The Official ACL Blog for like Eight People!
If you want the daily schedule post, look below at those tabs or down and to the right at the September posts. Have fun!
Thoughts: Interesting, because in my mind this is a name that I know, so I figured I'd know the songs too. Not so much. Born in Pensacola, Florida in 1958, he was performing in local bars by the 70's within much acclaim. Wikipedia claims he was working "as a commercial pilot, truck driver and a pipe fitter" by the time he was 20. A fucking commercial pilot? At 20? I feel like this would have gotten more news if Doogie Houser of the skies was flying 747s for American Airlines in 1978. Simpler time I suppose. Who knows. In 1986 he moved to Nashville and became a staff writer for Acuff-Rose, writing songs for Charley Pride, The Kingsmen, and others. He competed on a reality/talent show on The Nashville Network and that led to a publishing contract in 1987. That is a wild ride.
His first solo single was released in 1990, and it continues to be his top single. "You've Got to Stand for Something" has 54.5 million streams on Spotify. Not related to the sweet ass John Cougar Mellencamp song from Scarecrow, released in 1985. And not nearly as good either.
I firmly believe that his moustache being too much limited his commercial potential. He should have taken a page from Alan Jackson's book and had a less terrifying mustache. Also, his kid should really look away here and there during this song performance. Too much eye contact, buddy, it's getting creepy. But, generally good song - classic in the mold of so many preachy 90's country songs. According to Wikipedia, this became a popular anthem for soldiers in the Gulf War at the time.
Ten albums - and one of the best things about them is that his arm tattoo of a Palmetto is showing on 5 of the covers. 1991's You've Got to Stand for Something, 1992's Read Between the Lines, 1993's Call of the Wild, 1994's Lookin' Back at Myself, 1995's Tool Box, 1998's What This Country Needs, 2000's People Like Us, 2002's Stars and Stripes, 2006's Now & Then, 2013's All in the Same Boat (with Joe Diffie and Sammy Kershaw). Six went gold and one went Platinum (Read Between the Lines), with three total number one songs.
His second-most streamed song is just awful - called "Kiss This" - a crappy rocker about a lady telling her man off from 2000. I refuse to play it for you, although it was one of the three #1 songs in his catalog. The other one sounds vaguely familiar, but I don't really know it. I suspect it was played at Calhoun's in Sherman, Texas in 1995 and 1996. Only 5.3 million streams for "That's as Close as I'll Get to Loving You."
There he is, carrying pipe in his job as a pipe fitter. A real workin' man. I like the sound of the chorus though, especially when he ratchets it up an octave. Interesting how he didn't ever quite get as big as the other neo-traditional guys of this time frame. It was probably the mustache.
Lot's of jingoistic crap in here too, with songs like "Where The Stars and Stripes and the Eagle Fly", "Drill Here, Drill Now," and their ilk. I actually noticed that Wikipedia lists some albums that aren't on Spotify. So maybe the jenky label he's with by this point in his career isn't putting him on the Interwebs. He also owns two hunting supply stores, so if you're ever in Smithville, TN, you should stop on by!
No comments:
Post a Comment