's very popular with a whole lot of people and with WQMX listeners.  This was way outside of the box in 2010. It works for him, but not as much for imitators of this that followed.  I always thought this about this song and sound - when this song comes to your house to visit, it doesn't wipe its feet off on the mat before it walks in. 

Last Week #47

This Song #49 Favorites List - 2023

I thought one final article on the Browns was in order.  A fun season, and for the first time since about Labor Day there is no Browns game to watch.  We'll still watch this weekend with a bitter taste at times as we keep an eye on the Texans after they eliminated us handily last week. The Texans of course is the team that we are still rebuilding taking them off the scrap heap from the big trade, as last year they were 3-13-1.  And we get to watch Baker chuck the ball around the yard in Detroit against the Lions. 

Baker Mayfield will always be a polarizing figure here as his time was turbulent and that's not all his fault.  I'm no Baker apologist, but his time here I feel should be looked at honestly.  Starting with this - I was no fan at all of making him the first pick in the draft.  I was on the Josh Allen bandwagon, but we'll never know what would have happened. Tons of coaches, bad decisions on both parts and owner meddling made things very difficult for everyone.

Baker was drafted #1 by the former regime, one that was very different than the guys in charge now.  Those guys were the like the Pickup trucks of the NFL.  Football guys.  The Browns had 1 win in two years and the culture needed to be changed.  It was thought that started with the team leader, and Baker is and was a very powerful presence that's both good and bad.  Like a pickup, Baker took some lumps, and bumps, drove himself into the mud at times to get stuck, but cleaned up at other times to everyone's delight.  For a while It looked like he was here for 300,000 all wheel drive miles.

But then a new regime came to town.  They are much more refined and they wanted a Porsche.  So they parked the pick up truck, and eventually gave it away making room in the garage.  The Porsche they picked out was quite expensive, but man it was something.  Turns out it has not been overly reliable spending a great deal of time in the shop and they keep putting more money into it.  Keeping it on the road has proven tough.  But when it runs, all is right with the world.

And this year, the coach and crew had to go out and buy another very used even older pickup that was the last vehicle of any kind on the lot when the Porsche broke down again.  The title search showed this truck had a great service record, had survived the test of time and just needed a wash, tires, tuneup and an oil change.  And in a about a week, man that thing purred and went right to work and the whole team fit in the truck bed.  I never saw the coach so happy in all these years as he was with that new/old truck that they got such an amazing bargain basement deal on.  He loved that old truck and was grateful for the short, but successful drives they took together.  That truck gave all it had and now it'll make someone else happy, as it certainly will be up for auction again.  It'll be checked out thoroughly, maybe it'll end up in a warmer climate.

So over the winter the Porsche is being worked on, and the hope is come summer they'll roll it out and we will cruise all fall long, right to this very date and beyond.  In the mean time, we will miss that very old truck and hope that someone buys it again for a fair price.  Maybe it'll drive some other team to the stadium only on Sundays, as it clearly still has something left under the hood and in the tank.

As for the newer pickup truck, it's been humming smoothly all fall and now winter long, as the new owners have it cleaned up, tuned up and running on the right gasoline at 75 MPH on a smooth Florida highway.  So what do we know? Like most winters, the trucks are still running and most of the Porsche's are waiting for spring.

Training camp opens in July -  GO BROWNS!

This month we are revisting some in my Mega Star Series and this week, it's Dolly.  Dolly Parton is as big of a Mega Star as there is in entertainment in general.  And she's still going strong, as she had a birthday last week and turned 78.   Let's revisit the incredible, Dolly Parton!

Mega Star - Dolly Parton - Revisited

Let's Go To Vegas  - Faith Hill - 1995  - (Album - It Matters To Me)

Faith Hill's run through the 90's and beyond was amazing.  Starting strictly as a country singer, she developed a big pop chart following as well.  Some of her songs cut through to the pop charts, but there's a limit to that.  But early in her career Faith was really recording some great country songs, and this is one of them. This was fun and from a very good album.  I loved Faith Hill in those days, as I feel she overall recorded some of the best music of her career.  Altough Cry was an incredible song later on.  She was so easy to like early on, her image was really great and her voice was always the star.  Although, This Kiss later was simply an amazing song that changed the trajectory of her career, and was the kind of hit every artist would love to have.  But this song sort of gets lost, as does some of the early stuff from those first couple of albums.  This is my favorite Faith song, as it makes you happy and has a slick video.  This also sounded really good on the radio.  What a career, and what a song.

Last Weeks Selection

My Full Profile On Mega Star Faith Hill