Dwight Yoakam came along at just the right time for me, in the mid Eighties, launching a lifelong love of country music.

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This is the opening track from Gillian Welch’s debut album, presaging the revival of old-time music and the emergence of Americana. (more…)

Today I’m feeling a little bit country and a little bit rock’n’roll, just like Donny and Marie once did. So here’s a bit of Buck Owens. This song never fails to put a big fat smile on my face. It just swings, and rocks, and twangs in all the right places.

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Country superstar Miranda Lambert sings the play-out song over the closing credits of summer blockbuster Twisters.

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I didn’t see much mention in the news of the death of Kinky Friedman, the self-styled “Texas Jewboy” of country music. It’s probably fair to say his records would not be released these days because of their close-to-the-bone satirical content; and their language (including this one).

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When I think of classic “country-and-western” music I think of a song like this – a jaunty rhythm, the twang of a steel guitar, a catch in the voice, and a lyric filled with heartbreak (and a hint of humour).

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Half a century ago CMAT could have been knocking ’em dead at the Grand Ol’ Opry with her big ballads – if only she’d been born in Nashville rather than Dublin. 

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It’s fair to say that Poco are mostly a forgotten name today, but here they are out-Eagling The Eagles with their country-fried vocal harmonies.

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Florida band The Outlaws brought the three-guitar line-up into country rock, blending three-part harmonies with their multiple guitar solos.

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Texan troubadour Vincent Neil Emerson is one of country music’s minority of Native American performers, coming from the Choctaw-Apache tribe.

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