Whiskey Lullaby: A Masterclass in Country Tragedy
## A Song Too Dark to TouchThere is a long-standing tradition in country music of the ‘murder ballad’ or the…
CONG NGUYEN VAN TU
CONG NGUYEN VAN TU John Conlee: The Painful Reality Behind the Rose Colored Glasses
## An Unconventional StartJohn Conlee didn’t follow the typical path to country music stardom. Before he was a singer, he…
Willie Nelson: The Masterpiece Written on an Airsick Bag
## A Movie CommissionBy 1980, Willie Nelson was the face of Outlaw Country and a bona fide superstar. He was…
Kenny Rogers: The Castaway Song That Built an Empire
## A Song Nobody WantedWritten in August 1976 by a 23-year-old songwriter named Don Schlitz, ‘The Gambler’ is a narrative…
Garth Brooks: The Anthem of Acceptance That Almost Didn’t Happen
## An Unlikely Origin‘The Dance’ is widely considered one of the greatest Country songs ever recorded, but its birth was…
Vince Gill: The Masterpiece That Took 10 Years to Write
## The Initial Spark of GriefIn 1989, country music was shaken by the tragic death of Keith Whitley, a close…
George Strait: A Rare Glimpse Into the King’s Deepest Grief
## The Unspeakable LossGeorge Strait is famously private. Known as the ‘King of Country,’ he almost never gives interviews and…
Kris Kristofferson: The Helicopter Drop That Changed Music History
## The Janitor With a DreamKris Kristofferson was a Rhodes Scholar and an Army Ranger pilot who threw away a…
Merle Haggard: The True Story Born in San Quentin Prison
## The Reality Behind the ‘Outlaw’While many country stars sang about being outlaws, Merle Haggard actually lived it. Following the…
Tim McGraw: A Father’s Death Sparks a Life-Changing Anthem
## A Shocking DiscoveryTim McGraw grew up believing his father was the man who raised him until, at age 11,…